Exodus 19:2
New International Version
After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.

New Living Translation
After breaking camp at Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and set up camp there at the base of Mount Sinai.

English Standard Version
They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain,

Berean Standard Bible
After they had set out from Rephidim, they entered the Wilderness of Sinai, and Israel camped there in front of the mountain.

King James Bible
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.

New King James Version
For they had departed from Rephidim, had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped there before the mountain.

New American Standard Bible
When they set out from Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness; and there Israel camped in front of the mountain.

NASB 1995
When they set out from Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness; and there Israel camped in front of the mountain.

NASB 1977
When they set out from Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; and there Israel camped in front of the mountain.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then they set out from Rephidim and came to the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness; and there Israel camped in front of the mountain.

Amplified Bible
When they moved out from Rephidim, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai and they camped there; Israel camped at the base of the mountain [of Sinai].

Christian Standard Bible
They traveled from Rephidim, came to the Sinai Wilderness, and camped in the wilderness. Israel camped there in front of the mountain.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
After they departed from Rephidim, they entered the Wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness, and Israel camped there in front of the mountain.

American Standard Version
And when they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the wilderness of Sinai, they encamped in the wilderness; and there Israel encamped before the mount.

English Revised Version
And when they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the wilderness of Sinai, they pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Israel had moved from Rephidim and had come into the desert of Sinai. They had set up camp there in front of the mountain.

International Standard Version
They had set out from Rephidim and arrived at the desert of Sinai where they camped in the desert. Israel camped there in front of the mountain.

Majority Standard Bible
After they had set out from Rephidim, they entered the Wilderness of Sinai, and Israel camped there in front of the mountain.

NET Bible
After they journeyed from Rephidim, they came to the Desert of Sinai, and they camped in the desert; Israel camped there in front of the mountain.

New Heart English Bible
When they had departed from Rephidim, and had come to the wilderness of Sinai, they camped in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mountain.

Webster's Bible Translation
For they had departed from Rephidim, and had come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel encamped before the mount.

World English Bible
When they had departed from Rephidim, and had come to the wilderness of Sinai, they encamped in the wilderness; and there Israel encamped before the mountain.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
and they journey from Rephidim, and enter the wilderness of Sinai, and encamp in the wilderness; and Israel encamps there before the mountain.

Young's Literal Translation
and they journey from Rephidim, and enter the wilderness of Sinai, and encamp in the wilderness; and Israel encampeth there before the mount.

Smith's Literal Translation
And they will remove from Rephidim, and they will come to the desert of Sinai, and they will encamp in the desert; and Israel will encamp there before the mountain.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
For departing out of Raphidim, and coming to the desert of Sinai, they camped in the same place, and there Israel pitched their tents over against the mountain.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Thus, setting out from Raphidim, and going directly to the desert of Sinai, they encamped in the same place, and there Israel pitched their tents away from the region of the mountain.

New American Bible
After they made the journey from Rephidim and entered the wilderness of Sinai, they then pitched camp in the wilderness. While Israel was encamped there in front of the mountain,

New Revised Standard Version
They had journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; Israel camped there in front of the mountain.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Then they journeyed from Rephidim and came to the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mountain.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And they moved camp from Raphidin and they came to the wilderness of Sinai and they camped in the wilderness, and Israel camped there against the mountain.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And when they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the wilderness of Sinai, they encamped in the wilderness; and there Israel encamped before the mount.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And they departed from Raphidin, and came into the wilderness of Sina, and there Israel encamped before the mountain.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Israel at Mount Sinai
1In the third month, on the same day of the month that the Israelites had left the land of Egypt, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai. 2After they had set out from Rephidim, they entered the Wilderness of Sinai, and Israel camped there in front of the mountain. 3Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, “This is what you are to tell the house of Jacob and explain to the sons of Israel:…

Cross References
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.”

Deuteronomy 5:2-4
The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. / He did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with all of us who are alive here today. / The LORD spoke with you face to face out of the fire on the mountain.

Hebrews 12:18-21
For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom, and storm; / to a trumpet blast or to a voice that made its hearers beg that no further word be spoken. / For they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.” ...

Exodus 24:15-18
When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, / and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered it, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud. / And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the mountaintop in the eyes of the Israelites. ...

Numbers 10:12
and the Israelites set out from the Wilderness of Sinai, traveling from place to place until the cloud settled in the Wilderness of Paran.

Deuteronomy 4:10-12
The day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, the LORD said to me, “Gather the people before Me to hear My words, so that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach them to their children.” / You came near and stood at the base of the mountain, a mountain blazing with fire to the heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. / And the LORD spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of the words but saw no form; there was only a voice.

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.

Exodus 24:1-2
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD—you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders—and you are to worship at a distance. / Moses alone shall approach the LORD, but the others must not come near. And the people may not go up with him.”

Deuteronomy 33:2
He said: “The LORD came from Sinai and dawned upon us from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran and came with myriads of holy ones, with flaming fire at His right hand.

Psalm 68:17
The chariots of God are tens of thousands—thousands of thousands are they; the Lord is in His sanctuary as He was at Sinai.

Galatians 4:24-25
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. / Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present-day Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children.

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.

Nehemiah 9:13-14
You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven. You gave them just ordinances, true laws, and good statutes and commandments. / You revealed to them Your holy Sabbath and gave them commandments and statutes and laws through Your servant Moses.

