Wilderness as a Theme in Biblical Theology

Explore the Bible’s wilderness events and imagery through a biblical-theological lens

God’s people continuously show up in the wilderness throughout the pages of Scripture. The authors of this study interpret and reinterpret for new generations these scenes of restriction, isolation, and deprivation.

Wilderness as a Theme in Biblical Theologylooks at both the larger picture of Scripture and the specific texts that deal with wilderness themes. Studies include

• wilderness stories in Genesis,
• Israel’s forty-year wandering in Exodus and Numbers,
• the experience of Job,
• judgment and exile in Isaiah,
• Jesus’s wilderness recapitulation in the Gospels,
• portrayals of the Christian life in Paul’s epistles and in Hebrews, and
• the symbolism of the wilderness in Revelation.

A team of experts in biblical theology investigate these texts deeply through three interrelated questions: What are the purpose and function of wilderness experiences in Scripture? What is the role wilderness plays in salvation history? And how does wilderness shape the Christian life? An underexplored yet coherent teaching emerges about one means God uses to shape his people.