1 These are the stages of the people of Israel, when they went forth out of the land of Egypt by their hosts under the leadership of Moses and Aaron.
2 Moses wrote down their starting places, stage by stage, by command of YHVH; and these are their stages according to their starting places.
This review of the places through with the children of Israel traveled on their way to the Promised Land may be the way the authors emphasized the importance of those places and their true meaning. I believe that this journey is a metaphor for the Spiritual Journey that each of us must follow if we are to arrive at the Promised Land, or soul Consciousness.
3 They set out from Ram'eses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day after the passover the people of Israel went out triumphantly in the sight of all the Egyptians,
4 while the Egyptians were burying all their first-born, whom YHVH had struck down among them; upon their gods also YHVH executed judgments.
Egypt represents the material, unenlightened life. It can refer to the life we all live before we start on the Spiritual Path or it may be that level of consciousness we fall back to when we flounder. The name itself derives from the Greek for Coptic word for land. And the Greek comes from the Hebrew, Mizraim. Mizraim, in Hebrew means shut in, restraint, restricted, misery, tribulation and distress.
Metaphorically, it represents the darkness of ignorance; the flesh consciousness; the material consciousness. It would appear that it is a very good place to leave. However, do not be misled. Egypt is a great kingdom, it is from Egypt that the Messiah is called. It is to Egypt that we must go in times of famine to get “the grain” to sustain us.
In our inner world, it represents our subconscious or unconscious mind. It is the home of our emotions, hidden desires and passions; sexual and otherwise. This is one of the great keys to spiritual understanding. Though Egypt represents much which we consider to be detrimental to our Spiritual goals, it is within Egypt that we will find the kernel or seed of the Spiritual development we seek. For this is where the soul is to be found.
5 So the people of Israel set out from Ram'eses, and encamped at Succoth.
6 And they set out from Succoth, and encamped at Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness.
Their first stop was at Etham, which is Hebrew for Egypt and means the same thing: materiality and the unconscious. The repeated theme is a means of emphasizing that this is where the spiritual journey must begin: in the Physical and Unconscious, in a state of confusion about Spiritual Truth.
7 And they set out from Etham, and turned back to Pi-hahi'roth, which is east of Ba'al-ze'phon; and they encamped before Migdol.
The next stopping place was Pihahiroth which means breaking away from. Those of us who have started on the Spiritual Path know that his can be one of the most difficult passages. It is the point at which we leave behind our old beliefs and life styles. And frequently this causes fear and doubt with those we love, who do not share our ideals or understand our new goals. We have set ourselves apart. From Pihahiroth, they came to Migdol which means strength. This is the strength it takes to start off on this journey: The strength to resist the social pressure to return to normalcy and give up this “foolishness”.
8 And they set out from before Hahi'roth, and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, and they went a three days' journey in the wilderness of Etham, and encamped at Marah.
Their next stop was at Marah, which means grief. This is the grief that accompanies us as we leave behind some “friends” and loved ones, who will not accept us as we change. We find ourselves more and more isolated, for there are few who understand our new quest.
9 And they set out from Marah, and came to Elim; at Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there.
This is followed by Elim which means palm trees. Palm trees represent victory. This is the victory over all the discouragement and doubt that we have been feeling. When we have passed through these places and left them behind us, we will experience this sense of victory.
10 And they set out from Elim, and encamped by the Red Sea.
11 And they set out from the Red Sea, and encamped in the wilderness of Sin.
12 And they set out from the wilderness of Sin, and encamped at Dophkah.
Our next stop is Dophkah. It means to drive hard. We must press on from this initial victory, for there is much to do and a long distance to go to reach our ultimate goal.
13 And they set out from Dophkah, and encamped at Alush.
From Dophkah, we travel to Alush, which is a wild place and undisciplined. This is the condition of our unconscious mind, and it is here where the majority of the work will take place. Through the Will, we must take our lusts, passions and negative emotions and bring them under the control of the higher level of consciousness which we are developing. This higher level of consciousness will change or transmute the negative emotions into positive ones.
14 And they set out from Alush, and encamped at Reph'idim, where there was no water for the people to drink.
The next stop on our journey is Rephidim, which means precipitous. A mountain is an indication of spiritual achievement. Truly when we have succeeded in transmuting these negative emotions, we will have reached a high point in our journey. But it is precipitous, to remind us that we have not yet accomplished our goal. We must be careful that we do not slip and fall back into our old ways.
15 And they set out from Reph'idim, and encamped in the wilderness of Sinai.
16 And they set out from the wilderness of Sinai, and encamped at Kib'roth-hatta'avah.
Then we come to Kibroth-hattaavah which translates as graves of lust. It is an indication that we have eliminated the lusts and desires of the carnal self or at least overcome them and put them to rest.
17 And they set out from Kib'roth-hatta'avah, and encamped at Haze'roth.
As we continue in our journey, we come to Hazeroth, which means an encampment. It represents a grouping of thoughts and indicates that our scattered thoughts are becoming organized. We are coming into a sense of harmony.
18 And they set out from Haze'roth, and encamped at Rithmah.
Their next stop was Rithmah, which means bound, made fast or secure. This is a place in our consciousness where we are becoming secure in our new beliefs.
19 And they set out from Rithmah, and encamped at Rim'mon-per'ez.
Rimmon-perez follows. It means breaking up of substance or material. This refers to the disintegration of our material desires as we progress toward spirituality.
20 And they set out from Rim'mon-per'ez, and encamped at Libnah.
Our next stop is Libnah which means clean and pure. This is the condition of the thoughts which are replacing the material thoughts above.