Chapter Fifteen

1–21. The song of thanksgiving, sung by the Hebrews after crossing the Red Sea. 22–27. The journey through the wilderness of Sur, the absence of fresh water and the murmuring of the Israelites; the miracle at Marah and the arrival at Elim.

The song of thanksgiving, sung by the Hebrews after crossing the Red Sea, apart from the preface or introduction (Exod 15:1-2), falls into three parts. The first (Exod 15:3-8) depicts the omnipotence of the Most High, the Man of war, who came forth to save Israel against Pharaoh; the second (Exod 15:9-13), beginning with a description of the enemy’s pride and his destruction, reveals the truth that the Lord, God of Israel, is immeasurably exalted compared to other gods; the third (Exod 15:14-18) describes the impression produced by the omnipotence of the Lord on the neighboring pagan nations.

Exodus 15:1. I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The theme of the song is the glorification of the greatness of the Most High (“triumphed gloriously”), manifested in the particular case—the destruction of the Egyptians: “the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”

Exodus 15:2. The Lord is my strength and my song, and he is become my salvation: this is my God, and I will prepare him a habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The Conqueror of the Egyptians, the Lord appears to the Hebrew people as their “strength,” since the crossing of the Red Sea and deliverance from death is the work not of the strength of Israel, but of the power of the Lord (Exod 14:31); the people showed themselves only in fear and cries (Exod 14:10), and they have neither strength nor glory. The power of the Most High has given the people salvation, and therefore, constituting their strength and power, He is also their salvation. As such, He alone is the subject of honor and glorification among Israel (Gen 28:20-21). He, who preserved the fathers (1 Chr 16:19-22), fulfilled the promises given to them (Gen 15:14), is the true God and therefore worthy to be glorified (2 Sam 22:47, Ps 98:5, Isa 25:1).

Exodus 15:3. The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name. Exodus 15:4. Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he has cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea. Exodus 15:5. The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone. Exodus 15:6. Your right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power: your right hand, O Lord, has dashed in pieces the enemy. Exodus 15:7. And in the greatness of your excellency you have overthrown them that rose up against you: you sent forth your wrath, which consumed them as stubble. A more detailed description of the power of the One Who Is. The Most High has shown great power, has shown Himself to be a man of war (Ps 23:8), fighting for His people (Deut 4:34) in the drowning of Pharaoh’s armies in the sea (Ps 105:8-10). Sunk in the depths, like a stone—without any hope of salvation—they are struck down by nothing other than the strong hand of the Lord (Exod 15:5). Those who rose up against God are swiftly, every one, destroyed like straw by fire, by the flame of His wrath (Isa 5:24).

Exodus 15:8. And with the blast of your nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as a heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. Exodus 15:9. The enemy said, 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. Exodus 15:10. You blew with your wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters. The very natural phenomenon that served in God’s hands as an instrument of salvation for the Hebrews—“the waters became a wall” (Exod 14:22)—is transformed by God through the agency of the wind: “You blew with Your wind” (Job 37:10) into a means of destruction of the enemies—it is the work of His omnipotence.

Exodus 15:11. Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? who is like you, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? By the powers just displayed, the Lord has no equal among the gods (2 Sam 7:22, 1 Sam 8:23, Ps 70:19, Jer 10:6), in particular among the gods of Egypt, whose powerlessness is known to the Hebrews. He is a transcendent being—“glorious in holiness”; as such, He is worthy of praise and glorification (Ps 117:29).

Exodus 15:12. You stretched out your right hand: the earth swallowed them. Exodus 15:13. You in your mercy have led forth the people which you have redeemed: you have guided them in your strength to your holy habitation. The Most High is worthy of praise not only as the worker of a great miracle—the swallowing of the Egyptians by the “earth,” where the term “earth” denotes both water and solid ground—but also as the protector of His people (Ps 105:5), guarding them on the way “to Your holy habitation” in the land of Canaan (Ps 77:54), sanctified by theophanies to the patriarchs (Gen 28:16) and also by altars built to God (Gen 28:18).

