(Exodus 15:22) So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.
Moses had just brought the children of Israel through the Red Sea by the miraculous parting of it by God. They now came from the Red Sea and went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and had found no water.
(Numbers 33:8) And 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 camped in Marah.
Numbers 33:8 gave a little more detail about exactly where the Israelites had been and were now. Before they went through the Red Sea, they had journeyed from Succoth and had camped at Etham at the edge of the wilderness (Exodus 13:20). Then the Lord told Moses to turn and camp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea (Exodus 14:2). When they left Pi Hahiroth, they passed through the midst of the Red Sea into the wilderness on the other side, also apparently called the wilderness of Etham, and they camped at Marah.
Some have speculated that since scripture said they had previously camped at Etham, "supposedly" crossed the Red Sea, and returned to Etham, that there probably was not a miraculous crossing of the Red Sea, or at the very least, they went into the sea and came right back out where they went in. I have found a couple of good explanations for this. Actually, the wilderness surrounding the Aqaba Peninsula of the Red Sea, which is where the Israelites most likely crossed, is surrounded by wilderness, and this old map shows that it could be a wilderness by the same name on both sides:
Exodus 13:20 first said that they camped "at Etham", "at the edge of the wilderness", and this one stated they went "in the wilderness of Etham". But Exodus 15:22 said they came out of the Red Sea into the wilderness of Shur, which isn't shown on the above map. Albert Barnes, in his "Notes on the Bible", wrote that the wilderness of Etham was the part of the wilderness of Shur that adjoined Etham, and that the "wilderness of Shur" referred "to the whole district between the northeastern frontier of Egypt and Palestine. The word is undoubtedly Egyptian, and is derived probably from the word Khar which designated all the country between Egypt and Syria proper." I read another possible explanation for the confusion from a site linked at the map below, that suggested that Numbers 33:8 never mentioned Etham at all, but that the original word was "them". Indeed, my source for the Brown-Driver-Briggs' Hebrew Definitions shows Etham to mean "with them". Steve Rudd wrote in the article that Numbers 33:8 should have read more like, "They journeyed from before Hahiroth and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness; and they went three days' journey in the wilderness all of them together and camped at Marah." Mr. Rudd used a different Bible translation, but I can get the gist of his meaning; they journeyed three days in the wilderness (of Shur, the same wilderness mentioned in Exodus 15:22) and all of them camped at Marah. Therefore the wilderness of Shur mentioned in Exodus 15:22 is the same place as the wilderness of Etham mentioned in Numbers 33:8. Here is Mr. Rudd's map of the exodus including these places:
While on the subject of Bible translations, I have preferred the King James Version ever since I read some convincing articles about the questionable veracity of some of the newer translations, and I wrote about those a few years ago in a blog post entitled, Which Version of the Truth Will You Use? I have recently received a comment and links that suggested the sites I referenced for my decision were not properly sourced, lacked proper proof, and were from a rather radical way of thinking. I have posted some of those comments and links in the comment section of that original post. It is true I have not totally researched the subject, and am certainly no expert on the it. I welcome more educated opinions, as at this point, I don't choose to spend that much time on the study of the history of the different manuscripts and Bible translations. I do believe that God is well able to preserve His Word, and we get enough from any translation to know Him. Right now I am enjoying the commentaries of the scholars from the 1700 and 1800's, who would have used the KJV, as they are giving me insights I have not had occasion to consider from more recent writings. If I live long enough to finish my current study, I will definitely make a more in-depth study of the early manuscripts!
(Exodus 15:23) And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore the name of it was called Marah. (24) And the people murmured against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”
Now we return to Exodus, chapter 15. After going three days into the wilderness and finding no water, the Israelites came to Marah, but they couldn't drink the water there because it was bitter. Indeed the name Marah means "bitter". The water had to have been extremely bitter for people who had been three days without water and who must have been very thirsty, not to be able to drink it. The people began grumbling against Moses and asking him what they were to drink.
(Exodus 15:25) And he cried to the LORD; and the LORD showed him a tree, which when he had cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there He proved them, (26) And said, “If you will diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and will do what is right in His sight, and will give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians; for I am the LORD who heals you.”
When the Israelites complained to him, Moses in turn, cried out to the Lord for help. The Lord then showed him a tree. Interestingly, that original word "yarah" meant "throw, shoot, or cast". It was sometimes used figuratively to mean "to point out" (as if by aiming a finger), and therefore, could also imply "teach", and finally perhaps "show", but that seems the weakest of all the meanings. The Lord showed Moses a tree; "he" cast it into the water and the water was made sweet. It sounds like the Lord showed it to Moses and Moses threw it in the water, but learning the complete true meaning of the original word, it makes me wonder if the Lord Himself threw the tree into the water. Probably not, as He had been using Moses all along to perform His miracles, but I don't see anything in the words that would completely negate that idea. Any capitalization of "He" is done by me out of respect and not done by the KJV translators. Some of the other translations use capital letters, and don't in this instance, so they all believe it was Moses who cast the tree.
Why throw a tree instead of touching his rod to the water? Some scholars believe there was something in that particular tree that made the waters sweet. I doubt that. Even if it were true, it's not likely one tree would have sweetened flowing water enough for their huge number of people and cattle. I prefer to believe as some others wrote that the tree was symbolic of Christ, the Tree of Life. Indeed, the scripture went on to say that the Lord gave them an ordinance and there He proved them. It's not that He gave them any particular new law to follow, but He showed them a principle, that if they looked to the Tree of Life, He would sweeten the bitter things of life, but without Him, it was too bitter to handle. In fact, the Lord told them that if they would diligently listen to their Lord, do what was right in His eyes, listen and keep His commandments, He would put none of the diseases that had plagued the Egyptians upon them, because He was the Lord who healed them from those afflictions. I think it's important to point out that God doesn't seek to punish all who do not obey Him, but rather without His protection and intervention, the things of life will punish us; we experience that "hell on earth", so to speak. If and when He does bring about a "punishment", it is always about teaching the people where their salvation really lies and bringing them back to Him. One other point about using the tree to sweeten the waters--perhaps an added result is that Moses didn't come to depend on his own "power" through the rod, but could plainly see that the power was always the Lord's, used by any number of means.
(27) And they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; and they camped there by the waters.
The Israelites then came to Elim, a name which meant "palms" or "palm trees". This place had plenty of water and shade for all of them and their livestock, and there they camped by the waters. Note the significance of the numbers--twelve wells, perhaps one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel, and seventy palm trees, which may represent the seventy elders which will come to be appointed by Moses. Again I see this as a picture of a life following the Tree of Life. He will bring you through the bitter trials of life to a place of blessing and plenty. We must remember that He doesn't always take away the bitterness of life, but He does help us through it. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13) That scripture is not meant to mean that we can do any superhuman thing we want because Christ strengthens us; rather it means we can persevere through all things because of Christ who strengthens us. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me..." (Psalm 23:4) We still have to walk through the valleys, but God is with us.
(Numbers 33:9) And they removed from Marah, and came to Elim; and in Elim were twelve fountains of water and seventy palm trees; and they pitched there.
Chronologically, we now go forward again to Numbers, chapter 33, which chronicles the travels of the Israelites after they left Egypt. Verse 9 also told that they left Marah, the place with the bitter waters, and came to Elim, where there were twelve fountains or wells of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there.
(10) And they removed from Elim and camped by the Red Sea. (11) And they removed from the Red Sea and camped in the wilderness of Sin.
The children of Israel then moved from Elim and camped again by the Red Sea, surely another part of it. From there they moved into the Wilderness of Sin. What an interesting and appropriate name for the wilderness where the Israelites would wander! It appears the people moved from one "wilderness" to another, at first at the edge of the wilderness, then in the wilderness of Etham, in the wilderness of Shur, and now in the wilderness of Sin. Quoting Matthew Henry in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, "Our removals in this world are but from one wilderness to another."
This was a short study this time, but as it sets up the complete chapter of Exodus 16 for next time, I will stop here, and resume the chronological study in the next blog post.
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