Exodus 15:12 — Word Study
WLCנָטִ֙יתָ֙ יְמִ֣ינְךָ֔ תִּבְלָעֵ֖מוֹ אָֽרֶץ׃
BSAYou stretched outnâṭâh■ [with mighty power, to accomplish] Your right handyâmîyn [of authority and strength] and the earthʼerets [land, ground, or territory] swallowed them upbâlaʻ▸ [completely, to destroy, to engulf]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| נָטִ֙יתָ֙ | you stretched out | Verb, Qal, perfect second person masculine singular |
| יְמִ֣ינְךָ֔ | right [hand] your | Noun common feminine singular construct, suffix |
| תִּבְלָעֵ֖מוֹ | it swallowed up them | Verb qal imperfect third person feminine singular, suffix |
| אָֽרֶץ׃ | [the] earth | Noun common, feminine singular absolute |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | You stretched out Your right hand, and the earth swallowed them up. |
| KJV | Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them. |
| ASV | Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, The earth swallowed them. |
| YLT | Thou hast stretched out Thy right hand — Earth swalloweth them! |
| WEB | You stretched out your right hand. The earth swallowed them. |
| BBE | When your right hand was stretched out, the mouth of the earth was open for them. |
Where they part company is תִּבְלָעֵ֖מוֹ — see How Translations Differ.
One main verb with a direct object followed by a result clause. This structure highlights the cause-and-effect relationship in God's actions.
8 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them ›
clause
subjectאֶרֶץ
verbנָטָה
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Exodus 15:12
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — The Song of Mosesgenerated
Exodus 15:12 is part of a song sung by Moses and the Israelites after their escape from Egypt. In this celebration, they recount how God delivered them from Pharaoh's army by parting the Red Sea and then bringing it back together to swallow their enemies. This moment marks a significant act of salvation and judgment in Israel's history, showcasing God's power and faithfulness to His people.
Cross References
The Key Word — נָטִ֙יתָ֙, na.Ti.tagenerated
The verb נָטָה (natah) means to stretch out or extend, often in a physical sense but also metaphorically. In this context, it refers to God's powerful action in delivering Israel from danger.
The parsing indicates a perfect tense, second person masculine singular, showing that God is the subject who has completed this action. The use of this verb emphasizes God's authority and capability in executing His will.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, so the BSB is the wording every comparison below is made against.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The main verb נָטִ֙יתָ֙ governs the clause, indicating God's action, while the object יְמִ֣ינְךָ֔ specifies what was stretched out. The following clause תִּבְלָעֵ֖מוֹ describes the result of this action, with אָֽרֶץ׃ as the subject.
The structure emphasizes God's direct action and the immediate consequence, showcasing the dramatic effect of His power over the earth.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates נָטִ֙יתָ֙ as ἐχέτεινας, which carries a similar meaning of stretching out. This choice highlights the act of divine intervention.
The translation reflects a direct correspondence in meaning, indicating the same powerful action attributed to God in both the Hebrew and Greek texts.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Exodus 15:12 describes how God used His mighty power to stretch out His right hand, resulting in the earth swallowing up the Egyptians. This act demonstrates God's authority and ability to save His people while judging their enemies.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
It signifies God's power and authority in delivering Israel from their enemies.
This imagery conveys total destruction of the Egyptians, emphasizing God's judgment.
It highlights God's deliverance of Israel and His power over their oppressors.
We learn that God is capable of saving His people and executing judgment against those who oppose Him.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- In what ways have I seen God's power at work in my life?
- How can I trust in God's authority when facing challenges?
- What does this verse teach me about God's judgment?
- How can I celebrate God's deliverance in my own life?
The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it
Augustine of Hippo references this verse to discuss God's judgment on the Egyptians, arguing against a literal swallowing by the earth.
Certainly at that time no yawning chasm of the earth swallowed up any of the Egyptians; they were covered by water, they perished in the sea.Early Church Fathers on Exodus 15 →
Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Exodus 15:12 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleThou stretchedst out thy right hand,.... That is, exerted his power, and gave a display and proof of it; of which the right hand is an emblem: the earth swallowed them; meaning Pharaoh and his host;
Read John Gill on Exodus 15 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryThou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them. Thou stretchedst out thy right hand. Recurrence is here again had to the image of a warrior driving a war-chariot.
Read Robert Jamieson on Exodus 15 →Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy BibleEither, 1. The globe, consisting of earth and water, which is here called earth; as it is called the deep, and the water s, . Or, 2. The earth is here put for the sea, the other part of the same globe; as the soul is put for the body, or the dead carcass, the other part of the man, 21:1 ,9,11. Or, 3. The earth properly, either because many of them sunk into the mud at the bottom of the sea, and were buried in it; or because, after they were cast up upon the shore, they were buried by the Israelites in the earth.
