Talk:Mount Horeb

Explanation of reversion

I'm reverting the recent edit by Shalim50, even though it has been made in good faith and may have some truth in it, because it fails to meet wiipedia standards. It could be rewritten bearing in mind the following points:

• don't explicitly attack other scholars (WP:AGF)
• drawing attention to the biblical text is fine, but interpretation of it needs to be supported by references to previously published versions of those interpretations (WP:OR, WP:RS)
• "peninsula" the noun is thus spelled; "peninsular" is the corresponding adjective
• the argument seems to be that Horeb must be in the vicinity of Midian, but that doesn't tell us where exactly in terms of modern geography on the ground; it does constitute an argument against the "Sinai peninsula" in its modern meaning, (but biblical Sinai may not have been there either). SamuelTheGhost (talk) 10:48, 30 July 2008 (UTC)

Major Edit 11 January

• All of what follows we should either already know or be able to check in the references given.

• We know for example that the word "Horab" is from hr ab, Egyptian (Gardiner p 582 hr(y)ib middle, N28 hr hill of the sunrise); (Gardiner F34 ib heart); ie; a mountain located at the heart or in the middle of the body. There is no semitic root hr but there is a triliteral root : rb. Using the definitive article ha you could refer to the place of a fight as ha rb. Central Semitic, to wage war, attack, smite. 1. mihrab, from Arabic mirb, recess, prayer niche, probably from Old South Arabian (Sabaean) mrb, part of a temple, from rb, to fight, to perform a certain ritual in a temple. 2. Central Semitic noun *arb-, dagger, sword, war. mojarra, from Arabic muarrab, sharpened, from arraba, to sharpen, denominative from arba, lance, spear. That meaning is appropriate in the sense of describing the battle with the Amalek at rephidim, but there is also the word hor which means cave as in Horite or cave dweller.

• The language used in Exodus draws on several different language groups suggesting multiple sources so it should be noted that semitic root may enrich the sense to the place of a cave or rock cut tomb in the mountains at which there was a fight. At any rate Horab is a mountain marking the boundaries between Midian, Edom and the land of the Amalek at Elat. To this day it marks the borders of israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

• The stations list which mentions Horab was originally its own book. The original story was told by people who had lived in Egypt for over four centuries and spoke Egyptian to people whao had never lived in Egypt and grown up speaking western semitic languages, Akkadian and Canaanite.

• Horab is definitively located by references to it in the stations list of Exodus, Deuteronomy and Leviticus and by references to it in the story. Its true that you don't get all the information from any one of the books which have been combined to form the Penteteuch, so it helps to take their lists and corelate their references to the places named, checking what language group they come from originally, and what date and place the primary source comes from.

• Its located in Midian because its where Moses tends the flocks of Jethro priest of Midian. There are several other references to Moses on Horab in association with Jethro and Midian in the stations list. Horab is the rock Moses strikes at Alush and its where he directs the battle against the Amalek at Rephidim. It probably shouldn;t be confused with Mt Hor where Aaron is buried because thats farther north at Petra. The list locates those places in and around Elat at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba.

• Midian is located as on the border of Edom in the stations list where it extend north up the Arabah through Petra to Moab
• Moab is located by references to Arnon, Dibon and the Medeba plateau.
• Edom is located by the stations list of the Exodus which circumavigate it.

• An important point about the stations list is that it can be broken down into sections which are either in Egypt, engaged in the passage of the Red Sea, in or around Elat at the head of the Gulf of Aqabah or tracing the boundaries of Edom.

• In tracing those boundaries the primary references are at Elat, Timna, Kadesh Barnea, the brook of Egypt, the kings highway, the dead sea, Moab, and a return to Elat down the Araba through Petra. None of those places are in the Sinai. Its also important information that the time frame is the 18th dynasty of Egypt when the capital of Egypt is at Thebes and hatshepsut builds a fleet to engage in the Red Sea trade which supports the mortuary industry at Karnak.

• As the map illustrates, the list places its first six stations in Egypt.

• The story places the starting point near the capital of Egypt where there was an audience with Pharoah to say let my people go.
• The time frame of the story is specific four hundred and thirty years in Egypt from when Abraham first enters it to the Exodus and 480 more years to the construction of the temple in the fourth year of the reign of King Solomon.
• The Temple was built in the year 974 BC
• Semitic calendars are lunar calendars with years that are 11 days less than a solar calendar
• The story of Exodus places the start of the chapter of Exodus c 1438 BC
• Moses was born in a time of War and 80 years old at the time of the Exodus from Egypt c 1356 BC
• The Exodus occured in the Eighteenth Dynasty c.1550 - 1307 which was founded by Ahmose who was suceeded by a dynasty of kings who campaigned against the king of Kadesh along the northern border of Canaan in Lebanon and Syria.
• Judges IV contains a description of the battle of Meggiddo in which the king of Kadesh fights against the Egyptians.
• Campaigns continue through the reigns of Amenhotep I, Tuthmosis I, Tuthmosis II, Tuthmosis III, Queen Hatshepsut, Amenhotep III, Akhenaten, Tutankhamun, Ay, and Horemheb into the Nineteenth dynasty where the battle of Kadesh is fought with Ramesses II c 1285 BC
• The Amarna letters and Egyptian campaign literature throughout this period document a period of unrest in the same places mentioned in Judges and Joshuah.
• This was Egypts period of greatest expansion and prosperity in which its kings were engaged for half a century in the expulsion of the Hykdos, campaigns in Canaan against the ha ibrw and the annexation of Kush or Nubia in the South. At Timnah near Elat there are Egyptian settlements where people were engaged in the manufacture of Egyptian faiance and Midian ware.
• Thebes (Luxor) was Egypts capital throughout this period and engaged in Red Sea Trade to supply Larnak with Francincence, Myrrh, Bitumen, Natron and copper amulets for which Hatshepsut built a Red Sea fleet to transport them across the Red Sea.

• From Thebes the capital of Egypt in the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt the station list names the places encamped at by the sons of Israel.
• According to the stations list they head down the wadi Ham ma m3at from Etham toward Thebes Red Sea port at Elim where Hatshepsut kept her trading fleet.
• The fleet was used to bring mortuary materials from across the Red Sea at Elat to the temple of Karnak at Thebes.

• The list, or lists as there are variations in other books of the bible, contain several brief narrative fragments. For example "...And they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water, and seventy date-palms...".

• Viewed in the context of the conflict between Egypt and its rivals as mentioned in the Amarna Letters and in the context of the campaign reports of the 18th dynasty and the 19th dynasty The Exodus taken with Joshua and Judges places the participants in the midst of the conflict during one of the first major wars between empires.

• Station 7 is the crossing of the Red Sea.
• The 9th-13th stations are in and around Elat
• Station 12 refers to a dozen campsites in and around Timna in Modern Israel near Elat.

The Stations of the Exodus in Egypt

• 1. Thebes, Egypt - Ramesses Ex. 12:37; Nu. 33:3,5 the Rameses district was of the highest quality land in Egypt (Ge. 47:11)
• 2. Karnak/Sukkoth Ex. 12:37, 13:20; Nu. 33:5-6 The tombs of Karnak from which the bones of Joseph are retrieved across the Nile from Thebes
• 3. Etham Ex. 13:20; Nu. 33:6-8 "on the edge of the wilderness" The wadi Ham M3at leading from Thebes to the Red Sea
• 4. Pi-Hahiroth Ex. 14:2-3; Nu. 33:7-8 "between Migdol and the sea, opposite Ba'al-Zephon" (the god of the west wind) In Egyptian Pi-hahiroth means the place of "facing the fear of coming forth abroad as a fugitive"
• 5. Marah Ex. 15:23; Nu. 33:8-9 lit. 'bitterness' The outskirts of Thebes port of Elim
• 6. Elim Ex. 15:27, 16:1; Nu. 33:9-10 Had 12 wells and 70 palm trees Modern Thebes Port of Quasire

The 7th Station of the Exodus

• The 7th Station of the Exodus lies between Elim and Elat in the Red Sea which is an anglified version of the Greek name, the Erythrian Sea.

• 7. By the Red Sea Nu. 33:10-11 By the Erythrian Sea Thebes Port of Quasire

• The Passage of the Red Sea is described in the . Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. According to the story it is in the first month, the time of inundation that they leave from Thebes, but in the second month that they arrive off Sinai. The Gulf of Aqaba separates the kingdoms of the Araba or Arabia Petra from Egypt, just as Egypts province of Canaan separates Egypts vassals from the Hittites and their allies the Nahraim.

