He took off their chariot wheels, and they drove them heavily; so that the Egyptians said, “Let’s flee from the face of Israel, for Yahweh fights for them against the Egyptians!”
Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come again on the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.” Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it. Yahweh overthrew the Egyptians in the middle of the sea. The waters returned, and covered the chariots and the horsemen, even all Pharaoh’s army that went in after them into the sea. There remained not so much as one of them. But the children of Israel walked on dry land in the middle of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand, and on their left. Thus Yahweh saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv25, 27 Or, heavily.
Or, heavily.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv26–30 Exo 14:26 And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch…
Exo 14:26 And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.
Ver. 26. That the waters may come again.] By wind that God sent. {Exo 15:10} "The winds blow, the waters flow." {Psa 147:18}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv25, 27, 28, 30 Took off their chariot wheels; either burning them with…
Took off their chariot wheels; either burning them with lightning, or tearing them in pieces with thunder-bolts, or loosening them, and making them to fall off.
That they drave them heavily; Heb. and he made him, or them, the singular number for the plural, i.e. the Egyptians, or their chariots, to go heavily, hardly and slowly, either for want of wheels, or for breaches in them, or because the rain had softened the bottom of the sea, or because the lightnings and thunders affrighted and dispirited their horses.
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For the Lord fighteth for them. Prodigious stupidity! They did not understand and consider this, though it was notorious, to them especially, by many great and fresh instances, till it was too late to prevent it; therein being a type of most sinners, who will not be convinced, nor repent, till they be past all benefit by it.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv25–30 And took off their chariot wheels,.... The Targum of…
And took off their chariot wheels,.... The Targum of Jonathan renders it "cut" or "sawed them off"; perhaps they might be broken off by the hailstones. Milton (s) seems to have a notion of Pharaoh's chariot wheels being broken, when he says, "and craze" (i.e. break) "their chariot wheels"; or, as Jarchi suggests, he burnt them, through the force of the fire or lightning:
that they drave them heavily; the wheels being off, the chariots must be dragged along by the horses by mere force, which must be heavy work; or, "and made them to go, or led them heavily", or "with heaviness" (t); and so to be ascribed to the Lord, who looked at the Egyptians, took off the wheels of their chariots, and stopped them in the fury of their career, that they could not pursue with the swiftness they had:
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so that the Egyptians said, let us flee from the face of Israel; for by this battery and flashes of fire on them, they concluded that Israel, who they thought were fleeing before them, had turned and were facing them, and the Lord at the head of them; and therefore it was high time for them to flee, as follows:
for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians; for they rightly took the thunder and lightning, the fire and hailstones, to be the artillery of heaven turned against them, and in favour of the Israelites. Jarchi interprets it, the Lord fights for them in Egypt, even in Egypt itself; but so he had done many a time before, of which they were not insensible.
(s) Paradise Lost, B. 12. ver. 210. (t) "et deduxit eos graviter", Vatablus; "et duxit eos cum gravitate", Drusius; so Ainsworth.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv25, 26, 28, 30 They had driven furiously, but now they drove heavily,…
They had driven furiously, but now they drove heavily, and found themselves embarrassed at every step; the way grew deep, their hearts grew sad, their wheels dropt off, and the axle-trees failed. They had been flying upon the back of Israel as the hawk upon the dove; but now they cried, Let us flee from the face of Israel.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv28, 30 Verse 28. There remained not so much as one…
Verse 28. There remained not so much as one of them.] Josephus says that the army of Pharaoh consisted of fifty thousand horse, and two hundred thousand foot, of whom not one remained to carry tidings of this most extraordinary catastrophe.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv25, 26, 27, 30 Exo 14:25. They drave heavily — They had driven…
Exo 14:25. They drave heavily — They had driven furiously, but they now found themselves embarrassed at every step; the way grew deep, their hearts grew sad, their wheels dropped off, and the axle-trees failed. They had been flying upon the back of Israel as the hawk on the dove; but now they cried, Let us flee from the face of Israel.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv26–28 That the waters may come - A sudden cessation…
That the waters may come - A sudden cessation of the wind, possibly coinciding with a spring tide (it was full moon) would immediately convert the low flat sand-banks first into a quicksand, and then into a mass of waters, in a time far less than would suffice for the escape of a single chariot, or horseman loaded with heavy corslet.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v25 Lord. thus they reluctantly confess his might, and are…
Lord. thus they reluctantly confess his might, and are forced to glory Him in their destruction. Their change is only the effect of fear and temporal danger, ver. 18. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv27, 28, 30 Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, &c.--What…
Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, &c.--What circumstances could more clearly demonstrate the miraculous character of this transaction than that at the waving of Moses' rod, the dividing waters left the channel dry, and on his making the same motion on the opposite side, they returned, commingling with instantaneous fury? Is such the character of any ebb tide?