Read Matthew Poole on Exodus 15 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsExodus 15:12 Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.Ver. 12. The earth swallowed them,] That is, the sea, which compasseth the earth about as a girdle: God having set the solid earth upon the liquid waters. See Jonah 2:6 Psalms 24:2.
Read John Trapp on Exodus 15 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(12) The earth swallowed them.—The sea, which actually “swallowed them,” was a part of the earth. Literalism might argue that the statement contravened former ones (Exodus 15:4-5; Exodus 15:10); but the fact is otherwise. If we only allow our common sense fair play, and permit sacred writers the same latitude as profane ones, we shall find wonderfully few discrepancies, or even difficulties, in the Biblical narrative.
Read Charles John Ellicott on Exodus 15 →AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the BibleVerse 12. The earth swallowed them.] It is very likely there was also an earthquake on this occasion, and that chasms were made in the bottom of the sea, by which many of them were swallowed up, though multitudes were overwhelmed by the waters, whose dead bodies were afterward thrown ashore. The psalmist strongly intimates that there was an earthquake on this occasion: The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven; the lightnings lightened the world; the EARTH TREMBLED and SHOOK; Psalms 77:18.
Read AdamClarke on Exodus 15 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges12. The poet, before proceeding to the main theme of the paragraph (v. 13 ff.), reverts for a moment to the thought of Jehovah’s destruction of the foe. The earth swallowed them] In the Heb., the imperfect, attached ἀσυνδέτως, expresses vividly how the result followed at once the stretching out of Jehovah’s hand. Exactly so v. 14 ‘the peoples heard, they trembled’; Psalms 77:16 ‘the waters saw thee, they were in pangs.’ The ‘earth’ must here be understood as inclusive of the sea. ‘Swallowed,’ i.e. engulphed: cf. Numbers 16:32, Psalms 106:17 (of Dathan and Abiram).
Read Cambridge on Exodus 15 →Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible11-13. Fourth strain. Now Jehovah is compared with the imaginary gods of the heathen.
Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Exodus 15 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
You stretched out Your right hand, and the earth swallowed them up.
You stretched out your right hand. The earth swallowed them.
You stretched out Your right hand, and the earth swallowed them up.
You stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them.
Tyndale line
Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.
Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, The earth swallowed them.
Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, The earth swallowed them.
Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.
Thou stretchedst out thy right hande, the earth swallowed them.
Strictly literal
Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.
Thou hast stretched out Thy right hand — Earth swalloweth them!
You have stretched out Your right hand—Earth swallows them!
Thou didst stretch out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.
You reached out with your right hand, and the earth swallowed them.
From the Latin
Thou stretchedst forth thy hand, and the earth swallowed them.
Simplified
You acted, and the earth swallowed the Egyptians.
When your right hand was stretched out, the mouth of the earth was open for them.
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text and the Septuagint agree closely in wording. The Samaritan Pentateuch differs by omitting the definite article before אָֽרֶץ׃, while the Dead Sea Scrolls show partial restoration but align with the overall message of the verse.
נָטִ֙יתָ֙ יְמִ֣ינְךָ֔ תִּבְלָעֵ֖מוֹ אָֽרֶץ׃
4 of the 4 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
נטית ימינך תבלעמו הארץ
1 word differs from the Masoretic Text: ה (the)
מי ימנ׳ך תבלע׳םו ארץ
2 words on the leather — 2 partly restored.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Exodus 15:12
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
נָטָה (natah) is a Hebrew verb meaning to stretch out, spread out, or extend. It encompasses a wide range of actions, including bending, inclining, and pitching a tent. The word can also imply moral deflection or turning aside. The entries suggest various applications, from physical actions to metaphorical uses, but do not indicate significant disagreement among the lexicons.
נָטָה 215 vb. stretch out, spread out, extend, incline, bend
Qal
stretch out, extend, hand, rod
stretch line and plummet
= offer
Spread out, i.e. pitch, tent
Bend, turn, incline
Niph. be stretched out
Hiph.
rarely stretch out, hand
rarely spread out cloth on rock
usu. turn, incline
base
H5186 נָטָה stretch out, spread out, extend, incline, bend .. . stretch out, extend, hand, rod
. stretch line and plummet
. = offer
. Spread out, i.e. pitch, tent
. Bend, turn, incline
. be stretched out
. . rarely stretch out, hand
. rarely spread out cloth on rock
. usu. turn, incline
5186 natah naw-taw'
a primitive root; to stretch or spread out; by implication,
to bend away (including moral deflection); used in a great
variety of application (as follows):--+ afternoon, apply, bow
(down, - ing), carry aside, decline, deliver, extend, go down,
be gone, incline, intend, lay, let down, offer, outstretched,
overthrown, pervert, pitch, prolong, put away, shew, spread
(out), stretch (forth, out), take (aside), turn (aside, away),
wrest, cause to yield.
