There is archaeological evidence of mineral springs in Asia during the Bronze Age (circa 3000 b.c.), and biblical references allude to the practice. For example Joshua (19:35) refers to the city of Hammath (from the Hebrew word for “hot springs”) located at Tiberius in Israel, one of the world’s oldest spas. And II Kings 5:10 tells of Elisha instructing a Syrian to wash seven times in the Jordan River to cure his “leprosy.”