Place Old Testament
Paran
Paran was a desert region in the Sinai Peninsula, associated with the Israelites' wanderings and the early life of Ishmael. Mentioned in 8 verses across 5 books, first at Genesis 21:21.
Why it matters. A desert region in the Sinai Peninsula
- Primary passages
- Location
- 29.152, 33.542 (approximate, within about 2 km)
Coordinates from STEPBible TIPNR (palopenmaps.org link). Approximate; not independently verified.
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Paran
Paran was a desert region located in the Sinai Peninsula, south of Canaan. It is mentioned several times in the Old Testament, particularly in connection with the Israelites' wanderings after the Exodus from Egypt. Ishmael, the son of Abraham and Hagar, grew up in the wilderness of Paran after being sent away with his mother (Gen. 21:21). During the Israelites' journey from Egypt to Canaan, they camped in the wilderness of Paran after leaving the wilderness of Sinai (Num. 10:12; 12:16). It was from Paran that Moses sent the twelve spies to explore the land of Canaan (Num. 13:3, 26).
The wilderness of Paran was also associated with King David. After the death of Samuel, David went down to the wilderness of Paran (1Sam. 25:1). Later, when Hadad the Edomite fled from King Solomon, he passed through Paran on his way to Egypt (1Kgs. 11:18).
The exact boundaries of the wilderness of Paran are not clearly defined in the Bible, but it appears to have been a vast desert region in the central and northeastern parts of the Sinai Peninsula, bordered by the wilderness of Zin to the north and the Gulf of Aqaba to the south.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
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Appears in Scripture
Named in 8 verses across 5 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.