Exodus / Chapter 15

Exodus 15

27 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex 1 tradition available

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

Moses and Israel sing the Song of the Sea celebrating God's victory. Miriam leads the women in response. At Marah, God makes bitter water sweet. The chapter closes with the promise 'I am the LORD who heals you' at Elim's twelve springs.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

The Song of the Sea (Shirat HaYam) is one of the oldest and longest sustained poems in the Hebrew Bible, with archaic grammatical forms suggesting very early composition. The opening ga'oh ga'ah ('rising, He has risen') uses the infinitive absolute for absolute supremacy. The divine warrior title 'YHWH is a warrior' (YHWH ish milchamah, v3) is stated with maximum compression. The word yeshu'ah, introduced narratively in 14:13, now enters Israel's liturgy (v2) — theology becomes song.

Translation Friction

The phrase azzi vezimrat Yah ('my strength and my song,' v2) contains a debated word — zimrat may derive from zamar ('to sing') or from a root meaning 'protection.' We rendered it 'my song,' following the dominant tradition. The similes of the enemy sinking — like a stone (v5), like lead (v10) — convey irreversible submersion, and we preserved both images rather than consolidating. Miriam's title hanevi'ah ('the prophetess,' v20) we retained without elaboration, as the Hebrew grants her the title without further explanation.

Connections

The Song is echoed in Judges 5 (Song of Deborah), Psalm 18, and Habakkuk 3. The sanctuary destination (v17) anticipates both Sinai and the tabernacle. The healing at Marah (v25-26) introduces the divine title YHWH Rof'ekha ('the LORD your healer'), which recurs in Psalm 103:3. The twelve springs at Elim (v27) correspond to the twelve tribes. **Tradition comparisons:** Targum Onkelos interprets this chapter with notable Aramaic renderings: The Song of the Sea is described as praise (tushbechta) offered 'before the LORD' (qodam Adonai), aligning the Exodus celebration with synagogue worship patterns. (4 notable renderings in this chapter) See the [Targum Onkelos on Exodus](/targum/exodus).

Exodus 15:1

אָ֣ז יָשִֽׁיר־מֹשֶׁה֩ וּבְנֵ֨י יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל אֶת־הַשִּׁירָ֤ה הַזֹּאת֙ לַֽיהֹוָ֔ה וַיֹּאמְר֖וּ לֵאמֹ֑ר אָשִׁ֤ירָה לַֽיהֹוָה֙ כִּֽי־גָאֹ֣ה גָּאָ֔ה ס֥וּס וְרֹכְב֖וֹ רָמָ֥ה בַיָּֽם׃

Then Moses and the sons of Israel 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 hurled into the sea.

KJV Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The Song of the Sea (Shirat HaYam) is the longest sustained poem in the Pentateuch and one of the oldest pieces of Hebrew poetry in the Bible. Its archaic grammatical forms and vocabulary suggest very early composition. The opening verb ashirah ('I will sing') is cohortative — an expression of determined will, not mere description. 'He has triumphed gloriously' (ga'oh ga'ah) is an infinitive absolute construction: 'rising, He has risen' or 'exalting, He has exalted Himself.' The doubling conveys absolute supremacy.

Targum Onkelos (Aramaic, 1st-5th c. CE)liturgical

"Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song of praise before the LORD."

The Song of the Sea is described as praise (tushbechta) offered 'before the LORD' (qodam Adonai), aligning the Exodus celebration with synagogue worship patterns.

Exodus 15:2

עׇזִּ֤י וְזִמְרָת֙ יָ֔הּ וַֽיְהִי־לִ֖י לִֽישׁוּעָ֑ה זֶ֤ה אֵלִי֙ וְאַנְוֵ֔הוּ אֱלֹהֵ֥י אָבִ֖י וַאֲרֹמְמֶֽנְהוּ׃

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.

KJV The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

יְשׁוּעָה yeshu'ah
"salvation" — salvation, deliverance, rescue, victory, spaciousness

The word that entered the narrative at 14:13 now enters the liturgy. Yeshu'ah in the Song of the Sea is experienced salvation — not abstract doctrine but witnessed deliverance incorporated into praise. The root y-sh-' gives its name to Joshua and Jesus.

