zin ( צן , cin ; Σίν , Sı́n ):
(1) A town in the extreme South of Judah, on the line separating that province from Edom, named between the ascent of Akrabbim and Kadesh-barnea (Numbers 34:4; Joshua 15:3 ). It must have lain somewhere between Wâdy el -Fiḳra (the ascent of Akrabbim?) and ‛Ain Ḳadı̄s (Kadesh-barnea); but the site has not been recovered.
(2) The Wilderness of Zin is the tract deriving its name from the town ( Numbers 34:3 ). It is identified with the wilderness of Kadesh in Numbers 33:36; while in other places Kadesh is said to be in the wilderness of Zin (Numbers 20:1; Numbers 27:14; Deuteronomy 32:51 ). We may take it that the two names refer to the same region. The spies, who set out from Kadesh-barnea, explored the land from the wilderness of Zin northward (Numbers 13:21; compare Numbers 32:8 ). It bordered with Judah "at the uttermost part of the south" (Joshua 15:1 ). In this wilderness Moses committed the offense which cost him his hope of entering the promised land (Numbers 27:14; Deuteronomy 32:51 ). It is identical with the uplands lying to the North and Northwest of the wilderness of Paran, now occupied by the ‛A zazimeh Arabs.
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) was edited by James Orr, John Nuelsen, Edgar Mullins, Morris Evans, and Melvin Grove Kyle and was published complete in 1939. This web site includes the complete text.
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