WANDERING IN THE DESERT
The experiences of the Israelites in their stay in the desert, from their departure from Egypt to their entry into Canaan, for forty years. The Israelites were always directed by God regarding their travels and when and where to pitch and break camp, causing them to wander because of their sin (cf. Num. 32:13).
(a) Limits and extent of the desert.
This large desert country has the shape of a triangle, whose base is made up of the southeast coast of the Mediterranean and the southern border with Palestine. Its western limit is formed by the depressions in which the Gulf of Suez and the Bitter Lakes are located.
The eastern side runs along the Gulf of Akaba and the Arabá depression. The base of the triangle measures around 322 km, and its surface is around 57,000 km2. This territory could be called “desert of pilgrimages”, in Arabic Bãdiyat et-Tîh, a term that only applies to the plateau located north of the Sinai. Ancient people avoided these barren regions. The Israelites fixed the southern limits of the Promised Land in the immediate vicinity of this territory. The Egyptians maintained fortifications up to where this desert area began.
(b) The four characteristic regions of this triangular territory.
(A) The sandy part, which extends as a strip along the Mediterranean, from Philistia to the border with Egypt and beyond. This strip turns south, passes Suez about 16 km and corresponds to the desert of Shur (Gen. 16:7).
(B) To the north and center, the triangle is made up of an arid calcareous plateau, with a height between 600 and 762 m.; It descends towards the sandy area of the Mediterranean coast, and is covered with hills to the northeast. A mountain range 1,220 meters high and more encloses the rest of the perimeter.
This chain is currently called Jebel et-Tîh. In the middle of this vast desert territory there are stream beds that only carry water when it rains. The calcareous plateau, with its mountainous branches to the northeast, was called the Desert of Paran (Num. 10:11, 12; 13:26; 1 Sam. 25:1).
The Israelites wandered in this region for thirty-eight years. This region, located between Horeb and Kadesh, is called “that great and terrible wilderness” (Deut. 1:19). However, the wadis have some vegetation, especially after the rains. In the surroundings of Kadesh, and along the Arabá, there are numerous sources whose water can be used by digging wells.
(C) Sandstone strata cross the peninsula, south of the Jebel et-Tîh range. This area, also sandy, has an elevation of around 457 m. It is very rich in mineral deposits.
(D) The fourth region of the triangle consists of calcareous massifs near Mount Sinai.
(c) The pilgrimage of forty years in the desert.
The biblical record states on several occasions that there were then six hundred thousand Israelites over the age of twenty, which would imply a population of about two million people. This multitude survived in the desert thanks to the help and miracles of God.
As the people were about to enter Canaan, Moses reminded them that during all their wanderings God had brought them “as a man brings his son” (Deut. 1:31). The miracle of manna occurred for the first time in the desert of Sin, being renewed daily for forty years, until reaching the border of Canaan (Ex. 16:1, 4, 14, 15, 35).
The miracle of the quail, given as a sign, was limited in time (Ex. 16:12, 13). In Rephidim they found water (Ex. 17:3-4). In the second year they were given quail again for a month (Num. 10:11; 11:4-6, 31). At the end of the forty years, at Kadesh, God made water come out of the rock (Num. 20:2-11).
However, the people suffered greatly in the wilderness, especially because of their murmurings and resistance to God (Deut. 1:19; 8:15; Ex. 17:1, 2, 3; Num. 20:2; 10: 33 and 11:1, 34, 35; 21:4, 5, 6; Deut. 8:12-18). However, ultimately the Lord was able to say to Israel: “you have lacked nothing” (Deut. 2:7).
The biblical account shows that the manna that the Israelites disdained was sufficient food, and that water was always provided to them, although their faith in it was sometimes tested. Important notes about water:
(A) Egyptian camel drivers, if necessary, abstained from water from morning until evening, when accompanying travelers to sandy regions. Dr. Robinson reports that his Arab guide drank the milk of camels, and that his animals, both sheep and goats, can go without water for up to three to four months if they can have grass (Researches 1.150).
There is no doubt that the Israelites carried skins full of water, which they filled on every occasion. In Exodus (Ex. 15:22) it is noted that at the beginning of the journey they had water for three days of marching. Dry wadis or arid plains often hide underground sources or streams of water that the Israelites could have taken advantage of.
According to the geologist Fraas, the so-called wells of Moses, which are found in the desert a short distance from Suez, are fed by a stream of groundwater that comes from the mountains of er-Rahah, at a distance of 16 to 22 km. The Gharandel wadi, generally identified with Elim, has one of these underground streams, to which the Arabs resort when the open stream dries up.
Even if there has been a drought of two or three years, water is found when digging (Robinson, Researches, 1:69, 167; Ritter, Erdkunde, 14:161, 185). The Israelites knew this particularity of the desert (Num. 21:17, 18). Their mass emigration did not exclude the dispersion of some groups, to take advantage of all the resources of the desert.
