Wilderness of Paran

The wilderness of Paran was a vast desert region south of Canaan that appears at several turning points in Scripture. After Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael away, Ishmael grew up there and became an archer. Centuries later, when the cloud lifted from the tabernacle at Sinai, it came to rest in the wilderness of Paran, and from there Moses sent out the twelve spies to search the land of Canaan; they returned with their report 'unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh.' David also withdrew into the wilderness of Paran after the death of Samuel. It is a landscape of exile and waiting, yet again and again it is where God kept watch over people who seemed to be on the margins.

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Details

Region: Egypt
Modern Location: East-central and northeastern Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, extending toward the Negev. Its boundaries are approximate.

Strongest connections in Scripture

Numbers 13 2× Genesis 21 Numbers 10

Journey Paths

Hagar's Journey

Beersheba → Egypt → Wilderness of Paran

Ishmael's Journey

Beersheba → Wilderness of Paran

Key Passages

Ishmael Grows Up in Paran

Genesis 21:20-21

God is with the lad in the wilderness, and Ishmael makes his home in Paran.

A²⁰nd God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.

²¹ And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.

The Cloud Rests in Paran

Numbers 10:11-12

After nearly a year at Sinai, the cloud lifts and leads Israel into the wilderness of Paran.

A¹¹nd it came to pass on the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year, that the cloud was taken up from off the tabernacle of the testimony.

¹² And the children of Israel took their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran.

The Spies Sent from Paran

Numbers 13:1-3

From this wilderness Moses sends twelve leaders to search out the promised land.

A¹nd the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

² Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them. ³ And Moses by the commandment of the LORD sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel.

The Spies Return to Kadesh

Numbers 13:26

The spies bring back fruit and a divided report to the camp at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran.

A²⁶nd they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land.