1Y HABLÓ Jehová a Moisés, diciendo: 2Habla a los hijos de Israel, que den la vuelta, y asienten su campo delante de Pihahirot, entre Magdal y la mar hacia Baalzefón: delante de él asentaréis el campo junto a la mar. 3Porque Faraón dirá de los hijos de Israel: Encerrados están en la tierra, el desierto los ha encerrado. 4Y yo endureceré el corazón de Faraón para que los siga, y seré glorificado en Faraón y en todo su ejército, y sabrán los Egipcios, que yo soy Jehová. Y ellos lo hicieron así. 5Y fué dado aviso al rey de Egipto como el pueblo se huía: y el corazón de Faraón y de sus siervos se volvió contra el pueblo, y dijeron: ¿Qué hemos hecho, que hemos dejado ir a Israel, que no nos sirva? 6Y unció su carro, y tomó consigo su pueblo; 7Y tomó seiscientos carros escogidos, y todos los carros de Egipto, y los capitanes sobre todos ellos. 8Y endureció Jehová el corazón de Faraón rey de Egipto, y siguió a los hijos de Israel; y los hijos de Israel habían ya salido con gran poder. 9Y siguiéndolos los Egipcios, tomáronlos asentado el campo junto a la mar junto a Fihahirot delante de Baalzefón, toda la caballería y carros de Faraón, su gente de a caballo y todo su ejército. 10Y como Faraón llegó, los hijos de Israel alzaron sus ojos, y he aquí los Egipcios que venían tras ellos, y temieron en gran manera, y clamaron los hijos de Israel a Jehová: 11Y dijeron a Moisés: ¿No había sepulcros en Egipto, que nos has sacado para que muramos en el desierto? ¿Por qué lo has hecho así con nosotros, que nos has sacado de Egipto. 12¿No es esto lo que te hablábamos en Egipto, diciendo: Déjanos servir a los Egipcios? Que mejor nos fuera servir a los Egipcios, que morir nosotros en el desierto. 13Y Moisés dijo al pueblo: No tengáis miedo; estádos quedos, y ved la salud de Jehová, que él hará hoy con vosotros; porque los Egipcios, que hoy habéis visto, nunca más para siempre los veréis. 14Jehová peleará por vosotros, y vosotros callaréis. 15Entónces Jehová dijo a Moisés: ¿Por qué me das voces? Dí a los hijos de Israel que marchen. 16Y tú alza tu vara, y extiende tu mano sobre la mar, y pártela, y entren los hijos de Israel por medio de la mar en seco. 17Y yo, he aquí, yo endurezco el corazón de los Egipcios, para que los sigan; y yo me glorificaré en Faraón, y en todo su ejército, y en sus carros, y en su caballería: 18Y sabrán los Egipcios, que yo soy Jehová, cuando me glorificaré en Faraón, en sus carros y en su gente de a caballo. 19Y el ángel de Dios, que iba delante del campo de Israel, se quitó, e iba en pos de ellos: y asimismo la columna de nube, que iba delante de ellos, se quitó, y se puso a sus espaldas: 20E iba entre el campo de los Egipcios, y el campo de Israel, y había nube y tinieblas, y alumbraba la noche, y en toda aquella noche nunca llegaron los unos a los otros. 21Y extendió Moisés su mano sobre la mar, e hizo Jehová, que la mar se retirase por un gran viento oriental toda aquella noche, y tornó la mar, en seco, y las aguas fueron partidas. 22Entónces los hijos de Israel entraron por medio de la mar en seco; teniendo las aguas como un muro a su diestra y a su siniestra. 23Y siguiéndolos los Egipcios, entraron tras ellos hasta el medio de la mar, toda la caballería de Faraón, sus carros, y su gente de a caballo. 24Y aconteció a la vela de la mañana, que Jehová miró al campo de los Egipcios en la columna de fuego y nube, y alborotó el campo de los Egipcios; 25Y quitóles las ruedas de sus carros, y trastornólos gravemente. Entónces los Egipcios dijeron: Huyamos de delante de Israel; porque Jehová pelea por ellos contra los Egipcios. 26Y Jehová dijo a Moisés: Extiende tu mano sobre la mar, para que las aguas se vuelvan sobre los Egipcios, sobre sus carros, y sobre su caballería. 27Y Moisés extendió su mano sobre la mar, y la mar se volvió en su fuerza cuando amanecía, y los Egipcios iban hacia ella: y Jehová derribó a los Egipcios en medio de la mar. 28Y volvieron las aguas, y cubrieron los carros y la caballería; y todo el ejército de Faraón, que había entrado tras ellos en la mar: no quedó de ellos ni uno. 29Y los hijos de Israel fueron por medio de la mar en seco, teniendo las aguas por muro a su diestra y a su siniestra. 30Así salvó Jehová aquel día a Israel de mano de los Egipcios; e Israel vió a los Egipcios muertos a la orilla de la mar. 31Y vió Israel aquel grande hecho que Jehová hizo contra los Egipcios; y el pueblo temió, a Jehová, y creyeron a Jehová, y a Moisés su siervo.
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
Exod 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 (
Isa 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
2Cor 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 [
Exod 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 (
Josh 2:10;
Josh 4:23;
Ps 66:6;
Ps 74:13;
Ps 106:9;
Ps 136:13;
Isa 63:11-
Isa 63:13;
1Cor 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" [
Exod 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].