Exodus 15

Introduction

Exodus 15 is one of the most important chapters in the Hebrew Bible, containing what many scholars consider the oldest extended poem in Scripture: the Song of the Sea (also called the Song of Moses). Having witnessed the total destruction of Pharaoh's army in the waters of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:26-31), Moses and the Israelites break into triumphant praise. The song is not merely a celebration of military victory but a theological proclamation: the LORD is a warrior, incomparable among all gods, and his power over nature and nations is absolute. The poem moves from past deliverance (the drowning of the Egyptians) to future hope (the nations trembling, the planting of Israel on God's mountain, and the LORD reigning forever). It represents Israel's first corporate act of worship as a freed people.

The chapter then pivots sharply from praise to crisis. Within three days of the most spectacular deliverance in Israel's history, the people find themselves without water in the wilderness of Shur. When they reach Marah, the water is bitter and undrinkable, and the people grumble against Moses. God responds by showing Moses a piece of wood that makes the water sweet, and he introduces a pattern that will define Israel's wilderness experience: obedience brings blessing, and God is not only a warrior who defeats enemies but a healer who restores his people. The chapter closes at Elim, an oasis of twelve springs and seventy palm trees, a moment of provision and rest before the next test. The movement from the Red Sea to Marah to Elim establishes the rhythm of the entire wilderness narrative: salvation, testing, provision, and the revelation of God's character through each stage.

The Song of the Sea: God's Triumph (vv. 1-5)

Notes

• אָז יָשִׁיר ("Then he sang") -- The opening phrase gives this poem its traditional Jewish name, Shirat HaYam ("the Song of the Sea"), and the weekly Torah portion is named Beshalach after Exodus 13:17. The verb יָשִׁיר is a Qal imperfect (yiqtol) form, which is unexpected after the adverb אָז ("then"), since a past event would normally use a perfect (qatal) form. This construction, the "az + yiqtol" pattern, appears in archaic Hebrew poetry and is generally understood as a past-tense narrative use: "then he sang." Some grammarians argue it conveys a sense of joyful spontaneity -- the song erupts in response to what has just happened.

• גָּאֹה גָּאָה ("he has risen in triumph") -- This is an infinitive absolute construction intensifying the verb גָּאָה ("to rise up, be exalted, be majestic"). The KJV renders this "he hath triumphed gloriously," the ESV "he has triumphed gloriously." The root גאה carries the sense of rising, swelling, or being lifted high. When applied to God, it denotes supreme majesty and exaltation. My translation "risen in triumph" attempts to capture both the idea of rising up and of victory. The same root appears in v. 7 as גְּאוֹנְךָ ("your majesty/exaltation").

• סוּס וְרֹכְבוֹ רָמָה בַיָּם ("the horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea") -- The verb רָמָה means "to hurl, throw, cast" and is distinct from the more common רוּם ("to be high"). The imagery is visceral: God literally threw horse and rider into the sea. The singular "horse" and "rider" function as a collective, representing the entire Egyptian cavalry force. This line forms the refrain of the entire song, repeated by Miriam in v. 21.

• עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָהּ ("the LORD is my strength and my song") -- This is one of the most celebrated lines in Hebrew poetry. עָזִּי ("my strength") derives from עֹז ("strength, might"). The word זִמְרָת is debated: it could derive from זָמַר ("to sing, make music") or from a separate root meaning "protection, strength." If the former, the line reads "my strength and my song"; if the latter, "my strength and my protection." The short form of the divine name יָהּ appears here, a poetic abbreviation of יהוה. This exact phrase reappears in Psalm 118:14 and Isaiah 12:2, indicating its deep liturgical significance.

• וְאַנְוֵהוּ ("and I will glorify him") -- This word has generated extensive discussion. It may derive from נָוָה ("to beautify, adorn, glorify") or from נָוֶה ("dwelling place"), yielding "I will make a dwelling for him." The KJV follows the latter reading: "I will prepare him an habitation." Most modern translations follow the former: "I will praise/glorify him." The Targum Onkelos reads "I will build him a sanctuary," which anticipates the tabernacle. My translation follows the majority reading of "glorify."

