A frequent misinterpretation treats this verse as a standalone geographical summary of the exodus route, ignoring its context within Jephthah's diplomatic message to Ammon's king, which uses history to refute territorial claims by clarifying that Israel avoided Edom and Moab, circled around, and only took land from Sihon after he attacked, not as unprovoked aggression; this overlooks the passage's purpose in defending Israel's legitimate inheritance from God against false accusations.
Judges 11:16
King James Version (1769)
16 But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through the wilderness unto the Red sea, and came to Kadesh;
Jephthah recounts Israel's faithful journey from Egypt through the wilderness to Kadesh, emphasizing their non-aggressive path that respected neighboring territories by seeking peaceful passage through Edom, which was denied, thereby justifying Israel's later conquest of lands from the Amorite king Sihon as divinely ordained rather than an invasion of Ammonite territory, highlighting God's sovereignty in granting Israel possession of the land east of the Jordan.