Places in the Bible Today:

Mount Paran

Data

Translated NamesMount Paran, Paran
Typemountain
Noteslikely a mountain in Paran
Geo Data KML (for Google Earth)
GeoJSON (for GIS applications)

3 Possible Identifications

  1. another name for Mount Sinai (ancient): 70% confidence. It may be:

    1. panorama of Jebel MusaJebel Musa

    2. panorama of Har KarkomHar Karkom

    3. satellite view of the region around Jebel Sin BisharJebel Sin Bishar

    4. panorama of Ras es SafsafehRas es Safsafeh

    5. historical panorama of Jebel Serbal, which is the peaks in the distanceJebel Serbal

    6. closeup of Jebel KatherinaJebel Katherina

    7. satellite view of the region around Jebel Hashem el TarifJebel Hashem el Tarif

    8. satellite view of the region around Jebel HalalJebel Halal

    9. satellite view of the region around Jabal al MagharahJabal al Magharah

    10. satellite view of the region around Jebel YeleqJebel Yeleq

    11. panorama of Har ‘ArifHar ‘Arif

    12. satellite view of the region around Jabal al LawzJabal al Lawz

    13. satellite view of the region around Al ManifaAl Manifa

    14. satellite view of the region around Jabal HarbJabal Harb

  2. not a place (symbolic): 15% confidence
  3. in Paran (ancient): less than 10% confidence

    1. panorama of cliffs in Paranin Paran

Verses (2)

Gen-Deut (1)
Deut 33:2
Job-Mal (1)
Hab 3:3

Linked Data Identifiers

SourceIdentifier
Logos FactbookMount Paran
OpenBible.info (2007)Mount Paran
OpenBible.infoaf693b8 (Mount Paran)
TIPNRParan_Mount@Deu.33.2
UBS Names Databaseot ID_2359
WikipediaDesert of Paran (partial)

Sources

  1. Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (1992): Paran (place)
  2. Baly, Atlas of the Biblical World (1971): Paran, Mount
  3. Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000): Paran
  4. Grollenberg, Atlas of the Bible (1957): Paran (Mount)
  5. HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (2011): Paran
  6. Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (2003)
  7. IVP Old Testament Bible Background Commentary (2000): Deut 33:2
  8. New Bible Dictionary (1996): Paran
  9. New Interpreter’s Bible Dictionary (2009): Sinai, Mount
  10. Revised Expositor’s Bible Commentary (2012): Hab 3:3
  11. Zondervan Atlas of the Bible (2010)
  12. Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible (2010): Paran
  13. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary (2009): Deut 33:2-3

Confidence Trends over Time

This chart indicates how confidence in the identifications is changing over time. Each dot (connected by a dotted line) reflects the confidence of an identification over the preceding ten years (e.g., the 2009 dot reflects scholarship from 2000 to 2009), and the corresponding solid line reflects a best-fit line for the identification. Confidences that cluster near or below 0% indicate low confidence. Because of the small dataset, it's best to use this chart for general trends; if one identification is trending much higher than the others (in this case, another name for Mount Sinai), then you can probably have higher confidence in the identification. This chart only reflects the sources I consulted (listed above), not an exhaustive review of the literature.

Thumbnail Image Credits

Ian Sewell, שועל, Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2019, Esben Stenfeldt, Francis Frith, Mohamed kamal 1984, valleyofdawn, ekeidar

About

This page attempts to identify all the possible locations where this biblical place could be. The confidence levels add up to less than 100%, indicating that the modern location is uncertain. It's best to think about the confidences in relative rather than absolute terms. Often they reflect different schools of thought, each confident in their identifications.

The isobands you see on the map (gray areas with dark borders) attempt to give you confidence where a region is. Because many ancient regions aren't precisely defined, I consulted atlases to determine where the biblical region is located and used that data to build the isobands. The smaller isobands reflect more confidence that the given isoband is in the region, while the larger isobands reflect less confidence. Isobands are a kind of contour line that here indicate confidence levels.