1Hospodin promluvil k Mojžíšovi: 2Promluv k synům Izraele, ať se obrátí a utáboří se před Pí-chírótem, mezi Migdólem a mořem; utáboříte se před Baal-sefónem, naproti němu u moře. 3A farao si o synech Izraele řekne: Zmateně se v zemi potulují, zavřela se nad nimi pustina. 4Pak posilním faraonovo srdce a bude vás pronásledovat; oslavím se na faraonovi i na celém jeho vojsku a Egypťané poznají, že já jsem Hospodin. A tak to učinili. 5Když bylo egyptskému králi oznámeno, že lid utekl, srdce faraona a jeho otroků se obrátilo proti lidu a řekli: Co jsme to udělali, že jsme Izraele propustili z otroctví? 6Zapřáhl tedy svůj vůz a svůj lid vzal s sebou. 7Vzal šest set vybraných vozů a všechny další egyptské vozy s kapitánem na každém z nich. 8Hospodin posilnil srdce faraona, egyptského krále, takže syny Izraele pronásledoval. Synové Izraele vycházeli se vztyčenou hlavou 9a Egypťané je pronásledovali a dostihli je tábořící u moře — všechny koně a vozy faraonovy, jeho jezdci a jeho vojsko — u Pí-chírótu před Baal-sefónem. 10Když se farao přiblížil, synové Izraele pozdvihli oči, a hle, Egypťané táhli za nimi. Synové Izraele dostali veliký strach a úpěnlivě volali k Hospodinu. 11Říkali Mojžíšovi: Což nebyly v Egyptě hroby, žes nás vzal zemřít do pustiny? Cos nám to udělal, žes nás vyvedl z Egypta? 12Zdali to není to, co jsme ti říkali v Egyptě: Nech nás, ať otročíme Egypťanům, protože je pro nás lepší otročit Egypťanům, nežli zemřít v pustině. 13Mojžíš však lidu řekl: Nebojte se, stůjte a hleďte na Hospodinovu záchranu, kterou vám dnes způsobí, protože Egypťany, které vidíte dnes, již nikdy více neuvidíte. 14Hospodin bude bojovat za vás a vy budete mlčet. 15Hospodin řekl Mojžíšovi: Proč ke mně úpěnlivě voláš? Řekni synům Izraele, ať vyrazí. 16A ty zvedni svou hůl, vztáhni ruku nad moře a rozděl je, aby synové Izraele prošli prostředkem moře po suchu. 17A já, hle, posilním srdce Egypťanů, že půjdou za nimi, a oslavím se na faraonovi a na celém jeho vojsku, na jeho vozech i na jeho jezdcích. 18A Egypťané poznají, že já jsem Hospodin, až se oslavím na faraonovi, na jeho vozech a na jeho jezdcích. 19Tu se anděl Boží, který šel před izraelským táborem, odtrhl a šel za nimi, a oblakový sloup se z jejich čela odtrhl a postavil se za ně 20a vešel mezi egyptský tábor a izraelský tábor; jednomu byl oblakem a temnotou a druhému osvěcoval noc. Jeden se k druhému nepřiblížil po celou noc. 21Mojžíš pak vztáhl ruku nad moře a Hospodin silným východním větrem rozháněl moře po celou noc a obrátil moře v souš. Tak byly vody rozděleny. 22Synové Izraele šli prostředkem moře po suchu a vody jim byly hradbou napravo i nalevo. 23Egypťané je pronásledovali — všechny faraonovy koně, jeho vozy a jeho jezdci — a vešli za nimi doprostřed moře. 24V čase ranní hlídky Hospodin pohlédl na egyptský tábor z ohnivého a oblakového sloupu a přivedl egyptský tábor do zmatku. 25Vyvrátil kola u jejich vozů, takže je vedli s obtížemi. Nato si Egypťané řekli: Utečme před Izraelci, protože Hospodin bojuje s nimi proti Egypťanům! 26Tu Hospodin řekl Mojžíšovi: Vztáhni ruku nad moře, ať se vody vrátí na Egypťany, na jejich vozy a na jejich jezdce. 27Mojžíš vztáhl ruku nad moře a moře se před rozbřeskem navrátilo do svého normálního stavu. Egypťané utíkali jemu vstříc. Tak Hospodin uvrhl Egypťany doprostřed moře. 28Vody se navrátily a přikryly vozy a jezdce, všechny z faraonova vojska, kteří vešli za Izraelci do moře. Nezůstal z nich ani jediný. 29Ale synové Izraele šli po suchu uprostřed moře a vody jim byly hradbou napravo i nalevo. 30Onoho dne Hospodin zachránil Izraele z moci Egypťanů. Izrael viděl Egypťany mrtvé na břehu moře. 31Tak Izrael uviděl velikou moc, kterou Hospodin prokázal na Egypťanech. Lid se bál Hospodina a uvěřil Hospodinu a jeho otroku Mojžíšovi.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 2 GOD INSTRUCTS THE ISRAELITES AS TO THEIR JOURNEY. (Exo. 14:1-31)
Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp--The Israelites had now completed their three days' journey, and at Etham the decisive step would have to be taken whether they would celebrate their intended feast and return, or march onwards by the head of the Red Sea into the desert, with a view to a final departure. They were already on the borders of the desert, and a short march would have placed them beyond the reach of pursuit, as the chariots of Egypt could have made little progress over dry and yielding sand. But at Etham, instead of pursuing their journey eastward with the sea on their right, they were suddenly commanded to diverge to the south, keeping the gulf on their left; a route which not only detained them lingering on the confines of Egypt, but, in adopting it, they actually turned their backs on the land of which they had set out to obtain the possession. A movement so unexpected, and of which the ultimate design was carefully concealed, could not but excite the astonishment of all, even of Moses himself, although, from his implicit faith in the wisdom and power of his heavenly Guide, he obeyed. The object was to entice Pharaoh to pursue, in order that the moral effect, which the judgments on Egypt had produced in releasing God's people from bondage, might be still further extended over the nations by the awful events transacted at the Red Sea.
Pi-hahiroth--the mouth of the defile, or pass--a description well suited to that of Bedea, which extended from the Nile and opens on the shore of the Red Sea.
Migdol--a fortress or citadel.
Baal-zephon--some marked site on the opposite or eastern coast.
3 the wilderness hath shut them in--Pharaoh, who would eagerly watch their movements, was now satisfied that they were meditating flight, and he naturally thought from the error into which they appeared to have fallen by entering that defile, he could intercept them. He believed them now entirely in his power, the mountain chain being on one side, the sea on the other, so that, if he pursued them in the rear, escape seemed impossible.
5 the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, &c.--Alas, how soon the obduracy of this reprobate king reappears! He had been convinced, but not converted--overawed, but not sanctified by the appalling judgments of heaven. He bitterly repented of what he now thought a hasty concession. Pride and revenge, the honor of his kingdom, and the interests of his subjects, all prompted him to recall his permission to reclaim those runaway slaves and force them to their wonted labor. Strange that he should yet allow such considerations to obliterate or outweigh all his painful experience of the danger of oppressing that people. But those whom the Lord has doomed to destruction are first infatuated by sin.
6 he made ready his chariot--His preparations for an immediate and hot pursuit are here described: A difference is made between "the chosen chariots" and "the chariots of Egypt." The first evidently composed the king's guard, amounting to six hundred, and they are called "chosen," literally, "third men"; three men being allotted to each chariot, the charioteer and two warriors. As to "the chariots of Egypt," the common cars contained only two persons, one for driving and the other for fighting; sometimes only one person was in the chariot, the driver lashed the reins round his body and fought; infantry being totally unsuitable for a rapid pursuit, and the Egyptians having had no cavalry, the word "riders" is in the grammatical connection applied to war chariots employed, and these were of light construction, open behind, and hung on small wheels.
10 when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes--The great consternation of the Israelites is somewhat astonishing, considering their vast superiority in numbers, but their deep dismay and absolute despair at the sight of this armed host receives a satisfactory explanation from the fact that the civilized state of Egyptian society required the absence of all arms, except when they were on service. If the Israelites were entirely unarmed at their departure, they could not think of making any resistance [WILKINSON and HENGSTENBERG].
13 Moses said, . . . Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord--Never, perhaps, was the fortitude of a man so severely tried as that of the Hebrew leader in this crisis, exposed as he was to various and inevitable dangers, the most formidable of which was the vengeance of a seditious and desperate multitude; but his meek, unruffled, magnanimous composure presents one of the sublimest examples of moral courage to be found in history. And whence did his courage arise? He saw the miraculous cloud still accompanying them, and his confidence arose solely from the hope of a divine interposition, although, perhaps, he might have looked for the expected deliverance in every quarter, rather than in the direction of the sea.
