SIN, WILDERNESS OF (Heb. מִדְבַּר־סִ֔ין, a name prob. derived from the moon god Sin). Not to be confused with the wilderness of Zin (q.v.) in the northern Negev. The wilderness of Sin lies further S on the route followed by the Hebrews from Egypt to Mount Sinai (Exod 16:1; 17:1; Num 33:11, 12). Some have suggested it is Debbet er-Ramleh, a sandy tract of desert in the interior of the Sinai Peninsula at the foot of Jebel et-Tih, in the SW of Sinai. Others believe it refers to the desert plain el-Merkha on the W coast of Sinai half-way between the head of the Red Sea and the tip of the Sinai Peninsula. Suggestions are guesses and the exact location is unknown. (See also article Mount Sinai for discussion on the routes of the Exodus, with which the problem of the location of “Sin” is associated.)

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