The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to SuccothRameses is identified as a city in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived during their time in Egypt. It is often associated with the city of Pi-Ramesses, a royal city built by Pharaoh Ramesses II. This departure marks the beginning of the Exodus, a pivotal event in Israelite history, symbolizing liberation from slavery. Succoth, meaning "booths" or "temporary shelters," was the first stop on their journey. This movement from Rameses to Succoth signifies the initial step in fulfilling God's promise to bring the Israelites out of Egypt and into the Promised Land.
with about 600,000 men on foot
The number 600,000 refers specifically to the men, likely those of fighting age, suggesting a total population of around two million when including women and children. This large number underscores the magnitude of the Exodus and the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham to make his descendants as numerous as the stars (Genesis 15:5). The logistics of moving such a large group highlight the miraculous nature of God's provision and guidance.
besides women and children
The mention of women and children emphasizes the family units that made up the Israelite community. This detail highlights the comprehensive nature of the Exodus, involving entire households, not just a select group. It also reflects the cultural and societal structure of the time, where men were often counted separately in censuses and military contexts. The inclusion of women and children underscores the communal aspect of God's deliverance and the continuity of the covenant community.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
The IsraelitesThe descendants of Jacob, also known as the children of Israel, who were enslaved in Egypt and are now beginning their journey to the Promised Land.
2.
RamesesA city in Egypt from which the Israelites began their exodus. It was likely a store city built by the Israelites during their time of slavery.
3.
SuccothThe first encampment of the Israelites after leaving Rameses. The name means "booths" or "temporary shelters," indicating a place of temporary dwelling.
4.
Six Hundred Thousand MenThis number refers to the adult male Israelites, not including women and children, indicating a large population leaving Egypt.
5.
The ExodusThe event of the Israelites' departure from Egypt, marking the beginning of their journey to the land promised to their ancestors by God.
Teaching Points
God's Faithfulness in DeliveranceThe departure from Rameses signifies God's faithfulness in fulfilling His promise to deliver the Israelites from bondage, reminding us of His faithfulness in our lives.
The Importance of CommunityThe large number of Israelites emphasizes the strength and importance of community in the journey of faith. We are called to support and journey with one another.
Trust in God's TimingThe Israelites left at the appointed time, showing the importance of trusting God's timing in our lives, even when it requires patience and endurance.
Preparation for the JourneyJust as the Israelites prepared for their journey, we must prepare spiritually and practically for the paths God sets before us.
Temporary Dwelling and Eternal PerspectiveSuccoth, as a place of temporary dwelling, reminds us that our earthly journey is temporary, and we should keep our eyes on the eternal promises of God.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1.What is the meaning of Exodus 12:37?
2.How does Exodus 12:37 demonstrate God's faithfulness in fulfilling His promises?
3.What can we learn about God's deliverance from the Israelites' journey in Exodus 12:37?
4.How does Exodus 12:37 connect to God's covenant with Abraham in Genesis?
5.In what ways can we trust God's timing as seen in Exodus 12:37?
6.How can Exodus 12:37 inspire us to follow God's guidance in our lives?
7.How historically accurate is the account of Israelites leaving Egypt in Exodus 12:37?
8.What archaeological evidence supports the mass exodus described in Exodus 12:37?
9.How does Exodus 12:37 align with God's promise to Abraham about his descendants?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from Exodus 12?
11.Exodus 12:37 – Is there any historical or archaeological evidence that over 600,000 men (plus families) departed Egypt simultaneously?
12.Why didn't Israelites eat their livestock in the wilderness?
13.If the Bible is accurate, why does archaeology contradict the Exodus story (e.g., no evidence of millions wandering the desert)?
14.How could an estimated 600,000 Israelite men (plus families) have left Egypt without overwhelming logistical issues?What Does Exodus 12:37 Mean
The Israelites- We begin with “the Israelites,” the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whom God had just redeemed “with a mighty hand” (Exodus 6:6).
- God names them His “firstborn son” (Exodus 4:22) and keeps every promise He made to the patriarchs (Genesis 15:13–14;Psalm 105:42–45).
- Their identity reminds us that salvation history is anchored in real people and real events (Hebrews 11:29).
Journeyed- The verb highlights movement from bondage to freedom, a picture of every believer’s walk from sin to new life (Colossians 1:13).
- The Lord Himself directed the pace and path: “The LORD went before them in a pillar of cloud by day” (Exodus 13:21), reinforcing that deliverance is God-led, not self-engineered (Psalm 23:3).
- Like Abram who “went out, not knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8), Israel trusted God’s guidance step by step.
From Rameses- Rameses, the store-city built under oppressive labor (Exodus 1:11), becomes the launch point of liberation—proof that God can reverse the enemy’s plans (Genesis 50:20).
