Tahath
Tahath is a location mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Judea in modern-day Israel. Known today as Wadi Umm Hashim. It appears across 2 verses in Scripture.
Biblical History
Tahath was one of the stopping places along the Israelite route through the wilderness during the Exodus journey from Egypt to Canaan. It is mentioned in Numbers 33:26–27 as part of the detailed itinerary preserved in that chapter, positioned between Makheloth and Terah in the sequence of campsite stations. Numbers 33 represents one of the most complete geographic records of the wilderness wandering, listing forty-two distinct stations from Rameses in Egypt to the plains of Moab opposite Jericho. Most of these sites remain unidentified with certainty, and Tahath is no exception. The name itself may mean "lower place" or "beneath" in Hebrew, possibly describing the topographic character of the campsite. Like the other wilderness stations, Tahath served as a temporary dwelling place for the community of Israel during their forty-year formation as a covenant people. The wilderness itinerary as a whole carries profound theological significance in both Testaments, representing the period when God sustained his people with manna and water from the rock, forging the nation's identity through dependence and discipline.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Tahath, as a wilderness campsite mentioned only in the itinerary of Numbers 33, presents significant challenges for archaeological identification. The proposed association with Wadi Umm Hashim in the Judean or Negev region is tentative. The Sinai and Negev landscapes have been examined through numerous archaeological surveys, particularly by Israeli teams following the Six-Day War, but nomadic campsites rarely leave identifiable material remains. No distinctive artifacts, inscriptions, or structural remains have been definitively linked to this location. The general region around Wadi Umm Hashim does preserve evidence of ancient travel routes and seasonal occupation, consistent with the nomadic patterns of the Exodus period.
Verse Appearances (2)
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- OpenBible.info (n.d.) Bible Geocoding. Available at: https://www.openbible.info/geo/. [CC BY 4.0]
- Bagnall, R. et al. (eds.) (n.d.) Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places. Available at: https://pleiades.stoa.org. [CC BY 3.0]
- Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
- Lawrence, D. et al. (2025) Villages to Empires: a settlement dataset for the Southern Levant. doi:10.5281/zenodo.15111732. [CC BY 4.0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]