Exodus-Chap-14-1-31
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Remember the following truth from our beloved Torah!
“Ye
shall NOT ADD
TO THE WORD which I command
you, NEITHER SHALL YE DIMINISH FROM IT,
that ye may keep the commandments of יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֵיכֶם - the LORD your Eloleichem, which I command you”. Davarim -
Deuteronomy 4:2. (JPS-1917).
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“Exodus Chapter 14:1-31”
With Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
Introduction:
Exodus 14 stands as one of the most dramatic and defining moments
in the entire Torah. It is the chapter where fear meets faith, where
impossibility becomes pathway, and where the identity of Israel as a redeemed nation is sealed not only
through liberation from Egypt
but through a direct encounter with divine deliverance.
This chapter is not merely a historical account. It is a
spiritual blueprint. It teaches how a people learns to trust, how leadership is
tested, and how the Holy One, blessed be He, reveals Himself in moments when
human strength reaches its limits. The crossing of the Sea
of Reeds is more than a miracle; it is
a ‘transformation of a nation’, of a ‘leader’, and of the ‘relationship between
אֱלֹהִים - Elohim (God) and Israel’.
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Let us first read
Exodus Chapter 14:1-31:
(JPS-1917 version of the Torah).
1. “And יְהוָה
- the LORD spoke unto
Moses, saying: 2. ‘Speak unto the children of
Israel, that they turn back and encamp before Pi-hahiroth,
between Migdol and the sea, before Baal-zephon, over against it shall ye encamp by the sea. 3. And Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel:
They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in. 4. And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he shall
follow after them; and I will get Me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; and the
Egyptians shall know that I am יְהוָה
- the LORD’. And they did
so. 5. And it was told the king of Egypt that the people were fled; and the heart
of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned towards the people, and they said:
‘What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?’ 6. And he made ready his chariots, and took his people
with him. 7. And he took six hundred chosen
chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over all of
them. 8. And יְהוָה
- the LORD hardened the
heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt,
and he pursued after the children of Israel;
for the children of Israel
went out with a high hand. 9. And the Egyptians
pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen,
and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon. 10. And
when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel
lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians were marching after them; and
they were sore afraid; and the children of Israel cried out unto יְהוָה
- the LORD. 11. And they said unto Moses: ‘Because there were no
graves in Egypt,
hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore
hast thou dealt thus with us, to bring us forth out of Egypt? 12. Is
not this the word that we spoke unto thee in Egypt, saying: Let us alone, that
we may serve the Egyptians? For it were better for us to serve the Egyptians,
than that we should die in the wilderness’. 13. And
Moses said unto the people: ‘Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of
יְהוָה
- the LORD, which He will
work for you to-day; for whereas ye have seen the Egyptians to-day, ye shall
see them again no more for ever. 14. יְהוָה
- the LORD will fight for
you, and ye shall hold your peace’. 15. And יְהוָה
- the LORD said unto
Moses: ‘Wherefore criest thou unto Me?
speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward. 16. And lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thy hand
over the sea, and divide it; and the children of Israel shall go into the midst of
the sea on dry ground. 17. And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and
they shall go in after them; and I will get Me honour
upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. 18. And the Egyptians shall know that I am יְהוָה
- the LORD, when I have
gotten Me honour upon
Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen’. 19. And
the angel of אֱלֹהִים - Elohim, who went before the camp of Israel,
removed and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud removed from before them,
and stood behind them; 20. and it came between
the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel; and there was the cloud and the
darkness here, yet gave it light by night there; and the one came not near the
other all the night. 21. And Moses stretched
out his hand over the sea; and יְהוָה
- the LORD caused the sea
to go back by a strong east wind all the 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. And
the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all
Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 24. And
it came to pass in the morning watch, that יְהוָה
- the LORD looked forth
upon the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of cloud, and
discomfited the host of the Egyptians. 25. And
He took off their chariot wheels, and made them to drive heavily; so that the
Egyptians said: ‘Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians’. 26. And
יְהוָה
- the LORD said unto
Moses: ‘Stretch out thy hand over the sea, that the
waters may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their
horsemen’. 27. And Moses stretched forth his
hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its strength when the morning
appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and יְהוָה
- the LORD overthrew the
Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 28. And the
waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, even all the host
of Pharaoh that went in after them into the sea; there remained not so much as
one of them. 29. But the children of Israel
walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto
them on their right hand, and on their left. 30. Thus
יְהוָה
- the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the
Egyptians; and Israel
saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea-shore. 31. And
Israel
saw the great work which יְהוָה
- the LORD did upon the
Egyptians, and the people feared יְהוָה
- the LORD; and they
believed in יְהוָה
- the LORD, and in His
servant Moses”.
