Diodous Siculus is listed as one of Pliny's authorities for book 5.
Pliny's description of the Dead Sea itself obviously derives from Diodorus
(who in turn depends on Hieronymus of Cardia): "The only product of the Dead
Sea is bitumen, from which it derives its name [i.e., Asphaltites]. The
bodies of animals do not sink in its waters, even bulls and camels floating;
this has given rise to the report that nothing at all can sink in it."
Asphaltitis is the name of the Dead Sea in Hieronymus and Diodorus. As is
well known, Pliny misunderstood the latter account, which refers to large
lumps of asphalt as camels, the smaller ones as bulls. The literary
dependence is widely acknowledged - see, for instance, Stern.
That being the case, Diodorus' description of the waters of the Dead Sea
becomes highly relevant for understanding Pliny. The relevant passage at
Diodorus Siculus19.98 reads, in part, "Its water is very bitter and of
exceedingly foul odour, so that it can support neither fish nor any of the
other creatures usually found in water... On every side about the sea for a
distance of many stades the odour of the asphalt spreads with a noisome
exhalation, and all the silver, gold, and bronze in the region lose their
proper colours. These, however, are restored as soon as all the asphalt has
been ejected; but the neighboring region is very torrid and ill smelling,
which makes the inhabitants sickly in body and exceedingly short-lived."
The source used by Pliny identifies the noxious fumes of the Dead Sea as
dangerous. Stephen's insistence that there are "no fumes, exhalations" does
not take this into account.
Similarly, Stephen's statement, "Pliny (his source) does not say Essenes
are high (supra), merely that they avoid the bad water (as Qumranites did,
with their water system), which is unlike Jordan's good water, flowing
south." First, Bob is correct, of course, that "he doesn't specify that they
flee the 'water,' but the 'shore(s)/coast' (litora) which 'harm(s)' in some
way." And Diodorus makes it clear that the Dead Sea harms through its fumes.
But Stephen is correct that there is an earlier contrast between the
"much-praised" waters of the Jordan which are swallowed up by the
"pestilential" waters of the Dead Sea. Again, let us use source criticism to
clarify what Pliny meant. Diodorus (above) says "Its water is very bitter
and of exceedingly foul odour." That is, the foul odor is a characteristic
of the water -- the two cannot be separated out as Stephen attempts.
Further, Diodorus claims the fumes from the Dead Sea causes the people to be
"sickly" and die early -- surely this is the very definition of
"pestilential."
The salt content of the Dead Sea, by the way, was agriculturally
conducive to growing palms, which like a salty soil. Note that De Vaux
reasonably considered Ein Feshka an outpost of Qumran due to proximity
and
correlations in pottery and occupational periods. If Essenes occupied Ein
Feshka as well as Qumran, they certainly were not avoiding the Dead Sea
coasts.
Best regards,
Russell Gmirkin
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