Stations of the Exodus (Conventional theories)

The Stations list is the list of the 42 Stations or Mansions visited by the Israelites following their exodus from Egypt as described in the Bible. They are crystallized in Numbers 33, but also are given at length in Exodus and Deuteronomy. Biblical commentators like St Jerome in his Epistle to Fabiola, Bede and St Peter Damian discussed them according to the Hebrew meanings of their names. Dante models the 42 chapters of the Vita Nuova on them.
Under the documentary hypothesis, the list is believed to have originally been a distinct and separate source text. In this hypothesis, it is believed that the redactor, in combining the Torah's sources, used parts of the Stations list to fill out awkward joins between the main sources. The list records the locations visited by the Israelites, during their journey through the wilderness, after having left Egypt. Consequently, the parts which were inserted to join up the sources appear in suitable locations in the Book of Exodus and the Book of Numbers.
However, a slightly variant version of the list appears in full at Numbers 33, and several parts of the journey described in the full list, most noticeably the journey from Sinai to Zin, do not appear in the fragmented version. It is tempting to suggest that the journey from Sinai to Zin was cut out of the fragmented version due to a copying error caused by the similarity in sound of "Sinai" and "Zin". However, as there are 42 locations in the full list, and the Israelites were said to have been in the desert for 40 years, it is possible that several locations in the full list were added to the list of destinations as a literary device. It may even be the case that both of these are true, the full list being the original on which the fragmented version was based.
Both versions of the list contain several brief narrative fragments. For example, "...And they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water, and seventy date-palms...". It is the matter of some debate as to how much of the narrative is part of the original text of the list, and how much is extra detail added into it by the redactor.
The situation also occurs in reverse, where some brief texts, within parts of the list, and ascribed to the redactor, are usually regarded as not being part of the list of stations, albeit without much conviction. This is particularly true for Numbers 21:14-15, which references unknown events in the lost Book of the wars of the lord, and Numbers 21:16b-18a, describing the digging of the well at Beer.
What follows is a list of the various stops of the Israelites on the Stations Lists, which are also links to the respective underlying articles. The biblical reference is given in the next column. The modern equivalents of these locations, such as are known, are given in the column at right.
Station 	Biblical Reference 	Description 	Modern Location
Raamses 	Ex. 12:37; Nu. 33:3,5 	the Raamses district was of the highest quality land in Egypt (Ge. 47:11) 	Pi-Ramesses: i.e. Tell ed-Dab'a/Qantir
Sukkoth 	Ex. 12:37, 13:20; Nu. 33:5-6 	An Egyptian city near the border 	Tjeku (Zuko), Tell el Maskhuta
Etham 	Ex. 13:20; Nu. 33:6-8 	"on the edge of the wilderness" 	Ismailia?
Pi-Hahiroth 	Ex. 14:2-3; Nu. 33:7-8 	lit. Mouth of the Gorges, "between Migdol and the sea, opposite Ba'al-Zephon" (possibly "the Bay of Hiroth")	Prob. a channel opening into one of the Bitter Lakes or the Mediterranean
Marah 	Ex. 15:23; Nu. 33:8-9 	lit. 'bitterness' 	30 kilometres north of As Suways (the Port of Suez)?
Elim 	Ex. 15:27, 16:1; Nu. 33:9-10 	Had 12 wells and 70 palm trees 	?
By the Red Sea 	Nu. 33:10-11 	- - 	near Gulf of Suez or Gulf of Aqaba
Sin Wilderness 	Ex. 16:1, 17:1; Nu. 33:11-12 	God supplies quail and manna, "Between Elim and Sinai" 	?
Dophkah 	Nu. 33:12-13 	- - 	- -
Alush 	Nu. 33:13-14 	- - 	- -
Rephidim 	Ex. 17:1, 19:2; Nu. 33:14-15 	- - 	?
Sinai Wilderness 	Ex. 19:1-2; Nu. 10:12, 33:15-16	- - 	?
Kibroth-Hattaavah	Nu. 11:35, 33:16-17 	lit. Graves of Longing or Graves of Lust 	- -
Hazeroth 	Nu. 11:35, 12:16, 33:17-18 	- - 	- -
Rithmah 	Nu. 33:18-19 	- - 	- -
Rimmon-Perez 	Nu. 33:19-20 	- - 	- -
Libnah 	Nu. 33:20-21 	- - 	- -
Rissah 	Nu. 33:21-22 	- - 	- -
Kehelathah 	Nu. 33:22-23 	- - 	- -
Mount Shapher 	Nu. 33:23-24 	- - 	- -
Haradah 	Nu. 33:24-25 	- - 	- -
Makheloth 	Nu. 33:25-26 	- - 	- -
Tahath 	Nu. 33:26-27 	- - 	- -
Tarah 	Nu. 33:27-28 	- - 	- -
Mithcah 	Nu. 33:28-29 	- - 	- -
Hashmonah 	Nu. 33:29-30 	- - 	- -
Moseroth 	Nu. 33:30-31 	- - 	- -
Bene-Jaakan 	Nu. 33:31-32 	- - 	- -
Hor Haggidgad 	Nu. 33:32-33 	- - 	- -
Jotbathah 	Nu. 33:33-34 	- - 	- -
Abronah 	Nu. 33:34-35 	- - 	- -
Ezion-Geber 	Nu. 33:35-36 	- - 	Near northern tip of Gulf of Aqaba
Kadesh 	Nu. 20:1,22, 33:36-37 	Located in the Wilderness of Zin; Miriam's burial place 	probably Ain el Qadeis
Mount Hor 	Nu. 20:22, 21:4, 33:37-41 	On the Edomite border; Aaron's burial place 	- -
Zalmonah 	Nu. 33:41-42 	- - 	- -
Punon 	Nu. 33:42-43 	- - 	- -
Oboth 	Nu. 21:10-11, 33:43-44 	- - 	- -
Abarim Ruins 	Nu. 21:11, 33:44-45 	- - 	- -
Dibon Gad 	Nu. 33:45-46 	- - 	- -
Almon Diblathaim 	Nu. 33:46-47 	- - 	- -
Abarim Mountains 	Nu. 33:13-14 	Israelites encamped beneath Mount Nebo 	- -
Moab Plains 	Nu. 22:1, 33:48-50 	Israelites encamped on the Jordan River from Beith Hayishimoth to Aveil Hashittim 	Occupied most of the Trans-Jordan region
==References==