ELIM
ELIM (
Αἰλείμ), the second station of the Israelites after their passage of the Red Sea, next to, Marah (
Exod. 15.27), where were “twelve wells of water, and three score and ten palm-trees.” This station is now commonly assigned to
Wady Ghurundel, two and a half hours distant from
Ain Hawârah, assumed in this hypothesis to be Marah.
There are fountains in this valley; and a few small palm-trees are scattered through it. (Robinson,
Bib. Res. vol. i. pp. 99, 100.) To obviate the difficulty suggested by the long interval of eight hours between
Wady Ghurundel and the mouth of
Wady-el-Taiyibeh, the next station of the Israelites, Dr. Robinson suggests
Wady Useit as the Elim of Exodus (p. 105).
But, on the whole, he inclines to the first-mentioned theory, originated by Niebuhr (
Descrip. de l'Arabie, p. 348), and adopted by Burckhardt (
Syria, p. 473), Dr. Wilson fixes Elim at
Wady Waseit, the
Useit of Dr. Robinson--for which he gives the following reasons (
Lands of the Bible, vol. i. p. 174.):--“Here we found a considerable number of palm-trees, and tolerable water. . . .
As this Wady, with these requisites, is exactly intermediate between the supposed Marah, and the situation of the Israelites near the Red Sea, . . . we did not hesitate to come to the conclusion that it is the Elim of the Scriptures.” Tor, at the south of the peninsula, is quite out of the question.
[
G.W]
