Exodus 13:17
And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt:
Cross-references
Exodus 14:11 records the fulfillment of God's concern in 13:17 — the Israelites immediately fear war and wish to return to Egypt.
Exodus 14:12 continues their complaint, explicitly stating they preferred slavery to facing war — exactly the reversal God anticipated.
In Exodus 16:3, the people explicitly wish they had stayed in Egypt, fulfilling God's concern in the earlier verse.
Exodus 14:2 instructs Israel to turn back and camp by the sea, fulfilling God's strategic alternative route mentioned here.
Exodus 16:2 shows the people grumbling soon after, demonstrating the very mindset God feared — a desire to return.
Deuteronomy 17:16 forbids causing Israel to return to Egypt, echoing God's earlier caution about the people's temptation to return.
Nehemiah 9:17 recounts Israel’s desire to return to slavery in Egypt, directly validating God's reason for avoiding the Philistine route.
Acts 7:39 says the fathers 'turned back to Egypt in their hearts,' confirming the risk God avoided by detouring around war.
Numbers 14:1-4 shows another instance of Israel wanting to return to Egypt when faced with war — repeating the pattern God feared here.
Deuteronomy 20:8 addresses the same concern about fear in battle — sending fearful soldiers home to prevent others' hearts from melting.
Judges 7:3 applies the same principle as Deuteronomy 20:8 — sending fearful soldiers home to avoid panic, reflecting God's precaution here.