When did Moses and his people reach the wilderness of Sin after fleeing Egypt?

Answer 1

A:Moses and the Israelites were at the wilderness of Sin, described as being between Elim and Sinai, early in the Book of Exodus and therefore presumably not long after leaving Egypt. Many theologians have sought to establish just where the wilderness of Sin was, so that they could map the journey and perhaps tell us when Moses and the Israelites arrived there. Just afterwards, Moses performed the miracle of striking a rock to cause a stream of water to flow.

The explanation is that Sin was the ancient moon god, and the wilderness of Sin means no more than night time - a wilderness because humans could do little and when Sin controlled the earth. The Hebrews had journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, when Moses sent Joshua with an army to fight the Amalek, as he watched from a hill top. While Moses held his hand above his head Joshua prevailed, but if he lowered his hand, the Amalek would prevail (Exodus 17:9-13). Eventually Moses' assistants placed a pile of rocks under his arm and his hand stayed steady until the going down of the sun. This would be an absurd 'game' for God to play on his Chosen People, but it is also hard to imagine as entirely a later fabrication. The tale is much more likely to be an adaptation of an ancient myth involving the sun god, who only had power to help the Israelites 'until the going down of the sun' and the return of the moon god. The narrative of the miracle of striking the rock intervenes between the reference to night time (the wilderness of Sin) and the battle 'until the going down of the sun', but is probably a later insertion into the text. From this perspective, the Israelites encountered the wilderness of Sin every night, with this simply being an occasion of note because of the ensuing battle.