And they set out from the Red Sea, and encamped in the wilderness of Sin: Starting with this verse, Good News Translation reduces the repetition in the text. Translators will have to decide which version best models a natural narrative account (travel report) in their language, especially when the text is being read aloud. As A Handbook on Numbers mentions at Exo 16.1, the wilderness of Sin was a large barren area probably along the west coast of the Sinai Peninsula. The name Sin (sin in Hebrew) has no relation to the English word “sin.” It is simply the name of a region, and it possibly has some connection with the name “Sinai” in verse 15. The wilderness of Sin may be rendered “the wilderness named Sin” or “the Sin Wilderness.” (NET Bible says “the wilderness of Zin,” which confuses this place with the one mentioned in verse 36; the names “Sin” and “Zin” are spelled differently in Hebrew and should be kept distinct in spelling and pronunciation.)

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 .