Now when Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although it was nearer; for God said, “The people may have a change of heart when they see war, and return to Egypt.”
So God led the people round about, by way of the wilderness at the Sea of Reeds. Now the Israelites went up armedfarmed Meaning of Heb. ḥamushim uncertain. out of the land of Egypt.
And Moses took with him the bones of Joseph, who had exacted an oath from the children of Israel, saying, “God will be sure to take notice of you: then you shall carry up my bones from here with you.”
GOD went before them in a pillar of cloud by day, to guide them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, that they might travel day and night.
Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, before Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea.
Then I will stiffen Pharaoh’s heart and he will pursue them, that I may gain glory through Pharaoh and all his host; and the Egyptians shall know that I am GOD. And they did so.
When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his courtiers had a change of heart about the people and said, “What is this we have done, releasing Israel from our service?”
he took six hundred of his picked chariots, and the rest of the chariots of Egypt, with officersbofficers Heb. shalish; originally “third man on royal chariot”; hence “adjutant,” “officer.” in all of them.
GOD stiffened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he gave chase to the Israelites. As the Israelites were departing defiantly,cdefiantly Lit. “with upraised hand”; cf. Num. 33.3.
the Egyptians gave chase to them, and all the chariot horses of Pharaoh, his riders, and his warriors overtook them encamped by the sea, near Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-zephon.
And they said to Moses, “Was it for want of graves in Egypt that you brought us to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, taking us out of Egypt?
Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us be, and we will serve the Egyptians, for it is better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness’?”
But Moses said to the people, “Have no fear! Stand by, and witness the deliverance that GOD will work for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you will never see again.
And I will stiffen the hearts of the Egyptians so that they go in after them; and I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his warriors, his chariots, and his riders.
The angeldangel Heb. “messenger.” of God, who had been going ahead of the Israelite army, now moved and followed behind them; and the pillar of cloud shifted from in front of them and took up a place behind them,
and it came between the army of the Egyptians and the army of Israel. Thus there was the cloud with the darkness, and it cast a spell uponeand it cast a spell upon From root ʼ-r-r, “cast a spell” or “curse.” the night, so that the one could not come near the other all through the night.
Then Moses held out his arm over the sea and GOD drove back the sea with a strong east wind all that night, and turned the sea into dry ground. The waters were split,
[God] lockedflocked From root ʼ-s-r, with several ancient versions. In contrast to others “took off.” the wheels of their chariots so that they moved forward with difficulty. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the Israelites, for GOD is fighting for them against Egypt.”
Then GOD said to Moses, “Hold out your arm over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians and upon their chariots and upon their riders.”
Moses held out his arm over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal state, and the Egyptians fled at its approach. But GOD hurled the Egyptians into the sea.
And when Israel saw the wondrous power that GOD had wielded against the Egyptians, the people feared GOD; they had faith in GOD and in Moses—God’s servant.
Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to GOD. They said: I will sing to GOD, who has triumphed gloriously; Horse and driver have been hurled into the sea.
YahaYah A shortened form of this deity’s personal name, which is written as y-h-w-h. is my strength and might,bmight In contrast to others “song.” And has become my deliverance. This is my God whom I will enshrine; The God of my father,cmy father Including his household. whom I will exalt.
יְהֹוָ֖ה אִ֣ישׁ מִלְחָמָ֑ה יְהֹוָ֖ה שְׁמֽוֹ׃
The ETERNAL One, the Warrior— Whose name is GOD [יהוה]!dיהוהSee note at 6.3.
The foe said, “I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; My desire shall have its fill of them. I will bare my sword— My hand shall subdue them.”
Who is like You, O ETERNAL One, among the celestials;ecelestials In contrast to others “mighty.” Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in splendor, working wonders!
נָטִ֙יתָ֙ יְמִ֣ינְךָ֔ תִּבְלָעֵ֖מוֹ אָֽרֶץ׃
You put out Your right hand, The earth swallowed them.
Terror and dread descend upon them; Through the might of Your arm they are still as stone— Till Your people cross over, O ETERNAL One, Till Your people cross whom You have ransomed.
You will bring them and plant them in Your own mountain, The place You made to dwell in, O ETERNAL One, The sanctuary, O my Sovereign, that Your hands established.
