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קָדֵשׁ בַּרְנֵעַ

𐤒𐤃𐤔 𐤁𐤓𐤍𐤏

Qadesh Barenea

H6947 noun

SILEX Entry

Root קדשׁ to be holy, sacred, set apart

Definition

A prominent oasis located in the northwestern Negev desert, serving as a significant encampment site for the Israelites during their wilderness wanderings. The name combines Qadesh, likely reflecting either an association with sacredness or the proper name of a locality, and Barnea, whose meaning is uncertain but possibly hints at wandering or nomadic movement. Kadesh-Barnea functions as both a geographical designation and a locus of important narrative events, including disputes, divine commands, and turning points in the accounts of numbers and Deuteronomy.

Semantic Range

Kadesh-Barnea (proper noun; oasis, encampment site in the wilderness), borderland region, place of Israelite gathering or confrontation, territorial marker, desert oasis

Root / Etymology

Compound from קָדֵשׁ (Qadesh, likely related to the root קדשׁ "to be holy, set apart," but here functioning as a place name), and בַּרְנֵעַ (Barnea'; etymology uncertain; traditionally broken down as בַּר (possibly Aramaic/Hebrew 'bar', meaning 'field', 'plain', or 'son', but this is debated), plus a putative derivative from נוּעַ ('to wander, to move about'), but the structure and meaning of בַּרְנֵעַ are not fully established in Hebrew. The overall compound does not have a transparent meaning from roots alone but is conventionally rendered as a distinct toponym.)

Historical & Contextual Notes

Kadesh-Barnea appears frequently in the narrative of Israelite desert wanderings (Numbers; Deuteronomy), designated as a key encampment, site of critical decisions (such as the sending of the spies), and boundary marker at the southern edge of Canaan. The location is associated with wilderness territory, particularly on the border between the territory later identified with Negev and Sinai. The 'Barnea' portion's meaning is debated—classical explanations see it as relating to 'wandering' or 'desert of fugitive', but linguistic evidence is inconclusive. In later Jewish tradition and English translations, the name is rendered without alteration, but the precise geographic identification remains debated among archaeologists and historians. There is no reason to assume the Kadesh here is identical to other biblical sites called Qadesh. Standard English translations (e.g., Kadesh-Barnea) treat the phrase as a proper noun, but the cultural and geographical implications refer to a borderland, wilderness oasis, and staging ground for Israelite activity during the Exodus period. The term does not denote an ethnic, religious, or political entity. The precise historical location of Kadesh-Barnea is debated but often identified with the area of Ain el-Qudeirat in northern Sinai or the adjacent Negev.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from the same as קָדֵשׁ and an otherwise unused word (apparently compounded of a correspondent to בַּר and a derivative of נוּעַ) meaning desert of a fugitive; Kadesh of (the) Wilderness of Wandering; Kadesh-Barnea, a place in the Desert; Kadeshbarnea.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

קדשׁ (q-d-sh) — holiness, sacredness, set-apartness

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H4720 מִקְדָּשׁ in a consecrated place
H6945 קָדֵשׁ male cult devotees
H6946 קָדֵשׁ in Kadesh

Word Forms

5 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H6947-01 בַּרְנֵ֖עַ barenea HNp Barnea Qadesh-Barnea 10
H6947-04 מִ/קָּדֵ֥שׁ miqadesh HR/Np from Kadesh from Qadesh-Barnea 5
H6947-05 קָדֵ֥שׁ qadesh HNp Kadesh Kadesh 2
H6947-03 לְ/קָדֵ֣שׁ leqadesh HR/Np to Kadesh to set apart as holy 2
H6947-02 בְּ/קָדֵ֥שׁ beqadesh HR/Np at Kadesh in Qadesh-Barnea 1

Occurrences in Scripture

20 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H6947-04 Numbers 32:8 מִ/קָּדֵ֥שׁ miqadesh HR/Np from Kadesh from Qadesh-Barnea
H6947-01 Numbers 32:8 בַּרְנֵ֖עַ barenea HNp Barnea Qadesh-Barnea
H6947-03 Numbers 34:4 לְ/קָדֵ֣שׁ leqadesh HR/Np to Kadesh to set apart as holy
H6947-01 Numbers 34:4 בַּרְנֵ֑עַ barenea HNp Barnea Qadesh-Barnea
H6947-05 Deuteronomy 1:2 קָדֵ֥שׁ qadesh HNp Kadesh Kadesh
H6947-01 Deuteronomy 1:2 בַּרְנֵֽעַ barenea HNp Barnea Qadesh-Barnea
H6947-05 Deuteronomy 1:19 קָדֵ֥שׁ qadesh HNp Kadesh Kadesh
H6947-01 Deuteronomy 1:19 בַּרְנֵֽעַ barenea HNp Barnea Qadesh-Barnea
H6947-04 Deuteronomy 2:14 מִ/קָּדֵ֣שׁ miqadesh HR/Np from Kadesh from Qadesh-Barnea
H6947-01 Deuteronomy 2:14 בַּרְנֵ֗עַ barenea HNp Barnea Qadesh-Barnea
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