Translator Notes

  1. 'My strength and my song' (azzi vezimrat) — the word zimrat may derive from zamar ('to sing, to prune, to trim'). The pairing of strength and song defines God's character in the exodus: power expressed through praise. 'He has become my salvation' (vayehi-li lishu'ah) — the word yeshu'ah from the sea-crossing narrative (14:13) is now incorporated into worship. Theology enters liturgy.

Targum Onkelos (Aramaic, 1st-5th c. CE)theological

"My praise and my strength is the LORD, and he has become for me redemption."

Salvation (yeshu'ah) is rendered as redemption (furqan), the same Aramaic term used in messianic contexts, linking the Exodus redemption typologically to eschatological deliverance.

Exodus 15:3

יְהֹוָ֖ה אִ֣ישׁ מִלְחָמָ֑ה יְהֹוָ֖ה שְׁמֽוֹ׃

The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is His name.

KJV The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

אִישׁ מִלְחָמָה ish milchamah
"a warrior" — man of war, warrior, fighter

God as divine warrior — the foundational image of the exodus. The title declares that God personally engages in combat against the enemies of His people. This is not metaphor; the sea-crossing was a military victory achieved by divine intervention.

Translator Notes

  1. 'The LORD is a warrior' (YHWH ish milchamah) — literally 'YHWH is a man of war.' This is the divine warrior title, stated with maximum compression. 'The LORD is His name' (YHWH shemo) — identity is declared, not defended. The name carries its own authority.

Targum Onkelos (Aramaic, 1st-5th c. CE)anti-anthropomorphism

"The LORD is a warrior in battle; the LORD is his name."

'Man of war' (ish milchamah) becomes 'warrior in battle' (gevur qaravayya), removing the word 'man' (ish) from any description of God while preserving the martial imagery.

Exodus 15:4

מַרְכְּבֹ֥ת פַּרְעֹ֛ה וְחֵיל֖וֹ יָרָ֣ה בַיָּ֑ם וּמִבְחַ֥ר שָֽׁלִשָׁ֖יו טֻבְּע֥וּ בְיַם־סֽוּף׃

Pharaoh's chariots and his army He cast into the sea, and his chosen officers sank in the Sea of Reeds.

KJV Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The song names the specific agents of judgment: chariots, army, chosen officers. The verb yara ('cast, hurled') depicts forceful, violent action — God throws Egypt's military power into the sea like discarded objects.
Exodus 15:5

תְּהֹמֹ֖ת יְכַסְיֻ֑מוּ יָרְד֥וּ בִמְצוֹלֹ֖ת כְּמוֹ־אָֽבֶן׃

The deep waters covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone.

KJV The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. 'They went down into the depths like a stone' (yardu bimtsolot kemo-aven) — the simile of a stone sinking captures the finality of the judgment. The same image recurs in v10 (lead) and the two similes together (stone, lead) convey weight, sinking, irreversible submersion.
Exodus 15:6

יְמִֽינְךָ֣ יְהֹוָ֔ה נֶאְדָּרִ֖י בַּכֹּ֑חַ יְמִֽינְךָ֥ יְהֹוָ֖ה תִּרְעַ֥ץ אוֹיֵֽב׃

Your right hand, O LORD, is majestic in power. Your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy.

KJV Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. 'Your right hand, O LORD' (yeminkha YHWH) — the right hand is the hand of power, strength, and action. The parallelism is characteristic of Hebrew poetry: the first line states the right hand's majesty; the second line states its destructive effect on the enemy. The repetition of 'Your right hand, O LORD' creates an anaphoric pattern that drives the poem forward.

Targum Onkelos (Aramaic, 1st-5th c. CE)literal

"Your right hand, O LORD, is glorious in power."

Onkelos preserves 'right hand' in the poetic Song of the Sea, treating it as established liturgical language. The targum tradition is more tolerant of anthropomorphism in poetry than in narrative.

