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H442 · Hebrew · Old Testament
אֲלוּשׁ
Alush
Proper noun (place name)
Alush — Wilderness Camp Site

Definition

Alush (אֲלוּשׁ) is a place name meaning possibly "wild place of men" or of uncertain etymology. It appears only in Numbers 33:13–14 as one of the wilderness campsites on Israel's journey from Egypt to Canaan, located between Dophkah and Rephidim. Some scholars tentatively identify it with a location in the Sinai Peninsula.

Usage & Theological Significance

The list of Israel's forty-two wilderness campsites in Numbers 33 is a record of God's faithful provision through every unknown terrain. Alush — a name whose meaning is uncertain, a location we cannot precisely identify — is nonetheless recorded in Scripture. God kept the record even of the places no one would remember. The wilderness journey is a perpetual biblical metaphor for the life of faith: we do not always know where we are, but we know who leads us. The cloud by day and fire by night did not fail at Alush, just as God does not fail at any of the ambiguous, disorienting "campsites" of our own lives. Psalm 121 captures it: "The LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore."

Key Bible Verses

Numbers 33:13 They left Dophkah and camped at Alush.
Numbers 33:14 They left Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.
Psalm 121:7 The LORD will keep you from all harm — he will watch over your life.
Exodus 17:1 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the LORD commanded.
Deuteronomy 8:2 Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart.

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External Resources

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