For nearly forty years the children of Israel are lost to view in the obscurity of the desert. "The space," says Moses, "in which we came from Kadesh-barnea, until we were come over the brook Zered, was thirty and eight years; until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host, as the Lord sware unto them. For indeed the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from among the host, until they were consumed." Deuteronomy 2:14, 15.

I næsten 40 år er Israel tabt af syne i ørkenens ukendthed. Moses siger: "Der var gået otte og tredive år fra vort opbrud fra Kadesj-Barnea, til vi gik over Zeredbækken, til hele hin slægt af våbenføre mænd var uddød af lejren, således som Herren havde svoret dem; også Herrens hånd havde været imod dem, så de blev udryddet af lejren til sidste mand." 5. Mos. 2, 14-15.