What Is the Arava? The biblical land of wandering at BAS by Nathan Steinmeyer, July 28, 2025.
Within the Bible, the name Arava often refers to the entire Jordan Rift Valley, the narrow stretch of land running from the Sea of Galilee all the way down to the Red Sea, passing through the Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth. Despite this, the modern term is most often used to refer specifically to the southern half of the Rift Valley, otherwise known as the Wadi Arava. This southern section, which will be the focus here, is perhaps best known in the Hebrew Bible as the land where the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, a central area in the kingdom of biblical Edom.
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While few large biblical sites exist in the Arava Valley, historically it was a major center for copper production, including both the important mines of Faynan and Timna, which were major sources of the mineral during the Bronze and Iron Ages, when they were managed first by the Egyptians and then the kingdom of Edom.
