Exodus from Egypt (13:17-15:21)

E. Exodus from Egypt (13:17-15:21)

After leaving Egypt the Israelites fled into the Sinai peninsula (see Figure 3.1). Pharaoh had second thoughts about allowing them to depart so he mustered his chariotry and gave chase. The Israelites took a jagged route, avoiding the main road controlled by Egyptian troops before heading south into the wilderness.

 Figure 3.4 The Route of the Exodus. See Beit-Arieh (1988) and Krahmalkov (1994) for evidence relating to the route of the exodus.

    After a short time the Israelites were pinched between Pharaoh's army and the Reed Sea. The Israelites, as was their tendency, blamed Moses for their predicament.

    When all hope seemed lost, by a divine act the Israelites escaped through the sea on dry ground and the army of Pharaoh drowned when they tried to follow. This escape is the most important event in Israel's history. It is the culmination of God's great work in delivering the Israelites from oppression and bondage and providing salvation. It would forever be remembered as the event that revealed both the compassion and power of Israel's God. Its significance to the religious faith of Israel cannot be overestimated.

    The exit from Egypt and deliverance at the Reed Sea is the salvation high point of Israel's history. In this event Yahweh revealed his deep love and care for Israel. In biblical literature it became the prototype saving event. When at a later time the Israelites were alienated from the Promised Land and oppressed by foreign overlords, especially during the Babylonian exile, they recalled the great exodus from Egypt and were encouraged.

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Exodus, by Marc Chagall (1887-1985) 1952-66 -- CFGA

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    Comparing the Yahwist and Priestly accounts reveals notable differences in narrative emphasis. Each seems to portray the miracle and the role of Moses somewhat differently.
    Yahwist version: YHWH drove the sea back with a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land (14:21b). According to this version the people were saved when God sent a wind to drive back the sea. In this version God acted directly. Overall, the Yahwist places primary focus on Yahweh and his activity. He was present in the cloud. He was the one that saved Israel. Moses' only role was to reassure the people that they would be saved. The Yahwist strand concentrates less on the details of the miracle and more on the faith response of the people. The Israelites moved from fear to faith as they stood back and observed what Yahweh had done.
    Priestly version: Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. . . . And the waters were divided. The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground. The waters formed a wall on their right and on their left (14:21a, 21c-22). In this version the miracle is more spectacular, with the water rising up on either side of the traveling Israelites. God acts indirectly through the agency of Moses rather than directly.
    Old Epic version: You blew with your wind, the sea covered them. They sank as lead into the mighty waters (15:10). In addition to the Yahwist and Priestly versions there is a third witness. The victory hymn in Exodus 15 contains an independent description that concentrates on the destruction of Pharaoh's army. There is no mention of God splitting the sea or the Israelites crossing on dry ground.

 The Exodus text of each source is available separately, as well as in a combined form. Pay special attention to the Yahwist and Priestly versions. You will see how each tells a clear and coherent story when read on its own.

Table 3.H, Yahwist exodus account

Table 3.I, Elohist exodus account

Table 3.J, Priestly exodus account

Table 3.K, combined exodus account

    Exodus 15 celebrates the victory over Pharaoh in a poetic song of triumph. Moses and his sister Miriam led the people in a victory hymn to Yahweh: "I will sing to YHWH, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea." The style and vocabulary of this hymn date it as one of the oldest Hebrew compositions in the Bible and tend to place it quite close to the time of the event itself.
    The history of the Reed Sea crossing seems to have been combined with the divine warrior myth of the ancient Middle East (see Dozeman 1996). In this common myth the high god slays the monster of chaos, personified as the sea or the great river. In Canaan, for example, Baal subdued Yamm, the sea god. This myth finds expression in Israel's poetry (see Psalms 29 and 74:12-15) and in prophetic literature (Isaiah 51:9-11). In an evocative way, the exodus deliverance myth combines with the priestly creation myth in the triumph of life over death, symbolized in both by the threatening waters. At creation God divided the waters of chaos and created a world. At the exodus God divided the sea and created a people.

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Parting the Red Sea, by Marc Chagall (1887-1985) 1966 -- CFGA

What happened at the Reed Sea? Authorities continue to speculate about precisely what happened at the Reed Sea. Granting that the account retains memories of a miraculous event (and is more than just a historicizing of the creation myth), some have developed scientific scenarios. Goedicke argues that the eruption of a volcano on Thera and the resulting tidal wave swept Pharaoh's army away, while Israel occupied the high ground (see Shanks 1981). Nof and Paldor (1992) attribute the drying of the sea to identifiable oceanographic patterns.

Reed Sea or Red Sea? "God led the people by the roundabout way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea" (13:18, NRSV). Most English Bible versions locate Israel's miraculous escape at the Red Sea, but the underlying Hebrew phrase yam suf might better be rendered Reed Sea. Suf is derived from the Egyptian word for the papyrus reed, which only grows in fresh water. This would place the crossing at one of the lagoons or inland lakes in the northeast of Egypt near the shore of the Mediterranean Sea (see Batto 1984, who presents the evidence but opts for a mythological interpretation of yam suf).