Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
Exodus 15:1-21
Exodus 15 The Aftermath of the Battle Between Yahweh and Pharaoh's Army.
As a result of Egypt's defeat a song was composed. There is no good reason for denying that it was written at the time. Songs of a similar genre were found at Ugarit, where some of the ideas are also paralleled, although not with the same significance. Such were no doubt familiar to the patriarchal tribes as they moved around Canaan and in Aram. It may have been written by Moses (who wrote a song (see Deuteronomy 31:22) in one day, the song being found in Deuteronomy 32), by Miriam, or by some unknown songwriter.
While the second part looks with triumph towards the successful defeat of their future enemies and their settlement in the land this simply expresses the confidence and belief that has filled their hearts. It is in a sense seen as already accomplished now that they have crossed out of Egypt into Yahweh's territory. The singer can now see that triumph is assured, and so speaks of it as already theirs.
The Worship of Moses and of the Children of Israel, and the Song of Miriam (Exodus 15:1).
‘Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song to Yahweh, and spoke saying.'
It was quite normal for a great victory to be celebrated in verse, and as happens with poetry it is in picturesque language not always to be taken literally. We are not told who wrote it (it is not described as ‘the Song of Moses, although he sang it), and here it was put to music to enhance the people's worship. This song must therefore be seen as later sung at a great gathering of worship after it had been composed shortly after the victory and as becoming part of the regular worship of the children of Israel.
Its finalisation may have awaited Mount Sinai (Exodus 15:13) although it could well be that the wilderness as a whole, which they have now reached, was seen as ‘Yahweh's abode'. That is where He had met Moses and that is where they had previously stated their intention of going to worship Him.
Reference to the inhabitants of Philistia, Edom, Moab and the inhabitants of Canaan as future foes (Exodus 15:14) confirm its early date. He sees them as quivering at the approach of people for whom Yahweh has done such great things, for what has happened in Egypt would not have passed unnoticed. When the reality occurred they were not quivering because too much time had passed due to Israel's disobedience. They certainly did not stand there petrified like stone. No later writer would quite have written like this. It evidenced early faith.
Reference to Philistia may be an updating by a later scribe, but its inhabitants are spoken of as separate from the inhabitants of Canaan. The name or its equivalent was applied to and known in the area around Gerar in the time of Abraham, Genesis claims (compare Genesis 21:32; Genesis 26:1; Genesis 26:8; Genesis 26:14). Thus it may be these trading cities that are in mind rather than there being an updating to take into account the later Philistines. The song in fact suggests that the inhabitants of Philistia are seen as separate from the inhabitants of Canaan and are nearer to them.
Note the parallelism in the song, the second line of each sentence either carrying forward the idea of the first, or repeating it in a slightly different way. This is a characteristic of Hebrew poetry.
Exodus 15:1 (1b-2)
“I will sing to Yahweh, for he has triumphed gloriously (or is highly exalted),
The horse and his rider (or ‘driver') he has thrown into the sea.
Yah is my strength and song,
And he has become my deliverance.
This is my God and I will praise him,
My father's God and I will exalt him.
The song is a celebration of Yahweh's great victory at the sea of reeds. He has gloriously defeated the Egyptians and destroyed their elite chariot force. Thus the One Who has been, and still is, their strength, and the One they sing about, (how differently they see Yahweh now), has also become their Deliverer, and the result is their praise and worship. He is their God and their father's God. Note the suggestion of looking back to the promises made to ‘their father'.
“Yah.” A shortened form of Yahweh. (Compare ‘hallelu Yah' - ‘praise Yah' - the opening to Psalms 146-150). Yah is also used in Exodus 17:16
“My father” s God.' Probably looking back to Jacob. Each ‘child of Israel' would see Jacob as a father, and himself as within the covenant God made with Jacob.
“Yahweh is a man of war,
Yahweh is his name.
Pharaoh's chariots and his host he has cast into the sea.
And his chosen captains are sunk in the sea of reeds.
The deeps cover them,
They went down into the depths like a stone.
Your right hand, Oh Yahweh, is glorious in power,
Your right hand, Oh Yahweh, dashes the enemy in pieces.
And in the greatness of your excellency you overthrow those who rise up against you,
You send out your wrath, it consumes them as stubble.”
The song declares Yahweh to be a competent soldier, revealed by nature as ‘The One Who is there to act'. Now they know indeed that His name is Yahweh. His excellency is revealed in what He has done to Pharaoh's chariots, (the ‘host' probably refers to the six hundred strong force), and to his commanders by drowning them in the sea. So has He demonstrated the victorious power of His right hand, and shown that He is able to deal with all Who rise against Him. When His anger is roused they are consumed like stubble burnt in the fields.
