West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from body of water, bodies of water (such as oceans and larg ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

Dead Sea The Dead Sea (; or ; ), also known by #Names, other names, is a landlocked salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east, the Israeli-occupied West Bank to the west and Israel to the southwest. It lies in the endorheic basin of the Jordan Rift Valle ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Judges and

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of B ...

. It is sometimes known as ''Yeshimon'', meaning ''desert'' or ''wildland'', or yet ''Wilderness of Judah'' or ''Wilderness of Judaea'', among others. Similarly, the Arabic name برية الخليل, ''Bariyat El-Khalil'' (sometimes stylized 'El-Bariyah') means ''Wilderness of Hebron.''

Geography

The Judaean Desert lies east of

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

and descends to the

Dead Sea The Dead Sea (; or ; ), also known by #Names, other names, is a landlocked salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east, the Israeli-occupied West Bank to the west and Israel to the southwest. It lies in the endorheic basin of the Jordan Rift Valle ...

. The Judaean Desert stretches from the northeastern Negev to the east of Beit El, and is marked by natural terraces with escarpments. It ends in a steep escarpment dropping to the Dead Sea and the Jordan Valley. The Judaean Desert is characterized by the topography of a plateau that ends in the east in a cliff. It is crossed by numerous wadis flowing from west to east and has many

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion. Ravines are typically classified as larger in scale than gullies, although smaller than valleys. Ravines may also be called a cleuch, dell, ...

s, most of them deep, from in the west to in the east. The Judaean Desert is an area with a special morphological structure along the east of the Judaean Mountains. A study by the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

of an underground water reservoir beneath the Judaean Desert known as the Judaea Group Aquifer, found that the aquifer begins in the Judaean Mountains and flows in a northeasterly direction towards the Dead Sea with outflows at the Tsukim, Kane, Samar and Ein-Gedi springs. The rain-fed aquifer contains an average yearly volume of some of water.

Climate

Rainfall in the

Judea Judea or Judaea (; ; , ; ) is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the pres ...

region varies from in the western hills, rising to around western Jerusalem (in central Judaea), falling back to in eastern Jerusalem and dropping to around in the eastern parts, due to a rainshadow effect. The climate ranges from

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

in the west and

desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

in the east, with a strip of steppe climate in the middle.

Flora and fauna

Rock hyraxes and

Nubian ibex The Nubian ibex (''Capra nubiana'') is a desert-dwelling goat species (Genus ''Capra (genus), Capra'') found in mountainous areas of North Africa, northern and Horn of Africa, northeast Africa, and the Middle East. It was historically considered ...

live on the desert plateau and the Dead Sea cliffs. Until quite recently, there were Arabian leopards in the area, but they are now extinct in the area due to illegal hunting. For the last time, an Arabian leopard was spotted in Ein Feshkha. Common birds in the area include the fan-tailed raven, blackstart, tristram's starling, apus,

hirundo The bird genus ''Hirundo'' is a group of passerines in the family Hirundinidae (swallows and martins). The genus name is Latin for a swallow. These are the typical swallows, including the widespread barn swallow. Many of this group have blue back ...

, Arabian babbler, wheatear, and sand partridge. The Judaean Desert is home to a variety of

reptile Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...

s, including venomous vipers like '' Echis coloratus'' and '' Atractaspis engaddensis'' (also known as the Israeli mole viper). The streams are home to various fish and amphibians.

History

Biblical references

According to the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

and his men fled into the Judaean Desert to hide from

Saul Saul (; , ; , ; ) was a monarch of ancient Israel and Judah and, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament, the first king of the United Monarchy, a polity of uncertain historicity. His reign, traditionally placed in the late eleventh c ...

. The Book of Samuel mentions several locations within the Judaean Desert that David visited during his escape from Saul, including the Wilderness of Ziph, Wilderness of Ma'on, the Crags of Wild Goats ("Tzuri Ya'alim") and the Wilderness of

Ein Gedi Ein Gedi (, ), also spelled En Gedi, meaning "Spring (hydrology), spring of the goat, kid", is an oasis, an Archaeological site, archeological site and a nature reserve in Israel, located west of the Dead Sea, near Masada and the Qumran Caves. ...

. When David hides in the strongholds at Ein Gedi, Saul seeks him "even upon the most craggy rocks, which are accessible only to wild goats" (). Psalm 63, subtitled ''a Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah'', has been associated with David's sojourn in the desert of En-gedi.