- The departure fulfilled the precise timetable God gave: “On the fifteenth day of the first month… the sons of Israel went out triumphantly” (Numbers 33:3).
- Leaving the very center of Egyptian control underscores the thoroughness of God’s victory (Exodus 12:12).
To Succoth- Succoth (“booths”) was the first encampment (Exodus 13:20). Temporary shelters echoed their transient status yet highlighted God’s faithful provision (Leviticus 23:42-43).
- This stop anticipates the Feast of Tabernacles, where future generations celebrate God’s sheltering presence (Zechariah 14:16).
- The shift from a fixed slave city to movable tents previews the pilgrim nature of God’s people (1 Peter 2:11).
About 600,000 men on foot- Scripture records the number plainly, and we take it literally (Exodus 38:26;Numbers 1:46).
- Marching “on foot” shows battle-readiness; God delivered an army, not a rag-tag escapee group (Exodus 13:18).
- This fulfillment ofGenesis 15:5 (“count the stars… so shall your offspring be”) demonstrates God’s faithfulness to multiply Abraham’s seed (Deuteronomy 1:10).
Besides women and children- Including only fighting-age men means the total community easily exceeded two million, displaying the magnitude of God’s covenant blessings (Exodus 1:7).
- The phrase echoes Gospel feeding accounts where “about five thousand men, besides women and children” were fed (Matthew 14:21), underscoring divine abundance.
- Every family member shared in redemption, reminding us that God’s salvation is offered to entire households (Acts 16:31-34).
summaryExodus 12:37 records a literal, historical departure: God’s covenant people, newly redeemed, leave the heart of Egypt under His direct guidance, moving from Rameses to Succoth. The staggering size—600,000 men plus families—testifies to the faithfulness of God’s promises to multiply and deliver. Each detail proclaims that our Lord triumphantly leads His people from slavery into the freedom of trusting, pilgrim dependence on Him.
THE DEPARTURE OF ISRAEL, THEIR NUMBERS, AND THE TIME OF THE EGYPTIAN SOJOURN.
(37-41) The two principal statements of this passage are--(1) that the sojourn of the Israelites in Egypt lasted four hundred and thirty years; and (2) that at the time of the departure the number of the "men" (gebarim) was six hundred thousand. This latter statement is evidently a rough one, but it is confirmed, and even enlarged, by the more accurate estimate of Numbers 1, 2, which goes into particulars with respect to the several tribes, and makes the exact amount of the adult male population, exclusive of the Levites, to be 625,540 (Numbers 2:32). It would follow that the nation, at the time of its departure, was one of above two millions of souls.
Two difficulties are raised with respect to this estimate:--(1) Could the Israelites possibly have increased during their sojourn in Egypt from the "seventy souls" who went down with Jacob to two millions? (2) Is it conceivable that such a multitude, with their flocks and herds, could have quitted Egypt on one day, and marched in a body through the narrowwadys of the Sinaitic region to the plain in front of Sinai? Could even that plain have contained them? With regard to the first point, before it can be decided we must ascertain what are the exact data. What is to be taken as the original number of those who "went down into Egypt?" what as the duration of the sojourn? It has been already shown (see the comment onExodus 1:5) that the descendants of Jacob who entered Egypt were probably a hundred and thirty-two rather than seventy; that they were accompanied by their wives and husbands; that they took with them also their "households," which were very numerous (see Note onGenesis 17:13); and that the entire number is fairly estimated at "several thousands." Let us then place it at 3,000.
The duration of the sojourn in Egypt, stated in the Hebrew text at 430 years, is reduced by the LXX. and Samaritan Versions to half the time:i.e., to 215 years. If we accept Mr. Malthus's statement, that in the absence of artificial checks population will double itself every twenty years, we shall find that 3,000 persons might, in the space of two centuries, increase to above 3,000,000; so that even the 215 years of the Greek and Samaritan Versions would admit of such a multiplication as that required. But as there is no sufficient reason for preferring the Versions to the Original, or the period of 215 to that of 430 years, we are entitled to regard the latter term as the real duration of the sojourn, in which case a doubling of the population every forty-five years would have produced the result indicated. Such a result under the circumstances, in the rich soil of Egypt, in the extensive territory granted to the Israelites, and with God's special blessing on the people, is in no way surprising.
The difficulty of handling so vast a body, and marching them from Goshen to the Red Sea, and from the Red Sea to Sinai, remains, and, no doubt, is considerable. But we must remember that as far as Marah the country was perfectly open, and allowed of any extension of the line of march on either flank. After this, thewadys were entered, and the real difficulties of the journey began. Probably the host spread itself out, and proceeded to the rendezvous in front of the Ras Sufsafeh by several routes, of which Moses traces only the one which he himself followed. The plain Er-Rahah, according to the calculations of the best engineers, would have contained the entire multitude; but it is unnecessary to suppose that all were at any one time present in it. The whole Sinaitic district was probably occupied by the flocks and herds, and the herdsmen who tended them. Many of the tents may have been pitched in the Wady-ed-Deir and the Seil Leja. All that the narrative requires is that themain body of the people should have been encamped in front of Sinai, have heard the Decalogue delivered, and consented to the covenant.
