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The Camping Places of Israel Numbers 33:1-501These are the journeys of the children of Israel, which went forth out of the land of Egypt with their armies under the hand of Moses and Aaron. 2And Moses wrote their goings out according to their journeys by the commandment of the Lord: and these are their journeys according to their goings out. 3And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians. 4For the Egyptians buried all their firstborn, which the Lord had smitten among them: upon their gods also the Lord executed judgments. 5And the children of Israel removed from Rameses, and pitched in Succoth. 6And they departed from Succoth, and pitched in Etham, which is in the edge of the wilderness. 7And they removed from Etham, and turned again unto Pi-hahiroth, which is before Baal-zephon: and they pitched before Migdol. 8And they departed from before Pi-hahiroth, and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, and went three days' journey in the wilderness of Etham, and pitched in Marah. 9And they removed from Marah, and came unto Elim: and in Elim were twelve fountains of water, and threescore and ten palm trees; and they pitched there. 10And they removed from Elim, and encamped by the Red sea. 11And they removed from the Red sea, and encamped in the wilderness of Sin. 12And they took their journey out of the wilderness of Sin, and encamped in Dophkah. 13And they departed from Dophkah, and encamped in Alush. 14And they removed from Alush, and encamped at Rephidim, where was no water for the people to drink. 15And they departed from Rephidim, and pitched in the wilderness of Sinai. 16And they removed from the desert of Sinai, and pitched at Kibroth-hattaavah. 17And they departed from Kibroth-hattaavah, and encamped at Hazeroth. 18And they departed from Hazeroth, and pitched in Rithmah. 19And they departed from Rithmah, and pitched at Rimmon-parez. 20And they departed from Rimmon-parez, and pitched in Libnah. 21And they removed from Libnah, and pitched at Rissah. 22And they journeyed from Rissah, and pitched in Kehelathah. 23And they went from Kehelathah, and pitched in mount Shapher. 24And they removed from mount Shapher, and encamped in Haradah. 25And they removed from Haradah, and pitched in Makheloth. 26And they removed from Makheloth, and encamped at Tahath. 27And they departed from Tahath, and pitched at Tarah. 28And they removed from Tarah, and pitched in Mithcah. 29And they went from Mithcah, and pitched in Hashmonah. 30And they departed from Hashmonah, and encamped at Moseroth. 31And they departed from Moseroth, and pitched in Bene-jaakan. 32And they removed from Bene-jaakan, and encamped at Hor-hagidgad. 33And they went from Hor-hagidgad, and pitched in Jotbathah. 34And they removed from Jotbathah, and encamped at Ebronah. 35And they departed from Ebronah, and encamped at Ezion-gaber. 36And they removed from Ezion-gaber, and pitched in the wilderness of Zin, which is Kadesh. 37And they removed from Kadesh, and pitched in mount Hor, in the edge of the land of Edom. 38And Aaron the priest went up into mount Hor at the commandment of the Lord, and died there, in the fortieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the first day of the fifth month. 39And Aaron was an hundred and twenty and three years old when he died in mount Hor. 40And king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the children of Israel. 41And they departed from mount Hor, and pitched in Zalmonah. 42And they departed from Zalmonah, and pitched in Punon. 43And they departed from Punon, and pitched in Oboth. 44And they departed from Oboth, and pitched in Ije-abarim, in the border of Moab. 45And they departed from Iim, and pitched in Dibon-gad. 46And they removed from Dibon-gad, and encamped in Almon-diblathaim. 47And they removed from Almon-diblathaim, and pitched in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo. 48And they departed from the mountains of Abarim, and pitched in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho. 49And they pitched by Jordan, from Beth-jesimoth even unto Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab. 50And the Lord spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying, (Numbers 33:1‑50)
IN this chapter the places are named, at which the big camp of Israel stopped on their way from Egypt to Canaan. Most of the names are strange to us and hard to pronounce. Perhaps many of them are not now called the same, but when Moses wrote this record, the people who read it knew where all the places were. Much of those lands are still wild, or deserts.
We do not know how many miles they traveled. It is not so very far from Egypt to Canaan, but God did not first take them the direct way, because of a fierce people who liked to war; and afterward they had to go much farther, and be many years longer because they did not believe God.
Now if you count the times in this chapter that the words “pitched” and “encamped” are used, see if you do not find forty times. So they camped at forty different places. We are not told how long they stayed in the places; sometimes it says “many days”; they camped nearly a year beside Mt. Sinai, and built the wonderful Tabernacle.
But, we do know how many years they were altogether on this journey; it was a very long time, forty years! And was very different from any other journey ever made, because God kept His cloud and pillar of fire over them all the way, and fed them with manna.
If you look on a Bible map of Egypt, Arabia and Canaan (now called Palestine) you may find one where the journey of Israel is marked, and you can find some of the places named in our chapter: find Rameses in Egypt where they started; and their last camping place, east of the Jordan river, across from Jericho.
ML 12/05/1937