And they pitched by Jordan from Bethjesimoth, [even] unto
Abelshittim, in the plains of Moab.
] Their camp reached twelve miles, as the Jews commonly say, which we may suppose was the distance of these two places, which were both in the plains of Moab; and the Jerusalem Targum is express for it, for mentioning Israel's encampment from Bethjesimoth to Abelshittim, it asks, how far is that? twelve miles: the latter is sometimes called Shittim, from the shittim wood which grew there, ( Numbers 25:1 ) and here it has the addition of Abel to it, to signify mourning, from the mourning of the children of Israel on account of the plague, in which 24,000 persons died, ( Numbers 25:1 Numbers 25:6 Numbers 25:9 ) .