1 Kings 8:9
There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the LORD had made a covenant with the Israelites after they had come out of the land of Egypt.

Revelation 4:5
From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder. Before the throne burned seven torches of fire. These are the seven spirits of God.


Treasury of Scripture

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.

Rephidim

Exodus 17:1,8
And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink…

the desert.

Exodus 3:1,12
Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb…

Exodus 18:5
And Jethro, Moses' father in law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God:

Acts 7:30,38
And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush…

Jump to Previous
Camped Departed Desert Encamp Encamped Encampeth Enter Entered Front Israel Journey Mount Mountain Pitched Rephidim Reph'idim Sinai Waste Wilderness
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Camped Departed Desert Encamp Encamped Encampeth Enter Entered Front Israel Journey Mount Mountain Pitched Rephidim Reph'idim Sinai Waste Wilderness
Exodus 19
1. The people arrive at Sinai
3. God's message by Moses unto the people out of the mount
8. The people are prepared against the third day, for the giving of the law
12. The mountain must not be touched
16. The fearful presence of God upon the mount














After they had set out from Rephidim
This phrase marks a transition in the journey of the Israelites. Rephidim, a place where the Israelites previously camped, is significant as the site of God's provision of water from the rock (Exodus 17:1-7) and the victory over the Amalekites (Exodus 17:8-16). The Hebrew root for "set out" (נָסַע, nasa) implies a purposeful departure, indicating that the Israelites were moving under divine guidance. This movement from Rephidim to Sinai is a physical and spiritual journey, symbolizing a shift from God's immediate provision to a deeper covenantal relationship.

they entered the Wilderness of Sinai
The Wilderness of Sinai is a barren, desolate region, yet it is here that God chooses to reveal Himself to His people. The Hebrew word for "wilderness" (מִדְבָּר, midbar) can also mean "a place of speaking," suggesting that the wilderness is not just a place of physical barrenness but also a place where God speaks and reveals His will. Historically, the Sinai Peninsula is a rugged area, emphasizing the Israelites' dependence on God for survival and guidance.

and Israel camped there in front of the mountain
The act of camping "in front of the mountain" signifies a period of preparation and anticipation. The mountain, Mount Sinai, is a central location in the biblical narrative, where God will give the Ten Commandments and establish His covenant with Israel. The Hebrew word for "camped" (חָנָה, chanah) implies a temporary dwelling, yet it also suggests a place of rest and readiness. This setting underscores the importance of the forthcoming divine encounter and the establishment of Israel as a nation set apart for God's purposes.

XIX.

THE MANIFESTATION OF GOD TO THE PEOPLE ON MOUNT SINAI.

(2) They were departed from Rephidim.--If Rephidim was where we have placed it, in the Wady Feiran, the march to "the wilderness of Sinai" (Er Rahah) must have been by the Wady Solaf, or the Wady esh Sheikh, or possibly by both. The distance by Wady Solaf is about eighteen, by Wady esh Sheikh about twenty-five miles. The wilderness of Sinai, now generally identified with Er Rahah, is a plain two miles long by half a mile wide, "enclosed between two precipitous mountain ranges of black and yellow granite, and having at its end the prodigious mountain block of Ras Sufsafeh" (Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, p. 74). It is nearly fiat, and covered at present with stunted tamarisk bushes. "No spot in the whole peninsula is so well supplied with water" (Our Work in Palestine, p. 268).

Israel camped before the mount.--On the capacity of the plain Er Rahah to receive the entire multitude, see Stanley (Sinai and Palestine, p. 42), and comp. The comment on Exodus 12:37-41. The Ras Sufsafeh is visible from every part of the plain.

Verse 2. - They were departed from Rephidim. See the comment on ch. 17:1, and compare Numbers 33:15. There Israel en-camped before the mountain. The bulk of the tents were no doubt pitched in the plain, Er-Rahah; but this may not have sufficed, and some may have been located in the Wady-ed-Deir, north-east of the Ras Sufsafeh, and others in the Seil-Leja to the west. The Ras Sufsafeh is visible from both these valleys.

CHAPTER 19:3-9

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
After they had set out
וַיִּסְע֣וּ (way·yis·‘ū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 5265: To pull up, the tent-pins, start on a, journey

from Rephidim,
מֵרְפִידִ֗ים (mê·rə·p̄î·ḏîm)
Preposition-m | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 7508: Rephidim -- a place in the desert

they entered
וַיָּבֹ֙אוּ֙ (way·yā·ḇō·’ū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

the Desert
מִדְבַּ֣ר (miḏ·bar)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4057: A pasture, a desert, speech

of Sinai,
סִינַ֔י (sî·nay)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 5514: Sinai -- the mountain where the law was given

and Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל (yiś·rā·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc

camped
וַיִּֽחַן־ (way·yi·ḥan-)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 2583: To incline, to decline, to pitch a, tent, gen, to encamp

there
שָׁ֥ם (šām)
Adverb
Strong's 8033: There, then, thither

in front of
נֶ֥גֶד (ne·ḡeḏ)
Preposition
Strong's 5048: A front, part opposite, a counterpart, mate, over against, before

the mountain.
הָהָֽר׃ (hā·hār)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2022: Mountain, hill, hill country


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OT Law: Exodus 19:2 When they had departed from Rephidim (Exo. Ex)
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