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The Israelites’ Journeys in the Wilderness

Numbers 13-14; 20-21; 33; Deuteronomy 1-2; 10:6-9

After the Israelites received the law on Mount Sinai, which may have been located at Khashm et-Tarif (see also “The Route of the Exodus”), they traveled to Kadesh-barnea, a distance that took eleven days “by the way of Mount Seir” (Deuteronomy 1:2). The phrase “by the way of Mount Seir” suggests that more than one route existed between Mount Sinai and Kadesh, as shown here, but the road the Israelites took probably ran alongside the mountainous region of Seir. This route would have offered greater access to water from wells, natural springs, and seasonal streams flowing from the hills of Seir–a critical necessity for a large group traveling through this very arid region. Nearly every location identified on this map was essentially a small community centered around one of these life-enabling sources of water. After reaching Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin, the Israelites prepared to enter Canaan by sending spies to scout out the land. But when ten of the twelve spies brought back news about the strength of the Canaanites, the people became afraid to enter the land, so the Lord punished them by condemning them to travel in the wilderness for forty years until that generation died off. Some Israelites repented and tried to enter the land, but they were beaten back to Hormah by the Amalekites and Canaanites. So for forty years the Israelites traveled from place to place, probably in the general area of Kadesh-barnea, though very few locations mentioned are able to be established with much certainty. As the forty years of traveling drew to a close, the Israelites prepared again to travel to Canaan by requesting permission from the king of Edom to pass through his land. When the king refused, the Israelites “turned away” from the Edomites and set out from Kadesh to travel to Mount Hor. The Jewish historian Josephus located Mount Hor at Jebel Nebi Harun, a very tall mountain in eastern Edom, but this has been rejected by many scholars in favor of other sites such as Jebel Madeira to the northeast of Kadesh. This author is convinced, however, that any candidate for Mount Hor must be sought to the south of Kadesh-barnea. Numbers 33:30 and Deuteronomy 10:6 mention that, during their wilderness travels, the Israelites camped at Moseroth/Moserah, which was apparently located at Mount Hor, since both Moseroth/Moserah and Mount Hor are cited as the place where Aaron died (Numbers 21:29-29; 33:37-39; Deuteronomy 10:6-9). It is difficult to envision the Israelites traveling back to the edge of Canaan after suffering defeat there the last time they attempted to enter the land. These same passages also note that after their stay at Moseroth/Moserah the Israelites traveled to Hor-haggidgad/Gudgodah (probably located along the Wadi Khadakhid) and then to Jotbathah, with no mention of passing through Kadesh, which they would have had to do if Mount Hor was north of Kadesh (since they were avoiding the land of Edom). Also, in Deuteronomy 2:1 Moses says that after the Israelites left Kadesh, “we journeyed back into the wilderness, in the direction of the Red Sea, as the Lord had told me and skirted Mount Seir for many days,” and Aaron’s death on Mount Hor fits best during this time. Similarly, Numbers 21:4 says “from Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom,” but there would have been no way to the Red Sea around the land of Edom if Mount Hor were located northeast of Kadesh. One element of the wilderness narratives that appears to favor a northeast location for Mount Hor, however, is the story of the king of Arad, which the book of Numbers (chapters 21 and 33) places immediately after the death of Aaron on Mount Hor. At first glance, the narrative seems to imply that the king attacked the Israelites at Mount Hor, which fits better with a northern location. Yet, it is also possible that the story is simply noting that it was after the Israelites’ arrival at Mount Hor that the king of Arad first learned of the Israelites’ renewed intentions to enter Canaan, perhaps as a result of their request to pass through Edom. But it may have been later that the king of Arad actually engaged them in battle, perhaps as they were passing north of Zalmonah and appeared to be ready to enter Canaan by way of Arad (see Numbers 33:41-42 and the map “The Journey to Abel-shittim”). For these reasons, this author believes that Har Karkom is the best candidate for the location of Mount Hor. The site is appropriately located at the edge of Seir and along the way to the Red Sea. This site’s role as an ancient cultic center is also well established. Perhaps Aaron’s priestly duties and authority in Israel had grown out of a similar role he had previously held at Mount Hor (see also Numbers 12:1-2; Deuteronomy 33:2; Judges 5:4-5), where he was eventually buried.