The Stations of the Exodus after reaching Sinai

• The 8th station reaches Sinai. None of the other atations on the kist except numbers 8 and 12 are actually in the Sinai

• 8. Wilderness of Sin Ex. 16:1, 17:1; Nu. 33:11-12 God supplies quail and manna, "Between Elim and Elat" Gulf of Aqaba

The Stations of the Exodus in and around Elat

• The 9th-13th stations are in and around Elat The stations list now refers to the stations or stopping point of the Sons of Israel in their Exodus after they have left Egypt and crossed the Red Sea.

• The list of the locations the Israelites stopped at after the Exodus from Egypt are taken from the locations mentioned in the Book of Exodus and the rest of the Pentateuch. discuses reports of habiru from the Amarna letters which agree and are colaborated by Egyptian campaign reports and those places on the stations list which are also on the Kings Highway

• Station 12 refers to a dozen campsites in and around Timna in Modern Israel near Elat.

• 9. Dophkah Nu. 33:12-13 semitic dbq the Phoenician emporia at Timna an Egyptiam manufacturing suburb of ancient Elat
• 10. Alush Nu. 33:13-14 the summit of Horeb where the water flowed from the rock at modern Elat
• 11. Rephidim Ex. 17:1, 19:2; Nu. 33:14-15 near Mt. Horab at Elat Place of rhe First Contact with the Amalek and Rephidim of the Negev, Edom, and Canaan
• 12. Wilderness of Sin Ex. 19:1-2; Nu. 10:12, 33:15-16 A dozen sites with Egyptian artifacts have been found at Timnah near Elat
• 13. Kibroth_Hattaavah Taberah Nu. 11:1, Nu. 11:35, 33:16-17 lit. Graves of Longing or Graves of Lust The burials of those who fought the Amalek at Horab

The stations that follow the border of Edom

• Stations 14-21 follow the border of Edom heading North adjacent to the desert of Sn to the brook of Egypt or modern Gaza and then turn east back to Moab and Medeba which is a plateaus of cattle ranges in Jordan.

• The 14th-18th lead North up to Gaza following the western bound of Edom
• The 19th-21st lead East back to Moab following the northern bound of Edom

• 14. Hazeroth Nu. 11:35, 12:16, 33:17-18 Between Elat and Kadesh Barnea
• 15. Rithmah Nu. 33:18-19 Near Kadesh Barnea
• 16. Rimmon_Perez Nu. 33:19-20 Kadesh Barnea the Brook of Egypt
• 17. Libnah Nu. 33:20-21 The White land in the West, Libyan Frankincense emporia
• 18. Rissah Nu. 33:21-22 a fortified well on the Kings highway
• 19. Kehelathah Nu. 33:22-23 The place of gathering antimony on the Kings highway
• 20. Mount Shapher Nu. 33:23-24 from Arabic safarya, journey, from safar, departure
• 21. Haradah Nu. 33:24-25 the place of departure a place of fear between Mount Shapher and Makhelot near Moab

The Exodus reaches Moab and heads south toward Petra

• The 22nd-25th lead south to Petra following the eastern bound of Edom
• The 26th through 28th are in and around Petra.
• The 29th-32nd lead south from the cleft in the mountain at Petra back to Ezion Geber or Elat.

• Station 33 goes back North to Kadesh
• Station 34 goes back East to Mt Hor at Petra.

• The 35th -37th lead north along the kings highway and the border of Moab to Mt Nebo.

• Station 38 is Mount Nebo
• Station 39 is Dibon the capital of Moab.
• Stations 40-42 are in Moab near Mt Nebo.

• 22. Makheloth Nu. 33:25-26 A place dedicated to Moloch Near Moab
• 23. Tahath Nu. 33:26-27 Egyptian for the land of gardens on the borders of Moab and Edom nabatea
• 24. Tarah Nu. 33:27-28 Ta Ra The land of the Egyptians On the borders of Moab and Edom
• 25. Mithcah Nu. 33:28-29 associated with Petra on the borders of Moab and Edom near Petra.
• 26. Hashmonah Nu. 33:29-30 Ha Shmona Kiryat Shmona South
• 27. Moseroth Nu. 33:30-31 The place where Aaron died at the foor of Mt Hor (Petra)
• 28. Bene Jaakan Nu. 33:31-32 the wells of Jaakan Near Mt Hor (Petra)
• 29. Hor Haggidgad - Petra Nu. 33:32-33 The cleft in the mountain -the entrance to Petra
• 30. Jotbathah Nu. 33:33-34 Between Petra and Elat
• 31. Abronah Nu. 33:34-35 Near Ezion Geber industrial suburb north of the port of Elat
• 32. Ezion-Geber Nu. 33:35-36 Elat Near northern tip of Gulf of Aqaba
• 33. Kadesh Nu. 20:1,22, 33:36-37 Located in the Wilderness of Zin Miriam's burial place

Kadesh Barnea, the southern Border of Israel at the Brook of Egypt

• 34. Mount Hor (Petra) Nu. 20:22, 21:4, 33:37-41 On the border of Moab and Edom Aaron 's burial place
• 35. Zalmonah Nu. 33:41-42 where the manna was delivered textual artifact al mon = manna
• 36. Punon Nu. 33:42-43 A place without mannah where the sons of Israel complained of hunger and were attacked by snakes
• 37. Oboth Nu. 21:10-11, 33:43-44 adjacent to Mt Nebo Moab, Ammon, Edom, Zobah, and the Philistines
• 38. Iye Abarim - Abarim Ruins Nu. 21:11, 33:44-45 Israelites encamped beneath Mount Nebo Jordan

at the ruins

• 39. Dhiban- Dibon Gad Nu. 33:45-46 Dhiban was the capital of Moab in Jordan east of the Dead Sea south of Amman
• 40. Almon Diblathaim Nu. 33:46-47 where the manna was delivered by the west wind Phillistine Athaim, a town in Moab
• 41. Abarim -Abarim Mountains Nu. 33:13-14 Israelites encamped beneath Mount Nebo in Jordan
• 42. Moab - Moab Plains Nu. 22:1, 33:48-50 Israelites encamped on the Jordan River from Beith Hayishimoth to Aveil Hashittim Occupied most of the Trans-Jordan region

The stations list was originally a distinct and separate source text. A slightly variant version of the list appears in full at Numbers 33

• Nelson GlueckRivers in the Desert. HUC. 1959.Discusses The evidence for the Exodus in the Negev
• William H McNeil and Jean W Sedlar, The Ancient Near East. OUP. 1962. Discusses the evidence for Habiru and hapitu in Canaan
• Andrew George, The Epic of Gillgamesh. Penguin. 2000. ISBN No14-044721-0. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help) Includes toponyms for Canaan
• James B. Pritchard, The Ancient Near East. OUP. 1968. Jerusalim, siege and fall
• Dr. Muhammed Abdul Nayeem, Prehistory and Protohistory of the Arabian Peninsula. Hyderabad. 1990.
• Michael RoafCultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East. Equinox. 1990. ISBN 0-8160-2218-6.
• Gerard HermThe Phoenicians. William *Morrow^ Co. Inc. 1975. ISBN 0-688-02908-6.Jerusalim pp 33,84-106 passim, 123,125,126,145,149,150,154
• Lionel CassonThe Ancient Mariners. PUP. 1991. ISBN 06910147879. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: length (help)
• George BassA History of Seafaring. Walker and Company. 2004. ISBN 08027-0-3909.

The Bible, Numbers 33,

The stages of the Exodus from Thebes Egypt to the Red Sea

33:5 And the children of Israel removed from Rameses, and pitched in Succoth.

P33:6 And they departed from Succoth, and pitched in Etham, which is in the edge of the wilderness.

33:7 And they removed from Etham, and turned again unto Pihahiroth, which is before Baalzephon: and they pitched before Migdol.

P33:8 And they departed from before Pihahiroth, and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, and went three days' journey in the wilderness of Etham, and pitched in Marah.

33:9 And they removed from Marah, and came unto Elim: and in Elim were twelve fountains of water, and threescore and ten palm trees; and they pitched there.

33:10 And they removed from Elim, and encamped by the Red sea.

The crossing of the Red Sea

33:11 And they removed from the Red sea, and encamped in the wilderness of Sin.

The encampments in and around Mt Horab and Elat

33:12 And they took their journey out of the wilderness of Sin, and encamped in Dophkah.

33:13 And they departed from Dophkah, and encamped in Alush.

33:14 And they removed from Alush, and encamped at Rephidim, where was no water for the people to drink.

33:15 And they departed from Rephidim, and pitched in the wilderness of Sinai.

33:16 And they removed from the desert of Sinai, and pitched at Kibrothhattaavah.

33:17 And they departed from Kibrothhattaavah, and encamped at Hazeroth.

The encampments bordering Edom

33:18 And they departed from Hazeroth, and pitched in Rithmah.

33:19 And they departed from Rithmah, and pitched at Rimmonparez.

33:20 And they departed from Rimmonparez, and pitched in Libnah.