“Yahweh is a man of war.” Compare Psalms 24:8; Isaiah 42:13. The man of war was needed for protection from one's enemies.
“Yahweh is His name.” This is what He is and has revealed Himself to be, ‘the One Who is there to act.' They have seen the fullness of His name in what He has done.
“His chosen captains.” The same word for ‘captains' is as in Exodus 14:7 (stressing the unity of the narrative). They are more than just captains, they are his champions and commanders.
“They went down into the depths like a stone.” Poetic licence. While the sea was deep enough to drown them it would probably not have been all that deep. But in their chariot armour, bronze plates sewn on a linen base, they would certainly sink like a stone. The vivid description suggests an eyewitness.
“Your right hand.” The main fighting hand.
“You send out Your wrath.” Having passed His judgment on sin and wrongdoing He exacts the penalty.
“It consumes them as stubble.” A vivid picture taken from agriculture of the burning of stubble in the fields once its usefulness was over.
“And with the blast of your nostrils the waters were piled up,
The floods stood upright as a heap, the deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea.
The enemy said, ‘I will pursue,
I will overtake, I will divide the spoil,
My bloodlust will be satisfied on them,
I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.'
You blew with your wind, the sea covered them,
They sank as lead in the mighty waters.
Who is like you, Oh Yahweh, among the gods?
Who is like you, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?”
Yahweh had blown with His east wind, ‘the blast of His nostrils', on the waters and prepared a pathway for the children of Israel. Then the enemy, filled with bloodlust, boasted about what they would do to them (their nostrils were blasting too). So Yahweh blew again and they were destroyed in the waters. Thus was He revealed as superior to all ‘elohim' (here the poetic form ‘elim'), to all that is supernatural.
“With the blast of your nostrils.” A vivid connecting of the strong east wind (Exodus 14:21) with Yahweh.
“The floods stood upright as a heap.” Poetic licence demonstrating Yahweh's power. The waters obeyed His will. It is not necessarily a literal description but taking up the metaphor of the seas as a wall (Exodus 14:29).
“The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea.” Again poetic licence. The idea would seem to be that they became solid so that the children of Israel could walk on them, or alternately that they became thickened and stopped flowing.
“The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my bloodlust will be satisfied on them, I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.” This is a vivid picture of soldiers fired up with bloodlust and greed for spoil as they career towards the enemy. The people who were before them were an easy target.
“You blew with your wind, the sea covered them. They sank as lead in the mighty waters.” Here was the magnificent anticlimax. Even while they yelled their war-cries the bloodthirsty warriors were blown away by Yahweh's wind and waves, by His mighty breath, and sank like lead into the waters.
“Who is like you among the gods.” Yahweh is superior to all supernatural beings. He is unique and incomparable. In a vague way they recognised that in men's eyes there was a world of gods (they were not philosophers) but those gods were helpless and powerless and as nothing before Yahweh. Yahweh was far above all. He stood alone and none compared with Him.
“Glorious in holiness.” Holiness is that which sets God off as apart from man, and from any other ‘gods', His purity and ‘otherness' (unlikeness to anything earthly). He is unique and different in nature. Thus when anything on earth is made holy it shares that uniqueness and is untouchable except by what is holy.
“Fearful in praises, doing wonders.” What Yahweh has done in the face of the gods of Egypt is clearly in mind. By His wonders He has demonstrated that they are helpless and powerless. Here He is seen as praised for His fearsome acts.
“You in your mercy have led your people whom you have redeemed.
You have guided them in your strength to your holy habitation.”
The idea here may well be that having passed through the waters on the border of Egypt they have reached the wilderness where they were to serve Yahweh. This in itself was to them a major achievement. They have crossed the sea and are, as it were, in Yahweh's domain, where they are to worship Him at His mountain, His holy habitation, away from Egypt. Reaching the wilderness to worship Yahweh had constantly been their aim.
“Whom you have redeemed.” Deliverance by the payment of a price. The deliverance is not seen as without cost to Yahweh. He has expended His power in bringing it about.
“Your holy habitation.” Initially the wilderness where Moses met Him, and where they were to serve Him. Then it could apply to Mount Sinai where He would reveal Himself in fire and make His covenant with them. Then it applied to the land. And finally it would apply to the Tabernacle wherever it was set up, and the Temple. Each generation would interpret it differently according to their conditions and their experience of God.
