Exodus 14

Ex 14:1-31.

GOD

INSTRUCTS THE

ISRAELITES AS TO

THEIR

JOURNEY.

2. Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and

encamp--The Israelites had now completed their three days' journey,

and at Etham the decisive step would have to be taken whether they

would celebrate their intended feast and return, or march onwards by

the head of the Red Sea into the desert, with a view to a final

departure. They were already on the borders of the desert, and a short

march would have placed them beyond the reach of pursuit, as the

chariots of Egypt could have made little progress over dry and yielding

sand. But at Etham, instead of pursuing their journey eastward with the

sea on their right, they were suddenly commanded to diverge to the

south, keeping the gulf on their left; a route which not only detained

them lingering on the confines of Egypt, but, in adopting it, they

actually turned their backs on the land of which they had set out to

obtain the possession. A movement so unexpected, and of which the

ultimate design was carefully concealed, could not but excite the

astonishment of all, even of Moses himself, although, from his implicit

faith in the wisdom and power of his heavenly Guide, he obeyed. The

object was to entice Pharaoh to pursue, in order that the moral effect,

which the judgments on Egypt had produced in releasing God's people

from bondage, might be still further extended over the nations by the

awful events transacted at the Red Sea.

Pi-hahiroth--the mouth of the defile, or pass--a description

well suited to that of Bedea, which extended from the Nile and opens on

the shore of the Red Sea.

Migdol--a fortress or citadel.

Baal-zephon--some marked site on the opposite or eastern

coast.

3. the wilderness hath shut them in--Pharaoh, who would eagerly

watch their movements, was now satisfied that they were meditating

flight, and he naturally thought from the error into which they

appeared to have fallen by entering that defile, he could intercept

them. He believed them now entirely in his power, the mountain chain

being on one side, the sea on the other, so that, if he pursued them in

the rear, escape seemed impossible.

5. the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the

people, &c.--Alas, how soon the obduracy of this reprobate king

reappears! He had been convinced, but not converted--overawed, but not

sanctified by the appalling judgments of heaven. He bitterly repented

of what he now thought a hasty concession. Pride and revenge, the honor

of his kingdom, and the interests of his subjects, all prompted him to

recall his permission to reclaim those runaway slaves and force them to

their wonted labor. Strange that he should yet allow such

considerations to obliterate or outweigh all his painful experience of

the danger of oppressing that people. But those whom the Lord has

doomed to destruction are first infatuated by sin.

6, 7. he made ready his chariot--His preparations for an

immediate and hot pursuit are here described: A difference is made

between "the chosen chariots" and "the chariots of Egypt." The first

evidently composed the king's guard, amounting to six hundred, and they

are called "chosen," literally, "third men"; three men being allotted

to each chariot, the charioteer and two warriors. As to "the chariots

of Egypt," the common cars contained only two persons, one for driving

and the other for fighting; sometimes only one person was in the

chariot, the driver lashed the reins round his body and fought;

infantry being totally unsuitable for a rapid pursuit, and the

Egyptians having had no cavalry, the word "riders" is in the

grammatical connection applied to war chariots employed, and these were

of light construction, open behind, and hung on small wheels.

10. when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their

eyes--The great consternation of the Israelites is somewhat

astonishing, considering their vast superiority in numbers, but their

deep dismay and absolute despair at the sight of this armed host

receives a satisfactory explanation from the fact that the civilized

state of Egyptian society required the absence of all arms, except when

they were on service. If the Israelites were entirely unarmed at their

departure, they could not think of making any resistance

[WILKINSON and

HENGSTENBERG].

13, 14. Moses said, . . . Fear ye not, stand still, and

see the salvation of the Lord--Never, perhaps, was the fortitude of

a man so severely tried as that of the Hebrew leader in this crisis,

exposed as he was to various and inevitable dangers, the most

formidable of which was the vengeance of a seditious and desperate

multitude; but his meek, unruffled, magnanimous composure presents one

of the sublimest examples of moral courage to be found in history. And

whence did his courage arise? He saw the miraculous cloud still

accompanying them, and his confidence arose solely from the hope of a

divine interposition, although, perhaps, he might have looked for the

expected deliverance in every quarter, rather than in the direction of

the sea.

15-18. the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me?

&c.--When in answer to his prayers, he received the divine command to

go forward, he no longer doubted by what kind of miracle the salvation

of his mighty charge was to be effected.

19. the angel of God--that is, the pillar of cloud [see on

Ex 13:21].