33:21 And they removed from Libnah, and pitched at Rissah.

33:22 And they journeyed from Rissah, and pitched in Kehelathah.

33:23 And they went from Kehelathah, and pitched in mount Shapher.

33:24 And they removed from mount Shapher, and encamped in Haradah.

The encampments in and around Moab

33:25 And they removed from Haradah, and pitched in Makheloth.

33:26 And they removed from Makheloth, and encamped at Tahath.

33:27 And they departed from Tahath, and pitched at Tarah.

33:28 And they removed from Tarah, and pitched in Mithcah.

33:29 And they went from Mithcah, and pitched in Hashmonah.

33:30 And they departed from Hashmonah, and encamped at Moseroth.

The encampements in and around Pella

33:31 And they departed from Moseroth, and pitched in Benejaakan.

33:32 And they removed from Benejaakan, and encamped at Horhagidgad.

33:33 And they went from Horhagidgad, and pitched in Jotbathah.

33:34 And they removed from Jotbathah, and encamped at Ebronah.

The return to Elat and Kadesh Barnea

33:35 And they departed from Ebronah, and encamped at Eziongaber.

33:36 And they removed from Eziongaber, and pitched in the wilderness of Zin, which is Kadesh.

33:37 And they removed from Kadesh, and pitched in mount Hor, in the edge of the land of Edom.

The return to Pella

33:41 And they departed from mount Hor, and pitched in Zalmonah.

33:42 And they departed from Zalmonah, and pitched in Punon.

The return to Moab

33:43 And they departed from Punon, and pitched in Oboth.

33:44 And they departed from Oboth, and pitched in Ijeabarim, in the border of Moab.

33:45 And they departed from Iim, and pitched in Dibongad.

33:46 And they removed from Dibongad, and encamped in Almondiblathaim.

33:47 And they removed from Almondiblathaim, and pitched in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo.

33:48 And they departed from the mountains of Abarim, and pitched in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho.

33:49 And they pitched by Jordan', from Bethjesimoth even unto Abelshittim in the plains of Moab.

• The location of Elat is referenced in Nelson Glueks "Rivers in the Desert", Nayeems the pre and proto history of the Arabian Penninsula, The Periplus of the Erythrian Sea and is a well researched modern city Rktect (talk) 15:07, 11 January 2009 (UTC)

Response

Thanks for your long explanation. It is clear that you have done a great deal of valuable research. However, I'm afraid that much of it is unsuitable for this wikipedia article, for (at least) two reasons:

1. The simpler objection is that this article is about Mount Horeb, whereas the material you have inserted is a general discussion of the route of the exodus. That is discussed in The Exodus#Route. We don't want different articles to contradict each other, nor excesively to repeat each other, and so your contribution belongs there rather than here.
2. The more important objection is that this seems to be WP:OR on a major scale. Wikipedia does not include original research; it reports the published research of others. The WP:RS in what you put into the article are greatly inadequate. I see you have given a list of references above, but it is not clear which of them actually support the theory you are presenting; certainly not all of them do.

Worst of all is the violation of WP:NPOV. The location of all places relevant to the Exodus is disputed. You or I may think we know where they are, but amongst scholars in general there is dispute and disagreement. The job of Wikipedia is not to select the right one; it is to report the fact of dispute and in a neutral way to discuss different theories that have been advanced, with the supporting arguments, but fully attributed to those who advance them.

If your idea about the location of Horeb and other places has been published by a reputable scholar in a reputable source, you can include it as such. You still need to make clear that there is disagreement, as currently stated in the article. And if your idea has not been published, I'm afraid it cannot be included at all. I hope this makes sense. Enhancement of the article is welcome, in general. I think it would be preferable not to delete too mauch of what is there at present. SamuelTheGhost (talk) 22:49, 11 January 2009 (UTC)

• I wanted to answer your question about the location of Midian. The location of Midian Edom and Horab have been discussed by many reputable scholars. Among them would be Nelson Glueck, Mohammed Nayim, Garth Bawden, Midean Moab and Edom, 1983 J Sawyer & EB Climes Sheffield, 1983; N. Groom "Frankincense and Myrrh (a study of the Arabian Incense trade) London, 1981; Peter J Parr "Pottery of the Late Second Millenium BC from North West Arabia and its historical implications, in Potts 1988; Rothenberg, BJ Glass "The midianite pottery in Midian, Moab and Edom ed JF Sawyer & DJ Clines, Sheffield 1983.

A Brief Response to the Alternate View Placing Mount Horeb in Midian] by William D. Barrick, Th.D. The Master’s Seminary Sun Valley, CA Mount Horeb in Midian 1. Claim: Mt. Sinai is in Arabia (Gal 4:25). Response: a. “Already in classical times identifications [of the Hyksos] had begun to proliferate. Josephus records that ‘some call them Arabs,’ a statement not so inexplicable as once thought. This derives solely from the constant use of ‘Arabia’—that is, the ‘East’—in classical writers to designate the regions of Asia closest to the Suez frontier, regions that in pharaonic times would have been known collectively as ‘the northern countries,’ namely Palestine and Syria.” – Donald B. Redford, Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1992), 99. “One ethnic element that was to play an important role as an intermediary here was the enclave of the Arabs. Egypt until the end of the second millennium had maintained a working relationship with the early tribes of the ‘Arabah in an effort not only to mine the material resources of the region but also to control the incense trade” (349). b. The ancient Greek geographer Strabo (64 B.C.-ca. A.D. 25) described the borders of Arabia as the Nile River in the west and the Persian Gulf at the east (Geography 16:4:2; 17:1:30-31). The translators of the Septuagint extended the borders of Arabia so far west that the land of Goshen in Egypt was included (kai; katoikhvsei~ ejn ghÊ` Gesem ΔArabiva~, and you shall settle in the land of Gesem of Arabia, Gen 45:10). It is obvious from this evidence that the apostle Paul was not excluding the Sinai Peninsula as the location of Mt. Sinai. c. “The Arabians call Mount Sinai Agar. It may be that the similarity of these two names gave Paul his idea for this allegory.” – Martin Luther, A Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians, 4th ed., trans. by Theodore Graebner (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Publishing Co., n.d.), 184. – This is a questionable observation to which J. B. Lightfoot, The Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Publishing House, 1971 reprint), 180-81, has made an adequate response. 2. Claim: No Hebrew inscriptions have been found in the region of the traditional Mt. Sinai: Response: There are no Hebrew inscriptions in the region of Jebel al- Lawz either. 3. Claim: No material remains/artifacts giving evidence of the presence of the Israelites for a year have been found in the region of the traditional Mt. Sinai: Response: There are no such remains/artifacts in the region of Jebel al-Lawz either.

• There are a lot of archaeologists who now locate "Mt Sinai" or Horeb in Midian, (because among other reasons there are no midianite settlements in the Sinai, and there are a lot of them in and around the Arabah). I have collected a lot of maps referencing the place names especially from Burton and Lawrence, and have photos from my own travels along those routes along with pictures of the pottery called midianite.

• Knowing the location of Mt. Horeb requires a good knowledge of the borders of Midian and Edom because it marks them. There is no dispute among scholars, albeit there is considerable dispute among "biblical archaeologists" who apparently prefer speculation to facts. Among other things the stations of the Exodus circumnavigate the bounds of Edom making it clear that its borders with Midian run down the Arabah between Moab and Elat pasing through Petra.

• I'm not directing the information about the Exodus toward the article, just toward answering your question. There are still a lot of people very confused about the route and many maps that show the people of the Exodus treking through a waterless desert with families and herds at a pace of about 25 miles a day. Once that insanity is abandoned and weu realize that the stations which reference Horab are all at Elat the location of Horab can be considered settled and added to the article.

• I have the stations list referenced in sandbox form. I removed the links to focus just on answering your question. Of the sources I list two are important. Gluecks "Rivers in the Desert" is the earliest mention I know of Timnah in the context of an Egyptian settlement with Midian wear associated with Mt Horab. Nayims "The pre and Proto History of the Arabian Penninsula" lists all the archaeological sites where Midian wear has been found on a map. The point of manufacture is located along with pictures of the pottery and extensive discussion of the history of the sites and who has excavated.

• None of what I included is original research, it goes back to the forties. Timnah is now a national park for Israel and you can find the stations located with pictures and descriptions on Google Earth.Rktect (talk) 20:36, 12 January 2009 (UTC)

Further response

I am somewhat disappointed and surprised by your reaction to my remarks. Surprised in particular since I see that you have been active in WP for several years, yet have done things which would be excusable only in a newbie.