Hasmonean and Herodian periods

Several desert fortresses were constructed in the Judaean Desert under Hasmonean and

Herodian Herodian or Herodianus () of Syria, sometimes referred to as "Herodian of Antioch" (c. 170 – c. 240), was a minor Roman civil servant who wrote a colourful history in Greek titled ''History of the Empire from the Death of Marcus'' (τῆς με ...

rule. These forts were constructed atop mountains or in secluded mountain range spurs. Dok, thought to be the oldest, was constructed around 167 BCE. The second fort, Hyrcania, was likely constructed by

John Hyrcanus John Hyrcanus (; ; ) was a Hasmonean (Maccabee, Maccabean) leader and Jewish High Priest of Israel of the 2nd century BCE (born 164 BCE, reigned from 134 BCE until he died in 104 BCE). In rabbinic literature he is often referred to as ''Yoḥana ...

(ruled 134-104 BCE). Alexander Janneus, his son (r. 103 to 76 BCE), is thought to have founded Masada. Herod later established Herodium, which housed a royal complex including one of his palaces and his mausoleum. Cypros, which the Hasmoneans most likely built, was also rebuilt by Herod. Alexandrium and Machaerus, two further desert strongholds, were constructed elsewhere (

Samaria Samaria (), the Hellenized form of the Hebrew name Shomron (), is used as a historical and Hebrew Bible, biblical name for the central region of the Land of Israel. It is bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The region is ...

and Perea, respectively). The

Essenes The Essenes (; Hebrew: , ''ʾĪssīyīm''; Greek: Ἐσσηνοί, Ἐσσαῖοι, or Ὀσσαῖοι, ''Essenoi, Essaioi, Ossaioi'') or Essenians were a mystic Jewish sect during the Second Temple period that flourished from the 2nd cent ...

, an ascetic Jewish sect, lived in the Judaean Desert on the Dead Sea's northwestern shore, according to

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

. Many modern scholars and archaeologists concur that the Essenes resided in

Qumran Qumran (; ; ') is an archaeological site in the West Bank managed by Israel's Qumran National Park. It is located on a dry marl plateau about from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, about south of the historic city of Jericho, and adjac ...

, an archeological site discovered about 1.5 kilometers (1 mi) from the Dead Sea's northwest shore. According to conventional archeology, the

Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls, also called the Qumran Caves Scrolls, are a set of List of Hebrew Bible manuscripts, ancient Jewish manuscripts from the Second Temple period (516 BCE – 70 CE). They were discovered over a period of ten years, between ...

, which were found in the Qumran Caves, were written by Essenes.

Jewish–Roman Wars

During the First Jewish–Roman War (67–73 CE) and the

Bar Kokhba revolt The Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136 AD) was a major uprising by the Jews of Judaea (Roman province), Judaea against the Roman Empire, marking the final and most devastating of the Jewish–Roman wars. Led by Simon bar Kokhba, the rebels succeeded ...

(132-135 CE), Jewish rebels took advantage of the Judaean Desert's natural characteristics for refuge and guerilla warfare. The siege of Masada, which took place there circa 73 CE, was one of the pivotal battles of the conflict. According to

Flavius Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a History of the Jews in the Roman Empire, Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing ''The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Judaea ...

, early in the conflict, Jewish Sicarii took control of Masada, and from there they launched raids against communities in the Dead Sea region. The Roman Legio X Fretensis rose on Masada in eight camps, and constructed a large siege ramp. Josephus claimed that the siege ended in a mass suicide, when the 960 Sicarii rebels present decided to kill themselves rather than be sold into slavery. During the latter phase of the Bar Kokhba revolt, Jewish refugees and their families escaped to refuge caves, especially following the fall of Betar in 135 CE. Many of these caves were found nestled in the deep ravines of the Judaean Desert, near intermittent streams. As of 2019, over 30 refuge caves have been discovered in the Judaean Desert, including those situated in Nahal Michmas, the Almisiya cave, the Murabba'at caves in Nahal Darga, the pool cave in Nahal David, the Cave of Horror and the Cave of Letters (where the letters Simon bar Kokhba wrote to the residents of En Gedi and the Babatha archive were discovered) in Nahal Hever, and three caves in Tze'elim Stream.

