for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." And the Lord said unto Moses:-"Wherefore criest thou unto Me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: but lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get Me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten Me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen." And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: and it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night. And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked upon the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians. And He took off the chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said: "Let us flee from the face of Israel: for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians." And the Lord said unto Moses :- "Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen." And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them. But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand; and on their left. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and His servant Moses. 1 XI THE SONG OF DELIVERANCE' (Exodus xv) Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spake, saying: I will sing unto the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously: The horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, And He is become my salvation : He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father's God, and I will exalt Him. The Lord is a Man of war: The Lord is His name. Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath He cast into the sea: His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea. They sank into the bottom as a stone. Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power: throwest them that rise up against Thee: Thou sendest forth Thy wrath, it consumeth them as stubble." And with the blast of Thy nostrils the waters were gathered together; The floods stood upright as an heap, The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, 1. See Outline Study, Note 40. 2. Explain in full this simile. "I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; My lust shall be satisfied upon them I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them." Who is like unto Thee, O Lord, among the gods? Thou stretchedst out Thy right hand, The earth swallowed them. Thou in Thy mercy hast led forth the people which Thou hast redeemed: Thou hast guided them in Thy strength unto Thy holy habitation. The peoples heard, they trembled: Fear hath taken hold on the inhabitants of Philistia." Then were dismayed the dukes of Edom;* 5 The mighty men of Moab, trembling taketh hold of them; All the inhabitants of Canaan are melted away; Fear and dread falleth upon them; By the greatness of Thine arm they are as still as a stone; Till Thy people pass over, O Lord, Till the people pass over which Thou hast purchased. Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of Thine inheritance, The place, O Lord, which Thou hast made for Thee to dwell in, The Sanctuary, O Lord, which Thy hands have established. The Lord shall reign for ever and ever. 3. The country southwest of Palestine lying along the Mediterranean. 4. The country south and west of the Dead Sea. 5. The region east of the lower Jordan and the Dead Sea. For the horses of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea. And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam answered them : Sing ye to the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously; So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying:- "What shall we drink?" And he cried unto the Lord; and the Lord shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, and said: "If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in His sight, and wilt give ear to His commandments, 6. This was southeast of the point where now the Suez canal enters the Red Sea, a region of rock valleys with brooks and springs. 7. See Outline Study, Note 15. |