The Route of the Exodus

¹⁷ Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them through the way of the land of the Philistines, although it was nearby. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war, and they return to Egypt.” ¹⁸ Therefore, God led the people around, through the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea, and the children of Israel went up prepared for war out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁹ Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the children of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely attend to you, and you shall carry my bones away from here with you.”

²⁰ They took their journey from Sukkoth and camped in Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. ²¹ The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night. ²² He did not remove the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.