1sn This chapter is a song of praise sung by Moses and the people right after the deliverance from the Sea. The song itself is vv. 1b-18; it falls into three sections—praise to God (1b-3), the cause for the praise (4-13), and the conclusion (14-18). The point of the first section is that God’s saving acts inspire praise from his people; the second is that God’s powerful acts deliver his people from the forces of evil; and the third section is that God’s demonstrations of his sovereignty inspire confidence in him by his people. So the Victory Song is very much like the other declarative praise psalms—the resolve to praise, the power of God, the victory over the enemies, the incomparability of God in his redemption, and the fear of the people. See also C. Cohen, “Studies in Early Israelite Poetry I: An Unrecognized Case of Three Line Staircase Parallelism in the Song of the Sea,” JANESCU 7 (1975):13-17; D. N. Freedman, “Strophe and Meter in Exodus 15,” in A Light Unto My Path: Studies in Honor of J. M. Myers (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1974), 163-203; E. Levine, “Neofiti I: A Study of Exodus 15,” Bib 54 (1973): 301-30; T. C. Butler, “‘The Song of the Sea’: Exodus 15:1-18: A Study in the Exegesis of Hebrew Poetry,” DissAb 32 (1971): 2782-A; and J. P. Van der Westhuizen, “Literary Device in Exodus 15:1-18 and Deut. 32:1-43,” OTWSA 17/18 (1974/1975): 57-73.
2tn The verb is ryv!y (yasir), a normal imperfect tense form. But after the adverb “then” this form is to be treated as a preterite (see GKC §107.c).
3tn Heb “and they said, saying.” The phrase “and they said” is redundant and has not been included in the translation.
4tn The form is the singular cohortative, expressing the resolution of Moses to sing the song of praise (“I will” being stronger than “I shall”).
5tn This causal clause gives the reason for and summary of the praise. The Hebrew expression has ha*G* ha)G`-yK! (ki ga’oh ga’a). The basic idea of the verb is “rise up loftily” or “proudly.” But derivatives of the root carry the nuance of majesty or pride (Driver, 132). So the idea of the perfect tense with its infinitive absolute may mean “he is highly exalted” or “he has done majestically” or “he is gloriously glorious.”
6sn The common understanding is that Egypt did not have people riding horses at this time, and so the phrase the horse and its rider is either viewed as an anachronism or is interpreted to mean charioteers. The word “to ride” can mean on a horse or in a chariot. Some have suggested changing “rider” to “chariot” (re-vocalization) to read “the horse and its chariot.”
7tn Heb “Yah.” Moses’ poem here uses a short form of the name Yahweh, traditionally rendered in English by “the LORD.”
8tn The word tr*m=z!w+ (wezimrat) is problematic. It probably had a suffix yod that was accidentally dropped because of the yod on the divine name following. Most scholars posit another meaning for the word. A meaning of “power” fits the line fairly well, forming a hendiadys with strength—“strength and power” becoming “strong power.” Similar lines are in Isa 12:2 and Ps 118:14. Others suggest “protection” (Freedman) or “glory” (E. M. Good). Kaiser opts for “protection” and forms a hendiadys out of that. However, there is nothing substantially wrong with “my song” in the line—only that it would be a nicer match if it had something to do with strength.
9tn The word hwn (nawa) occurs only here. It may mean “beautify, adorn” with praises (see BDB). Driver proposes a slight change to make it read “thank.” See also M. Dahood, “Exodus 15:2: ‘anwehu and Ugaritic snwt,” Bib 59 (1979): 260-61; and M. Klein, “The Targumic Tosefta to Exodus 15:2,” JJS 26 (1975): 61-67; and S. B. Parker, “Exodus 15:2 Again,” VT 21 (1971): 373-79.
10sn The expression man of war indicates that Yahweh is one who understands how to fight and defeat the enemy. The word “war” modifies “man” to reveal that Yahweh is a warrior. Other passages use similar descriptions: Isa 42:13 has “man of wars”; Ps 24:8 has “mighty man of battle.” See F. Cross, “The Divine Warrior in Israel’s Early Cult,” in Biblical Motifs, ed. A. Altman (Cambridge: University Press, 1966), 11-30.
11tn Heb “Yahweh is his name.” As throughout, the name “Yahweh” is rendered as “the Lord” in the translation, as is typically done in English translations.
12tn Gesenius notes that the sign of the accusative, often omitted in poetry, is not found in this entire song (GKC §117.b).
