Kadesh-barnea

Biblical Text

The place is also called simply "Kadesh." It first appears in the account of Abraham. Genesis 14:7 refers to "En-mishpat, which is Kadesh," and Genesis 20:1 records that Abraham dwelt between Kadesh and Shur. The most significant events associated with the name, however, appear in Numbers, after the Exodus.

• The spies and the people's unbelief: The twelve spies sent by Moses return to Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran to give their report (Numbers 13:26). When the people hear the negative report of ten of the spies and murmur, God declares that the whole generation, except Caleb and Joshua, will spend forty years in the wilderness and die there (Numbers 14:29-34).
• The death of Miriam and the waters of Meribah: Miriam dies and is buried here. When the people contend with Moses because there is no water, Moses strikes the rock twice, and water comes out. Because of this incident, Moses and Aaron are told that they will not enter Canaan (Numbers 20:1-13).
• Messengers sent to Edom: From Kadesh, Israel asks the king of Edom for permission to pass through his land but is refused (Numbers 20:14-21).

Deuteronomy 1:2 states, "There are eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadesh-barnea." Deuteronomy 2:14 recalls that thirty-eight years passed from the departure from Kadesh-barnea until the crossing of the brook Zered. In Joshua 14:6-7, Caleb claims Hebron by recalling that he was sent out from Kadesh-barnea as a spy at the age of forty. In Numbers 34:4 and Joshua 15:3, Kadesh-barnea appears as one of the points marking the southern boundary of the Promised Land.

Background

The name "Kadesh" is understood to be related to a Hebrew root meaning "to be holy." The meaning of "barnea" is uncertain. Scripture associates Kadesh both with the wilderness of Paran (Numbers 13:26) and with the wilderness of Zin (Numbers 20:1), and some interpreters place it near the border where the two wildernesses meet. The "wilderness of Zin" in Numbers 20:1 is a different place name in Hebrew from the "wilderness of Sin" in Exodus 16:1, although the two are spelled identically in Korean.

As for its location, many scholars identify the site with Ain el-Qudeirat, a spring-rich site in the northeastern Sinai Peninsula, while others favor Ain Qedeis, whose name is similar. The remains of a fortress from a later period are reported to have been excavated at Ain el-Qudeirat. Opinions differ on how these remains should be related to the period of the Exodus.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

Kadesh-barnea is remembered as the place where Israel turned back through unbelief at the very threshold of the Promised Land. Deuteronomy 1 and 9:23, as well as Jephthah in Judges 11:16-17, look back on this event. Hebrews 3-4 quotes Psalm 95, which holds up the wilderness generation as a warning, and explains, "So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief" (Hebrews 3:19), urging believers to labor to enter into rest (Hebrews 4:9-11). 1 Corinthians 10:11-12 likewise presents the events of the wilderness as examples and warnings for believers today.

Interpretation and Issues

• Length of the stay: Deuteronomy 1:46 says, "So ye abode in Kadesh many days." Some interpreters take this to mean that Israel spent most of the thirty-eight years based at Kadesh, while others hold that Israel left Kadesh and returned there near the end of the wilderness period.
• Moses' fault: Numbers 20:12 gives the reason: "Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel." Interpreters locate the fault differently, depending on whether they place the emphasis on Moses striking the rock instead of speaking to it as instructed (Numbers 20:8), on his angry words to the people, or on his speaking as though he and Aaron were the ones bringing forth the water (Numbers 20:10).
• Two Meribahs: The traditional interpretation regards this event as distinct from the incident at Rephidim in Exodus 17. Some critical scholars, however, see the two accounts as a double recording of the same tradition.
• Later embellishments: Because the lack of water is reported immediately after Miriam's death, a Jewish tradition arose ("Miriam's Well") that a well had followed Israel along its wilderness journey on Miriam's account. This story is not found in the biblical text.

In the Korean Church

In preaching, Kadesh-barnea is often used as a symbol of "the crossroads of faith." Many sermons contrast the ten spies with Caleb and Joshua, and the words spoken of Caleb, "because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully" (Numbers 14:24), are frequently quoted. Such sermons focus on Kadesh-barnea as the starting point of the forty years in the wilderness.