Stop 1 of 9
Rameses
Israel leaves Rameses after Passover, beginning the itinerary Moses records.
- Distance travelled
- approx. 0 km
- Travel estimate
- Starting point
Probable location · schematic route along known terrain and travel corridors
Follow the major stages of Israel's forty-year wilderness journey, then open the complete Numbers 33 itinerary without pretending that every ancient station can be located today. (c. 1446–1406 BC)
Why the geography matters
Numbers 33 preserves an ordered station list. A few stages can be mapped with confidence or as broad regions; most minor stations remain unlocated and are kept in the textual itinerary.
Exodus 12–40; Numbers 10–33; Deuteronomy 1–34 · Moses, Aaron, Miriam, Joshua, Caleb
9 stops · about 1,071 km along the drawn route
Rameses · Numbers 33:3
Year 1
Israel leaves Rameses after Passover, beginning the itinerary Moses records.
The Sea crossing · Numbers 33:8 · 108 km
Year 1
Scripture records the sea crossing, but the precise crossing point is unknown.
Mount Sinai · Numbers 33:15 · 328 km
Years 1–2
Israel camps before the mountain, receives the covenant, and builds the tabernacle. The mapped mountain is the traditional location.
Wilderness of Paran · Numbers 10:12 · 477 km
Year 2
The people travel through a broad wilderness region; many intervening stations cannot be located securely.
Kadesh-barnea · Numbers 13:26 · 589 km
The wandering begins
From Kadesh the spies return, and Israel refuses to enter the land.
Mount Hor · Numbers 33:37–39 · 684 km
Year 40
Aaron dies on Mount Hor. The traditional mountain near Petra is shown; the identification is debated.
Ezion-geber · Numbers 33:35–36 · 782 km
Year 40
The itinerary reaches Ezion-geber near the northern Gulf of Aqaba before turning north and east.
Plains of Moab · Numbers 33:48–49 · 1,060 km
Year 40
Israel camps by the Jordan opposite Jericho, at the threshold of the promised land.
Mount Nebo · Deuteronomy 34:1–5 · 1,071 km
Year 40
From Mount Nebo Moses sees the land he will not enter and dies in Moab.
These places remain part of the biblical itinerary, but assigning precise coordinates would overstate the evidence.