Exodus 12:37

12:37 The Israelites journeyed ¹  from Rameses ²  to Sukkoth. There were about 600,000 men ³  on foot, plus their dependants. ⁴ 

Exodus 12:39

12:39 They baked cakes of bread without yeast using the dough they had brought from Egypt, for it was made without yeast – because they were thrust out ⁵  of Egypt and were not able to delay, they ⁶  could not prepare ⁷  food for themselves either.

¹ tn Heb “and the sons of Israel journeyed.”

² sn The wilderness itinerary begins here. W. C. Kaiser records the identification of these two places as follows: The name Rameses probably refers to Qantir rather than Tanis, which is more remote, because Qantir was by the water; Sukkoth is identified as Tell el Maskhuta in the Wadi Tumilat near modern Ismailia – or the region around the city (“Exodus,” EBC 2:379). Of the extensive bibliography, see G. W. Coats, “The Wilderness Itinerary,” CBQ 34 (1972): 135-52; G. I. Davies, “The Wilderness Itineraries: A Comparative Study,” TynBul 25 (1974): 46-81; and J. T. Walsh, “From Egypt to Moab. A Source Critical Analysis of the Wilderness Itinerary,” CBQ 39 (1977): 20-33.

³ tn The word for “men” (הַגְּבָרִים, haggÿvarim) stresses their hardiness and capability – strong men, potential soldiers – in contrast with the word that follows and designates noncombatants.

⁴ tn For more on this word see 10:10 and 24.

⁵ sn For the use of this word in developing the motif, see Exod 2:17, 22; 6:1; and 11:1.

⁶ tn Heb “and also.”

⁷ tn The verb is עָשׂוּ (’asu, “they made”); here, with a potential nuance, it is rendered “they could [not] prepare.”