• אִישׁ מִלְחָמָה ("a man of war") -- This is one of the boldest anthropomorphisms in the Hebrew Bible. God is called אִישׁ -- literally "a man" -- of war. The BSB softens this to "warrior," and many translations follow suit. My translation preserves the literal Hebrew because the anthropomorphism is deliberate and powerful: God enters the battle personally, as a human warrior would. The phrase is echoed in Isaiah 42:13 ("The LORD goes out like a warrior") and stands in tension with the more transcendent descriptions of God elsewhere (e.g., Numbers 23:19, "God is not a man"). The juxtaposition is intentional: the God who is beyond all categories has chosen to fight for his people.

• יַם סוּף ("Sea of Reeds") -- The traditional rendering "Red Sea" follows the Septuagint (erythra thalassa), but the Hebrew literally means "Sea of Reeds" or "Sea of Rushes." The word סוּף refers to reeds or rushes (cf. Exodus 2:3, where the infant Moses is placed among the סוּף). The exact body of water remains debated among scholars, but the theological point is clear: God controls the waters, and the place of danger for Israel became the place of destruction for Egypt.

The Song of the Sea: God's Power and Wrath (vv. 6-10)

Notes

• יְמִינְךָ יְהוָה נֶאְדָּרִי בַּכֹּחַ ("Your right hand, O LORD, is majestic in power") -- The יָמִין ("right hand") symbolizes power, favor, and action throughout the Hebrew Bible (Psalm 20:6, Psalm 98:1, Psalm 118:15-16). The verb נֶאְדָּרִי is a Niphal participle of אָדַר ("to be majestic, glorious"), which appears again in v. 11 (נֶאְדָּר בַּקֹּדֶשׁ, "majestic in holiness"). The repetition of "your right hand, O LORD" in the first and second lines is a hallmark of ancient Semitic poetry called "staircase parallelism" or "repetitive parallelism," where the first part of a line is repeated and then completed with a new predicate.

• קָמֶיךָ ("those who rise against you") -- A Qal participle of קוּם ("to rise"), used as a substantive meaning "your opponents, those who rise up against you." My translation retains the participial force to preserve the image of rebellion: those who rise against the LORD are overthrown.

• חֲרֹנְךָ ("your burning anger") -- The word חָרוֹן denotes the heat or burning of anger. It is almost exclusively used of divine wrath in the Hebrew Bible, often in the phrase חֲרוֹן אַף ("the burning of the nostril/anger"). The imagery of fire consuming stubble (קַשׁ) vividly portrays the total and effortless destruction of God's enemies. Stubble was the driest, most flammable agricultural waste -- it takes no effort to burn.

• וּבְרוּחַ אַפֶּיךָ נֶעֶרְמוּ מַיִם ("by the blast of your nostrils the waters were heaped up") -- The word רוּחַ means "wind, breath, spirit," and אַף means "nostril" (and by extension "anger"). The image is of God breathing through his nostrils, and that breath becoming the east wind that drove back the sea (Exodus 14:21). The verb נֶעֶרְמוּ (Niphal of עָרַם, "to heap up") describes the waters being piled into a heap. The word נֵד ("wall, heap") describes the standing waters, and קָפְאוּ ("congealed, solidified") suggests the deeps became as solid as ice. The combined imagery transforms the liquid, chaotic sea into something frozen and rigid by the mere breath of God -- an extraordinary poetic depiction of divine control over the waters.

• The enemy's speech in v. 9 is a masterpiece of poetic characterization. Six short, staccato verbs in the first person pile up in rapid succession: אֶרְדֹּף ("I will pursue"), אַשִּׂיג ("I will overtake"), אֲחַלֵּק ("I will divide"), תִּמְלָאֵמוֹ נַפְשִׁי ("my appetite will be filled"), אָרִיק ("I will draw/empty"), תּוֹרִישֵׁמוֹ יָדִי ("my hand will dispossess them"). The breathless series of "I will..." declarations portrays Egyptian arrogance and greed at its peak, making the reversal in v. 10 all the more devastating. The word תּוֹרִישֵׁמוֹ (Hiphil of יָרַשׁ) can mean "to dispossess, drive out, destroy" -- the very verb that will later describe what Israel does to the Canaanites.

• נָשַׁפְתָּ בְרוּחֲךָ ("You blew with your wind/breath") -- The verb נָשַׁף means "to blow" and appears only here and in Isaiah 40:24. The single verse demolishes all of the enemy's boasting: "You blew... the sea covered them." God's breath versus Egypt's army -- the contest is no contest at all. The simile כַּעוֹפֶרֶת ("like lead") intensifies the earlier image of sinking "like a stone" (v. 5), suggesting an even heavier, more irrecoverable plunge into the depths.

