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Exodus

About this book

The Song at the Sea

Chapter 15

1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord. They said, “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously, the horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea.⁠ 2 The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.⁠ 3 The Lord is a man of war10—⁠ the Lord is his name.⁠ 4 The chariots of Pharaoh and his army he has thrown into the sea,⁠ and his chosen officers were drowned in the Red Sea.⁠ 5 The depths have covered them; they went down to the bottom like a stone.⁠ 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. 11 Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?⁠ Who is like you—majestic in holiness, fearful in praises, working wonders? 12 You stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them. 13 By your loyal love you will lead the people whom you have redeemed; you will guide them by your strength to your holy dwelling place. 14 The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will seize the inhabitants of Philistia. 15 Then the chiefs of Edom will be terrified, trembling will seize the leaders of Moab, and the inhabitants of Canaan will shake. 16 Fear and dread will fall on them; by the greatness of your arm they will be as still as stone until your people pass by, O Lord, until the people whom you have bought pass by. 17 You will bring them in and plant them in the mountain of your inheritance,⁠ in the place you made for your residence, O Lord, the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established.⁠ 18 The Lord will reign forever and ever! 19 For the horses of Pharaoh came with his chariots and his footmen into the sea, and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea on them, but the Israelites walked on dry land in the middle of the sea.” 20 Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a hand drum in her hand, and all the women went out after her with hand drums and with dances.⁠ 21 Miriam sang in response to them, “Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea.”⁠

Food, Water, and Conflict in the Wilderness

22 Then Moses led Israel to journey away from the Red Sea. They went out to the wilderness of Shur,⁠ walked for three days into the wilderness, and found no water.⁠ 23 Then they came to Marah, but they were not able to drink the waters of Marah, because they were bitter. (That is why its name was Marah.) 24 So the people murmured against Moses, saying, “What can we drink?”⁠ 25 He cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When Moses threw it into the water, the water became safe to drink.⁠ There the Lord made for them a binding ordinance, and there he tested them. 26 He said, “If you will diligently obey the Lord your God, and do what is right in his sight, and pay attention to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, then all the diseases that I brought on the Egyptians I will not bring on you, for I, the Lord, am your healer.”⁠ 27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there by the water.

Texts in conversation

Compare Exodus 15:26 and Zechariah 6:15

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Exodus 15 connects obedience to God’s commands with protection from illness, tying health to covenant faithfulness. Zechariah reuses this language of obedience but applies it to hopes for a rebuilt temple and renewed kingship.

Passages

Exodus 15:26

Hebrew Bible
24 So the people murmured against Moses, saying, “What can we drink?” 25 He cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When Moses threw it into the water, the water became safe to drink. There the Lord made for them a binding ordinance, and there he tested them. 26 He said, “If you will diligently obey the Lord your God, and do what is right in his sight, and pay attention to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, then all the diseases that I brought on the Egyptians I will not bring on you, for I, the Lord, am your healer.” 27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there by the water.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Exodus

Zechariah 6:15

Hebrew Bible
13 Indeed, he will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed in splendor, sitting as king on his throne. Moreover, there will be a priest with him on his throne and they will see eye to eye on everything. 14 The crown will then be turned over to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen son of Zephaniah as a memorial in the temple of the Lord. 15 Then those who are far away will come and build the temple of the Lord so that you may know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me to you. This will all come to pass if you completely obey the voice of the Lord your God.”’”
500–401 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Zechariah

References

"... In this summary statement one hears the Deuteronomic charge, at the introduction of the blessings/curses section of the end of the Book of Deuteronomy (28:1), to the Israelites to obey Yahweh and his commandments. Various other pentateuchal passages (e.g., Exodus 15:26; Deuteronomy 11:13; Leviticus 26:14) contain similar statements if not identical phraseology. The use in Zechariah of this language, however, shifts the covenant orientation of the pentateuchal examples. In the Pentateuch the notion of listening to or obeying God or his voice is the stated condition upon which the prosperity and well-being of the Israelites depends. The clauses are conditional: “if you obey ...” In Zechariah, the future situation of a Yahwistic temple in association with a Davidic dynasty the anticipated result of obedience to Yahweh. That is, the Davidic covenant is to be renewed, with the temple signifying dynastic legitimacy, and then, a step removed in comparison with pentateuchal portrayal of the Mosaic covenant, prosperity presumably will prevail in the land ..."
Carol L. Meyers and Eric M. Meyers, Haggai, Zechariah 1-8: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1987), 365–366.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Exodus 15:26 and Zechariah 6:15

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