Wanderer
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Topical Encyclopedia
In the biblical context, the term "wanderer" often refers to individuals or groups who are without a permanent home, frequently moving from place to place. This concept is deeply rooted in the narratives of the Old and New Testaments, symbolizing both physical and spiritual journeys.

Old Testament Context

The notion of wandering is first introduced in the account of Cain, the son of Adam and Eve. After murdering his brother Abel, Cain is cursed by God to be "a restless wanderer on the earth" (Genesis 4:12). This punishment signifies a life of instability and alienation from the land and community.

The Israelites themselves are depicted as wanderers during their 40-year journey in the wilderness after their exodus from Egypt. This period of wandering is a central theme in the Pentateuch, particularly in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. It represents a time of testing, purification, and reliance on God's provision. In Deuteronomy 8:2, Moses reminds the Israelites, "Remember that the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commandments."

The theme of wandering also appears in the Psalms, where it is often used metaphorically to describe spiritual searching or a sense of being lost. Psalm 119:176 states, "I have strayed like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I have not forgotten Your commandments."

New Testament Context

In the New Testament, the concept of wandering is less about physical movement and more about spiritual direction. Jesus Christ, during His earthly ministry, often spoke of the lost and the wandering as those who are spiritually astray. In the Parable of the Lost Sheep, Jesus illustrates God's concern for those who wander from the faith: "What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that is lost?" (Matthew 18:12).

The Apostle Paul also addresses the idea of spiritual wandering in his epistles. In Ephesians 4:14, he warns believers not to be "tossed by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming." Here, wandering is associated with instability in faith and doctrine.

Symbolism and Themes

Wandering in the Bible often symbolizes a journey of faith, a period of testing, or a state of spiritual disorientation. It can represent both the consequences of sin, as seen in the account of Cain, and the process of spiritual growth and reliance on God, as demonstrated by the Israelites in the wilderness.

The Bible also presents God as the ultimate guide and shepherd for those who wander. In Psalm 23:1-3, David declares, "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in paths of righteousness for the sake of His name."

Overall, the biblical portrayal of wanderers serves as a reminder of the human condition's transient nature and the need for divine guidance and redemption.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
(n.) One who wanders; a rambler; one who roves; hence, one who deviates from duty.
Greek
4107. planetes -- a wanderer
... a wanderer. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: planetes Phonetic Spelling:
(plan-ay'-tace) Short Definition: a wanderer Definition: a wanderer. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4107.htm - 6k
Strong's Hebrew
49. Abishag -- "my father is a wanderer," an Israelite woman
... 48, 49. Abishag. 50 . "my father is a wanderer," an Israelite woman.
Transliteration: Abishag Phonetic Spelling: (ab-ee-shag') Short Definition: Abishag. ...
/hebrew/49.htm - 6k

6808. tsaah -- to stoop, bend, incline
... marching (1), tip (1), tip him over (1). captive exile, travelling, cause
to wanderer. A primitive root; to tip over (for the purpose ...
/hebrew/6808.htm - 6k

5289. naar -- a shaking, scattering
... young one. From na'ar in its derivative sense of tossing about; a wanderer -- young
one. see HEBREW na'ar. 5288, 5289. naar. 5290 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/5289.htm - 6k

5493. sur -- to turn aside
... 1), turned (2), turned aside (24), turned away (3), turning aside (1), turning away
(3), turns aside (1), turns away (3), undone* (1), wanderer (1), withdrawn ...
/hebrew/5493.htm - 7k

5110. nud -- to move to and fro, wander, flutter, show grief
... 1), grieve (1), grieving (1), mourn (4), shake (2), shaken (1), sympathize (1),
sympathy (1), totters (1), wander (2), wandered (1), wanderer (2), waver (1). ...
/hebrew/5110.htm - 6k

Library

Call to the Wandering.
... Call to the Wandering. 1 Return, O wanderer, now return, And seek thy Father's face;
Those new desires, which in thee burn, Were kindled by his grace. ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/adams/hymns for christian devotion/272 call to the.htm

Cain and his Brother Abel
... hand. Whenever you till the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength;
you shall be a tramp and a wanderer on the earth.". ...
/.../sherman/the childrens bible/cain and his brother abel.htm

Holy Spirit, Faithful Guide. D.
... side; Gently lead us by the hand, Pilgrims in a desert land; Weary souls fore'er
rejoice, While they hear that sweetest voice Whisper softly, wanderer come! ...
/.../lorenz/the otterbein hymnal/171 holy spirit faithful guide.htm

6Th Day. Restoring Grace.
... Stumbling and straying on the dark mountains, away from the Shepherd's eye and the
Shepherd's fold, shall He not leave the erring wanderer to the fruit of his ...
/.../macduff/the faithful promiser/6th day restoring grace.htm

Forgiveness.
... The eldest boy was fifteen years of age, and to him my mother looked as a stay
in her calamity, but all at once that boy became a wanderer. ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/moody/moodys anecdotes and illustrations/forgiveness.htm

Hail, Queen of Heaven
... 1. Hail, Queen of Heav'n, the ocean star, Guide of the Wanderer here below, Thrown
on life's surge, we claim thy care, Save us from peril and from woe. ...
/.../various/the st gregory hymnal and catholic choir book/no 84 hail queen of.htm

The Lost Sheep and the Seeking Shepherd
... I wish merely to look at the two figures"the wanderer and the seeker. I.
First, then, let us look at that figure of the one wanderer. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture b/the lost sheep and the.htm

