Numbers 33:3

Num 33:3-4. They departed from Rameses — Whither they repaired, by order of Moses, from all parts of the land. Upon their gods — Either their princes and rulers, who are sometimes called gods in Scripture; for God slew the firstborn, not only of the meaner sort, but even of their king and princes: or, their false gods, those beasts which the Egyptians worshipped as gods; for the firstborn of men and beasts were then killed. Probably their images also were thrown down, as Dagon afterward before the ark.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

33:3 left defiantly: See Exod 14:8.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Rameses--generally identified with Heroopoils, now the modern Abu-Keisheid (see on Exo 12:37), which was probably the capital of Goshen, and, by direction of Moses, the place of general rendezvous previous to their departure.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 3. From Rameses] This appears to have been the metropolis of the land of Goshen, and the place of rendezvous whence the whole Israelitish nation set out on their journey to the promised land; and is supposed to be the same as Cairo. See Clarke on Ex 12:37.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(3-5) And they departed . . . —In these verses the departure from Rameses, at which place the Israelites seem to have been gathered together previously to the exodus, is related as in Exo_12:37. The places of encampment from Succoth to the wilderness of Sinai (Num_33:6-15) agree with those which are recorded in Exo_13:20 (Succoth and Etham), 14:2 (Pi-hahiroth and Migdol), 15:22 (the wilderness, i.e., of Shur), 15:23-27 (Marah and Elim), 16:1 (wilderness of Sin), 17:1 (Rephidim), except that there is no mention in Exodus of the station at the Red Sea (Num_33:10), and of the stations at Dophkah and Alush (Num_33:12-13). The first two stations named after the departure from Sinai, viz., Kibroth-hattaavah, or the graves of lust, and Hazeroth, enclosures, agree with those which are found in Num_11:34-35. The next station named in this list is Rithmah. Now, according to Num_12:16, the next encampment after Hazeroth was in the wilderness of Paran, from whence Moses, in obedience to the Divine command, sent the spies to search out the land of Canaan (Num_13:3). If, then, we compare these two accounts, and take into further consideration the fact that the Wady Abu Retemat is not far distant from Kadesh, and that, according to Robinson (I., p. 279), it abounds with the retem, or broom, and that near it there is a copious spring of water called Ain el Kudeirât, it seems reasonable to infer that the encampment at Rithmah which is recorded in this chapter is the same as that at Kadesh, “in the wilderness of Paran,” as recorded in Num_12:16. If this inference be admitted, it is reasonable to conclude further that the seventeen places of encampment which are mentioned in Num_33:19-36 between Rithmah and Kadesh are those at which the Israelites pitched their camps during the thirty-eight years of wandering in the wilderness. An apparent difficulty, however, arises on this supposition out of a comparison of Num_33:30-33 of this chapter with Deu_10:6-7, where we find mention made of four places which appear to be identical with those named in this chapter, viz., Beeroth of the children of Jaakan, Mosera, Gudgodah, and Jotbath, which correspond to Bene-jaakan, i.e., the children of Jaakan (an abbreviation, probably, of Beeroth-bene-Jaakan, i.e., the wells of the sons of Jaakan), Moseroth, the plural form of Mosera, Hor-hagidgad, i.e., the cave of Gidgad or Gudgodah, and Jotbathah, an alternative form of Jotbath. The apparent difficulty, however, of the identification arises out of the fact that whereas in this chapter the Israelites are said to have journeyed from Moseroth to Bene-jaakan, they are represented in Deu_10:6 to have journeyed “from Beeroth of the children of Jaakan to Mosera.” It is evident, however, that in Deuteronomy 10, where the account is manifestly parenthetical, the reference is to the journeys of the Israelites after the final breaking up of the encampment at Kadesh, at the expiration of the thirty-eight years of wandering in the wilderness; whereas, if the supposition stated above is correct, the reference in this chapter is to the period of the wanderings in the wilderness after the first departure from Kadesh. In this case a change in the order of encampments presents no difficulty, inasmuch as whilst the Israelites, at the later period, must, in all probability, have taken the most direct course open to them from Kadesh to Ezion-geber, there is no improbability involved in the supposition that at the earlier period, whilst wandering about in the wilderness, their places of encampment should have been determined not so much by geographical considerations as by the particular advantages which each spot presented in regard to pasturage and water. It may be observed, further that if the supposition above stated is correct, it will account for the fact that, whereas seventeen places of encampment between Rithmah and Ezion-geber are named in Num_33:19-35, no intermediate stations between Ezion-geber and Kadesh are mentioned in Num_33:36, the same places of encampment, as may reasonably be inferred, being selected (if, indeed, any formal encampments were made during so hasty a journey) on the return to Kadesh as had been previously occupied on the journey from Kadesh to Ezion-geber, which is at the northern extremity of the Elanitic Gulf.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And they departed from Rameses,.... A city in Egypt, where the children of Israel, a little before their departure, seem to have been gathered together in a body, in order to march out all together, as they did. This place the Targum of Jonathan calls Pelusium. Dr. Shaw (a) thinks it might be Cairo, from whence they set forward; see Exo 12:37 and it was

in the first month; in the month Nisan, as the same Targum, or Abib, which was appointed the first month on this account, and answers to part of our March and April:

on the fifteenth of the first month, on the morrow after the passover; that was kept on the fourteenth, when the Lord passed over the houses of the Israelites, and slew all the firstborn in Egypt, which made way for their departure the next morning; the Egyptians being urgent upon them to be gone:

the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians; openly and publicly, with great courage and boldness, without any fear of their enemies; who seeing them march out, had no power to stop them, or to move their lips at them, nay, were willing to be rid of them; see Exo 11:7.

(a) Travels, p. 307. Ed. 2.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Ramesses, a city of great note, about 60 miles from the Red Sea, Exodus i. 11. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

They all repaired to

Rameses by Moses’s order from all parts of the land.

In the sight of all the Egyptians. See Exo 14:8; Num 15:30.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

3. Rameses — Exo_12:37, note.

First month — The event was so important that it became the beginning of a new era. Exo_12:2, note.

With a high hand — Not the armed hand of the Israelites, but the hand of the omnipotent Jehovah. The high hand of man denotes defiant sin. Chap. Num_15:30, note.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

They departed from Rameses. Hebrew, Raemses. See on Exo_1:11 Exo_12:37. The brief description here given of the departure from Egypt touches upon every material circumstance as related at large in Exo_12:41. In the sight of all the Egyptians. The journey was begun by night, (Exo_12:42) but was of course con-tinned on the following day.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

first month

i.e. April.

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

Moses lists the places the Israelites went after they left Egypt. (See: How to Translate Names)

during the first month, leaving on the fifteenth day of the first month

Here "first" is the ordinal number one and "fifteenth" is the ordinal number fifteen. This is the first month of the Hebrew calendar. The fifteenth day is near the beginning of April on Western calendars. (See: Hebrew Months and Ordinal Numbers)

the people of Israel left openly, in the sight of all the Egyptians

"the Israelites left in plain view of the Egyptians"

their firstborn

This refers to the firstborn sons. AT: "their firstborn sons" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

he also inflicted punishment on their gods

Yahweh proving that he is more powerful than all of the false gods that the Egyptians worshiped is spoken of as if Yahweh punished those false gods. AT: "he also proved that he is greater than their gods" (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

day

Passover

bury

firstborn

punish

false god

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.