“The peoples have heard, they tremble,
Pangs have taken hold of the inhabitants of Philistia,
Then were the chiefs of Edom amazed,
Trembling takes hold of the mighty men of Moab,
All the inhabitants of Canaan are melted away.
Terror and dread falls on them,
By the greatness of your arm they are as still as a stone.”
The song now looks forward to what lies ahead and depicts the future foes as waiting in terror. The children of Israel know now that they need not fear, for what God has done in Egypt will have petrified them and they will be still as a stone. This is again poetic licence.
The possible prominent foes are mentioned. Note that the inhabitants of Philistia come before Edom, Moab and the Canaanites. This may suggest that they are seen as the nearest, the first to be tackled, which would confirm that a smallish grouping in the South are in mind rather than the later Philistia. The name Philistia may be an updating, but archaeology may one day prove otherwise. If they were a smallish trading group in the South as in Genesis 21:32; Genesis 26:1; Genesis 26:8; Genesis 26:14, but still fierce, they would not tend to come to the notice of the great nations, but would be among the first to be reached by a traveller from Egypt.
We must recognise that the writer has no maps of what lies to the North. He speaks of the peoples he has heard about, starting with the nearest. Little was he to know how they would affect the progress of the children of Israel. (That they were not later quite so terrified when approached is evidence of the early date of the song).
“The mighty men of Moab.” Literally ‘the rams of Moab'. The men of Moab are seen in terms of powerful rams. Compare Isaiah 14:9 where the chief ones are described as ‘he-goats'.
“By the greatness of your arm they are still as stone.” As they consider the powerful arm of Yahweh these people freeze and become, as it were, literally petrified.
Exodus 15:16 (16b-18)
“Until your people pass through, Oh Yahweh,
Until the people pass through whom you have obtained.
You will bring them in and plant them in the mountain of your inheritance,
The place, Oh Yahweh, which you have made for yourself to dwell in,
The sanctuary, Oh Lord, which your hands have established.
Yahweh shall reign for ever and ever.”
The other peoples will be terror-stricken and petrified until the children of Israel have passed through, something still in the future. And then they, the people whom God had ‘obtained', will arrive at and be planted in ‘the mountain of your inheritance'. A similar phrase is used of Baal's dwelling-place in Ugaritic literature (16th century BC). Thus this refers to Yahweh's dwelling place. But as it is the place where the people are to ‘be planted' this probably refers to the whole promised land, along with its mountains, seen as ‘the mountain of God', the dwelling place of God, a special land prepared for His people through whom the whole world will be blessed. It is a visionary picture of a hoped for ideal, the new Eden, where God will dwell with His people.
It is in other words God's inheritance to His people (see Exodus 6:6), the place which God has made for Himself to dwell in and the sanctuary which He has established, seen as the whole promised land (Psalms 114:2). It is the prospective kingdom of God.
“You have obtained.” That is, obtained by redemption.
“Plant them.” The word is usually used of planting vegetation and trees. But compare 2 Samuel 7:10: ‘I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them that they may dwell in their own place' (see also 1 Chronicles 17:9; Psalms 80:8; Psalms 80:15; Jeremiah 24:6). So the idea is of the people being permanently established in their own land.
“The mountain of your inheritance.” This probably refers to the whole of the mountain ranges together with the rest of the promised land seen as one. They are all seen as ‘God's mountain'. This is His dwelling-place, given as an inheritance to His people (compare Exodus 6:6 - although a different word for inheritance is used). For Yahweh dwells among His people and ‘His mountain' is where they are planted.
Alternately it has been seen as meaning ‘the mountain that is Yours', with the emphasis on the place where God dwells and God's central sanctuary. Certainly mountains and hills were seen as symbols of eternal continuance and stability (Deuteronomy 33:15; Habakkuk 3:6; Isaiah 54:10), so that worship was regularly offered on mountains (Genesis 22:2; Exodus 18:20; 1 Kings 18:19; Mark 9:2). And it is true that the gods were often connected with mountains.
But if this be so the thought is not of any particular mountain. It is whichever particular hill or mountain God chooses to set His name on (Deuteronomy 12:5) at any particular time. It would be assumed that the sanctuary of God would be on such a raised place (contrast Deuteronomy 12:2). Thus it could be applied to any of the places where the worship of Yahweh would be centralised (e.g. Shechem (Joshua 24:1 with 15:26), Shiloh (Joshua 18:1 and often), and later Jerusalem), and around which His people would live (be planted). But note that if this be so the central emphasis is not on the hill or mountain as such, but on the setting up of the dwelling place of God among His people (compare Genesis 28:16 with Genesis 35:7). There His altar would be erected, and around it His people would be united (see Exodus 23:19; Exodus 34:26; Deuteronomy 12:5).
