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"And they departed from before Pi-hahiroth, and passed through the midst of the sea
into the wilderness, and went three days journey in the wilderness of Etham, and pitched
in Marah" (Numb. 33: 8).
A careful examination of the original makes all plain.
"They went out toward the wilderness of Shur" (Exod. 15: 22).
Exod. 15 supplies us with the information we first need. We ask, which direction did
Israel take after crossing the Red Sea? We now know "they went towards the wilderness
of Shur". Now Shur means "a wall", and this is exactly what the district looks like.
"Its unvarying wall-like front, here the most conspicuous object in the landscape,
might well have given the name `wilderness of Shur' (wall) to the desert region in which
it is situated" (Ordnance Survey).
The record of Numb. 33:, however, ignores this "direction" and reports the actual
journey accomplished, "three days journey in the wilderness of Etham". This wilderness
is situated about sixty miles north of Suez, opposite the Bitter Lakes, and it was through
this waterless wilderness that Israel marched for three days before they came to water.
Where is Marah? So long as Suez was held to be the point where Israel crossed the
Red Sea, the wells known as Ayum Mousa "the wells of Moses", which are a few miles
south of Suez, could hardly be the site of Marah, for Israel took three days to reach this
spot. If, however, the crossing took place at Pi-hahiroth, then the forty-odd miles is fully
accounted for, and the wells which bear the name of Moses exactly fit the requirements
of the narrative.
From Marah the Israelites marched to Elim where were twelve wells of water, and
threescore and ten palm trees (Exod. 15: 27). Where is Elim? There is some few miles
further on, a spot that answers very fully to the necessities of the case.
"The eye is again refreshed by the sight of green tamarisks and feathery
palms, and just off the customary track is a pleasant stream of running water.
This is Wady Charandel, generally regard as Elim" (Prof. Palmer).
The Speaker's Commentary says:
"The only objection to the identification of this valley with Elim is the shortness of the
distance, between it and Howara, the supposed Marah. This `objection' does not exist for
those who place the crossing at Pi-hahiroth, and we can be reasonably sure that Elim has
been placed upon the map."
From Elim, the camp move unto the wilderness of Sin (Exod. 16: 1). Here the
conditions were such that the Israelites said:
"Ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with
hunger" (Exod. 16: 3).