RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Wandering in the Wilderness
ity be located, and these do not suffice to guide one on the way the Hebrews took. Moreover, since the number forty is there, not much room probably is left for additions or subtractions (by later editors). The four narratives are not of equal value. That of P is the latest; in this, e.g., Joshua represents the tribe of Ephraim, in E he is the servant of Moses; so Caleb represents Judah, while before the exile he stood out as still an independent tribe. D depends upon JE; while J and E are the earliest sources.
A series of narratives naturally deal with the matter of the sustenance of the people in the desert; it was early recognized that for the assumed two millions this was a difficult problem.
The solution was by miracle—God gave them water, bread, and meat. Yet the natural situation
was kept in mind. Water was alleged
4. Suste- to be given only where it later existed.
nance of Manna is known, even by modern
the People. Arabs, as the sweet exudation of the Other Tamarix mannifera, which when per- Tribes. forated by an insect (coccus manniparus) gives forth a sort of gum in
drops, which may be collected before the sun causes it to melt (cf. Ex. xvi. 21). These and other narrated facts, as its sweet taste, are in accordance with those observable. On the other hand, some details are rather poetical (Num. xi. 8). Similarly quails are in that region numerous, both as migratory and also as breeding there. Moreover, they do not fly high, especially when fatigued, and may be caught with the hand. An Arab writer of the tenth century speaks of the numbers of quails and says that the flesh often induces illness (cf. Num. xi. 33). In this way the nature of the wilderness and of the life there is accurately reproduced in many particulars in the narratives. Other details have to do with the peoples of other tribes with whom dealing was had. If Num. x. 29-32 originally spoke of Kenites (not Midianites), it leads to the conclusion that the Kenites went with the Hebrews to Canaan (cf. Judges 1. 16, iv. 11; I Sam. xv. 6). The war with the Amalekites at Rephidim (Ex. xvii. 8-16) may be put in connection with Massa and Meribah (= Kadesh; cf. verses 2-7); but of the situation of Rephidim apart from this nothing certain is known, nor of the place of the altar of verse 15. The kernel and occasion of Num. xiii.—xiv. is discernible as coming from the history of the Calebite stem as dwelling near Hebron; this narrative explains the connection of the stock with Israel by its obedience to Yahweh. The narrative concerning Hormah and the former name Zephat is etymologically clear, since Hormah is connected with the Hebr. ferem, “ban”; but the historical content is put in question. In an entirely different class are Ex. xvili.; Num. x. 14, 16-17, 24b-30, which deal with the selection of laymen as judges and aids in leading the people. Num. xi. places them in a grade lower than Moses, possessing only a part of the divine spirit which rested upon him; Ex. xviii. makes Jethro the teacher of Moses in this matter. Some of the stories are closely connected with the cultus (Ex. xvi. 8-16; Num. xxi. 4-9; of. II Kings xviii. 4). Other passages deal with etymological explanations of place names (Marah, Ex. xv. 23; Massah and Meribah, Ex.
xvii. 7: Taberah, Num. xi. 1-3; and Hormah, ut sup.). The narratives are partly etiological, partly etymological, and partly popular renarration of historical recollections from various standpoints, some also having their point of departure in pedagogical purpose (so the Korah narrative in its relation to priestly precedence, Num. xvi.). Complicating the discussion is the fact that the subject is the people of Israel as a whole as having the desert experience, though nationality was attained first in Canaan and only little tribes or stocks collected about Moses, with their possessions of flocks lingering where water permitted.
The names of places finding mention in the older narratives and in P are few—chiefly on the Egyptian border and in Edom and Moab. Stretches of territory were often named from adjacent places (e.g., the wilderness of Shur, Ex. xv. 22, from Shur, cf. Gen. xvi. 7, or perhaps from an Egyptian border fortress Taru). Some explain Elim (Ex. xy. 27) by referring to Phoinikon, a place of worship rich in springs named by Agatharchides (150 B.c.), and putting it into connection with the gods (Elim) of the place, while Marah (Ex. xv. 23) is derived from the name of the Maraniten, a tribe which held possession. A later identification is with ‘Ain Hawara in the wadi of that name, and of Elim with the Wadi Gharandel two hours south. The wilderness of Sin (Ex. xvi. 1), which has nothing to do with the deity of that name, is to be located east and northeast of the present Ismailiyeh; according to Ezek. xxx. 15, Sin was the name of a fortress on the northern boundary of Egypt. Of the places in the desert Kadesh is known with certainty (see Necres). It figures strongly in all the sources, and it is possible that Massah is the notable spring ‘Ain al-Kaderat, not far from Kadesh. The war with the Amalekites and the meeting with Jethro point to Kadesh. It has long been noticed that in the present accounts Kadesh was a station of the Israelites both before and after the giving of the law, and this probably embodies the correct historical tradition; indeed, this place may have been the objective of the march from Egypt, since it must have been known by the nomads for its abundant water supply. It is never reported that water was found at Sinai or Horeb, and a long stay there is not to be supposed. The natural situation implies that Israel stayed long in Kadesh but it is not expressly stated in the older narratives, though it may be read between the lines. The location of the giving of the law might be conjectured for this neighborhood (cf. Judges v. 4), in accordance with the general situation, but this is obscured by the intimations regarding the law as given on Sinai or Horeb. What is in the foreground is the long halt at Kadesh, and this alone offers a reasonable ground upon which to construct the history of this period and of the founding of the religion. Taberah and Kibroth-hattaavah (Num. xi. 3, 34) were possibly not far from Kadesh, as was also Hazeroth (xi. 35), ‘courts, enclosures.” Paran (q.v.), as represented, seems to have been more frequented by the Israelites than Kadesh, but this can hardly be historical. Hormah, to be distinguished from the place of that name in the Negeb (q.v.), is
5. Place Names.
Wandering in the Wilderness War and Christian Service