Numbers 33:10

Summary

This verse records a stage in the Israelites' wilderness itinerary: they depart from Elim and set up camp at the Yam Suf, "Sea of Reeds" (H3220G + H5488G). The verse consists of two short narrative clauses connected by the narrative vav, each reporting a single completed action.

Key words

• va-yyis'u ("and they set out", H5265) — qal narrative form; the verb of departure, marking movement away from a place.
• me-Eilim ("from Elim", H0362) — preposition H9006 prefixed to a proper noun; identifies the point of origin.
• va-yyachanu ("and they encamped", H2583) — qal narrative form; the verb of settling, marking the halt after travel.
• yam ("sea of", H3220G) — masculine singular noun in construct state, meaning it must be followed by another noun to complete its meaning ("sea of X").
• Suf ("reed", H5488G) — masculine singular noun functioning as the second element of the construct chain, giving the full toponym "Sea of Reeds".

What the text says

The Hebrew verse is built from two parallel narrative clauses, each introduced by the narrative vav (H9001), which signals sequential action typical of Biblical Hebrew storytelling ("and then... and then..."). The first clause, va-yyis'u me-Eilim ("and they set out from Elim"), uses the qal verb yasa' (H5265) with the preposition min (H9006) to mark the starting location. The second clause, va-yyachanu 'al yam-Suf ("and they encamped at the Sea of Reeds"), uses the qal verb chanah (H2583) with the preposition 'al (H5921A, "at/upon") to mark the destination.

The place name in the second clause is a construct chain: yam (H3220G, "sea of") followed by Suf (H5488G, "reed"). Grammatically, yam cannot stand alone in this form — it requires the following noun to complete its sense, producing the compound name "Sea of Reeds." This construct structure is the standard biblical designation for this body of water and does not itself specify color or geographic location beyond the name.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders yam-Suf as θάλασσαν ἐρυθρόν ("Red Sea"), interpreting the reed-name as a reference to color rather than translating "Suf" literally. The Vulgate follows this same tradition with mare Rubrum ("Red Sea"). Modern translations such as BSB, RV1909, and SBLIBRE continue this "Red Sea" rendering, following the LXX/Vulgate tradition rather than a literal translation of Suf ("reed") as found in the Hebrew construct name.