v.4: He has thrown into the sea Pharaoh s chariots and his armed force, and the best of his officers sank in the Sea of Reeds.

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1 Exodus 15 v.1: Then Moshe and the people of Israel sang this song to Adonai, and they said: I will sing to Adonai because He is greatly exalted: He lifted up and threw the horse and its rider into the sea. v.2: My strength and song of triumph to God, my deliverance; this is my God and I will adorn Him with praises; my God and my Father, I will exalt Him. v.2: The word for adorn Him with praises is anvehu.(אנוהו) An alternative translation could be I will find a habitation. One definition is more literal ( adorn Him with praises; the other is more poetic ( find a habitation or I will live with Him ). As a new creation created by Him, if I live as I am created to live, then me living with Him is adorning Him with praises. I then am a habitation for Him. We suggest you hold still within these thoughts. Sit within these thoughts and allow God to bring this deeply into your being so this will become the perspective for how you choose to live your life. v.3: Adonai is a Man of War; Adonai is His name. v.4: He has thrown into the sea Pharaoh s chariots and his armed force, and the best of his officers sank in the Sea of Reeds. v.4: The word yarah (ירה) is used for has thrown. It is the root word for Torah, symbolizing that the Torah judged the enemies of God and Israel via the means of the sea waters. v.5: The depths covered them over, and they sank downward to the sea floor, like a rock. v.6: Your Right Hand, Adonai is great in strength; Your Right hand, Adonai, shatters the enemy. v.6: Thoughts to sit within this month: Who sits at the Right Hand of The Throne of God. From v. 4: Who has judged the enemies of God? v.7: By means of Your genius, You will destroy those who oppose You; You will send Your hot anger, so they will be burned up like straw;

2 v.8: And by the breathing of Your nostrils, water piled up; the flowing water stood up like a heap; and the sea depths froze. v.9: The enemy said, I ll pursue and I ll catch up, I will divide the war spoils, my nefesh will be satisfied; I will draw my sword, my hand will possess what is theirs. v.10: As Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel looked up and there was Egypt, coming after them! And they feared greatly; then the people of Israel cried out to Adonai. v.10: You exhaled Your Breath, and the sea covered them over; they sunk down like lead in the great waters. v.11: Who is like You among the powers, Adonai? Who is like You, great in holiness, so mighty in songs of praise, a doer of wonderful actions? v.11: The word el,(אל) translated here power, can mean a god or powers-that-be. It may refer to strong people with political power, or it may refer to idols. It does not imply that there is a pantheon of gods, such as one finds in Greek mythology. v.12: You stretched out Your Right Hand, and the land swallowed them up. v.13: By Your covenant love, You gave guidance; You redeemed this people; You directed events by Your strength, towards Your holy residence. v.13: Holy residence is expressed by the word neveh.(נוה) This can mean a land where one lives, and thus would refer to the Exodus being a first step towards bringing the nation to this holy land (i.e., to the Land of Israel). Or, this idiomatic word could refer to an abode of shepherds (BDB), in which case it could refer to the Sinai Desert. v.14: Peoples have heard and trembled, a force has seized the inhabitants of Philistia. 2

3 v.14: The word used for force is chayil.(חיל) It can refer to a military force, or a great fear that grips a people like a force. Thus, we understand this verse as saying that fear, like a military force, seized the Philistines when they heard about the Exodus. The word that we translated Philistines is pilashet.(פלשת) It is most commonly rendered Philistines or Philistia (e.g. BDB), so we chose to do the same. v.15: Then the generals of Edom shuddered; the leaders of Moab were seized with trembling; all the inhabitants of Canaan melted away. v.15: Melted away is the word namog.(נמוג) It can also mean to be helpless (BDB) or to be thrown into a state of confusion. All three meanings fit the context of this verse. v.16: Great dread will fall upon them, and much fear; Your arm will silence them like stone, till Your people pass through, Adonai, till that people that You bought pass through. v.16: The word qanita,(קנית) used for bought, can also be used for acquired, took, possessed. We chose bought, as this is the most literal and common understanding of this word. v.17: You will bring them, and plant them on the mountain of Your land inheritance, the site of Your dwelling; You, Adonai, made a Holy Place that Your hands prepared, Adonai! v.17: Land inheritance is the word nachala,(נחלה) which refers to the idea of a family inheritance. We chose to emphasize land inheritance in our translation, as this is the word most often used to designate a family inheritance with land holdings involved. Another word, yerushah is also used to express inheritance. In its nuance, it focuses,(ירושה) on more mobile and liquid possessions, but also can include land. v.18: Adonai will rule as King forever! v.18: One Hebrew word is used for the phrase will rule as King. It is,(מלך) and comes from the same root as the word melek,(ימלוך) yimlok which means king. So, Adonai will king is the sense of this verb. 3

