The Brook Zered
נַחַל זֶרֶד
Where is the Brook Zered? Wadi al-Hasa, in Jordan. I mark it debated. The case for the main rival site is below.
Israel crossed the Zered at the end of thirty-eight years, after the whole generation of warriors had died.
By Aaron Shaffier, licensed Israel tour guide and mapmaker · About the mapmaker
- Site today
- Wadi al-Hasa, in Jordan
- How sure
- Debated Two or more serious candidates.
- Other names
- Zered Brook, Wadi Zered, Wadi al-Hasa, Wadi el-Hesa
- Location
- 30.9925° N, 35.5849° E (Google Maps)
How we know where it was
The clue is the order of the march. Israel came up out of Edom's region, crossed the Zered, and went on to the Arnon.
Wadi al-Hasa fits that order. It is a deep canyon that long divided Edom in the south from Moab in the north, draining west into the southern end of the Salt Sea. Cross it heading north and you have left Edom behind, with Moab around you and the Arnon still ahead. The map follows that reading.
The rival comes from the same chapter. The text says Israel traveled in the wilderness east of Moab before crossing. One proposal reads that as a wadi in northeast Moab and points to Wadi Nukheile, a branch of the Arnon. Others have suggested a branch of Wadi al-Karak.
Visiting today
In Jordan. The King's Highway and the Desert Highway both cross the Wadi al-Hasa canyon.
Read it in the Bible
Verse numbers follow the Hebrew Bible. In a handful of chapters English Bibles count one verse off.
See Zered on the interactive map →
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Get the print + free ebookNearby places
- Iye Abarim right beside it
- Zoar 4 km
- Sodom 11 km
- Tophel 17 km
- Kir Moab (Kir Hareseth) 22 km
- Sela 24 km