Kadesh Barnea in the Wilderness Wanderings of Israel
Kadesh Barnea served as a pivotal location during the Israelites' wilderness wanderings, marking both a significant encampment and a place of profound consequence for their journey to the Promised Land [1, 4]. It is described as being an eleven-day journey from Horeb (Mount Sinai) by way of Mount Seir [2].
The name "Kadesh" itself appears in various biblical texts, sometimes referring to a city and other times to a wilderness area [11]. Psalm 29:8 mentions "the wilderness of Kadesh," indicating its nature as an uncultivated region [5, 11, 13]. Kadesh Barnea is specifically identified as a great oasis, rich with wells and springs, situated approximately fifty miles south of Beersheba, which was traditionally considered Israel's southern boundary [12].
After departing from Horeb, the Israelites traveled through a "great and terrible wilderness" before reaching Kadesh Barnea [1]. This location became their primary headquarters for a significant portion of the thirty-eight years they spent in the wilderness [8]. It was from Kadesh Barnea that Moses dispatched spies into the land of Canaan [4, 12]. Their return with a discouraging report about the inhabitants and fortified cities led the people to murmur and rebel against God [4]. This act of disobedience resulted in God's judgment that the generation would not enter the Promised Land, condemning them to wander in the wilderness for nearly 38 years until that generation had passed away [4, 10].
The journey to Kadesh Barnea is noted in Deuteronomy 1:19, where Moses recounts their arrival there after traveling from Horeb [1]. Nachmanides, a Jewish commentator, explains that Scripture highlights the vastness of the wilderness by noting that the journey from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea was only eleven days by way of Mount Seir, emphasizing its proximity to the border of the Amorite hill country, which was part of Israel's inheritance [6].
The Israelites' time at Kadesh Barnea was not without further events. After their initial attempt to enter Canaan against God's will resulted in defeat, they remained in Kadesh for "many days" before turning towards the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea, as commanded by God [9]. The wilderness of Paran is also associated with Kadesh Barnea, as the Israelites journeyed from Hatzeroth, which was in the wilderness of Paran, and pitched in another part of that same wilderness, specifically Kadesh Barnea [7].
Kadesh Barnea is also mentioned in the context of the tribal allotments, appearing in the description of the southern border of Judah's inheritance [3]. The site's strategic location on the southernmost border of Palestine made it a crucial point for the Israelites' initial approach to the Promised Land [4].
Sources
- Deuteronomy “We traveled from Horeb, and went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw, by the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as Yahweh our God commanded us; and we came to Kadesh Barnea. -- Deuteronomy 1:19”
- Deuteronomy “It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea. -- Deuteronomy 1:2”
- Joshua “In the wilderness, Beth Arabah, Middin, Secacah, -- Joshua 15:61”
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Wilderness Of The Wandering — (The region in which the Israelites spent nearly 38 years of their existence after they had left Egypt, and spent a year before Mount Sinai. They went as far as Kadesh, on the southernmost border of Palestine, from which place spies were sent up into the promised land. These returned with such a report of the inhabitants and their walled cities that the people were discouraged, and began to murmur and rebel. For their sin they were compelled to remain 38 years longer in the wilderness, because it showed that they were not yet prepared and”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: 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).”
- Sefaria (Jewish (Kabbalistic/Philosophical)) “Ramban (Nachmanides) on Deuteronomy 1:2: IT IS ELEVEN DAYS’ JOURNEY BY THE WAY OF SEIR UNTO KADESH-BARNEA. The meaning thereof is that Scripture informs us of the vastness of the wilderness, that from Horeb, which they left, to Kadesh-barnea is a journey of only eleven days, since by way of Mount Seir it is near. Kadesh-barnea is at the end of the wilderness at the border of the hill-country of the Amorites 31 Verse 7. which is the inheritance of Israel. There are the lands of Sihon and Og where Moses explained the Torah in the valley over against Beth-peor . 32 Further, 4:46. Afterwards Scrip”
- Sefaria (Jewish (Kabbalistic/Philosophical)) “Ramban (Nachmanides) on Numbers 12:16: AND AFTERWARD THE PEOPLE JOURNEYED FROM HATZEROTH, AND PITCHED IN THE WILDERNESS OF PARAN. The reason [why Scripture mentions the wilderness] is to say that when they travelled from Hatzeroth they did not go from one wilderness to another, as they did on their first journey when they set forth from the wilderness of Sinai and pitched in the wilderness of Paran , 303 Above, 10:12. for [now] they set forth from Hatzeroth which is in the wilderness of Paran, and pitched in another place in that very same wilderness. This [place was called] Kadesh-barnea, for”
- Deuteronomy (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Deuteronomy 9:23: 9:23 Israel made Kadesh-barnea its major headquarters for the thirty-eight years of wandering in the wilderness (see also study note on 1:19).”
- Numbers (Lutheran) “Keil & Delitzsch on Numbers 15 (introduction): Occurrences During the Thirty-Seven Years of Wandering in the Wilderness - Numbers 15-19 After the unhappy issue of the attempt to penetrate into Canaan, in opposition to the will of God and the advice of Moses, the Israelites remained "many days" in Kadesh, as the Lord did not hearken to their lamentations concerning the defeat which they had suffered at the hands of the Canaanites and Amalekites. Then they turned, and took their journey, as the Lord had commanded (Num 14:25), into the wilderness, in the direction towards the Red Sea (Deu 1:45; D”
- Joshua (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Joshua 14:10: And now, behold, the Lord hath kept me alive, as he said,.... Had upheld him in life, and preserved him from many dangers in the wilderness; and had continued him not only in life, but in health to that day, according to his promise to him, that he would bring him into the land of Canaan, and that he should see and possess it, Num 14:24 Deu 1:36, these forty and five years, even since the Lord spake this word unto Moses, and while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness; not that the children of Israel were wandering in the wilderness forty five years, bu”
- Sefaria (Jewish (Rationalist)) “Abraham Ibn Ezra on Numbers 20:14: FROM KADESH. Kadesh is the name of a place where a city is located. It is not to be identified with Kadesh-barnea, 66 Deut. 1:2,19; 2:14; 9:23. for the latter was a wilderness. 67 See Deut. 1:19. Thus Scripture reads, The Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh (Ps. 29:8). 68 I.E. assumes that the reference is to Kadesh-barnea, for Kadesh-barnea, unlike Kadesh, was a wilderness. However, his reasoning is circular.”
- Deuteronomy (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Deuteronomy 1:19: 1:19-25 See Num 13. 1:19 Kadesh-barnea, a great oasis with abundant wells and springs, was about fifty miles south of Beersheba, the traditional southern point of Israel (see 2 Sam 3:10; 1 Chr 21:2).”
- Psalms (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Psalms 29:8: 29:8 The wilderness of Kadesh was located south of Judah. God’s voice can be heard throughout the land, from the north (29:6) to the south.”