Exo_14:1-31; Exo_15:1-27; Exo_16:1-36; Exo_17:1-16
SECTIONXVI.
BESHALLACH. AND it was when Pharohhad sent the people away, that the Lord led them not by the way of the land ofthe Philistaee because it was the nearest: for the Lord said, Lest the peoplebe terrified at the seeing of war, and return to Mizraim. But the Lord led thepeople round by the way of the desert to the sea of Suph; and harnessed (orgirded) went the sons of Israel up out of the land of Mizraim. And Moshehbrought up the bones of Joseph with him; for he had adjured the sons of Israelwith an oath, saying, Remembering, the Lord will remember you, and you shallcarry up my bones from hence. And they journeyed from Sukkoth, and encamped inEtham, which is beside the desert. And the Lord went before them by day in thecolumn of the cloud to lead them in the way, and by night in the column of fireto enlighten them, that they might go in the day and in the night. The columnof the cloud by day, nor the column of the fire by night, departed not beforethe people. And the Lord spake toMosheh, saying, Speak with the sons of Israel that they return and encampbefore Pum Hiratha, between Migdol and the sea, before Beel Zephon: you shallencamp before it by the sea. And Pharoh will say of the children of Israel,They are bewildered in the land, the desert hath got hold of them:[1] <l >and I will harden Pharoh’s heart, and he will pursue them; and I will beglorified in Pharoh and in all his host; and the Mizraee shall know that I amthe Lord. And they did so. And it was seen by the king of Mizraim that thepeople had gone. And the heart of Pharoh and of his servants was turned to thepeople; and they said, What is this that we have done, that we have sent Israelaway from serving us? And he set his chariot in order, and took his people withhim. He took also six hundred select chariots, and all the chariots of theMizraee, and appointed strong men over them. And the Lord hardened the heart ofPharoh king of Mizraim, and he pursued after the children of Israel. But thechildren of Israel went forth with uncovered head. And the Mizraee followedafter them, and overtook them while encamping by the sea; all the chariothorses of Pharoh, and his horsemen, and his army, by Pum Hiratha which isbefore Beel Zephon. And Pharoh drew nigh, and the sons of Israel lifted uptheir eyes, and, behold, the Mizraee were coming after them: and they weregreatly afraid, and the children of Israel cried before the Lord. But to Moshehthey said, Was it because there were no graves in Mizraim that thou hast takenus to die in the wilderness? What is this that thou hast done to bring us outof Mizraim? Was not this the word which we spake with thee in Mizraim, saying,Let us alone, and we will serve the Mizraee? for better would it have been forus to serve the Mizraee, than to die in the wilderness. And Mosheh said to thepeople, Fear not, stand still (or, be ready) and see the Lord’s deliverancewhich He will work for you this day; for as you have seen the Mizraee this day,you will see them no more for ever: the Lord will fight for you the fight, andyou shall be quiet. And the Lord said toMosheh, I have heard thy prayer. Speak to the children of Israel that they goonward: and thou, take thy rod and stretch forth thy hand over the sea, anddivide it, and the children of Israel shall go in the midst of the sea on dryground. And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Mizraee, and they willgo in after them; and I will be glorified by Pharoh and by all his army, by hischariots and his horsemen;[2] <l > and the Mizraee shall know that I amthe Lord, when I have been glorified by Pharoh and his chariots and hishorsemen.[3] <l > And the angel of theLord who went before the camp of Israel passed by and came behind them; and thecolumn of the cloud passed from before them and abode behind them. And itentered between the camp of the Mizraee and the camp of Israel; and was a cloudand darkness to the Mizraee, but unto Israel a light all the night: and thatcame not near to this all the night. And Mosheh stretchedforth his hand over the sea; and the Lord drave the sea by a mighty east windall the night, and caused the sea to be dry, and the waters were disparted; andthe children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon dry ground; and thewaters were to them a wall[4] <l > on their right hand and on theirleft. And the Mizraee followed and entered in after them, all the horses ofPharoh, and his chariots and horsemen, into the midst of the sea. And it was inthe morning watch that the Lord looked upon the host of the Mizraee from thecolumn of fire and cloud, and perturbed the host of the Mizraee. And he removedthe wheels of the chariots, so that they drave them by strength;[5] <l > andthe Mizraee said, Let us flee from before Israel; for this is the power of theLord which hath done battle for them against Mizraim. And the Lord said toMosheh, Stretch forth thy hand over the sea, and the waters shall return uponthe Mizraee, upon their chariots and their horsemen. And Mosheh stretched outhis hand over the sea, and the sea returned, at the time of the morning, untoits strength; and the Mizraee fled before it; and the Lord drowned the Mizraeein the midst of the sea. And the waters returned and covered the chariots andhorsemen and all the host of Pharoh who had gone after them into the sea, and thereremained of them not one. But the children of Israel walked on dry land in themidst of the sea; and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and ontheir left. And the Lord delivered Israel that day from the Mizraee, and Israelsaw the Mizraee dead upon the shore of the sea. And Israel saw the Power of theGreat Hand which the Lord had made (to appear) in Mizraim; and the peoplefeared before the Lord, and believed in the Word of the Lord, and in theprophetic (work) of Mosheh His servant.
