Hebrew word · H7708

שִׂדִּים

hasidim

Valley

A proper name, found only in Genesis 14 (vv. 3, 8, 10). The meaning is uncertain. The linguistic link sometimes proposed with šēdîm ("demons") does not hold: the first consonant is a different letter.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Siddim = "field" or "plain"

valley where the Dead Sea is located

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Genesis 14:3

Range of meaning

A proper name, found only in Genesis 14 (vv. 3, 8, 10). The meaning is uncertain. Suggestions: (1) a plural related to śādeh, "field, open country", giving "Valley of the Fields" (the reading of Targum Onqelos, "plain of the fields"); (2) from the root śdd, "to harrow, furrow" (Isa 28:24; Hos 10:11), giving "furrowed / broken ground", which perhaps suits a plain pitted with bitumen holes; (3) a pre-Israelite or non-Semitic name of unknown meaning. The linguistic link sometimes proposed with šēdîm ("demons") does not hold: the first consonant is a different letter.

Against the English

All English versions simply transliterate it as "Siddim". The supplied word data glosses it as "Valley", but that gloss comes from the word next to it. Siddim is the name, not the word for valley.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ancient translators guessed differently. The Septuagint has "the salty ravine" (it skips the name and describes the place). The Vulgate has vallis Silvestris, "the wooded valley". Onqelos has "the plain of the fields". The spread shows the name's meaning was already lost in antiquity.

From the study of Genesis 14:10

Range of meaning

A place name found only in Genesis 14 (vv. 3, 8, 10). Its meaning is uncertain. Suggestions include a link with sadeh, 'field/open country' ('Valley of the Fields'), or with a root for furrows or plains. A link with shedim, 'demons,' has also been proposed, but the spelling (sin, not shin) makes it doubtful.

Against the English

English versions simply transliterate it as 'Siddim,' which is honest given the uncertainty. Ancient versions guessed at a meaning instead.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint renders it 'the salty valley' (hē koilas hē halykē), following the gloss in v. 3. The Latin Vulgate calls it vallis silvestris, the 'wooded valley,' apparently reading the name as connected with fields or open country. Genesis 14:3 itself adds 'that is, the Salt Sea,' which places the valley at, or under part of, the Dead Sea as the writer knew it.

Where it appears

Genesis · 3

  1. Genesis 14:3 הַשִּׂדִּ֑ים <the> Siddim

    The latter five came as allies to the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea).

    Here: "The Siddim". It is a place name with the article ("the") and a plural ending, so it was once probably a description, perhaps "the fields" or "the furrowed ground". Nobody knows its exact meaning. Verse 10 says this valley was full of bitumen pits.

  2. Genesis 14:8 הַשִּׂדִּֽים׃ <the> Siddim

    Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and arrayed themselves for battle in the Valley of Siddim

    Here: A place name of uncertain meaning. Verse 3 equates the valley with the Salt Sea (the Dead Sea), and v. 10 says it was full of bitumen (tar) pits.

  3. Genesis 14:10 הַשִׂדִּ֗ים <the> Siddim

    Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some men fell into the pits, but the survivors fled to the hill country.

    Here: The name of the valley. Its meaning is uncertain. Verse 3 has already told the reader that it is 'the Salt Sea', the Dead Sea, or at least what became part of it.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.