15 the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? &c.--When in answer to his prayers, he received the divine command to go forward, he no longer doubted by what kind of miracle the salvation of his mighty charge was to be effected.
19 the angel of God--that is, the pillar of cloud [see on
2.Mo 13:21]. The slow and silent movement of that majestic column through the air, and occupying a position behind them must have excited the astonishment of the Israelites (
Jes 58:8). It was an effectual barrier between them and their pursuers, not only protecting them, but concealing their movements. Thus, the same cloud produced light (a symbol of favor) to the people of God, and darkness (a symbol of wrath) to their enemies (compare
2.Kor 2:16).
21 Moses stretched out his hand, &c.--The waving of the rod was of great importance on this occasion to give public attestation in the presence of the assembled Israelites, both to the character of Moses and the divine mission with which he was charged.
the Lord caused . . . a strong east wind all that night--Suppose a mere ebb tide caused by the wind, raising the water to a great height on one side, still as there was not only "dry land," but, according to the tenor of the sacred narrative, a wall on the right hand and on the left [
2.Mo 14:22], it would be impossible on the hypothesis of such a natural cause to rear the wall on the other. The idea of divine interposition, therefore, is imperative; and, assuming the passage to have been made at Mount Attakah, or at the mouth of Wady Tawarik, an east wind would cut the sea in that line. The Hebrew word kedem, however, rendered in our translation, "east," means, in its primary signification, previous; so that this verse might, perhaps, be rendered, "the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong previous wind all that night"; a rendering which would remove the difficulty of supposing the host of Israel marched over on the sand, in the teeth of a rushing column of wind, strong enough to heap up the waters as a wall on each side of a dry path, and give the intelligible narrative of divine interference.
22 the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea, &c.--It is highly probable that Moses, along with Aaron, first planted his footsteps on the untrodden sand, encouraging the people to follow him without fear of the treacherous walls; and when we take into account the multitudes that followed him, the immense number who through infancy and old age were incapable of hastening their movements, together with all the appurtenances of the camp, the strong and steadfast character of the leaders' faith was strikingly manifested (
Jos 2:10;
Jos 4:23;
Ps 66:6;
Ps 74:13;
Ps 106:9;
Ps 136:13;
Jes 63:11-
Jes 63:13;
1.Kor 10:1;
Heb 11:29).
23 the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea--From the darkness caused by the intercepting cloud, it is probable that they were not aware on what ground they were driving: they heard the sound of the fugitives before them, and they pushed on with the fury of the avengers of blood, without dreaming that they were on the bared bed of the sea.
24 Lord looked . . . through . . . the cloud, and troubled them--We suppose the fact to have been that the side of the pillar of cloud towards the Egyptians was suddenly, and for a few moments, illuminated with a blaze of light, which, coming as it were in a refulgent flash upon the dense darkness which had preceded, so frightened the horses of the pursuers that they rushed confusedly together and became unmanageable. "Let us flee," was the cry that resounded through the broken and trembling ranks, but it was too late; all attempts at flight were vain [BUSH].
27 Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, &c.--What circumstances could more clearly demonstrate the miraculous character of this transaction than that at the waving of Moses' rod, the dividing waters left the channel dry, and on his making the same motion on the opposite side, they returned, commingling with instantaneous fury? Is such the character of any ebb tide?
28 there remained not so much as one of them--It is surprising that, with such a declaration, some intelligent writers can maintain there is no evidence of the destruction of Pharaoh himself (
Ps 106:11).
30 Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea-shore, &c.--The tide threw them up and left multitudes of corpses on the beach; a result that brought greater infamy on the Egyptians, but that tended, on the other hand, to enhance the triumph of the Israelites, and doubtless enriched them with arms, which they had not before. The locality of this famous passage has not yet been, and probably never will be, satisfactorily fixed. Some place it in the immediate neighborhood of Suez; where, they say, the part of the sea is most likely to be affected by "a strong east wind" [
2.Mo 14:21]; where the road from the defile of Migdol (now Muktala) leads directly to this point; and where the sea, not above two miles broad, could be crossed in a short time. The vast majority, however, who have examined the spot, reject this opinion, and fix the passage, as does local tradition, about ten or twelve miles further down the shore at Wady Tawarik. "The time of the miracle was the whole night, at the season of the year, too, when the night would be about its average length. The sea at that point extends from six and a half to eight miles in breadth. There was thus ample time for the passage of the Israelites from any part of the valley, especially considering their excitement and animation by the gracious and wonderful interposition of Providence in their behalf" [WILSON].