Online Resource Library
Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadInternational Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Desert
Subjects in this Topic:
dez´ẽrt מדבּר, midhbaÌ„r, חרבּה, hÌ£orbaÌ„h, יש×מון, yeshı̄moÌ„n, ערבה, ‛ăraÌ„bhaÌ„h, ציּה, cı̄yaÌ„h, תּהוּ, toÌ„huÌ„; ἐÌÏημος, eÌreÌ„mos, ἐÏημιÌα, ereÌ„mıÌa): MidhbaÌ„r, the commonest word for “desert,†more often rendered “wilderness,†is perhaps from the root daÌ„bhar, in the sense of “to drive,†i.e. a place for driving or pasturing flocks. Yeshı̄moÌ„n is from yaÌ„sham, “to be emptyâ€, hÌ£orbaÌ„h (compare Arabic kharib, “to lie wasteâ€; khirbah, “a ruinâ€; kharaÌ„b, “devastationâ€), from hÌ£aÌ„rabh “to be dryâ€; compare also ‛aÌ„rabh, “to be dry,†and ‛ăraÌ„bhaÌ„h, “a desert†or “the Arabah†(see CHAMPAIGN). For 'erec cı̄yaÌ„h (; ), “a dry land,†compare cı̄yı̄m, “wild beasts of the desert†(, etc.). TÌ£oÌ„huÌ„, variously rendered “without form†( the King James Version), “empty space,†the King James Version “empty place†(), “waste,†the King James Version “nothing†(), “confusion,†the Revised Version, margin, “wasteness†( the English Revised Version), may be compared with Arabic taÌ„h, “to go astray†at-Tih, “the desert of the wandering.†In the New Testament we find ereÌ„mos and ereÌ„miaÌŒ: “The child (John) ... was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel†(); “Our fathers did eat manna in the desert†( the King James Version).
The desert as known to the Israelites was not a waste of sand, as those are apt to imagine who have in mind the pictures of the Sahara. Great expanses of sand, it is true, are found in Arabia, but the nearest one, an-Nufūd, was several days' journey distant from the farthest southeast reached by the Israelites in their wanderings. Most of the desert of Sinai and of Palestine is land that needs only water to make it fruitful. east of the Jordan, the line between “the desert†and “the sown†lies about along the line of the Ḥijāz railway. To the West there is barely enough water to support the crops of wheat; to the East there is too little. Near the line of demarcation, the yield of wheat depends strictly upon the rainfall. A few inches more or less of rain in the year determines whether the grain can reach maturity or not. The latent fertility of the desert lands is demonstrated by the season of scant rains, when they become carpeted with herbage and flowers. It is marvelous, too, how the camels, sheep and goats, even in the dry season, will find something to crop where the traveler sees nothing but absolute barrenness. The long wandering of the Israelites in “the desert†was made possible by the existence of food for their flocks and herds. Compare , :
“Thou crownest the year with thy goodness;
And thy paths drop fatness.
They drop upon the pastures of the Wilderness.
And the hills are girded with joyâ€;
and also : “The pastures of the wilderness do spring.â€
“The desert†or “the wilderness†(ha-midhbaÌ„r) usually signifies the desert of the wandering, or the northern part of the Sinaitic Peninsula. Compare King James Version: “MOSES ... led the flock (of Jethro) to the backside of the desertâ€; King James Version: “Let us go ... Three days' journey into the desertâ€; King James Version: “They ... were come to the desert of Sinaiâ€; King James Version: “I will set thy bounds from the Red Sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river†(Euphrates). Other uncultivated or pasture regions are known as Wilderness of Beersheba (), West of Judah (), West of En-gedi (), West of Gibeon (), West of Maon (), West of Damascus; compare Arabic BaÌ„diyet-ush-ShaÌ„m (), etc. Midhbar yaÌ„m, “the wilderness of the sea†(), may perhaps be that part of Arabia bordering upon the Persian Gulf.
Aside from the towns and fields, practically all the land was midhbār or “desert,†for this term included mountain, plain and valley. The terms, “desert of En-gedi,†“desert of Maon,†etc., do not indicate circumscribed areas, but are applied in a general way to the lands about these places. To obtain water, the shepherds with their flocks traverse long distances to the wells, springs or streams, usually arranging to reach the water about the middle of the day and rest about it for an hour or so, taking shelter from the sun in the shadows of the rocks, perhaps under some overhanging ledge.