Exodus 15:14. The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina. Exodus 15:15. Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them: all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. The impression produced by the crossing of the Red Sea on the peoples who possess the land of Canaan and who live near it. The song attributes to them the very same feelings that the miracle aroused in the Hebrew people (Exod 14:31): similar phenomena produce like effects. After the Egyptians, the Philistines were the first people of whom the Hebrews were afraid (Exod 13:17); the main enemy is defeated, and by the laws of psychology the thought turns from the Egyptians to the Philistines (Exod 15:15, Josh 2:9).

Exodus 15:16. Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of your arm they shall be as still as a stone; till your people pass over, O Lord, till the people pass over, which you have purchased. Such a state of the nations is desirable for the Hebrews during all their further wanderings to the land of Canaan. Terrified by the arm of the Most High helping the Hebrews, mute as a stone—that is, powerless to undertake anything (1 Sam 25:37)—they will not be able to offer strong resistance (Deut 2:25, Josh 2:9-11).

Exodus 15:17. You shall bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of your inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which you have made for you to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established. But even with this condition, the introduction and settlement of the Hebrews in Canaan depends on God (Deut 31:1-6), wherefore He is implored to bring this matter to completion. “The mountain of Your inheritance”—the mountainous region of Canaan (Ps 67:16-17, Isa 5:1), which constitutes the property of the Lord (Jer 2:7) and, as His dwelling place, is a holy place, a sanctuary (Ps 77:54).

Exodus 15:18. The Lord shall reign forever and ever. There, in Canaan, the Lord will be king of His people (Ps 104:11).

Exodus 15:19. For the horse 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. Exodus 15:20. 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. Exodus 15:21. And Miriam answered them, Sing you to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. As is evident from Exod 15:1, the song was sung by men: at its conclusion the story of the deliverance was recounted (Exod 15:19), and then in conclusion the chorus of women, led by Miriam, sang the first verse of the song.

Exodus 15:22. And Moses led Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Sur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. Down to Exod 18:27 is the path from the Red Sea to Sinai. The enumeration of the camps and the events that took place at the stops. From the statement Num 33:10, that the third camp of the Hebrews was at the Red Sea, it follows with certainty that after crossing the sea the Hebrews did not go directly along the caravan road leading northeast to the Gulf of Elath, but traveled toward the south, along the eastern shore of the Red Sea. The wilderness of Sur, otherwise called Etham (Num 33:8), could have received a double name from two cities lying in it. Three days’ journey through it without water speaks to the intensity of thirst and the naturalness of the murmuring noted below.

Exodus 15:23. 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. The site of the first stop—Marah—is commonly located in the wadi Gharandel. Like Marah, the spring of Gharandel is marked by a somewhat salty taste of water, which the Bedouins consider to be the worst in the entire region.

Exodus 15:24. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? Exodus 15:25. And he cried to the Lord; and the Lord showed him a tree: and when he had cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them. There is no natural explanation for the miracle. The text contains no suggestion that Moses drew off the water and that newly appeared water proved good (opinion of Josephus). Likewise, the experiments of travelers do not confirm the view that the tree possesses natural properties of turning bitter water into potable water. The Arabs do not know of such a tree either. The event served as a test of the people’s faith in that they did not doubt the efficacy of the extraordinary means employed by Moses—they did not doubt and did not refuse to drink that water about which only moments before they had asked: “what shall we drink?” So too for the one who has turned to Christ, faith in Him, crucified on the cross, prefigured by the tree of Marah (Ephrem the Syrian), serves as consolation and sweetness in the earthly vale. “Hearing of the tree of Marah,” says Gregory of Nyssa, “surely you will understand the cross. The virtuous life becomes sweeter, sweetened by hope for the future.”

Exodus 15:26. If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and will do that which is right in his sight, and will give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes; I will put none of these diseases upon you, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that heals you. The particular case of the saving action of faith gives occasion for the establishment of a general principle concerning the conditions of deliverance from various kinds of afflictions, the worst of which are the Egyptian plagues (Deut 7:11-15). The promise of the Lord was to sustain the spirit of the people during further trials that lay ahead on the path.

Exodus 15:27. And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and seventy palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters. The second camp—Elim—was located south of Marah in the present-day wadi Garandel, abounding in beautiful palm trees, tamarisks, acacias, and succulent grass. * * * Notes Bitterness.