(37)From Rameses to Succoth.--The difference between the Raamses ofExodus 1:11 and the Rameses of this passage is merely one of "pointing;" nor is there the least ground for supposing that a different place is intended. Pi-Ramesu was the main capital of the kings of the nineteenth dynasty, having superseded Tanis, of which it was a suburb. (See Note onExodus 1:11.) Succoth has been identified by Dr. Brugsch with an Egyptian town called Thukot; but it is probably a Semitic word, signifying "tents" or "booths." The district south-east of Tanis is one in which clusters of "booths" have been at all times common. Some one of these--situated, perhaps, near the modern Tel-Dafneh, fifteen miles south-east of Tanis--was the first halt of the Israelites. . . .
Verses 37-39. - THE DEPARTURE. There are, no doubts, great difficulties in conceiving the departure on one day, from one place, of "six hundred thousand that were men, beside children." The difficulty is increased when we find (from
Numbers 1:3-43) that by "men" is meant males above twenty years of age. The entire body of Israelites is thus raised from over half a million to over two millions. The whole narrative, however, supposes some such number; and it is accepted by the best critics, as Ewald, Kalisch, Kurtz, Canon Cook, and others. As these two millions must have lived dispersed over a considerable space, and there could have been no advantage in their all assembling at Rameses (Tunis), we are probably to suppose the main body with Moses and Aaron to have stared from that place, while the others, obeying orders previously given, started from all parts of Goshen, and converged upon Succoth, which was the first rendezvous. Each body of travellers was accompanied by its flocks and herds, and followed by a number of slaves, dependants, and sympathisers not of Hebrew birth (ver. 38), which still further enlarged their numbers. The extremely open character of the country, and the firmness of the soil at the time of year, would facilitate the journey. There was no marching along roads, which indeed did not exist. Each company could spread itself out at its pleasure, and go its own pace. All knew the point of meeting, and marched towards it, in converging lines, there being no obstacle to hinder them. Arrived in the vicinity of Succoth, they could bivouac without hurt, in that fine climate, in the open air.
Verse 37. -
From Rameses. It has been doubted whether this "Rameses" is the same place as the "Raamses" of
Exodus 1:11. But the doubt scarcely seems to be reasonable. The two words differ only in the pointing. Brugsch has clearly shown that Rameses (Pa-Ramesu) was a town newly built in the reign of Rameses II., partly erected by himself, in the immediate vicinity of the old city of Tanis or Zoan. It was the favourite capital of both Rameses II. and Menephthah. (See Brugsch,
Hist. of Egypt, vol. 2. pp. 96 and 128.)
Succoth. The meaning of the word "Succoth" is "booths." Mr. Greville Chester tells us that "huts made of reeds" are common at the present day in the tract south-east of Tunis, and suggests that the Succoth here mentioned may have been at Salahiyeh, fifteen miles due south of Tunis. Tel-Defneh, at the same distance to the south-east, is perhaps a more probable site.
Six hundredthousand. See the Introductory paragraph. At the time of the numbering recorded in
Numbers 1, the males above twenty years of age were 625,550. Beside children. Rather, "beside families." The word used includes all the women, and the children under twenty.
Parallel Commentaries ...
Hebrew
The Israelitesבְנֵֽי־(ḇə·nê-)Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 1121:A sonjourneyedוַיִּסְע֧וּ(way·yis·‘ū)Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 5265:To pull up, the tent-pins, start on a, journeyfrom Ramesesמֵרַעְמְסֵ֖ס(mê·ra‘·mə·sês)Preposition-m | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 7486:Rameses -- a city in Egyptto Succothסֻכֹּ֑תָה(suk·kō·ṯāh)Noun - proper - feminine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 5523:Succoth -- a city East of the Jordan, also a place in Egyptwith about 600,000כְּשֵׁשׁ־(kə·šêš-)Preposition-k | Number - feminine singular construct
Strong's 8337:Six (a cardinal number)menהַגְּבָרִ֖ים(hag·gə·ḇā·rîm)Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 1397:A valiant man, warrior, a person simplyon foot,רַגְלִ֛י(raḡ·lî)Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 7273:A footmanbesidesלְבַ֥ד(lə·ḇaḏ)Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 905:Separation, a part of the body, branch of a, tree, bar for, carrying, chief ofwomen and children.מִטָּֽף׃(miṭ·ṭāp̄)Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2945:A family
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OT Law: Exodus 12:37 The children of Israel traveled from Rameses (Exo. Ex) 
