And they moved on from Succoth uses the same verb as in 12.37, meaning to pull up stakes or to break camp. And encamped at Etham uses the verb to set up camp. Another way to express this is “set up their tents at a place called Etham.” Neither Etham nor Succoth (see 12.37) can be located with certainty, but the context suggests that the Israelites were moving in a southeasterly direction. On the edge of the wilderness means near the border or “on the outskirts of the desert” (Durham). The problem of wilderness, or “desert” (Good News Translation), is discussed at 3.1.

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .