In 13.17-22: Led by the pillars of cloud and fire, Israel begins to leave Egypt.
In verse 17: The Philistines were a people who lived on the western border of Canaan near the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
Their territory would have been the most direct route from Goshen (the Nile Delta region of Egypt) to Canaan.
However, the reference to the Philistines here may represent a later tradition since the Philistines settled this region sometimes later than the traditional date for Israel's exodus (after 1200 BCE).
In verse 18: Some scholars argue that the Red Sea ("yum suf") is too far south and too large a body of water to have been the sea Israel would eventually cross (14.21-28).
Thus, some prefer to call it the "Sea of Reeds" and assume it was a shallow body of water farther north in Egypt near the Mediterranean Sea.
However, later readers in ancient Israel may have known only about the larger Red Sea.
In verse 19: See Gen 50.24-26.
In verse 20: The place name Succoth in Hebrew means "Booths" or temporary shelters.
The locations of Succoth and Ethan are uncertain, except that they are on the eastern border of Egypt.
In verse 21: The two pillars or columns of cloud and fire are apparently one and the same (14.24-25).
The cloud by itself is visible by day.
At night, only the fire within the cloud visible.
The cloud and fire are visible signs of God's presence among the Israelites.
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