Sparrows and Altars
... In the former it pathetically paints the homeless Christ, a wanderer in a land
peculiarly 'His own,' and warns His enthusiastic would-be follower of the lot ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture j/sparrows and altars.htm

The Revolt of Babylon.
... Darius had sent them there for the purpose of restoring a certain exile and wanderer
named Syloson to Samos, and making him the monarch of it. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/abbott/darius the great/chapter vii the revolt of.htm

The Prodigal Son.
... There the wanderer is sought and found and borne back; here he spontaneously repents
and returns. There the Saviour's part is revealed; and here the sinner's. ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/arnot/the parables of our lord/xxiv the prodigal son.htm

Thesaurus
Wanderer (10 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Wanderer (10 Occurrences). ... You shall be a fugitive and
a wanderer in the earth." (WEB JPS ASV BBE DBY YLT NAS RSV NIV). ...
/w/wanderer.htm - 9k

Vagabond (4 Occurrences)
... From Lat. vagabundus, "a wanderer," "a fugitive;" not used opprobriously (Genesis
4:12, RV, "wanderer;" Psalm 109:10; Acts 19:13, RV, "strolling"). ...
/v/vagabond.htm - 9k

Fugitive (12 Occurrences)
... Genesis 4:12, 14, a rover or wanderer (Hebrews n'a); Judges 12:4, a refugee, one
who has escaped (Hebrews palit); 2 Kings 25:11, a deserter, one who has fallen ...
/f/fugitive.htm - 11k

Cain (18 Occurrences)
... Doomed to be a wanderer and a fugitive in the earth, he went forth into the "land
of Nod", ie, the land of "exile", which is said to have been in the "east of ...
/c/cain.htm - 23k

Trembling (72 Occurrences)
... Genesis 4:12 when thou tillest the ground, it doth not add to give its strength
to thee -- a wanderer, even a trembling one, thou art in the earth.' (YLT). ...
/t/trembling.htm - 29k

Restless (6 Occurrences)
... You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth." (See NIV). ... I will be hidden
from your face, and I will be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth. ...
/r/restless.htm - 8k

Flight (325 Occurrences)
... (BBE). Genesis 4:12 No longer will the earth give you her fruit as the reward of
your work; you will be a wanderer in flight over the earth. (BBE). ...
/f/flight.htm - 38k

Wanderers (13 Occurrences)

/w/wanderers.htm - 10k

Wandered (29 Occurrences)

/w/wandered.htm - 15k

Resources
What/where was the land of Nod in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

Why wasn't Cain's punishment death (Genesis 4:14)? | GotQuestions.org

What is a vagabond in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

Wanderer: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible ConcordanceBible DictionaryBible EncyclopediaTopical BibleBible Thesuarus
Concordance
Wanderer (10 Occurrences)

Hebrews 11:9
By faith he was a wanderer in the land of the agreement, as in a strange land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who had a part with him in the same heritage:
(BBE)

Genesis 4:12
From now on, when you till the ground, it won't yield its strength to you. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth."
(WEB JPS ASV BBE DBY YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Genesis 4:14
Behold, you have driven me out this day from the surface of the ground. I will be hidden from your face, and I will be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth. It will happen that whoever finds me will kill me."
(WEB JPS ASV BBE DBY YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Job 31:19
If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, Or that the needy had no covering;
(See JPS)

Proverbs 21:16
The wanderer from the way of knowledge will have his resting-place among the shades.
(BBE)

Isaiah 16:3
Bring ye in counsel, do judgment, Make as night thy shadow in the midst of noon, Hide outcasts, the wanderer reveal not.
(YLT)

Isaiah 49:21
Then shalt thou say in thy heart: 'Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have been bereaved of my children, and am solitary, an exile, and wandering to and fro? And who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where were they?'
(See NAS)

Isaiah 51:14
Hastened hath a wanderer to be loosed, And he doth not die at the pit, And his bread is not lacking.
(YLT)

Isaiah 58:7
Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring to thy house the needy wanderers; when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
(Root in DBY NIV)

Jeremiah 4:1
If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith Jehovah, return unto me; and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not be a wanderer;
(DBY)

Subtopics

Wanderer

Related Terms

Wanderer (10 Occurrences)

Wander (43 Occurrences)

Ministry (44 Occurrences)

Unfaithfulness (27 Occurrences)

Undergoing (13 Occurrences)

Jael (6 Occurrences)

Writing (194 Occurrences)

Wanderest (1 Occurrence)

Fatlings (12 Occurrences)

Faint (76 Occurrences)

Faithlessness (9 Occurrences)

Tema (5 Occurrences)

Prostitution (48 Occurrences)

Corpses (16 Occurrences)

Averse (2 Occurrences)

Strayings (1 Occurrence)

Shepherds (55 Occurrences)

Sheep-keeper (1 Occurrence)

Spies (22 Occurrences)

Perishing (24 Occurrences)

Consumed (213 Occurrences)

Delight (213 Occurrences)

Agriculture

Heritage (435 Occurrences)

Dash (30 Occurrences)

Lies (208 Occurrences)

Reject (56 Occurrences)

Forty (142 Occurrences)

Dust (182 Occurrences)

Bodies (144 Occurrences)

Needy (83 Occurrences)

Obeyed (83 Occurrences)

Forced (84 Occurrences)

Suffering (104 Occurrences)

Joshua (211 Occurrences)

Angry (269 Occurrences)

Hospitality (9 Occurrences)

Rejected (96 Occurrences)

Host (261 Occurrences)

Wilderness (304 Occurrences)

Lie (291 Occurrences)

Desert (322 Occurrences)

Exodus (2 Occurrences)

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