{{Short description|Locations Israelites visited after Exodus}} [[File:Hæc chorographia præpocapiti 33. libri numer Responsibility, G. Postel, 1555.jpg|thumb|[[Guillaume Postel]], 1555 ''Hæc chorographia præpocapiti 33. libri numer'']] [[File:Wanderings in the desert map.jpg|thumb|1641 Wanderings in the desert map]] [[File:Exodus map.jpg|thumb|1585 Exodus map]] [[File:UBBasel Map 1557 Kartenslg AA 104 Itinera Israelitarum ex Aegypto.tiff|thumb|[[:de: Tilemann Stella| Tilemann Stella]]'s 1557 ''Itinera Israelitarum ex Aegypto'']]

The '''Stations of the Exodus''' are the locations visited by the [[Israelite]]s following their [[The Exodus|exodus from Egypt]], according to the [[Hebrew Bible]]. In the itinerary given in [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 33, forty-two stations are listed,<ref>{{bibleverse||Numbers|33|HE}}</ref> although this list differs slightly from the narrative account of the journey found in [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]] and [[Deuteronomy]].

Biblical commentators like St [[Jerome]] in his ''Epistle to Fabiola'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://epistolae.ctl.columbia.edu/letter/365.html|title=A letter from Jerome (400)|first=Center for Teaching and Learning at Columbia|last=University|website=Epistolae}}</ref> [[Bede]] (''Letter to Acca: "De Mansionibus Filiorum Israhel"'') and St [[Peter Damian]] discussed the Stations according to the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] meanings of their names.<ref>Gregory F. LaNave, ''et al.'', ''The Fathers of the Church: Mediaeval Continuation'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=UToXVm7ZI4oC&pg=PA103 ''The Letters of Peter Damian 151-180''], Letter 160, pp. 110 ff., The Catholic University of America Press, Washington D.C. (2005)</ref> [[Dante]] modeled the 42 chapters of his ''[[Vita Nuova]]'' on them.<ref>[[Julia Bolton Holloway]], ''Sweet New Style: Brunetto Latino, Dante Alighieri and Geoffrey Chaucer'', [http://www.umilta.net/Vitanuov.html Chapter III], (2003)</ref>

==Sources== According to the [[documentary hypothesis]], the list of the Stations was originally a distinct and separate source text.<ref>Nili S. Fox, in Adele Berlin, Marc Zvi Brettler (editors), ''The Jewish study Bible'', Jewish Publication Society TANAKH Translation, Oxford University Press, Oxford (1999), p. 349: "The literary style of the itinerary, the repetition of campsite names, and the highlighting of events in those places closely resemble extant military records from the ancient Near East, especially from Assyria. Accordingly, the notation in this Priestly source that Moses recorded the starting points of their various marches (v. 2) fits the genre. Some scholars, however, consider ch 33 a composite text extracted from other portions of Numbers, Exodus, and Deuteronomy."</ref> Proponents of this hypothesis believe that the redactor, in combining the [[Torah]]'s sources, used parts of the Stations list to fill out awkward joins between the main sources. However, a slightly variant version of the list appears in full at [[Masei|Numbers 33]], and several parts of the journey described in the full list (most noticeably the journey from [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]] to [[Zin Desert|Zin]]) do not appear in the fragmented version.

Both versions of the list contain several brief narrative fragments. For example, Exodus 15:27 reads: "[The Israelites] came to [[Elim (Bible)|Elim]], where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees".<ref>{{bibleverse|Exodus|15:27|NSRV}} (NSRV).</ref> It is a matter of some debate as to how much of the narrative is part of the original text of the list, and how much is extra detail added into it by the redactor. Some information may also have been drawn from other sources; Numbers 21 contains both an extract from the lost ''[[Book of the Wars of the Lord]]'',<ref>{{bibleverse||Numbers|21:14-15|HE}}</ref> and the text of a song about the digging of a well at [[Beer (biblical place)|Beer]].<ref>{{bibleverse||Numbers|21:16b-18a|HE}}</ref>

