And they set out from Etham, and turned back to Pi-hahiroth …: Again Good News Bible condenses the text here, saying “From there they turned back to Pi Hahiroth….” This model will sound more natural in some languages, but not necessarily all, especially those that favor narrative repetition.

Which is east of Baal-zephon is literally “which [is] on the face of Baal-zephon.” New Revised Standard Version and New Jewish Publication Society Version are more are more accurate with “which faces Baal-zephon.” Compare also New Living Translation (“opposite Baal-zephon”), NET (“which is before Baal Zephon”), and WV (“which is close to Baal-Zephon”).

And they encamped before Migdol may be rendered simply “and camped near Migdol” (Good News Bible).

Pi-hahiroth, Baal-zephon, and Migdol were towns at or near Israel’s miraculous crossing of the Red Sea. These places are also mentioned in Exo 14.2.

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .