King James Bible
"(There are eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadeshbarnea.)"
This parenthetical note emphasizes the short physical distance from Mount Horeb (Sinai), where Israel received the Law, to the edge of the Promised Land. The specific timeframe underscores how close they were to their destination when they first arrived. The route through Mount Seir indicates the eastern path through Edomite territory, which was the most direct route northward. This geographical marker helps readers understand the specific journey taken and the nations Israel would encounter. Kadesh-barnea served as the southern gateway to Canaan where Israel fatefully rejected God's command to enter the land. The verse's parenthetical nature highlights the tragic irony that what should have been an eleven-day journey became forty years of wilderness wandering due to disobedience.