Exodus 14:20

so that it came between the camps of Egypt and Israel. The cloud was there in the darkness, but it lit up the night. So all night long neither camp went near the other.

BSB

Parallel translations

4 additional translations

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KJV

And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

ASV

and it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel; and there was the cloud and the darkness, yet gave it light by night: and the one came not near the other all the night.

YLT

and cometh in between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel, and the cloud and the darkness are, and he enlighteneth the night, and the one hath not drawn near unto the other all the night.

DBT

And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and was a cloud and darkness, and lit up the night; and the one did not come near the other all the night.

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Voices5

On this verse

Therefore this darkness of the body has been placed between us and God, like the cloud of old between the Egyptians and the Hebrews. This is perhaps what is meant by "He made darkness his separate place," namely, our dullness, through which few can see even a little.

Gregory of Nazianzus· THEOLOGICAL ORATION 2:12, 390patristic

Related commentary

And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel,....

John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)reformed

It was a cloud and darkness to them, etc. - That the Israelites might not be dismayed at the appearance of their enemies, and that these might not be able to discern the object of their pursuit, the pillar of cloud moved from the front to the rear of the Israelitish camp, so as perfectly to separate between them and the Egyptians.

Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible, 1832evangelical

The word and providence of God have a black and dark side towards sin and sinners, but a bright and pleasant side towards those that are Israelites indeed. That which is a savour of life unto life to some is a savour of death unto death to others.

Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1710puritan

Note, It is very common, but very absurd and criminal, for people to repent of their good deeds; their justice and charity, and even their repentance, are repented of.

Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1710puritan

Voices on this verse

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Rabbinic commentary

How the Hebraic tradition has read this verse — and Marcus Brown’s own reading of it.

Cross-references

11 linked verses

The verses this one reaches11

Isaiah 45:7
I form the light and create the darkness; I bring prosperity and create calamity. I, the LORD, do all these things.
Habakkuk 3:4
His radiance was like the sunlight; rays flashed from His hand, where His power is hidden.
2 Corinthians 2:15–16
For we are to God the sweet aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.
Isaiah 8:14
And He will be a sanctuary— but to both houses of Israel a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, to the dwellers of Jerusalem a trap and a snare.
Joshua 24:7
So your fathers cried out to the LORD, and He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, over whom He brought the sea and engulfed them. Your very eyes saw what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time.
Proverbs 4:18–19
The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.
Ezekiel 30:3
For the day is near, the Day of the LORD is near. It will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations.
Exodus 10:23
No one could see anyone else, and for three days no one left his place. Yet all the Israelites had light in their dwellings.
Psalms 18:11
He made darkness His hiding place, and storm clouds a canopy around Him.
Psalms 139:12
even the darkness is not dark to You, but the night shines like the day, for darkness is as light to You.
Amos 4:13
For behold, He who forms the mountains, who creates the wind and reveals His thoughts to man, who turns the dawn to darkness and strides on the heights of the earth— the LORD, the God of Hosts, is His name.”

Cross-references

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Around this verse

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread — the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

PlaceThe NileEgyptThe house of famine-refuge that becomes the house of bondage — the land Israel is planted in to await the exodus.

Featured studyThe Exodus — Redemption's Master-TypeThis study walks through this verse.

The Egyptians Drown in the Sea — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866) — public domain

Exodus — Deliverance, covenant, presence. A slave-people redeemed from Egypt, brought to Sinai, and given a tabernacle so that God might dwell among them.

Canon: Old Testament
Author: Moses — traditional attribution; internal narrator identifies Moses as recorder (17:14, 24:4, 34:27)
Date: 15th or 13th century BC, depending on chronology of the exodus

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first — the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Isaiah 8:14
And He will be a sanctuary— but to both houses of Israel a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, to the dwellers of Jerusalem a trap and a snare.
leads to
- 1 Peter 2:8
  and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word—and to this they were appointed.
- Romans 9:32–33
  Why not? Because their pursuit was not by faith, but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone,
- Isaiah 28:16
  So this is what the Lord GOD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.
- Luke 2:34
  Then Simeon blessed them and said to His mother Mary: “Behold, this Child is appointed to cause the rise and fall of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken…
- Ezekiel 11:16
  Therefore declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Although I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a…
Through
Psalms 18:11
He made darkness His hiding place, and storm clouds a canopy around Him.
leads to
- Deuteronomy 4:11
  You came near and stood at the base of the mountain, a mountain blazing with fire to the heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.
- Psalms 97:2
  Clouds and darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are His throne’s foundation.
- Psalms 81:7
  You called out in distress, and I rescued you; I answered you from the cloud of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah

The whole web at once: see the Arc.

Where the connections lead

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