The interpretation timeline

Num 33:6

How this passage has been read — the sources, oldest to newest.

From the early Church Fathers to now.

Num 33:6 · Douay-Rheims

“And from Soccoth they came into Etham, which is in the uttermost borders of the wilderness.”

Patristic before A.D. 750

254

A.D.

Origen Patristic

c. A.D. 184–253

“Then when the soul thinks it is ready, it sets out from Succoth and camps at Buthan [Etham]. Buthan means "valley." Now we have said that the stages refer to progress in the virtues. And a virtue is not acquired without training and hard work, nor is it tested as much in prosperity as in adversity. So the soul comes to a valley. For in valleys and in low places the struggle against the devil and the opposing powers takes place.”

Source

Modern · 1953 →

The in-app commentary runs from the Fathers to the early-modern record, then stops — that's where the public-domain sources end, not where the reading does. For the modern reading, follow the sources directly.