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv25, 27, 30 25. Took off their chariot wheels — Their chariots…
25. Took off their chariot wheels — Their chariots were entangled with each other, bemired, broken, and overturned in the awful confusion that ensued from the pouring rains, blinding lightnings, and appalling thunders. Yet this was but a premonition of what awaited them when the sea returned to his strength.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv25, 26, 29, 30 25. removed. The marg. bound (Sam. LXX. Pesh.; ויאסר…
25. removed. The marg. bound (Sam. LXX. Pesh.; ויאסר for ויסר), i.e. clogged,—presumably by their sinking in the wet sand,—is probably to be preferred (so Di. Bä.).
and made them to drive (them) heavily. The marg. is preferable, for grammatical reasons.
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and Egypt said, Let me flee. The same idiomatic and forcible singular as in v. 10. So frequently, as Num_20:18-19, Deu_2:27-29, Jos_17:14 f., 17 f., besides often in the prophets (cf. LOT. p. 390).
fighteth] as v. 14.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv26, 27, 28, 30 (26) And the Lord said.—Or, The Lord had said.…
(26) And the Lord said.—Or, The Lord had said. Probably the command was given as soon as the Israelites were safe across. It would take some hours for the north-west wind to bring back the waters of the Bitter Lakes.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv25, 26, 28, 29, 30 And took off their chariot wheels. The Sept. has…
And took off their chariot wheels. The Sept. has clogged the axles of their chariots; " but this is from a reading not at present found in the Hebrew MSS. Most modern commentators, however, prefer the reading, which gives a good sense; whereas the existing text is unintelligible. As Kalisch observes, if the wheels of the chariots had been broken off, the chariots would not have moved at all. " That they drove them heavily. The marginal rendering, and made them go heavily," is preferable. The wheels no doubt sank into the sand up to the axles, and were with difficulty extricated, again to sink a few yards further on.
Progress was thus greatly retarded. So that the Egyptians said, Let us flee. " Literally, And Egypt said, "I will flee. The Lord fighteth for them. Compare the promise of Moses (ver. 14). The Egyptians were convinced, by the various obstacles which they encountered, that Jehovah was lending his people active aid, and miraculously obstructing their advance. If this were so, it was of no use to persevere, and accordingly they began their retreat.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v30 Thus the Lord saved Israel
Exo_14:30-31
Thus the Lord saved Israel
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The great deliverance
Had it not been for this great deliverance, the children of Israel would only have been remembered in the after-history of the world as the slaves who helped to build the Pyramids.
Their religion was fast perishing among them, their religious rites forgotten; and they would soon have been found among the worshippers of the monster gods of Egypt. But God had better things in store for them, when He led them through the Red Sea, making a path for them amid the waters.
I. It was one of the greatest blessings for the human race, that during the preservation of the Jewish people, the great truth of the personality of God, and His nearness to His people, was set before them in language which could not be mistaken. And it is one of the greatest blessings which we enjoy, that we have the same Lord personally presented to us, revealed in the risen and glorified Lord Jesus Christ.
II. God is set before us here not only as a Person, but as a person who cares with all a fathers love and watchfulness for his own people, Our hopes in days of doubt and difficulty are directed to the same personal fatherly care of the great God who loves all His creatures, and who loves Christians above all in the Lord Jesus Christ.
III. When a great national victory is achieved, what boots it to him who loses his life in the hour of victory? The question for us is, not whether God has wrought a great deliverance, but whether we as individuals are partakers of that deliverance, partakers of the victory of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Archbishop Tait.)
Israels deliverance
I. The state of the Israelites when Moses came to them.
1. They were in bondage.
2. They were so far conscious of the misery of their position that they had a strong desire for liberty.
3. They were by no means ready at first to accept the message of Gods deliverance.
4. They had their comforts even in slavery. In all these things we have a picture of ourselves.
II. The deliverance.
1. The moment the Passover is observed, that moment Pharaohs power is broken. The moment that all is right between us and God, that moment Satans power is broken, and he can no longer hold us in bondage.
