Exodus 13:18 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Exodus 13:17-22

Here is, I. The choice God made of their way, Exod. 13:17, 18. He was their guide. Moses gave them direction but as he received it from the Lord. Note, The way of man is not in himself, Jer. 10:23. He may devise his way, and design it; but, after all, it is God that directs his steps, Prov. 16:9. Man proposes, but God disposes, and in his disposal we must acquiesce, and set ourselves to follow providence. There were two ways from Egypt to Canaan. One was a short cut from the north of Egypt to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 13:18

But God led the people about ,.... Instead of their going to the west, or northwest, towards Gaza, &c.; and the Mediterranean sea, the Lord going before them in a pillar of cloud and fire, as after related, directed them to turn off to the right, between the east and south, to the southeast: through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea : the wilderness of Etham, by the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt or "girt" F13 חמשים ... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 13:18

But God led the people about - Dr. Shaw has shown that there were two roads from Egypt to Canaan, one through the valleys of Jendilly, Rumeleah, and Baideah, bounded on each side by the mountains of the lower Thebais; the other lies higher, having the northern range of the mountains of Mocatee running parallel with it on the right hand, and the desert of the Egyptian Arabia, which lies all the way open to the land of the Philistines, to the left. See his account of these encampments at the... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 13:18

Verse 18 18.The children of Israel went up harnessed. The word חמשים, (148) chemishim, is derived from “Five,” from whence some have explained it, that they were furnished with five kinds of arms, but this is too absurd. The Hebrews, because they could conjecture nothing better or more probable, almost with one consent would understand it, that they were armed under the fifth rib. But whence were there so many military corselets ready for the Israelites? But I reject so forced and improbable a... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 13:17-20

Moses, at this point of his narrative, being about to trace the onward march of the Israelites from Succoth to Etham, in the direction of the Red Sea, anticipated, it would seem, an objection on the part of his reader, who would naturally ask, Why was not the direct route eastward taken and Canaan entered on the south-west after some half-dozen marches? In Exodus 13:17 , Exodus 13:18 , he gives the reply— 1 . God led them, they did not determine their own route; and 2. God... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 13:17-21

The way of the wilderness by the Red Sea. The direct road to Canaan lay through the land of the Philistines. God, however, did not lead the people by this way, but round by the Red Sea. "For God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt" ( Exodus 13:17 ). Another reason was that he designed to make his covenant with them, and give them laws, in the solitude of the "mountain of God" ( Exodus 3:12 ). I. REDEEMED FROM EGYPT , THE ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 13:17-22

Israel's journey the emblem of the Christian's pilgrimage. I. GOD 'S TENDER CARE FOR HIS PEOPLE . 1 . Trials and temptations are proportioned to their ability to-bear them. "He led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines." The conflict with these was not too much for his strength, but it was too much for Israel's faith. They would have made shipwreck at the very outset. He will not suffer us to be tempted beyond that we are able to bear. 2 . It "was... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 13:17-22

Fire and cloud. "And the Lord went before them," etc. ( Exodus 13:21 ). Israel might have been in Canaan within ten days. Reason why not is given Exodus 13:17 . This however, not a reason for the forty years wandering: but only for the circuitous route by the desert of Sinai. The line of Israel's march for the first two days is soon given. They start from Rameses , capital of Goshen, a store city, recently built by the Hebrews, the king there possibly. The first stage was Succoth ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 13:18

God led the people about . Or "led the people a circuit," i.e; made them take a circuitous route to Canaan, the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea — i.e; by the southern wilderness, or what is now called "the wilderness of Sinai." Kalisch shows the wisdom of this course—how it gave time for the nation to be "gradually accustomed to fatigues and hardships by a long and tiresome march in the desert"—to learn obedience to their chief—and finally to be "trained to military discipline and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 13:18-21

It is the method of the Divine action to accomplish ends by circuitous means. God "led the Israelites about." Instead of conducting them straight from Tanis to Canaan in the course of six or seven days, he carried them down nearly to the furthest point of the Sinaitic peninsula, at least two hundred miles out of the direct line of route. He afterwards made them occupy in desert wanderings the space of forty years, and brought them into Canaan on the side furthest from Egypt—that which... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Exodus 13:17-22

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 13:18

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 13:18

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 13:18

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 13:17-20

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 13:17-21

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 13:17-22

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 13:17-22

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 13:18

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 13:18-21

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