Exodus 15:7

וּבְרֹ֥ב גְּאוֹנְךָ֖ תַּהֲרֹ֣ס קָמֶ֑יךָ תְּשַׁלַּח֙ חֲרֹ֣נְךָ֔ יֹאכְלֵ֖מוֹ כַּקַּֽשׁ׃

In the greatness of Your majesty You overthrow those who rise against You. You send out Your fury; it consumes them like stubble.

KJV And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. 'Consumes them like stubble' (yokhlemo kaqash) — fire imagery applied to God's fury (charon). The enemies of God burn like dry stalks — insubstantial before divine wrath. The image contrasts the burning bush (3:2), which was not consumed, with the enemies of God, who are.
Exodus 15:8

וּבְר֤וּחַ אַפֶּ֙יךָ֙ נֶ֣עֶרְמוּ מַ֔יִם נִצְּב֥וּ כְמוֹ־נֵ֖ד נֹזְלִ֑ים קָֽפְא֥וּ תְהֹמֹ֖ת בְּלֶב־יָֽם׃

At the blast of Your nostrils the waters piled up; the floods stood upright like a heap; the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.

KJV And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. 'At the blast of Your nostrils' (uveruach appekha) — the wind (ruach) that divided the sea is described anthropomorphically as the breath of God's nostrils. The same ruach that hovered over creation's waters (Genesis 1:2) now piles up the sea's waters. 'Congealed' (qafe'u) — the deep waters solidified, stood firm like walls. The verb is rare and vivid.
Exodus 15:9

אָמַ֥ר אוֹיֵ֛ב אֶרְדֹּ֥ף אַשִּׂ֖יג אֲחַלֵּ֣ק שָׁלָ֑ל תִּמְלָאֵ֣מוֹ נַפְשִׁ֔י אָרִ֣יק חַרְבִּ֔י תּוֹרִישֵׁ֖מוֹ יָדִֽי׃

The enemy boasted, 'I will chase them down, I will catch them, I will divide the plunder; my appetite will be gorged on them. I will unsheathe my sword — my own hand will destroy them.'

KJV The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The enemy's boast is rendered in first-person: five verbs of intended violence (pursue, overtake, divide, draw, destroy). The cumulative effect captures the predator's confidence — a confidence the sea will swallow whole. The enemy never speaks again after this verse.
Exodus 15:10

נָשַׁ֥פְתָּ בְרוּחֲךָ֖ כִּסָּ֣מוֹ יָ֑ם צָֽלְלוּ֙ כַּֽעוֹפֶ֔רֶת בְּמַ֖יִם אַדִּירִֽים׃

You blew with Your wind; the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.

KJV Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. 'You blew with Your wind' (nashafta beruchakha) — God's breath is sufficient to undo the enemy's boast. One divine exhalation answers five human verbs of violence. 'They sank like lead' (tsalelu ka'oferet) — the second sinking simile (cf. v5, stone). Lead is denser than stone; the imagery intensifies.
Exodus 15:11

מִֽי־כָמֹ֤כָה בָּֽאֵלִם֙ יְהֹוָ֔ה מִ֥י כָּמֹ֖כָה נֶאְדָּ֣ר בַּקֹּ֑דֶשׁ נוֹרָ֥א תְהִלֹּ֖ת עֹ֥שֵׂה פֶֽלֶא׃

Who is like You among the gods, O LORD? Who is like You — majestic in holiness, awesome in splendor, working wonders?

KJV Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

מִי כָמֹכָה בָּאֵלִם יְהוָה mi khamokha ba'elim YHWH
"Who is like You among the gods, O LORD" — incomparable, without rival, uniquely supreme

The rhetorical question that defines monotheistic worship. Mi khamokha becomes a central liturgical phrase in Jewish tradition, sung daily. The question acknowledges other claimed gods (elim) only to declare YHWH's absolute supremacy over them all.

