Dictionaries :: Wilderness

Wilderness:

(1.) Heb. midhbar, denoting not a barren desert but a district or region suitable for pasturing sheep and cattle (Psa 65:12; Isa 42:11; Jer 23:10; Joe 1:19; 2:22); an uncultivated place. This word is used of the wilderness of Beersheba (Gen 21:14), on the southern border of Palestine; the wilderness of the Red Sea (Exd 13:18); of Shur (15:22), a portion of the Sinaitic peninsula; of Sin (17:1), Sinai (Lev 7:38), Moab (Deu 2:8), Judah (Jdg 1:16), Ziph, Maon, En-gedi (1Sa 23:14,24; 24:1), Jeruel and Tekoa (2Ch 20:16,20), Kadesh (Psa 29:8).

"The wilderness of the sea" (Isa 21:1). Principal Douglas, referring to this expression, says: "A mysterious name, which must be meant to describe Babylon (see especially ver. 9), perhaps because it became the place of discipline to God's people, as the wilderness of the Red Sea had been (Eze 20:35). Otherwise it is in contrast with the symbolic title in Isa 22:1. Jerusalem is the "valley of vision," rich in spiritual husbandry; whereas Babylon, the rival centre of influence, is spiritually barren and as restless as the sea (Isa 57:20)." A Short Analysis of the O.T.

(2.) Jeshimon, a desert waste (Deu 32:10; Psa 68:7).

(3.) 'Arabah, the name given to the valley from the Dead Sea to the eastern branch of the Red Sea. In Deu 1:1; 2:8, it is rendered "plain" (R.V., "Arabah").

(4.) Tziyyah, a "dry place" (Psa 78:17; 105:41).

(5.) Tohu, a "desolate" place, a place "waste" or "unoccupied" (Deu 32:10; Job 12:24; Gen 1:2, "without form"). The wilderness region in the Sinaitic peninsula through which for forty years the Hebrews wandered is generally styled "the wilderness of the wanderings." This entire region is in the form of a triangle, having its base toward the north and its apex toward the south. Its extent from north to south is about 250 miles, and at its widest point it is about 150 miles broad. Throughout this vast region of some 1,500 square miles there is not a single river. The northern part of this triangular peninsula is properly the "wilderness of the wanderings" (et-Tih). The western portion of it is called the "wilderness of Shur" (Exd 15:22), and the eastern the "wilderness of Paran."

The "wilderness of Judea" (Mat 3:1) is a wild, barren region, lying between the Dead Sea and the Hebron Mountains. It is the "Jeshimon" mentioned in 1Sa 23:19.

Wilderness:

wil'-der-nes.

See DESERT

See JUDAEA, WILDERNESS OF

See WANDERINGS OF ISRAEL

Wilderness: Wandering of the Israelites In

See ISRAEL

Wilderness: Typical of the Sinner's State

Deu 32:10

Wilderness: Jesus' Temptation In

Mat 4:1; Mar 1:12, 13; Luk 4:1

Wilderness: Reference Concerning

See DESERT

Wilderness:

"an uninhabited place," is translated "wilderness" in the AV of Mat 15:33; Mar 8:4 (RV, "a desert place"); RV and AV, "wilderness" in 2Cr 11:26.
See DESERT, A. (In the Sept., Isa 60:20; Eze 35:4, 9.)

Wilderness:

an adjective signifying "desolate, deserted, lonely," is used as a noun, and rendered "wilderness" 32 times in the AV; in Mat 24:26; Jhn 6:31, RV, "wilderness" (AV, "desert"). For the RV, "deserts" in Luk 5:16; 8:29 see DESERT, B.