Exodus 13:17-17:16
Names of God Bible
God Leads the People out of Egypt
17 When Pharaoh let the people go, Elohim didn’t lead them on the road through Philistine territory, although that was the shortest route. Elohim said, “If they see that they have to fight a war, they may change their minds and go back to Egypt.” 18 So Elohim led the people around the other way, on the road through the desert toward the Red Sea. The Israelites were ready for battle when they left Egypt.
19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, because Joseph had made the Israelites solemnly swear to do this. Joseph had said, “Elohim will definitely come to help you. When he does, take my bones with you.”
20 They moved from Succoth and camped at Etham, on the edge of the desert. 21 By day Yahweh went ahead of them in a column of smoke to lead them on their way. By night he went ahead of them in a column of fire to give them light so that they could travel by day or by night. 22 The column of smoke was always in front of the people during the day. The column of fire was always there at night.
Pharaoh Pursues Israel
14 Then Yahweh said to Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites to go back and set up their camp facing Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. Set up your camp facing north—by the sea. 3 Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are just wandering around. The desert is blocking their escape.’ 4 I will make Pharaoh so stubborn that he will pursue them. Then, because of what I do to Pharaoh and his entire army, I will receive honor, and the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh.” So that is what the Israelites did.
5 When Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) was told that the people had fled, he and his officials changed their minds about them. They said, “What have we done? We’ve lost our slaves because we’ve let Israel go.” 6 So Pharaoh prepared his chariot and took his army with him. 7 He took 600 of his best chariots as well as all the other chariots in Egypt, placing an officer in each of them. 8 Yahweh made Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) so stubborn that he pursued the Israelites, who were boldly leaving Egypt. 9 The Egyptians pursued the Israelites. Pharaoh’s army, including all his horse-drawn chariots and cavalry, caught up with them as they were setting up their camp by the sea at Pi Hahiroth facing north.
10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw that the Egyptians were coming after them. Terrified, the Israelites cried out to Yahweh. 11 They said to Moses, “Did you bring us out into the desert to die because there were no graves in Egypt? Look what you’ve done by bringing us out of Egypt! 12 Didn’t we tell you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone! Let us go on serving the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”
The Lord Divides the Red Sea
13 Moses answered the people, “Don’t be afraid! Stand still, and see what Yahweh will do to save you today. You will never see these Egyptians again. 14 Yahweh is fighting for you! So be still!”
15 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to start moving. 16 Raise your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide the water. Then the Israelites will go through the sea on dry ground. 17 I am making the Egyptians so stubborn that they will follow the Israelites. I will receive honor because of what I will do to Pharaoh, his entire army, his chariots, and cavalry. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh when I am honored for what I did to Pharaoh, his chariots, and his cavalry.”
19 The Messenger of Elohim, who had been in front of the Israelites, moved behind them. So the column of smoke moved from in front of the Israelites and stood behind them 20 between the Egyptian camp and the Israelite camp. The column of smoke was there when darkness came, and it lit up the night. Neither side came near the other all night long.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. All that night Yahweh pushed back the sea with a strong east wind and turned the sea into dry ground. The water divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the middle of the sea on dry ground. The water stood like a wall on their right and on their left.
23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and cavalry followed them into the sea. 24 Just before dawn, Yahweh looked down from the column of fire and smoke and threw the Egyptian camp into a panic. 25 He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they could hardly move. Then the Egyptians shouted, “Let’s get out of here! Yahweh is fighting for Israel! He’s against us!”
26 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the water will flow back over the Egyptians, their chariots, and their cavalry.”
27 Moses stretched his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the water returned to its usual place. The Egyptians tried to escape, but Yahweh swept them into the sea. 28 The water flowed back and covered Pharaoh’s entire army, as well as the chariots and the cavalry that had followed Israel into the sea. Not one of them survived.
29 Meanwhile, the Israelites had gone through the sea on dry ground while the water stood like a wall on their right and on their left. 30 That day Yahweh saved Israel from the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore. 31 When the Israelites saw the great power Yahweh had used against the Egyptians, they feared Yahweh and believed in Yahweh and in his servant Moses.
The Song of Moses
15 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to Yahweh:
“I will sing to Yahweh.
He has won a glorious victory.
He has thrown horses and their riders into the sea.
2 Yah is my strength and my song.
He is my Savior.
