Then they came to Elim implies that they had moved on from Marah, although this is not stated. In some languages it may be necessary to add this information; for example, “They left Marah and came to Elim.” Then they came is literally “And they entered.” Elim was evidently another oasis, but there is no evidence that it was a town or village. The name Elim means “gods,” so it may have been considered a sacred place. Twelve springs of water may be shortened to “twelve springs,” since the water is understood. In dry areas or on small islands in the ocean where springs do not exist, translators will need to use a descriptive phrase; for example, “a place where water flows out of the ground.” So twelve springs of water may be expressed as “there were twelve places where water flowed out of the ground.” The seventy palm trees were date palms, so there may have been some fruit for the people to eat. For cultures where date palms are unknown, one may say, for example, “fruit trees named ‘palm’ [or, ‘date’]”; but see the discussion on “Borrowed vocabulary” in “Translating Exodus,” page 3.

And they encamped there uses the same word for setting up camp as in 14.9. By the water refers to the springs.

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .