• Tohu, a "desolate" place, a place "waste" or "unoccupied" (Deuteronomy 32:10; Job 12:24; Compare Genesis 1:2 , "without form"). The wilderness region in the Sinaitic peninsula through which for forty years the Hebrews wandered is generally styled "the wilderness of the wanderings." This entire region is in the form of a triangle, having its base toward the north and its apex toward the south. Its extent from north to south is about 250 miles, and at its widest point it is about 150 miles broad. Throughout this vast region of some 1,500 square miles there is not a single river. The northern part of this triangular peninsula is properly the "wilderness of the wanderings" (et-Tih). The western portion of it is called the "wilderness of Shur" (Exodus 15:22 ), and the eastern the "wilderness of Paran."

    The "wilderness of Judea" (Matthew 3:1 ) is a wild, barren region, lying between the Dead Sea and the Hebron Mountains. It is the "Jeshimon" mentioned in 1 Samuel 23:19 .

    Copyright StatementThese dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain.

    Bibliography InformationEaston, Matthew George. Entry for 'Wilderness'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ebd/w/wilderness.html. 1897.