However, as the hope of the people is set at this stage on a future land where Yahweh will rule, given as a heritage to His people (Exodus 6:6; Exodus 3:8; Exodus 13:5), rather than on the specific establishing of a sanctuary for God, and they are to be ‘planted' there, it is probably the wider view that should be taken. The whole land where He has ‘planted' His people is seen as ‘God's mountain' and God's dwelling-place. It is His sanctuary.
“The sanctuary, Oh Lord, which your hands have established.” Psalms 114:2 understands this of the land of Judah, and by inference (through parallelism) Israel. There it reads, “When Israel went forth out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language, Judah became His sanctuary, Israel His dominion.” Compare also Isaiah 8:14. Furthermore Zechariah also looks forward to when the whole land will be a sanctuary (Zechariah 14:20). This would seem to confirm that ‘the sanctuary' and ‘the mountain' and ‘the place' all refer to the whole land.
“Yahweh will reign for ever and ever.” This is a declaration of the everlasting rule of Yahweh. The gods of Egypt have been shown to be as nothing. Yahweh is over all. The world lies at His feet. In the context the thought may well be that from His land, through His people, all the nations of the world will be blessed (compare ‘Yahweh reigns' (Psalms 97:1; Psalms 99:1)). Here already is the idea of the everlasting kingdom.
“For the horses of Pharaoh went in with his chariots,
And with his horsemen (drivers) into the sea,
And Yahweh brought again the waters of the sea on them,
But the children of Israel walked on dry land in the middle of the sea.”
This is a summary note added to confirm the application of the song. This is why they sang, because of what God had done for the children of Israel in destroying the elite of the Egyptian army and providing a passage for the children of Israel through the sea. (Notice again how the suggestion that Pharaoh himself went in is avoided).
The Song of Miriam (Exodus 15:20).
‘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.
“The prophetess.” There are few mentions of prophetesses in the Old Testament but one or two made a significant contribution. Deborah was a tribal leader, ‘a judge' (Judges 4:4), and she strengthened the hand of the war leader Barak. She too sang a song of victory (5:1). Huldah was consulted by important men to find the word of Yahweh (2 Kings 22:14). Noadiah was unhelpful to Nehemiah when, along with some prophets, she tried to influence him wrongly (Nehemiah 6:14). A prophetess was married to Isaiah (Isaiah 8:3). It is therefore clear that except when there were exceptional women like Deborah and Huldah they played a minor role, possibly mainly with women and in prophetic song.
“The sister of Aaron.” Aaron was the eldest son and probably head of the family. Thus Miriam would be known as the sister of Aaron. The description also kept her on the same level with Aaron and therefore inferior to Moses before God. It was possibly, but not necessarily, Miriam who had watched over the baby in the ark, and fetched his mother for the daughter of Pharaoh. If so she was very old.
“Timbrels.” These were kinds of tambourines held and struck with the hand. They appear to be used for worship and for joyous occasions and often to be associated with dancing (Psalms 149:3; Psalms 150:4).
“With dances.” Dancing was a common method of expressing joy, and praise and thanks (compare 2 Samuel 6:14; Psalms 149:3; Psalms 150:4).
‘And Miriam answered them, “Sing you to Yahweh, for he has triumphed gloriously (or ‘is highly exalted'). The horse and his rider has he thrown into the sea.'
This is expressed as a reply to the song sung by Moses and the children of Israel. It is like a chorus, repeating the first refrain. The two songs would be sung together, the latter following the former.
This song is of great importance. Its early provenance is accepted by most scholars, and it contains within it much of the theology of Israel. It acknowledges the uniqueness of Yahweh (Exodus 15:11), it stresses that Israel are the people whom He has redeemed (Exodus 15:13; Exodus 15:16), it declares that Yahweh is bringing them to His land (‘the mountain of Your inheritance') which He has set apart for them as His Sanctuary (Exodus 15:17), it clearly recognises the Holy War ahead (Exodus 15:14), and it proclaims that Yahweh will be King over them ‘for ever' (Exodus 15:18). Note that here their father's God is specifically said to be Yahweh (Exodus 15:2) not El Shaddai.