SIN, WILDERNESS OF (name probably derived from the moon-god Sin). A region on the route of the Hebrews from Egypt to Mt. Sinai. It is usually identified with the plain lying S. of the Ras Abu Zenimeh . Upon the view held in many quarters that Mt. Sinai must be located somewhere in the Negeb, the wilderness of Sin was on the more direct route from Egypt to Kadesh, near to if not identical with the desert of Zin ( Numbers 13:21; Numbers 20:1; Numbers 27:14; Numbers 33:36; Numbers 34:3 , Deuteronomy 32:51 , Joshua 15:1-3 ). Cf. Zin.
H. L. Willett.