Numbers 10:12
And the children of Israel took their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran.
Original Language Analysis
וַיִּסְע֧וּ
took
H5265
וַיִּסְע֧וּ
took
Strong's:
H5265
Word #:
1 of 10
properly, to pull up, especially the tent-pins, i.e., start on a journey
בְנֵֽי
And the children
H1121
בְנֵֽי
And the children
Strong's:
H1121
Word #:
2 of 10
a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or
יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל
of Israel
H3478
יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל
of Israel
Strong's:
H3478
Word #:
3 of 10
he will rule as god; jisral, a symbolical name of jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
לְמַסְעֵיהֶ֖ם
their journeys
H4550
לְמַסְעֵיהֶ֖ם
their journeys
Strong's:
H4550
Word #:
4 of 10
a departure (from striking the tents), i.e., march (not necessarily a single day's travel); by implication, a station (or point of departure)
בְּמִדְבַּ֥ר
in the wilderness
H4057
בְּמִדְבַּ֥ר
in the wilderness
Strong's:
H4057
Word #:
5 of 10
a pasture (i.e., open field, whither cattle are driven); by implication, a desert
וַיִּשְׁכֹּ֥ן
rested
H7931
וַיִּשְׁכֹּ֥ן
rested
Strong's:
H7931
Word #:
7 of 10
to reside or permanently stay (literally or figuratively)
הֶֽעָנָ֖ן
and the cloud
H6051
הֶֽעָנָ֖ן
and the cloud
Strong's:
H6051
Word #:
8 of 10
a cloud (as covering the sky), i.e., the nimbus or thunder-cloud
Cross References
Genesis 21:21And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.Numbers 12:16And afterward the people removed from Hazeroth, and pitched in the wilderness of Paran.Deuteronomy 1:1These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain over against the Red sea, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab.Numbers 13:3And Moses by the commandment of the LORD sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel.Numbers 1:1And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying,Numbers 9:5And they kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month at even in the wilderness of Sinai: according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel.Numbers 13:26And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land.
Historical Context
Israel departed Sinai in the second month of the second year after leaving Egypt (10:11)—approximately May 1444 BC. They had camped at Sinai for eleven months, during which Moses received the law, built the tabernacle, and organized the camp. The wilderness of Paran lay between Sinai and Kadesh-barnea, the staging ground for Canaan invasion.
Questions for Reflection
- How does Israel's year-long stay at Sinai before advancing demonstrate that knowing God's law must precede entering God's land?
- What spiritual discipline is required to obey both when the cloud moves and when it stays put?
- How does the cloud's guidance foreshadow the Holy Spirit's leading in the Christian life?
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Analysis & Commentary
The children of Israel took their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai (נָסַע nasa', to pull up tent pegs, journey)—After nearly one year camped at Sinai receiving the law, tabernacle instructions, and priestly ordination (Exodus 19–Numbers 10), Israel finally resumed the Exodus march. The cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran (עָנָן anan, cloud)—God's visible presence determined every movement. The cloud's stopping was as authoritative as its moving; Israel learned obedience through waiting and through walking.
Paran was the wilderness where Ishmael had settled (Genesis 21:21) and where the spies would soon launch their ill-fated reconnaissance (13:3). This departure marks the transition from revelation at Sinai to the testing that would delay Canaan conquest by 40 years. The journey from Sinai to Kadesh-barnea should have taken eleven days (Deuteronomy 1:2); unbelief stretched it to a generation.