• First, it doesn't strike me as good wikiquette just to reinstate your edit practically unchanged, taking no notice of the points I raised. I don't want to start edit warring, but in order to avoid that we really must engage with each other's arguments.
• One of the issues I raised was sources. There were previously four sources given as references, plus frequent uses of "bibleverse" where relevant. You've deleted all those sources, added a pointless reference to "Exodus in the Pentateuch" and added just one real ref, to a book by Pritchard (without publication details - is this ANET?) backing up solely the fairly peripheral point about the Amarna letters. Yet here on the talk page you list of a dozen or so sources, poorly laid out, so it's difficult to count exactly how many. In all your years on WP have't you discovered <ref>, {{cite book}}, and the fact that references go in the article, not on the talk page?
• More important in the WP:NPOV issue. You have deleted all references to that fact that the location of Horeb has been, and remains, a matter of dispute and disagreement, and have substituted an account which states unhesitaingly where it is. Since the location of Horeb does in fact remain disputed by scholars, what you have done is in flat contradiction to Wikipedia policy. Here on the talk page you have tried to convince me that your theory is right. Thais is completelly irrelevant. I would object equally strongly to what you have put in the article even if I agreed totally with your argument. Our job is not to find the truth, it is to relate what scholars have said about the truth, and where they have disagreed to present all the alternatives, not decide which one is right.

You say above "There are still a lot of people very confused about the route and many maps that show the people of the Exodus treking through a waterless desert with families and herds at a pace of about 25 miles a day. Once that insanity is abandoned and weu realize that the stations which reference Horab are all at Elat the location of Horab can be considered settled and added to the article." This is precisely the point. If people are "confused" we must in the article present their "confused" idea on a way they would recognise, and without judgement against it. Only if and when scholarly opinion becomes unanimous can we come out against their idea. Similarly "the location .. can be considered settled" in the article when, and only when, all scholarly opinion considers it settled.

It would be better if you make some of the modifications implied by what I have said. I'm not disputing that you have made a contribution, but it has to be done in accordance with WP policy. SamuelTheGhost (talk) 22:41, 14 January 2009 (UTC)

I apologize for any miscommunication. I thought you had asked a question which I had answered to your satisfaction. I didn't delete the sources, someone else did that. They are probably still there in the revision history. I don't expect there is any rigor required for sources on a talk page but normally I would archive rather than delete. If you find any convincing or useful I'm happy to include them in the article. I really don't understand how you consider the location of Horab questionable. Its very clearly located by Deuteronomy 1:1 and 1 Kings as at Elat. I can't really see where there is any question about that. It can't be in the Arabah and in the Sinai at the same time. Any source which would say such a thing is really not a reliable source. Beyond that there are only just so many mountains at the southern end of the Arabah. Scholars are often wrong in their speculations on this and many other issues. Other scholars come along and correct the record. Other scholars point this out and eventually the old consensus is replaced with a new one.

It wouldn't hold in any other discipline that the discredited theory comes first. I disagree with you somewhat that our job is not to correct the record or to update the record so that someone looking a subject up can get at a first pass the right information close to the top of the article and that we are constrained to present only the wrong information on the theory that people reading the article aren't current on the topic. I agree with you that its fine to include in the references section different views by other scholars. Why don't you provide three scholarly views that locate Horab other than in the Arabah and I will provide three plus the two primary sources that locate it there. Rktect (talk) 23:22, 14 January 2009 (UTC)

I am surprised by your statement "I didn't delete the sources, someone else did that." You deleted them, twice, here and again here. The sources in the article appeared in <ref>s, whose use it appears you don't understand (?). I don't know who you are suggesting the "someone else" could be. Look at the history and think about it. As for "I don't expect there is any rigor required for sources on a talk page", no indeed. Sources should appear in the article, as I said before, and it is there that they should be properly presented.

As for "I really don't understand how you consider the location of Horab questionable.", you continue to miss the point. It doesn't matter what I consider or think. I haven't actually told you what I think about the location of Horeb, because it has no relevance to what goes in the article. What matters is the published opinions of reputable scholars. Several of these are given in the references which you deleted. Another is given by "The Oxford Companion ot the Bible", published 1993, where the short article on "Horeb" makes it quite clear they regard Horeb and Sinai as identical, and the rather longer article on "Sinai" speculates on several different locations for that mountain (but not mentioning Elat), without firmly recommending any of them.

In your remark "I disagree with you somewhat that our job is not to correct the record or to update the record." you are not disagreeing so much with me as with wikipedia policy. One of the WP:Five Pillars is WP:NPOV. I didn't make that policy, although I support it. If you disagree with it, you shouldn't be editing Wikipedia. SamuelTheGhost (talk) 23:54, 15 January 2009 (UTC)

I stand corrected. I apparently did delete your "sources" I thought those were just errors, falsehoods, and confusions.

In other biblical passages these events are described as having transpired at Mount Sinai, but though Sinai and Horeb are often considered to have been different names for the same place, there is a body of opinion that they were different locations,. In any case there is no direct evidence that they were identical. Passages earlier in the narrative text than the Israelite encounter with Horeb indicate that the ground of the mountain was considered holy (Exodus 3:5).

Different Bibles uses the terms Sinai and Horeb consistently in different passages. (see Strongs concordance) Your first statement is thus false and neither quoted nor referenced to a page so not "sourced". Your second statement that there is no direct evidence they were identical is also false. The passages themselves refer to a mountain in Midian where Moses tended the flocks of Jethro a priest of Midian. They refer to Alush where Moses struck the rock of Mt Horeb and produced water. They refer to the top of Mt Horeb where Moses directed the battle with the Amalek. They refer to the place where Moses was reunited with Jethro. They refer to a mountain where Moses gave the people the Ten Commandments. Deuteronomy 1:1 and 16 other passages gives details about that place. We know all about that place. Again your source isn't a quote and doesn't give a page so its not "sourced". It doesn't add anything but confusion to the article.

In Matityahu Clark's book Etymological Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew, the root for Horev, ie. Chorev,(Chet, reish, beit) is related to the word for sword 'Cherev' (Chet, reish, beit) showing the meaning of Chorev being as "desolation as after a mighty battle", where the root for Sinai 'Sineh' being (somech, nun, hey) relating to both "bush" and the idea "to fend off an attack". The relationship between "fend off" and "bush" being that this bush has thorns to in fact "fend off" its enemies. Both of these words tend to paint a word picture of a very desolate place that defends itself by the very rough terrain and thorny bushes that surrounding it.

There is no root for Horeb in Biblical Hebrew. Biblical Hebrew didn't exist at that time or in that place. The attempt to make everything a Hebrew etymology doesn't work. The word isn't Horev or Chorev is Horeb from Egyptian "{hr(y)ib} middle n. section 178" If that conclusion is what you meant by "sources" I apologize I guess I did delete your sources...

As to WP:NPOV I don't think it means leave the article the way you found it full of mistatements of fact, bad writijust errors, falsehoods, and confusionsng and nonsense. NPOV means don't assume everything that has found its way into your Torah has an etymology from Biblical Hebrew.Rktect (talk) 02:08, 16 January 2009 (UTC)

So you thought that

1. "Sinai and Horeb". Encyclopædia Biblica. http://www.case.edu/univlib/preserve/Etana/encyl_biblica_q-z/sin-sodom_and_gomorrah.pdf.
2. "Mount Horeb". Jewish Encyclopedia. http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=817&letter=S&search=horeb.
3. Matthew Black and H. H. Rowley, ed. (1963). "Exodus". Peake's Commentary on the Bible (second edition ed.). Thomas Nelson. pp. section 178c.
4. Harris, J. Rendel (1902). "Sinai, Mount". in James Hastings. A Dictionary of the Bible. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/hastings/dictv4/Page_536.html.

were just "just errors, falsehoods, and confusions". We should be seeking for consensus on this article here. You're not trying very hard with that one. SamuelTheGhost (talk) 11:35, 16 January 2009 (UTC)

Lets include those sources and refer to them in the section "Horeb or sinai"

It should be clear that what people wrote in 1902, or 1963 does not include any knowledge of the archaeology done at Timna between 1980 and 2009. As regards the location, proper name, and situation of Horeb those would be in the category of testable hypothesis which have been tested and found wanting. As regards the Hebrew etymology that would go over the edge into bad speculation. Reputable sources should not be speculative. We could easily find consensus in improving what we chose for sources.

In a section to be entitled "Horeb or Sinai" I propose that we address the issues raised by your sources and focus on Strongs concordance in which the evidence of the separate authors for the books of the Penteteuch makes it clear that the Deutrenomicist has updated the information to add clarity and detail and make the use of the word Sinai inappropriate. I don't consider this WP:OR, just due dilligence for an article on Horeb. We could put it under a section comparing the places where the different attribution occurs. There are perhaps 10 separate versions according to which Bible but really it comes down to Horeb or Sinai, and then the focus is on the Decalouge which uses Sinai more than Horeb and the rest of the Penteteuch and the other books comiled which use Horeb more. That might be interesting

In a section to be entitled "Sources of Toponyms" I would like to agree that the stations list preserves Egyptian in its Egyptian toponyms like Pi Hi Haroth, the Name of Moses, the name Horeb; evidences a mix of Greek and Phoenician in Baal Zephon, and Elat (Asherah) has a purely semitic term in Migdol, uses a sumarianism preserved in Akkadian in the etymology of Sinai from Sin, and has preserved Canaanite toponyms in the places occupied by the original inhabitants of Canaan the Im.