4 v.19: As Pharaoh s horse and chariot, and his mounted men went into the sea, Adonai returned the sea water on top of them. Yet the people of Israel walked onto dry land, in the middle of the sea! v.20: Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron s sister, took a drum in her hand and went out, with all the women following her, dancing with drums. v.20: The word used here for drum is tof.(תוף) This has been explained through story and tradition as a tambourine, which is called in modern Hebrew tof Miryam (Miriam s drum), stemming from this verse. However, we will stick with the more literal interpretation of what may have been an ancient darbuka drum (similar to today s lightweight North African darbuka drum). The tof was a hand held drum like a tambourine is but without cymbals on it. v.21: So Miriam answered them: Sing to Adonai, because He has thoroughly redeemed! Horse and chariot, He lifted up into the sea! v.21: The word used for answered is veta an,(ותען) meaning to answer or to respond. It may refer to a cacophony type of singing (that is, some women sang a chorus, others only the refrain, in rhythm with each other); or perhaps this was the women s response of thanksgiving, as a complement to the song led by Miriam s brother, Moshe, in vv. 1 19, which may have been sung by all the men only, or by everybody, together. v.22: Then Moshe led Israel from the Sea of Reeds, and they went to the Midbar of Shur; so they walked for three days in the Midbar, and didn t find any water. v.22: The word midbar (מדבר) is a type of barren wilderness, in contrast to the Hebrew word negev,(נגב) which is a desert. Midbar is a wilderness where flora can live if enough water is present via seasonal rainfall or natural water sources (as a spring, such as is found at an oasis). v.23: So they came towards Marah, but weren t able to drink water at Marah, because it was bitter. That is why it (the place) is called Marah. 4

5 v.23: The place name marah,(מרה) means bitter or sour in Hebrew. It is aptly named, after the quality of the drinking water. v.24: And the people complained about Moshe, saying: What will we drink? v.25: So he cried out to Adonai, and Adonai taught him wood ; he threw in the water, and the water sweetened there. He made a statute for him, and a judgment, and there he tried them. v.25: This is one of the most fascinating verses in all of the Torah to translate and comprehend. There are a number of possibilities, but we chose the above translation for the following reasons: the text literally states that Adonai taught the subject of wood to Moshe, perhaps meaning that He taught him about the meaning of etz haim, Hebrew for the tree of life. Of course, a tree is made out of wood, and thus the link. This lesson is considered by our text to be a chok umishpat meaning a piece of the Written Torah. The language is,(חוק ומשפט) telling us that the lesson about wood was very important to that generation. The grammar is unclear as to what was thrown into the water (possibly the wood; possibly Moshe threw himself into the water). Lastly, it is also unclear as to who tried whom in the last phrase: either Adonai tried all Israel, or Moshe tried all Israel, or Adonai tried the leadership of Israel. These are possible understandings by the grammar and vocabulary. v.26: Then he said: If you truly hear and act upon the Voice of Adonai your God, and are upright in His eyes, carrying out and paying attention to His instructions; and you guard all of His ordinances, then every disease that I put upon Egypt I will not put upon you, because I am Adonai your Healer! v.26: The root shin-mem-ayin (שמע) is used ( truly hear and act upon ). This is the verbal base for the Torah s concept of shema, that is, being in a position to both hear and act upon God s instructions.,(שמוע תשמע) It is written in the emphatic form, sham oa tishma meaning that it has emphasis, as if an exclamation mark is in our text. We are further instructed to guard and pay attention to Torah, 5

6 using two other well known words respectively: sh-m-r (שמר) and he-azin (האזין) (he-a-zin). This verse, in its vocabulary, is very strongly emphasizing the need to pay attention and to do what is written. Adonai literally describes Himself as rof ayka,(רופאיך) your Healer. v.27: Then they came towards Eylim, and there were twelve water springs there, and seventy date palms. So they camped there, upon the waters. v.27: Some translations state there were palm trees. The word tamarim is used, which is specifically referring to date palm trees. 6

And I will harden Pharaoh s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will

And I will harden Pharaoh s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will Book: Verse pg. # Exodus 14 Page 69 They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. Pharaoh will think, The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.