Wikipedia's first sentence called it “quite likely the place where the israelites spent part of their 40 years of wandering”. Today it says “location mentioned in the hebrew bible”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2010
Desert of Paran in Arabia or Wilderness of Paran ( Hebrew מדבר פארן Midbar Par'an ; Douay-Rheims : Pharan), is quite likely the place where the Israelites spent part of their 40 years of wandering. King David spent some time in the wilderness of Paran after Samuel died (I Samuel, 25:1). It is also the place where Abraham 's wife Hagar and his first son Ishmael were taken (Genesis 21) and it features in the opening lines of the Book of Deuteronomy . So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt. At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his forces said to Abraham, "God is with you in everything you do. (Genesis 21:19-22, NIV)" "He said: 'The LORD came from Sinai and dawned over them from Seir; he shone forth from Mount Paran. He came with myriads of holy ones from the south, from his mountain slopes.' (Deuteronomy 33:2, NIV)" "These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the desert east of the Jordan--that is, in the Arabah--opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab. (Deuteronomy 1:1, NIV)" "Then the Israelites set out from the Desert of Sinai and traveled from place to place until the cloud came to rest in the Desert of Paran.1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 366319545.
The opening as it stood in 2015 11 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Abraham Sends Hagar and Ishmael into the Desert, illustration by Gustave Doré The Desert of Paran or Wilderness of Paran (also sometimes spelled Pharan or Faran ; Hebrew מדבר פארן Midbar Pa'ran ), is a location mentioned in the Hebrew Bible .It is one of the places where the Israelites spent part of their 40 years of wandering after the Exodus , and was also a home to Ishmael , and a place of refuge for David .In Arabic tradition it has often been equated with an area of the Hejaz , around Mecca , linked to Ishmael and Abraham .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 662404006.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Location mentioned in the Hebrew Bible The Desert of Paran or Wilderness of Paran (also sometimes spelled Pharan or Faran ; , Midbar Pa'ran ), is a location mentioned in the Hebrew Bible . It is one of the places where the Israelites spent part of their 40 years of wandering after the Exodus , and was also a home to Ishmael , and a place of refuge for David . In Islamic tradition, it has often been equated with an area of the Hejaz .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 955147131.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Location mentioned in the Hebrew Bible The Desert of Paran or Wilderness of Paran (also sometimes spelled Pharan or Faran ; , Mīḏbar Pāʾrān ), is a location mentioned in the Hebrew Bible . It is one of the places where the Israelites spent part of their 40 years of wandering after the Exodus , and was also a home to Ishmael , and a place of refuge for David . In Islamic tradition, it has often been equated with an area of the Hejaz .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1171663997.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Location mentioned in the Hebrew Bible This article is about the desert from Exodus.The Desert of Paran or Wilderness of Paran (also sometimes spelled Pharan or Faran ; Biblical Hebrew : מִדְבַּר פָּארָן , romanized: Midbar Pa'ran ), is a location mentioned in the Hebrew Bible . It is one of the places where the Israelites spent part of their 40 years of wandering after the Exodus , and was also a home to Ishmael , and a place of refuge for David . In Islamic tradition, it has often been equated with an area near Mecca in the Hejaz .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1297701299. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “quite likely the place where the israelites spent part of their 40 years of wandering”. Today it says “location mentioned in the hebrew bible”. Read the current article and compare.
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
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What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2010, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
quite likely the place where the israelites spent part of their 40 years of wandering
Now
location mentioned in the hebrew bible
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