In a section entitled "Events occuring at Horeb near Elat on the border of Edom and Midian" I would like to list the burning bush, tending of flocks, striking of the stone to get water, battle with the Amalek, reunification with Jethro, stations 8-12 of the stations list, the Deuteronomy 1:1 reference to Horeb being in the Arabah and the 1 kings reference to Elat.

In a section entitled "Events occuring at Mt. Sinai, the Mountain of God or Horeb" I would like to include the composition and delivery of the Decalouge.

In a section entitled "The Archaeology of the region around Horeb" I's like to see the work of Nelson Glueck and the archaeologists who have been working at Timna.

In a section entitled "Genesis 14 references to the stations of Exodus" I would like to include the list of places mentioned in both accounts and a map.

I'd like to see a map of the route of Exodus that brings us to Horeb and takes us from there to Canaan.

Rktect (talk) 13:49, 16 January 2009 (UTC)

Agreement to update sources

Thanks for your suggestions. Some points in reply:

• I agree that the four sources in the current article are rather old. Of course I am happy to supplement them with more recent ones.

• The question of the identity or otherwise of Horeb and Sinai is an important preliminary issue. The idea that they are identical is, and always has been, the majority view, but the idea that they might be distinct recurs every now and then. This article did not exist until a year ago, when I created it by splitting it off from Biblical Mount Sinai. I did this because it seemed to me that a different name requires a seprate article, even though generally assumed to refer to the same place. That's why it's a short article, ending with "Further discussion of the location appears in the article Biblical Mount Sinai." Since you follow the majority view in this, the logical place to develop your material would be in that article, not in this one.

• I really don't know what you mean by "Different Bibles uses the terms Sinai and Horeb consistently in different passages" or "There are perhaps 10 separate versions according to which Bible but really it comes down to Horeb or Sinai." What different bibles are we talking about? If you mean different translations, as far as I am aware all of them translate the Hebrew Sinai as "Sinai" and the Hebrew Horeb as "Horeb".
• Your proposed section "Events occuring at Horeb near Elat on the border of Edom and Midian" could exist, but not under that precise title, since it presupposes as fact judgements which must be presented as theory.
• Your proposed section on the composition and delivery of the Decalogue would be out of place, because there is already a substantial article on Ten Commandments, which it would be undesirable to duplicate, and even more undesirable to contradict.
• On the archaeology, there is already an article on Nelson Glueck. Anything further on that subject could be added there or to other appropriate articles, but I cannot see much case for adding it to this one. Relevant links would be fine.
• I see any connection with Genesis 14 as highly speculative, and such material could only come in clearly labelled as such.
• It would throw things too badly out of balance to include only a map supporting your theory. It would be more acceptable to have several maps, showing different possible interpretations.

SamuelTheGhost (talk) 21:20, 17 January 2009 (UTC)

Please do add more recent sources but go ahead and keep the old ones to show how opinion has changed or hasn't. I'll leave that to you. I see the many references to Midian as important in locating Horeb but came on a couple of new points myself while going through Strong;s concordance. When you type in Amalek you discover that they come from Timnah. When the people Moses leads fight the Amalek Aaron holds up his left hand and Hur of Midian holds up his right.

I think the majority view is that they are identical and the mountain of god is in the Sinai. Those who allow there are some differences claim that Horeb is the mountain range and Sinai is the mountain; or they go a step further and claim that its not mount Sinai but maybe jebal Mussa. Some people claim that the mountain is in Midian but locate it at gebal Lawrence, (this is the view of a lot of the people who live in Saudi Arabia.) Those who place it in Midian just spread the stations out however far it takes to reach Gebal Lawrence even if the people of the Exodus with their women and children carrying all their loot and driving their herds and flocks have to cover 25 miles or more a day.

I'm of the small minority who claim they are different places, Mt. Sinai is the figment of someones imagination, Horeb (hr(y)ib) is real and exists at Elat between Edom and Midian was reached along a long standing trade route across the red Sea and thats what all the details of the text refer to.

I think you should have two sections, one events occuring at Horeb and one events occuring at Sinai. All the details occur at Horeb there are several stations located there, 9-13. At Sinai even those texts which call it Mount Sinai address only the Decalouge.

Its an odd difference but there it is.

Nelson Glueck was there in the 40's. More recent archaeology has turned Timnah into a national park for Israel. You can certainly link to Glueck, Burton, Lawrence, Timnah; but should also get into some of the more recent thinking.

the places of the Amalek, Emim, ZuZim, Rephadim, Nephalim

Genesis 14 has a lot of information about the Amalek, Emim, ZuZim, Rephadim, Nephalim, where they live and interestingly goes south along the Seir while Exodus goes north along the same route.

When I started studying this back forty years ago I had no idea where all the places mentioned were. Over the years I have managed to visit a few of the ones in Saudi Arabia and talked to some of the "people of the book" about what they thought. I'm fairly well satisfied that the stations of the Exodus cross the Red Sea from Elim to Elat, hang out for a while around Horeb while they nurse their wounds and bury their dead from the battle with the Amalek, then compass Edom, returning to Horab through Petra (the cleft in the rock). What some might call OR I consider due dilligence; you read all the source material then you go check it out. None of the stations go anywhere near Mount Sinai; Several of them do trace its common border with Edom heading up from Elat to Gaza.

As far as I'm concerned the more maps the better. Rktect (talk) 22:54, 17 January 2009 (UTC)

I see you've started editing again in a big way. I really haven't the time and energy to check out every detail of what you write, but unfortunately that's what it needs. I'll just take one particular representative example, to show the sort of thing that undermines my faith in your contributions:

Previously there was the entirely correct statement "There are no references to Horeb in the New Testament." You've changed it to "There are references to Horeb in the New Testament at Galations and elsewhere." In fact there are two references to "Sinai" at Galatians 4:24–25. So when you say "references to Horeb" you mean "references to Sinai", which, even if you think it means the same thing, is hardly an honest way of presenting it. When you say "in Galations" you're being unhelpfully vague. Why didn't you give chapter and verse? And "and elsewhere" is just a figment of your imagination.

Like I say, there are limits to my patience and energy in this matter. Please try to be precise, accurate, and give proper sources. Then we might get somewhere useful. SamuelTheGhost (talk) 14:55, 19 January 2009 (UTC)

references to Horeb, Sinai, the Arabah, Elat, Midian, the Gulf of Arabah in the account

Its false that there are no references to Horeb in the New Testament, The chapter and verse references to Horeb in the New Testament are easy enough to add but why is it germane to this article to do so?

Here's the elsewhere. Hagar, Hagarenes, Edom, Ishmael, Moab, Gebal, Ammon, Amalek, the Phillistines, Tyre, Assur, Lot, Selah, Jabin, Siserah, Oreb, Zeeb, Zeeba, Zalmunnah, the Midianites; all the enemies of Israel joined together

Psa 83:2 For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head.

Psa 83:3 They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.

Psa 83:4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from [being] a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.

Psa 83:5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:

Psa 83:6 The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes;

Psa 83:7 Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre;

Psa 83:8 Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah.

Psa 83:9 Do unto them as [unto] the Midianites; as [to] Sisera, as [to] Jabin, at the brook of Kison:

Psa 83:10 [Which] perished at Endor: they became [as] dung for the earth.

Psa 83:11 Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb: yea, all their princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna:

• Psa 106:19 They made 6213 (8799) a calf 5695 in Horeb 2722, and worshipped 7812 (8691) the molten image 4541.
• Mal 4:4 Remember 2142 (8798) ye the law 8451 of Moses 4872 my servant 5650, which I commanded 6680 (8765) unto him in Horeb 2722 for all Israel 3478, [with] the statutes 2706 and judgments 4941.

• Gal 4:24 which things are symbolic. For these are the* two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar--
• Gal 4:25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children--

Haven't we agreed that references to the "Mount Sinai in Arabia is Horeb? Earlier you gave me sources which claimed Horeb was the mountain range and Sinai was the mountian. I think we have agreed that the location borders Edom and Midian in the middle between them; you questioned where was Midian, but the mountain range runs down the Arabah between Edom and Midian. I don't think Horeb and Sinai are the same. I think Horeb is correct, Sinai is an error by people who thought the mountain of god was in the Sinai. The reason it matters at all is that if you place the mountain correctly then there is no reasonable stretch of the imagination by which people get to it in 8 marches across the desert. All those references then need to go in the catagory of unreliable sources.

