The Meaning of Exodus 19:2 Explained

Exodus 19:2

KJV: For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.

YLT: and they journey from Rephidim, and enter the wilderness of Sinai, and encamp in the wilderness; and Israel encampeth there before the mount.

Darby: they departed from Rephidim, and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and encamped in the wilderness; and Israel encamped there before the mountain.

ASV: And when they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the wilderness of Sinai, they encamped in the wilderness; and there Israel encamped before the mount.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For they were departed  from Rephidim,  and were come  [to] the desert  of Sinai,  and had pitched  in the wilderness;  and there Israel  camped  before the mount. 

What does Exodus 19:2 Mean?

Context Summary

Exodus 19:1-15 - Moses Receives Jehovah's Words In The Mount
The plain beneath Sinai, where Israel encamped, has been identified, and the reader should study the books of travelers which afford a mental conception of the scene. The brilliant colors, in which red sandstone predominates; the shattered, thunder-stricken peaks; the awful silence; the utter absence of vegetation; the level plain giving abundant opportunity for all to hear and see-all these deserve notice. The tenderness of the divine address is very touching. Nor are we excluded from these promises, if we are among Abraham's spiritual children. See Romans 4:10. If God could carry this multitude of people, He is sufficient for us and our burdens. We also may be His peculiar treasure and a kingdom of priests.
But Israel's solemn pledge was a profound mistake. Had they known themselves better, they would never have made it, and one design of the Decalogue was to show how absolutely impossible it is for any to be justified by the works of the Law. Pentecost, which Whitsuntide commemorates, took place on the anniversary of this august scene. [source]

Chapter Summary: Exodus 19

1  The people arrive at Sinai
3  God's message by Moses unto the people out of the mount
8  The people are prepared against the third day, for the giving of the law
12  The mountain must not be touched
16  The fearful presence of God upon the mount

What do the individual words in Exodus 19:2 mean?

For they had departed from Rephidim and had come [to] the Wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness so camped there Israel before the mountain
וַיִּסְע֣וּ מֵרְפִידִ֗ים וַיָּבֹ֙אוּ֙ מִדְבַּ֣ר סִינַ֔י וַֽיַּחֲנ֖וּ בַּמִּדְבָּ֑ר וַיִּֽחַן־ שָׁ֥ם יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל נֶ֥גֶד הָהָֽר

וַיִּסְע֣וּ  For  they  had  departed 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: נָסַע  
Sense: to pull out, pull up, set out, journey, remove, set forward, depart.
מֵרְפִידִ֗ים  from  Rephidim 
Parse: Preposition-m, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: רְפִידִים  
Sense: a station of Israel in the wilderness between Egypt and Sinai.
וַיָּבֹ֙אוּ֙  and  had  come  [to] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
מִדְבַּ֣ר  the  Wilderness 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מִדְבָּר 
Sense: wilderness.
סִינַ֔י  of  Sinai 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: סִינַי  
Sense: the mountain where Moses received the Law from Jehovah; located at the southern end of the Sinai peninsula between the horns of the Red Sea; exact site unknown.
וַֽיַּחֲנ֖וּ  and  camped 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: חָנָה  
Sense: to decline, incline, encamp, bend down, lay siege against.
בַּמִּדְבָּ֑ר  in  the  wilderness 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִדְבָּר 
Sense: wilderness.
וַיִּֽחַן־  so  camped 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: חָנָה  
Sense: to decline, incline, encamp, bend down, lay siege against.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
נֶ֥גֶד  before 
Parse: Preposition
Root: נֶגֶד  
Sense: what is conspicuous, what is in front of adv.
הָהָֽר  the  mountain 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: הַר  
Sense: hill, mountain, hill country, mount.