‘ In the Wilderness, Betharabah, Middin, and Secacah, and Nibshan, and the City of Salt, and En-gedi. Six cities with their villages.'
The Wilderness of Judah was the barren rocky country, also called Jeshimon (‘devastation' - 1 Samuel 23:19; 1 Samuel 23:24). It lay between the Central Range and the western side of the Dead Sea. It was a violent and devastated area, barren and waterless, and exceedingly hot, not enjoying the more abundant rains of the western side of the Central Range. Existence in it was hard, only made possible by a few springs, the careful preservation of water in cisterns and a hardy nature. Yet in this area such hardy people eked out an existence.
Beth-arabah, (house of the Arabah), as its name suggests was connected with the Arabah (the Jordan Rift Valley) near the Dead Sea and was on the border of Judah and Benjamin. They appear to have shared a number of cities on their borders. Middin is possibly Khirbet Abu Tabaq, Secacah, possibly Khirbet es-Samrah, and Nibshan is possibly Khirbet el-Maqari. They would later become fortified sites in 9th century BC controlling irrigation work. But at this stage they were small and insignificant, with their villages. The City of Salt was south of them and a frontier post near the Dead Sea, probably to be identified with Khirbet Qumran. An iron age fortress would later be built there. En-gedi, (‘spring of the kid'), was an important oasis and fresh water spring west of the Dead Sea. David hid there at one stage (1 Samuel 23:29; 1 Samuel 24:1 on), its rugged terrain and provision of necessities making it an ideal hiding place. It was famous for aromatic plants and perfumes (Song of Solomon 1:14). Later it was another fortress city. ‘Six cities with their villages.' But a tough and hard existence.