5/18/2026: 1) This is a Claude.ai’s summary of Tabor’s informal lecture to his tour group when at Tamar. The transcript is in his directory in Dropbox. 2) Below the response are links to Deborah Hurn’s video as cited by Tabor. She presents her proposed understand on the descriptions of the journey and reconstruction of how to understand the “11 days” cited in Duet. 1:1-2. 3) Below that is a link to a Times of Israel article about C14 dating of grain found at Tamar to the divided monarchy, much earlier than the traditional theory that the fortress there went back to the Assyrians.
For a related post with another of Hurn’s slides, go to Mount Sinai/Horeb Candidates.
Here’s a summary of Tabor’s tour talk at Biblical Tamar Park:
Setting and Overview
The talk is an on-site lecture delivered at Biblical Tamar Park (blossomingrose.com), located in the Aravah rift valley near the southern border of ancient Israel. Tabor situates the audience geographically, noting that Tamar — Hebrew for “palm tree” — served historically as the southern boundary of the land of Israel.
Biblical Identification of the Site
Tabor draws on several texts to establish Tamar’s importance:
- 1 Kings 9:15 — records Solomon fortifying Tamar as part of his building projects, alongside Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. The Iron Age gates at the site are archaeologically similar to those other Solomonic cities.
- Ezekiel 47:18 — Ezekiel’s vision of a restored Israel uses Tamar as the southeastern boundary marker.
- Numbers 20–21 — the Israelites camped nearby at Ir Ovot (“city of the well”) during their wilderness wanderings, passing by Mount Hor (where Aaron died, identified as close to the site) on the edge of Edom.
- Numbers 34:4 — the “Ascent of Akrabbim” (Scorpion’s Pass) is named as a fixed southern boundary, descending directly to Tamar — the only practical route from the Judean highlands to this region in antiquity.
Historical Figures Who Passed Through
Tabor argues that anyone traveling from Jerusalem or Hebron southward toward Egypt or the Sinai would have descended Scorpion’s Pass and stopped at Tamar’s springs — the only water source in the area. He identifies probable or possible visitors:
- Abraham (Genesis 12:9) — heading into the Negev and toward Egypt
- Ishmael and Hagar — sent into the wilderness of Paran, passing through this region
- Elijah (1 Kings 19) — fleeing from Beersheba into the wilderness of Zin toward Mount Horeb, a journey of roughly one day from Beersheba
- Jeremiah — likely passed through on his forced journey to Egypt
- Paul — Tabor interprets Paul’s statement that he “went away into Arabia” (Galatians 1:17) as a reference to the Aravah, not Saudi Arabia, suggesting Paul spent time in this wilderness, possibly traveling to Mount Horeb
- Jesus — Tabor speculates that the 40-day wilderness temptation, paralleling Moses and Elijah’s 40-day fasts at Horeb, may have taken place in this same southern wilderness rather than near Jericho as tradition holds
The Location of Mount Horeb/Sinai
A central thesis of the talk is that Mount Horeb (Sinai) is located not in the southern Sinai Peninsula or Saudi Arabia, but in the wilderness of Paran — close to Tamar. Tabor cites:
- The Blessing of Moses (Deuteronomy 33:2): “The LORD came from Sinai, and dawned from Seir upon us; he shone forth from Mount Paran” — where Seir (Edom) is right beside Tamar, placing Sinai/Paran in this immediate region.
- Habakkuk 3:3: “God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran” — Teman being a nearby copper-mining city still identifiable today.
- He recommends the work of scholar Deborah Hurn, whose PhD research traces all the Exodus watering stops and points to Har Harkom (in the Negev, near the Egyptian border) as the most likely site of the biblical mountain of God.
Conclusion
Tabor closes by encouraging the audience to use their imagination as the Sabbath ends, reflecting on the layers of history — real geography, ancient texts, and the figures who may have walked through this very spot.
Times of Israel – How ancient seeds are rewriting the history of biblical-era trade with Arabia
New radiocarbon dating of Ein Hatzeva [Tamar] fortress on ancient trade route in the Arava suggests it was built 2,800 years ago by the Kingdom of Israel, shoring up Bible’s account
See Hurn’s video with great maps at https://www.academia.edu/video/kLaqdj. The images below were extracted from that video.
