Exodus 15:15
in Exodus 15Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed; trembling will seize the leaders of Moab; those who dwell in Canaan will melt away,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then were the chiefs of Edom dismayed; The mighty men of Moab, trembling taketh hold upon them: All the inhabitants of Canaan are melted away.
KJV
Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away.
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This verse in Exodus 15
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThe dukes of Edom - Idumea was governed at this time by those called אלפים alluphim, heads, chiefs, or captains. See Clarke’s note on Gen 36:15.
This site's exposition
The nations will hear and tremble
on Exodus 15:14-16
The song names the peoples in the order they sit along the road, Philistia, Edom, Moab and Canaan. Forty years later Rahab says it back at Joshua 2:9 to 11, naming the Red Sea as the cause.
This site's exposition
the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed
Adam Clarke notes that Edom was then ruled by chiefs, the alluphim. Genesis 36:15 gives that title to the heads of the clans descended from Esau.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed, Of which there were many, see Gen 36:15 the land being first governed by dukes, as perhaps it was at this time, though in some few years after it had a king, Num 20:14 now these, when they heard of the wonderful things that were done for Israel in Egypt, at the Red sea, and in the wilderness, were astonished and surprised, and filled with fear and dread, see Deu 2:4, the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them: as did on Balak the king of Moab, and his people, Num 22:2, where may be observed a literal accomplishment of this prophecy: all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away; as their hearts did, through fear, when they heard what God did for Israel against the Egyptians and the Amorites, and understood that they were upon the march to their land to invade it and dispossess them of it: see the fulfilment of this prediction in Jos 2:9 thus when Babylon shall be destroyed, as Pharaoh and his host were, and the people of God saved out of the midst of her, as Israel was, the kings of the earth will stand afar off for fear of her torment, and bewail and lament for her, Rev 18:9.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
The purport thereof is: “when the people will hear [of Thy visitation upon the Egyptians], they will tremble from the blow of Thy hands, and pangs will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia when they will hear [of those deeds].
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אָ֤ז | ʾaz | then | H227 → | 141 times |
| נִבְהֲלוּ֙ | nivhalu | they are terrified | H926 → | |
| אַלּוּפֵ֣י | ʾalufei | [the] chiefs of | H441 → | |
| אֱד֔וֹם | ʾedom | Edom | H123 → | |
| אֵילֵ֣י | ʾeilei | [the] leaders of | H352 → | 187 times |
| מוֹאָ֔ב | moav | Moab | H4124 → | |
| יֹֽאחֲזֵ֖מוֹ | yochazemov | it has seized them | H270 → | 67 times |
| רָ֑עַד | raad | trembling | H7461 → | |
| נָמֹ֕גוּ | namogu | they have melted away | H4127 → | |
| כֹּ֖ל | kol | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יֹשְׁבֵ֥י | yoshevei | [the] inhabitants of | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| כְנָֽעַן׃ | khenaan | Canaan | H3667 → | 94 times |
אָ֤זthen
ʾazH227 →141 times
נִבְהֲלוּ֙they are terrified
nivhaluH926 →
אַלּוּפֵ֣י[the] chiefs of
ʾalufeiH441 →
אֱד֔וֹםEdom
ʾedomH123 →
אֵילֵ֣י[the] leaders of
ʾeileiH352 →187 times
מוֹאָ֔בMoab
moavH4124 →
יֹֽאחֲזֵ֖מוֹit has seized them
yochazemovH270 →67 times
רָ֑עַדtrembling
raadH7461 →
נָמֹ֕גוּthey have melted away
namoguH4127 →
כֹּ֖לall
kolH3605 →5413 times
יֹשְׁבֵ֥י[the] inhabitants of
yosheveiH3427 →1079 times
כְנָֽעַן׃Canaan
khenaanH3667 →94 times
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
Joshua 2:11When we heard this, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in the heavens above and on the earth below.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 4:39
Know therefore this day and take to heart that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.
- Joshua 5:1
Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the Israelites until…
- Joshua 7:5
And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of them, chasing them from the gate as far as the quarries and striking them down on the slopes. So the hearts of the people…
- Isaiah 13:7
Therefore all hands will fall limp, and every man’s heart will melt.
- Deuteronomy 4:39
Through
Joshua 2:9and said to them, “I know that the LORD has given you this land and that the fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who dwell in the land are melting…
it leads to
- Exodus 23:27
I will send My terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn and run.
- Deuteronomy 2:25
This very day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon all the nations under heaven. They will hear the reports of you and tremble in anguish because of you.”
- Exodus 23:27
Through
Psalms 68:2As smoke is blown away, You will drive them out; as wax melts before the fire, the wicked will perish in the presence of God.
it leads to
- Micah 1:4
The mountains will melt beneath Him, and the valleys will split apart, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope.
- Hosea 13:3
Therefore they will be like the morning mist, like the early dew that vanishes, like chaff blown from a threshing floor, like smoke through an open window.
- Micah 1:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies16
About Exodus

Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PlaceThe LevantCanaanThe land God promised to Abraham's seed, walked and marked with altars by the patriarchs and possessed under Joshua four centuries…
- PlaceTransjordanEdomThe highland nation descended from Esau that refused Israel passage on the King's Highway, and whose pride the prophets answered.
- PlaceTransjordanMoabThe high country east of the Dead Sea, home of Lot's descendants, where Balak hired Balaam, where Ruth was born, and where Moses l…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
