Desert of Paran
Encyclopedia
The Desert of Paran or Wilderness of Paran (Hebrew
מדבר פארן Midbar Par'an; Douay-Rheims: Pharan), is the place in which the Hebrew Bible
says the Israelites spent part of their 40 years of wandering:
Associated with Mount Sinai
in Egypt
, there is some evidence that it may originally have referred to the southern portion of the Arabian peninsula
.
Paran is also said to be the place where Abraham
's wife Hagar
and his first son Ishmael
were taken :
Paran features in the opening lines of the Book of Deuteronomy
:
King David spent some time in the wilderness of Paran after Samuel died .
The Arabic
form of Paran is Faran (also transliterated Pharan). This name is used by Eastern geographers to refer to three different locales: the wilderness and mountains where Mecca
is situated, mountains and a village in Eastern Egypt, and a province in Samarkand
. Arab and Islamic tradition holds that the wilderness of Paran is broadly speaking the Hijaz, and the site where Ishmael settled is that of Mecca. An 1851 Arabic translation of the Samaritan Pentateuch includes a footnote also equating Paran with the Hijaz. Yaqut al-Hamawi
, the 12th century Syrian geographer, writes that Faran is "an arabized Hebrew word. One of the names of Mecca mentioned in the Torah." There is a Tal Faran ("Hill of Faran") on the outskirts of Mecca.
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
מדבר פארן Midbar Par'an; Douay-Rheims: Pharan), is the place in which the Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
says the Israelites spent part of their 40 years of wandering:
Then the Israelites set out from the Desert of Sinai and traveled from place to place until the cloud came to rest in the Desert of Paran.
Associated with Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai , also known as Mount Horeb, Mount Musa, Gabal Musa , Jabal Musa meaning "Moses' Mountain", is a mountain near Saint Catherine in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. A mountain called Mount Sinai is mentioned many times in the Book of Exodus in the Torah and the Bible as well as the Quran...
in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, there is some evidence that it may originally have referred to the southern portion of the Arabian peninsula
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
.
Paran is also said to be the place where Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
's wife Hagar
Hagar (Bible)
Hagar , according to the Abrahamic faiths, was the second wife of Abraham, and the mother of his first son, Ishmael. Her story is recorded in the Book of Genesis, mentioned in Hadith, and alluded to in the Qur'an...
and his first son Ishmael
Ishmael
Ishmael is a figure in the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, and was Abraham's first born child according to Jews, Christians and Muslims. Ishmael was born of Abraham's marriage to Sarah's handmaiden Hagar...
were taken :
Then God opened her [Hagar] eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. At that time AbimelechAbimelechAbimelech was a common name of the Philistine kings.Abimelech was most prominently the name of a king of Gerar who is mentioned in two of the three wife-sister narratives in Genesis...
and PhicolPhicolPhicol, also spelled Phichol or Phikol, was a Philistine military leader.Phicol was the chief captain of the army of Abimelech, the Philistine king of Gerar...
the commander of his forces said to Abraham, "God is with you in everything you do."
Paran features in the opening lines of the Book of Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy
The Book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible, and of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch...
:
These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the desert east of the Jordan--that is, in the ArabahArabahThe Arabah , also known as Aravah, is a section of the Great Rift Valley running in a north-south orientation between the southern end of the Sea of Galilee down to the Dead Sea and continuing further south where it ends at the Gulf of Aqaba. It includes most of the border between Israel to the...
--opposite SuphSuphSuph is a place name that appears in Deuteronomy 1:1 . Some scholars identify it with Suphah as probably the name of a place. Others identify it with es-Sufah = Maaleh-acrabbim , and yet others with Zuph...
, between Paran and TophelTophelTophel or Tofel was an Edomite town mentioned in the Hebrew Bible: "These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the desert east of the Jordan — that is, in the Arabah — opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab." . It is identified as Tafilah in Jordan north to...
, LabanLabanLaban may refer to:* Laban , a character in the Book of Genesis.* Laban , a character in The Book of Mormon.* Laban , a 1980s Eurodance duo....
, HazerothHazerothHazeroth is one of the locations that the Israelites stopped at during their forty years of wandering in the wilderness. It is referenced in the Torah in Numbers, chapters 11, 12 and 33, as well as in Deuteronomy, chapter 1. "Hazeroth" means yards.At Hazeroth, Miriam was afflicted with tzaraath...
and DizahabDizahabDizahab was one of the places bounding the arabah. It is mentioned in Deuteronomy 1:1: "These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the Arabah — facing Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab."On Burtons map it is located south of Mt Horab and Elat on the northwestern...
.
He said: "The LORD came from SinaiSinai PeninsulaThe Sinai Peninsula or Sinai is a triangular peninsula in Egypt about in area. It is situated between the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Red Sea to the south, and is the only part of Egyptian territory located in Asia as opposed to Africa, effectively serving as a land bridge between two...
and dawned over them from Seir; he shone forth from Mount Paran. He came with myriads of holy ones from the south, from his mountain slopes."
King David spent some time in the wilderness of Paran after Samuel died .
The Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
form of Paran is Faran (also transliterated Pharan). This name is used by Eastern geographers to refer to three different locales: the wilderness and mountains where Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
is situated, mountains and a village in Eastern Egypt, and a province in Samarkand
Samarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
. Arab and Islamic tradition holds that the wilderness of Paran is broadly speaking the Hijaz, and the site where Ishmael settled is that of Mecca. An 1851 Arabic translation of the Samaritan Pentateuch includes a footnote also equating Paran with the Hijaz. Yaqut al-Hamawi
Yaqut al-Hamawi
Yāqūt ibn-'Abdullah al-Rūmī al-Hamawī) was an Islamic biographer and geographer renowned for his encyclopedic writings on the Muslim world. "al-Rumi" refers to his Greek descent; "al-Hamawi" means that he is from Hama, Syria, and ibn-Abdullah is a reference to his father's name, Abdullah...
, the 12th century Syrian geographer, writes that Faran is "an arabized Hebrew word. One of the names of Mecca mentioned in the Torah." There is a Tal Faran ("Hill of Faran") on the outskirts of Mecca.