Poster Map of the Tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh (East)

Though technically not part of the land promised to the Israelites in Numbers 34, the land immediately east of the Jordan River and the northern basin of the Dead Sea (often referred to today as the Transjordan) was conquered by the Israelites as they were preparing to enter the Promised Land (Numbers 21:21-35; 32:1-42; Deuteronomy 2:24-37; Judges 11:19-22). Moses agreed to allot this land to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, provided that they continued to help the other tribes conquer the land of Canaan (Numbers 32:1-42; Deuteronomy 3:12-20). The area allotted to Reuben had been ruled by King Sihon of the Amorites, who had taken this land years earlier from the Moabites (Numbers 21:26). Moab’s prior rule over the territory allotted to Reuben explains why the plain to the northwest of this region continued to be referred to as the plains of Moab even during the time of Joshua (Joshua 13:32). This region also appears to have been claimed by the Ammonites (Judges 11:13), though it is not clear whether they ever actually controlled it. Sihon had also taken from the Ammonites the area later allotted to Gad (Joshua 13:25; see “Sodom and Gomorrah Are Destroyed” map). North of this was the area of Bashan, which had been ruled by King Og, who was among the last of the Rephaites (Deuteronomy 3:11-13; Joshua 12:4; 13:12). All of this was captured by the Israelites on their way to the Promised Land (Joshua 12:1-6; Deuteronomy 3:1-11).

As far as the specific borders of each of the three eastern Israelite tribes, those of Reuben are delineated in Joshua 13:15-23, those of Gad are delineated in Joshua 13:24–28 (note that Joshua 13:25 asserts that Aroer literally “faced” Rabbah, which in this context meant that it lay west of it, not east), and those of half the tribe of Manasseh are delineated in Joshua 13:29–31. Interestingly, Numbers 32:34-36 notes that Gad rebuilt the towns of Dibon, Ataroth, and Aroer, which Joshua 13:15-23 places within the boundaries of Reuben, but perhaps Gad rebuilt the towns prior to being formally allotted their territory further north. Several other passages also note that Ramoth-gilead, a city of refuge, belonged to Gad (Deuteronomy 4:43; Joshua 20:8; Joshua 21:38; 1 Chronicles 6:80).

It is also interesting to note that virtually all of the eastern land of Manasseh was conquered under the leadership of Jair, who was actually a Judahite by his father’s lineage but was typically regarded a Manassite through his mother’s lineage (Numbers 32:40-42; Deuteronomy 3:14; Joshua 13:30; Judges 10:3-5; 1 Kings 4:13; 1 Chronicles 2:22-23; see “Bashan” map). This may be in keeping with the Manassite tradition of allowing daughters to receive an inheritance (and, presumably, recognition of their descendants) just as they allowed sons to receive an inheritance (Numbers 27; Joshua 17:1-6; see also “The Towns and Clans of Eastern Judah, circa 1200 B.C.”).

Further insight into the allotments of the Transjordan is gained through 1 Chronicles 5, which notes that Gad’s territory extended as far as Salecah. This requires that its territory was notably larger than it is depicted on most Bible maps today, which typically limit its eastern boundary to the border of Ammon. This may seem at odds with several other passages that mention the Jabbok River as the northern boundary of Sihon’s land and make no mention of Salecah and the land northwest of the Jabbok River (Numbers 21:24; Deuteronomy 3:16; Joshua 12:2; Judges 11:13-22). But, as noted above, several other passages also note that Ramoth-gilead belonged to Gad, which is (like Salecah) located far north of the Jabbok River. This author has concluded that the northeastern boundary between Gad and Manasseh almost certainly followed the Yarmuk River all the way to Salecah and also passed through Tob.