Early Christian monasticism

The Judaean Desert is connected with early forms of

Christian monasticism Christian monasticism is a religious way of life of Christians who live Asceticism#Christianity, ascetic and typically cloistered lives that are dedicated to Christian worship. It began to develop early in the history of the Christian Church, m ...

. There are examples of

Desert Fathers The Desert Fathers were early Christian hermits and ascetics, who lived primarily in the Wadi El Natrun, then known as ''Skete'', in Roman Egypt, beginning around the Christianity in the ante-Nicene period, third century. The ''Sayings of the Dese ...

and Desert Mothers and a number of other influential Christian figures, some of which spent much of their lives in the desert as hermits or as members of monastic communities of the lavra or the cenobium type, or on the fringe of the desert in or near settled places such as Bethlehem and Jerusalem, but are still considered to belong to the same monastic environment. A short chronological list can include Chariton the Confessor (mid-3rd century – c. 350), Hilarion the Great (291–371), Euthymius the Great (377–473) and his associate Theoctistus of Palestine (died 451 or 467),

Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...

(c. 342/47–420) with his associates

Paula of Rome Paula of Rome (AD 347–404) was an ancient ancient Rome, Roman Christianity, Christian saint and early Desert Mothers, Desert Mother. A member of one of the richest Roman Senate, senatorial families which claimed descent from Agamemnon, Paula wa ...

(347–404) and her daughter Eustochium (c. 368–419/20) as well as Tyrannius Rufinus (344/45–411), Melania the Elder (ca. 350–417?) and her granddaughter Melania the Younger (c. 383–439), Mary of Egypt (c. 344–421), Gerasimus of the Jordan (5th century), Theodosius the Cenobiarch (c. 423–529) and his contemporary Sabbas the Sanctified (439–532), at whose monastery John of Damascus (c. 675/76–749?) spent much of his life. Cyriacus the Anchorite (448–557) knew Euthymius and Gerasimus and led for many years the Souka of Hilarion. Cyril of Scythopolis (c. 525–559) wrote about the desert monasticism of his time, as did John Moschus (c. 550–619).

Archeology

The Judaean Desert has been the site of many archeological discoveries. The

Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls, also called the Qumran Caves Scrolls, are a set of List of Hebrew Bible manuscripts, ancient Jewish manuscripts from the Second Temple period (516 BCE – 70 CE). They were discovered over a period of ten years, between ...

, a collection of ancient Jewish religious

manuscripts A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has c ...

dating from the 3rd century BCE to the 1st century CE, were discovered in the 1940s at the Qumran Caves. They are considered to be a keystone in the history of archaeology with great historical, religious, and linguistic significance because they include the oldest surviving manuscripts of entire books later included in the

biblical canon A biblical canon is a set of texts (also called "books") which a particular Jewish or Christian religious community regards as part of the Bible. The English word ''canon'' comes from the Ancient Greek, Greek , meaning 'ruler, rule' or 'measu ...

s, along with

deuterocanonical The deuterocanonical books, meaning 'of, pertaining to, or constituting a second Biblical canon, canon', collectively known as the Deuterocanon (DC), are certain books and passages considered to be Biblical canon, canonical books of the Old ...

and extra-biblical manuscripts which preserve evidence of the diversity of religious thought in late

Second Temple Judaism Second Temple Judaism is the Judaism, Jewish religion as it developed during the Second Temple period, which began with the construction of the Second Temple around 516 BCE and ended with the Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE), destruction of Jerusalem in ...

. At the same time they cast new light on the emergence of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

and of

Rabbinic Judaism Rabbinic Judaism (), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, Rabbanite Judaism, or Talmudic Judaism, is rooted in the many forms of Judaism that coexisted and together formed Second Temple Judaism in the land of Israel, giving birth to classical rabb ...

.VanderKam, J., & Flint, P. (2005). ''The meaning of the Dead Sea scrolls: their significance for understanding the Bible, Judaism, Jesus, and Christianity''. A&C Black. Numerous caves in the Judaean Desert have yielded significant archaeological discoveries linked to the Jewish–Roman wars, as they served as shelters for Jewish rebels during that time. In the Cave of Letters at Nahal Hever, a plethora of artifacts from the Roman period has been unearthed, including various letters and fragments of papyri. Notable among these findings are letters exchanged between Simon bar Kokhba and his subordinates during the

Bar Kokhba revolt The Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136 AD) was a major uprising by the Jews of Judaea (Roman province), Judaea against the Roman Empire, marking the final and most devastating of the Jewish–Roman wars. Led by Simon bar Kokhba, the rebels succeeded ...