Translator Notes

  1. 'Who is like You among the gods, O LORD?' (mi-khamokha ba'elim YHWH) — the rhetorical question is the theological climax of the song. The answer is obvious and overwhelming: no one. 'Majestic in holiness' (ne'dar baqqodesh) — the word ne'dar means 'majestic, glorious, awe-inspiring.' Holiness (qodesh) is the attribute that defines God's incomparability. This verse will become one of the most quoted liturgical lines in Jewish worship.
Exodus 15:12

נָטִ֙יתָ֙ יְמִ֣ינְךָ֔ תִּבְלָעֵ֖מוֹ אָֽרֶץ׃

You stretched out Your right hand; the earth swallowed them.

KJV Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. 'The earth swallowed them' (tivla'emo erets) — the verb bala ('swallow') is the same verb used when Aaron's staff swallowed the Egyptian staffs (7:12). The pattern of consumption runs through the narrative: what God's instruments swallow cannot be recovered.
Exodus 15:13

נָחִ֥יתָ בְחַסְדְּךָ֖ עַם־ז֣וּ גָּאָ֑לְתָּ נֵהַ֥לְתָּ בְעׇזְּךָ֖ אֶל־נְוֵ֥ה קׇדְשֶֽׁךָ׃

In Your faithful love You have led the people whom You have redeemed. In Your strength You have guided them to Your holy dwelling.

KJV Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

חֶסֶד chesed
"faithful love" — steadfast love, covenant loyalty, faithful love, lovingkindness

Chesed appears in the Song of the Sea as the motivating force behind God's redemptive leadership. It is not mere emotion but directional covenant love — chesed leads, guides, and brings home. The word appears here in a military-redemptive context, combining warrior power with covenant tenderness.

Translator Notes

  1. 'In Your steadfast love You have led' (nachita vechasdekha) — chesed appears in the Song of the Sea for the first time. God's covenant love is not merely emotional but directional — it leads. 'Your holy dwelling' (neveh qodshekha) — the poem looks forward from the sea to the destination: God's holy dwelling, whether understood as Sinai, the promised land, or the future temple.
Exodus 15:14

שָֽׁמְע֥וּ עַמִּ֖ים יִרְגָּז֑וּן חִ֣יל אָחַ֔ז יֹשְׁבֵ֖י פְּלָֽשֶׁת׃

The peoples have heard; they tremble. Anguish has seized the inhabitants of Philistia.

KJV The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The song's horizon expands from the sea to the surrounding nations. The peoples (ammim) hear and tremble — the exodus radiates fear outward. Philistia, the nearest enemy, is seized with anguish (chil).
Exodus 15:15

אָ֤ז נִבְהֲלוּ֙ אַלּוּפֵ֣י אֱד֔וֹם אֵילֵ֣י מוֹאָ֔ב יֹֽאחֲזֵ֖מוֹ רָ֑עַד נָמֹ֕גוּ כֹּ֖ל יֹשְׁבֵ֥י כְנָֽעַן׃

Now the chiefs of Edom are dismayed; trembling seizes the leaders of Moab; all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.

KJV Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Edom, Moab, and Canaan — the three peoples Israel will encounter on the journey — are paralyzed by what God has done at the sea. The verbs intensify: 'dismayed' (nivhalu), 'trembling seizes' (achazemo ra'ad), 'melted away' (namogu). Fear progresses from alarm to paralysis to dissolution.
Exodus 15:16

תִּפֹּ֨ל עֲלֵיהֶ֤ם אֵימָ֙תָה֙ וָפַ֔חַד בִּגְדֹ֥ל זְרוֹעֲךָ֖ יִדְּמ֣וּ כָּאָ֑בֶן עַד־יַעֲבֹ֤ר עַמְּךָ֙ יְהֹוָ֔ה עַֽד־יַעֲבֹ֖ר עַם־ז֥וּ קָנִֽיתָ׃

Terror and dread fall upon them. Because of the greatness of Your arm they are still as a stone, until Your people pass over, O LORD, until the people whom You have purchased pass over.