First Chronicles 5 also notes that later, under the reign of Saul, the Israelite eastern tribes joined together to capture territory east of Gilead, which was inhabited by the nomadic descendants of Hagar and her son Ishmael (1 Chronicles 5:10-22; see also “Nomadic Range of Ishmael’s Descendants”), who are often referred to in Scripture as “peoples of the East” (Genesis 29:1; Judges 6-8; 1 Kings 4:30; Job 1:3; Isaiah 11:14; Jeremiah 4:28; Ezekiel 25:4; 25:10). It is not clear, however, that this territory was ever formally considered to belong to the territory of Israel.

Also located within the territory of the Transjordanian tribes were the enclaves of Geshur, Maacah, and the land of Tob. Geshur and Maacah are mentioned among those who remained as non-Israelite enclaves within Israel’s territory ((Joshua 12:5; 13:1-13). The land of Tob must have functioned similarly within Israel as well, because it contributed troops to the Ammonite and Aramean alliance that fought against David’s forces (2 Samuel 10:6). This also makes better sense of Jephthah’s decision to retreat to the land of Tob after he was driven away by his brothers (Judges 11:3).

Israel’s Journey from the Arnon River to Mount Pisgah

Numbers 21:12-26; 33:45-47; Deuteronomy 2:24-37; Judges 11:18-22

After passing along the eastern border of Moab’s territory, the Israelites camped in the wilderness of Kedemoth and sent messengers to King Sihon in Heshbon, asking permission to pass through his land. Sihon refused permission and instead mobilized his forces at Jahaz to attack the Israelites. It may be that during this time the main camp of the Israelites remained in the wilderness of Kedemoth while the fighting men confronted Sihon at or near Jahaz, because Numbers 33 notes that the Israelites eventually travelled to Dibon, and it seems unlikely that all the Israelites would have traveled south again to Dibon before traveling north to Almon-diblathaim (likely the same as Beth-diblathaim) and the the mountains of Abarim. The unknown locations of Beer, Mattanah, and Nahaliel (“river of God”), noted in Numbers 21 as waypoints on the Israelites’ journey, were likely also situated somewhere along this route. At Jahaz the Israelites completely destroyed Sihon and his forces, but it is unclear when they took control of all his land, which stretched from the Arnon River in the south to the Jabbok River in the north. Given the large amount of land they took from him, it seems likely this took place over a long stretch of time, perhaps beginning immediately after their victory at Jahaz (including the capture of Aroer and the “Town in the Gorge”) and continuing well after their arrival at Mount Pisgah. Nearly all the accounts, however, specially note that the Israelites did not encroach on the territory of the Ammonites, who occupied the land along the upper Jabbok River at this time. Additionally, it is interesting to note that Numbers 32:34 includes the southern towns of Dibon (also called Dibon-gad in Numbers 33:46), Ataroth, and Aroer among the towns built (or rebuilt) by the tribe of Gad, but elsewhere in Scripture these towns are included in the territory allotted to Reuben. Perhaps the reason for this may be that Gad was the tribe that first captured this region during the initial conquest of Sihon’s land, but later Gad was formally allotted the northern portion of Sihon’s former territory, and these towns were given to Reuben.

[Author’s Note: The final leg of the Israelites’ journey from Kadesh-barnea to Mount Pisgah (see “The Journey to Abel-Shittim” map)) is recounted in four separate passages of Scripture (Numbers 21:12-26; 33:45-47; Deuteronomy 2:24-37; Judges 11:18-22), but various aspects of the accounts can seem difficult to reconcile with each other. This map proposes a possible itinerary that I believe harmonizes well with all the accounts. Nevertheless, I openly acknowledge that other itineraries may harmonize with the accounts as well, and I encourage all readers to study the passages and geography carefully for themselves to determine what seems to be the best explanation.]