2. The waters of judgment which saved the Israelites were the means of destroying the vast hosts of Egypt. The power of Satan is broken by the very means by which he intended to destroy.
3. It is our privilege to take our stand on the other side of the Red Sea, and see ourselves raised up with christ into a new life. (W. Hay Aitken, M. A.)
The diving deliverer recognised
And this mighty God, who so delivered Israel in ancient time, is our God for ever and ever. The walls and covering of our habitations are as truly upheld and kept from falling and crushing us to death, by the Divine hand, as were the walls of waters kept upright, like solid stone, by Almighty power, while the Hebrews passed safely between. We say that it was miracle which protected them, and the laws of nature which protect us. But in both cases it is God. The deepest and truest philosophy of life and faith for us is to bring ourselves into the most intimate relations with the infinite God. The most profound and accurate student of nature is he whose eye is quickest to see the plan and purpose of an intelligent, governing Mind in everything that exists. What should we think of an Israelite walking through the depths of the sea on dry ground, between walls of water standing up like marble on either hand, and yet not recognizing the intended and merciful display of the Divine power for his protection? What should we think of a ransomed Hebrew standing on the safe shore of the Red Sea on that memorable morning, and yet refusing to join in the song of thanksgiving for the great deliverance of the night? The same that we ought to think of one who lies down to sleep at night in his own house, and goes to his daily occupation in the morning, and never prays, never offers thanksgiving to God, for the mercy which redeems his life from destruction every moment. In God we live, and move, and have our being. Every use of our faculties, every sensation of pleasure, every emotion of happiness, every possession, experience, and hope that makes existence a blessing, is a witness to us of Gods special, minute, and ceaseless attention to our welfare. (D. March, D. D.)
.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v29 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_14:29-31
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_14:29-31
THE SALVATION OF THE GOOD
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I. That the good are saved while in the very midst of agencies which might be hostile to them. “But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea.” Thus the Israelites were saved while they were surrounded by the waters of the Red Sea. Their situation was perilous, yet it was sate. The waters were made into a wall of protection. And so the good are saved in this world, even while they are surrounded by sinful men, by influences and maxims which are naturally prejudicial to their moral safety. They are saved in the waters. God makes safe paths in this wicked world for the good to walk in; He makes even the adverse influences of life to minister to the defence of His people. The Israelites were not drowned even though they were surrounded by the waters; the good need not be lost because they are encompassed by sin. Religion enables a man to walk circumspectly in the midst of moral perils, and to go where duty leads. The salvation of God does not take men out of the difficult circumstances of life, but guides through them.
II. That the good are saved notwithstanding all the hindrances and enemies which may pursue them. “Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore.” The Israelites had many enemies to their deliverance; they had by Divine aid to overcome many obstacles. And every man has many impediments to his salvation by the grace of God,—he has a carnal mind, a corrupt heart, a wicked companionship, and even the temporal circumstances of life may conspire against him, yet all these shall be overcome by the help of God, as were the Egyptians. The salvation of God is co-extensive with all hindrances and with all enemies,—it gives a man to see all his past sins dead upon the seashore of a new life.
III. That the good are inspired by their salvation with trustful and reverent feelings toward God. “And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and His servant Moses.” Thus salvation of the soul is a great work, because sin is great, because mercy is great, and because the enemies overcome are great. God is its Author; He only can destroy the Egyptian of sin. Salvation inspires reverence. It awakens trust. It animates with a respect for the ministers of God; the people believed Moses. This is the end of God’s dealings with men, to increase all good duties within them to Himself. Let us never distrust God, or wrong His ministers. Thus we see that the Red Sea which threatened destruction to the Israelites proved the greatest benefit to them. And the pain of correction of sin ends in the joy of salvation. LESSONS:—
1. That the way of salvation is opened up by Christ as was the path to the Red Sea.
2. That men may be saved from all their moral enemies.
3. That the salvation of God should beget reverence and trust within the soul.
4. Are you saved?
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Exo_14:29-31. The divided sea is a type of baptism, and, consequently, of all that which is requisite to purify the soul from sin. The Red Sea of the Redeemer’s blood is the abyss into which the sins of believers are so deeply plunged that, if sought for, they can never be found; the sea which swallows up and overwhelms Satan with all his host, and the old man, and quickens in us a new man, who after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. This precious blood of Christ, who offered Himself to God by the Holy Spirit, is that which alone perfectly cleanses our consciences from dead works to serve the living God. Not, indeed, as indispensably necessary as this blood, and the vivifying Spirit inseparably united with it, yet serviceable for the purification from sin, and the mortification of corrupt nature, are the various trials which are not wanting to the true Christian. (Krummacher.)
