Bible Strands
Exodus 12:37
The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth with about 600,000 men on foot, besides women and children.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records the Israelites departing Egypt immediately after God secures their favor with the Egyptians and they gather valuables. This moment marks the first leg of the Exodus journey from Rameses toward Succoth.
The words — The verb וַיִּסְעוּ (va.yis.su) literally means "and they set out," indicating a formal, organized departure. The noun phrase בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל (benei Yisra'el) identifies the departing group specifically as the people of Israel.
The thread — The numerical count of the men is cross-referenced in Exodus 38:26 and Numbers 1:46, while Moses later cites the same 600,000 figure in Numbers 11:21 to question divine provision.
Why it lands — The text states a demographic fact before the wilderness narrative begins, requiring the reader to acknowledge the scale of the deliverance. It asks for a clear accounting of the group's composition before assessing the logistical and theological challenges that follow.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children.
Cross-references
- Exodus 38:26 a beka per person, that is, half a shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, from everyone twenty years of age or older who had crossed over to be numbered, a total of 603,550 men.
- Numbers 1:46 And all those counted totaled 603,550.
- Numbers 11:21 But Moses replied, “Here I am among 600,000 men on foot, yet You say, ‘I will give them meat, and they will eat for a month.’
- Numbers 33:3 On the fifteenth day of the first month, on the day after the Passover, the Israelites set out from Rameses. They marched out defiantly in full view of all the Egyptians,
- Numbers 33:5 The Israelites set out from Rameses and camped at Succoth.
- Genesis 47:11 So Joseph settled his father and brothers in the land of Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
- Exodus 1:11 So the Egyptians appointed taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. As a result, they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.
- Genesis 12:2 I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
- Genesis 15:5 And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.”
- Genesis 46:3 “I am God,” He said, “the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.