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 (15:22), a portion of the Sinaitic peninsula; of Sin (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 ver. 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. 57:20).” A Short Analysis of the
O.T.
(2.) Jeshimon, a desert waste (Deuteronomy 32:10; Psalm 68:7).
(3.) ‘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”).
(4.) Tziyyah, a “dry place” (Psalm 78:17; 105:41).
(5.) 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 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.”
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.