Numbers 33:10-11
This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.
This verse highlights that the sacred narrative often skips over uneventful stops, suggesting that not every moment of our journey requires a dramatic story. It reminds us that God is present and guides even in the quiet, ordinary stretches between significant milestones.
And they set out from Elim and camped by the Red Sea. And they set out from the Red Sea and camped in the wilderness of Sin.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This chapter is a detailed list of the Israelites' encampments after their exodus from Egypt. The journey from Elim, a refreshing oasis with water and palm trees, to this point by the Red Sea is a relatively short one, noted as a step further along their path towards Mount Sinai. This listing, unlike the more narrative accounts in Exodus, focuses on the places themselves, serving as a comprehensive geographical record of their forty years of wandering.
Why does the Bible list so many places without much detail? What's the 'aha!' moment in this seemingly simple itinerary?
Numbers 33 serves as a spiritual GPS for Israel, recounting their forty years of wandering. Unlike the more narrative Exodus account, this chapter focuses on the journeys themselves – the start and end points of each encampment.
A Memorial of God's Faithfulness
The verse mentions the 'Red Sea,' but what does that name mean? And why camp there again after crossing it?
Ask a follow-up
The name "Red Sea" in English is a bit of a translation challenge. The original Hebrew word, 'yam suph,' more accurately means the "Weedy Sea." It likely referred to a body of water with abundant seaweed, not necessarily one with red-colored water or sand.
Camping by the Weedy Sea Again
Understand the original words
yam suph · Hebrew Proper Noun
Commonly translated as 'Sea of Reeds,' this body of water serves as the site of the miraculous deliverance of the Israelites from the pursuing Egyptian army. It represents the boundary between slavery and the journey toward the Promised Land.
midbar · Hebrew Noun
A geographical or topographical location described as a desolate, uncultivated, or uninhabited area. Theologically, it is often a place of testing, dependency on God, and divine revelation.
yam suph · Hebrew Proper Noun
The body of water that the Israelites crossed miraculously, serving as a boundary between their life of slavery in Egypt and their journey toward the Promised Land. It represents a place of divine deliverance and a transitional threshold.
This verse marks a specific, though less dramatic, stopping point in the lengthy wilderness wanderings. While the Exodus and the crossing of the Red Sea are monumental events, Numbers 33 details the full itinerary, reminding us that the journey was filled with many less-publicized, yet essential, encampments.
c. 1446 BC
Exodus from Egypt
The Israelites leave Egypt under Moses' leadership, crossing the Red Sea miraculously.
c. 1446 BC
Wilderness Journey Begins
Following the Red Sea crossing, the Israelites begin their journey toward Mount Sinai, making numerous encampments.
c. 1446 BC
Arrival at Elim
The Israelites find a resting place with twelve springs and seventy palm trees, a welcome oasis.
c. 1446 BC— this verse
Encampment by the Red Sea
The Israelites move from Elim and set up camp by a different part of the Red Sea, likely as they continue toward the wilderness of Sin.
c. 1446 BC
Wilderness of Sin
The journey continues to the Wilderness of Sin, where God begins to provide manna and quail.
c. 1446 BC
Arrival at Mount Sinai
The Israelites reach Mount Sinai, where they will spend about a year receiving the Law and instructions for the Tabernacle.
This passage describes the Israelites' first stop after crossing the Red Sea, also near its waters, highlighting their immediate struggles and God's provision even after a miraculous deliverance.
Exodus 16:1This verse marks their journey from the wilderness of Sin (which followed their encampment by the Red Sea) to the arrival of manna, showing a progression of their journey and God's sustenance.
Numbers 14:1-4This passage recounts the Israelites' rebellion after hearing reports from the spies, demonstrating a pattern of fear and grumbling that occurred during their wilderness journey, which began after leaving Elim.
Psalm 106:7-12This psalm reflects on God's mighty acts at the Red Sea and His subsequent deliverance of Israel, directly referencing the event tied to their departure from Elim and encampment by the sea.
gillNumbers 33:10: "And they removed from Elim, and encamped by the Red sea."
And they removed from Elim, and encamped by the Red sea. This encampment, is omitted in the book of Exodus, see Exodus 16:1 this part or arm of the Red sea, whither they came, was six miles from Elim.
calvinNumbers 33:1-56: "These 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."
And 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.
Profecti sunt igitur Ramesse mense primo, decimaquinta dic mensis primi, postera dic Phase egressi sunt filii Israel i…
This verse highlights that the sacred narrative often skips over uneventful stops, suggesting that not every moment of our journey requires a dramatic story. It reminds us that God is present and guides even in the quiet, ordinary stretches between significant milestones.
This chapter is a detailed list of the Israelites' encampments after their exodus from Egypt. The journey from Elim, a refreshing oasis with water and palm trees, to this point by the Red Sea is a relatively short one, noted as a step further along their path towards Mount Sinai. This listing, unlike the more narrative accounts in Exodus, focuses on the places themselves, serving as a comprehensive geographical record of their forty years of wandering.
This chapter is a detailed list of the Israelites' encampments after their exodus from Egypt. The journey from Elim, a refreshing oasis with water and palm trees, to this point by the Red Sea is a relatively short one, noted as a step further along their path towards Mount Sinai. This listing, unlike the more narrative accounts in Exodus, focuses on the places themselves, serving as a comprehensive geographical record of their forty years of wandering.
"And they set out from Elim and camped by the Red Sea. And they set out from the Red Sea and camped in the wilderness of Sin." — This verse highlights that the sacred narrative often skips over uneventful stops, suggesting that not every moment of our journey requires a dramatic story. It reminds us that God is present and gui…
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Last reviewed October 2026
