It can perhaps best be defined as the eastern part of the Tih Desert, placed between the desert of Shur near Egypt and the desert of Zin near the Judean Mountains.
In later times, the name occurs as that of a tribe Ptolemy, Geographia , 17 , and in the Byzantine period, in the description of the area in which St. Nilus searched for his son, who had been kidnapped by the Saracens PG , vol. Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica.
All Rights Reserved. Chief among these mountains was Mount Seir where the city of Petra was eventually located. Along the western side of the mountains we have Wadi Arabah which is very similar to the lower deserts.
The mountains of Sinai and Negev are to the west. For thousands of years we have understood that the peninsula between Egypt and the Middle East is known as the Sinai Peninsula.
But now in the 21st century a few people are promoting the idea that the Exodus was from Egypt into Saudi Arabia. Some have suggested that perhaps the desert in Saudi was the original Sinai. The Children of Israel move out from the Sinai and to Paran. This may help clear up a lot of misunderstanding, because I keep meeting people who believe that Sinai and Paran are names for the same place. As far as I know, ancient Seir has always referred to the Edomite Mountains, especially the mountains where the city of Petra was later established.
And I am going to place Paran here on the map, so it is beside Sinai, and south of Seir. It really does not fit anywhere else and we can shove it around if need be. From the verses we just read, we learn a bit more about Paran, because Moses refers to Mount Paran. And Moses should know, because twice he traveled extensively in that area, once herding the sheep of his father-in-law and once leading the Children of Israel.
I spoke about him back in Video 16 of this series. He is now understood to beKudur-kuku-mal a king of Elam. Here in Genesis it says:. So now we have Sinai on the west, Seir over here, and Paran in the lower center and east. We can always move Paran if we need to. Now these are very ancient names that go far back into history. Tourists come from all over the world to visit the wonders in Wadi Rum, which, according to this definition is in the wilderness of Paran.
Genesis tells us that when Ishmael grew up he lived in the wilderness of Paran,and his mother Hagar got him a wife from the land of Egypt. Now some early Christian writers mention Paran.
And these mingled with each other, and their name was called Arabs and Ishmaelite. Since Mount Seir is the Petra Mountains, this book is telling us that Ishmael moved into the desert east of Petra, and occupied the whole area as far as the borders of Babylon.
And this is what we find in Babylonian and Chaldean records. So we can see that Paran is the wilderness to the east of Sinai, and that it warms around the southern border of Edom and extends out into the eastern desert.
We have specific mention of it south of Edom, including Eilat Pharan. Today many Muslims point to Sebeos as proof that Muhammad is mentioned in non-Islamic history and that Muhammad really existed, but they usually fail to note that Sebeos places Muhammad and the founding of Islam in the area of Paran, not in Saudi.
However, for centuries before this, and even long afterwards the city still had multiple other names, one of the best known was the ancient name of Rekem. And now Sebeos tells us that the Muslim armies started from here. I have spoken of him before in this series.
Artsuni is very specific when he mentions a place:Arabia Petrea Pharan. Arabia Petrea was a Roman State. Paran specifies where in the Roman state. And then Artsruni says something truly amazing. The place is named Makka.
Here the writer clearly calls the place Mecca and places it in Paran in southern Jordan. Listen carefully. These are the Christian names. They are places well known in the Christian Middle East. Bishops have come from this place to participate in major church consultations. Great theological debates that sometimes split the church, were influenced by Christian leaders in Petra. Some seek to change the Hebrew text slightly. Others look for a Havilah further north and west than Havilah is usually located.
Others talk of the fluid boundaries of the area. Thus Havilah refers to an area or areas in Arabia, but the precise location is unknown. Checking old studies by Rev. Archibald Henry Sayce , who was a pioneer British Assyriologist and linguist, he held a chair as Professor of Assyriology at the University of Oxford from to Sayce, Races of the Old Testament. Among them we find Hazarmaveth, the modern Hadhramaut, Ophir, the famous sea-port and emporium of the goods of the further east, Havilah the sandy region , compassed by the river Pison Gen.
II , and occupied by the sons of Ishmael Gen. Sayce — Races of the old testament — P. They lived on the caravan-road which brought the spices of southern Arabia to Canaan and Egypt, and the trade was largely in their hands. Hejaz is defined primarily by its western border on the Red Sea, it extends from the Gulf of Aqaba to Jizan in the far south-west of Saudi Arabia and directly north of the border with Yemen, as demonstrated on the second map.
Bdellium plants are also abundant in Hejaz. This map demonstrates an approximate location based on the previous data for the place of Havilah. In Genesis Havilah is described as a land of gold, bdellium and precious stones. The Queen of Sheba brought Solomon much gold, spices and incense resins and precious stones 1 Kings The first one who devoured him was the king of Assyria , and this last one who has broken his bones is Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
Israel's judgment in BC came "from the north" through Babylon: "The word of the Lord came to me a second time saying, "What do you see? Babylon's judgment in BC came "from the north" through Medo-persia: "For a nation has come up against her Babylon out of the north ; it will make her land an object of horror , and there will be no inhabitant in it.
Both man and beast have wandered off, they have gone away! What the Bible says about the wilderness of Paran:. By Steve Rudd: Contact the author for comments, input or corrections. We may not be sure of where Paran is located, but we are sure where Midian is. The wilderness of Paran is usually misplaced in the modern Sinai desert northwest of Elat. This is no where near Midian and for this reason is wrong and must be rejected.
This means that most modern Bible maps wrongly located the wilderness of Paran. Scripture says that God " dawned from Seir and Paran " then descended on Mt.
This is a most fascinating detail clearly revealed in scripture but missed by most Bible students. As Israel sat waiting for God to come to Mt. Sinai, they saw Him come in glory from the north, like a small distant storm cloud that got closer and bigger until God hovered over Mt. Sinai and the "fireworks began".
Paran is a large wilderness area that extends from Petra Kadesh Barnea down to Midian, east of the Arabah valley. Paran is three stops due north of Sinai Mt. Paran begins south of Rithmah, includes Rithmah and continues to Petra. The wilderness of Paran is where Ishmael settled: Genesis and of course we know that Ishmael settled in modern north Saudi Arabia on the east side of the Arabah valley.
The wilderness of Paran was located transjordan, due south of the river Zered. Notice that Israel was camped in the wadi Zered also called Ar, which is the border between Moab and Edom.
As Israel was heading north to finally cross the Jordan and take possession of the promised land, Moses stopped and reflected on the historic significance of crossing the border between Edom and Moab.
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