Shemot 15

1 5 Then sang Moshe and the Bnei Yisroel this shirah (song) to Hashem, and spoke, saying, I will sing unto Hashem, for He hath triumphed gloriously: the sus and its rider hath He cast into the yam.

2 Hashem is my oz and zimrah (song of praise), and He is become to me Yeshuah (salvation); He is Eli (my G-d), and I will praise Him; Elohei Avi, and I will exalt Him.

3 Hashem is an Ish Milchamah; Hashem shmo.

4 Markevot Pharaoh and his army hath He cast into the yam; his select commanders also are drowned in Yam Suf.

5 The tehomot (depths) have covered them; they sank into the bottom like an even (stone).

6 Thy right hand, Hashem, is become glorious in ko’ach; Thy right hand, Hashem, hath dashed into pieces the oyev.

7 And in the greatness of Thine majesty Thou hast overthrown them that rose up against Thee; Thou sentest forth Thy charon (wrath), which consumed them as stubble.

8 And with the blast of Thy nostrils the mayim were gathered together, the floods stood upright like a stack, and the tehomot were congealed in the lev yam (heart of the sea).

9 The oyev said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will share the plunder; my battlelust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my cherev, my yad shall take possession of them.

10 Thou didst blow with Thy ruach, the yam covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters.

11 Mi chamochah ba’elim, Adonoi (Who is like unto Thee, Hashem, among the elim [g-ds])? Who is like Thee, glorious in kodesh (holiness), awesome in praiseworthy acts, doing wonders?

12 Thou didst stretch out Thy right hand, eretz swallowed them.

13 Thou in Thy chesed hast led forth the people which Thou hast redeemed (acquired back); Thou hast guided them in Thy oz unto Thy neveh kodesh (holy habitation, i.e., a neveh is the abode of a shepherd).

14 The nations shall hear, and be afraid; anguish shall take hold on the inhabitants of Peleshet (Philistia).

15 Then the chief men of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moav, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Kena’an shall melt away with weakness.

16 Terror and pachad shall fall upon them; by the greatness of Thine zero’a they shall be struck dumb as an even (stone); till Thy people pass by, Hashem, till the people pass by, which Thou hast purchased.

17 Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the har of Thine nachalah, in the place, Hashem, which Thou hast made for Thee to dwell in, in the Mikdash, Adonoi, which Thy hands have established.

18 Hashem shall reign l’olam va’ed.

19 For the sus Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his parash into the yam, and Hashem brought again the waters of the yam upon them; but the Bnei Yisroel went on yabashah (dry land) in the middle of the yam.

20 And Miryam the neviah, the achot Aharon, took the tof (hand drum) in her yad; and all the nashim went out after her with hand-drums and with dancing.

21 And Miryam sang to them, Sing ye to Hashem, for He hath triumphed gloriously; the sus and its rider hath He thrown into the yam.

22 So Moshe brought Yisroel from the Yam Suf, and they went out into the midbar of Shur; and they went shloshet yamim in the midbar, and found no mayim.

23 And when they came to Marah (Bitter Place), they could not drink of the mayim from Marah, for they were marim; therefore the shem of it was called Marah.

24 So the people murmured against Moshe, saying, Mah nishteh (what shall we drink)?

25 And he cried unto Hashem; and Hashem showed him an etz (tree) which when he had cast into the mayim, the waters were made sweet (i.e., potable, fit for drinking); at that place He made for them a chok (statute, requirement, obligation) and a mishpat (divine judgment), and there He tested them,

26 And said, If thou wilt diligently pay heed to the voice of Hashem Eloheicha, and will do that which is yashar in His sight, and will give ear to do His mitzvot, and be shomer over all His chok, I will put none of these machalah (diseases) upon thee, which I put upon the Egyptians; for Ani Adonoi rofecha (I am Hashem that healeth thee). [2Kgs15:5;Amos 4:10]

27 And they came to Elim (Great Trees). There were twelve springs of mayim, and threescore and ten date-palm trees; and they encamped there by the mayim.