Out of curiosity how do you explain the Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia line?Rktect (talk) 22:58, 19 January 2009 (UTC)

We're talking about the statement "There are references to Horeb in the New Testament at Galations and elsewhere." In common English this must mean "elsewhere in the New Testament" and that is certainly what I took it to mean. You've provided me with a long list of references (some of them dubious) in the Old Testament. The only NT references are the verses mentioning Sinai in Galatians, which I'd already located. My original statement "There are no references to Horeb in the New Testament." could be clarified as "There are no references to Horeb (under that name) in the New Testament" but otherwise remains unshaken.

You've twice said "we agreed", above, where we did no such thing. I've said that the clear majority opinion of sources is that Horeb and Sinai are the same place. I haven't said whether or not that opinion is correct, nor can we do so in the article. Similarly I have never expressed or agreed any view as to where Horeb actually is. Our purpose, as I keep reminding you, is to record other people's opinions, not our own.

I'm hoping that we are agreed to agree eventually.

Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia

I don't claim to be able to "explain the Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia line". In the appropriate place(s), such as in Biblical Mount Sinai, it would be valuable to record what scholars have said about it. SamuelTheGhost (talk) 12:59, 20 January 2009 (UTC)

Ok, I did that. To clarify further its broken down into all the different opinions about Mount Sinai including Emanual Anati who places it at both Petra and Kadesh Barnea, Freud and Velakowsky who place it in Saudi Arabia, the Bedouins who place it at Jebal Musa and all the opinions about the mountain of the sun and the mountain of the Moon. None of them seem to locate Mount Horeb in those locations, just Mount Sinai...so possibly they aren't all agreed they are the same place,

and that leaves me confused as to how they would explain there being two different places which refer to the same events Rktect (talk) 20:41, 20 January 2009 (UTC)

problems with the existing article

I have bolded and commented out some of the problems here

Mount Horeb, Hebrew חֹרֵב, Greek in the Septuagint χωρηβ, Latin in the Vulgate Horeb, is the place at which the book of Deuteronomy in the Hebrew Bible states that the Ten Commandments were given to Moses by God. It is described in two places (Exodus 3:1, 1 Kings 19:8) as הַר הָאֱלֹהִים the Mountain of God or perhaps Mountain of the gods.

Mt. Horeb The first reference to Mt. Sinai in the Bible uses the designation “Horeb” (Ex 3:1). Of the 17 times this name appears in the Old Testament, mainly in Deuteronomy, only once is it given the designation “Mt. Horeb” (Ex 33:6), otherwise it is simply “Horeb.” It is apparent from the many times the term is used in reference to events that occurred at Mt. Sinai (Ex 33:6; Dt 4:10; 5:2; 9:8; 18:16; 29:1; 1 Kgs 8:9), that Horeb is an alternative name for Mt. Sinai and not another mountain or area near Mt. Sinai.

Mt. Seir is mentioned 15 times in the Old Testament and Seir 14 times. The most significant reference for our purposes is Deuteronomy 1:2: “It takes eleven days to go from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by the Mount Seir road” (NIV). There is general agreement among scholars that Kadesh Barnea is located at Ain el-Qudeirat in northern Sinai.

In other biblical passages these events are described as having transpired at Mount Sinai, but though Sinai and Horeb are often considered to have been different names for the same place, there is a body of opinion that they were different locations,[1]. In any case there is no direct evidence that they were identical. Passages earlier in the narrative text than the Israelite encounter with Horeb indicate that the ground of the mountain was considered holy (Exodus 3:5).

Contents [hide] 1 Etymology 2 Occurrences of the Name 3 Location 4 References

Horeb

[edit] Etymology According to biblical scholars, Horeb is thought to mean Glowing/Heat;[1] this seems to be a reference to the sun, while Sinai is most likely to derive from the name of Sin, the semitic lunar deity.[1][2][3] and thus Sinai and Horeb would be the mountain of the moon and sun, respectively.[2][1] Some also show the Etymology of Sinai (somech,yud,nun,yud) as being related to the word for bush (somech, nun, hey), hence Sinai being where Moshe saw the 'hasneh beish boeir' or the bush that burns with fire.

In Matityahu Clark's book Etymological Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew, the root for Horev, ie. Chorev,(Chet, reish, beit) is related to the word for sword 'Cherev' (Chet, reish, beit) showing the meaning of Chorev being as "desolation as after a mighty battle", where the root for Sinai 'Sineh' being (somech, nun, hey) relating to both "bush" and the idea "to fend off an attack". The relationship between "fend off" and "bush" being that this bush has thorns to in fact "fend off" its enemies. Both of these words tend to paint a word picture of a very desolate place that defends itself by the very rough terrain and thorny bushes that surrounding it.

[edit] Occurrences of the Name According to the researchers of the Documentary hypothesis, the name Sinai is only used in the Torah by the Jahwist and Priestly Source, whereas Horeb is only used by the Elohist and Deuteronomist.[3][4]

The name Horeb first occurs at Exodus 3:1, with the story of Moses and the Burning Bush.

Exodus 17:6 describes the incident when the Israelites were in the wilderness without water. Moses was upon the rock at Horeb. He struck the rock and obtained drinking water.

The only other use of the name in Exodus is at Exodus 33:6, where Horeb is the location where the Israelites stripped off their ornaments.

In Deuteronomy, Horeb is mentioned several times in the account of the wanderings of the Israelites in the wilderness, Deuteronomy 1:2, 1:6, 1:19.

The account of the delivery to Moses of the Ten Commandments, and references back to it, include mentions of Horeb at Deuteronomy 4:10, 4:15, 5:2,9:8, 18:16, 28:69. There are similar references back at Psalms 106:19 and Malachi 3:22.

At 1 Kings 8:9 2 Chronicles 5:10 it is stated that the Ark of the Covenant contained only the tablets delivered to Moses at Horeb.

At 1 Kings 19:8, Elijah visits Horeb the mount of God.

There are no references to Horeb in the New Testament.

[edit] Location The location of Horeb is unknown. Jewish and Christian scholars have advanced varying opinions as to its whereabouts since biblical times[2]. Elijah is described in 1 Kings 19:8 as traveling to Horeb, in a way which implies that its position was familiar when that was written, but there are no biblical references set any later in time. Further discussion of the location appears in the article Biblical Mount Sinai.

Mt Sinai just doesn't work, does it...Rktect (talk) 00:25, 15 January 2009 (UTC)

Sin

Actually, I thought they had decided a long time ago, that Sinai did not come from "Sin", the moon goodess. Wrong culture. Student7 (talk) 22:54, 14 January 2009 (UTC)

I guess it depends where you are talking. There are a lot of iah inscriptions in the region of Kerabit el sadim whose glyph is a crescent moon. Sin (Akkadian: Sîn, Suen; Sumerian: Nanna, "illuminator") is a Sumerian god of the moon in Mesopotamian mythology. He is the son of Enlil and Ninlil. His sacred city was Ur. There is no connection to him in the Sinai, the Negev or transjordan although there are some ubaid artifacts farther to the north east. Semitic calenders are lunar so there are some lunar references in Syria and Canaan also.Rktect (talk) 23:22, 14 January 2009 (UTC)

Okay. I am quoting from William Foxwell Albright From Stone Age to Christianity, pub 1940, revised edition 1957,page 263 : "Just as there is nothing in the Mosaic tradition which demands a derivation of Yahweh from an original volcanic deity (me:which he has just discussed) or storm-god, so there is nothing which requires us to explain Him as a modified moon-god. It is improbable that the name Sinai is derived from that of Sumerian Zen (older Zu-en), Accadian Sin, the moon-god worshiped at Ur (in his form Nannar) and at Harran, since there is no indication that the name Sin was ever employed by the Canaanites or the Semitic nomads of Palestine.<qualifying footnote> It is much more likely that the name Sinai is connected with the place-name Sin, which belongs to a desert plain in Sinai as well as to a Canaanite city in Syria and perhaps to a city in the northeastern Delta of Egypt. It has also long been recognized that it may somehow be connected with seneh (Aram. sanya), the name of a kind of bush where Moses is said to have first witnessed the theophany of Yahweh. The usual aetiological explanation is inadequate, though possible."

It seems to me that the old theory had been placed to rest some 50 years ago. Is history like physics where no theory ever becomes obsolete? Student7 (talk) 21:02, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

I'm not so sure about the "like physics" bit, but the answer to your last question is an emphatic Yes. SamuelTheGhost (talk) 22:31, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

SamuelTheGhostand I disagree on this, There are many testable hypothesis which get tested, or are compared to an antithesis resulting in a synthesis or in some cases an entire new theory. For example take the Hittites. At one time there was no evidence of them and people treated tham as if they were mythical giants or something. Once archaeologists actually found and excavated Hattuses they began to have Hittite texts to decipher and a lot of speculation just went away overnight.

