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Exodus 15:22

in Exodus 15

Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the Desert of Shur. For three days they walked in the desert without finding water.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And Moses led Israel onward from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.

KJV

So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.

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This verse in Exodus 15

Commentary

8 notes on this verse
So Moses - Literally, And Moses. The history of the journey from the Red Sea to Sinai begins in fact with this verse, which would more conveniently have been the commencement of another chapter. From the Red sea - The station where Moses and his people halted to celebrate their deliverance is generally admitted to be the Ayoun Musa, i. e. the fountains of Moses. It is the only green spot near the passage over the Red Sea.

This site's exposition

So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea

on Exodus 15:22-23

Three days out of the water and there is no water, which is the whole distance between the song and the complaint that follows it. Marah means bitter, so the first stop after the sea is a disappointment that gets named for what was wrong with it. The wilderness of Shur is the same country Genesis 16:7 put Hagar in when she ran from Sarai, where the angel of the LORD found an Egyptian slave woman by a fountain on the way to Shur.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

That at Marah they had water, but it was bitter, so that though they had been three days without water they could not drink it, because it was extremely unpleasant to the taste or was likely to be prejudicial to their health, or was so brackish that it rather increased their thirst than quenched it,

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

wilderness of Shur--comprehending all the western part of Arabia-Petræa. The desert of Etham was a part of it, extending round the northern portion of the Red Sea, and a considerable distance along its eastern shore; whereas the "wilderness of Shur" (now Sudhr) was the designation of all the desert region of Arabia-Petræa that lay next to Palestine.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

AFTER I had fallen down at Mentone, and was grievously ill, a Brother in Christ called to me and said, "My dear Friend, you have now come to Marah." I replied, "Yes, and the waters are bitter." He then said, "But Marah is better than Elim, for in Elim the Israelites only drank of the water and ate of the fruit of the palm trees, and that was soon over. But at Marah we read that God, 'made for them a statute and an ordinance,' and that was never over.
AFTER I had fallen down at Mentone, and was grievously ill, a Brother in Christ called to me and said, "My dear Friend, you have now come to Marah." I replied, "Yes, and the waters are bitter." He then said, "But Marah is better than Elim, for in Elim the Israelites only drank of the water and ate of the fruit of the palm trees, and that was soon over. But at Marah we read that God, 'made for them a statute and an ordinance,' and that was never over. That statute and ordinance stood fast and will stand fast for Israel as long as they are a nation. There is much more benefit to be reaped from Marah than from Elim." I thanked my friend for that good word. I had found it true before. I have found it true since then and you and I, if we are, indeed, the people of God, will find it true to the end, that Marah, though it is bitter, is also better. And albeit that we do not like it, yet in the end there shall be no bitterness in it, but an unutterable sweetness which shall be ours through time and eternity! We have a long record about Marah, have we not? I have read you four verses concerning Marah. How many verses have we about Elim? Only one. Does Marah deserve to be talked about four times as much as Elim? Perhaps it does. Perhaps there is four times as much fruit to be obtained from the bitter waters of Marah than from the 12 springs of water, and 70 palm trees at Elim. Who knows? This I know, however, that we are very apt to talk more about our bitters than about our sweets—and that is a serious fault. It were well if we had fewer murmuring words for our sorrows and more songs of thanksgiving for our blessings.
1 more voice on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

The wilderness of Shur - This was on the coast of the Red Sea on their road to Mount Sinai. See the map.

The words behind it

17 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיַּסַּ֨עand he led out

    vaiyasa'H5265 →146 times

  • מֹשֶׁ֤הMoses

    moshehH4872 →765 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • מִיַּם־from [the] sea of

    miyam-H3220 →396 times

  • ס֔וּףreed[s]

    sufH5488 →28 times

  • וַיֵּצְא֖וּand they went out

    vaiyetzeuH3318 →1067 times

  • אֶל־into

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • מִדְבַּר־[the] wilderness of

    midbar-H4057 →270 times

  • שׁ֑וּרShur

    shurH7793 →

  • וַיֵּלְכ֧וּand they went

    vaiyelekhuH1980 →1546 times

  • שְׁלֹֽשֶׁת־three

    sheloshet-H7969 →432 times

  • יָמִ֛יםdays

    yamimH3117 →2304 times

  • בַּמִּדְבָּ֖רin the wilderness

    bamidbarH4057 →270 times

  • וְלֹא־and not

    velo'-H3808 →5168 times

  • מָ֥צְאוּthey found

    matzeuH4672 →455 times

  • מָֽיִם׃water

    mayimH4325 →581 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

10 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Genesis 16:7Now the angel of the LORD found Hagar by a spring of water in the desert—the spring along the road to Shur.5 worksPsalms 136:16He led His people through the wilderness. His loving devotion endures forever.4 worksExodus 3:18The elders of Israel will listen to what you say, and you must go with them to the king of Egypt and tell him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’3 worksGenesis 25:18Ishmael’s descendants settled from Havilah to Shur, which is near the border of Egypt as you go toward Asshur. And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers.3 works1 Samuel 15:7Then Saul struck down the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt.3 works2 Kings 3:9So the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom set out, and after they had traveled a roundabout route for seven days, they had no water for their army or for their animals.2 works
The other 4 cross-references, with their words ▾
Ezekiel 20:10So I brought them out of the land of Egypt and led them into the wilderness.2 works1 Samuel 27:9Whenever David attacked a territory, he did not leave a man or woman alive, but he took the flocks and herds, the donkeys, camels, and clothing. Then he would return to Achish,2 works1 Samuel 27:8Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these people had inhabited the land extending to Shur and Egypt.)2 worksGenesis 22:4On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Exodus 3:18

    The elders of Israel will listen to what you say, and you must go with them to the king of Egypt and tell him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with…

    it leads to

    • Exodus 9:1

      Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him that this is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.

    • Exodus 7:16

      Then say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me in the wilderness. But you have not…

  • Through

    Genesis 16:7

    Now the angel of the LORD found Hagar by a spring of water in the desert—the spring along the road to Shur.

    it leads to

    • Genesis 25:18

      Ishmael’s descendants settled from Havilah to Shur, which is near the border of Egypt as you go toward Asshur. And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Genesis 21:17

      Then God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, “What is wrong, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the…

  • Through

    Genesis 25:18

    Ishmael’s descendants settled from Havilah to Shur, which is near the border of Egypt as you go toward Asshur. And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers.

    it leads to

    • Genesis 16:12

      He will be a wild donkey of a man, and his hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand against him; he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”

    • Genesis 20:1

      Now Abraham journeyed from there to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar,

  • Through

    1 Samuel 15:7

    Then Saul struck down the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt.

    it leads to

    • Genesis 2:11

      The name of the first river is Pishon; it winds through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 1 Samuel 14:48

      He fought valiantly and defeated the Amalekites, delivering Israel from the hands of its plunderers.

Where this verse is studied

About Exodus

The Giving of the Law on Mount Sinai, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Giving of the Law on Mount Sinai, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Exodus: the study guide →Read Exodus 15 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2301: “Marah Better Than Elim” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Exodus 15 →