The Song of the Sea: God's Incomparability (vv. 11-13)

Notes

• מִי כָמֹכָה בָּאֵלִם יְהוָה ("Who is like you among the gods, O LORD?") -- This rhetorical question is the theological heart of the Song of the Sea. It does not deny the existence of other so-called gods but declares the LORD's absolute incomparability. The word אֵלִם ("gods, mighty ones") is the plural of אֵל. This is not abstract monotheism but a declaration from within the ancient Near Eastern context: whatever powers or deities the nations worship, none can compare with the LORD. The phrase מִי כָמֹכָה became a foundational liturgical expression in Judaism, incorporated into daily prayer (the Mi Chamocha blessing). It is echoed in Psalm 86:8, Psalm 89:6-8, and the name Michael (מִיכָאֵל) itself means "Who is like God?"

• נֶאְדָּר בַּקֹּדֶשׁ ("majestic in holiness") -- The same root אָדַר from v. 6 now describes God's holiness rather than his power. The word קֹדֶשׁ ("holiness") here is not merely moral purity but the totality of God's otherness -- his transcendent separateness from all that is creaturely, limited, or corrupt. God is not simply powerful; his power is exercised in the context of absolute holiness.

• נוֹרָא תְהִלֹּת ("fearsome in praises") -- The word נוֹרָא (Niphal participle of יָרֵא, "to fear") means "fearsome, awe-inspiring, terrible." The phrase is difficult to translate. "Revered with praises" (BSB), "fearful in praises" (KJV), and "awesome in glorious deeds" (ESV) all attempt different approaches. The idea seems to be that the very acts for which God is praised are themselves terrifying -- his praiseworthy deeds inspire awe and trembling, not merely applause. My translation "fearsome in praises" preserves the paradox: the praises of God arise from events that are simultaneously wonderful and terrible.

• בְּחַסְדְּךָ ("in your steadfast love") -- The word חֶסֶד is one of the richest words in biblical Hebrew, encompassing loving-kindness, loyal love, covenant faithfulness, mercy, and devotion. The BSB renders it "loving devotion" with a footnote explaining the range of meaning. The KJV has "mercy," the ESV "steadfast love." No single English word captures its full scope. At its core, חֶסֶד describes the loyal love that flows from a covenantal relationship -- God acts not from whim but from his faithful commitment to his people.

• גָּאָלְתָּ ("you have redeemed") -- The verb גָּאַל is the key redemption term in the Hebrew Bible. A גֹּאֵל ("redeemer, kinsman-redeemer") is a family member who acts to restore what has been lost -- buying back a relative from slavery, redeeming family property, or avenging blood (Leviticus 25:25, Ruth 4:1-6). By applying this term to God, the song declares that God has acted as Israel's nearest kinsman, buying them back from bondage. This theological vocabulary runs through the prophets (Isaiah 41:14, Isaiah 43:1, Isaiah 44:6) and into the New Testament concept of redemption.

• נְוֵה קָדְשֶׁךָ ("the pasture/dwelling of your holiness") -- The word נָוֶה can mean "pasture, meadow" or "dwelling, habitation." The KJV renders "thy holy habitation," while the ESV has "your holy abode." The pastoral connotation of נָוֶה (it is often used of a shepherd's pasture) enriches the image: God is leading his people like a shepherd leading his flock to a lush pasture. Whether this refers to the promised land, the temple mount, or a heavenly dwelling is debated, but the forward-looking language anticipates God's intent to bring his people to a permanent home.

Interpretations

The phrase "the earth swallowed them" in v. 12 has puzzled interpreters, since the Egyptians drowned in the sea, not in the earth. Some take אֶרֶץ as referring to the underworld (Sheol), the realm of the dead beneath the earth -- the sea became the gateway to the grave. Others understand it as poetic parallelism where "earth" stands for the seabed that received the drowned Egyptians. The Targumim paraphrase it as the sea covering them and the depths burying them. The broader point is that the destruction was total and irreversible.

