Bible Encyclopedias
Kadesh-Barnea

　　kā´desh - bar´nḗ - a ( קדשׁ בּרנע , ḳādhēsh barnēa‛ ; Καδής , Kadḗs ): Mentioned 10 times; called also "Kadesh" simply. The name perhaps means "the holy place of the desert of wandering." There are references to Kadesh in early history. At En-mishpat ("the same is Kadesh") Chedorlaomer and his allies smote the Amalekite and Amorite. Abraham dwelt near Kadesh, and it was at Beer-lahai-roi between Kadesh and Bered that the Angel of Yahweh appeared to Hagar ( Genesis 14:7; Genesis 16:14; Genesis 20:1 ). It was an important camp of the Israelites during their wanderings, and seems to have been their headquarters for 38 years (Deuteronomy 1:2; Deuteronomy 2:14; Judith 5:14). There the returning spies found the camp (Numbers 13:26 ); there Miriam died and was buried (Numbers 20:1 ); from thence messengers were sent to the king of Edom (Numbers 20:14; Judges 11:16 ff). There the people rebelled because of the want of water, and Moses brought water from the rock ( Numbers 20:2 ff); it was called therefore Meribath - or Meriboth-Kadesh ( Numbers 27:14; Ezekiel 47:19; Ezekiel 48:28 ). It was situated in the wilderness of Zin (Numbers 20:1; Numbers 33:36 , Numbers 33:37 ) in the hill country of the Amorites (Deuteronomy 1:19 ), 11 days' journey from Horeb, by the way of Mt. Seir (Deuteronomy 1:2 ), "in the uttermost" of the border of Edom (Numbers 20:16 ), and on the southern border, probably the Southeast corner, of Judah (Ezekiel 47:19; compare Judith 19). See Cobern, Homiletic Review , April and May, 1914.