KJV Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O LORD, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. 'Until Your people pass over' (ad-ya'avor ammekha) — the verb avar ('pass over, cross') echoes the Passover (pesach) and the crossing of the sea. Israel is the people who pass through — through judgment, through water, through wilderness. 'The people whom You have purchased' (am-zu qanita) — the verb qanah means to acquire, purchase, create. God bought Israel at the cost of Egypt's judgment.
Exodus 15:17

תְּבִאֵ֗מוֹ וְתִטָּעֵ֙מוֹ֙ בְּהַ֣ר נַחֲלָֽתְךָ֔ מָכ֧וֹן לְשִׁבְתְּךָ֛ פָּעַ֖לְתָּ יְהֹוָ֑ה מִקְּדָ֕שׁ אֲדֹנָ֖י כּוֹנְנ֥וּ יָדֶֽיךָ׃

You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of Your inheritance, the place, O LORD, You have made for Your dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, that Your hands have established.

KJV Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O LORD, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. 'You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of Your inheritance' (tevi'emo vetita'emo behar nachalatekha) — the verbs 'bring in' and 'plant' shift from the sea to the land. The exodus is not complete at the shore; it is complete when Israel is planted — rooted like a tree — in the place God has prepared. 'The sanctuary that Your hands have established' (miqqedash Adonai konenu yadekha) — the song concludes with the temple vision: God's own hands build the final dwelling.
Exodus 15:18

יְהֹוָ֥ה ׀ יִמְלֹ֖ךְ לְעֹלָ֥ם וָעֶֽד׃

The LORD will reign forever and ever."

KJV The LORD shall reign for ever and ever.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. 'The LORD will reign forever and ever' (YHWH yimlokh le'olam va'ed) — the song's final declaration is a statement of eternal sovereignty. After the narrative of plagues, the night of Passover, and the destruction at the sea, the conclusion is cosmic: YHWH reigns. The word olam stretches God's kingship beyond the horizon of time.
Exodus 15:19

כִּ֣י בָא֩ ס֨וּס פַּרְעֹ֜ה בְּרִכְבּ֤וֹ וּבְפָרָשָׁיו֙ בַּיָּ֔ם וַיָּ֧שֶׁב יְהֹוָ֛ה עֲלֵהֶ֖ם אֶת־מֵ֣י הַיָּ֑ם וּבְנֵ֧י יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל הָלְכ֥וּ בַיַּבָּשָׁ֖ה בְּת֥וֹךְ הַיָּֽם׃ {פ}

For the horses of Pharaoh went with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the sons of Israel walked on dry ground through the midst of the sea.

KJV For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The narrator returns to prose, summarizing the sea event one final time. The repetition serves as a transition from song back to narrative.
Exodus 15:20

וַתִּקַּח֩ מִרְיָ֨ם הַנְּבִיאָ֜ה אֲח֧וֹת אַהֲרֹ֛ן אֶת־הַתֹּ֖ף בְּיָדָ֑הּ וַתֵּצֶ֤אןָ כׇֽל־הַנָּשִׁים֙ אַחֲרֶ֔יהָ בְּתֻפִּ֖ים וּבִמְחֹלֹֽת׃

Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing.

KJV And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. 'Miriam the prophetess' (Miriam hanevi'ah) — the first woman in the Bible explicitly called a prophetess (nevi'ah). Her title is not honorary; it declares a recognized role. She leads the women's response with tambourine (tof) and dance (mecholot). Worship at the sea is gendered but shared — Moses leads one song, Miriam leads another.
Exodus 15:21

וַתַּ֥עַן לָהֶ֖ם מִרְיָ֑ם שִׁ֤ירוּ לַֽיהֹוָה֙ כִּֽי־גָאֹ֣ה גָּאָ֔ה ס֥וּס וְרֹכְב֖וֹ רָמָ֥ה בַיָּֽם׃ {ס}

Miriam sang to them: "Sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously; the horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea."

KJV And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Miriam's song reprises the opening verse of the Song of the Sea — the same words, now in the mouth of a woman leading the women. The repetition is not redundancy but antiphonal worship: one community, two voices, the same praise.
Exodus 15:22

וַיַּסַּ֨ע מֹשֶׁ֤ה אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ מִיַּם־ס֔וּף וַיֵּצְא֖וּ אֶל־מִדְבַּר־שׁ֑וּר וַיֵּלְכ֧וּ שְׁלֹֽשֶׁת־יָמִ֛ים בַּמִּדְבָּ֖ר וְלֹא־מָ֥צְאוּ מָֽיִם׃

Then Moses led Israel onward from the Sea of Reeds, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur. They traveled three days in the wilderness and found no water.

