Where did the Hebrews wander for forty years?

Answer 1

The answer to your question is found in the book of Numbers, chapter 13-14. Read the complete

chapter that details the account of the Israelites spying out the land of Canaan. Verse 34,

God declares the children of Israel shall wander 40 years in the wilderness, a year for each day

the spies were in Canaan.

This is simply because of their unbelief in the power of God, which is remarkable, considering

all that He had done for them to that point. The period of 40 years was for the 'unbelieving

generation' to die off, so they new generation could rise up and enter the land.

Another plausible contributing factor is the perplexing size of the Sinai desert. It is big as hell and is for the most part is devoid of landmarks within any significant

proximity to navigate by. To be put in perspective it would be like trying to

navigate a mass the size of West Virginia by foot without any vision.

Answer:

A common misunderstanding is sticking out all over the place here, and really ought to be

clarified ... this whole concept of 'wandering'.

In order to help put my point across, I collected some on-line definitions for 'wander',

and here's what I found:

-- to move about without a fixed course, aim, or goal

-- to go idly about, ramble, roam

-- to follow a winding course, meander

-- to go astray (as from a course), stray, lose normal mental contact

-- to ramble without a definite purpose or objective; roam, rove, stray

-- to go aimlessly, indirectly, or casually; meander

-- to extend in an irregular course or direction

-- to move, pass, or turn idly

-- to take one direction or another without conscious intent or control

-- to move about without a definite destination or purpose.

-- to go by an indirect route or at no set pace, amble

-- to lose clarity or coherence of thought or expression.

-- to stroll, ramble, saunter, stray, shift, digress.

Most, but not all, of these definitions convey a feeling of aimlessness, and that's

the impression typically inferred from a reading of the situation in which the Israelites

found themselves ... all on account of the unfortunate English translation "wander".

A thoughtful reading of the Old Testament, however ... or better, of the Torah ...

makes it clear that there was never any lack of fixed course, aim, or goal. They

never roamed, rambled, or traveled idly about. There was no meandering, roving,

or casual straying, no direction was taken without conscious intent or control, no

moving about without a definite destination or purpose, no loss of clarity or

coherence of thought, there was no lack of conscious intent or control, purpose,

or destination, and they did not amble, ramble, stroll, saunter, stray, shift, or

digress. There was no aimlessness. They did not wander.

The text is clear and explicit. The marching throng were paced and guided every

step of the way, virtually from the moment of the Exodus until they camped on

the threshold of Canaan 40 years later. They marched when instructed to march,

at the pace and along the path in which they were directed Numbers ch.9). And

when they were

instructed to stop and camp, they did so, sometimes in the same place for years

at a time.

The real question that needs to be asked, examined, and contemplated, is:

Why the force that promised the land to the Israelites' ancestors as a perpetual

inheritance, and brought them out of Egypt, and dealt clearly with the deities

of their captors, and brought them to Sinai, and gave them the Torah, and

provided for their needs all during the years in the desert ... any one of which

would have been an historic miracle sufficient to inspire millennia of

commemoration ... why He chose to direct them in the route that took forty

years, and not in the route that could have been covered in a month. And the

answer is given in Numbers ch.13-14.

Answer 2

In the wilderness of Sinai, Tzin, Kadesh, Shur, Moab etc.

Answer 3

It cannot be said for sure. Some of the locations they visited are mentioned, but there is little actual detail on their wanderings during that period.

Answer 4

They wondered in the wilderness for 40 years

Answer 5

Yes they did. And then Joshua came along an led them into the promised land

Answer 6

It's not in Exodus. It's in Numbers ch.14 and ch.32.

Answer 7

where did the israelites live for 40 years before returning to their promised land

Answer 8

In the wilderness of Sinai, Tzin, Kadesh, Shur, Moab etc.

Answer 9

In the wilderness; mostly in the Sinai Peninsula and the adjacent areas such as the Transjordan.