==Locating the Stations== Attempting to locate many of the stations of the Israelite Exodus is a difficult task, if not infeasible. Though most scholars concede that the narrative of the Exodus may have a historical basis,<ref>{{cite book |last= Redmount| first= Carol A.| title= The Oxford History of the Biblical World| chapter= Bitter Lives: Israel In And Out of Egypt| editor-last = Coogan | editor-first = Michael D. | year = 2001 | orig-year = 1998 | publisher = OUP| isbn= 9780199881482 | chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=4DVHJRFW3mYC&pg=PA59 |page=87 }}</ref><ref name=Faust/><ref>{{cite book| last = Sparks| first = Kenton L.| editor1-last = Dozeman| editor1-first = Thomas B.| title = Methods for Exodus| chapter = Genre Criticism| year = 2010| publisher = Cambridge University Press| chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=CiqF7sVqDQcC&pg=PA73| isbn = 9781139487382| page = 73}}</ref> the event in question would have borne little resemblance to the mass-emigration and subsequent forty years of desert nomadism described in the biblical account.<ref name=Faust>{{cite book|author=Avraham Faust|title=Israel's Exodus in Transdisciplinary Perspective: Text, Archaeology, Culture, and Geoscience|url=https://www.academia.edu/11906343|year=2015|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-319-04768-3|page=476}}</ref><ref name="Dever2001">{{cite book|author=William G. Dever|title=What Did the Biblical Writers Know and When Did They Know It?: What Archeology Can Tell Us About the Reality of Ancient Israel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6-VxwC5rQtwC&pg=PA99|year=2001|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=978-0-8028-2126-3|page=99}}</ref> If a smaller-scale exodus did take place, no trace of it has been found in the archaeological record,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Finkelstein |first1=Israel |last2=Silberman |first2=Neil Asher |date=2001 |title=The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Sacred Texts |publisher=Free Press |url=https://archive.org/details/bibleunearthedar0000fink/page/62/mode/2up?view=theater |url-access=registration |pages=62–3 |isbn=0-684-86912-8}}</ref> so archaeology can give no clues as to the modern-day locations of the stations.

Another factor complicating the issue is that the narrative descriptions of many of the stations lack recognizable distinguishing features, or are very broadly defined. For example, [[Marah (Bible)|Marah]], the fifth station, is described only as a place where the Israelites found the drinking water to be exceptionally bitter. The locations of some stations are given in relative terms, such as the "[[Wilderness of Sin]]", which is simply described as the area between [[Elim (Bible)|Elim]] and [[Biblical Mount Sinai|Mount Sinai]], which, given the uncertain locations of the numerous stations, cannot be positively determined. Other locations central to the narrative, such as the [[Sea of Reeds]], Mount Sinai, and Raamses, also lack positive identification, making it more difficult to plot a plausible map of the Israelites' journey. As such, proposed identifications of the stations of the Exodus are almost entirely conjectural.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

