John Calvin Commentary Deuteronomy 2:1

"Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea, as Jehovah spake unto me; and we compassed mount Seir many days." — Deuteronomy 2:1 (ASV)

Then we turned and took our journey. The time in which they struck their camp is not stated in the book of Numbers. This verse, therefore, will aptly connect the history, since otherwise there would be an abruptness in what immediately follows.

He then briefly indicates the nature of their journeying until the appointed time; namely, that by wearying themselves in vain in circuitous wanderings, they might eventually learn to follow God directly and not to deviate from the way He points out.