A place, often sandy and incapable of sustaining vegetable life, like the Negev in southern Palestine. A desert might have areas where life is possible.
What Does "Desert" Mean in the Bible?
The most common Hebrew term for desert means “wilderness.” It might be related to the verb meaning “to drive,” as a shepherd drives sheep to the pasture. The Greek word commonly used in the New Testament and the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) implies a wild, open area where beasts live (Deuteronomy 32:10; Job 24:5). The wilderness can also be a place for pastures (Exodus 3:1; Psalm 65:12; Jeremiah 23:10; Joel 2:22).
The Bible often refers to areas of wilderness (Genesis 16:7; 21:20; 1 Samuel 17:28; Matthew 3:1; Mark 1:13; Luke 15:4). “Wilderness” is usually a place where no people live (Numbers 14:33; Deuteronomy 32:10; Job 38:26; Proverbs 21:19; Jeremiah 9:2) but wildlife do:
The vulture (Psalm 102:6)
Wild donkeys (Job 24:5)
Jackals (Malachi 1:3)
Ostriches (Lamentations 4:3)
The term is also used figuratively (Hosea 2:3; Jeremiah 2:31).
Another Hebrew term for desert, arabah, comes from the root that means “to be arid.” It refers to a desolate, bare grassland (Job 24:5; Isaiah 33:9; Jeremiah 51:43). In its plural form, it describes the features of the desert plains of Moab (Numbers 22:1; 26:3, 63; Deuteronomy 34:1) and Jericho (Joshua 4:13; 5:10; 2 Kings 25:5). "The Arabah" is the plain of the Jordan Valley and the land surrounding the Dead Sea. The Arabah contains both dense forests with sheltering wild beasts (including lions) and desert grasslands.
Two other Hebrew terms, meaning “waste” and “ruin,” refer to areas that were once inhabited but were later destroyed (Isaiah 1:7; 5:9; 6:11; Jeremiah 42:18; Ezekiel 35:7). They refer to any place that has been destroyed (Leviticus 26:31, 33; Job 3:14; Psalms 9:6; 109:10; Isaiah 5:17; 44:26; 51:3; 52:9; Jeremiah 7:34; Ezekiel 5:14). One of them is used to describe the wilderness of the exodus (Isaiah 48:21).
Another word meaning “waste” (Psalm 78:40; Isaiah 43:19–20) is also the name for Jeshimon, an area of land west of the Dead Sea (Numbers 21:20; 1 Samuel 23:24; 26:1).
In the New Testament, the noun for “wilderness” and the adjective “desert” (Matthew 3:1; 24:26; Luke 5:16; John 6:31; Acts 8:26) come from the same Greek root.
What Themes About the Wilderness Are in the Bible?
The Bible is full of desert or wilderness themes. It can be seen:
In the area of human disobedience outside the Garden of Eden
In Israel's wandering during the exodus
In the struggle between faith in the desert and idolatrous city life.
The desert is viewed as a realm of demons and death (Deuteronomy 32:17; Isaiah 34:13–14). The wildness is similar to the chaos before the Creation (Genesis 1:2; Job 26:7). Several passages deal with the renewal of life in a desert valley or with the transformation of a desert into a garden (Ezekiel 37; Isaiah 41:18–20).
The desert is also a place where God is close to his people (Deuteronomy 32:10–12). He watches over them and tests their obedience (Jeremiah 2:2; Hosea 2:14–15).
Finally, the desert is a place of refuge, cleansing, and purifying. In the gospels, the desert theme of the exodus repeats in the 40 days and nights Jesus was tempted in the wilderness (Mark 1:13; compare Psalm 91). The desert fathers of the early church and the hermits of the Middle Ages reflect the prophet Elijah and John the Baptist (1 Kings 19:4–8; Matthew 3:1–6).