The Wilderness of Zin

מִדְבַּר צִן

Where is the Wilderness of Zin? Nahal Zin, from the Ramon highlands to the Aravah. I mark it very likely.

In the Wilderness of Zin, at Kadesh, Miriam died and the water failed. Moses struck the rock instead of speaking to it.

By Aaron Shaffier, licensed Israel tour guide and mapmaker · About the mapmaker

Site today
Nahal Zin, from the Ramon highlands to the Aravah
How sure
Very likely Strong evidence, with no serious rival.
Other names
Zin Stream, Nahal Zin, Wadi Murra
Location
30.8227° N, 34.7639° E (Google Maps)
The Wilderness of Zin on the hand-drawn Map of Biblical Israel
Zin on our hand-drawn Map of Biblical Israel. Get the full map as a print →

How we know where it was

The Bible speaks of the Wilderness of Zin, a region, and never of a stream. The modern name Nahal Zin was given to this wadi to recall that wilderness.

The strongest evidence is the Land's southern border. The Torah and the Book of Joshua trace it from the southern tip of the Dead Sea, below the Scorpions' Ascent, through Zin, south of Kadesh Barnea, and on to the Brook of Egypt. That puts Zin on the line between the Dead Sea and the Brook of Egypt. That line crosses the central Negev highlands, where this wadi runs.

The region is clear. Its exact borders are not.

Visiting today

Ein Avdat National Park, in the Zin canyon below Sde Boker, has spring pools and high cliffs. Ben-Gurion's grave overlooks the Zin valley.

Read it in the Bible

Verse numbers follow the Hebrew Bible. In a handful of chapters English Bibles count one verse off.

See Zin on the interactive map →

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