Exodus 13:17
in Exodus 13When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road through the land of the Philistines, though it was shorter. For God said, “If the people face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not by the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt:
KJV
And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt:
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This verse in Exodus 13
Commentary
7 notes on this verseI admit, indeed, that God might have otherwise obviated all these evils; but since He is often wont to deal with His people on human principles, He chose to adopt the method which was most suited to their infirmity. Moses now commends this His admirable design, in order that we may know that nothing was omitted by Him which was for the safety and advantage of His people.
This site's exposition
God led them not through the way of the land
on Exodus 13:17-18
The short road is refused because of what God knows about the people, and the text gives the reason in full, lest they see war and return to Egypt. They say very nearly that at Exodus 14:11-12 with the sea in front of them, and at Numbers 14:4 it becomes a plan to appoint a captain and go back. The word harnessed at verse 18 occurs nowhere else in Scripture, and it has been rendered armed, in ranks of five, and in orderly divisions, with the commentators leaving the question open.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
There were two ways from Egypt to Canaan. One was a short cut from the north of Egypt to the south of Canaan, perhaps about four or five days' journey; the other was much further about, through the wilderness, and that was the way in which God chose to lead his people Israel,
And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go,....
Note, God proportions his people's trials to their strength, and will not suffer them to be tempted above what they are able, 1 Cor. x. That promise, if compared with the foregoing verses, will seem to refer to this event, as an instance of it.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Their faith was to be exercised and strengthened, and from the commencement of their travels we observe the same careful proportion of burdens and trials to their character and state, as the gracious Lord shows to His people still in that spiritual journey of which the former was typical.
God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, etc. - Had the Israelites been obliged to commence their journey to the promised land by a military campaign, there is little room to doubt that they would have been discouraged, have rebelled against Moses and Aaron, and have returned back to Egypt.
The words behind it
24 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֗י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְּשַׁלַּ֣ח | beshalach | when let go | H7971 → | 845 times |
| פַּרְעֹה֮ | paroh | Pharaoh | H6547 → | 274 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָעָם֒ | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נָחָ֣ם | nacham | he led them | H5148 → | 39 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֗ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| דֶּ֚רֶךְ | derekh | [the] way of | H1870 → | 707 times |
| אֶ֣רֶץ | ʾeretz | [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים | pelishtim | [the] Philistines | H6430 → | |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| קָר֖וֹב | karov | [was] near | H7138 → | 77 times |
| ה֑וּא | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| כִּ֣י׀ | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אָמַ֣ר | ʾamar | he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֗ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| פֶּֽן־ | pen- | lest | H6435 → | 133 times |
| יִנָּחֵ֥ם | yinachem | it should regret | H5162 → | 108 times |
| הָעָ֛ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| בִּרְאֹתָ֥ם | birotam | when see they | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| מִלְחָמָ֖ה | milchamah | battle | H4421 → | 320 times |
| וְשָׁ֥בוּ | veshavu | and they will return | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| מִצְרָֽיְמָה׃ | mitzrayemah | Egypt towards | H4714 → | 641 times |
וַיְהִ֗יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
בְּשַׁלַּ֣חwhen let go
beshalachH7971 →845 times
פַּרְעֹה֮Pharaoh
parohH6547 →274 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָעָם֒the people
haamH5971 →1873 times
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
נָחָ֣םhe led them
nachamH5148 →39 times
אֱלֹהִ֗יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
דֶּ֚רֶךְ[the] way of
derekhH1870 →707 times
אֶ֣רֶץ[the] land of
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים[the] Philistines
pelishtimH6430 →
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
קָר֖וֹב[was] near
karovH7138 →77 times
ה֑וּאit
hu'H1931 →1879 times
כִּ֣י׀for
kiH3588 →4482 times
אָמַ֣רhe said
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
אֱלֹהִ֗יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
פֶּֽן־lest
pen-H6435 →133 times
יִנָּחֵ֥םit should regret
yinachemH5162 →108 times
הָעָ֛םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
בִּרְאֹתָ֥םwhen see they
birotamH7200 →1300 times
מִלְחָמָ֖הbattle
milchamahH4421 →320 times
וְשָׁ֥בוּand they will return
veshavuH7725 →1056 times
מִצְרָֽיְמָה׃Egypt towards
mitzrayemahH4714 →641 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Nehemiah 9:17They refused to listen and failed to remember the wonders You performed among them. They stiffened their necks and appointed a leader to return them to their bondage in Egypt. But You are a…
it leads to
- Psalms 86:5
For You, O Lord, are kind and forgiving, rich in loving devotion to all who call on You.
- Joel 2:13
So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. And He relents from sending disaster.
- Psalms 86:15
But You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness.
- Psalms 145:8–9
The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion.
- Micah 7:18–19
Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance—who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion?
- Psalms 86:5
Through
1 Kings 8:47and when they come to their senses in the land to which they were taken, and they repent and plead with You in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and done…
it leads to
- Psalms 106:6
We have sinned like our fathers; we have done wrong and acted wickedly.
- Ezra 9:6–7
and said: “O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, because our iniquities are higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached the heavens.
- Nehemiah 1:6–11
let Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to hear the prayer that I, Your servant, now pray before You day and night for Your servants, the Israelites. I confess the sins that…
- Psalms 106:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Exodus
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.