Wilderness

"(1.) Heb. midhbar, denoting not a barren desert but a district" or region suitable for pasturing sheep and cattle (Ps. 65:12; Isa. 42:11; Jer. 23:10; Joel 1:19; 2:22); an uncultivated place. "This word is used of the wilderness of Beersheba (Gen. 21:14)," on the southern border of Palestine; the wilderness of the Red "Sea (Ex. 13:18); of Shur (15:22), a portion of the Sinaitic" "peninsula; of Sin (17:1), Sinai (Lev. 7:38), Moab (Deut. 2:8)," "Judah (Judg. 1:16), Ziph, Maon, En-gedi (1 Sam. 23:14, 24;" "24:1), Jeruel and Tekoa (2 Chr. 20:16, 20), Kadesh (Ps. 29:8)." "The wilderness of the sea (Isa. 21:1). Principal Douglas, "referring to this expression, says: "A mysterious name, which" "must be meant to describe Babylon (see especially ver. 9)," perhaps because it became the place of discipline to God's "people, as the wilderness of the Red Sea had been (comp. Ezek." 20:35). Otherwise it is in contrast with the symbolic title in "Isa. 22:1. Jerusalem is the "valley of vision," rich in" "spiritual husbandry; whereas Babylon, the rival centre of" "influence, is spiritually barren and as restless as the sea" "(comp. 57:20)." A Short Analysis of the O.T." "(2.) Jeshimon, a desert waste (Deut. 32:10; Ps. 68:7). "(3.) `Arabah, the name given to the valley from the Dead Sea to "the eastern branch of the Red Sea. In Deut. 1:1; 2:8, it is" "rendered "plain" (R.V., "Arabah")." "(4.) Tziyyah, a "dry place" (Ps. 78:17; 105:41). "(5.) Tohu, a "desolate" place, a place "waste" or "unoccupied" "(Deut. 32:10; Job 12:24; comp. Gen. 1:2, "without form"). The" wilderness region in the Sinaitic peninsula through which for "forty years the Hebrews wandered is generally styled "the" "wilderness of the wanderings." This entire region is in the form" "of a triangle, having its base toward the north and its apex" toward the south. Its extent from north to south is about 250 "miles, and at its widest point it is about 150 miles broad." "Throughout this vast region of some 1,500 square miles there is" not a single river. The northern part of this triangular "peninsula is properly the "wilderness of the wanderings" "(et-Tih). The western portion of it is called the "wilderness of" "Shur" (Ex. 15:22), and the eastern the "wilderness of Paran." "The "wilderness of Judea" (Matt. 3:1) is a wild, barren region, lying between the Dead Sea and the Hebron Mountains. It is the Jeshimon mentioned in 1 Sam. 23:19.

Related Bible Dictionary Terms:
Ephraim in the wilderness    Sin Wilderness of