Jeshimon
“Waste, desert, desolation”
Summary
A Hebrew term meaning 'desert' or 'waste,' used as a place name in Scripture to designate two barren regions: the wilderness overlooked from Pisgah east of Jordan, and the desolate area west of the Dead Sea where David hid from Saul.
☩The Wilderness East of Jordan
In Numbers 21:20 and 23:28, Jeshimon refers to the desert region that Pisgah and Peor faced. This was the bare and sterile land, saturated with salt, lying on each side of the Jordan north of the Dead Sea, where practically no vegetation can exist. Beth-jeshimoth was located nearby.
☩The Wilderness West of the Dead Sea
In 1 Samuel 23:19, 24 and 26:1, 3, Jeshimon refers to the sterile plateau west of the steep cliffs bordering the Dead Sea's western shores. This desolate region consisted of chalky, crumbling limestone hills, utterly waterless and destitute of vegetation except for short periods. The Hill of Hachilah, where David hid from Saul, was on the edge of this desert. The term represents a much more hopeless place than the common 'wilderness' (midbar); while animals can be pastured in a midbar, a yeshimon is a truly desolate waste.
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Jeshimon," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. IV (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Jeshimon," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. III (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.George Morrish, "Jeshimon," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 4.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Jeshimon," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).