Then sang Mosheh andthe children of Israel this hymn before the Lord; and they spake, saying, Wewill sing and give thanks before the Lord, because He is magnified upon themighty, and the power is His own; the horse and his rider hath He cast into thesea. My strength and my song[6] <l > is the terrible Lord; He hath said byHis Word that He will be mine to redeem. This is my God, and I will build Him asanctuary; the God of my fathers, and I will worship before Him. The Lord is the Lord of Victory in battles, theLord is His Name. The chariots of Pharoh and his horses He hath cast into thesea, his chosen warriors are drowned in the sea of Suph. The depths coveredthem over, they went down to the bottom as a stone. Thy right hand, 0 Lord, isillustrious in power; Thy right hand, 0 Lord, shattereth the adversary; and inthe greatness of Thy might Thou hast broken down them who arose against Thypeople. Thou didst send forth Thy wrath, and it consumed them as stubble in theflame, and by the word of Thy mouth the waters, (as if) wise, stood up like awall; the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. The adversary said, Iwill pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my soul shall besatisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, and my hand shall destroy them. Thoudidst speak by Thy Word, the sea covered them over, they sank like lead in themighty waters. There is none beside Thee, 0 God, (who art) glorious inholiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders. Thou didst uplift Thy right hand,the earth swallowed them up. Thou hast led forth in goodness Thy people whomThou hast redeemed; Thou wilt bring them by Thy strength to the dwelling of Thyholiness. The nations will hear it, and be moved; terror will seize on theinhabiters of Pelasheth; then will the princes of Edom be alarmed, the strongones of Moab will be seized with trembling and they who dwell in Kenaan will bebroken down. Fear and dread will fall upon them, by the greatness of Thy powerthey will be silent as a stone, until Thy people, 0 Lord, pass over Arnona,until Thy people whom Thou hast redeemed pass over Jardena. Thou wilt bringthem in, and cause them to dwell in the mountain of Thine inheritance, in theplace which Thou hast ordained for the house of Thy Shekina, the sanctuarywhich Thy hands, 0 Lord, have prepared. The kingdom of the Lord endureth forever, and for ever, evermore! Because, when the horses of Pharoh with hischariots and his horsemen had entered into the sea, the Lord caused the watersof the sea to return upon them, and the children of Israel walked upon dry landin the midst of the sea. And Miriam theprophetess, the sister of Aharon, took the timbrel in her hand, and all thewomen went out after her with timbrels and choruses. And Miriam answered them:Sing and give thanks before the Lord, for He hath magnified Himself upon theproud: and the majesty belongeth (only) unto Him; the horse and his rider hathHe cast into the sea. And Mosheh causedIsrael to remove from the sea of Suph, and they went forth into the desert ofChagra, and went three days in the desert, but found no water. And they came toMarah, and could not drink the waters of Marah because they were bitter;therefore he called the name of it Marah. And the people were fretful againstMosheh, saying, What shall we drink? And he prayed before the Lord; and theLord instructed him (in the properties of) a tree, and he cast it into thewaters, and the waters became sweet. There decreed He a statute, and ajudgment, and there He tried him. And He said, If hearkening thou wilt hearkenunto the Word of the Lord thy God, and wilt do what is right in His eyes, andwilt listen to His precepts and keep all His statutes, none of the maladieswhich I have set upon Mizraim will I put upon thee; for I am the Lord thy Healer. And they came to Elim,and there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; and they encampedthere before the waters. And they journeyed from Elim, and came, the wholeassembly of the sons of Israel, to the desert of Sir, which is between Elim andSinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month from their outgoing from theland of Mizraim. And all the congregation of the children of Israel weretroublous against Mosheh and against Aharon in the desert; and the children ofIsrael said to them, 0 that we had died before the Lord in the land of Mizraim,when we sat by the caldrons of flesh, and could eat bread and be satisfied! Whyhave you brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly withfamine? And the Lord said toMosheh, Behold, I will cause bread to come down to you from