Bible Locations

Laban appears in Deuteronomy 1:1 as a place, not the person: "These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the wilderness east of the Jordan, that is, in the Arabah, opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab." This list seems to recall places along Israel's journey, and scholars find it hard to explain, since some are far apart. Laban means "white," perhaps describing white limestone or chalk. Many scholars think it's the same as Libnah, one of Israel's desert campsites listed in Numbers 33:20-21, between Rimmon Perez and Rissah. Its location is unknown. It was somewhere in the wilderness between Sinai and the plains of Moab, perhaps in the Sinai or the Arabah. It isn't connected with Laban, Jacob's uncle and father-in-law, who lived in Haran. Jewish tradition read these names as reminders of places where Israel had sinned.