KJV So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The transition from the sea to the wilderness is abrupt. Three days without water immediately follows the greatest miracle in Israel's history. The pattern of exodus life begins here: miracle, then testing; deliverance, then difficulty.
Exodus 15:23

וַיָּבֹ֣אוּ מָרָ֔תָה וְלֹ֣א יָֽכְל֗וּ לִשְׁתֹּ֥ת מַ֙יִם֙ מִמָּרָ֔ה כִּ֥י מָרִ֖ים הֵ֑ם עַל־כֵּ֥ן קָרָֽא־שְׁמָ֖הּ מָרָֽה׃

When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter. Therefore it was named Marah.

KJV And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. 'Marah' (marah) means 'bitter.' The naming of places by experience is characteristic of wilderness narrative — geography becomes theology. The people cannot drink the water that bears the name of their condition.
Exodus 15:24

וַיִּלֹּ֧נוּ הָעָ֛ם עַל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹ֖ר מַה־נִּשְׁתֶּֽה׃

The people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?"

KJV And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The first wilderness complaint follows immediately after the Song of the Sea. The distance between praise (v1) and grumbling (v24) measures the fragility of faith under pressure.
Exodus 15:25

וַיִּצְעַ֣ק אֶל־יְהֹוָ֗ה וַיּוֹרֵ֤הוּ יְהֹוָה֙ עֵ֔ץ וַיַּשְׁלֵךְ֙ אֶל־הַמַּ֔יִם וַֽיִּמְתְּק֖וּ הַמָּ֑יִם שָׁ֣ם שָׂ֥ם ל֛וֹ חֹ֥ק וּמִשְׁפָּ֖ט וְשָׁ֥ם נִסָּֽהוּ׃

He cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the LORD made for them a statute and a rule, and there He tested them.

KJV And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. God provides a remedy: a piece of wood (ets) makes bitter water sweet. The same God who divided the sea now transforms a spring. The scale is different; the provider is the same. 'There He tested them' (sham nisahu) — the verb nasah ('to test') from Genesis 22:1 (the Aqedah) reappears. The wilderness is a testing ground.
Exodus 15:26

וַיֹּ֩אמֶר֩ אִם־שָׁמ֨וֹעַ תִּשְׁמַ֜ע לְק֣וֹל ׀ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֗יךָ וְהַיָּשָׁ֤ר בְּעֵינָיו֙ תַּעֲשֶׂ֔ה וְהַֽאֲזַנְתָּ֙ לְמִצְוֺתָ֔יו וְשָׁמַרְתָּ֖ כׇּל־חֻקָּ֑יו כׇּֽל־הַמַּחֲלָ֞ה אֲשֶׁר־שַׂ֤מְתִּי בְמִצְרַ֙יִם֙ לֹא־אָשִׂ֣ים עָלֶ֔יךָ כִּ֛י אֲנִ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה רֹפְאֶֽךָ׃ {ס}

He said, "If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His eyes, and give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer."

KJV And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The conditional promise — 'If you listen... I will put none of the diseases' — introduces the covenant-obedience framework that will dominate Exodus through Deuteronomy. 'I am the LORD, your healer' (ani YHWH rof'ekha) — a divine self-designation. The God who judges Egypt also heals Israel. The same power works in both directions.
Exodus 15:27

וַיָּבֹ֣אוּ אֵילִ֔מָה וְשָׁ֗ם שְׁתֵּ֥ים עֶשְׂרֵ֛ה עֵינֹ֥ת מַ֖יִם וְשִׁבְעִ֣ים תְּמָרִ֑ים וַיַּחֲנוּ־שָׁ֖ם עַל־הַמָּֽיִם׃

Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there by the water.

KJV And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Elim — twelve springs and seventy palms — provides rest and abundance. Twelve springs for twelve tribes; seventy palms echoing the seventy persons who entered Egypt (Genesis 46:27). The numbers are not accidental; they are provision fitted to identity.
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