Numbers 33 · WEB
The Wilderness Itinerary
Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.
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These are the journeys of the children of Israel when they went out of the land of Egypt by their armies under the hand of Moses and Aaron.
2Moses wrote their starting places according to their journeys by the commandment of Yahweh; and these are their journeys according to their starting places.
3They traveled from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month. On the day after the Passover the children of Israel went out with a high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians,
4while the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn whom Yahweh had struck among them. Yahweh had also executed judgments on their gods.
5The children of Israel traveled from Rameses and encamped in Succoth.
6They traveled from Succoth and encamped in Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness.
7They traveled from Etham and turned back to Pihahiroth, which is before Baal Zephon; and they encamped before Migdol.
8They traveled from before Hahiroth and passed through the middle of the sea into the wilderness; and they went three days' journey in the wilderness of Etham and encamped in Marah.
9They traveled from Marah and came to Elim. In Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees; and they encamped there.
10They traveled from Elim and encamped by the Red Sea.
11They traveled from the Red Sea and encamped in the wilderness of Sin.
12They traveled from the wilderness of Sin and encamped in Dophkah.
13They traveled from Dophkah and encamped in Alush.
14They traveled from Alush and encamped in Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.
15They traveled from Rephidim and encamped in the wilderness of Sinai.
16They traveled from the wilderness of Sinai and encamped in Kibroth Hattaavah.
17They traveled from Kibroth Hattaavah and encamped in Hazeroth.
18They traveled from Hazeroth and encamped in Rithmah.
19They traveled from Rithmah and encamped in Rimmon Perez.
20They traveled from Rimmon Perez and encamped in Libnah.
21They traveled from Libnah and encamped in Rissah.
22They traveled from Rissah and encamped in Kehelathah.
23They traveled from Kehelathah and encamped in Mount Shepher.
24They traveled from Mount Shepher and encamped in Haradah.
25They traveled from Haradah and encamped in Makheloth.
26They traveled from Makheloth and encamped in Tahath.
27They traveled from Tahath and encamped in Terah.
28They traveled from Terah and encamped in Mithkah.
29They traveled from Mithkah and encamped in Hashmonah.
30They traveled from Hashmonah and encamped in Moseroth.
31They traveled from Moseroth and encamped in Bene Jaakan.
32They traveled from Bene Jaakan and encamped in Hor Haggidgad.
33They traveled from Hor Haggidgad and encamped in Jotbathah.
34They traveled from Jotbathah and encamped in Abronah.
35They traveled from Abronah and encamped in Ezion Geber.
36They traveled from Ezion Geber and encamped in the wilderness of Zin (which is Kadesh).
37They traveled from Kadesh and encamped in Mount Hor, on the edge of the land of Edom.
38Aaron the priest went up to Mount Hor at the commandment of Yahweh, and died there, in the fortieth year after the children of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month.
39Aaron was one hundred twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor.
40The Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the children of Israel.
41They traveled from Mount Hor and encamped in Zalmonah.
42They traveled from Zalmonah and encamped in Punon.
43They traveled from Punon and encamped in Oboth.
44They traveled from Oboth and encamped in Iyim, on the border of Moab.
45They traveled from Iyim and encamped in Dibon Gad.
46They traveled from Dibon Gad and encamped in Almon Diblathaim.
47They traveled from Almon Diblathaim and encamped in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo.
48They traveled from the mountains of Abarim and encamped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
49They encamped by the Jordan from Beth Jeshimoth even to Abel Shittim in the plains of Moab.
50Yahweh spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying,
51"Speak to the children of Israel and tell them, 'When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan,
52then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their carved images, and destroy all their molten images, and demolish all their high places.
53You shall take possession of the land and dwell in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it.
54You shall inherit the land by lot according to your families. To the more you shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer you shall give the less inheritance. Wherever the lot falls to any man, that shall be his. According to the tribes of your fathers you shall inherit.
55But if you don't drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those whom you allow to remain of them will be as thorns in your eyes and as pricks in your sides, and they will harass you in the land in which you dwell.
56It shall happen that as I planned to do to them, so will I do to you.' "
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Summary
Moses records all forty-plus stopping points of Israel's forty-year journey from Rameses in Egypt to the plains of Moab in Jordan. The list reads like a travel memoir, beginning with the triumphant departure after Passover and ending at the threshold of Canaan. Embedded within it are key moments: crossing the sea, the bitter waters of Marah, Mount Sinai, Aaron's death on Mount Hor. The chapter closes with God's command for the conquest: drive out Canaan's inhabitants and destroy their idols, or those left behind will become "thorns in your eyes."
Themes
- God's faithfulness recorded through every stage of the journey
- Memory as a spiritual discipline — recalling where God has brought you
- The journey from slavery to the threshold of promise
- The mandate to complete the task God has given
- The serious consequences of partial obedience
Key verses
- Num 33:3 — “They traveled from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month. On the day after the Passover the children of Israel went out with a high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians.”
- Num 33:52-53 — “You shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their carved images... You shall take possession of the land and dwell in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it.”
- Num 33:55 — “But if you don't drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those whom you allow to remain of them will be as thorns in your eyes and as pricks in your sides.”
Context & background
The itinerary records Israel's journey from Rameses (modern Tell el-Dab'a in northeastern Egypt) through the Sinai Peninsula (modern Egypt) across the Negev wilderness (modern southern Israel) and into Transjordan (modern Jordan). Many of the forty-plus stopping places cannot be identified with certainty today, but major landmarks include: the crossing of the sea (likely near the northern Red Sea / Suez region), Mount Sinai (in the southern Sinai Peninsula), Kadesh Barnea (near modern Ein el-Qudeirat on the northeastern Sinai/southern Israel border), Ezion Geber (modern Aqaba on the Gulf of Aqaba), and Mount Hor (near modern Petra in Jordan). The list functions as a covenant document — a record of God's faithfulness through every difficult camp and every movement.
Cross-references
- Deut 1:1-5 — Moses's retelling of the journey in the plains of Moab before his death
- Ex 12:37-42 — The departure from Rameses narrated in detail, the starting point of this itinerary
- Heb 3:7-11 — The author of Hebrews meditates on the wilderness journey as a warning about missing God's "rest"
- Josh 23:12-13 — Joshua echoes the warning of v. 55: the nations left in the land will be "a snare and a trap"
- Ps 78 — A psalm meditating on Israel's wilderness journey as a lesson in faith and failure