This is my El, and I will praise him,
my father’s Elohim, and I will honor him.
3 Yahweh is a warrior!
Yahweh is his name.
4 He has thrown Pharaoh’s chariots and army into the sea.
Pharaoh’s best officers were drowned in the Red Sea.
5 The deep water covered them.
They sank to the bottom like a rock.
6 Your right hand, O Yahweh, wins glory because it is strong.
Your right hand, O Yahweh, smashes your enemies.
7 With your unlimited majesty, you destroyed those who attacked you.
You sent out your burning anger.
It burned them up like straw.
8 With a blast from your nostrils, the water piled up.
The waves stood up like a dam.
The deep water thickened in the middle of the sea.
9 “The enemy said, ‘I’ll pursue them!
I’ll catch up with them!
I’ll divide the loot!
I’ll take all I want!
I’ll use my sword!
I’ll take all they have!’
10 Your breath blew the sea over them.
They sank like lead in the raging water.
11 “Who is like you among the gods, O Yahweh?
Who is like you?
You are glorious because of your holiness
and awe-inspiring because of your splendor.
You perform miracles.
12 You stretched out your right hand.
The earth swallowed them.
13 “Lovingly, you will lead the people you have saved.
Powerfully, you will guide them to your holy dwelling.
14 People will hear of it and tremble.
The people of Philistia will be in anguish.
15 The tribal leaders of Edom will be terrified.
The powerful men of Moab will tremble.
The people of Canaan will be deathly afraid.
16 Terror and dread will fall on them.
Because of the power of your arm, they will be petrified
until your people pass by, O Yahweh,
until the people you purchased pass by.
17 You will bring them and plant them on your own mountain,
the place where you live, O Yahweh,
the holy place that you built with your own hands, O Adonay.
18 Yahweh will rule as king forever and ever.”
19 When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and cavalry went into the sea, Yahweh made the water of the sea flow back over them. However, the Israelites had gone through the sea on dry ground.
The Song of Miriam
20 Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand. All the women, dancing with tambourines, followed her. 21 Miriam sang to them:
“Sing to Yahweh.
He has won a glorious victory.
He has thrown horses and their riders into the sea.”
God Provides Water for the Israelites
22 Moses led Israel away from the Red Sea into the desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. 23 When they came to Marah, they couldn’t drink the water because it tasted bitter. That’s why the place was called Marah [Bitter Place]. 24 The people complained about Moses by asking, “What are we supposed to drink?”
25 Moses cried out to Yahweh, and Yahweh showed[a] him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.
There Yahweh set down laws and rules for them to live by, and there he tested them. 26 He said, “If you will listen carefully to Yahweh your Elohim and do what he considers right, if you pay attention to his commands and obey all his laws, I will never make you suffer any of the diseases I made the Egyptians suffer, because I am Yahweh Ropheka.”
27 Next, they went to Elim, where there were 12 springs and 70 palm trees. They camped there by the water.
The Lord Provides Manna and Quails for the Israelites to Eat
16 The whole community of Israelites moved from Elim and came to the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai. This was on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left Egypt. 2 In the desert the whole community complained about Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only Yahweh had let us die in Egypt! There we sat by our pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted! You brought us out into this desert to let us all starve to death!”
4 Yahweh said to Moses, “I’m going to send you food from heaven like rain. Each day the people should go out and gather only what they need for that day. In this way I will test them to see whether or not they will follow my instructions. 5 But on the sixth day when they prepare what they bring home, it should be twice as much as they gather on other days.”
6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was Yahweh who brought you out of Egypt. 7 In the morning you will see the glory of Yahweh, because he has heard you complaining about Yahweh. Why are you complaining about us?” 8 Moses also said, “Yahweh will give you meat to eat in the evening and all the food you want in the morning. Yahweh has heard you complaining about him. Who are we? You’re not complaining about us but about Yahweh.”
9 Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole community of Israelites, ‘Come into Yahweh’s presence. He has heard you complaining.’”
10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole community of Israelites, they looked toward the desert. Suddenly, they saw the glory of Yahweh in the column of smoke.
11 Yahweh said to Moses, 12 “I’ve heard the Israelites complaining. Tell them, ‘At dusk you will eat meat, and in the morning you will eat all the food you want. Then you will know that I am Yahweh your Elohim.’”