The Song of the Sea: The Nations Tremble (vv. 14-16)

Notes

• The song now turns from past deliverance to future conquest. The geographic sweep moves from the coastal peoples (Philistia) to the Transjordanian nations (Edom, Moab) and finally to Canaan itself -- the peoples Israel will encounter on its way to and into the promised land. This prophetic section envisions the effect of God's reputation spreading ahead of Israel, paralyzing the nations with fear. The fulfillment of this is reflected in Rahab's words to the Israelite spies: "I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us" (Joshua 2:9-11).

• יִרְגָּזוּן ("they tremble") -- The verb רָגַז means "to tremble, quake, be agitated." The archaic paragogic nun ending (-וּן) is a feature of early Hebrew poetry, further evidence of the Song's antiquity. This ending appears several times in the poem and is characteristic of Canaanite-era Hebrew.

• אַלּוּפֵי אֱדוֹם ("the chiefs of Edom") -- The word אַלּוּף ("chief, clan leader") is specifically associated with Edomite leadership in the Hebrew Bible (cf. Genesis 36:15-43). אֵילֵי מוֹאָב ("the leaders of Moab") uses אַיִל ("ram"), used figuratively to mean "mighty one, leader." The song uses the specific political vocabulary appropriate to each nation.

• נָמֹגוּ ("they melt away") -- The verb מוּג ("to melt, dissolve") describes the total collapse of courage. It is the same verb used in Joshua 2:9 when Rahab says the inhabitants of the land "melt away" before Israel, and in Joshua 2:11 where she says "our hearts melted."

• עַם זוּ קָנִיתָ ("the people you have acquired") -- The verb קָנָה means "to acquire, buy, create, possess." It is the same verb used in Genesis 14:19 where God is called "possessor of heaven and earth" and in Deuteronomy 32:6 where God is described as having "acquired" Israel. The word implies both purchase (God bought Israel out of slavery) and creation (God made Israel into a people). The parallel between "your people" and "the people you have acquired" reinforces that Israel belongs to God by right of redemption.

The Song of the Sea: God's Eternal Reign (vv. 17-18)

Notes

• תְּבִאֵמוֹ וְתִטָּעֵמוֹ ("You will bring them in and plant them") -- The imagery of "planting" a people is deeply rooted in the Hebrew Bible. God does not merely relocate Israel; he plants them like a tree in the soil, establishing them with roots and permanence. This same language appears in 2 Samuel 7:10, Psalm 44:2, Psalm 80:8, and Jeremiah 24:6. The metaphor implies organic growth, stability, and fruitfulness.

• בְּהַר נַחֲלָתְךָ ("on the mountain of your inheritance") -- The "mountain of your inheritance" likely refers to the promised land broadly or to the specific mountain where God will establish his sanctuary. Mount Zion/Jerusalem is the ultimate referent (cf. Psalm 78:54, Psalm 78:68-69). The word נַחֲלָה ("inheritance, possession") indicates that the land belongs to God, and Israel dwells there as his tenants. This theological concept underlies the entire land theology of the Hebrew Bible: the land is God's gift and God's property.

• מָכוֹן לְשִׁבְתְּךָ ("the established place for your dwelling") -- מָכוֹן derives from כּוּן ("to establish, prepare, make firm") and denotes a fixed, stable, established place. The same word describes the foundation of God's throne in Psalm 89:14 and Psalm 97:2. מִקְּדָשׁ ("sanctuary") comes from קָדַשׁ ("to be holy, set apart"), and here anticipates both the tabernacle that Israel will build in the wilderness and the temple that Solomon will construct centuries later. The statement that God's hands "established" (כּוֹנְנוּ) the sanctuary is striking -- the earthly sanctuary is understood as the human realization of a divine blueprint.

• יְהוָה יִמְלֹךְ לְעֹלָם וָעֶד ("The LORD will reign forever and ever") -- The song culminates in a declaration of the LORD's eternal kingship. The verb מָלַךְ ("to reign, be king") establishes God's sovereign rule as the final word. This is not merely a statement about the future; it is a proclamation that God's reign, demonstrated at the sea, extends across all time. This theology of divine kingship runs from here through the Psalms (Psalm 93:1, Psalm 96:10, Psalm 99:1) and into the New Testament (Revelation 11:15, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever").