13tn The word is a substantive, “choice, selection”; it is here used in the construct state to convey an attribute before a partitive genitive—“the choice of his officers” means his “choice officers” (see GKC §128.r).
14tn The form is a Qal passive rather than a Pual, for there is not Piel form or meaning.
15tn The verb form is Wmy%s=k^y+ (yekasyumu) is the Piel preterite. Normally a vav consecutive is used with the preterite, but in some ancient poems the form without the vav appears, as is the case frequently in this poem. That such an archaic form is used should come as no surprise, because the word also uses the yod of the root (GKC §75.dd), and the archaic suffix form (GKC §91.l). These all indicate the antiquity of the poem.
16tn The parasynonyms here are tm)h)T= (tehomot), “deep, ocean depths, deep waters,” and tloXm= (mesolot), “the depths” (Driver says properly the “gurgling places” [p. 134]).
17tn The form yr!D*a=n# (ne’dari) may be an archaic infinitive with the old ending i used in place of the verb, and meaning “awesome” (Cross and Freedman, “Song of Miriam,” cited by W. C. Kaiser, Jr, “Exodus,” in EBC 397). Gesenius says that the vowel ending may be an old case ending, especially when a preposition is inserted between the word and its genitive (GKC §90.l); but he suggests a reconstruction of the form.
18sn This expression is cognate with the words in v. 1. Here that same greatness or majesty is extolled as in abundance.
19tn Here, and throughout the song, these verbs are the prefixed conjugation that may look like the imperfect but are actually historic preterites. This verb is to “overthrow” or “throw down”—like a wall, leaving it in shattered pieces.
20tn The form ;ym#q* (qameyka) is the active participle with a pronominal suffix. The participle is the accusative of the verb; but the suffix is the genitive of nearer definition (see GKC §116.i).
21sn The verb is the Piel of jlv (salah), the same verb used throughout for the demand on Pharaoh to release Israel. Here, in some irony, God released his wrath on them.
22sn The word wrath is a metonymy of cause; the effect—the judgment—is what is meant.
23tn The verb is the prefixed conjugation, the preterite, without the consecutive.
24sn The phrase the blast of your nostrils is a bold anthropomorphic expression for the wind that came in and dried up the waters.
25tn The word “heap” describes the walls of water. The waters, which are naturally fluid, stood up as though they were a heap, a mound of earth. Likewise, the flowing waters deep in the ocean congealed—as though they were turned to ice (U. Cassuto, 175).
26sn Kaiser observes the staccato phrases that almost imitate the heavy, breathless heaving of the Egyptians as, with what reserve of strength they have left, they vow, “I will…, I will…, I will…” (W. C. Kaiser, Jr, “Exodus,” in EBC 395).
27tn The form is yv!p=n~ (napsi), “my soul.” But this word refers to the whole person, the body and the soul, or better, a bundle of appetites in a body. It therefore can figuratively refer to the desires or appetites (Deut 12:15; 14:26; 23:24). Here, with the verb “to be full” means “to be satisfied”; the whole expression might indicate “I will be sated with them” or “I will gorge myself.” The greedy appetite was to destroy.
28tn The verb qyr! (riq) means “to be empty” in the Qal, and in the Hiphil “to empty.” Here the idea is to unsheathe a sword.
29tn The verb is vry (yaras), which in the Hiphil means “to dispossess” or “root out.” The meaning “destroy” is a general interpretation.
30tn “But” has been supplied.
31tn “and” has been supplied.
32tn The verb may have the idea of sinking with a gurgling sound, like water going into a whirlpool (Cole, 124; Driver, 136). See F. M. Cross and D. N. Freedman, “The Song of Miriam,” JNES 14 (1955): 243-47.
33tn The question is of course rhetorical; it is a way of affirming that no one is comparable to God. See Labuschagne, Incomparability of Yahweh, 22, 66-67, and 94-97.
34sn Verses 11-17 will now focus on Yahweh as the incomparable one who was able to save Israel from her foes, and afterward lead them to the promised land.
35tn Driver suggests “praiseworthy acts” as the translation (p. 137).
36tn The verb is the prefixed conjugation, the preterite without the vav consecutive. The subject, the “earth,” must be inclusive of the sea, or it may indicate the grave or Sheol; the sea drowned them. Some scholars wish to see this as a reference to Dathan and Abiram, and therefore evidence of a later addition or compilation. It fits this passage well, however.
