As the Israelites began to travel down the Sinai Peninsula, the Pharaoh made a final attempt to seize them again. In chapter 14 the dramatic story is told of the destruction of the Egyptian soldiers who were drowned in the sea with their horses. 'When the Israelites saw the great power with which the Lord had defeated the Egyptians, they feared the LORD; and they had faith in the Loan and in his servant Moses' (14: 31). But as the Israelites went further into the wilderness and became thirsty and hungry, their new-found faith began to weaken: 'There in the desert they all complained to Moses and Aaron and said to them, "We wish that the Lord had killed us in Egypt. There we could at least sit down and eat meat and as much other food as we wanted”, (16: 2-3).

Their needs were met by the provision of quails, manna and water.

figure 1:collecting quails
When they were attacked by Amalekites, these enemies were totally defeated. As their journey continued, Moses began the task of teaching the people how to live in an orderly way (chapter 18) before they came to Mount Sinai, the mountain where God's revelation would be given to them. The exact location of the mountain called Sinai in Exodus is debated, but this does not affect the significance of what happened on whichever mountain it was.