נָטָה (na.tah) — to stretch.
1) to stretch out, extend, spread out, pitch, turn, pervert, incline, bend, bow
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to stretch out, extend, stretch, offer
1a2) to spread out, pitch (tent)
1a3) to bend, turn, incline
1a3a) to turn aside, incline, decline, bend down
1a3b) to bend, bow
1a3c) to hold out, extend (fig.)
1b) (Niphal) to be stretched out
1c) (Hiphil)
1c1) to stretch out
1c2) to spread out
1c3) to turn, incline, influence, bend down, hold out, extend, thrust aside, thrust away
V-Qal-Perf-2ms — Verb · Qal · perfect second person masculine singularHVqp2ms
The Hebrew word יָמִין (*yamiyn*) means 'right hand' or 'right side,' and it can also refer to the direction south, as the right hand points south when facing east. It is derived from the root word for 'to be strong' and covers various contexts, including body parts and directional references.
יָמִין 137 n.f. right hand
right hand
of situation on, or direction toward the right
of other parts of the body
= south, because when facing east the right hand is toward the south
base
H3225 יָמִין right hand . right hand
. of situation on, or direction toward the right
. of other parts of the body
. = south, because when facing east the right hand is toward the south
3225 yamiyn yaw-meen'
from 3231; the right hand or side (leg, eye) of a person or
other object (as the stronger and more dexterous); locally,
the south:--+ left-handed, right (hand, side), south.
see HEBREW for 03231
יָמִין (ya.min) — right.
1) right, right hand, right side
1a) right hand
1b) right (of direction)
1c) south (the direction of the right hand when facing East)
Also means: ya.min (יָמִין ": south" H3225H)
יָמִין (ya.min) — right: south.
1) right, right hand, right side
1a) right hand
1b) right (of direction)
1c) south (the direction of the right hand when facing East)
יָמִין (ya.min) — [Ben]jamin.
A man of the tribe of Benjamin living at the time of the Patriarchs, first mentioned at Gen.35.18;
son of: Israel (H3478) and Rachel (H7354);
brother of: Joseph (H3130);
half-brother of: Reuben (H7205), Simeon (H8095), Levi (H3878), Judah (H3063), Dan (H1835H), Naphtali (H5321), Gad (H1410), Asher (H0836), Issachar (H3485), Zebulun (H2074) and Dinah (H1783);
N-fs | Suff — Noun common feminine singular construct · suffixHNcfsc/Sp2ms
בָּלַע (bala) is a Hebrew verb meaning to swallow down or engulf. It encompasses various forms, including actions of devouring and being consumed, as well as figurative uses like squandering. The entries indicate that it can be used in different grammatical aspects, such as Qal, Niphal, Piel, Pual, and Hithpael, each with slightly different nuances.
בָּלַע vb. swallow down, swallow up, engulf
Qal
swallow down
swallow up, engulf
Niph. swallowed up, i.e. devastated
Pi.
swallow
swallow up, engulf
Pu. be swallowed up
Hithp. their wisdom is all gone, ‘they are at their wit’s end’
base
H1104 בָּלַע swallow down, swallow up, engulf
1104 bala` baw-lah'
a primitive root; to make away with (specifically by
swallowing); generally, to destroy:--cover, destroy, devour,
eat up, be at end, spend up, swallow down (up).
בָּלַע (ba.la) — to swallow up.
1) to swallow down, swallow up, engulf, eat up
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to swallow down
1a2) to swallow up, engulf
1b) (Niphal) to be swallowed up
1c) (Piel)
1c1) to swallow
1c2) to swallow up, engulf
1c3) squandering (fig.)
1d) (Pual) to be swallowed up
1e) (Hithpael) to be ended
V-Qal-Imperf-3fs | Suff — Verb qal imperfect third person feminine singular · suffixHVqi3fs/Sp3mp
אֶ֫רֶץ (erets) is a feminine noun meaning 'earth' or 'land.' It encompasses various meanings, including the whole earth, specific territories like Canaan, and even inhabitants of the land. It can refer to soil, ground, or regions, and is used in phrases related to distance and the living. There is a note on the plural form אֲרָצוֹת, which mainly appears in later texts to denote multiple lands.
