Although Nachal Zered is one of the encampments mentioned in the nation’s travels (Bamidbar 21:12), it isn’t listed as one of the encampments in Parshas Masei. Which stream is Nachal Zered? Understanding which of the listed encampments corresponds to Nachal Zered may help us identify which stream it is.
Most biblical atlases (e.g. Carta, Oxford and Baker’s; see also Rand McNally, the entry for “Zered” in Encyclopedia Judaica and the maps in R’ Dun Schwartz’s “Eileh Masei”) identify Nachal Zered as Wadi al-Hasa, which empties into the southern end of the Dead Sea, flowing slightly north from east to west. However, as Yoel Elitzur (“Places in the Parasha,”Hukkat) points out, this would make Nachal Zered the border between Edom and Moav; since the Children of Israel were already parallel to Moav before reaching Nachal Zered (Bamidbar 21:11-12), and they were traveling south to north, Nachal Zered must be north of Moav’s southern border. Similarly, when Moshe recounts this journey, he mentions passing Moav (Devarim 2:8) before crossing Nachal Zered (2:13); how could Nachal Zered be the stream that empties into the southern end of the Dead Sea if that stream is the southern border of Moav? [In order to avoid this issue, R’ Schwartz extends Moav’s territory farther south. Many thought the Madaba Map identified Nachel Zered with Wadi al-Hasa, but Elitzur demonstrates how this was based on a misreading of that map.]
Wadi al-Mujib, which also flows east to west and empties into the Dead Sea, is widely accepted as being Nachal Arnon, Moav’s northern border (after Sichon conquered much of its territory). The Children of Israel crossed Nachal Arnon (Devarim 2:24) after they crossed Nachal Zered (2:13-14), so Nachal Zered must be between Wadi al-Hasa and Nachal Arnon. Wadi al-Mujib is fed by numerous tributaries —each with its own Arabic name — and the part of Nachal Arnon that the nation crossed was not Wadi al-Mujib (since that part is north of Moav and the nation didn’t enter Moav). Part of our mystery is, therefore, which stream that feeds Wadi al-Mujib they crossed when they crossed the Arnon, as well as whether any of its other tributaries is Nachal Zered.
Elitzur suggests that Nachal Zered is either Wadi Nukheile, which is in the eastern part of Moav and “flows south-north with a slight tilt to the west” before it empties into the Arnon, or Wadi Tarfawiyye, which flows southeast to northwest and empties into Wadi Nukheile. [Atlas Daat Mikra, which was co-edited by Elitzur’s father, has conflicting maps, with both streams identified as Nachal Zered.] However, based on how the discrepancy between the list of encampments and the earlier narrative is resolved, these streams, which are southern tributaries of the Arnon, should be rejected as well.
Before camping at Nachal Zered, the Children of Israel were in Iyai Ha’avarim (Bamidbar 21:11). In the list of encampments, after Iyai Ha’avraim they camped at Divon Gad (33:44-45), indicating that Divon Gad and Nachal Zered are one and the same. Numerous commentators (e.g. Ibn Ezra, Ramban and Chizkuni) say explicitly that Divon Gad is Nachal Zered, with Ramban adding that the next two encampments are also Nachal Zered. Divon was one of the cities built by Gad (32:34) after it was conquered from Sichon (which is why it’s called “Divon Gad”). Since the Arnon was Sichon’s southern border (Bamidbar 21:24), Divon Gad must be north of the Arnon. How could Nachal Zered be one of the Arnon’s southern tributaries if Divon Gad, which is on Nachal Zered, is north of the Arnon?
One of the Arnon’s tributaries is neither north nor south of it, but to its east. Although it may seem to be an extension of the Arnon (or its beginning, since the Arnon flows east to west) rather than a tributary, Dr. Dudu Cohen, a geographer and Israeli tour guide who surveyed the area decades ago, described the difference between Wadi es-Sawaqa (this eastern tributary), which is a “shallow valley with low, soft roundish hills,” and the western and central sections of the Arnon (Wadi el-Mujib and Wadi as-Saide), which have “deep banks” and “high cliffs,” suggesting that Wadi es-Sawaqa might be Nachal Zered. If Nachal Zered is this eastern tributary of the Arnon, Divon Gad (and the other cities) could be on the northern bank of Nachal Zered without being south of the Arnon. But this creates two other issues.
After crossing Nachal Zered, God told Moshe (Devarim 2:13-18) that they are now crossing the border of Moav, Ar. [Ar seems to be the northeastern province of Moav, south of Wadi as-Saide.] This is problematic if Nachal Zered is either Wadi Nukheile or Wadi Tarfawiyye, because it means they didn’t just go around Ar, but went through it, and Moav had refused to let the Children of Israel pass through their land (Shoftim 11:17). It’s also problematic if Nachal Zered is Wadi es-Sawaqa, since they would have already been north of Moav, as opposed to passing its (eastern) border. However, it’s possible that the verse really means that they‘ve already passed Moav’s border (and are now approaching Ammon), not that they are currently passing it. Additionally, if Divon Gad — and the next two encampments — are on the northern bank of Nachal Zered, they would be passing along Moav’s northern border (east to west), with God telling Moshe to turn north, towards Ammon, without antagonizing them.
A larger issue is that after crossing Nachal Zered, they crossed the Arnon (Devarim 2:24). If Nachal Zered is the eastern tributary of the Arnon, they would already be on its northern side; why would they need to cross the Arnon? However, there’s a small tributary that feeds the Arnon where Wadi es-Sawaqa feeds Wadi as-Saide. This tributary — Wadi as-Saliya — is semi-circular, first flowing east to west, and then flowing north to south, emptying into Wadi as-Saide (the central part of the Arnon). I would suggest that this tributary was considered part of the Arnon; after the Children of Israel crossed Wadi es-Sawaqua (Nachal Zered), and turned to the west (and possibly back towards the north), they crossed the Arnon by crossing Wadi as-Saliya.
If Nachal Zered is Wadi es-Sawaqa, and Wadi as-Saliya is considered part of Nachal Arnon, the nation would have passed Moav on its eastern border (without entering Moav), crossed Nachal Zered, traveled alongside it (north of Moav), then crossed Nachal Arnon, going farther into Sichon’s territory. After conquering this territory, the city that had been referred to as “Nachal Zered” was given a more specific name — Divon Gad.
Rabbi Dov Kramer lives near McDonalds Brook, which feeds the Passaic River, which empties into Newark Bay. If you want to ask him where he does Tashlich, you can email him at [email protected].