==List of the Stations of the Exodus== {| class="wikitable" ! scope="col" | Station ! scope="col" | Biblical reference ! scope="col" | Description ! scope="col" | Possible location{{efn|All proposed locations are speculative, and in many cases there are numerous competing theories. This table includes only those theories which have received wide support from modern scholars.}} |- | Raamses | Ex. 12:37; Nu. 33:3 | The Raamses district was of the highest quality land in Egypt (Ge. 47:11) | [[Pi-Ramesses]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=van Seters |first=John |date=2001 |chapter=The Geography of the Exodus |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YzQe_4Waz34C&pg=PA264 |editor-last1=Dearman |editor-first1=J. A. |editor-last2=Graham |editor-first2=M. P. |title=The Land that I Will Show You |publisher=Sheffield Academic Press |page=264 |isbn=1-84127-257-4 |quote=Most scholars accept the equation of Rameses with Piramesse, the capital of the 19th Dynasty built by Ramesses II.}}</ref> |- | [[Sukkot (place)|Sukkoth]] | Ex. 12:37, 13:20; Nu. 33:5–6 | | The region of [[Wadi Tumilat]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Bietak |first=Manfred |date=2015|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xpe1BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA21 |chapter=On the Historicity of the Exodus |editor-last1=Levy |editor-first1=T. E. |editor-last2=Schneider |editor-first2=T. |editor-last3=Propp |editor-first3=W. H. C. |title=Israel's Exodus in Transdisciplinary Perspective |page=21 |publisher=Springer|isbn= 9783319047683|quote=Tjeku, the name of the region of Wadi Tumilat, is regarded by many as an Egyptian rendering of the biblical Sukkot.}}</ref> or a city within the region, such as Tell el-Maskhuta<ref>{{Cite book|title=On the Reliability of the Old Testament|last=Kitchen|first=K. A.|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans|year=2003|isbn=0-8028-4960-1|pages=257–8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kw6U05qBiXcC&pg=PA257}}</ref> |- | Etham | Ex. 13:20; Nu. 33:6–8 | "On the edge of the wilderness" | Unknown, but possibly close to modern [[Ismailia]]<ref>{{harvnb|Kitchen|2003|p=259}}</ref> |- | [[Pi-HaHiroth]] | Ex. 14:2; Nu. 33:7–8 | "Between Migdol and the sea, opposite Ba'al-Zephon" | Possibly a canal on the eastern frontier of Egypt<ref>{{cite book |title=Ancient Israel in Sinai: The Evidence for the Authenticity of the Wilderness Tradition |last=Hoffmeier |first=James K. |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-19-515546-4 |pages=105–107 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EVcSDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA105}}</ref> |- | [[Marah (Bible)|Marah]] | Ex. 15:23; Nu. 33:8–9 | A place where the water was too bitter to drink | Bir el-Mura<ref>{{harvnb|Hoffmeier|2005|p=162}}</ref> or Ain Hawarah, fifty miles south of [[Suez]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Hyatt |first=J. Philip |date=1971 |url=https://archive.org/details/commentaryonexod0000hyat/page/172 |url-access=registration |title=Commentary on Exodus |publisher=Oliphants |page=172 |isbn=0-551-00630-7 |quote=Marah is often identified with 'Ain Hawarah, about fifty miles S. of the northern end of the Gulf of Suez.}}</ref> |- | [[Elim (Bible)|Elim]] | Ex. 15:27, 16:1; Nu. 33:9–10 | "Where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees" | [[Wadi Gharandel]]<ref>{{harvnb|Kitchen|2003|p=269}}. "It is commonly suggested that the well-watered Wadi Gharandel was Elim."