Psalms 78:13

13 He 1divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters 2stand like a heap.

Psalms 78:13 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 78:13

He divided the sea
The Targum adds,

``by the rod of Moses their master;''

which he was ordered to lift up, and to stretch out his hand over the sea; which he did, and at the same time a strong east wind was raised, which caused the sea to go back, and divided the waters of it; see ( Exodus 14:16 Exodus 14:21 )

and caused them to pass through;
that is, he caused the Israelites to pass through the sea; this they did in faith, ( Hebrews 11:29 ) , in the faith of the power and promise of God, and of future grace and blessings, which this was an emblem of; for it was a representation of baptism, and is so called, ( 1 Corinthians 10:1 1 Corinthians 10:2 ) and of the sea of Christ's blood, or of his sufferings and death; whereby all enemies are overcome and destroyed, as sin and Satan, signified by the Egyptians, and salvation is wrought, and every blessing of grace procured; and of the passage of God's people through the sea of this world, and afflictions in it, safe to glory:

and he made the waters to stand as an heap;
and were as a wall on the right hand and on the left hand so they continued until the Israelites had passed through; and then they returned, and covered the Egyptians, and drowned them, ( Exodus 14:22 Exodus 14:28 ) .

Psalms 78:13 In-Context

11 They forgot his works and the wonders that he had shown them.
12 In the sight of their fathers he performed wonders in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.
13 He divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters stand like a heap.
14 In the daytime he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a fiery light.
15 He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.

Cross References 2

  • 1. Psalms 136:13; Exodus 14:21
  • 2. Exodus 15:8
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.