Drilled shafts socketed in crystalline rock salt are a common type of foundations used in the Dead Sea region to support high vertical and lateral loads. The existing subsurface condition consists of soft clay followed by crystalline salt. Due to the difference in nature and formation creation method, the performance of such foundations type under vertical loading in the crystalline rock salt is different from their known behavior in common rock types. This paper is an attempt to understand the real behavior of socketed drilled shafts in crystalline salt through a finite element modeling of a field pile load test carried out in this formation. The studied case is of a steel tubular pile provided with a reinforced concrete socket in the crystalline salt formation. The prevailing salt layers in the pile test area are highly fractured crystalline rock salts of variable strength ranging from weak to moderately weak. Full details of the pile load test, description of the subsurface conditions and salt strength tests are presented in this paper with the finite element analysis details and results. The developedshear resistance along the socketed length of the pile is verified and compared to the commonly used correlations for rock formations. The performed analyses and comparison with the pile load test results provided a better understanding and good information about the drilled shaft performance under vertical loading in such formation. The analyses carried out in this paper deal with the short term behavior of the Dead Sea rock salt as the creep effect directly impact the long term performance that is not in the scope of this research.