Exodus 15:21

Hebrew Bible

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. 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.)

Micah 7:19

Hebrew Bible

17 They will lick the dust like a snake, like serpents crawling on the ground. They will come trembling from their strongholds to the Lord our God; they will be terrified of you. 18 Who is a God like you? Who forgives sin and pardons the rebellion of those who remain among his people? Who does not stay angry forever, but delights in showing loyal love? 19 Who will once again have mercy on us? Who will conquer our evil deeds? Who will hurl all our sins into the depths of the sea? 20 You will be loyal to Jacob and extend your loyal love to Abraham, which you promised on oath to our ancestors in ancient times.

 Notes and References

"... Exodus 15:21: In Mesopotamia and Mari, defendants in difficult legal cases might be thrown into a river. Survivors were acquitted and the drowned posthumously convicted. In the Northwest Semitic region proper, evidence for the waters' judicial role might be found in the Ugaritic deity 'Judge River'. Combining Marqah and McCarter, one could then argue that the Suph Sea crossing was a symbolic ordeal, which Israel passed and Egypt failed. I would have reservations about such an approach, however. McCarter considers it immaterial whether the river ordeal was a living Israelite institution. But even if the image is a literary fossil, we must posit a Northwest Semitic river ordeal in some period, and, for the moment, we lack any relevant evidence beyond the divine title 'Judge River,' which could also be interpreted 'Chieftain River.' Some of McCarter's biblical examples use legal terminology in a highly suggestive manner. But until we find evidence of the ordeal from Israel or Canaan, the hypothesis remains speculative. (Should future discoveries corroborate McCarier's argument, we should be alert to puns between 'overflow' and 'judge') A somewhat related approach views the passage through the Sea, not as an ordeal, but as a cleansing. This is more believable. Throughout the Bible, water purifies physically and spiritually (e.g., Genesis 6:11-12; Exodus 29:4; 2 Kings 5; Micah 7:19; Psalm 26:6) ..."

Propp, William Henry Exodus 1-18: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (p. 561) Doubleday, 1999

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