Texts in Conversation
Exodus describes the waters of the sea standing or stationed like a heap when the enemy was defeated, language also used in Psalm 78 which alludes the same image in celebration. Both use unusual language that personifies the waters as if they were an army holding their position under command.
Share:
Exodus 15:8
Hebrew Bible
6 Your right hand, O Lord, was majestic in power; your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy. 7 In the abundance of your majesty you have overthrown those who rise up against you. You sent forth your wrath; it consumed them like stubble. 8 By the blast of your nostrils the waters were piled up, the flowing water stood upright like a heap, and the deep waters were solidified in the heart of the sea. 9 The enemy said, ‘I will chase, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my desire will be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, my hand will destroy them.’ 10 But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Psalm 78:13
Hebrew Bible
11 They forgot what he had done, the amazing things he had shown them. 12 He did amazing things in the sight of their ancestors, in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan. 13 He divided the sea and led them across it; he made the water stand in a heap. 14 He led them with a cloud by day and with the light of a fire all night long. 15 He broke open rocks in the wilderness and gave them enough water to fill the depths of the sea.
Date: 6th-3rd Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Search:
Notes and References
"... As for why Exodus 15:8 uses 'stand, be stationed,' the most obvious answer is for alliteration:'streams stood like a heap.' The diction may also personify the waters, which stand at attention, awaiting Yahweh's command. There is also a possible pun with 'were swollen,' although the form is attested only in Rabbinic Hebrew (Jerusalem Sota 20a). 'heap' describes the stationary waters of both the Suph Sea (15:8; Psalm 78:13) and the Jordan River (Joshua 3:13, 16). In Psalm 33:7, 'heap' seems also to describe the heavenly waters, but here we should probably read 'waterskin'. Otherwise, it appears only in Isaiah 17:11, where, if the text is not corrupt, it connotes a pile of harvested produce. 'heap' is probably related to 'waterskin,' Arabic 'hill' and 'swell' and perhaps Akkadian-Ethiopic 'praise'. For the comparison between a heap and the Sea, compare 'mound, wave.' ..."
Propp, William Henry
Exodus 1-18: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary
(p. 522) Doubleday, 1999
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.