Midbar מִדְבָּר in the Hebrew means desert (wilderness or lonely place). Dabar דָּבַר in Hebrew means to speak and is a word which is theologically pregnant – it is oft used to express divine speech in the biblical text. You can see the word ‘dabar’ in the word ‘midbar’ though scholars tell us there is no etymological relationship between the two. But taking hermeneutic liberties--poetic license if you will--it seems to me there is at least a semiotic connection if not theological. It is often in those “lonely places” that God chooses to speak to people.