Now, in exploring more Biblical names in Southern Africa, we will now look into possible locations for the Bitters Waters of Meribah. Firstly, the small little farm of bearing the name of Meribah in Western Free State in South Africa, comes up a possible location. As does a place called Masa in the Northwest and another more likely Masa and source of the Bitter Waters, could have been in the Desert of Zin in Botswana and Namibia. Now lets be clear, there are many Meribah in Africa and in the world actually. So to find the right one mentioned in Scripture is not necessary an easy thing to do. We dont have much to go on these days on this location, because we have not actively been there or looked for the right topography that may line up, another problem for closer investigations is that most of the areas of Zin today is privately owned. However it would have been close enough to Mount Sinai, so we do have that to do on. Now Meribah as a name and word (testing) stems from The Exodus, the bitter waters of Massah, so the question is, where is Meribah & Masa today? Lets dive in and see !
The first Meribah we are going to look at is situated on the East side of the Jordan River (Orange River), which it makes for an even more interesting location as its location fits with Scripture. This would be on the Opposite side of the Jordan and before its joining Fords. This was, according to our Bibles, the place where The People passed through after they had done their desert wanderings. An likely this is how it got its name today, most likely given by Voortrekkers coming up from Cape of Good Hope after crossing the deserted and dry places of the Karoo, this would be a fitting name to put on the area. Or this may be the very name given to the area when Moses and His People came down from Mount Sinai in Namibia. Now remember Moses did not cross over, meaning that Moses did not cross the River Jordan and into the Promised Land. It is written in our Scriptures, so we tend to favour that and interpret what is written to be true. Moses ventured further East, towards Mbombela (and north) on the map, and towards Mount Nebo, the place were Moses he was laid to rest and buried by SoNiNi Himself (read the full thing in Deuteronomy 34,1-12).
Now Merebah, or Meribah was a place known for testing, and this place would severely impact the lives of Moses and Aaron. This would be a site that all the People passed through after their desert wanderings, but we see also here as with Ramah, there seems to be two sites called Meribah. One Meribah was located near Rephedim which was in the desert of Sin (Exodus 17,1), a location also called Massah (Bitter Waters of Massah). The name Massah separates it from Meribah mentioned in Deuteronomy 6,16 (same words of phrasing in Deuteronomy 9,22 ; 32,51 & 33,8):
16 Do not put SoNiNi naNiNi to the test as you did at Massah.
Massah and Meribah then as a word is synonymous with Testing or Bitter. Now the other Meribah (or it could still be the same Meribah and or Massah) was located in Kadesh Barnea, this would be close in the vicinity of Mount Sinai and likely not far from the Biblical area of Midian (area and country we today call Namibia) and was in the Bible also called Meribah Kadesh (Numbers 27,14):
12 Then SoNiNi said to Moses, “Go up this mountain in the Abarim Range and see the land I have given the Israelites. 13 After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, 14 for when the community rebelled at the waters in the Desert of Zin, both of you disobeyed my command to honour me as holy before their eyes.” (These were the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the Desert of Zin.)
So a major clue is given here, Meribah or the bitters waters would be in the wilderness of Zin, which we believe is a parts of what we call Namibia and Botswana today, the Kalahari Desert. Now please read these chapters in Ezekiel, for better understanding, it will outline the boundaries of the Land Promised to all heavenly directions, starting with the Biblical North (Ezekiel 47,15-20):
15 “This is to be the boundary of the land:
“On the north side it will run from the Ancient Sea ( by the Hethlon road past Lebo Hamath to Zedad, 16 Berothah and Sibraim (which lies on the border between Damascus and Hamath), as far as Hazer Hattikon, which is on the border of Hauran. 17 The boundary will extend from the sea to Hazar Enan, along the northern border of Damascus, with the border of Hamath to the north. This will be the northern boundary.
18 “On the east side the boundary will run between Hauran and Damascus, along the Jordan between Gilead and the land of Israel, to the Dead Sea and as far as Tamar. This will be the eastern boundary.
19 “On the south side it will run from Tamar as far as the waters of Meribah Kadesh, then along the Wadi of Egypt to the ancient Sea. This will be the southern boundary.
20 “On the west side, the ancient Sea will be the boundary to a point opposite Lebo Hamath. This will be the western boundary.
To understand even more all you have to do is to read Ezekiel 48, there the division of the lands are described in great detail. And we will include the full chapter here, because the land is being drawn before our very eyes in this one. We will try to draw it up as a suggestion and post in a Future article, but whatever we are able to produce we feel it is very crudely, but not far from the truth of where the Old Tribes would be located (Ezekiel 48):
1“These are the tribes, listed by name: At the northern frontier, Dan will have one portion; it will follow the Hethlon road to Lebo Hamath; Hazar Enan and the northern border of Damascus next to Hamath will be part of its border from the east side to the west side.
2 “Asher will have one portion; it will border the territory of Dan from east to west.
3 “Naphtali will have one portion; it will border the territory of Asher from east to west.
4 “Manasseh will have one portion; it will border the territory of Naphtali from east to west.
5 “Ephraim will have one portion; it will border the territory of Manasseh from east to west.
6 “Reuben will have one portion; it will border the territory of Ephraim from east to west.
7 “Judah will have one portion; it will border the territory of Reuben from east to west.
8 “Bordering the territory of Judah from east to west will be the portion you are to present as a special gift. It will be 25,000 cubits wide, and its length from east to west will equal one of the tribal portions; the sanctuary will be in the center of it. (..9-22) These cahpters are mostly Levites, cubits and the Prince.
23 “As for the rest of the tribes: Benjamin will have one portion; it will extend from the east side to the west side.
24 “Simeon will have one portion; it will border the territory of Benjamin from east to west.
25 “Issachar will have one portion; it will border the territory of Simeon from east to west.
26 “Zebulun will have one portion; it will border the territory of Issachar from east to west.
27 “Gad will have one portion; it will border the territory of Zebulun from east to west.
28 “The southern boundary of Gad will run south from Tamar to the waters of Meribah Kadesh, then along the Wadi of Egypt to the ancient Sea.
29 “This is the land you are to allot as an inheritance to the tribes of Israel, and these will be their portions,” declares the Sovereign SoNiNi naNiNi.
30 “These will be the exits of the city: Beginning on the north side, which is 4,500 cubits long, 31 the gates of the city will be named after the tribes of Israel. The three gates on the north side will be the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah and the gate of Levi.
32 “On the east side, which is 4,500 cubits long, will be three gates: the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin and the gate of Dan. 33 “On the south side, which measures 4,500 cubits, will be three gates: the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar and the gate of Zebulun. 34 “On the west side, which is 4,500 cubits long, will be three gates: the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher and the gate of Naphtali. 35 “The distance all around will be 18,000 cubits. “And the name of the city from that time on will be: SoNiNi naNiNi is there.”
Again, there it is. It seems to be that ALL these tribes did have a short distance where the location of Jerusalem would have been, each with their gate to enter. This complicates many things, but Jerusalem was seen to be at the centre. Now if we assume to know the area of Meribah Kadesh (upper Namibia), then we can assume to know that Gad or the tribe of Gada would have been in the Desert. Then we can map the rest out from that one Tribe right? Weeeeell, kinda. Things get more complicated and all the mentions of north and south gets very confusing because they contradict each other, but never in relation to Jerusalem. And we are becoming more and more sure that The Tribes are all used in the context of where Jerusalem is on the map. Remember NO geographical north here, EVERYTHING was in relation to Jerusalem.
Back to Meribah, which would be in the Land of Gad. Now remember towards the end of their journey, 40 years in the desert of wandering and complaining. We have a similar situation that occurs at Meribah Kadesh. Moses and Aaron had to endure severe complaints about no water for the livestock and even for themselves, the people had gathered and stood in opposition towards their leaders. They where quarrelling with Moses and even said if only we had died when our brothers fell dead before SoNiNi! And why did you bring us here to die with our livestock here. Why did you bring us from Egypt to this terrible place? Things where getting dire, and people were loosing hope. 40 years of desert wanderings, will take its toll on anyone (Numbers 20,2-5):
2 Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. 3 They quarrelled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before SoNiNi! 4 Why did you bring the SoNiNi’s community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here? 5 Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!”
