'Desert' in the Bible

Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go on a three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God, so that He does not discipline us with pestilence or with the sword.”

From there they journeyed on and camped on the other side of [the river] Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the boundary of the Amorites; for [the river] Arnon is the boundary of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.

The well which the leaders dug,Which the nobles of the people hollowed outWith the scepter and with their staffs.”And from the wilderness Israel journeyed to Mattanah,

and from Bamoth to the valley that is in the field of Moab, to the top of Pisgah which looks down on the wasteland.

So Balak brought Balaam to the top of [Mount] Peor, that overlooks the wasteland.

When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as he had done each time before [superstitiously] to seek omens and signs [in the natural world], but he set his face toward the wilderness (desert).

“He found him in a desert land,In the howling wasteland of a wilderness;He kept circling him, He took care of him,He protected him as the apple of His eye.

To the east Bela settled as far as the entrance into the desert from the river Euphrates, because their cattle had multiplied in the land of Gilead.

Some [of the men] of Manasseh also defected to David when he came with the Philistines to go to battle against Saul. But David’s men did not [actually] assist the Philistines, for the lords (governors) of the Philistines after consultation sent him away, saying, “At the cost of our heads he may defect to his master Saul.”

and suddenly, a great wind came from across the desert, and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

“Behold, as wild donkeys in the desert,The poor go to their work, diligently seeking food;As bread for their children in the desert.

To bring rain on the uninhabited land,And on the desert where no man lives,

How often they rebelled against Him in the wildernessAnd grieved Him in the desert!

But lusted intensely in the wildernessAnd tempted God [with their insistent desires] in the desert.

They wandered in the wilderness in a [solitary] desert region;And did not find a way to an inhabited city.

It is better to dwell in a desert landThan with a contentious and troublesome woman.

(The Bridegroom)“How fair and beautiful you are, my darling,How very beautiful!Your eyes behind your veil are like those of a dove;Your hair is like [the shimmering black fleece of] a flock of [Arabian] goatsThat have descended from Mount Gilead [beyond the Jordan].

But desert creatures will lie down there,And their houses will be full of owls;Ostriches also will live there, and wild goats will dance there.

Send lambs to the ruler of the land [you Moabites],From Sela [that is, Petra in Edom] through the wilderness to the mountain of the Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem).

The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning the Desert of the Sea (the seasonally flooded plains just south of Babylon):As windstorms in the Negev (the South) sweep through,So it (God’s judgment) comes from the desert, from [the hostile armies of] a terrifying land.

“His rock [his stronghold] will pass away because of panic,And his princes will be terrified at the [sight of the battle] standard,”Declares the Lord, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

The land mourns and dries out,Lebanon is shamed and [its lush foliage] withers;Sharon is like a desert plain,And Bashan and [Mount] Carmel shake off their leaves.

The creatures of the desert will encounter jackalsAnd the hairy goat will call to its kind;Indeed, Lilith (night demon) will settle thereAnd find herself a place of rest.

The wilderness and the dry land will be glad;The Arabah (desert) will shout in exultation and blossomLike the autumn crocus.

Then the lame will leap like a deer,And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy.For waters will break forth in the wildernessAnd streams in the desert.

A voice of one is calling out,“Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness [remove the obstacles];Make straight and smooth in the desert a highway for our God.

“I will put the cedar in the wilderness,The acacia, the myrtle and the olive tree;I will place the juniper in the desertTogether with the box tree and the cypress,

“Listen carefully, I am about to do a new thing,Now it will spring forth;Will you not be aware of it?I will even put a road in the wilderness,Rivers in the desert.

“The beasts of the field will honor Me,Jackals and ostriches,Because I have given waters in the wildernessAnd rivers in the desert,To give drink to My people, My chosen.

“Why, when I came, was there no man [to greet Me]?When I called, why was there no one to answer?Is My hand really so short that it cannot redeem [My servants]?Or have I no power to rescue?Listen carefully, with My rebuke I dry up the sea,I make the rivers into a desert;Their fish stink because there is no waterAnd die of thirst.

For the Lord will comfort Zion [in her captivity];He will comfort all her ruins.And He will make her wilderness like Eden,And her desert like the garden of the Lord;Joy and gladness will be found in her,Thanksgiving and the voice of a melody.

Or [you have the untamed and reckless nature of] a wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness,That sniffs the wind in her passion [for the scent of a mate].In her mating season who can restrain her?No males seeking her need to weary themselves;In her month they will find her [looking for them].

“Lift up your eyes to the barren heights and see;Where have you not been violated?You sat by the road waiting [eagerly] for them [those man-made gods]Like an Arab [tribesman who waits to attack] in the desert,And you have desecrated the landWith your [vile] prostitution and your wickedness (disobedience to God).

I looked, and behold, the fertile land was a wilderness,And all its cities were pulled downBefore the [presence of the] Lord, before His fierce anger.

Therefore a lion from the forest will kill them,A wolf of the deserts will destroy them,A leopard is watching their cities.Everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces,Because their transgressions are many,Their desertions of faith are countless.

Egypt and Judah, and Edom and the sons of Ammon, and Moab and all those who live in the desert who clip off the hair on their temples; for all these nations are uncircumcised (sinful, impure), and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.”

“Destroyers have comeOn all the caravan roads in the desert,For the sword of the Lord (Babylon) is devouringFrom one end of the land even to the other;No one has peace or a way of escape.

“Therefore I will scatter you like drifting straw[Driven away] by the desert wind.

“For he will be like a shrub in the [parched] desert;And shall not see prosperity when it comes,But shall live in the rocky places of the wilderness,In an uninhabited salt land.

all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the foreign population who live in the desert;

“Flee, run far away! Dwell in the depths [of the desert],O inhabitants of Hazor,” says the Lord,“For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has planned a course of action against youAnd devised a scheme against you.

Your mother [Babylon] shall be greatly shamed;She who gave you birth will be ashamed.Behold, she will be the least of the nations,A wilderness, a parched land and a desert.

“Therefore wild beasts of the desert will live there [in Babylon] with the jackals;The ostriches also will live there,And it will never again be inhabited [with people]Or lived in from generation to generation.

Even the jackals offer the breast,They nurse their young;But the daughter of my people has become cruelLike ostriches in the wilderness [that desert their young].

“I will make a covenant of peace with them and will eliminate the predatory animals from the land so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep [safely] in the woods.

For though he flourishes among the reeds (his fellow tribes),An east wind (Assyria) will come,The breath of the Lord rising from the desert;And Ephraim’s spring will become dryAnd his fountain will be dried up.Assyria will plunder his treasury of every precious object.

And the Lord will stretch out His hand against the northAnd destroy Assyria,And He will make Nineveh a desolation [a wasteland],Parched as the desert.