Sinaitic peninsula, consists of granitic and metamorphic rocks of immense geological antiquity; nor are there any traces of recent volcanic products.[1]
3. Kadesh Barnea and Mount Hor.—The position of Kadesh Barnea, a locality for ever memorable in the history of the Israelitish wanderings, has been a question of controversy amongst geographers down to the present day. According to the sacred text it was eleven days' journey from Horeb (Mount Sinai) by way of Mount Seir,[2] and it was, also, immediately to the south of the borders of Canaan,[3] and not far from those of Edom or Mount Seir. From this description, Kadesh Barnea might lie either along the western border of the Wâdy el Arabah, or at some distance further west amongst the valleys of the Tîh. Accordingly, the spring called Ain el Weibeh, discovered by Dr. Eobinson, at the base of the cliffs which form the bounds of the Arabah Valley, has been identified by some writers as the site of Kadesh.
A more recent determination, and one in which I am disposed to concur, is the valley and spring of 'Ain Kadeis, which lies about thirty-five miles to the west of the Arabah Valley, amongst the limestone hills of the Tîh. This identification was first made by the Rev. John Rolands, and is ably supported by an American writer. Dr. Trumbull, in a recent work,[4] written after a personal visit to the spot.[5] Under this identification, the camping ground of Kadesh Barnea was probably reached by the route suggested by the Rev. F. W. Holland, and which was also followed throughout a great part of its course by our own Expedition. Mr. Holland supposes that the Israelites, after leaving Jebel Mûsa (Horeb), marched northwards, and after traversing the grand gorge of the Wâdy el Watiyeh, turned to the east along the valleys of Zillegah and El Ain. Turning northwards they entered the region of the Tîh, by the Wâdy el Atiyeh; and then proceeding onwards across the great plains of limestone reached their halting-place at Kadesh Barnea. The whole distance would be about 150 miles (English), and for eleven days would be at the rate of nearly fourteen miles per day.
That Kadesh Barnea must have been a place of note in the days of the
