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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 15:3 and Mekhilta d'Rabbi Ishmael 15:3

Hebrew Bible · Rabbinic

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Summary

Exodus 15 calls God a man of war. Rabbinic tradition in the Mekhilta draws on this to explain that God looked like a young warrior at the sea but an old man full of mercy at Sinai, insisting these are one God and not two powers in heaven.

Passages

Exodus 15:3

Hebrew Bible
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.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Exodus

Mekhilta d'Rabbi Ishmael 15:3

Rabbinic · Halakhic Midrash
It is, therefore, written "The L rd is a man of war; the L rd is His name. It is with His name that He wars, and not with any of these appurtenances. Why, then, need each of them be singled out? For if Israel requires it, He makes war for them. And woe to the nations what they hear with their ears, that He who spoke and brought the world into being is destined to make war with them! "the L rd is a man of war': What is the intent of this? Because He revealed Himself at the sea as a hero waging war — "The L rd is a man of war" — and He revealed Himself at Sinai as an elder full of mercy, viz. (Exodus 24:10) "And they saw the G d of Israel … and under His feet as the work of a sapphire brick and as the appearance of the heavens in brightness" [[ see Rashi], and (Daniel 7:9) "I watched as thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days sat … (10) A stream of fire was flowing forth from before Him, etc." — So as not to give a pretext to the peoples of the world to say that there are two (i.e., numerous) deities,
135 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Mekhilta d'Rabbi Ishmael

References

... I am YHWH your God: Why is this said? Because When He appeared to them at the sea, He appeared to them as a mighty hero making war. As it is said, YHWH is a man of war. He appeared at Sinai like an old man, full of mercy, as it is said: And they saw the God of Israel ... I beheld ‘til thrones were set down (Daniel 7:9) ... Scripture would not give an opportunity to the nations of the world to say ‘there are two powers’ but declares I am YHWH your God. (Exodus 20:2). ...
Alan F. Segal, Two Powers in Heaven: Early Rabbinic Reports About Christianity and Gnosticism, SJLA (Leiden: Brill, 1977), 33.

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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