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Commentary on Exodus Chapter 14 (Reflective and Thematic):
1. The Divine Paradox: Moving Forward While
Standing Still.
The Israelites find themselves trapped, sea before them, with Egypt behind
them. The situation is intentionally engineered by אֱלֹהִים - Elohim. It is a moment designed to teach that faith
is not the absence of fear but the decision to move forward despite of it.
Moses tells the people to “stand firm”, yet אֱלֹהִים - Elohim tells Moses, “Why cry out to Me? Tell the Israelites to move forward”.
This tension between stillness and movement, captures
the essence of spiritual life. There are moments when we must be silent and trust,
and moments when trust demands action. The miracle unfolds only when Israel steps
toward the water.
2. The Pillar of Cloud: Divine Presence as Both
Comfort and Boundary.
The pillar of cloud and fire shifts from leading the people to
standing behind them, forming a barrier between Israel
and Egypt.
This is a profound image of divine protection: sometimes אֱלֹהִים - Elohim leads us forward, and sometimes He shields us
from what pursues us.
The cloud brings darkness to Egypt
and light to Israel,
one phenomenon, two experiences. Divine presence is not neutral; it reveals and
conceals according to the spiritual posture of those who encounter it.
3. The East Wind:
Miracles Through Natural Means.
The sea does not split instantly. A strong east wind blows all
night. The Torah subtly teaches that miracles often unfold through processes,
not spectacles. Redemption can be dramatic, but it is also ‘patient’,
‘gradual’, and ‘woven through the natural world’.
The wind becomes a metaphor for unseen forces working long
before the results are visible. Faith means trusting the wind even when the sea
still looks closed.
4. The Path Through the Sea: Liberation Requires Passage,
Not Escape
Israel
does not fly over the sea or walk around it, they pass through it. The journey
to freedom requires confronting the very waters that symbolize chaos and
danger.
Every generation, and every individual, must pass through
their own sea. The path is narrow, the walls are high, and the only way out is
forward. Redemption is not avoidance; it is transformation through challenge.
5. The Egyptians in
the Sea: The Collapse of Oppression.
The drowning of the Egyptian army is not an act of vengeance
but the collapse of a system built on cruelty. Egypt’s power is undone by its own
pursuit of domination. The sea that becomes a path for Israel becomes a grave for Egypt.
This duality teaches that liberation and justice are
intertwined. Freedom is not complete until the forces that enslave are
dismantled.
6. The Birth of Faith:
The chapter ends with a profound statement: the people
“believed in יְהוָה
- the LORD and in Moses
His servant”.
This is not the beginning of belief but its maturation. After witnessing the
sea’s splitting, faith becomes rooted not in hope alone but in experience.
Israel
emerges from the sea not just as escaped slaves but as a covenantal people,
ready to receive the blessed Torah!
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My Closing Message:
Exodus 14 is a chapter of thresholds, between ‘slavery’ and
‘freedom’, ‘fear’ and ‘courage’, ‘despair’ and ‘hope’. It reminds us that the
Holy One often leads us to places where our own strength is insufficient so
that we may discover a deeper partnership with Him.
The sea does not split until we step toward it. The wind may
blow long before we see its effects. And sometimes the greatest miracles happen
not in the thunderous moment of revelation but in the quiet persistence of
moving forward when every instinct tells us to turn back.
May the study of this chapter continue to open pathways of
insight, of faith, and of renewed connection to the eternal story of our people
Yisrael.
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שָׁלוֹם
עֲלֵיכֶם - Shalom Aleichem - Peace be
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Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben
Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
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