Exodus 14:15-25

Exodus 14:15-25

[15] And the LORD  said  unto Moses,  Wherefore criest  thou unto me? speak  unto the children  of Israel,  that they go forward:  [16] But lift thou up  thy rod,  and stretch out  thine hand  over the sea,  and divide  it: and the children  of Israel  shall go  on dry  ground through the midst  of the sea.  [17] And I, behold, I will harden  the hearts  and they shall follow  them:  and I will get me honour  upon Pharaoh,  upon his chariots,  and upon his horsemen.  [18] shall know  that I am the LORD,  when I have gotten me honour  upon Pharaoh,  upon his chariots,  and upon his horsemen.  [19] And the angel  of God,  which went  before  the camp  of Israel,  removed  behind  them; and the pillar  of the cloud  went  from before their face,  and stood  behind  [20] 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.  [21] And Moses  stretched out  his hand  over the sea;  and the LORD  caused the sea  back by a strong  east  wind  all that night,  and made  the sea  dry  land, and the waters  were divided.  [22] 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.  [23] pursued,  and went in  after  them to the midst  of the sea,  even all Pharaoh's  horses,  his chariots,  and his horsemen.  [24] And it came to pass, that in the morning  watch  the LORD  looked  unto the host  through the pillar  of fire  and of the cloud,  and troubled  the host  [25] And took off  their chariot  wheels,  that they drave  them heavily:  said,  Let us flee  from the face  of Israel;  for the LORD  fighteth 

What does Exodus 14:15-25 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The strong east wind that God sent ( Exodus 14:21) recalls the wind from God that swept over the face of the primeval waters in creation ( Genesis 1:2). The cloud became a source of light to the fleeing Israelites but darkness to the pursuing Egyptians ( Exodus 14:19-20).
"Thus the double nature of the glory of God in salvation and judgment, which later appears so frequently in Scripture, could not have been more graphically depicted." [1]
The angel switched from guiding to guarding the Israelites. The strong east wind was another miracle like those that produced the plagues ( Exodus 14:21; cf. Psalm 77:16-19).
The two million Israelites could have passed through the sea in the time the text says if they crossed in a wide column, perhaps a half-mile wide ( Exodus 14:22). Some interpreters take the wall of water literally and others interpret it figuratively.
"The metaphor [2] is no more to be taken literally than when Ezra 9:9 says that God has given him a "wall" (the same word) in Israel. It is a poetic metaphor to explain why the Egyptian chariots could not sweep in to right and left, and cut Israel off; they had to cross by the same ford, directly behind the Israelites." [3]
Nevertheless nothing in the text precludes a literal wall of water. [4] This seems to be the normal meaning of the text.
The text does not say that Pharaoh personally perished in the Red Sea (cf. Exodus 14:8; Exodus 14:10; Exodus 14:28; Psalm 106:7-12; Psalm 136:13-15). [5]