Interpretations

The reference to "the mountain of your inheritance" and "the sanctuary" in v. 17 has been interpreted in several ways. Some scholars argue that the song was composed in its present form only after the temple was built in Jerusalem, and that these lines reflect retrospective knowledge. Others maintain that the language refers not to any earthly temple but to the cosmic mountain of God -- a widespread ancient Near Eastern concept of the divine dwelling on a holy mountain, which Israel would later identify with Zion. A third view holds that the song is genuinely early (Mosaic or near-Mosaic) and is prophetically anticipating what God will do, consistent with the forward-looking thrust of vv. 14-18. The dating of the Song of the Sea remains one of the most debated questions in Old Testament scholarship, with linguistic and literary arguments supporting both early (13th-12th century BC) and later composition.

Narrative Summary and the Song of Miriam (vv. 19-21)

Notes

• Verse 19 is a prose summary that bridges the song (vv. 1-18) and Miriam's response (vv. 20-21). It recapitulates the Red Sea event from Exodus 14, restating the core miracle: the waters came back upon the Egyptians, but Israel walked on dry ground. The verse functions as a reminder that the song just sung is rooted in actual historical deliverance.

• מִרְיָם הַנְּבִיאָה ("Miriam the prophetess") -- Miriam is the first woman in the Hebrew Bible to be given the title נְבִיאָה ("prophetess"). This designation indicates recognized spiritual authority and the capacity to receive and communicate divine revelation. She is later named alongside Moses and Aaron as one of the three leaders God sent to deliver Israel (Micah 6:4). The fact that she is identified as "the sister of Aaron" rather than "the sister of Moses" may reflect Aaron's priestly prominence or may be a tradition that emphasizes her connection to the priestly family. Many scholars identify her as the unnamed sister who watched over the infant Moses in Exodus 2:4.

• הַתֹּף ("the tambourine") -- The תֹּף was a hand drum or frame drum, a common instrument in ancient Near Eastern worship and celebration. The fact that the women had tambourines suggests they brought instruments with them out of Egypt, anticipating celebration. Music and dance are presented here as the appropriate, embodied response to God's deliverance -- worship that engages the whole person.

• וַתַּעַן לָהֶם מִרְיָם ("And Miriam sang to them") -- The verb עָנָה means "to answer, respond, sing responsively." The masculine pronoun לָהֶם ("to them") is unexpected if Miriam is singing only to the women; it suggests she is singing antiphonally to the entire assembly -- responding to Moses' song with a call for all to join. This antiphonal pattern (a leader sings and the congregation responds) became a standard feature of Israelite worship (1 Samuel 18:7, Ezra 3:11, Nehemiah 12:24).

• Some scholars believe that Miriam's short song in v. 21 may be the original, oldest form of the celebration, and that the longer Song of Moses (vv. 1-18) is an expansion of it. Others see Miriam's couplet as a refrain that was repeated throughout the longer song. Either way, the tradition preserves both voices -- male and female, leader and congregation -- united in praise.

The Bitter Water at Marah (vv. 22-26)

Notes

• וַיַּסַּע מֹשֶׁה אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל ("Moses made Israel set out") -- The Hiphil of נָסַע ("to pull up stakes, set out, journey") indicates that Moses had to compel Israel to leave the Red Sea. The people had to be moved forward; they did not go willingly. After the exhilaration of the victory and song, the mundane reality of the wilderness journey begins. The מִדְבַּר שׁוּר ("wilderness of Shur") is the arid region on the eastern edge of the Sinai Peninsula, bordering Egypt's northeastern frontier.

• מָרָה ("Marah") -- The name derives from מַר ("bitter"). The text makes the etymological connection explicit: the water was מָרִים ("bitter"), so the place was called מָרָה ("Bitterness"). This is the first of Israel's wilderness complaints and establishes a pattern that will repeat throughout Numbers: need arises, the people grumble, Moses intercedes, God provides. The entire narrative arc from the Song of the Sea to Marah teaches that the life of faith does not move from one mountaintop to the next but descends into the valley of testing.

• וַיִּלֹּנוּ ("they grumbled") -- The verb לוּן (or לִין) in the Hiphil means "to murmur, grumble, complain." It becomes a technical term in the wilderness narratives for Israel's recurring complaints against Moses and against God (Exodus 16:2, Exodus 17:3, Numbers 14:2, Numbers 16:41). The grumbling is directed at Moses, but it is ultimately a challenge to God's provision and leadership.

