Komentaryong Sumisipi para sa Mga Bilang 33:18

אלה מסעי THESE ARE THE JOURNEYS (STAGES) [OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL] — Why are these stations recorded here? In order to make known the loving acts of the Omnipresent: that although He had decreed against them to make them move about and wander in the wilderness, you should not think that they wandered and moved about without cessation from one station to another station all the forty years, and that they had no rest, for you see that there are here only forty-two stages. Deduct from them fourteen, all of which were their stopping places in the first year after they left Egypt, before the decree was made, viz., from the time when they journeyed from Rameses until when they came to Rithmah whence the spies were sent out — as it is said. (Numbers 12:16): “And afterwards the people journeyed from Hazeroth, [and encamped in the wilderness of Paran], whereupon the Lord said unto Moses, (Numbers 13:2) "Send thee men [who may search out the land]”; and here (v. 18) it states, “and they journeyed from Hazeroth and they encamped in Rithmah”, so you learn that it (Rithmah) is in the wilderness of Paran. — Further deduct from them the eight stages which were after Aaron’s death viz., those from Mount Hor to the plains of Moab in the fourtieth year (v. 38). It follows that during the whole of the thirty eight years they made only twenty journeys. This is excerpted from the work of R. Moses the Preacher. — R. Tanchuma gave another explanation of it (of the question why these stages are here recorded). A parable! It may be compared to the case of a king whose son was ill and whom he took to a distant place to cure him. When they returned home the father began to enumerate all the stages, saying to him, “Here we slept, here we caught cold, here you had the head-ache, etc.” (Midrash Tanchuma 4:10:3.

The children of Israel traveled from Bәכerot-Bәné-Yaɐqan to Moserah. This verse is inserted here, because Moshe had said “I also prayed for the sake of Aaron at that time” [9: 20]; Scripture accordingly informs us that Aaron did not die, until the fortieth year. The evidence for the correctness of this explanation is that, while they were at Mount Sinai, “at that time, God set apart the tribe of Levi” [: 8] (as I have explained in my commentary on the parasha of Bәmidbar [comment on Numbers 3: 1]). Our ancestors asserted [Palestinian Talmud Yoma 1: 1 (38b)] that they backtracked to a previous encampment — but what then is to be done with the word “there” in there Aaron died, and there he was buried ? The Spaniard Rabbi Isaac ben Y ә hudah ibn Ghiyyat, of blessed memory, translated the word “there” into “then” (similarly, “from then on [literally: from there] he became a shepherd” [Genesis 49: 24]). But in my opinion none of this is needed. Rather, Beerot-Bәné-Yaaqan is not the same as “Bené-Yaaqan” [Numbers 33: 31]; and also, Moserah is not the same as “Moserot” [Numbers 33: 30]. Bәכerot-Bәné-Yaɐqan is another name for Qadesh, and Moserah is the name of the desert region surrounding Mount Hor. There are many similar instances (e.g., note that Scripture calls a place “the Shur Wilderness” [Exodus 15: 22], but in another verse says “the כ Eytam Wilderness” [Numbers 33: 8]).

ויחנו במדבר פארן, in a region of the desert which had not been named at all, but it is clear that it was opposite Kadesh Barnea, not far from it. This was in order for them to make all the necessary preparations to enter the first town of what was going to be their homeland. Moses referred to this specifically in his review in Deuteronomy 1,19-21. Having made camp there the Israelites called the site Ritmah, and it is described as such in the list of the journeys of the Israelites in Parshat Massey.