Addar
Addar is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Negev in modern-day Israel. Known today as Ein Qedeis. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
Addar appears in the Old Testament in the context of the southern boundary of the tribe of Judah, functioning as one of the geographical markers delineating Israel's tribal territories in the Negev. Joshua 15:3 traces Judah's southern border as passing south of Kadesh-barnea, going along to Hezron, then up to Addar, before turning toward Karka. In Numbers 34:4, the same location appears to be referenced under the combined form Hazar-addar, suggesting the site may have been associated with an adjacent settlement or enclosure. The boundary territory of the Negev in which Addar lies was the wilderness through which Israel wandered for forty years following the Exodus from Egypt. Kadesh-barnea, near Addar's general location, was the staging ground for the disastrous episode of the twelve spies whose faithless report condemned the generation of the Exodus to die in the wilderness (Numbers 13–14). In this sense, the region around Addar was not merely a geographic boundary but a landscape freighted with the memory of Israel's failure and God's judgment, making it a powerful theological reminder of the cost of unbelief.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Addar is tentatively identified with Ein Qedeis (Ain el-Qudeirat), a site in the northeastern Sinai associated with the biblical Kadesh-barnea region. The broader area contains several ancient springs and seasonal watercourses that would have sustained human habitation and nomadic pastoralism. Tell el-Qudeirat, the principal mound in the vicinity, has been excavated and yielded Iron Age fortresses dated to the tenth through seventh centuries BCE. However, the precise identification of Addar with any single site in this region remains contested, as the boundary descriptions in Joshua are difficult to reconcile with specific topographical features. The Negev landscape makes preservation of archaeological remains difficult.
Verse Appearances (1)
Josh
Sources: ISBE Encyclopedia · OpenBible Geocoding (CC BY) · Pleiades Gazetteer View all →