On the other hand, the Israelites could act in various ways to retain water. In the rainy season there are real waterspouts that overflow the wadis. At the beginning of the Christian era, the monks of Sinai and the natives of the places of Cades raised dams across the ravines, and dug cisterns in which to conserve water.
During the thirty-eight years of their stay in the desert, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were able to do perfectly what their ancestors had already done: dig trenches and make reservoirs for rainwater. It should be noted that an examination of the itinerary of the Israelites in the desert reveals that during the 38 years of their stay they were always on the edge of inhabited land, between Kadesh and Ezion-geber (see the corresponding maps).
(B) In ancient times, the peninsula was not entirely devoid of trees. For centuries it supplied charcoal from the acacias, which the Arabs did not bother to repopulate. Many explorers of the Sinai have observed using charcoal: Bartlett in 1874 (“From Egypt to Palestine”); Burkhardt in 1812 (Erdkunde 14:274, 342).
In a much earlier era, the Egyptians exploited copper mines in the mountains of the West and continued to do so well after the exodus of the Israelites. Acacia wood beams were sometimes used to support the ceilings of the galleries.
The smelting of the ore, practiced on a large scale, required large quantities of firewood (cf. Palmer: “Desert of the Exodus” 1:205 and 26, 43, 231-235; Erkunde 14:786-787). In this regard, we must remember the disappearance of the great cedar forests of Lebanon and their consequent desertification.
The exodus of Israel and its pilgrimage through the desert cannot be contemplated from the perspective of the current conditions of extreme aridity. The deforestation of the Sinai, which had already begun before the exodus, and which has continued to the present day, has been the cause of a variation in the climatology, with the consequent decrease in rainfall and the progressive drying of the peninsula.
When there was more vegetation, the rains occurred at more regular intervals and less apart, as happens in wooded places. As the water arrived more regularly and less violently, it filled the wadis without washing away the earth or vegetation.
The sources were more numerous. The waterways did not fade as quickly, or perhaps there were some that were perennial. Under wise and far-sighted direction by a leader who knew the desert and its resources, an entire town could live in this area if prudent water management was carried out.
(d) The itinerary of the Israelites.
Identified places: Sukkot, in Egypt, at the beginning of the journey. The Arnon, a river to which the people reached at the end of forty years, after crossing the desert. Kadesh: Ain Kadis. Camp was established there twice.
It was the place from which the Israelites were to go directly to the Promised Land. Ezion-geber, where the camp was just before the second march towards Kadesh, and near where they later passed on their way to the Arnon. Mount Sinai is unanimously located on the peninsula that bears its name.
The camp of Mosera was adjacent to Mount Hor, on the borders of Edom. The wells of Bene-jaakan and Mount Gidgad were also close to the borders of Edom. Punon was east of Edom and northeast of Petra. The identification of these places allows you to follow the itinerary without any doubts of any kind.
Moses’ enumeration of the stages of the journey, beginning with Rameses and Sukkot, is found in Num. 33, in which the camps mentioned after Sinai are the places where the Tabernacle was. The Israelites could disperse, in part, into the desert, to find pasture for livestock.
When the people met, they formed a large camp, spreading through various towns when they reached already colonized places. This would be the reason why different names are sometimes given for the same camp (cf. Num. 25:1; 33:49). The texts of Ex. 12 to Num. 25 report the marches and incidents of the pilgrimage.
In his Deuteronomy speech, Moses makes frequent allusions to the events that took place during the marches, using these events to support his argument but not giving them in chronological order.
Stages of the pilgrimage.
The first part of his pilgrimage from Egypt was from Rameses to the Red Sea. Rameses was east of the Nile (see RAMESES). The western branch of the Red Sea undoubtedly extended further north then, and it cannot be determined exactly at what point it was crossed. The last camp where the Israelites were before crossing to the Red Sea was Pi-hahirot. (See PI-HAHIROT).
The stages of the pilgrimage mentioned are:
Exodus Numbers
Rameses, 12:37 Rameses, 33:3
Sukkot, 12:37 Sukkot, 33:5
Etam, 13:20 Etam, 33:6
Pi-hahirot, 14:2 Pi-hahirot, 33:7
Red Sea Passage, Red Sea Passage
and three days of and three days of
march through the march through the
wilderness of Shur, 15:22 wilderness of Etam, 33:8
It will be noted that, in Numbers, Etam is mentioned on both sides of the Red Sea. This term has been interpreted as “limit of the sea” (a meaning that Fürst believes to be doubtful, but gives no other); If so, it could apply to both sides. The Etam Desert may have been on both sides of the Gulf of Suez, as it appears on some maps.
