The BibleGospel Companion

Arabah

עֲרָבָה · a.ra.vah · H6160G22 mentions in 9 books, most in Joshua (7)
Illustration — not a likeness; generated for Gospel Companion in the app's painting style — Arabah
Illustration — not a likeness; generated for Gospel Companion in the app's painting style

Where it is

AdamAdamNaaranNaaranBeth-nimrahBeth-nimrahBetonimBetonimGilgalGilgalTaanath-shilohTaanath-shilohArabahabout 48 km across

32.03° N, 35.52° E

Coordinates and map: OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding · CC BY 4.0 · drawn without map tiles

Mentioned most in

Joshua · 7Deuteronomy · 62 Samuel · 2Jeremiah · 21 Samuel · 12 Kings · 1+ 3 books
Counted from 22 references · STEPBible, Tyndale House Cambridge · CC BY 4.0

About this place

The Arabah, also known as the desert or plain, is a geographic region mentioned numerous times in the Old Testament. It refers to the elongated depression that runs from the Sea of Galilee in the north to the Gulf of Aqaba in the south, including the Jordan Valley and the area south of the Dead Sea.

In the book of Deuteronomy, the Arabah is mentioned in the context of Moses' farewell address to the Israelites, recounting their journey from Horeb (Sinai) to the Promised Land (Deu.1.1, 7; 2:8). The Arabah is described as part of the route they took and as a region they passed through.

The Arabah is also mentioned in the book of Joshua as a reference point for the boundaries of the tribal allotments (Joshua 11:16; 12:1, 3, 8; 18:18). It served as a natural border between the territories of the tribes settling in Canaan.

In the historical books, the Arabah is associated with events such as David's flight from Absalom (2Sa.2.29; 4:7) and the escape of King Zedekiah from Jerusalem during the Babylonian invasion (2Ki.25.4; Jeremiah 39:4; 52:7).

The prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel mention the Arabah in their prophecies. Isaiah speaks of the Arabah as a place of desolation (Isaiah 33:9), while Ezekiel envisions a future restoration where the waters flowing from the temple will bring life to the Arabah (Ezk.47.8).

The Arabah's arid climate and sparse vegetation make it a challenging environment. However, its strategic location along trade routes and its unique geological features, such as the Dead Sea, have made it a significant region throughout biblical history.

Article: STEPBible, Tyndale House Cambridge · CC BY 4.0

Every mention

22 references, counted from STEPBible, Tyndale House Cambridge · CC BY 4.0 · verse text: World English Bible (public domain)
DeuteronomyChapter 1: 2 mentionsChapter 2: 1 mentionChapter 3: 1 mentionChapter 4: 1 mentionChapter 11: 1 mention6 mentions
Deuteronomy 1:1These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suf, between Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.Deuteronomy 1:7Turn, and take your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the places near there: in the Arabah, in the hill country, in the lowland, in the South, by the seashore…Deuteronomy 2:8So we passed by from our brothers, the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir, from the way of the Arabah from Elath and from Ezion Geber. We turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of…Deuteronomy 3:17the Arabah also, and the Jordan and its border, from Chinnereth even to the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, under the slopes of Pisgah eastward.Deuteronomy 4:49and all the Arabah beyond the Jordan eastward, even to the sea of the Arabah, under the slopes of Pisgah.Deuteronomy 11:30Aren’t they beyond the Jordan, behind the way of the going down of the sun, in the land of the Canaanites who dwell in the Arabah near Gilgal, beside the oaks of Moreh?
JoshuaChapter 8: 1 mentionChapter 11: 2 mentionsChapter 12: 3 mentionsChapter 18: 1 mention7 mentions
Joshua 8:14When the king of Ai saw it, they hurried and rose up early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at the time appointed, before the Arabah; but…Joshua 11:2and to the kings who were on the north, in the hill country, in the Arabah south of Chinneroth, in the lowland, and in the heights of Dor on the west,Joshua 11:16So Joshua captured all that land, the hill country, all the South, all the land of Goshen, the lowland, the Arabah, the hill country of Israel, and the lowland of the same,Joshua 12:1Now these are the kings of the land, whom the children of Israel struck, and possessed their land beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise, from the valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon, and…Joshua 12:3and the Arabah to the sea of Chinneroth, eastward, and to the sea of the Arabah, even the Salt Sea, eastward, the way to Beth Jeshimoth; and on the south, under the slopes of Pisgah:Joshua 12:8in the hill country, and in the lowland, and in the Arabah, and in the slopes, and in the wilderness, and in the South; the Hittite, the Amorite, and the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the…Joshua 18:18It passed along to the side opposite the Arabah northward, and went down to the Arabah.
1 SamuelChapter 23: 1 mention1 mention
1 Samuel 23:24They arose, and went to Ziph before Saul; but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah on the south of the desert.
2 SamuelChapter 2: 1 mentionChapter 4: 1 mention2 mentions
2 Samuel 2:29Abner and his men went all that night through the Arabah; and they passed over the Jordan, and went through all Bithron, and came to Mahanaim.2 Samuel 4:7Now when they came into the house as he lay on his bed in his bedroom, they struck him, killed him, beheaded him, and took his head, and went by the way of the Arabah all night.
2 KingsChapter 25: 1 mention1 mention
2 Kings 25:4Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king’s garden (now the Chaldeans were against the…
IsaiahChapter 33: 1 mention1 mention
Isaiah 33:9The land mourns and languishes. Lebanon is confounded and withers away. Sharon is like a desert, and Bashan and Carmel are stripped bare.
JeremiahChapter 39: 1 mentionChapter 52: 1 mention2 mentions
Jeremiah 39:4When Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, then they fled and went out of the city by night, by the way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls…Jeremiah 52:7Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled, and went out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king’s garden. Now the…
EzekielChapter 47: 1 mention1 mention
Ezekiel 47:8Then he said to me, “These waters flow out toward the eastern region and will go down into the Arabah. Then they will go toward the sea and flow into the sea which will be made to flow…
ZechariahChapter 14: 1 mention1 mention
Zechariah 14:10All the land will be made like the Arabah, from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; and she will be lifted up and will dwell in her place, from Benjamin’s gate to the place of the first…

What the dictionary says

Plain, in the Revised Version of 2 Kings 14:25; Josh. 3:16; 8:14; 2 Sam. 2:29; 4:7 (in all these passages the A.V. has “plain”); Amos 6:14 (A.V. “wilderness”).

Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)
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Sources