Which route did God not lead Israel through after Pharaoh let them go?
After Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead Israel through the way of the Philistines, which was the shorter route near Philistine territory. Instead, He avoided that path, so they did not cross the Red Sea at the high point but came out of Goshen toward the Sinai Peninsula.
Les explains that when Pharaoh had let the people go, after the night of the Passover, God led them not through the way of the Philistines. That would have been the short route up near Philistine territory. Les says God did not let them take that route, and that is why he knows they did not cross the Red Sea up at the high point. Instead, they came out of Goshen. The Red Sea comes up on both sides, with the Mediterranean coast and Goshen in view. They come down the shore of the Red Sea, and somewhere along the deeper part of that body of water, approximately near Mount Sinai, they would be locked in with mountains over there.
And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt:
More Questions
Why did God not lead Israel through the way of the Philistines?
God did not lead Israel out by the way of the Philistines—the short route up north—because the Philistines were located right there in that area.