Mount Zin (Mount Hor)
Mountain in the Negeb in the Zin Valley, 6 miles southwest of the Scorpion’s Ascent. Height:912 feet above sea level. There is a good view of the entire area from the summit.
“And they set out from Kadesh, and encamped at mount Hor, in the edge of the land of Edom. (Numbers 33:37)
According to one theory it is site of Mount Hor, burial place of the High Priest Aaron during the Israelites’ wanderings in desert.
“And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh, and came unto mount Hor. And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in mount Hor, by the coast of the land of Edom, saying, Aaron shall be gathered unto his people: for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel… and they went up into mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there in the top of the mount…” (Numbers 20: 22-28)
(Other theories claim the location of Mount Hor to be at Jebel Harun, in Transjordan, or Jebel el Muweilah, west of Qadesh Barnea.)
Around the base on the southeast side of the mount is what is commonly called ‘the potato field’ because of the large amount of round flattened lime stones in the shape of potatoes. According to one theory, these stones were formed as a result of a build-up of minerals from animal skeletons.