• וַיּוֹרֵהוּ יְהוָה עֵץ ("the LORD showed him a tree") -- The verb יָרָה in the Hiphil means "to show, teach, instruct" -- it is the same root from which תּוֹרָה ("instruction, law, teaching") derives. God "instructs" Moses by pointing him to a עֵץ ("tree, wood, log"). The BSB translates "a log," the KJV "a tree." The identity of the wood is unknown, and whether it had natural sweetening properties or the miracle was entirely supernatural is not specified. What matters theologically is that God provides the remedy through natural means infused with divine power. Some patristic interpreters saw the wood as a type of the cross, through which the bitterness of sin is made sweet.

• חֹק וּמִשְׁפָּט ("a statute and a rule") -- At Marah, before Sinai, God establishes חֹק (a "statute" or "decreed limit") and מִשְׁפָּט (a "judgment" or "ordinance"). The content of this statute is not specified beyond what follows in v. 26, but the pairing of these two terms anticipates the full legal revelation at Sinai. The point is that even before the covenant at Sinai, God is establishing the principle: obedience to his voice brings well-being; disobedience brings the consequences that fell on Egypt.

• שָׁמוֹעַ תִּשְׁמַע ("if you will surely listen") -- Another infinitive absolute construction for emphasis: "if you will listen, really listen." The fourfold condition in v. 26 -- listen to God's voice, do what is right in his eyes, give ear to his commandments, keep all his statutes -- is comprehensive. It touches hearing, doing, attending, and guarding. The promise attached is that the diseases (מַחֲלָה) God placed on Egypt will not come upon Israel.

• כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה רֹפְאֶךָ ("for I am the LORD your healer") -- This is one of the great self-revelations of God, known in the Christian tradition as "Jehovah Rapha" (YHWH Rophe). The word רֹפֵא is a Qal active participle of רָפָא ("to heal, restore, make whole"), indicating an ongoing characteristic: "I am the one who heals you" as a continuous reality, not a one-time act. The verb רָפָא is used of physical healing (2 Kings 20:5), emotional restoration (Psalm 147:3), spiritual forgiveness (Psalm 103:3), and even national renewal (2 Chronicles 7:14). Here at Marah, God reveals himself not only as the warrior who defeats enemies (vv. 1-18) but as the healer who restores his people. The bitter water made sweet is the tangible sign of this self-revelation.

Interpretations

The relationship between obedience and freedom from disease in v. 26 has been understood in various ways. Some interpreters take it as a straightforward conditional promise applicable to Israel under the Mosaic covenant: obedience to the Torah would bring physical health and protection from the plagues that struck Egypt. Others understand it more broadly as a statement about the general principle that God's ways lead to human flourishing, without guaranteeing that every obedient individual will be free from illness. Still others see the "diseases of Egypt" as referring specifically to the plagues -- the covenant promise is that God will not treat Israel as he treated Egypt, provided they walk in covenant faithfulness. The New Testament does not apply this promise directly to the church but does affirm God's character as healer (James 5:14-16) and the connection between spiritual wholeness and divine care (3 John 1:2).

Arrival at Elim (v. 27)

Notes

• אֵילִמָה ("Elim") -- The name אֵילִם may be related to אֵלָה ("terebinth, large tree") or אַיִל ("ram, mighty one"), though the etymology is uncertain. After the bitterness of Marah and the testing of the wilderness, Elim is a place of abundant provision and rest.

• The numbers twelve and seventy are likely symbolic as well as literal. Twelve springs correspond naturally to the twelve tribes of Israel -- one spring for each tribe. Seventy palm trees may correspond to the seventy elders of Israel (Exodus 24:1, Numbers 11:16) or to the seventy members of Jacob's family who went down to Egypt (Genesis 46:27, Exodus 1:5). Whether or not the original audience would have read these numbers symbolically, the correspondence is suggestive: God provides exactly what his people need, in quantities that mirror the structure of his covenant community.

• The chapter ends not with a dramatic miracle but with a quiet scene of provision: springs of fresh water, shade trees, and a camp beside the waters. After the thunderous song at the sea and the bitter disappointment at Marah, Elim is the rest that God gives. The pattern established in this chapter -- deliverance, praise, testing, provision, rest -- will recur throughout the wilderness narrative and, in the Christian reading, throughout the life of faith.