So then, if you read on a little bit further on in Book of Numbers (Numbers 20,6-7) we see that Moses and Aaron were told by SoNiNi to speak to the rock and it would bring forth water. Instead of demonstrating SoNiNis power, glory and ability to provide (speaking to the rock), Moses hit it and claimed that it was HE and Aron that brought forth water for the People (Numbers 20,10.11), and not SoNiNi who brought forth the water. Now SoNiNi still did provide the water, and later told them both, Aaron and Moses, that they would not enter or cross over to the Promised Land. They where told at Meribah Kadesh (Psalm 81,7).
Now both of these locations (that may be one and the same) are mentioned in the miracle of Moses striking the Rock at Horeb (Areb / Qareb means mountains or caves, in some Xhosa dialects), and then after Moses struck the rock (seemingly in anger) we know the water came out of it. Moses ears were tired of listening to the People in Exodus complaining about lack of water, therefore the place was a place of quarrelling, bickering and testing.
The area in Namibia and where you will find the largest underwater lake in the world, Dragons Breath in Otjozondjupa Region, is an interesting area because of the readily available just under the surface water. There is a total of 41 large caves in the area. And the Dragons Breath is the largest underground lake in the world. And it is not far off from Brandberg Mountain (Mount Sinai). Other people say that the bitter waters are for the area we today know as Gauteng then more towards the Northwest and even Namibia Something to think about, and we will come back to this region after entertaining other areas.
Now another theory is, and there are plenty of references and names to go on in the area to the west of Johannesburg, having been called Massa or Masa. Bitter waters, they say the waters of Gauteng area (There is a part of township of Soweto called Masa) - tastes like sulphur or a burnt taste, we think this is a remnant of the Five Big cities of these plains, and the days of Sodoma and Gomorra. And these were destroyed by brimstone and fire. A longer article for sure. And a relevant location, perhaps not the bitter waters we are looking for. Bitter waters would be waters that does not flow, has been still a while, or as we would say has grown stale. Like old bread.
Now if we look closer at a location in the Northwest, not far from Molatedi Dam (the Followers dam), you will find an area beneath that is called by the old ones Naledi Ya Masa, Star of Masa or Star of Testing/Education (hay English does not work here). This location would be on route to Nebo, but we have not been there so this is by no means a set location. The distance relative to Mispah and were Joshua would later cross the Jordan after Moses was buried up there on Mount Nebo, makes this location not far off and possible. But again, needs more research. Because remember this location was said to be in the Desert of Zin, the wilderness. Which would take us a little further into Botswana and Namibia, as we said, perhaps even to the Namibian region we mentioned beforehand.
So a more likely place for this location is indeed in this area as the image shows, the Kalahari Desert, or as we would call it, Desert of Zin. The Wilderness and the Northwestern Namibian territories. This Cave, Dragons Breath Cave is on private ground and not accessible for much kind of research. Archaeologically or any kind of research really, which makes it very hard for us to confirm the area as a possible location of these Bitter Waters. Without having been there and seen for our selves, we will leave this one open. The Dragons Breath Cave was under expedition in 1986, and confirmed the size of the lake as being almost two hectares. It is 100m under the ground, below the surface, with a total depth of some 200 meters. There are also some rare species fish like in the nearby Aigamas Cave. Another interesting location.
Back to the Bitter Waters of Meribah, So we do find another mention of Meribah or Masa in Ezekiel, and this is seemingly talking about the future allotment of land in the Coming Kingdom. Here Meribah Kadesh serves as a border for the land belonging to the Tribe of Gad. Another confirmation of Old Testament land allocations will be relevant even in the coming Kingdom. We should really stop calling it New Testament and Old Testament, because they should not be viewed separate like that.
Also mentioned in Psalm 95,8:
“Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness, 9 where your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did. 10 For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways.’
11 So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’”
Verses like this is a serious note for the Tribes, and should be herded into the great collection of Curses that rests upon aBantu. This place was a place of testing and strife, and there is a verse in the so-called New Testament that quotes this verse as a warning against disbelief, written by the Hebrew of Hebrews Paul of Tarsus, and goes like this (Hebrews 3,7-11):
7 So, as the Holy Spirit says:
“Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness, 9 where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did.
10 That is why I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’11 So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ”
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