Numbers 33:1-56
1 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.
2 And 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.
3 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.
4 For the Egyptians buried all their firstborn, which the LORD had smitten among them: upon their gods also the LORD executed judgments.
5 And the children of Israel removed from Rameses, and pitched in Succoth.
6 And they departed from Succoth, and pitched in Etham, which is in the edge of the wilderness.
7 And they removed from Etham, and turned again unto Pihahiroth, which is before Baalzephon: and they pitched before Migdol.
8 And they departed from before Pihahiroth, 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.
9 And 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.
10 And they removed from Elim, and encamped by the Red sea.
11 And they removed from the Red sea, and encamped in the wilderness of Sin.
12 And they took their journey out of the wilderness of Sin, and encamped in Dophkah.
13 And they departed from Dophkah, and encamped in Alush.
14 And they removed from Alush, and encamped at Rephidim, where was no water for the people to drink.
15 And they departed from Rephidim, and pitched in the wilderness of Sinai.
16 And they removed from the desert of Sinai, and pitched at Kibrothhattaavah.a
17 And they departed from Kibrothhattaavah, and encamped at Hazeroth.
18 And they departed from Hazeroth, and pitched in Rithmah.
19 And they departed from Rithmah, and pitched at Rimmonparez.
20 And they departed from Rimmonparez, and pitched in Libnah.
21 And they removed from Libnah, and pitched at Rissah.
22 And they journeyed from Rissah, and pitched in Kehelathah.
23 And they went from Kehelathah, and pitched in mount Shapher.
24 And they removed from mount Shapher, and encamped in Haradah.
25 And they removed from Haradah, and pitched in Makheloth.
26 And they removed from Makheloth, and encamped at Tahath.
27 And they departed from Tahath, and pitched at Tarah.
28 And they removed from Tarah, and pitched in Mithcah.
29 And they went from Mithcah, and pitched in Hashmonah.
30 And they departed from Hashmonah, and encamped at Moseroth.
31 And they departed from Moseroth, and pitched in Benejaakan.
32 And they removed from Benejaakan, and encamped at Horhagidgad.
33 And they went from Horhagidgad, and pitched in Jotbathah.
34 And they removed from Jotbathah, and encamped at Ebronah.
35 And they departed from Ebronah, and encamped at Eziongaber.
36 And they removed from Eziongaber, and pitched in the wilderness of Zin, which is Kadesh.
37 And they removed from Kadesh, and pitched in mount Hor, in the edge of the land of Edom.
38 And 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.
39 And Aaron was an hundred and twenty and three years old when he died in mount Hor.
40 And king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the children of Israel.
41 And they departed from mount Hor, and pitched in Zalmonah.
42 And they departed from Zalmonah, and pitched in Punon.
43 And they departed from Punon, and pitched in Oboth.
44 And they departed from Oboth, and pitched in Ijeabarim,b in the border of Moab.
45 And they departed from Iim, and pitched in Dibongad.
46 And they removed from Dibongad, and encamped in Almondiblathaim.
47 And they removed from Almondiblathaim, and pitched in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo.
48 And they departed from the mountains of Abarim, and pitched in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho.
49 And they pitched by Jordan, from Bethjesimoth even unto Abelshittimc in the plains of Moab.
50 And the LORD spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying,
51 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan;
52 Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places:
53 And ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein: for I have given you the land to possess it.
54 And ye shall divide the land by lot for an inheritance among your families: and to the more ye shall give the mored inheritance, and to the fewer ye shall give the less inheritance: every man's inheritance shall be in the place where his lot falleth; according to the tribes of your fathers ye shall inherit.
55 But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell.
56 Moreover it shall come to pass, that I shall do unto you, as I thought to do unto them.
The Old Testament Book of Numbers
In the Desert
Numbers
Marion Adams
Chapter 33
The *Israelites’ journey from the country called Egypt to the country called Moab – Numbers 33:1-49
v1-2 Moses and Aaron led the *Israelites out of the country called Egypt. Moses recorded the places where they went. The *LORD had told him to do this. This is a record of their journey.
v3-4 The *Israelites left the city called Rameses (in Egypt) on the 15th day of the first month. This was the day after the first *Passover. The *LORD had allowed the *first-born sons in every *Egyptian family to die. He did this to show that the *Egyptians’ gods were false. The *Egyptians were burying their dead sons’ bodies. And they saw the *Israelites march out boldly in front of them. Then the *Israelites left Egypt.
v5 After the *Israelites left the city called Rameses, they camped at Succoth. v6 They left Succoth and they camped at Etham. Etham was on the edge of the *desert. v7 Then they went back to Pi Hahiroth, to the east of Baal Zephon. They camped near Migdol.
v8 They left Pi Hahiroth and they walked through the sea into the *desert. They travelled through Etham *desert for 3 days. Then they camped at Marah.
v9 Then they went to Elim and they camped there. At Elim, there were 12 springs (places where water comes out of the ground). Also, there were 70 palm trees. (A palm is a type of tree that has fruit.)
v10 They left Elim and they camped near the Red Sea. v11 After this, they camped in the *desert called Sin.
v12 Their next camp was at Dophkah. v13 After this, they camped at Alush. v14 Then they camped at Rephidim. But there was no water to drink there.
