Editing Wilderness of Sin

{{Short description|Geographic area mentioned in the Bible}}
The '''wilderness of Sin''' or '''desert of Sin''' ({{langx|he|מִדְבַּר סִין}} ''Mīḏbar Sīn'') is a geographic area mentioned in the [[Hebrew Bible]] as lying between [[Elim (Bible)|Elim]] and [[Biblical Mount Sinai|Mount Sinai]].<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|16:1|}}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse||Numbers|33:11–12|}}</ref> ''Sin'' does not refer to the moral concept of "[[sin]]", but comes from the Hebrew word ''Sîn'', the Hebrew name for this region.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hoerth|first=Alfred J.|title=Archaeology and the Old Testament|publisher=Baker Academic|year=1998|isbn=978-0-8010-3625-5|location=Michigan|pages=168}}</ref>

The location the Bible refers to is unknown, as its determination relies heavily on the location of Mount Sinai. The traditional Christian Orthodox identification of Mount Sinai as [[Jabal Musa]] (one of the peaks at the southern tip of the [[Sinai Peninsula]]) would imply that the ''wilderness of Sin'' was probably the narrow plain of el-Markha, which stretches along the eastern shore of the [[Red Sea]] for several miles toward the promontory of [[Ras Mohammed]]; however, some scholars have since rejected these traditional identifications.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} Another identification among some modern scholars, of Sinai as [[al-Madhbah]] at [[Petra]], would imply that the ''wilderness of Sin'' was roughly equatable with the central [[Arabah]].{{citation needed|date=September 2016}}{{dubious|No confusion here with Zin? And is it really such a "popular" theory among scholars? Several sources would be needed to sustain such a claim, and we have – none.|date=September 2016}}

The ''wilderness of Sin'' is mentioned by the Bible as being one of the places through which the [[Israelites]] wandered during their [[the Exodus|Exodus]] journey;<ref>{{bibleverse||Numbers|13:3|}}, {{bibleverse||Numbers|13:26|}}</ref> the similarly named ''[[Zin Desert|wilderness of Zin]]'' is also mentioned by the Bible as having been a location through which the Israelites travelled. The biblical narrative states that on reaching the wilderness of Sin, the Israelites began to complain of the lack of food, as they had already consumed all the grain they had brought with them from [[Egypt]]. According to the account, [[Yahweh]] heard their murmurings, and so provided them with abundant ''[[manna]]'' and [[quail]]. 

Later they left the wilderness of Sin and complained about a lack of water while camping at [[Rephidim]].

==References==
{{Reflist}} 
{{EBD|Sin, Wilderness of}}

{{Stations of the Exodus}}

[[Category:Torah places]]