For the horses of Pharaoh, with his chariots and riders, went into the sea; and GOD turned back on them the waters of the sea; but the Israelites marched on dry ground in the midst of the sea.
Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, picked up a hand-drum,fpicked up a hand-drum As drummers, it was women who set the tempo during Israel’s public celebrations; cf. Jer. 31.4; Ps. 68.26. and all the women went out after her in dance with hand-drums.
Then Moses caused Israel to set out from the Sea of Reeds. They went on into the wilderness of Shur; they traveled three days in the wilderness and found no water.
So he cried out to GOD, and GOD showed him a piece of wood; he threw it into the water and the water became sweet. There a fixed rule was made for them; there they were put to the test:
“If you will heed the ETERNAL your God diligently, doing what is upright in My sight, giving ear to My commandments and keeping all My laws,hMy…My…My Heb. 3rd person. then I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians, for I GOD am your healer.”
Setting out from Elim, the whole Israelite community came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt.
In the wilderness, the whole Israelite communityawhole Israelite community Or the leadership, on everyone’s behalf; cf. v. 22. grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by GOD’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots, when we ate our fill of bread! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to starve this whole congregation to death.”
And GOD said to Moses, “I will rain down bread for you from the sky, and the people shall go out and gather each day that day’s portion—that I may thus test them, to see whether they will follow My instructions or not.
Since it is GOD,” Moses continued, “who will give you flesh to eat in the evening and bread in the morning to the full—because GOD has heard the grumblings you utter—what is our part? Your grumbling is against GOD, not against us!”
Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole Israelite community:bwhole Israelite community See note at v. 2. Advance toward GOD, who has heard your grumbling.”
“I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Speak to them and say: By evening you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; and you shall know that I the ETERNAL am your God.”
When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?”cWhat is it? Heb. man huʼ; in contrast to others “It is manna.”—for they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “That is the bread that GOD has given you to eat.
This is what GOD has commanded: Each household shall gather as much as it requires to eat—an omer to a person for as many of you as there are; each household shall fetch according to those in its tent.”
But when they measured it by the omer, anyone who had gathered much had no excess, and anyone who had gathered little had no deficiency: each household had gathered as much as it needed to eat.
But they paid no attention to Moses; some of them left of it until morning, and it became infested with maggots and stank. And Moses was angry with them.
he said to them, “This is what GOD meant: Tomorrow is a day of rest, a holy sabbath of GOD. Bake what you would bake and boil what you would boil; and all that is left put aside to be kept until morning.”
Mark that it is GOD who, having given you the sabbath, therefore gives you two days’ food on the sixth day. Let everyone remain in place: let no one leave the vicinity on the seventh day.”
וַיִּשְׁבְּת֥וּ הָעָ֖ם בַּיּ֥וֹם הַשְּׁבִעִֽי׃
So the people remained inactive on the seventh day.
The house of Israel named it manna;dmanna Heb. man. it was like coriander seed, white, and it tasted like wafersewafers Meaning of Heb. ṣappiḥith uncertain. in honey.
Moses said, “This is what GOD has commanded: Let one omer of it be kept throughout the ages, in order that they may see the bread that I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out from the land of Egypt.”
From the wilderness of Sin the whole Israelite community continued by stages as GOD would command. They encamped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink.
But the people thirsted there for water; and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?”
Then GOD said to Moses, “Pass before the people; take with you some of the elders of Israel, and take along the rod with which you struck the Nile, and set out.
I will be standing there before you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock and water will issue from it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
The place was named MassahaMassah I.e., “Trial.” and Meribah,bMeribah I.e., “Quarrel.” because the Israelites quarreled and because they tried GOD, saying, “Is GOD present among us or not?”
Moses said to Joshua, “Pick some troops for us, and go out and do battle with Amalek. Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill, with the rod of God in my hand.”
But Moses’ hands grew heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur, one on each side, supported his hands; thus his hands remained steady until the sun set.
Then GOD said to Moses, “Inscribe this in a document as a reminder, and read it aloud to Joshua: I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven!”
He said, “It means, ‘Hand upon the throneethrone Meaning of Heb. kes uncertain. of Yah!’fYah See note at 15.2. GOD will be at war with Amalek throughout the ages.”