</ref> |- | By the [[Yam Suph|Red Sea]] | Nu. 33:10–11 | | Possibly around the [[Gulf of Suez]]<ref name="Janzen" />{{rp|720}} |- | [[Desert of Sin|Sin Wilderness]] | Ex. 16:1, 17:1; Nu. 33:11–12 | Between Elim and Mount Sinai; here God supplies quail and manna | |- | Dophkah | Nu. 33:12–13 | | [[Wadi Maghareh|Wadi Maghara]]<ref name="Janzen">{{cite book |title=Lexham Geographic Commentary on the Pentateuch |last=Janzen |first=Mark D. |publisher=Lexham Press |year=2024 |isbn=978-1-68359-729-2 |pages=705–739 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UfDuzwEACAAJ |last2=McKinny |first2=Chris |editor-last=Beitzel |editor-first=Barry J. |chapter=An Overview of The Historical Geography of The Exodus and Wilderness Itinerary (Exod 12:1–19:25; Num 33:1–49)}}</ref>{{rp|721}} |- | Alush | Nu. 33:13–14 | | Wadi ‘Esh<ref name="Janzen" />{{rp|723}} |- | [[Rephidim]] | Ex. 17:1, 19:2; Nu. 33:14–15 | Moses brings forth water from the Rock of Horeb; the Israelites battle the [[Amalekites]] | Wadi Refayid<ref>{{cite book |last=Kotter |first=Wade R. |date=2019 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fq7qDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT2268 |chapter=Rephidim |editor-last=Freedman |editor-first=D. N. |title=Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible |publisher=William B. Eerdmans |isbn=978-1-4674-6046-0 |quote=Tradition has long identified Wadi Feiran near Jebul Musa as the location of Rephidim, although more recent scholarship prefers the nearby Wadi Refayid because of the similarity in name.}}</ref> |- | Sinai Wilderness | Ex. 19:1–2; Nu. 10:12, 33:15–16 | Near [[Biblical Mount Sinai|Mount Sinai]] | Possibly the region around [[Jebel Musa]]<ref name="Janzen" />{{rp|723}} |- | [[Kibroth Hattaavah|Kibroth-Hattaavah]] | Nu. 11:35, 33:16–17 | | Rueis el-Ebeirig<ref name="Janzen" />{{rp|723–724}} |- | Hazeroth | Nu. 11:35, 12:16, 33:17–18 | [[Miriam]] is afflicted with a skin disease | 'Ain el-Khudra<ref name="Janzen" />{{rp|723–724}} |- | Rithmah | Nu. 33:18–19 | | Wadi el-Rutmi<ref name="Janzen" />{{rp|724}} |- | Rimmon-Perez | Nu. 33:19–20 | | Rarra Rarmun<ref name="Janzen" />{{rp|725}} |- | [[Libnah]] | Nu. 33:20–21 | | Either Wadi el-Beidha or Jebel Libni<ref name="Janzen" />{{rp|725}} |- | Rissah | Nu. 33:21–22 | | Jebel Ruisset el-Negin<ref name="Janzen" />{{rp|725}} |- | Kehelathah | Nu. 33:22–23 | | Possibly [[Kuntillet Ajrud]]<ref name="Janzen" />{{rp|725}} |- | Mount Shapher | Nu. 33:23–24 | | Jebel el-Shereif<ref name="Janzen" />{{rp|726}} |- | Haradah | Nu. 33:24–25 | | Possibly Ras el-Khorasha<ref name="Janzen" />{{rp|726}} |- | Makheloth | Nu. 33:25–26 | | Perhaps a doublet of Kehelathah (see above) |- | Tahath | Nu. 33:26–27 | | |- | Terah | Nu. 33:27–28 | | Possibly either Tara umm Haluf or Jebel Taret um-Basis<ref name="Janzen" />{{rp|726}} |- | Mithcah | Nu. 33:28–29 | | |- | Hashmonah | Nu. 33:29–30 | | Possibly Qeseimeh, near Wadi el-Hashmim<ref name="Janzen" />{{rp|726}} |- | Moseroth | Nu. 33:30–31; Dt. 10:6 | [[Aaron]]'s burial place according to Deuteronomy | Bir al-Hafir<ref name="Janzen" />{{rp|726}} |- | Bene-Jaakan | Nu. 33:31–32 | | Birein near [[Nabataeans|Nabatean]] [[Nitzana (Nabataean city)|Nitzana]]<ref name="Janzen" />{{rp|727}} |- | Hor Haggidgad | Nu. 33:32–33 | | Wadi Hadahad<ref name="Janzen" />{{rp|727}} |- | Jotbathah | Nu. 33:33–34 | | Either Taba on the border between Israel and Jordan (a few miles north of [[Timna Park]]) or Tabeh on the Egyptian/Israeli border crossing south of [[Elath]]<ref name="Janzen" />{{rp|727}} |- | Abronah | Nu. 33:34–35 | | ‘Ain ed-Defiyeh<ref name="Janzen" />{{rp|727}} |- | [[Ezion-Geber]] | Nu. 33:35–36 | | [[Tell el-Kheleifeh]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Pratico |first=Gary D. |date=1993 |title=Nelson Glueck's 1938–1940 Excavations at Tell el-Kheleifeh: A Reappraisal |url=https://archive.org/details/nelsongluecks1930000prat/page/16 |url-access=registration |page=17 |publisher=American Schools of Oriental Research |isbn=9781555408831 |quote=Nelson Glueck's identification of Tell el-Kheleifeh with biblical Ezion-geber has been generally accepted by the archaeological community.