Map 055 · The Patriarchs & the Exodus · Exodus 15:22–27

The Wilderness of Shur

The deep Sinai wilderness from Rephidim toward Sinai — the terrain God led Israel through on the road to the mountain of God

"So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water."

— Exodus 15:22 (KJV)

Map titled Rephidim to Mt. Sinai showing the route from Rephidim in the west to Mount Sinai in the lower-left, with the Desert of the Wanderings labeled across the top, Mt. Sinai marked in red as J. Musa and J. Katharina, Kilbroth-hattaavah and Hazeroth marked in red on the eastern route, the Nagb Hawa pass, and the rugged mountain terrain of the southern Sinai

"Rephidim to Mt. Sinai." This map shows the final leg of Israel's approach to the mountain of God — from Rephidim westward through the deep Sinai valleys to Mt. Sinai (J. Musa), with key campsites including Kilbroth-hattaavah and Hazeroth marked in red on the route leading away from Sinai toward the wilderness of Paran.

Source: Maccoun, The Holy Land in Geography and in History (1899). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. · Historical commentary by Michael Knighton · Christians Standing With Israel

🗺 How to Read This Map

① Mt. Sinai — J. Musa and J. Katharina — Find "Mt. Sinai" and "J. Musa" marked in red in the lower-left portion of the map. J. Musa — Arabic for "Mountain of Moses" — is the traditional location of the mountain where God gave the Law. J. Katharina (St. Catherine's Mountain) is immediately adjacent. The monastery of St. Catherine, built at the base in the 6th century AD, still stands today and marks the traditional site.

② The Route from Rephidim — Note the Nagb Hawa pass labeled in the center-left of the map. This pass connects the Wady Feiran area (where Rephidim was) to the plain of er-Rahah before Mt. Sinai. Israel likely came through this pass on their final approach to the mountain. After the battle with Amalek at Rephidim, they marched through this mountain corridor and arrived at Sinai in the third month after leaving Egypt.

③ Kilbroth-hattaavah and Hazeroth — Find "Kilbroth-hattaavah" and "Hazeroth" marked in red on the right portion of the map. These are campsites on Israel's route away from Sinai into the wilderness of Paran — after the Law had been given and the Tabernacle built. Kilbroth-hattaavah means "graves of craving" — where Israel lusted for meat and God sent quail until it became loathsome. Hazeroth was where Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses.

④ The Desert of the Wanderings — Note "DESERT OF THE WANDERINGS" labeled in red across the top of the map. This was the broader wilderness region — the plateau of Tih — that Israel would traverse for forty years. After arriving at Sinai, receiving the Law, building the Tabernacle, and sending the twelve spies, Israel's failure at Kadesh-Barnea would sentence them to circle this wilderness until the faithless generation died.

What This Map Shows

✦ Mt. Sinai (J. Musa) — where the Law was given

✦ The Nagb Hawa pass — Israel's approach to Sinai

✦ Kilbroth-hattaavah — graves of craving

✦ Hazeroth — Miriam's rebellion

✦ The Desert of the Wanderings

✦ J. Katharina — adjacent to Mt. Sinai

✦ The deep Sinai mountain terrain

✦ The route from Rephidim to the mountain of God

The Road to the Mountain

Look at the terrain on this map — the deep Sinai mountains, the narrow passes between granite peaks, the total absence of roads or towns. This is the wilderness Israel was traveling through after crossing the Red Sea, and this map shows its most significant destination: Mount Sinai, labeled "Mt. Sinai" and "J. Musa" in red in the lower-left. This mountain was the goal of the Exodus — not Canaan yet, but first this: the place where God would speak to Israel face to face and give them the Law that would define them as a nation.

The Wilderness of Shur, through which Israel initially traveled, was the area between the crossing point and the Sinai interior — three days without water before God showed Moses the tree at Marah. Then Elim. Then the Wilderness of Sin with the manna. Then Rephidim with its water crisis and Amalek battle. Find the Nagb Hawa pass in the center of this map — this is likely the corridor through which Israel approached the mountain. They arrived at the Wilderness of Sinai "in the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai" (Exodus 19:1).

What happened at Sinai reshaped human history. God descended on the mountain in fire, thunder, and thick cloud. The people trembled at the base. He spoke the Ten Commandments in a voice so overwhelming that the people begged Moses to mediate: "Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die" (Exodus 20:19). Moses spent forty days on the mountain and received the full body of the Law — civil, ceremonial, and moral — along with the detailed instructions for the Tabernacle.

Follow the route on this map from Sinai eastward to Kilbroth-hattaavah and Hazeroth — both marked in red. These are the stations of Israel's departure from Sinai, heading northeast toward Canaan. The golden calf had already been worshipped and judged at this point. The Tabernacle had been built and consecrated. God's cloud and fire rested on it. And the second year of the Exodus, Israel broke camp from Sinai and began the march toward the Promised Land — with Kadesh-Barnea and the rebellion of the spies just ahead.

Key Scripture References

Exodus 15:22–27 — Three days without water; Marah; Elim

Exodus 19:1–2 — Israel arrives at the Wilderness of Sinai

Exodus 19:16–20 — God descends on Sinai in fire and thunder

Exodus 20:1–17 — The Ten Commandments

Numbers 11:34 — Kilbroth-hattaavah: graves of craving

Numbers 12:1–15 — Miriam's rebellion at Hazeroth

Map: Maccoun, The Holy Land in Geography and in History (1899). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. · Historical commentary: © 2026 Michael Wayne Knighton | Christians Standing With Israel™ | All Rights Reserved.

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MAP 054

The Crossing of the Red Sea

MAP 056

The Wilderness of Sin →