heaven; and thepeople shall go out and collect the matter of the day for the day; that I mayprove them whether they will walk in My law, or not. And in the sixth day, whenthey prepare that which they bring in, it shall be two for one upon what theycollect from day to day. And Mosheh and Aharon said to all the children ofIsrael, In the evening you shall know that the Lord brought you out of the landof Mizraim, and in the morning shall you see the Glory of the Lord; for yourtumults are heard before the Lord: and we -what, that you are restiveagainst us? And Mosheh said, When the Lord will give you at evening flesh toeat, and bread in the morning to satisfy, while are heard before the Lord yourtumults against Him! For what are we? your tumults are not against us, butagainst the Word of the Lord. And Mosheh said to Aharon, Bid all thecongregation of the sons of Israel to come together before the Lord; for yourtumult is heard before the Lord.[7] <l > And it was, while Aharon was speakingwith all the congregation of the sons of Israel, that they turned towards thedesert, and, behold, the glory of the Lord was revealed in the cloud. And the Lord spakewith Mosheh, saying, The tumult of the children of Israel is heard before Me.Speak with them to say, Between the evenings you shall eat flesh, and in themorning be satisfied with bread, and you shall know that I am the Lord yourGod. And it was in the evening that the quails came up and covered the camp; andin the morning a dew descended round about the camp; and when the dew which hadfallen had gone up, behold, upon the face of the desert, a small (substance)without covering,[8] <l > small like hoar frost, heaped on theearth. And the sons of Israel saw, and said, a man to his brother, Mana-hu!for they knew not what it was. And Mosheh said to them, This is the bread whichthe Lord will give you to eat. This is the word that the Lord hath commanded:Let every man gather of it according to his eating[9] <l > anomera for every head according to the number of your souls, a man for those ofhis tent shall you take. And the sons of Israel did so, and gathered, somemore, (others) less; and they measured with an omera, -and he who had(gathered) much had not more, and he who had (gathered) little had not less;every man according to his eating9 theygathered. And Mosheh said to them, No man must leave of it for the morning. Butthey hearkened not to Mosheh, but some left for the morning, and it swarmedworms and corrupted. And Mosheh was angry with them. And they gathered it frommorning to morning a man according to his eating; and when the sun grew hot onthat which remained upon the face of the field, it melted. And it was that onthe sixth day they gathered a double (quantity) of bread,[10] <l > twoomers for one: and all the chiefs of the congregation came and showed Mosheh.And be said to them, To-morrow is the rest of the holy Shabbath beforethe Lord. That which you prepare by baking, bake, and that which you prepare byboiling, boil, and all the remainder lay up to you, a store for the morning.And they laid it up till the morning, as Mosheh had instructed; and it did notcorrupt, neither were there worms in it. And Mosheh said, Eat that today, forthis day is Shabbath before the Lord; this day you would not find it in thefield. Six days you shall collect it; but on the seventh day, the Shabbath,there will be none. And it was on the seventh day that some of the people wentout to gather, but they found it not. And the Lord said toMosheh, How long will you be unwilling to keep My commandments and My laws?See, because the Lord hath given you the Shabbath He hath therefore given youon the sixth day the bread for two days; let every man dwell in his resting,and not go out from his place on the seventh day. And the people reposed on theseventh day. And the house of Israel called the name of it Manna; and it was asthe seed of Gida[11] <l > white, and its taste was like cakebroiled with honey. And Mosheh said, This is the word which the Lord hathcommanded. Fill an omera of it to be kept for your generations, that they maysee the bread which I made you eat in the desert when I brought you forth fromthe land of Mizraim. And Mosheh said to Aharon, Take one vase, and put thereinan omera full of manna, and lay it up before the Lord to be preserved for yourgenerations. As the Lord commanded, so did Mosheh; and Aharon laid it up beforethe Testimony, to keep. And the children of Israel ate the manna forty years,until they came to the land inhabited; they did eat the manna till they came tothe confines of the land of Kenaan. And one omera is the tenth of three seahs.
