The Torah places Israel's encampment "between Migdol and the sea," and the Mekhilta finds layers of meaning in this geography.
The word "Migdol" sounds like "gedulah" — greatness. The rabbis taught that this location was the site of Egypt's greatest glory, splendor, and wealth. It was the place where the empire displayed its power and stored its treasure.
And who had gathered that treasure? Joseph. During the seven years of famine, Joseph collected all the silver and gold in the land, as recorded in (Genesis 47:14): "And Joseph collected all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan." That wealth was concentrated at Migdol, making it the economic heart of the Egyptian empire.
The irony is devastating. Israel was now camping at the very spot where their ancestor Joseph had built Egypt's fortune. The wealth that made Pharaoh powerful enough to enslave millions had been created by a Hebrew slave-turned-vizier. And now Joseph's descendants stood at that same treasury — not as slaves, but as free people about to witness God destroy the army that wealth had funded. The geography of the Exodus is never accidental. Every location tells a story of reversal and justice.