Exodus15

Moses and the children of Israel sing a triumphant song to the LORD, praising Him for His glorious victory over Pharaoh and his army at the Red Sea, where the Egyptians were drowned. Following this, they journey into the wilderness, encountering bitter waters at Marah, which the LORD miraculously makes sweet. The chapter concludes with God's promise of health for obedience and Israel's arrival at Elim, a place of abundant water.

The Song of Moses: Praise for Deliverance

Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and said, “I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.

The LORD is my strength and song. He has become my salvation [yeshu`ah]. This 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.

He has cast Pharaoh’s chariots and his army into the sea. His chosen captains are sunk in the Sea of Suf.

The deeps cover them. They went down into the depths like a stone.

Your right hand, LORD, is glorious in power. Your right hand, LORD, dashes the enemy in pieces.

In the greatness of your excellency, you overthrow those who rise up against you. You send out your wrath. It consumes them as stubble.

With the blast of your nostrils, the waters were piled up. The floods stood upright as a heap. The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea.

The enemy said, ‘I will pursue. I will overtake. I will divide the plunder. My desire shall be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.’

You blew with your wind. The sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.

Who is like you, LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?

You stretched out your right hand. The earth swallowed them.

Anticipation of the Conquest

“You, in your loving kindness, have led the people that you have redeemed. You have guided them in your strength to your holy habitation.

The peoples have heard. They tremble. Pangs have taken hold on the inhabitants of Philistia.

Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed. Trembling takes hold of the mighty men of Moab. All the inhabitants of Canaan are melted away.

Terror and dread falls on them. By the greatness of your arm they are as still as a stone— until your people pass over, LORD, until the people pass over who you have purchased.

You shall bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of your inheritance, the place, LORD, which you have made for yourself to dwell in; the sanctuary, Lord, which your hands have established.

The LORD shall reign forever and ever.”

For the horses of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought back the waters of the sea on them; but the children of Israel walked on dry land in the midst of the sea.

Miriam and the Women Celebrate

Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dances.

Miriam answered them, “Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”

The Trial at Marah

Moses led Israel onward from the Sea of Suf, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.

When they came to Marah, they couldn’t drink from the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore its name was called Marah.

The people murmured against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”

Then he cried to the LORD. The LORD showed him a tree, and he threw it into the waters, and the waters were made sweet. There he made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there he tested them;

and he said, “If you will diligently listen to the LORD your God’s voice, and will do that which is right in his eyes, and will pay attention to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you, which I have put on the Egyptians; for I am the LORD who heals you.”

Provision at Elim

They came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water, and seventy palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.

Study Notes for Exodus 15

Verse 1

The 'Song of the Sea' is one of the oldest attested poetic traditions in the Bible, celebrating God’s triumph as a divine warrior. It functions as a liturgical response to the miraculous salvation at the Red Sea.

Verse 2

This verse establishes the foundational relationship: God is the source of strength and salvation. The phrase 'I will prepare him an habitation' (Hebrew nāwah) reflects the intention to worship and build a sanctuary (later realized in the Tabernacle).

Verse 3

Describing the LORD as a 'man of war' (’ish milchamah) emphasizes His active involvement in history and His role as the Divine Warrior fighting for Israel against cosmic and earthly foes.

Verse 8

The 'blast of thy nostrils' uses poetic personification to describe God’s powerful breath or wind, illustrating that the separation of the waters was an instantaneous and effortless act of divine power.

Verse 11

This rhetorical question (“Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods?”) serves as a challenge and declaration, asserting Yahweh's incomparable power, holiness, and uniqueness over all other supposed deities.

Verse 13

The song pivots here from celebrating past deliverance to anticipating future provision. God's ultimate goal is to guide the redeemed people to His 'holy habitation,' anticipating the Promised Land and Mount Zion.

Verse 14

Verses 14-16 function as a prophetic oracle, describing the terror the news of the Red Sea miracle will strike into the hearts of surrounding hostile nations, including the Philistines (Palestina), Edom, and Moab.

Verse 17

The 'mountain of thine inheritance' and 'Sanctuary' refer ultimately to Mount Zion in Jerusalem. This shows that the purpose of the Exodus was not merely freedom, but the establishment of a permanent place where God could dwell among His people.

Verse 20

Miriam is identified as a 'prophetess,' indicating she held a position of spiritual leadership alongside her brothers. Her leading the women in musical celebration is a key act of corporate worship.

Verse 22

This verse marks the transition from celebration back to historical narrative. The immediate lack of water introduces the crucial theme of testing and provision in the wilderness, contrasting sharply with the earlier praise.

Verse 23

The name *Marah* means 'bitter.' This location serves as the first major test of Israel's faith after the great deliverance, demonstrating their instant shift from sung praise to impatience and complaint.

Verse 25

After providing a supernatural solution (the tree), God immediately establishes a 'statute and an ordinance,' demonstrating that divine provision and covenant obedience are inseparable in the wilderness experience.

Verse 26

This verse contains the first declaration of a covenant name for God in the wilderness: *Yahweh Rophekha* ('I am the LORD that healeth thee'). This healing refers to both physical health and spiritual/national restoration contingent upon obedience.

Verse 27

Elim serves as a temporary oasis, providing twelve wells (perhaps symbolizing the twelve tribes) and seventy palm trees. This provision contrasts sharply with the trial at Marah, showing God's balance of testing and sustaining grace.

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Exodus15

The Song of Moses: Praise for Deliverance

Anticipation of the Conquest

Miriam and the Women Celebrate

The Trial at Marah

Provision at Elim

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