Keywords

Deuteronomy, Mount Sinai, Horeb, Kadesh-barnea

Abstract

The book of Deuteronomy begins with a striking verse: "(There are eleven days journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadesh-barnea)" (Deuteronomy 1:2). Because this verse is set within parentheses and seems to relay minutia, it is easily passed over. But a close examination shows it to be one of the most thought-provoking verses in the Old Testament. Identifying two of the sites referred to in the verse makes this clear. Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai. Kadesh-barnea is the place where Moses and the children of Israel camped as they sent men into the promised land as spies. Kadesh-barnea was on the border of the promised land; from there the children of Israel were supposed to enter and inherit the land.

Original Publication Citation

Sperry Symposium (3th : 21 : Brigham Young University). Believing in the Atoning Power of Christ,â€ in Covenants, Prophecies, and Hymns of the Old Testament, Victor Ludlow, ed. (Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 21), 89-1.