, and the Babatha papyri cache, a collection of legal documents belonging to Babatha, a Jewish woman landowner who lived during the 2nd century CE.Yadin, Y. (1963). The finds from the Bar Kokhba period in the Cave of Letters. ''Judean desert studies'', ''1''.Bowersock, G. W. (1991). The Babatha papyri, Masada, and Rome- Naphtali Lewis (ed.), JUDEAN DESERT STUDIES: THE DOCUMENTS FROM THE BAR KOKHBA PERIOD IN THE CAVE OF LETTERS, GREEK PAPYRI ramaic and Nabataean Signatures and Subscriptions, ed. by Yigael Yadin and Jonas C. GreenfieldIsrael Exploration Society, Hebrew University of Jerusalem 1989). Pp. xii+ 149, 40 plates. .-HANNAH M. COTTON AND JOSEPH GEIGER (edd.), MASADA II, THE YIGAEL YADIN EXCAVATIONS 1963-1965. FINAL REPORTS: THE LATIN AND GREEK DOCUMENTS .... ''Journal of Roman Archaeology'', ''4'', 336-344. In a nearby cave close to

Ein Gedi Ein Gedi (, ), also spelled En Gedi, meaning "Spring (hydrology), spring of the goat, kid", is an oasis, an Archaeological site, archeological site and a nature reserve in Israel, located west of the Dead Sea, near Masada and the Qumran Caves. ...

, archaeologists have unearthed an inscription dating back to the 7th century BCE. This inscription, carved into a

stalactite A stalactite (, ; , ) is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble and that can be deposited as a colloid, or is in suspension (chemistry ...

, is inscribed with

Paleo-Hebrew script The Paleo-Hebrew script (), also Palaeo-Hebrew, Proto-Hebrew or Old Hebrew, is the writing system found in Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions, including pre-Biblical and Biblical Hebrew, from southern Canaan, also known as the biblical kingdoms o ...

, indicating its origin during biblical times. Another survey of this same cave in 2023 uncovered a unique discovery – a rare collection of 2nd century Roman weaponry, including four swords and a pilum. This find is believed to be linked to the Bar Kokhba revolt. Finds from the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

, including statues, masks, wooden and bone tools, skulls and reed basketry, were found in a cave at Nahal Heimar.Nissenbaum, A., Bar-Yosef, O., & Connan, J. (2000). Neolithic collagen from the Nahal Heimar cave, Israel.

Gallery

File:NabiMusaJerichoJune142022 03.jpg, Nabi Musa -

Sunset Sunset (or sundown) is the disappearance of the Sun at the end of the Sun path, below the horizon of the Earth (or any other astronomical object in the Solar System) due to its Earth's rotation, rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth, it ...

in June 2022 File:Mar Saba (Photo by Jean & Nathalie, 2011).jpg, The Monastery of Mar Saba, near

Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...

File:PikiWiki 34272 St. George Monastery in Wadi Qelt.jpg, The Monastery of Saint George of Choziba, near

Jericho Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017. F ...

File:IHM דיר אל-קרנטל.jpeg, The Monastery of the Temptation on Jebel Quruntul, overlooking

Jericho Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017. F ...

& the

Dead Sea The Dead Sea (; or ; ), also known by #Names, other names, is a landlocked salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east, the Israeli-occupied West Bank to the west and Israel to the southwest. It lies in the endorheic basin of the Jordan Rift Valle ...

File:מצדה בזמן זריחה - הארמון הצפוני (1).jpg, alt=Masada, Masada, an ancient fortress, was the scene of a famous siege during the First Jewish-Roman War. The Roman siege ramp can be seen to the right. File:View of Judean Desert from mount. Yair, Israel.jpg, View of the Judaean Desert from Mount Yair, Ein Gedi File:Judaean Desert 06 02-04-17 16-50.jpg, The Judaean Desert as seen from Ma'ale Adumim (suburb of

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

)

References

{{Coord, 31, 42, N, 35, 18, E, display=title Deserts of Israel Geography of the West Bank Judea New Testament regions Geography of Palestine (region)

Etymology

Geography

Climate

Flora and fauna

History

Biblical references

Hasmonean and Herodian periods

Jewish–Roman Wars

Early Christian monasticism

Archeology

Gallery

See also

References