Page:The Northern Ḥeǧâz (1926).djvu/270

 the Biblical account of the route taken by the children of Israel in their wanderings. Deuteronomy, 2: 1, states that they proceeded from Ḳadeš into the desert in the direction of the Red Sea (Sea of Reeds), making a great detour round the Seʻîr mountain range, until finally they proceeded northward. Deuteronomy, 2: 8, amplifies this with the remark that they went along the road of ʻAraba, marching from Elath and ʻEṣjôngeber and passing through Seʻîr.—

I locate Ḳadeš in the neighborhood of the later town of Petra and hence to the south-southeast of the Dead Sea. They thus must have turned toward the south, either through the deep rift valley connecting the Dead Sea with the Red Sea, or by way of the road leading from Petra southward along the western foot of the aš-Šera’ mountain range, or the ancient Seʻîr. The latter is a transport route of very great antiquity, upon which the caravans conveyed various goods from southern Arabia to Petra. Marching along one or the other of these roads southward, they went past the Seʻîr mountain range leaving it to the east and north, until finally they turned back toward the north, according to Deuteronomy, 2: 8, on the road of ʻAraba, proceeding from Elath and ʻEṣjôngeber and passing through Seʻîr.

Elath and ʻEṣjôngeber are harbors well known from the period of the kings. From them important transport routes ran in a westerly direction to Egypt, in a northwesterly direction to Gaza, and in a northerly, or rather northeasterly, direction to Damascus and Phoenicia. As the Israelites in their wanderings arrived to the east of Moab, it is certain that they chose the road leading from the above-mentioned harbors to Damascus. From the context it by no means follows that the Israelites encamped at Elath and ʻEṣjôngeber, but it is clear that, passing through Seʻîr, they turned off upon that road to the north. The road was called ʻAraba. Al-ʻAraba is today the name of the deep rift valley situated between Ajla (Elath) and the Dead Sea, but it is certain that the Israelites did not go by way of al-ʻAraba, as they would have been obliged not only to make the steep ascent to the eastern plateau, but they would have had to go past Seʻîr again; whereas according to Deuteronomy, 2: 8, they passed through Seʻîr. The rift valley of al-ʻAraba was never traversed by the large transport route connecting Elath with Moab and Damascus. During the dry season many animals and human beings would have perished from the heat there, nor would it have been possible to avoid the steep ascent. The transport routes of antiquity pass only through places which offer a minimum of obstacles, and this applies to the transport route from Elath northeastward through Wâdi al-Jitm to Maʻân, the ancient Maʻôn. If the latter settlement is identical with the main dwelling place of the Maʻônites—and there is no argument against this assumption—the Maʻônites certainly exerted themselves in every way in order that all the big caravans might pass through their territory.

The ancient transport route from Ajla via Maʻân to the north leads along the border between the settlers and the nomads; and as, according to the Assyrian and Biblical sources, the nomads were called Arubi, or Arabs, and their land was given the same name, we must suppose that this road was called the Arabian road, because it led along the western border of Arubi, or Aribi, i. e. Arabia. The Israelites joined this road