Reference: Arabia Petraea

Lies south of the Holy Land, and had Petra for its capital. See SELA. This region contained the southern Edomites, the Amalekites, the Hivites, etc., people at present known under the general name of Arabs. In this country was Kadesh-barnea, Gerar, Beersheba, Paran, Arad, Hasmona, Oboth, Dedan, etc., also the peninsula of Mount Sinai and the land of Midian. This portion of Arabia, though smaller than the others, is rich in historical associations. The patriarch Job was familiar with its scenery. At Horeb, Moses saw the burning bush, and Elijah heard the "still small voice." In this "great and terrible wilderness," from Mount Sinai to the promised land, the Hebrews spent their forty years of wanderings.