Exodus 14:21

21 And when Moses had stretched forth his hand on the sea, the Lord took away the sea, the while a great wind and a burning (one) blew in all the night, and turned the sea into dryness; and the water was parted. (And when Moses had stretched forth his hand over the Red Sea, the Lord took away the sea, by a great burning wind that blew all that night, and turned the sea into dry land; and so the waters were parted.)

Exodus 14:21 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 14:21

And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea
With his rod in it, as he was directed to, ( Exodus 14:16 ) . What the poet says ^F26 of Bacchus is more true of Moses, whose rod had been lift up upon the rivers Egypt, and now upon the Red sea:

and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that
night;
and the direction of the Red sea being nearly, if not altogether, north and south, it was in a proper situation to be wrought upon and divided by an easterly wind; though the Septuagint version renders it a strong south wind. No wind of itself, without the exertion and continuance of almighty power, in a miraculous way, could have so thrown the waves of the sea on heaps, and retained them so long, that such a vast number of people should pass through it as on dry land; though this was an instrument Jehovah made use of, and that both to divide the waters of the sea, and to dry and harden the bottom of it, and make it fit for travelling, as follows:

and made the sea dry land;
or made the bottom of it dry, so that it could be trod and walked upon with ease, without sinking in, sticking fast, or slipping about, which was very extraordinary:

and the waters were divided;
or "after the waters were divided" ^F1; for they were first divided before the sea could be made dry. The Targum of Jonathan says, the waters were divided into twelve parts, answerable to the twelve tribes of Israel, and the same is observed by other Jewish writers ^F2, grounded upon a passage in ( Psalms 136:13 ) and suppose that each tribe took its particular path.

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FOOTNOTES:

F26 "Tu flectis amnes, tu mare barbarum--" Horat. Carmin. l. 2. Ode 19.
F1 (weqbyw) "quum diffidisset se aqua illius", Piscator; so (w) seems to be used in ch. xvi. 20.
F2 Pirke Eliezer, c. 42. Targum Jon. & Hieros. in Deut. i. 1. Jarchi, Kimchi, and Arama in Psal. cxxxvi. 13.

Exodus 14:21 In-Context

19 And the angel of the Lord, that went before the castles, or tents, of Israel, took himself, and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went together with him, and left the former things after the back, (And the angel of the Lord, who went before the tents, or the army, of Israel, took himself, and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went with him, yea, it also went from in front of them, to behind their backs,)

20 and stood betwixt the castles of Egyptians and the castles of Israel; and the cloud was dark toward the Egyptians, and it was lightening the night toward Israel, so that in all the time of the night, they might not [come] nigh together to themselves. (and they stood between the tents, or the army, of the Egyptians and the tents, or the army, of Israel; and the cloud was dark toward the Egyptians, but it was lighting the night toward the Israelites, so that they could not come close to each other in all that night.)

21 And when Moses had stretched forth his hand on the sea, the Lord took away the sea, the while a great wind and a burning (one) blew in all the night, and turned the sea into dryness; and the water was parted. (And when Moses had stretched forth his hand over the Red Sea, the Lord took away the sea, by a great burning wind that blew all that night, and turned the sea into dry land; and so the waters were parted.)

22 And the sons of Israel entered by the midst of the dry sea; for the water was as a wall at the right side, and the left side of them. (And the Israelites entered into the midst of the sea on dry land; for the water was like a wall on their right side, and on their left side.)

23 And the Egyptians pursued, and entered after them, all the riding of Pharaoh, his chariots, and [his] knights, by the midst of the sea. (And the Egyptians pursued them, and entered into the midst of the sea after them, yea, all the horses of Pharaoh, and his chariots, and his soldiers.)