Numbers 10:33

A journey of three days. Three days’ traveling distance, they traveled in one day, because the Holy One, Blessed is He, wanted to bring them into the land immediately.

The Ark of the Covenant of Adonoy traveled in front of them a journey of three days. This was the Ark which went with them to war, in which the broken Tablets were placed. It preceded them by three days’ travel to prepare a camping place for them.

And they went forward from the mountain where the glory of the Shekinah of the Lord had been revealed, going three days; and the Ark of the Lord's covenant went before them. Thirty and six miles it went that day; it preceded the camp of Israel, going three days, to provide for them a place to encamp in.

AND THEY SET FORWARD FROM THE MOUNT OF THE ETERNAL THREE DAYS’ JOURNEY. According to the plain meaning of Scripture, the cloud [of the Eternal] journeyed and went before them for three days and the ark followed the cloud in front of the people, and it did not come to rest in that place until the night of the third day, when the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran, which was a good place for them to camp in. This is the sense of [the expression] to seek out a resting-place for them. And when the cloud rested they erected the Tabernacle and brought the ark into it. Scripture, however, did not explain whether they also journeyed at night.

'מהר ה, for the people at that time had still not moved from Mount Chorev in the desert of Sinai. This was after the Tabernacle had been erected, as I have explained in connection with Numbers 1,1 on the words מדבר סיני.

דרך שלשת ימים, they walked for a period of three days, not making camp until the end of the third day. Seeing that this had been very strenuous, the people began grumbling, as we know from Numbers 11,1, a phenomenon which also occurred in the last year of their wanderings and is recorded in Numbers 21,4. At that point the mood of the people is described as ותקצר נפש העם בדרך וידבר העם באלוקים ובמשה, “the people’s soul was restive on the journey and they spoke out against G’d and against Moses.”

וארון ברית ה' נוסע לפניהם, during these entire three days, looking for a suitable place for them to make camp; for the cloud was seeking out such a location.

דרך שלשת ימים, to the border of the land of Israel, for within the space of 3 journeys they had advanced to Kadesh Barnea opposite the desert of Paran. From there the spies were dispatched. As Moses explained in Deuteronomy 1,22 “you all approached me asking: ‘let us dispatch men, etc.’” This was the place where the Jewish people had been encamped in the desert of Paran which has been mentioned here in 12,15 after the delay due to Miriam’s having been afflicted with tzoraat. The spies had returned to that location at the end of their mission. (Numbers 12,16) [The fact that the place from which the spies were dispatched is described by Moses as הר האמורי, the mountain of the Emorite, proves that this was within the boundaries of the land of Canaan of which the Emorite was the leading tribe. Ed.]

וארון ברית ה' נוסע לפניהם דרך שלשת ימים, during these three days that they spent on these three journeys through the “great and awesome desert,” (Deut.1,19) the Ark was traveling ahead of the Jewish people. The purpose was to remove any dangerous obstacles in the path of the advancing Israelites. However, during the remainder of the journeys the Ark was positioned within the center of the marching armies as described in Numbers 2,17. This was in line with the other holy artifacts transported by the Kehatites in that position of the marching order.

לתור להם מנוחה, a safe and secure place for camping in this awesome desert.

וארון ברית ה' נוסע לפניהם, “and the Holy Ark of the Covenant with Hashem traveled in front of them. During each night the Divine cloud was resting above the Holy Ark. Clearly the Israelites had not been able to travel without resting for three days and three nights. Jewish law rules that if someone swears an oath that he would not three for three consecutive days, i.e. for 72 hours, he will be subjected to the penalty of 39 lashes, as he undertook something he knew he would not be able to fulfill. (Talmud, tractate Shavuot, folio 25.) The cloud would resume its position above the camp of the Israelites in the morning, and the Levites would make the necessary preparations before the main body of the people resumed travelling. This is the plain meaning of the words: נוסע לפניהם, “was travelling ahead of them.” The Holy Ark was a distance of three days’ walking on foot in front of the main body until the people came to Kadesh in the desert of Paran. (Numbers 13,3) From then on they travelled without the Holy Ark, as we know from Numbers 14,44, when Moses did not allow the ones who were then willing to try and conquer the land of Canaan to take the Holy Ark with them. The meaning of the words: דרך שלשת ימים , is “a distance of three days’ march. This construction is also found when the Torah describes G–d as having created the universe in six days, i.e. ששת ימים. (Exodus 20,11)