The slow and silent movement of that majestic column through the air,

and occupying a position behind them must have excited the astonishment

of the Israelites

(Isa 58:8).

It was an effectual barrier between them and their pursuers, not only

protecting them, but concealing their movements. Thus, the same cloud

produced light (a symbol of favor) to the people of God, and darkness

(a symbol of wrath) to their enemies (compare

2Co 2:16).

21. Moses stretched out his hand, &c.--The waving of the rod was

of great importance on this occasion to give public attestation in the

presence of the assembled Israelites, both to the character of Moses

and the divine mission with which he was charged.

the Lord caused . . . a strong east wind all that

night--Suppose a mere ebb tide caused by the wind, raising the

water to a great height on one side, still as there was not only

"dry land," but, according to the tenor of the sacred narrative, a wall

on the right hand and on the left

[Ex 14:22],

it would be impossible on the hypothesis of such a natural cause to

rear the wall on the other. The idea of divine interposition,

therefore, is imperative; and, assuming the passage to have been made

at Mount Attakah, or at the mouth of Wady Tawarik, an east wind

would cut the sea in that line. The Hebrew word kedem,

however, rendered in our translation, "east," means, in its primary

signification, previous; so that this verse might, perhaps, be

rendered, "the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong

previous wind all that night"; a rendering which would remove

the difficulty of supposing the host of Israel marched over on the

sand, in the teeth of a rushing column of wind, strong enough to heap

up the waters as a wall on each side of a dry path, and give the

intelligible narrative of divine interference.

22. the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea,

&c.--It is highly probable that Moses, along with Aaron, first planted

his footsteps on the untrodden sand, encouraging the people to follow

him without fear of the treacherous walls; and when we take into

account the multitudes that followed him, the immense number who

through infancy and old age were incapable of hastening their

movements, together with all the appurtenances of the camp, the strong

and steadfast character of the leaders' faith was strikingly manifested

(Jos 2:10; 4:23;

Ps 66:6; 74:13; 106:9; 136:13;

Isa 63:11-13;

1Co 10:1;

Heb 11:29).

23. the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of

the sea--From the darkness caused by the intercepting cloud, it is

probable that they were not aware on what ground they were driving:

they heard the sound of the fugitives before them, and they pushed on

with the fury of the avengers of blood, without dreaming that they were

on the bared bed of the sea.

24, 25. Lord looked . . . through . . . the

cloud, and troubled them--We suppose the fact to have been that the

side of the pillar of cloud towards the Egyptians was suddenly, and for

a few moments, illuminated with a blaze of light, which, coming as it

were in a refulgent flash upon the dense darkness which had preceded,

so frightened the horses of the pursuers that they rushed confusedly

together and became unmanageable. "Let us flee," was the cry that

resounded through the broken and trembling ranks, but it was too late;

all attempts at flight were vain [BUSH].

27. Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, &c.--What

circumstances could more clearly demonstrate the miraculous character

of this transaction than that at the waving of Moses' rod, the dividing

waters left the channel dry, and on his making the same motion on the

opposite side, they returned, commingling with instantaneous fury? Is

such the character of any ebb tide?

28. there remained not so much as one of them--It is surprising

that, with such a declaration, some intelligent writers can maintain

there is no evidence of the destruction of Pharaoh himself

(Ps 106:11).

30. Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea-shore, &c.--The

tide threw them up and left multitudes of corpses on the beach; a

result that brought greater infamy on the Egyptians, but that tended,

on the other hand, to enhance the triumph of the Israelites, and

doubtless enriched them with arms, which they had not before. The

locality of this famous passage has not yet been, and probably never

will be, satisfactorily fixed. Some place it in the immediate

neighborhood of Suez; where, they say, the part of the sea is most

likely to be affected by "a strong east wind"

[Ex 14:21];

where the road from the defile of Migdol (now Muktala) leads directly

to this point; and where the sea, not above two miles broad, could be

crossed in a short time. The vast majority, however, who have examined

the spot, reject this opinion, and fix the passage, as does local

tradition, about ten or twelve miles further down the shore at Wady

Tawarik. "The time of the miracle was the whole night, at the season of

the year, too, when the night would be about its average length. The

sea at that point extends from six and a half to eight miles in

breadth. There was thus ample time for the passage of the Israelites

from any part of the valley, especially considering their excitement

and animation by the gracious and wonderful interposition of Providence

in their behalf" [WILSON].