XVII. And all the congregation of the children of Israeljourneyed from the desert of Sin, according to their itinerations by the Wordof the Lord; and they encamped in Rephidim: but the people had no water todrink; and the people were contentious with Mosheh, and said, Give us waterthat we may drink. And Mosheh said, Why do you contend with me? why do youtempt before the Lord? But the people thirsted there for water, and the peoplewere turbulent against Mosheh, and said, Why is this, -to have brought usfrom Mizraim, to kill me and my children and my cattle with thirst? And Moshehprayed before the Lord, saying, What shall I do with this people? Yet a little,and they will stone me! And the Lord said to Mosheh, Pass over before thepeople, and take with thee of the elders of Israel, and thy rod wherewith thoudidst smite the river take in thy hand, and go. Behold, I will stand beforethee there, upon the rock in Horeb, and thou shalt smite the rock, and watershall come out of it, that the people may drink. And Mosheh did so in the eyesof the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place, Temptation andStrife, because of the striving of the sons of Israel, and because they temptedbefore the Lord, saying, Is the Majesty of the Lord among us, or not? And Amaleq came, andwarred battle with Israel in Rephidim. And Mosheh said to Jehoshua, Choose forus men, and go forth and do battle with Amaleq. Tomorrow I will stand on thetop of the hill, and the rod with which the miracles are wrought from beforethe Lord shall be in my hand. And Jehoshua did as Mosheh had said to him, andhe did battle with Amaleq. And Mosheh, Aharon, and Hur ascended to the top of the hill. Andit was that when Mosheh lifted up his hand, the house of Israel prevailed; andwhen he let down his hand, the house of Amaleq prevailed. But the hands ofMosheh became heavy, and they took a stone and placed it under him, and he satupon it, and Aharon and Hur held up his hands, here one, and there one; andthus were his hands stretched out in prayer until the going of the sun. AndJehoshua shattered Amaleq and his people with the edge of the sword. And the Lordsaid to Mosheh: Write this memorial in the Book, and set it before Jehoshua, -Thatblotting, I will blot out the memorial of Amaleq from under the heavens. AndMosheh builded an altar, and ministered upon it before the Lord who had wrought(such) miracles for him. And he said, With an oath hath this been declared frombefore the Fearful One whose Shekinah is upon His glorious throne; that warshall be waged with the house of Amaleq, to destroy it from the generations ofthe world.
[1] <l > Sam. Vers., Òhath covered them.Ó
[2] <l > Sam. Vers., Òfootmen.Ó
[3] <l > Sam. Vers., Òfootmen.Ó
[4] <l > Sam. Vers., Òa muition.Ó
[5] <l > Or, Òwith difficulty.Ó
[6] <l > Sam. Vers., Òmy portion.Ó
[7] <l > Other copies, Òbefore Him.Ó
[8] <l > Or, Òpeeled.Ó Sam. Vers., Òshining.Ó
[9] <l >Or, Òthe mouth of his eating.Ó
10 Sam. Vers., Òashes.Ó
[10] <l > Or, Òbread for one, two.Ó
[11] <l > Heb., Gid, Òcoriander.Ó Sam. Vers., Òrice.Ó