wilderness

noun (a wilderness, wildernesses; the wilderness)

«wilderness» in the English dictionary: everyday and in Jewish tradition — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

Everyday

A wilderness is a wild area of land that people have not changed, with no towns, farms or roads. tree →
(Bible) The wilderness is the desert where, the Bible says, the Israelites wandered for forty years and Jesus fasted for forty days. tree →
In the wilderness (idiom): left out, without power or importance for a time. tree →

In the lessons

In geography and science lessons wildernesses include forests, mountains and deserts where animals live freely; national parks protect them. In religious education, Lent remembers Jesus' forty days in the wilderness. In stories, characters get lost in the wilderness and must survive. Phrases: «in the wilderness», «wilderness area», «a voice crying in the wilderness».

Examples

Bears live deep in the Canadian wilderness. tree →
The explorers crossed the frozen wilderness. tree →
Moses led the people through the wilderness. tree →
Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness. tree →
Our garden became a wilderness when nobody weeded it. tree →
The team spent years in the wilderness before winning again. tree →
A wilderness guide taught us to read a compass. tree →
The way gradually grew thicker of brushwood, as they rode along, till at last it became a trackless wilderness. tree →

Note

Countable (plural «wildernesses»), often «the wilderness». Pronunciation: WIL-der-ness (short «i», unlike «wild»). Related: wild.

In Jewish tradition

The desert where Israel wandered for forty years after leaving Egypt, and where Sinai stands. In the Prophets it is also simply dry, empty land, and a named place, such as the wilderness cities of Judah.

Interpretation. The wilderness is read as the place where the Torah was given and the people were shaped, and the book of Numbers is called "In the Wilderness" (Bemidbar). The prophets often look back on the wilderness years as a time of God's close care for Israel.

Examples

And from the wilderness to Mattanah; (Torah NUM.21.18, JPS 1917) tree →
But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness. (Torah NUM.14.32, JPS 1917) tree →
And the LORD spoke unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying: (Torah NUM.3.14, JPS 1917) tree →
In the wilderness: Beth-arabah, Middin, and Secacah; (Prophets JOS.15.61, JPS 1917) tree →
The burden of the wilderness of the sea. (Prophets ISA.21.1, JPS 1917) tree →
and Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land, (Prophets 1KI.9.18, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Countable (plural «wildernesses»), often «the wilderness». Pronunciation: WIL-der-ness (short «i», unlike «wild»). Related: wild.

On Mova

Trees and pragmatics of «wilderness» in the school dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
«wilderness» in the school dictionary on Mova free.
Trees and pragmatics of «wilderness» in the Judaism dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
«wilderness» in the Judaism dictionary on Mova free.

This page in Markdown → https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/wilderness/