Paran was a desert region in the Sinai Peninsula, associated with the Israelites' wanderings and the early life of Ishmael.
Paran was a desert region located in the Sinai Peninsula, south of Canaan. It is mentioned several times in the Old Testament, particularly in connection with the Israelites' wanderings after the Exodus from Egypt. Ishmael, the son of Abraham and Hagar, grew up in the wilderness of Paran after being sent away with his mother (Gen. 21:21). During the Israelites' journey from Egypt to Canaan, they camped in the wilderness of Paran after leaving the wilderness of Sinai (Num. 10:12; 12:16). It was from Paran that Moses sent the twelve spies to explore the land of Canaan (Num. 13:3, 26).
The wilderness of Paran was also associated with King David. After the death of Samuel, David went down to the wilderness of Paran (1Sam. 25:1). Later, when Hadad the Edomite fled from King Solomon, he passed through Paran on his way to Egypt (1Kgs. 11:18).
The exact boundaries of the wilderness of Paran are not clearly defined in the Bible, but it appears to have been a vast desert region in the central and northeastern parts of the Sinai Peninsula, bordered by the wilderness of Zin to the north and the Gulf of Aqaba to the south.
Approximate location: 29.152, 33.542 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
Abounding in foliage, or abounding in caverns, (Gen. 21:21), a desert tract forming the north-eastern division of the peninsula of Sinai, lying between the ‘Arabah on the east and the wilderness of Shur on the west. It is intersected in a north-western direction by the Wady el-‘Arish. It bears the modern name of Badiet et-Tih, i.e., “the desert of the wanderings.” This district, through which the children of Israel wandered, lay three days’ march from Sinai (Num. 10:12, 33). From Kadesh, in this wilderness, spies (q.v.) were sent to spy the land (13:3, 26). Here, long afterwards, David found refuge from Saul (1 Sam. 25:1, 4).
beauty; glory; ornament
PA'RAN (place of caverns), a wilderness or desert region west of the Elanitic Gulf, and within the Sinaitic peninsula. It was bounded on the north by the wilderness of Shur and the land of Canaan; on the east by the great valley of the Arabah - which separated it from the mountains of Moab - and the Gulf of Akabah; on the south by a great sand-belt, separating it from the granitic mountains of Sinai; and on the west by the wilderness of Etham, which separated it from the Gulf of Suez and from Egypt. A range of mountains sweeps around this wilderness on all sides except the north. It is a high limestone plateau, crossed by low ranges of hills and intersected by few watercourses, always dry except in the rainy season. In this blanched and dreary waste of chalk, covered with coarse gravel, black flint, and drifting sand, upon which a slight coating of vegetation struggles for existence, the Israelites spent thirty eight years after leaving Sinai. Num 10:12. The modern name, Badiet et Tih , or "desert of the wandering," commemorates this historic fact. Across this desert lay the road from Canaan to Egypt which was travelled by Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph. The north-east corner of the wilderness is a hilly plateau, the home and pasture-ground of the patriarchs, the Negeb, or "south country," of Scripture. Scripture History. - Paran is first mentioned in connection with the conquest of the confederate kings, when it appears to have been the home of the Horites. Gen 14:6. Hagar and Ishmael, after being driven away by Abraham, went into the wilderness of Paran, Gen 21:21; the Israelites entered it soon after leaving Sinai, Num 10:12, 1 Sam 15:33; Josh 11:3, Num 11:34-35; Neh 12:16; the spies were sent up to Canaan and returned from this region:and eighteen stations of the…
PARAN, MOUNT OF, the place where the Lord is said to have shined forth. Deut 33:2; Hab 3:3. It was probably the most southern portion of the mountain-plateau in the north-eastern part of the wilderness of Paran, now Jebel Magra'h. In this region is situated 'Ain Gadis, which some identify with Kadesh, and the one encampment in the wilderness of Kadesh. Jebel Magra'h would always be the most conspicuous object, and would completely shut out from view the more fertile mountains beyond. PAR'BAR occurs only in 1 Chr 26:18, where it denotes some place on the western side of the temple-enclosure.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
8 verses in 5 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H6290
And while he was dwelling in the Wilderness of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
and the Israelites set out from the Wilderness of Sinai, traveling from place to place until the cloud settled in the Wilderness of Paran.
After that, the people set out from Hazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran.
So at the consent of the LORD, Moses sent them out from the Wilderness of Paran. All the men were leaders of the Israelites,
and they went back to Moses, Aaron, and the whole congregation of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back a report for the whole congregation and showed them the fruit of the land.
These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel in the wilderness east of the Jordan—in the Arabah opposite Suph—between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.
When Samuel died, all Israel gathered to mourn for him; and they buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David set out and went down to the Wilderness of Paran.
Hadad and his men set out from Midian and went to Paran. They took men from Paran with them and went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave Hadad a house and land and provided him with food.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.