SIN, II

The name of a wilderness on the Sinai Peninsula and of an Egyptian city.

1. A wilderness region to which the Israelite camp, approximately one month after their exodus from Egypt, transferred after leaving Elim and a campsite by the Red Sea. After this wilderness there were several more camping sites, including Dophkah, Alush, and Rephidim, before coming to Sinai. (Ex. 16:1; 17:1; Num. 33:9-15) It was in the wilderness of Sin that murmuring and complaints arose in the camp because of the lack of meat. Here Jehovah caused a flock of quail to “cover the camp,” and here the Israelites ate manna for the first time. It was also at this point that the sabbath law was put into effect.—Ex. 16:2-30.

The exact location of the wilderness of Sin is uncertain, though it is obviously along the southwestern border of the Sinai Peninsula. Geographers generally favor the sandy tract known as Debbet er-Ramleh, lying along the foot of the Sinai plateau. This desert plain is also near the suggested site of Dophkah.

2. Sin was among the cities of Egypt due to feel the sword brought on that land by the hand of Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. (Ezek. 30:6, 10, 15, 16) It is called the “fortress of Egypt.” Some connect the name with the Egyptian sinw, or swn, meaning “fortress,” while others relate it to a similar-sounding word (sin), meaning “mud” or “clay.” Most authorities today accept the identification found in the Latin Vulgate, namely, Pelusium (meaning “mudcity”). Pelusium was an ancient fortress city situated in a key defense position against invasion from the Asiatic continent. Its location is generally accepted to coincide with present-day Tell el Farama, a site about twenty miles (c. 32 kilometers) SE of Port Said on the Mediterranean seacoast. Caravans or armies coming down the Philistine coast thus found this fortress guarding the entrance to Egypt. Assyrian King Ashurbanipal refers to it in his annals. Today the ancient site is surrounded by sand and marshes.