“Within Bounds”

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Since the biblical border between Egypt and Israel is the Wadi el Arish, how come all the Bible maps place Kadesh Barnea 30 km inside the Promised Land? Did Israel spend forty years in the wilderness inside Canaan?

Sincerely,
Border Patrol

Dear Border Patrol,

We are guessing that what you are referring to is the ongoing debate over whether or not Israel wandered around in the Sinai Peninsula (between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba) for forty years or whether they wandered throughout Saudi Arabia (which is east of the Gulf of Aqaba).  Depending on someone’s opinion of where Israel wandered, they must adjust the location of Kadesh Barnea accordingly.  We here at AYP see good points on both sides of this argument, but ultimately, it is more of an archaeological issue than a Bible one.  We leave the discussion of the differences to people far more qualified to discuss this topic than us.

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