As it turns out the mythical giants are real also. Rktect (talk) 00:23, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

Probably there are exceptions, but the Hittites are not an example, since the best modern opinion is that the biblical Hittites and the Anatolian Hittites are unrelated. And what giants? SamuelTheGhost (talk) 11:36, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

Reference to the idea that Hittites are unrelated please. Michael Roaf CAM p 132 discusses evidence for their being related or at least living among the sons of israel.

Re: Giants - Shamgar, Samson, Goliath, Og of Bashan, "Tall as an Amalek"

Shashu spies being beaten at the battle of Kadesh

• 2Sa 21:16 And Ishbibenob 3430, which [was] of the sons 3211 of the giant 7497, the weight 4948 of whose spear 7013 [weighed] three 7969 hundred 3967 [shekels] of brass 5178 in weight 4948, he being girded 2296 (8803) with a new 2319 [sword], thought 559 (8799) to have slain 5221 (8687) David 1732.
• 2Sa 21:18 And it came to pass after this 310, that there was again a battle 4421 with the Philistines 6430 at Gob 1359: then Sibbechai 5444 the Hushathite 2843 slew 5221 (8689) Saph 5593, which [was] of the sons 3211 of the giant 7497.
• 2Sa 21:20 And there was yet a battle 4421 in Gath 1661, where was a man 376 of [great] stature 4067 (8675) 4055, that had on every hand 3027 six 8337 fingers 676, and on every foot 7272 six 8337 toes 676, four 702 and twenty 6242 in number 4557; and he also was born 3205 (8795) to the giant 7497.
• 2Sa 21:22 These four 702 were born 3205 (8795) to the giant 7497 in Gath 1661, and fell 5307 (8799) by the hand 3027 of David 1732, and by the hand 3027 of his servants 5650.
• 1Ch 20:4 And it came to pass after this 310, that there arose 5975 (8799) war 4421 at Gezer 1507 with the Philistines 6430; at which time 227 Sibbechai 5444 the Hushathite 2843 slew 5221 (8689) Sippai 5598, [that was] of the children 3211 of the giant 7497: and they were subdued 3665 (8735).
• 1Ch 20:6 And yet again there was war 4421 at Gath 1661, where was a man 376 of [great] stature 4060, whose fingers 676 and toes 676 [were] four 702 and twenty 6242, six 8337 [on each hand], and six 8337 [on each foot]: and he also was the son 3205 (8738) of the giant 7497.
• 1Ch 20:8 These 411 were born 3205 (8738) unto the giant 7497 in Gath 1661; and they fell 5307 (8799) by the hand 3027 of David 1732, and by the hand 3027 of his servants 5650.
• Job 16:14 He breaketh 6555 (8799) me with breach 6556 upon 6440 breach 6556, he runneth 7323 (8799) upon me like a giant 1368

Papyrus Anastasis I "The(?) narrow defile is infested(?) with Shosu concealed beneath the bushes; some of them are of four cubits or of five cubits, from head(??) to foot(?), fierce of face, their heart is not mild, and they hearken not to coaxing. "

Rktect (talk) 23:25, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

For the Hittites, just look at Biblical Hittites#The case for separation, where there are two good refs. I don't think I'll pursue the giants, thanks. SamuelTheGhost (talk) 23:43, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

Chittiy

Pronunciation

khit·tē' (Key)masculine patrial nounfrom H2845 TWOT 776a Hittite = "descendant of Heth" 1) the nation descended from Heth, the 2nd son of Canaan; once inhabitants of central Anatolia (modern Turkey), later in north Lebanon

• Gen 23:10 And Ephron 6085 dwelt 3427 (8802) among 8432 the children 1121 of Heth 2845: and Ephron 6085 the Hittite 2850 answered 6030 (8799) Abraham 85 in the audience 241 of the children 1121 of Heth 2845, [even] of all that went in 935 (8802) at the gate 8179 of his city 5892, saying 559 (8800),
• Gen 25:9 And his sons 1121 Isaac 3327 and Ishmael 3458 buried 6912 (8799) him in the cave 4631 of Machpelah 4375, in the field 7704 of Ephron 6085 the son 1121 of Zohar 6714 the Hittite 2850, which [is] before 6440 Mamre 4471;
• Gen 26:34 And Esau 6215 was forty 705 years 8141 old 1121 when he took 3947 (8799) to wife 802 Judith 3067 the daughter 1323 of Beeri 882 the Hittite 2850, and Bashemath 1315 the daughter 1323 of Elon 356 the Hittite 2850:
• Gen 36:2 Esau 6215 took 3947 (8804) his wives 802 of the daughters 1323 of Canaan 3667; Adah 5711 the daughter 1323 of Elon 356 the Hittite 2850, and Aholibamah 173 the daughter 1323 of Anah 6034 the daughter 1323 of Zibeon 6649 the Hivite 2340;
• Gen 49:29 And he charged 6680 (8762) them, and said 559 (8799) unto them, I am to be gathered 622 (8737) unto my people 5971: bury 6912 (8798) me with my fathers 1 in the cave 4631 that [is] in the field 7704 of Ephron 6085 the Hittite 2850,
• Gen 49:30 In the cave 4631 that [is] in the field 7704 of Machpelah 4375, which [is] before 6440 Mamre 4471, in the land 776 of Canaan 3667, which Abraham 85 bought 7069 (8804) with the field 7704 of Ephron 6085 the Hittite 2850 for a possession 272 of a buryingplace 6913.
• Gen 50:13 For his sons 1121 carried 5375 (8799) him into the land 776 of Canaan 3667, and buried 6912 (8799) him in the cave 4631 of the field 7704 of Machpelah 4375, which Abraham 85 bought 7069 (8804) with the field 7704 for a possession 272 of a buryingplace 6913 of Ephron 6085 the Hittite 2850, before 6440 Mamre 4471.
• Exd 23:28 And I will send 7971 (8804) hornets 6880 before 6440 thee, which shall drive out 1644 (8765) the Hivite 2340, the Canaanite 3669, and the Hittite 2850, from before 6440 thee.
• Exd 33:2 And I will send 7971 (8804) an angel 4397 before 6440 thee; and I will drive out 1644 (8765) the Canaanite 3669, the Amorite 567, and the Hittite 2850, and the Perizzite 6522, the *Hivite 2340, and the Jebusite 2983:
• Exd 34:11 Observe 8104 (8798) thou that which I command 6680 (8764) thee this day 3117: behold, I drive out 1644 (8802) before 6440 thee the Amorite 567, and the Canaanite 3669, and the Hittite 2850, and the Perizzite 6522, and the Hivite 2340, and the Jebusite 2983.
• Jos 9:1 And it came to pass, when all the kings 4428 which [were] on this side 5676 Jordan 3383, in the hills 2022, and in the valleys 8219, and in all the coasts 2348 of the great 1419 sea 3220 over against 4136 Lebanon 3844, the Hittite 2850, and the Amorite 567, the Canaanite 3669, the Perizzite 6522, the Hivite 2340, and the Jebusite 2983, heard 8085 (8800) [thereof];
• Jos 11:3 [And to] the Canaanite 3669 on the east 4217 and on the west 3220, and [to] the Amorite 567, and the Hittite 2850, and the Perizzite 6522, and the Jebusite 2983 in the mountains 2022, and [to] the Hivite 2340 under Hermon 2768 in the land 776 of Mizpeh 4709.
• 1Sa 26:6 Then answered 6030 (8799) David 1732 and said 559 (8799) to Ahimelech 288 the Hittite 2850, and to Abishai 52 the son 1121 of Zeruiah 6870, brother 251 to Joab 3097, saying 559 (8800), Who will go down 3381 (8799) with me to Saul 7586 to the camp 4264? And Abishai 52 said 559 (8799), I will go down 3381 (8799) with thee.
• 2Sa 11:3 And David 1732 sent 7971 (8799) and enquired 1875 (8799) after the woman 802. And [one] said 559 (8799), [Is] not this Bathsheba 1339, the daughter 1323 of Eliam 463, the wife 802 of Uriah 223 the Hittite 2850?
• 2Sa 11:6 And David 1732 sent 7971 (8799) to Joab 3097, [saying], Send 7971 (8798) me Uriah 223 the Hittite 2850. And Joab 3097 sent 7971 (8799) Uriah 223 to David 1732.

2Sa 11:17 And the men 582 of the city 5892 went out 3318 (8799), and fought 3898 (8735) with Joab 3097: and there fell 5307 (8799) [some] of the people 5971 of the servants 5650 of David 1732; and Uriah 223 the Hittite 2850 died 4191 (8799) also.

