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Punon - location profile

Location and Setting

• Punon was located some thirty-five miles south of the Dead Sea, near the northern end of the eastern side of the Arabah, the long valley lying between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba.
• The Arabah did not sustain agriculture, although some vegetation existed in the region, irrigated by seasonal streams. Throughout most of the year, the Arabah region was very arid.
• The Arabah was important because of its transportation routes and its copper mines. The long valley that extended from Ezion-geber on the Gulf of Aqaba northward to the Dead Sea served as a major transportation route for ancient traders transporting their goods from Africa, Arabia and India. Ships docked at Ezion-geber; camel and donkey caravans carried goods to Syria and other nations to the north by way of the Transjordanian Highway. Caravans also followed an east-west track that passed through Beersheba.
• Numerous copper and iron deposits were located in the Arabah, the only such deposits in all Canaan. The city of Punon developed primarily because of these deposits. The mines reached their peak production during the time of King Solomon.

Historical and Biblical Significance

• The Israelites camped in Punon temporarily on their journey from the wilderness to the Transjordan (Num 33:42-43). Apparently, sufficient water and pastureland were available in Punon at that time to support the Israelites, who exceeded two million people, and their livestock. This is the only reference to Punon in the Bible.
• It is possible that chief Pinon, a descendant of Esau, was from Punon (Gen 36:41).

Bibliography

1. Aharoni, Y. and M. Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1993.
2. Andersen, H.G. "Arabah" The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible. Ed. Merrill C. Tenney. 5 vols. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1976.
3. Gribble, R.F. "Punon" The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible. Ed. Merrill C. Tenney. 5 vols. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1976.
4. Tenney, Merrill C. ed. The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1967.