The second part of the pilgrimage was from the Red Sea to Mount Sinai, east of the Gulf of Suez, as can be seen on the maps. The Desert of Sin, Mount Sinai, and Horeb have largely been identified. The stages of this second part are:
Exodus Numbers
Mary, 15:23 Mary, 33:8
Elim, 15:27 Elim, 33:9
Camp of the
Red Sea, 33:10
Wilderness of Sin, 16:1 Wilderness of Sin, 33:11
Dofca, 33:12
Alus, 33:13
Rephidim, 17:1 Rephidim, 33:14
Sinai Desert, Sinai Desert,
in the third month of 33:15
first year. 19:1
The Israelites remained at Sinai until the second month of the second year, during which time the Law was promulgated (Num. 10:11; 33:16).
The third part of their pilgrimage was from Sinai to Kadesh-barnea, about eighty miles further north. Only three intermediate camps are mentioned from this trip:
Tabera, Nm. 11:3; Deut. 9:22
Kibrot-hataava, Num. 11:34 Kibrot-hataava, Num. 33:16
Hazeroth, Num. 11:35 Hazeroth, 33:17
Kadesh in the desert Rhythm, 33:18
of Paran, Nm. 12:16; 13:1-26
In Tabera the fire of the Lord burned among them. In Kibrot-hataava the people coveted meat: the Lord gave them quails, but later punished them with mortality (Num. 11:4, 31-34). In Hazeroth, Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses, and Miriam became a leper (Num. 12:10). The above shows that Kadesh is in the same area as Rithma, from where the spies were sent. Spies are not mentioned in Num. 33.
There was a prolonged stay in Kadesh or Rithma, in the desert of Paran. The return of the spies was awaited. The rebellion broke out based on the report of the unbelieving spies, and God swore that they would not enter the land, but would wander in the wilderness until all the men who had left Egypt died, except for Caleb and Joshua. Defying the word of God, they invaded the land, and were attacked by the Amalekites (Num. 14:33-45). Korah’s rebellion followed (Num. 16).
The Israelites apparently spent thirty-seven years traveling three times between Kadesh and Ezion-geber, on the Gulf of Akaba, although many of the camps cannot be identified; some of them may have been located further west. It is not recorded, however, how long they were in each place, and it is also possible that some of these were not included in the lists.
Comparing Nm. 20:22-29 with Deut. 10:6 it will be seen that Mosera and Mount Hor are considered the same place, Mosera, or Moserot, being at the foot of Mount Hor. Thus, Mosera is considered a place recognized when the true “pilgrimage” began. They set out from Kadesh, or Rithma, to Rimon-peres, and then to other camps, until they came to Mosera, or Mount Hor, for the first time, although it seems to be a short distance (Num. 33:19-30) .
From Mosera they traveled south to Ezion-geber, with four camps in between (Num. 33:31-35).
From Ezion-geber they turned and traveled north again, arriving for the second time at Kadesh or Kadesh-barnea, without mention of any camp between these distant places. Mary died at Kadesh. The people murmured, and the rock was struck, on which occasion Aaron and Moses sinned (Num. 20:1-13).
From Kadesh they traveled to Mount Hor, with no camp mentioned among them, unless the Beeroth of Deut. 10:6 enters here. On Mount Hor Aaron died and was buried (Num. 33:37, 38). They were attacked by King Arad of Canaan, who was defeated, and their cities destroyed (Num. 21:1-3).
The king of Edom having refused permission for the Israelites to pass through his land, it became necessary for them to travel again to the Red Sea in order to encircle the land of Edom (perhaps passing through Gudgoda and Jotbatha, Deut. 10:7, for this way) (Num. 20:14-21; 21:4). From the Red Sea their route went clearly east of Edom and the Salt Sea until they reached Jericho, where their pilgrimage ended.
From Mount Hor through Elath and Ezion-geber,
the way of the Red Sea, Deut. 2:8
No. 21:4 Zalmona, Num. 33:41
Punch, Nm. 33:42
Obot, Num. 21:10 Oboth, Num. 33:43
Ije-abarim, Num. 21:11 Ije-abarim, 33:44, 45
Zered Stream, Num. 21:12;
Deut. 2:13, 14
The Brook of Arnon,
No. 21:13; Deut. 2:24
Dibon-gad, Num. 31:45, 46
Almon-diblataim,
No. 33:46
Beer, in the desert,
No. 21:16, 18
Matana, Nm. 21:19
Nahaliel, Num. 21:19
Bamot, Num. 21:19
Pisgah, Num. 21:29 (in Abarim) Mountains of Abarim,
No. 33:48
Fields of Moab, next to the Fields of Moab, next to the
Jordan, facing Jericho, Jordan, facing Jericho,
No. 22:1 Num. 33:48
The many failures and murmurings of the Israelites are recorded in the Scriptures, and have been given to us as a solemn warning to Christians (cf. 1 Cor. 10:1-14).