• 2Sa 11:21 Who smote 5221 (8689) Abimelech 40 the son 1121 of Jerubbesheth 3380? did not a woman 802 cast 7993 (8689) a piece 6400 of a millstone 7393 upon him from the wall 2346, that he died 4191 (8799) in Thebez 8405? why went ye nigh 5066 (8738) the wall 2346? then say 559 (8804) thou, Thy servant 5650 Uriah 223 the Hittite 2850 is dead 4191 (8804) also.
• 2Sa 11:24 And the shooters 3384 (8688) shot 3384 (8686) from off the wall 2346 upon thy servants 5650; and [some] of the king's 4428 servants 5650 be dead 4191 (8799), and thy servant 5650 Uriah 223 the Hittite 2850 is dead 4191 (8804) also.
• 2Sa 12:9 Wherefore hast thou despised 959 (8804) the commandment 1697 of the LORD 3068, to do 6213 (8800) evil 7451 in his sight 5869? thou hast killed 5221 (8689) Uriah 223 the Hittite 2850 with the sword 2719, and hast taken 3947 (8804) his wife 802 [to be] thy wife 802, and hast slain 2026 (8804) him with the sword 2719 of the children 1121 of Ammon 5983.
• 2Sa 12:10 Now therefore the sword 2719 shall never 5704 5769 depart 5493 (8799) from thine house 1004; because 6118 thou hast despised 959 (8804) me, and hast taken 3947 (8799) the wife 802 of Uriah 223 the Hittite 2850 to be thy wife 802.
• 2Sa 23:39 Uriah 223 the Hittite 2850: thirty 7970 and seven 7651 in all.
• 1Ki 15:5 Because David 1732 did 6213 (8804) [that which was] right 3477 in the eyes 5869 of the LORD 3068, and turned not aside 5493 (8804) from any [thing] that he commanded 6680 (8765) him all the days 3117 of his life 2416, save only in the matter 1697 of Uriah 223 the Hittite 2850.
• 1Ch 11:41 Uriah 223 the Hittite 2850, Zabad 2066 the son 1121 of Ahlai 304,
• Eze 16:3 And say 559 (8804), Thus saith 559 (8804) the Lord 136 GOD 3069 unto Jerusalem 3389; Thy birth 4351 and thy nativity 4138 [is] of the land 776 of Canaan 3669; thy father 1 [was] an Amorite 567, and thy mother 517 an Hittite 2850.
• Eze 16:45 Thou [art] thy mother's 517 daughter 1323, that lotheth 1602 (8802) her husband 376 and her children 1121; and thou [art] the sister 269 of thy sisters 269, which lothed 1602 (8804) their husbands 582 and their children 1121: your mother 517 [was] an Hittite 2850, and your father 1 an Amorite 567.

Rktect (talk) 00:01, 23 January 2009 (UTC)

Um, I wouldn't wish to criticise, but you do seem to like huge but incomprehensible replies. Have you come across the proverb "Brevity is the soul of wit"? SamuelTheGhost (talk) 00:10, 23 January 2009 (UTC)

Thats wise and useful advice, I'll try to take it Rktect (talk) 00:57, 23 January 2009 (UTC)

bibleverse

Is there some reason that we are using external references in the text to non-standard bible texts instead of the Wikipedia template bibleverse? The latter wonderfully truncates quotes to the desired passage instead of letting the reader go on and on into irrelevant passages. Just wondering. Student7 (talk) 21:06, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

I've just counted twenty uses of the Wikipedia template bibleverse in the article. On a cursory reading I can't find the use any other method of reference to bible texts. Could you explain? SamuelTheGhost (talk) 22:15, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

Well, the very first one refers to Exodus 3:1 in -non-bibleverse. Didn't want to change it in case there was some good reason.Student7 (talk) 23:02, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

Have you looked at the source? The article begins

{{dablink|For other uses of the names Horeb or Mount Horeb, see [[Horeb]].}} ''Mount Horeb'', is a place between Edom and Midian where many of the events mentioned in the Book of Exodus in the Pentateuch of the Bible occur. The name ''Horeb'' first occurs at {{bibleverse||Exodus|3:1|HE}}, with the story of Moses and the [[Burning Bush]] while tending the flocks of Jethro a priest of Midian.

doesn't it? SamuelTheGhost (talk) 23:36, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

You're right. It is the selection of the text in bibleverse that must expand the ref indefinitely. I quit. I've talked about this too long already.Student7 (talk) 14:13, 23 January 2009 (UTC)

References

in a discussion page, these need to be imbedded and not real footnotes! This section should be deleted. (Student7)

It may be regrettable, but <ref>s got used in several places (not by me). I inserted {{reflist}} to make them visible. It doesn't seem likely that anyone is going to go through all those references embedding them nicely - I'm certainly not - so meanwhile the {{reflist}} should stay. SamuelTheGhost (talk) 22:24, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

I've now put <references/> at the end of each paragraph where <ref>s are used, which I think solves your archiving problem. So the final {{reflist}} has gone. If this issue ever occurs elsewhere, you'll know how to deal with it yourself. SamuelTheGhost (talk) 13:08, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

I see that you have made a dramatic change not exactly along the lines of what we had discussed. Is there any point in discussing this further? Some of the things that catch my eye are that in the discussion you had advocated keeping as diverse as possible a range of positions in the article. It now has more than a few ideas we might describe as fringe. Before I revert it or tag it or mess it all up on you is there any possibility you might move some of those out of the articles main bosy and into references? Rktect (talk) 16:38, 8 February 2009 (UTC)

There's some of the material in the "Etymology" section where that criticism could apply (I didn't write that). Most of the rest is straight boring fact. I'm not trying to prevent you from editing this article, just to restrain your enthusiasm a bit. In particular, don't crash in with disputable material in the lead. A section in the middle where the text begins "according to the published theories of ..." and then the theory concerned, is the right way to introduce your stuff. But also, please be more careful, for example, say "there is an interesting reference to Sinai in Galatians, but no other reference to Sinai or Horeb in the NT", rather than the way you said it before. Also distinguish clearly between what the biblical text directly says and what you understand it to mean. This applies particularly to all place-names. If you take it all rather slowly, it will give me a chance to comment constructively as you go. I just felt it was all too much to try and correct, the way it was. SamuelTheGhost (talk) 17:09, 8 February 2009 (UTC)

I'd prefer to see the etymology passages I referenced out as notes rather than as stated fact because they are speculations. Rktect (talk) 13:55, 11 February 2009 (UTC)

I don't think that's the way to express it. I prefer to keep uses of <ref> solely for references, and therefore always brief. The competing theories and speculations can be separated out using lower-level subheadings, so the whole thing remains readable. What you've just done just pointlessly drops to the references section half-way though a paragraph. SamuelTheGhost (talk) 14:26, 11 February 2009 (UTC)

I'm just uncomfortable with the use of an adjective as the etymology of a noun, the lack of linguistic identification with a language and a connection to Horeb. You need the noun first to derive the adjective from. Glowing heat needs to be a noun that can be traced to Horeb in a linguistic etymology or you can't use use it as an etymology. You could for example find a semitic root that means glowing heat and propose that, but you would need a source that actually does so.Rktect (talk) 15:03, 11 February 2009 (UTC)

I really don't see that there's any problem with the use of an adjective as the etymology of a noun. As you must know, semitic words are mostly derived from triconsonantal roots which typically generate all parts of speech just by changes in vocalisation or the uses of a few standard prefixes, infixes and sufixes. Biblical Hebrew is an incompletely attested language, so the existence of an adjective gives the strong presumption of the existence of the corresponding noun. But in any case, we aren't entitled or competent to argue this on its merits; it's sufficient that the given references have said these things.

I suggest that you leave these etymologies alone, but add more material after the first sentence, or in the "location" section, to give greater detail (but not excessively, please) on your perspective on it all. SamuelTheGhost (talk) 16:15, 11 February 2009 (UTC)

POV

Read the article on Documentary Hypothesis and note that its repute isn't what it was. If you're going to reference it, to avoid POV issues you need to reference discussions about Horeb v Sinai from other standpoints including Midrash and Islamic tradition. 4.249.63.56 (talk) 12:37, 27 September 2011 (UTC)

Jewish Encyclopedia is unreliable

I have a problem with the references in this article. The first footnote in this page goes to the Jewish Encyclopedia, and this source is cited 4 times. However, I can't possibly see how this source stands up to WP:RS considering it's over a century old. So I would propose to remove it from this article entirely. 70.27.185.214 (talk) 21:39, 19 August 2018 (UTC)

Mount sinai... is mount Sinai also named mount Zion?

Question; is mount Sinai also named mount Zion? Johnmsandoval (talk) 20:25, 24 December 2018 (UTC)