Footnote 3 – The Route Through Sinai: Why the Israelites Fleeing Egypt Went South

Another view (held by Zvi Ilan and supported by some other scholars) is that the mountain of Seir is not located in Jordan, but in east central Sinai close to the Negev Highlands. According to this view, this route starts in the Temed area and goes north via the Wadi Watir, the Wadi Shaireh and Jebel Shaireh (notice the similarity between the Arabic name Shaireh and the Hebrew name Sinai) to Kadesh-Barnea (see dashed line on map). In this view, Horeb/Sinai should be located in the area of Temed because “there are 11 days’ journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir unto Kadesh-Barnea” (Deuteronomy 1:2).