37tn The verbs in the next two verses are perfect tenses, but can be interpreted as a prophetic perfect, looking to the future.
38tn The particle Wz (zu) is a relative pronoun, subordinating the next verb to the preceding.
39tn This verb seems to mean “to guide to a watering-place (See Ps 23:2).
40tn This verb is a prophetic perfect, assuming that the text means what it said and this song was sung at the Sea. So all these countries were yet to hear of the victory.
41tn The word properly refers to “pangs” of childbirth, or of a woman in travail. When the nations hear about this, they will be terrified.
42tn The verb is again the prophetic perfect.
43tn This is the prophetic perfect.
44tn This verb is now the imperfect tense.
45tn The two words can form a nominal hendiadys, “a dreadful fear.”
46tn The form is the imperfect.
47tn The adjective is in the construct and governs the noun. But it means “by Your great arm” (“arm” being the anthropomorphic expression for what God did). See GKC §132.c.
48sn For a study of the words for fear, see N. Waldman, “A Comparative Note on Exodus 15:14-16,” JQR 66 (1976): 189-92.
49tn Clauses beginning with du^ (‘ad) express a limit which is not absolute, but only relative, beyond which the action continues (GKC §138.g).
50tn The verb hnq (qana) here would be the verb “acquire, purchase,” and probably not the homonym “to create, make” (see Gen 4:1; Deut 32:6; and Prov 8:22).
51tn The verb is imperfect.
52sn The mountain and the place would be wherever Yahweh met with his people. It will here refer to Canaan, the land promised to the patriarchs.
53tn The verb is perfect tense, referring to Yahweh’s previous choice of the holy place.
54sn See J. N. Easton, “Dancing in the Old Testament,” ExpTim 86 (1975): 136-40.
55tn The verb hnu (‘ana) normally means “to answer”; but it can be used more technically to describe antiphonal singing in Hebrew and in Ugaritic.
56sn This song of the sea is, then, a great song of praise for Yahweh’s deliverance of Israel at the Sea, and his preparation to lead them to the promised land, much to the (anticipated) dread of the nations. The principle here, and elsewhere in Scripture, is that the people of God naturally respond to God in praise for his great acts of deliverance. Few will match the powerful acts that were exhibited in Egypt, but these nonetheless set the tone. The song is certainly typological of the song of the saints in heaven who praise God for delivering them from the bondage of this world by judging the world. The focus of the praise, though, still is on the person (attributes) and works of God.
57sn The first event of the Israelites’ desert experience is a failure, for they murmur against Yahweh and are given a stern warning—and the provision of sweet water. The event teaches that God is able to turn bitter water into sweet water for his people, and promises to do such things if they obey. He can provide for them in the desert—he did not bring them into the desert to let them die. But there is a deeper level to this story—the healing of the water is incidental to the healing of the people, their lack of trust. The passage is arranged in a neat chiasm, starting with a journey (A), ending with the culmination of the journey (A'), developing to bitter water (B), resolving to sweet water (B'), leading to complaints by the people (C), which corresponds to the instructions for the people (C'), and the central turning point is the wonder miracle (D).
58tn The verb form is unusual; the normal expression is with the Qal which expresses that they journeyed. But here the Hiphil is used to underscore that Moses caused them to journey—and he is following God. So the point is that God was leading Israel to the bitter water.
59sn The point of the note They went three days into the desert is not to state how long they had been traveling, but how far they went into the desert (adverbial accusative). The statement is deliberately intended to recall Moses’ demand that they go three days into the wilderness to worship. Here, three days in, they find bitter water and murmur—not worship.
60sn The Hebrew word Marah means “bitter.” This motif will be repeated four times in this passage to mark the central problem. Earlier in the book the word had been used for the “bitter herbs” in the Passover, recalling the bitter labor in bondage. So there may be a double reference here—to the bitter waters and to Egypt itself—God can deliver from either.
61tn The infinitive construct here provides the direct object for the verb “to be able,” answering the question of what they were not able to do.
62tn The causal clause here provides the reason for their being unable to drink the water, as well as a clear motivation for the name.
