Bible Strands
Exodus 19:2
After they had set out from Rephidim, they entered the Wilderness of Sinai, and Israel camped there in front of the mountain.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrative records Israel’s arrival at the Wilderness of Sinai after departing Rephidim, where they encamped opposite the mountain. This occurs in the third month following their departure from Egypt, immediately preceding Moses’ ascent to receive divine instruction.
The words — The verb וַיִּסְעוּ (va.yis'u) means "they set out," while וַיַּחֲנוּ (va.yachanu) means "they encamped," marking a clear shift from transit to stationary positioning. The proper noun סִינַי (Sinai) specifies the exact wilderness location chosen for the encampment.
The thread — The departure from Rephidim links to Exodus 17:1, which notes Israel's prior encampment there after leaving the Desert of Sin. The arrival at the mountain directly precedes Exodus 19:3, where Moses goes up to meet God, and recalls the earlier theophany site in Exodus 3:1.
Why it lands — The verse documents a deliberate geographical pause that prepares the community for covenant revelation. It requires the reader to observe how the text structures the journey to position Israel physically and narratively for divine instruction.
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The Hebrew words
King James Version
For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.
Cross-references
- Exodus 3:1 Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
- Exodus 17:1 Then the whole congregation of Israel left the Desert of Sin, moving from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.
- Exodus 3:12 “I will surely be with you,” God said, “and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, all of you will worship God on this mountain.”
- Exodus 17:8 After this, the Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.
- Exodus 18:5 Moses’ father-in-law Jethro, along with Moses’ wife and sons, came to him in the desert, where he was encamped at the mountain of God.
- Acts 7:30 After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai.
- Acts 7:38 He was in the assembly in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. And he received living words to pass on to us.
- Galatians 4:24 These things serve as illustrations, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children into slavery: This is Hagar.