Wilderness of Zin

The Wilderness of Zin is a desert region in the northern Sinai Peninsula, northeast of Kadesh Barnea, near the southern border of Canaan. To its east lies the land of Edom, and to its south is the Wilderness of Paran. In a broader sense, the Wilderness of Zin is part of the northern Wilderness of Paran, and to the Israelites, it was considered a large and fearsome desert.

In the second year after the Exodus, spies were sent from here to scout Canaan. Because ten of them brought back a bad report, the Israelite congregation complained and was punished. All adult males, except Joshua and Caleb, were forbidden from entering the promised land (Numbers 13-14). Korah’s rebellion occurred here, and the earth swallowed them. The congregation’s grumbling resulted in a plague (Numbers 16). After wandering in the wilderness for thirty-eight years, the Israelites returned to Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin. Moses’ sister, Miriam, died and was buried here (Numbers 20:1). The people quarreled with Moses over a lack of water. The Lord instructed Moses and Aaron to gather the congregation and command the rock to yield water. Moses struck the rock with his staff to bring forth water, for which he was rebuked by God and forbidden from entering Canaan (Numbers 20:2-13).

The land of Canaan, which the Lord gave as an inheritance to the Israelites, had its southern corner bordering Edom through the Wilderness of Zin. When the Israelites divided the land, the southern boundary of the tribe of Judah extended from the Dead Sea to the Ascent of Akrabbim, connecting to the Wilderness of Zin, Kadesh Barnea, and other places, all the way to the Great Sea (Numbers 13:21; 20:1-13; 27:13-14; 32:8; 33:36; 34:3-4; Deuteronomy 1:19; 8:15; 32:51; Joshua 15:1-4).