A
PLACE IN WHICH TO WANDER
The
tribulations of the Hebrews in the desert were to continue for forty
years. A first attempt to penetrate the land of Canaan was made from
the side of the Paran Plateau, which is marked by a five hundred meter
gradient from the southwest to the northeast:
| The
Paran Plateau |
And the children of Israel left
on their journey from the Sinai Desert, according to the
order of their march; and the cloud [that preceded them]
stopped in the desert of Paran. It was the first time
that they left on their journey according to the command
of the Eternal by the hand of Moses:
Numbers 10: 12 - 13
|
The
exploration of Canaan
The longest and the most
spectacular wadi in the region crosses this plateau. The rainwater
is engulfed in its bed with such fury that the Arabs call it the wadi
girafi, the raging torrent. From this place, Moses sent the twelve
spies to explore the land of Canaan:
| The exploration of Canaan |
And
they went up and explored the land from the desert of Zin
[…]. And they came to the wadi of Eshkol and cut down a cluster
of grapes there and two men carried it on a pole and they
took pomegranates and figs. And the place was called the wadi
of Eshkol because of the cluster of grapes [Eshkol in Hebrew]
that the children of Israel cut down there. They returned
from their exploration of the land after forty days. And they
went and came to Moses and to Aaron and to all the congregation
of the children of Israel in the desert of Paran in Qadesh.
They gave a report to them and to all the congregation of
the children of Israel and showed them the fruit of the land.
And they said to them: “We entered the land where you sent
us and indeed it flows with milk and honey and this is its
fruit. But the people that dwell in the land are strong! The
cities are fortified and very great and we also saw the children
of Anak there! Amaleq dwells in the land of the Negev and
the Hittites, the Yevusites and the Emorites dwell in the
mountain and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the
Jordan.” And Calev calmed the people before Moses and said:
“Let us go up at once to possess it for we can overcome it!”
But the men who had gone up with him said: “We cannot rise
up against this people for it is stronger than we are.” And
they spoke evil about the land that they had explored saying:
“The land that we explored is a land that devours its inhabitants
and all the people that we saw there are people of great stature…”
Numbers
13: 21 –32
|
The
wandering in the desert
The
demoralization of the Hebrews was such that they considered returning
to Egypt – the demoralization will be interpreted by rabbinic literature
as a lack of religious motivation. Their evasions, moreover, were
to delay their entry into the land of Canaan and to prolong their
wandering. Henceforth, the desert would become their burial site:
| The
wandering in the desert |
And
the Eternal spoke to Moses and to Aaron saying: “How long
will I tolerate this evil congregation that murmurs against
me? I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel
spoken against me. Say to them: As I live, says the Eternal,
as you have spoken in my ears, so will I do to you. Your
carcasses will drop in the desert, all of you that were
counted according to your total number from twenty years
of age and up who murmured against Me! By no means will
you enter the land, in which I swore I would make you dwell,
except for Calev, the son of Yefunne, and Joshua, the son
of Nun. And your children who you said would be preyed upon,
I will bring them there and they will know the land that
you despised while your carcasses will fall in this desert.”
Numbers
14: 26 - 32
|
The Hebrews
were to continue to suffer their tribulations as far as the desert
of Zin, but the Edomites that had settled in the north of the Negev
refused them passage through their territory. The will be forced to
cross the Arava to camp at the foot of Mount Hor in Trans-Jordan where
Aaron, the brother of Moses, was buried. From there, they would gradually
go up towards the north where they would attack the tribes of the
region.