As Numbers comes to a close, the Torah goes back and lists all the journeys that the Israelites made from the time they left Egypt.

“These are the marches of the Israelites who started out from the land of Egypt, troop by troop, under the leadership of Moses and Aaron.”

אֵלֶּה מַסְעֵי בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר יָצְאוּ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם לְצִבְאֹתָם בְּיַד־מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן׃

(Numbers 33:1)

“Moses recorded their departures, stage by stage, as directed by ה׳.”

וַיִּכְתֹּב מֹשֶׁה אֶת־מוֹצָאֵיהֶם לְמַסְעֵיהֶם עַל־פִּי ה׳

(Numbers 33:2)

Why list this now? The simple answer is that the people are finally ready to enter the land after 40 years of wandering. This is a good time to review where they have been. One can look at it like the bar mitzvah montage.

Rashi provides two answers. The first is that the Torah is trying to show that the forty years were not really forty years of wandering. Doing a little back of the napkin math, Rashi shows that during the 38 year period in between the giving of the Torah and Aaron’s death, the Israelites only traveled to 20 places. This means that they spent at least a year in most places. The second answer is akin to the parable of a person who travels a long way to find a cure for their child. Once they reach the final destination, the person recounts every part of the journey to recall the difficulty. So too here, the people are prepared to enter the land and they are reminded of the difficult journey that led them to this place.

Ramban argues that the very obscurity of the locations grounds the Exodus in real history rather than myth which is why there are places listed here that do not appear elsewhere in the torah. Rambam explains that Moshe wanted the people to understand that it was a miracle that God sustained them during the forty years. Yes, it was a hard slog and the people were punished, but overall it was a great miracle that the nation survived these years of wandering. Sforno does not focus on the miraculous part. He explains that this is not about the people needing to thank God, but for God to thank the people. Despite all of the trials and tribulations of the 40 years the people continued to have faith in and follow God. The Malbim offers a mystical interpretation. When the nation was in Egypt, they were at a low state of impurity. In order for the nation to reach the spiritual level they needed to enter the land, they had to wander for forty years. This list, therefore, is a gradual list of increasing spiritual growth. At each stage, the people grew closer and closer to God.

There is also a sad bookend to the list of places for Moshe as well. The list begins with the Egyptians burying their dead first borns:

“The Egyptians were burying those whom ה׳ had struck down among them, all their first born.”

וּמִצְרַיִם מְקַבְּרִים אֵת אֲשֶׁר הִכָּה ה׳ בָּהֶם כָּל־בְּכוֹר

(Numbers 33:4)

and ends with the death of Aaron:

“Aaron the priest ascended Mount Hor at the command of ה׳ and died there, in the fortieth year after the Israelites had left the land of Egypt.”

וַיַּעַל אַהֲרֹן הַכֹּהֵן אֶל־הֹר הָהָר עַל־פִּי ה׳ וַיָּמָת שָׁם בִּשְׁנַת הָאַרְבָּעִים לְצֵאת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם

(Numbers 33:38)

For Moshe these travels began with the firstborn Egyptians—his adopted family—burying their first borns, and ended with his older brother—also a firstborn—being buried.