Masada Definition
A fortress expanded by Herod the Great to include a palace; on a mountain plateau on the Dead Sea's shore near Idumaea. David wrote, "The Lord is my rock and my fortress" (Ps. 18:2), a possible reference to this flat mountain plateau. Along the 1,000- foot mountaintop, Herod built a wall with 37 towers to defend against attackers and carved a three-level palace into the mountain face. Fearing Mark Antony would give his kingdom to Cleopatra of Egypt, Herod fortified Masada as an escape. Last place held by rebels in the First Jewish Revolt; the committed suicide rather than surender. A symbol for the Jewish people, of their determination to remain free.
