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LXX Exodus

Septuagint

About this book
Chapter 15

1 Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song to God, and spoke, saying, Let us sing to the Lord, for he is very greatly glorified: horse and rider he has thrown into the sea. 2 He was to me a helper and protector for salvation: this is my God and I will glorify him; my father's God, and I will exalt him. 3 The Lord crushing wars, the Lord is his name.⁠ 4 He has cast the chariots of Pharaoh and his host into the sea, the chosen mounted captains: they were swallowed up in the Red Sea. 5 He covered them with the sea: they sank to the depth like a stone. 6 Your right hand, Lord, has been glorified in strength; your right hand, Lord, has broken the enemies. 7 And in the abundance of your glory you have broken the adversaries to pieces: you sent forth your fierce anger, it devoured them as stubble. 8 And by the breath of your anger the water parted; the waters were congealed as a wall, the waves were congealed in the midst of the sea. 9 The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the captured goods; I will satisfy my soul, I will destroy with my sword, my hand shall have dominion. 10 You sent forth your wind, the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty water. 11 Who is like you among the gods, Lord? who is like you? glorified in holiness, marvelous in glories, doing wonders. 12 You stretched forth your right hand, the earth swallowed them up. 13 You have guided in your righteousness this your people whom you have redeemed, by your strength you have called them into your holy resting-place. 14 The nations heard and were angry, pangs have seized on the dwellers among the Philistines. 15 Then the princes of Edom, and the chiefs of the Moabites hastened; trembling took hold upon them, all the inhabitants of Canaan melted away. 16 Let trembling and fear fall upon them; by the greatness of your arm, let them become as stone; till your people pass over, Lord, till this your people pass over, whom you have purchased. 17 Bring them in and plant them in the mountain of your inheritance, in your prepared habitation, which you, Lord, have prepared; the sanctuary, Lord, which your hands have made ready. 18 The Lord reigns for ever and ever and ever. 19 For the horse of Pharaoh went in with the chariots and horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought upon them the water of the sea, but the children of Israel walked through dry land in the midst of the sea. 20 And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand, and there went forth all the women after her with timbrels and dances. 21 And Miriam led them, saying, Let us sing to the Lord, for he has been very greatly glorified: the horse and rider he has cast into the sea. 22 So Moses brought up the children of Israel from the Red Sea, and brought them into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water to drink. 23 and they came to Marah, and could not drink of Marah, for it was bitter; therefore the name of that place was called Bitterness. 24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? 25 And Moses cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree, and he cast it into the water, and the water was sweetened: there he established for him ordinances and judgments, and there he tested him, 26 and said, If you will indeed hear the voice of the Lord your God, and do things pleasing before him, and will listen to his commands, and keep all his ordinances, no disease which I have brought upon the Egyptians I will bring upon you, for I am the Lord your God that heals you. 27 And they came to Elim, and there were there twelve fountains of water, and seventy stems of palm-trees;⁠ and they encamped there by the waters.

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Compare LXX Exodus 15:27 and Exagoge 254

Septuagint · Pseudepigrapha, Wisdom and Poetry

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Summary

In the Greek Septuagint translation of Exodus 15, Elim is described with an abundance of palm trees. The Greek word for "palm tree" can also refer to the "phoenix", and the Exagoge uses this to incorporate the Phoenix myth into its retelling of Exodus.

Passages

LXX Exodus 15:27

Septuagint
24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? 25 And Moses cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree, and he cast it into the water, and the water was sweetened: there he established for him ordinances and judgments, and there he tested him, 26 and said, If you will indeed hear the voice of the Lord your God, and do things pleasing before him, and will listen to his commands, and keep all his ordinances, no disease which I have brought upon the Egyptians I will bring upon you, for I am the Lord your God that heals you. 27 And they came to Elim, and there were there twelve fountains of water, and seventy stems of palm-trees; and they encamped there by the waters.
300–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Exodus

Exagoge 254

Pseudepigrapha, Wisdom and Poetry · Ezekiel the Tragedian
243 Look, my lord Moses, at the place we have found, 244 cooled by gentle breezes from that shady grove. 245 As you can see for yourself, the stream is there, 246 and from there at night the pillar of fire gave 247 its welcome guiding light. There is a meadow 248 lying in cool shade beside the stream, 249 and a deep valley pours out in rich abundance 250 twelve sparkling springs from a single rock. 251 There, tall and strong and heavy with fruit, 252 stand seventy palm trees, and plentiful grass, 253 well watered, provides good pasture for our flocks. 254 We saw another creature, stranger 255 and more marvelous than anyone has ever seen. 256 It was nearly twice the size of the largest eagle. 257 Its outspread wings shone with many colors. 258 Its breast was a bright purple, 259 its legs were crimson, and on its graceful neck 260 golden feathers curved beautifully. 261 Its head had a crest like a rooster's. 262 Its yellow eye shone brightly all around, 263 and its pupil was like a red seed. 264 Its voice was the most beautiful of all. 265 It seemed to be the king of all birds, 266 as was soon shown, for birds of every kind 267 hurried fearfully behind it, 268 while it, like a proud bull leading its herd, 269 strode out in front with a quick, proud step.
200–101 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Exagoge

References

“... The dream is fulfilled in the story of the Exodus, where Moses leads his people out of Egypt and Pharaoh is overthrown. The tragic climax comes with the destruction of the Egyptians at the sea. Then the drama concludes with a peaceful scene at Elim. Significantly, the story is not extended to Mt. Sinai, although the giving of the law would have provided a satisfactory dramatic finale. Instead, the concluding scene is marked by the second deviation from the biblical text, the description of the phoenix. The introduction of the phoenix into the story of the Exodus is most immediately prompted by the reference to the palm trees at Elim. Since the Greek word phoenix, which means both "phoenix" and "palm tree," is used in the Septuagint, it provides the obvious point of contact. However, the phoenix (bennu) had ancient symbolic significance in Egypt, where it was associated with the creator god and the renewal of life, but also with Osiris and with the renewal of life through death. In Ezekiel's drama it is coupled with the biblical imagery of the twelve springs of Elim, which suggest abundance and life. This scene is presented as the report of a scout. It is not yet present, but it suggests a promised land of renewed life and possibly of immortality. ...”
John J. Collins, Between Athens and Jerusalem: Jewish Identity in the Hellenistic Diaspora, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000), 228–229.
“... 243–69 This is yet another use by Ezekiel of the messenger speech. Context indicates that the messenger here is probably a scout sent to investigate the camping possibilities in the desert. Ezekiel elaborates the terse biblical statement that at Elim there were 12 springs and 70 palm trees (Exod. 15:27). Like Philo (Moses 1.188), Ezekiel makes Elim a wonderful oasis. [...] 254–69 The scout continues his report with the sighting of a strange bird. There can be no doubt that this bird is the fabulous phoenix. One of our sources for this passage explicitly makes the identification. More important, comparisons with accounts of the phoenix guarantee the identification. Why did Ezekiel incorporate into a play on the Exodus the appearance of the phoenix, an appearance that is attested neither in the Bible nor in postbiblical Jewish sources? In general, appearances of the phoenix, which were very rare, were taken to mark a moment or an event of great magnitude. In addition, the tale of the phoenix is one of regeneration and rebirth. On both these counts, Ezekiel may have introduced the phoenix to signify the great import of the redemption of the Jewish people, itself a story of (metaphorical) rebirth. ...”
Howard Jacobson, “Ezekiel, the Tragedian,” in Outside the Bible: Ancient Jewish Writings Related to Scripture, ed. Louis H. Feldman, James L. Kugel, and Lawrence H. Schiffman (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2013), 741–742.

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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