Protos

What does "Wilderness" mean in the Bible?

These words do not necessarily imply a mere waste, but rather extensive tracts not under cultivation and affording rich and abundant pasturage. Wilderness appears in 138 verses across 20 books of the Bible.

What does the Bible say about Wilderness?

WIL'DERNESS, Ex 14:8, and DESERT. These words do not necessarily imply a mere waste, but rather extensive tracts not under cultivation and affording rich and abundant pasturage. Josh 15:61; Isa 42:11. The principal tracts of this description were the wilderness of Jericho, those of Judah, En-gedi, Ziph-maon, Beer-sheba, Tekoa, Gibeon, and Bethaven. See these under their respective heads.

Definition text: Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible · 1898. Public domain.

Compiled by Protos: the verse list on this page. Where one name belongs to more than one person or place, each of them gets a separate entry.

What is the Hebrew word for Wilderness?

Hebrew · H4057

מִדְבָּר

mid.bar

mouth

TBESH, STEPBible, licensed CC BY 4.0.

Where does Wilderness appear in the Bible?

Wilderness is referenced in 138 verses across 20 books. Every passage below is about this one, not just every verse the word turns up in.

Showing the first 24 of 138.

Open all 138 references in Protos

What else appears in these passages?

These turn up in the same passages as Wilderness.

Common questions

How many times does the Bible mention Wilderness?

Wilderness appears in 138 verses across 20 books, most often in Numbers, which accounts for 28 of them.

Which books of the Bible mention Wilderness?

Numbers, Exodus, Deuteronomy, Ezekiel, Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Joshua, and 12 more.

Where can I read every verse about Wilderness?

This page lists 24 of them. Protos carries all 138, and opens this entry on the verse you are reading rather than in a separate tab.

Read it in context

Read Numbers with "Wilderness" explained on the verse.

Tap any name, place, or word you do not recognize and the background opens on the verse you are reading. No second tab, no search, no losing your place.

The Protos reader open on Genesis 1 with the How to Read Genesis background sheet raised over it
"People don't give up on the Bible for lack of discipline. They give up because they don't understand what they read. So they skim past it and jump straight to what it means for them, before they have listened to what God is saying through the words, the story, and the voice of the writer. It happens so often that theology has a name for it: eisegesis."
Fabio Jonathan ArifinFabio JonathanFounder of Protos · Portland Bible College graduate

Protos is the answer to that. Every explanation you read was written by a scholar and published in a reference work, credited right on the page.

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