Exodus 14:19

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,)

Exodus 14:19 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 14:19

And the Angel of God which went before the camp of Israel,
&c.] The Jews say ^F25 this was Michael, the great prince, who became a wall of fire between Israel and the Egyptians; and if they understood by him the uncreated angel, the eternal Word, the Son of God, who is always in Scripture meant by Michael, they are right: for certainly this Angel of the Lord is the same with Jehovah, who is said to go before them in a pillar of cloud and fire, ( Exodus 13:21 ) :

removed, and went behind them;
but because removing from place to place, and going forwards or backwards, cannot be properly said of a divine Person, who is omnipresent, and fills every place and space; this is to be understood of the emblem of him, the pillar of cloud, as the next clause explains it:

and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood
behind them;
the Targum of Jonathan adds,

``because of the Egyptians, who cast arrows and stones, and the cloud received them;''

and so Jarchi; whereby the Israelites were protected and preserved from receiving any hurt by them: so Christ is the protection of his people from all their enemies, sin, Satan, and the world, that sin cannot damn them, nor Satan destroy them, nor the world overcome them; for his salvation is as walls and bulwarks to them, and he is indeed a wall of fire about them.

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FOOTNOTES:

F25 Pirke Eliezer, c. 42.

Exodus 14:19 In-Context

17 Forsooth I shall make hard the heart(s) of [the] Egyptians, that they pursue you, and I shall be glorified in Pharaoh, and in all the host of him, and in the chariots of him, and in the knights of him; (But I shall harden the hearts of the Egyptians, so that they pursue you, and I shall be glorified in Pharaoh, and in all his army, and in his chariots, and in his soldiers;)

18 and [the] Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord God, when I shall be glorified in Pharaoh, and in the chariots, and in the knights of him (and in his soldiers).

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.)