Paran
“Place of caves or place of beauty”
Summary
Paran is a wilderness region south of Canaan and west of Edom through which the Israelites journeyed during their wilderness wanderings, notable as the location from which Moses sent the twelve spies and where Ishmael made his home.
☩Location and Boundaries
The wilderness of Paran is a large region with Palestine on the north, the valley of Arabah on the east, and the desert of Sinai on the south. Its western boundary extended to Egypt and the Mediterranean. The region corresponds to the modern Badiyat al-Tih ('desert of the wandering'), comprising the high limestone plateau of Ettih stretching from southwest of the Dead Sea to Sinai along the west side of the Arabah. The wilderness of Zin, Canaan's immediate boundary, formed the northeastern extremity of Paran, which is why Kadesh is sometimes described as in Zin and sometimes in Paran.
☩Ishmael's Dwelling Place
Paran first appears in Scripture in connection with Abraham's family. When Abraham sent away Hagar and Ishmael from his tent at Beersheba, they went into the wilderness of Paran, and Ishmael dwelt there, doubtless allying himself with the nomad tribes who made that place their home. The wilderness also figures in the earlier account of the expedition of eastern kings who swept through the region 'unto the terebinth of Paran, which is in the wilderness.' This probably refers to a well-known sacred tree on the western border of Seir.
☩Israel's Wilderness Journey
Paran derives its chief interest from connection with the Israelite wanderings. After departing from Sinai, the cloud of divine guidance rested in the wilderness of Paran. The region was so extensive that the Israelites passed through approximately twenty camp stations between Hazeroth and Kadesh, all within Paran's bounds. Moses described the journey: 'When we departed from Horeb, we went through all that great and terrible wilderness... and we came to Kadesh-barnea.' From Paran, Moses sent the twelve spies to survey Canaan, and to Paran they returned with their report.
☩Character of the Region
Paran is not strictly a wilderness in the sense of barren desert, but a midbar—a pasture-land as distinguished from agricultural country. Its principal inhabitants were nomads, though it had a few settled places. The terrain consists of dreary waste of chalk covered with coarse gravel, black flint, and drifting sand, crossed by watercourses and low horizontal hills. Moses was anxious to secure his father-in-law Jethro as guide because the nomad pastoral chief knew intimately all the pastures, wells, and fountains of this vast region. David later took refuge in this wilderness, and Hadad the Edomite passed through it when fleeing to Egypt.
☩Mount Paran
Scripture also mentions Mount Paran in contexts of divine theophany. In Moses's blessing, the Lord is described as coming from Sinai, rising from Seir, and shining forth from Mount Paran. Habakkuk similarly declares that God came from Teman and the Holy One from Mount Paran. This range may be identified with the heights bordering the Wadi al-Arabah to the east of the wilderness, or with the chain to the south forming the watershed toward the Sinaitic peninsula—now called Jabal al-Tih ('Mountain of the Wandering'). The proximity of Seir, Sinai, and Paran accounts for their association in descriptions of God giving the law.
Related Verses11 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Paran," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. VII (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Paran; El-paran," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. IV (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.George Morrish, "Paran," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 4.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Paran," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).