The meaning of Kadesh-barnea in the Bible
(From International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)
ka'-desh-bar'-ne-a (qadhesh barnea'; Kades): Mentioned 10 times; called also "Kadesh" simply. The name perhaps means "the holy place of the desert of wandering." There are references to Kadesh in early history. At En-mishpat ("the same is Kadesh") Chedorlaomer and his allies smote the Amalekite and Amorite. Abraham dwelt near Kadesh, and it was at Beer-lahai-roi between Kadesh and Bered that the Angel of Yahweh appeared to Hagar (Genesis 14:7; Genesis 16:14; Genesis 20:1). It was an important camp of the Israelites during their wanderings, and seems to have been their headquarters for 38 years (Deuteronomy 1:2; Deuteronomy 2:14; Judith 5:14). There the returning spies found the camp (Numbers 13:26); there Miriam died and was buried (Numbers 20:1); from thence messengers were sent to the king of Edom (Numbers 20:14; Judges 11:16 ff.). There the people rebelled because of the want of water, and Moses brought water from the rock (Numbers 20:2 ff.); it was called therefore Meribath—or Meriboth-Kadesh (Numbers 27:14; Ezekiel 47:19; Ezekiel 48:28). It was situated in the wilderness of Zin (Numbers 20:1; Numbers 33:36-37) in the hill country of the Amorites (Deuteronomy 1:19), 11 days' journey from Horeb, by the way of Mt. Seir (Deuteronomy 1:2), "in the uttermost" of the border of Edom (Numbers 20:16), and on the southern border, probably the Southeast corner, of Judah (Ezekiel 47:19; compare Judith 19). See Cobern, Homiletic Review, April and May, 1914.
S. F. Hunter
See more on the meaning of Kadesh-barnea in the Bible:
Kadesh-barnea {Hitchcock's Bible Name}
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