13 That evening quails came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, the ground was covered with a thin layer of flakes like frost on the ground. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they asked each other, “What is this?” because they didn’t know what it was.
Moses said to them, “It’s the food Yahweh has given you to eat. 16 This is what Yahweh has commanded: Each of you should gather as much as you can eat. Take two quarts for each person in your tent.”
17 So that is what the Israelites did. Some gathered more, some less. 18 They measured it into two-quart containers. Those who had gathered more didn’t have too much. Those who had gathered less didn’t have too little. They gathered as much as they could eat.
19 Then Moses said to them, “No one may keep any of it until morning.”
20 But some of them didn’t listen to Moses. They kept part of it until morning, and it was full of worms and smelled bad. So Moses was angry with them.
21 Each morning they gathered as much food as they could eat. When the sun was hot, it melted away. 22 But on the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, four quarts per person. All the leaders of the community came to Moses and told him about it.
23 He said to them, “This is what Yahweh said: Tomorrow is a day of worship, a holy day of worship dedicated to Yahweh. Bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil. Save all that’s left over, and keep it until tomorrow morning.”
24 So they saved it until the next morning as Moses had commanded, but it didn’t smell or have worms in it. 25 “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a day of worship dedicated to Yahweh. You won’t find anything on the ground today. 26 You can gather food on six days, but on the seventh day, the day of worship, you won’t find any.”
27 On the seventh day some people went out to gather food, but they didn’t find any. 28 Yahweh said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to do what I have commanded and instructed you to do? 29 Remember: Yahweh has given you this day of worship. That’s why he gives you enough food on the sixth day for two days. On the seventh day you may not leave. Everyone, stay where you are.” 30 So the people never worked on the seventh day of the week.
31 The Israelites called the food manna. It was like coriander seeds. It was white and tasted like wafers made with honey.
32 Moses said, “This is what Yahweh has commanded: Take two quarts of manna to be kept for your descendants. This way they will see the food that I gave you to eat in the desert when I brought you out of Egypt.”
33 Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar, put two quarts of manna in it, and put it in Yahweh’s presence to be kept for your descendants.” 34 Aaron put the jar of manna in front of the words of God’s promise to be kept there, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
35 The Israelites ate manna for 40 years until they came to a place to settle. They ate manna until they came to the border of Canaan.
36 (Now, the standard dry measure at that time held 20 quarts.)
The Lord Provides Water for the Israelites from a Rock
17 The whole community of Israelites left the desert of Sin and traveled from place to place as Yahweh commanded them. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 So they complained to Moses by saying, “Give us water to drink!”
Moses said to them, “Why are you complaining to me? Why are you testing Yahweh?”
3 But the people were thirsty for water there. They complained to Moses and asked, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Was it to make us, our children, and our livestock die of thirst?”
4 So Moses cried out to Yahweh, “What should I do with these people? They’re almost ready to stone me!”
5 Yahweh answered Moses, “Bring some of the leaders of Israel with you, and go to where the people can see you. Take the staff you used to strike the Nile River. 6 I’ll be standing in front of you there by a rock at Mount Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.”
Moses did this while the leaders of Israel watched him.
7 He named that place Massah [Testing] and Meribah [Complaining] because the Israelites complained and because they tested Yahweh, asking, “Is Yahweh with us or not?”
God Defeats the Amalekites
8 The Amalekites fought Israel at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men. Then fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill. I will hold in my hand the staff Elohim told me to take along.”
10 Joshua did as Moses told him and fought the Amalekites, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, Israel would win, but as soon as he put his hands down, the Amalekites would start to win. 12 Eventually, Moses’ hands felt heavy. So Aaron and Hur took a rock, put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron held up one hand, and Hur held up the other. His hands remained steady until sunset. 13 So Joshua defeated the Amalekite army in battle.
14 Yahweh said to Moses, “Write this reminder on a scroll, and make sure that Joshua hears it, too: I will completely erase any memory of the Amalekites from the earth.”
15 Moses built an altar and called it Yahweh Nissi. 16 He said, “Because a hand was lifted against Yah’s throne,[b] Yahweh will be at war against the Amalekites from one generation to the next.”
Footnotes
- Exodus 15:25 Samaritan Pentateuch, Syriac, Targum, Latin; Masoretic Text “taught.”
- Exodus 17:16 Hebrew meaning uncertain.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.
