Exodus 14:22
in Exodus 14and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.
KJV
And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.
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This verse in Exodus 14
Commentary
10 notes on this verseHow hard a temptation it is to pass through the midst of the sea, to see the waves rise piled up, to hear the noise and rumbling of the raging waters! But if you follow Moses, that is, the law of God, the waters will become for you walls on the right and left, and you will find a path on dry ground in the midst of the sea. Moreover, it can happen that the heavenly journey that we say the soul takes may hold peril of waters. Great waves may be found there.
This site's exposition
And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea
on Exodus 14:21-22
The sea goes back before a strong east wind blowing all that night, so a means and a miracle stand in the same sentence. Israel walks on dry ground with the waters a wall on the right hand and on the left, and both details are repeated word for word at verse 29 once the army is gone. Paul calls the crossing a baptism at 1 Corinthians 10:1 and 10:2, saying the fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea.
This site's exposition
went through the sea on dry ground
Adam Clarke takes the walls of water on the right and on the left as the detail that rules out a strong wind and an ebb tide working alone. John Gill records a Jewish tradition that Judah went into the sea first, and the account of Josephus that Moses went ahead of the Israelites. Gill calls that first step through the sea strong faith.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
A commentator
Augustine of HippoEXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 107.3 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
This people of God, freed from a great and broad Egypt, is led, as through the Red Sea, that in baptism it may make an end of its enemies. For by the sacrament as it were of the Red Sea, that is by baptism consecrated with the blood of Christ, the pursuing Egyptians, the sins, are washed away.
Again, according to the view of the inspired Paul, the people itself, by passing through the Red Sea, proclaimed the good tidings of salvation by water. The people passed over, and the Egyptian king with his host was engulfed, and by these actions this Sacrament was foretold. For even now, whensoever the people is in the water of regeneration, fleeing from Egypt, from the burden of sin, it is set free and saved; but the devil with his own servants (I mean, of course, the spirits of evil), is choked with grief, and perishes, deeming the salvation of men to be his own misfortune.
This people of God, freed from a great and broad Egypt, is led, as through the Red Sea, that in baptism it may make an end of its enemies. For by the sacrament as it were of the Red Sea, that is by baptism consecrated with the blood of Christ, the pursuing Egyptians, the sins, are washed away.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground,.... Some Jewish writers say (c), that the tribe of Judah went in first, and then the other tribes followed; but it is most likely, what Josephus says (d), that Moses first entered in, and then the Israelites, encouraged by his example, went in after him; and a very adventurous action it was, and nothing but strong faith in the almighty power and promise of God could have engaged them in it, to which the apostle ascribes it, Heb 11:
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.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
And the waters were a wall unto them on their right and on their left - This verse demonstrates that the passage was miraculous. Some have supposed that the Israelites had passed through, favored by an extraordinary ebb, which happened at that time to be produced by a strong wind, which happened just then to blow!
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Were a wall unto them - Compare Nah 3:8. The waters served the purpose of an intrenchment and wall; the people could not be attacked on either flank during the transit; to the north was the water covering the whole district; to the south was the Red Sea.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּבֹ֧אוּ | vaiyavou | and they went | H935 → | 2568 times |
| בְנֵֽי־ | venei- | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| בְּת֥וֹךְ | betokh | in [the] middle of | H8432 → | 418 times |
| הַיָּ֖ם | haiyam | the sea | H3220 → | 396 times |
| בַּיַּבָּשָׁ֑ה | baiyabashah | on the dry ground | H3004 → | 14 times |
| וְהַמַּ֤יִם | vehamayim | and the water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| לָהֶם֙ | lahem | for them | ||
| חֹמָ֔ה | chomah | [was] a wall | H2346 → | |
| מִֽימִינָ֖ם | miminam | from right their | H3225 → | 140 times |
| וּמִשְּׂמֹאלָֽם׃ | umisemolam | and from left their | H8040 → |
וַיָּבֹ֧אוּand they went
vaiyavouH935 →2568 times
בְנֵֽי־[the] people of
venei-H1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֛לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
בְּת֥וֹךְin [the] middle of
betokhH8432 →418 times
הַיָּ֖םthe sea
haiyamH3220 →396 times
בַּיַּבָּשָׁ֑הon the dry ground
baiyabashahH3004 →14 times
וְהַמַּ֤יִםand the water
vehamayimH4325 →581 times
לָהֶם֙for them
lahem
חֹמָ֔ה[was] a wall
chomahH2346 →
מִֽימִינָ֖םfrom right their
miminamH3225 →140 times
וּמִשְּׂמֹאלָֽם׃and from left their
umisemolamH8040 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 66:6He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the waters on foot; there we rejoiced in Him.
it leads to
- Joshua 3:16
the flowing water stood still. It backed up as far upstream as Adam, a city in the area of Zarethan, while the water flowing toward the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 14:21–22
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were…
- Joshua 3:14
So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carried the ark of the covenant ahead of them.
- Joshua 3:16
Through
Hebrews 11:29By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were drowned.
it leads to
- Psalms 78:13
He split the sea and brought them through; He set the waters upright like a wall.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 106:9–11
He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up; He led them through the depths as through a desert.
- Exodus 14:13
But Moses told the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the LORD’s salvation, which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never…
- Psalms 78:13
Through
Exodus 15:19For when Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and horsemen went into the sea, the LORD brought the waters of the sea back over them. But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.
it leads to
- Exodus 14:28–29
The waters flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had chased the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.
- Exodus 14:28–29
Through
Psalms 78:13He split the sea and brought them through; He set the waters upright like a wall.
it leads to
- Exodus 14:21
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were…
- Exodus 14:21
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
About Exodus
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 107.3; Gregory of Nyssa, ON THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON NUMBERS 27.10.