v15-37 They left Rephidim and they travelled to Hor mountain. On the way, they camped in the Sinai *desert. Then they camped at Kibroth Hattaavah, Hazeroth, Rithmah, Rimmon Perez, Libnah, Rissah, Kehelathah and Shepher mountain. Then they camped at Haradah, Makheloth, Tahath, Terah, Mithkah and Hashmonah. Then they camped at Moseroth, Bene Jaakan, Hor Haggidgad, Jotbathah, Abronah, Eziongeber and Kadesh in the Zin *desert. They arrived at Hor mountain, which is on the border of the country called Edom.
v38-39 Then the *LORD ordered Aaron the priest to climb to the top of Hor mountain. Aaron obeyed. And Aaron died there. He was 123 years old when he died. It was the first day of the 5th month. It was the 40th year after the *Israelites had left the country called Egypt.
v40 Then, the king of the country called Arad heard that the *Israelites were coming. The king lived in the southern *desert of the country called Canaan. v41-47 The *Israelites left Hor mountain. They travelled towards the country called Moab. On the way, they camped at Zalmonah, Punon, Oboth and Iye Abarim, which is on the border of Moab. Then they camped at Dibon Gad, Almon Diblathaim and in the Abarim mountains, near Nebo mountain. v48 Finally, they camped on the plains of Moab. The city called Jericho was opposite their camp, on the other side of the Jordan river. v49 Their camp was between Beth Jeshimoth and Shittim valley. So they camped on the plains of Moab. The camp was by the Jordan river.
Verses 1-49 This passage mentions 40 places where the *Israelites camped on their journey from Egypt to Moab. It does not include all the places that the Book of Exodus describes.
But this passage is more than just a list of places. It reminded the *Israelites that God had guided them on their journey. They had escaped from Egypt. The journey had lasted for 40 years. But in the end, they arrived at the *Promised Land because that was God’s plan for them. He had provided what they needed. He had protected them from their enemies. So this passage reminded the *Israelites that God was with them always.
The *LORD gives instructions to the *Israelites before they cross the Jordan river – Numbers 33:50-56
v50 The *Israelites were camping on the plains of the country called Moab. The city called Jericho was opposite their camp, on the other side of the Jordan river.
The *LORD spoke to Moses. v51 He told Moses to give these instructions to the *Israelites. He told them what to do after they had crossed the Jordan river. He ordered them to do these things when they had entered the country called Canaan.
v52 ‘You must force all the people who live there to leave. Destroy all their *idols, which they have made from wood and metal. Destroy all their *altars. v53 Then *settle in their land. It belongs to you because I have given it to you.
v54 Divide the land between the *tribes and *clans. You must use *lots to do this. You must give larger pieces of land to the larger *tribes. You must give smaller pieces of land to the smaller *tribes. Each *tribe will have its own land. v55 If you do not force the inhabitants of Canaan to leave, they will cause trouble. They will be like a sharp stick in your eyes and in your sides. They will fight against you always. v56 And then I will do to you what I intended to do to them.’
Verses 50-56 The *Israelites were camping on the border of the *Promised Land. They were preparing to enter it and to *settle there. God gave exact instructions to Moses about how to do this.
He ordered the *Israelites to force the inhabitants of Canaan to leave. Also, the *Israelites had to destroy completely all the *idols in Canaan. The inhabitants of Canaan built *altars to their gods on the hills. The *Israelites had to destroy these *altars, too. This was so that the *Israelites would remain loyal to God. Already, the *Moabites had persuaded the *Israelites to *worship their gods (Numbers 25:1-18). God did not want this to happen again in Canaan. Therefore, the people there had to leave. And the *Israelites had to remove all traces of their religion. Then, the *Israelites had to divide the land between them, as God had ordered them (Numbers 26:52-56).
However, the *Israelites did not obey God completely. They did not force all the inhabitants of Canaan to leave. And those people persuaded the *Israelites to *worship their false gods. Many centuries later, God punished the *Israelites. He allowed their enemies to take them as prisoners far away, to the country called Babylon.
Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. In Hebrew, it is Yahweh. This name means something like ‘I am’ or ‘always alive’.
Lord ~ one who rules. God is the Lord who rules everyone.
Hebrew ~ the language of the *Jews.
Passover ~ an important holy day for the *Jews. They ate a special meal on this day every year. This was to remember that their families were *slaves in the country called Egypt. And, that God had freed them.'first-born ~ the first child to be born to a mother; the oldest child in a family. The word can refer to animals as well as people.
desert ~ a dry region, or a region where there is just a little water. A few wild plants are able to grow in some deserts. So people who are travelling can live in these deserts in their tents. And they can lead animals through the desert. The Israelites lived in a desert for nearly 40 years.
Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.
'Promised Land ~ the country that God promised to give to Abraham and his *descendants.altar ~ a special table where the priests burned animals or other gifts as a *sacrifice to God (or, to a false god).
settle ~ to decide to stay in a place and to make a home there.
lots ~ pieces of wood or stones that people used to divide territory or to make a decision. The lots seemed to make the decision by chance. But people believed that, in fact, God had made the decision.
worship ~ to give honour to God and to thank him. Sometimes, people worship false gods.