Shemot 15 Commentary

Chapter 15

The song of Moses for the deliverance of Israel. (1-21) The bitter waters at Marah, The Israelites come to Elim. (22-27)

Verses 1-21 This song is the most ancient we know of. It is a holy song, to the honour of God, to exalt his name, and celebrate his praise, and his only, not in the least to magnify any man. Holiness to the Lord is in every part of it. It may be considered as typical, and prophetical of the final destruction of the enemies of the church. Happy the people whose God is the Lord. They have work to do, temptations to grapple with, and afflictions to bear, and are weak in themselves; but his grace is their strength. They are often in sorrow, but in him they have comfort; he is their song. Sin, and death, and hell threaten them, but he is, and will be their salvation. The Lord is a God of almighty power, and woe to those that strive with their Maker! He is a God of matchless perfection; he is glorious in holiness; his holiness is his glory. His holiness appears in the hatred of sin, and his wrath against obstinate sinners. It appears in the deliverance of Israel, and his faithfulness to his own promise. He is fearful in praises; that which is matter of praise to the servants of God, is very dreadful to his enemies. He is doing wonders, things out of the common course of nature; wondrous to those in whose favour they are wrought, who are so unworthy, that they had no reason to expect them. There were wonders of power and wonders of grace; in both, God was to be humbly adored.

Verses 22-27 In the wilderness of Shur the Israelites had no water. At Marah they had water, but it was bitter; so that they could not drink it. God can make bitter to us that from which we promise ourselves most, and often does so in the wilderness of this world, that our wants, and disappointments in the creature, may drive us to the Creator, in whose favour alone true comfort is to be had. In this distress the people fretted, and quarrelled with Moses. Hypocrites may show high affections, and appear earnest in religious exercises, but in the time of temptation they fall away. Even true believers, in seasons of sharp trial, will be tempted to fret, distrust, and murmur. But in every trial we should cast our care upon the Lord, and pour out our hearts before him. We shall then find that a submissive will, a peaceful conscience, and the comforts of the Holy Ghost, will render the bitterest trial tolerable, yea, pleasant. Moses did what the people had neglected to do; he cried unto the Lord. And God provided graciously for them. He directed Moses to a tree which he cast into the waters, when, at once, they were made sweet. Some make this tree typical of the cross of Christ, which sweetens the bitter waters of affliction to all the faithful, and enables them to rejoice in tribulation. But a rebellious Israelite shall fare no better than a rebellious Egyptian. The threatening is implied only, the promise is expressed. God is the great Physician. If we are kept well, it is he that keeps us; if we are made well, it is he that recovers us. He is our life and the length of our days. Let us not forget that we are kept from destruction, and delivered from our enemies, to be the Lord's servants. At Elim they had good water, and enough of it. Though God may, for a time, order his people to encamp by the bitter waters of Marah, that shall not always be their lot. Let us not faint at tribulations.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 15

This chapter contains the song of Moses, and of the children of Israel, on the banks of the Red sea; in which they celebrate their passage through it, the destruction of Pharaoh and his host in it, and the glory of the divine perfections displayed therein, interspersed with prophetic hints of things future, Ex 15:1-19 which same song was sung by the women, with Miriam at the head of them, attended with timbrels and dances, Ex 15:20,21, an account is given of the march of the children of Israel from the Red sea to the wilderness of Shur, and of the bitter waters found at Marah, which occasioned a murmuring, and of their being made sweet by casting a tree into them, Ex 15:22-25 when they were told by the Lord, that if they would yield obedience to his commandments, they should be free from the diseases the Egyptians had been afflicted with, Ex 15:26, and the chapter is concluded with their coming to Elim, where they found twelve wells of water, and seventy palm trees, and there encamped, Ex 15:27.