שופטים, פרק י״א, פסוק ט״ז

Jephthah’s historical and political defense against the king of Ammon rests entirely on the specific travel route of the Israelites after leaving Egypt. He uses their path to prove they never had any intention of conquering Ammon and Moab. By traveling through the eastern desert of Egypt toward the Red Sea, they deliberately bypassed the region. Had their goal been a military conquest of these nations, they would have taken a much shorter, direct path from northern Egypt into southern Canaan [אלשיך]. The specific desert they traveled through was the wilderness of Shur, also known as Etham [רד״ק], leading toward the Red Sea, which sits south of Edom, just below the land of Canaan [רש״י].

A unique aspect of this journey involves their encounter with the Red Sea. The Israelites did not actually cross the water from one side to the opposite shore. Instead, they entered the sea and emerged on the exact same side, stepping back into the wilderness of Etham. Entering the water was never meant for geographical progress. Rather, it served entirely to reveal the greatness of God as He rescued the Israelites and drowned the Egyptians. Following this event, the people continued traveling along the coastline until they set up camp directly on the shore [רד״ק].

The historical record then skips over numerous stops and jumps directly to their arrival at the city of Kadesh [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. This leap occurs because Kadesh served as the critical turning point for the rest of their journey. From this location, messengers were sent to the kings of Edom and Moab to request peaceful passage through their lands. The very fact that the Israelites navigated toward Kadesh—which borders Edom rather than Ammon or Moab—further proves they had no plans for war against them. It was only after Edom and Moab denied them passage that the Israelites were forced to alter their course, bypass the region entirely, and eventually arrive opposite the Moabite border [רד״ק, אלשיך].