From Sinai to the Promised Land

This description of the movement of the Israelites from Mount Sinai has a detailed list of places in Numbers, chapter 33:16-49.  However, there is very little information about most of these camp stops whose names never appear in any other biblical texts.  They stayed some time at Mount Sinai.  Then they set out from Rephidim, and camped in the wilderness of Sinai.  Then they camped at Kibroth-hattaavah, Hazeroth, Rithmah, Rimmon-perez, and at Libnah.  From there, they camped at Rissah, Kehelathah, Mount Shepher, and Haradah.  They set out from Haradah, and camped at Makheloth, Tahath, Terah, Mithkah, and Hashmonah.  From there, they camped at Moseroth, Bene-jaakan, Hor-haggidgad, and Jotbathah.  From there, they camped at Abronah, and Ezion-geber, in the wilderness of Zin, that is Kadesh.  They set out from Kadesh, and camped at Mount Hor, on the edge of the land of Edom.  Aaron went up Mount Hor at the command of Yahweh.  There he died just as they were to enter the Promised Land in the fortieth year of the journey at the age of 123.  The Canaanite King Arad heard that the Israelites were coming so they went over to the east side of the Jordan up through Edom and Moab, just north of the Dead Sea.  They Israelites set out from Mount Hor, and camped at Zalmonah, Punon, Oboth, and Iye-abarim, in the territory of Moab.  They set out from there and camped at Dibon-gad, Almon-diblathaim, and in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo.  They set out from the mountains of Abarim, and camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan River opposite Jericho.  They camped by the Jordan River from Beth-jeshimoth as far as Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab.  If this reading is correct there were about fifty explicitly mentioned places of the various camping sites, which would not be that many for forty years.  They were in the plains of Moab waiting to enter the Promised Land.  Have you ever gone camping for a long period of time?

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