Numbers 33:5Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The second encampment. Here, the unleavened bread is made, and initially, the tents are set up, which gives the place its name, as Sokhof in our language translates to tents. This leads to the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles in the seventh month, beginning on the fifteenth day. After our exodus from Egypt, we establish our tents, aware that we must journey onward. Rather than consuming the bread from Egypt, characterized by evil and injustice, we partake in the unleavened bread of purity and truth (1 Cor. 5), actively adhering to the Lord's command to avoid the leaven of the Pharisees (Matt. 16:6). In this encampment, we are instructed to continually remember our liberation from Egypt and to observe the Lord's Passover, thereby dedicating to God the firstfruits of our womb and all virtues in place of the stricken firstfruits of Egypt.