Arabah, or Araba
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
(dry, barren land) (Deut. 1:1, 7; 2:8; 3:17; 4:49) — a vast plain extending on both sides of the Jordan, from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea, and south of the Dead Sea to Elath. At present the name Arabah plain is applied only to the southern half of it, that is, the plain between the Dead Sea and the Red Sea. Through its northern part flows the river Wadi el-Sheib, which empties into the Dead Sea. The largest river is four miles away. South of Akrabbim there is a spring (Ain, or el-Weibeh).
The wilderness of Arabah is mentioned, among others, by Moses and Jeremiah. The former calls it a great and terrible wilderness (Deut. 1:19), and the latter calls it a waste and uninhabited land, the shadow of death (Jer. 2:6). It is also very notable that the sacred writer, describing the condition of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Arabah, represents the Hebrews as extremely weary and murmuring at the hardship of their journey. The Hebrews twice encamped in this plain, namely at Kadesh (Ain el-Weibeh), as appears from Deuteronomy (1:19) and Numbers (20:1).
At present, amid this desert valley, here and there, oases with shrubs and palms show green. Mirages often occur in it, and dangerous venomous serpents are found there, such as long scorpions and others. Vast heaps of rubble mark the site where once stood the city of Hormah (accursed) (Num. 21:4–6).