Wâdi Mûsa, Petra). The accounts quoted above concerning the journey along Mount Se‘ir from Kades southward to the Sea of Reeds and thence along the ‘Araba highroad across the southwestern corner of Se‘ir to the northeast and north, agree entirely with the present routes. They thus corroborate our supposition that Ḳadeš must be located in the vicinity of Petra.
Numbers, 20: 1, records that the Israelites reached the wilderness of Ṣin and encamped at Ḳadeš, where Miriam died and was buried. Having no water, they murmured; whereupon Moses struck a rock with his rod (Num., 20: 11) and obtained an abundance of water, which was therefore known as Mê Merîba (Num., 20: 13).—
This would seem to show that the wilderness of Ṣin borders on the environs of Ḳadeš and is entirely in agreement with the position of the remoter environs of the ruins of Petra, which are situated near the watershed of the Dead and Red Seas.
Having reached Ḳadeš Barneʻa with the Israelites, Moses said to them (Deut., 1: 20): “Ye are come unto the mountains of the Amorites.” That does not mean that Ḳadeš was situated actually at the mountains of the Amorites, but that it was not far from there to this range. From the environs of Petra the mountains of the Amorites are easily visible, and by descending through the an-Namala pass into the northern part of the rift valley of al-ʻAraba, or the ancient Ṣin, it is possible in a short time to reach the land of the Amorites.
According to Numbers, 34: 3 ff., the southern frontier of the Promised Land is to be formed by the wilderness of Ṣin along Edom; in the east it is to proceed from the extremity of the Salt Sea, to extend in a southerly direction from the ascent of ʻAkrabîm as far as Ṣin, and to end to the south of Ḳadeš Barneʻa. From there it is to lead to Ḥaẓar Adar and farther as far as the valley of Egypt.
Ḳadeš, although it is mentioned so many times in the Pentateuch, is never included among the localities or cities of Palestine. The account just cited shows that the city of Ḳadeš lay on the very borders of the Promised Land and of Edom and, as we know from other records, at the western foot of Mount Seʻîr, which, as has frequently been stated already, extended to the south-southeast of the Dead Sea. We must not, therefore, locate Ḳadeš either to the southwest or south but to the southeast of the Promised Land; this, moreover, tallies with the situation in the environs of Petra which we have suggested. To the west of the latter is the watershed of al-ʻAraba, and near it the frontier of Palestine probably passed westward to the valley of Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea. The border of the Promised Land led along the western side of al-ʻAraba, which at its northern extremity belonged to Moab, and farther south to Edom.
Genesis, 16: 7, relates that Hagar, when driven out, came to a well on the road to Šûr. According to Genesis, 16: 14, this well was situated between Ḳadeš and Bered, its name being Be’êr Laḥaj Rô’i. If the well was located on the transport route to Šûr between Ḳadeš and Bered, we must suppose that this road led from Ḳadeš to Šûr by way of Bered. Šûr, which marked the frontier of Egypt proper was protected by strong walls against the inroads of Asiatic nomads. Šûr was thus to the west, Ḳadeš to the east of the encampments of Abraham in a position which