63sn Many scholars, like Kaiser, have attempted to explain these things with natural phenomena. Here Marah is identified with Ain Hawarah. It is said that the waters of this well are notoriously salty and brackish; Robinson said it was six to eight feet in diameter and the water about two feet deep; the water is unpleasant, salty, and somewhat bitter. As a result the Arabs say it is the worst tasting water in the area (W. C. Kaiser, Jr, “Exodus,” in EBC 398). But that would not be a sufficient amount of water for the number of Israelites in the first place; and in the second, they could not drink it at all. But third, how did Moses change it?
64tn The /K@-lu^ (‘al-ken) formula in the Pentateuch serves to explain to the reader the reason for the way things were. It does not necessarily mean here that Israel named the place—but they certainly could have.
65tn Heb “one called its name,” the expression can be translated as a passive verb if the subject is not expressed.
66tn The verb WnO÷Y]w~ (wayyillonu) from /Wl (lun) is a much stronger word than “to grumble” or “to complain.” It is used only in these wilderness wandering stories for the “rebellion” of the Israelites against God. They were not merely complaining—they were questioning God’s abilities and motives. The action is something like a parliamentary vote of no confidence.
67tn The imperfect tense here should be given a potential nuance: “What can we drink?” Since the previous verse reports that they were not able to drink the water.
sn It is likely that Moses used words very much like this when he prayed. The difference seems to lie in the prepositions—he cried “to” Yahweh, but the people murmured “against” Moses.
68tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
69tn Heb “and he cried out.”
70tn The verb is Whr@oYw~ (wayyorehu), “and he showed him.” It is the Hiphil preterite from hry (yara), which has a basic meaning of “to point, show, direct.” It then came to mean “to teach”; it is the verb behind the noun “Law” (hr*oT [torah]).
sn Cassuto notes that here is the clue to the direction of the narrative: Israel needed God’s instruction, the Law, if they were going to enjoy his provisions (p. 184).
71sn Driver, of course, follows some local legends in identifying this tree as one that is supposed to have—even to this day—the properties necessary for making bitter water sweet (p. 143). B. Jacob reports that no such tree has ever been found; but then he adds that this does not mean there was not such a bush in the earlier days. He believes that here God used a natural means (“showed, instructed”) to sweeten the water. He quotes Ben Sira as saying God had created these things with healing properties in them (p. 436).
72tn Heb “for him” (referring to Israel).
73tn This translation interprets the two nouns as a hendiadys: “a statute and an ordinance” becomes “a binding ordinance.”
74tn The verb WhS*n] (nissahu), “and he tested him [them]” is from the root hsn (nasa). The use of this word in the Bible shows that there is question, doubt, or uncertainty about the object being tested.
sn The passage means that the whole episode was a test from God. He led them there through Moses, and let them go hungry and thirsty. He wanted to see how great their faith was.
75tn The construction uses the infinitive absolute and the imperfect tense of umv (sama’). The meaning of the verb is idiomatic here because it is followed by “to the voice of Yahweh your God.” When this is present, the verb is translated “obey.” The construction is in a causal clause. It reads, “If you will diligently obey.” Gesenius points out that the infinitive absolute in a conditional clause also emphasizes the importance of the condition on which the consequence depends (GKC §113.o).
76tn The word order is reversed in the text: “and the right you do” or, “[if] you do what is right in his eyes.” The conditional idea in the first clause is continued here in this clause.
77tn This verb and the next are both perfect tenses with the vav consecutive; they continue the sequence of the original conditional clause.
78tn The substantive “all of” (-lK* [kol]) in a negative clause can be translated “none of.”
79sn The reference is no doubt to the plagues that Yahweh has just put on them. These will not come on God’s true people. But the interesting thing about a conditional clause like this is that the opposite is also true—“if you do not obey, then I will bring these diseases.”
80tn The form is ;a#p=r) (rope’eka), the participle with the suffix. The word is the predicate after the pronoun: “I [am] your healer.” The suffix will be the objective genitive—the Lord heals them.
sn The name I Yahweh am your healer comes as a bit of a surprise to the reader. One would expect, “I am Yahweh who heals your water”; but it was the people he came to heal, because their faith was weak. God will let Israel know here that he can control the elements of nature to bring about a spiritual response in Israel (see Deut 8).
81sn Judging from the way the story is told they were not far from the oasis. But God had other plans for them, to see if they would trust him wholeheartedly and obey. They did not do so well this first time, but this is the introduction to the wilderness, and they will have to learn how to obey. The lesson is clear: God uses adversity to test his people’s loyalty. The response to adversity must be prayer to God, for he can turn the bitter into the sweet, the bad into the good, and the prospect of death into life.