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY
REV. WM. ADAMSON
Pharaoh’s body! Exo_14:30. At dawn, the surf-beaten shore was strewn with the carcases of Egypt’s chivalry. Among them lay the corpse of the proud and stubborn monarch—a prey to the hosts of vultures that darkened the air, and to the motley groups of wild beasts that lined the shores. The Egyptians considered this as the greatest of all misfortunes; and it was supposed that the soul could find no rest until the body was interred. The ancient poets frequently represented these souls as visiting their friends on earth to announce where their bodies were to be searched for that they might be buried. In Egypt these burials were associated with remarkable ceremonies; but were such for Pharaoh? Apparently, the Israelites took the golden ornaments and jewellery, as well as the richly wrought weapons of the dead; so that Pharaoh’s body would share the fate of the others. The jackals of the desert and the vultures of the air—symbolised by the jackal and vulture-headed colossal stone gods of Thebes—would soon devour them. Near Thebes, the Lybian hills for nearly five miles have been converted into a labyrinth of sepulchres, where all the kings lie in glory—every one in his own house. Among them is the tomb of Pharaoh, the wide extent of whose dominion, at the time of his destruction in the Red Sea, is indicated by five lines of tribute bearers—offering gifts of ivory, apes, leopards, skins, gold, and other valuables. On it are sculptured pictures of masons at work upon monstrous sphinxes—no doubt captive workmen, perhaps Israelite slaves—masses of masonry
“Which now are turned to dust,
And overgrown with black oblivious rust.”
—Spenser.
Deliverance! Exo_14:31. Mr. Bower says that temptations resemble the rocks which rest their jagged sides above the waves when it is low water. No vessel dares come near them. But after a while the tide comes sweeping into the bay, and buries the rocks under a flood of water, so that the largest ships may ride in safety above their teeth of death—as well as the lightest skiff. No doubt Israel thought their difficulties of deliverance very great—incapable on being surmounted; but when the sea of God’s Providence swept in upon the land of Egypt, they were borne high above the jagged rocks towards the haven where He would have them be. Therefore—
“Man’s wisdom is to seek
His strength in God alone;
For e’en an angel would be weak
Who trusted in his own.”
—Cowper.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v30 Thus the Lord saved Israel
Thus the Lord saved Israel
Redemption: (Exodus type) Summary. Exodus is the book of redemption and teaches:
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(1) redemption is wholly of God Exo 3:7; Exo 3:8; Joh 3:16.
(2) redemption is through a person. (See Scofield "Exo 2:2"). Joh 3:16; Joh 3:17.
(3) redemption is by blood Exo 12:13; Exo 12:23; Exo 12:27; 1Pe 1:18.
(4) redemption is by power Exo 6:6; Exo 13:14; Rom 8:2.
(See Scofield "Isa 59:20"). See Scofield "Rom 3:24".
The blood of Christ redeems the believer from the guilt and penalty of sin. 1Pe 1:18 as the power of the Spirit delivers from the dominion of sin.; Rom 8:2; Eph 2:2.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv26, 29 Yahweh said to Moses, "Reach out with your hand…
Yahweh said to Moses, "Reach out with your hand ... and their horsemen."
This can be stated as an indirect quote. AT: "Yahweh told Moses to reach out with his hand over the sea so that the waters would come back onto the Egyptians, their chariots, and their horsemen."
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come back onto
"fall on"
The Egyptians fled into the sea
Since the sea was closing in on top of the Egyptians, instead of escaping, they were actually running right into the water.
Yahweh drove the Egyptians
"Yahweh pushed the Egyptians" or "Yahweh threw the Egyptians"
translationWords
Yahweh
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v25 14:25 He twisted their chariot wheels: The ancient versions…
14:25 He twisted their chariot wheels: The ancient versions differ on the translation of this phrase. Perhaps there was deep sand where the water had been, and this broke the light wheels of the chariots. At any rate, the Egyptian charge through the sea failed, and they became terrified. • The Lord is fighting for them: Certainly by this time everyone in Egypt was aware of the special relationship between the Lord and his people.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.