אֶ֫רֶץ n. f. & (seld.) m. earth, land
earth, whole earth (opp. to a part)
earth, opp. to heaven, sky
earth = inhabitants of earth
land =
country, territory
district, region
trial territory
piece of ground
specif. land of Canaan, or Israel
= inhabitants of land
used even of Shᵉʼôl
ground, surface of ground
soil, as productive
אֶרֶץ in phrases
people of the land
in measurements of distance
the country of the plain, level or plain country
land of the living
end(s) of the earth
pl. אֲרָצוֹת is almost wholly late; it denotes lands, countries, often in contrast to Canaan, lands of the nations, etc.
base
H776 אֶ֫רֶץ n. f. & (seld.) m. earth, land . . earth, whole earth (opp. to a part)
. earth, opp. to heaven, sky
. earth = inhabitants of earth
. land = . country, territory
. district, region
. trial territory
. piece of ground
. specif. land of Canaan, or Israel
. = inhabitants of land
. used even of Shᵉʼôl
. . ground, surface of ground
. soil, as productive
. אֶרֶץ in phrases . people of the land
. in measurements of distance
. the country of the plain, level or plain country
. land of the living
. end(s) of the earth
. pl. אֲרָצוֹת is almost wholly late; it denotes lands, countries, often in contrast to Canaan, lands of the nations, etc.
776 'erets eh'-rets
from an unused root probably meaning to be firm; the earth
(at large, or partitively a land):--X common, country, earth,
field, ground, land, X natins, way, + wilderness, world.
אֶ֫רֶץ (e.rets) — land: country/planet.
: country/field
1) land, earth
1a) earth
1a1) whole earth (as opposed to a part)
1a2) earth (as opposed to heaven)
1a3) earth (inhabitants)
1b) land
1b1) country, territory
1b2) district, region
1b3) tribal territory
1b4) piece of ground
1b5) land of Canaan, Israel
1b6) inhabitants of land
1b7) Sheol, land without return, (under) world
1b8) city (-state)
1c) ground, surface of the earth
1c1) ground
1c2) soil
1d) (in phrases)
1d1) people of the land
1d2) space or distance of country (in measurements of distance)
1d3) level or plain country
1d4) land of the living
1d5) end(s) of the earth
1e) (almost wholly late in usage)
1e1) lands, countries
1e1a) often in contrast to Canaan
אֶ֫רֶץ (e.rets) — land: soil.
: soil
1) land, earth
1a) earth
1a1) whole earth (as opposed to a part)
1a2) earth (as opposed to heaven)
1a3) earth (inhabitants)
1b) land
1b1) country, territory
N-cs — Noun common · feminine singular absoluteHNcfsa
urth ('adhamah, 'erets, 'aphar; ge, oikoumene):
In a hilly limestone country like Palestine, the small amount of iron oxide in the rocks tends to be oxidized, and thereby to give a prevailing reddish color to the soil. This is especially the case on relatively barren hills where there is little organic matter present to prevent reddening and give a more blackish tinge.
'Adhamah (compare 'adham, "a man," and Adam) is from 'adham, "to be red," and is used in the senses: "earth" (Ex 20:24), "land" (Ps 105:35), a "land" or country (Isa 14:2), "ground" (Ge 4:11), "the earth" (Ge 7:4).
Earth
(1.) In the sense of soil or ground, the translation of the word adamah’. In Gen. 9:20 “husbandman” is literally “man of the ground or earth.” Altars were to be built of earth (Ex. 20:24). Naaman asked for two mules’ burden of earth (2 Kings 5:17), under the superstitious notion that Jehovah, like the gods of the heathen, could be acceptably worshipped only on his own soil.
(2). As the rendering of ’erets, it means the whole world (Gen. 1:2); the land as opposed to the sea (1:10). Erets also denotes a country (21:32); a plot of ground (23:15); the ground on which a man stands (33:3); the inhabitants of the earth (6:1; 11:1); all the world except Israel (
The term is used in two widely-different senses: (1) for the material of which the earth’s surface is composed; (2) as the name of the planet on which man dwells. The Hebrew language discriminates between these two by the use of separate terms, adamah for the former, erets for the latter. Adamah is the earth in the sense of soil or ground, particularly as being susceptible of cultivation. (Genesis 2:7) Erets is applied in a more or less extended sense-- (1) to the whole world, (Genesis 1:1) (2) to land as opposed to sea, (Genesis 1:10) (3) to a country, (Genesis 21:32) (4) to a plot of ground, (Genesis 23:15) and (5) to…
In both Hebrew and Greek the same word is used to denote the earth as a whole, and a particular land. Only the context can enable us to decide in which of these senses it is to be taken in a given passage.
Thus in Mt 27:45 we might, so far as the original word is concerned, render either "there was darkness over all the land," or over all the earth. The expression "all the earth" is sometimes used hyperbolically for a large portion of it, Ezr 1:2. The word is used of the whole world, etc. In a moral sense, earthly is opposed to what is heavenly, spiritual and holy, Joh 3:31 1Co 15:47 Col 3:2