A touch of History In the bible, the Dead Sea is called by a number of names. Genesis 14:3 refers to it as “The Salt Sea”. The “Sea of the Plain” is the name given in the Deut. 4:49 the prophet Joel calls it “EastSea” (Joel 2:20). Ezekial mentions it as “the Sea” (ezek 47:8). The Jewish Talmud calls the Dead Sea “The Sea of Salt “ and “The Sea of Sodom”. The ancient historian, Josephus labeled it the “AsphalticLake “. The name - the Dead Sea - is a relatively recent one. It is first used in Latin - Mare Mortuum.