Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)/Wilderness

by Matthew George Easton

Wilderness

Pasture region

Heb. midhbar, denoting not a barren desert but a district or region suitable for pasturing sheep and cattle (Psalm 65:12; Isaiah 42:11; Jeremiah 23:10; Joel 1:19; 2:22); an uncultivated place. This word is used of the wilderness of Beersheba (Genesis 21:14), on the southern border of Palestine; the wilderness of the Red Sea (Exodus 13:18); of Shur (Exodus 15:22), a portion of the Sinaitic peninsula; of Sin (Exodus 17:1), Sinai (Leviticus 7:38), Moab (Deuteronomy 2:8), Judah (Judges 1:16), Ziph, Maon, En-gedi (1 Samuel 23:14,24; 24:1), Jeruel and Tekoa (2 Chronicles 20:16,20), Kadesh (Psalm 29:8). "The wilderness of the sea" (Isaiah 21:1). Principal Douglas, referring to this expression, says: "A mysterious name, which must be meant to describe Babylon (see especially Isaiah 21:9), perhaps because it became the place of discipline to God's people, as the wilderness of the Red Sea had been (comp. Ezekiel 20:35). Otherwise it is in contrast with the symbolic title in Isaiah 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. Isaiah 57:20)." A Short Analysis of the O.T.

Jeshimon

Jeshimon, a desert waste (Deuteronomy 32:10; Psalm 68:7).

Valley or plain

'Arabah, the name given to the valley from the Dead Sea to the eastern branch of the Red Sea. In Deuteronomy 1:1; 2:8, it is rendered "plain" (R.V., "Arabah").

Tziyyah

Tziyyah, a "dry place" (Psalm 78:17; 105:41).

Desolate place

Tohu, a "desolate" place, a place "waste" or "unoccupied" (Deuteronomy 32:10; Job 12:24; comp. Genesis 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 Genesis 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" (Exodus 15:22), and the eastern the "wilderness of Paran."

New Testament

The "wilderness of Judea" (Matthew 3:1) is a wild, barren region, lying between the Dead Sea and the Hebron Mountains. It is the "Jeshimon" mentioned in 1 Samuel 23:19.