}}</ref> |- | [[Kadesh (South of Israel)|Kadesh]] | Nu. 20:1,22, 33:36–37 | Located in the [[Zin Desert|Wilderness of Zin]]; [[Miriam]]'s burial place | [[Tell el-Qudeirat]]<ref>{{cite book|first=C. H. J. |last=de Geus|chapter=Kadesh Barnea: Some Geographical and Historical Remarks|editor-first=H. A. |editor-last=Brongers|title=Instruction and Interpretation: Studies in Hebrew Language, Palestinian Archaeology and Biblical Exegesis |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XJo3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA58|year=1977|publisher=Brill Archive|isbn=90-04-05433-2|page=58|quote=Anyone who is familiar with the Exodus-literature will know that Kadesh Barnea is practically always identified with ''ʿAin el Qudeirat''.}}</ref> |- | [[Mount Hor]] | Nu. 20:22, 21:4, 33:37–41 | On the border of [[Edom]]; Aaron's burial place according to Numbers | Possibly Ras el-Khorasha<ref name="Janzen" />{{rp|729}} |- | Zalmonah | Nu. 33:41–42 | | 'Ain es-Salamani<ref name="Janzen" />{{rp|730}} |- | Punon | Nu. 33:42–43 | | [[Khirbat Faynan]]<ref>{{cite book |last=MacDonald |first=Burton |date=2015 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D1-qCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA79 |title=The Southern Transjordan Edomite Plateau and the Dead Sea Rift Valley |page=79 |publisher=Oxbow Books |isbn=978-1-78297-832-9 |quote=Khirbat Faynan ... is almost certainly the location of ''Phaino/Punon/Pinon''.}}</ref> |- | Oboth | Nu. 21:10–11, 33:43–44 | | Either 'Ain el-Weiba or Khirbet Ghweibah<ref name="Janzen" />{{rp|730–731}} |- | Iye Abarim | Nu. 21:11, 33:44–45 | On the border of [[Moab]] | Proposals include ‘Ayna (along the [[King's Highway (ancient)|King’s Highway]] north of [[Wadi al-Hasa]]) or a place south of [[Wadi al-Hasa]]<ref name="Janzen" />{{rp|731}} |- | Dibon Gad | Nu. 33:45–46 | | [[Dhiban, Jordan]]<ref>{{harvnb|Kitchen|2003|page=195}}. "Dibon ... is readily admitted to be located at modern Dhiban."</ref> |- | [[Almon Diblathaim]] | Nu. 33:46–47 | | Either Khirbet Deleilat esh-Sherqiyeh or Nitl<ref name="Janzen" />{{rp|732}} |- | [[Abarim|Abarim Mountains]] | Nu. 33:47–48 | The Israelites encamped near [[Mount Nebo (Jordan)|Mount Nebo]] | The mountain range of western Moab, overlooking the [[plains of Moab]] in the [[Jordan Valley]]<ref name="Janzen" />{{rp|732}} |- | [[Plains of Moab]] | Nu. 22:1, 33:48–50 | The Israelites encamped along the [[Jordan River]] from [[Beth-jeshimoth]] to [[Abel Shittim|Abel-shittim]] | Lower Jordan Valley, between [[Sweimeh]] and [[Tell el-Hammam]], Jordan |}

==Notes== {{Notelist}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

== External links ==

* Falk, David A. (2018). "[https://www.thetorah.com/article/what-we-know-about-the-egyptian-places-mentioned-in-exodus What We Know about the Egyptian Places Mentioned in Exodus]". ''TheTorah.com''. {{Stations of the Exodus}} {{Book of Exodus navbox}} {{Book of Numbers}}

[[Category:Stations of the Exodus| ]] [[Category:Documentary hypothesis]] [[Category:Book of Exodus]] [[Category:Book of Numbers]]