Exodus 14:1519: An Exegetical Essay

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Exodus 1415-19An Exegetical Essay

• Dan Sabella
• RL 200
• December 6th, 2005

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Moses Parts the Red Sea

• In this particular pericope, Moses is leading his
  fellow Israelites out of Egypt, but blocking them
  from escape is the Red Sea.
• The Egyptians are in pursuit of the Israelites,
  and Moses quickly turns to God for wisdom and
  advice.

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The Excerpt from Exodus 1415-19

• Then the Lord said to Moses, Why are you crying
  out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward.
  And you, lift up your staff and, with hand
  outstretched over the sea, split the sea in two,
  that the Israelites may pass through it on dry
  land. But I will make the Egyptians so obstinate
  that they will go in after them.

• Then I will receive glory through Pharaoh and all
  his army, his chariots and charioteers. The
  Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I
  receive glory through Pharaoh and his chariots
  and charioteers. The Angel of God, who had been
  leading Israels camp, now moved and went around
  behind them. The column of cloud also, leaving
  the front, took up its place behind them

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Characteristics of the Pericope

• The pericope shows evidence of being authored
  both by the Yahwist source as well as the Elohist
  source
• It is Yahwist in nature because of the direct
  interaction and language that occurs between
  Moses and God (Divine Presence)
• It is Elohist in nature because of the use of the
  Angel of God, who is traveling with the
  Israelites (Divine Transcendence)

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Historical Context

• The Red Sea and the surrounding area has been
  documented in history for thousands and thousands
  of years.
• There is no doubt that the Red Sea exists, which
  gives the story of Moses and the Israelites more
  credibility.
• But what can be learned, historically, from this
  story?

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The Hyksos People and Chariots

• It is believed that the Hyksos people introduced
  the chariot into Egypt
• Because of this notion, it must be perceived that
  the Egyptians could not have led a chariot force
  in pursuit of the Israelites until well after the
  Hyksos introduction of the Chariot

• What this bit of history does is give the story
  of Moses a timeline in which to research.
• The historical story of the Hyksos relates to the
  Biblical story of Moses and works to provide come
  evidence as to the time frame of this story.

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Other Translations

• There are a few subtle differences between the
  New American Bible version of the story, and the
  King James version.
• In the NAB, God tells Moses to raise up his
  staff to part the sea, while the KJB refers to
  this staff as a rod.
• The KJB refers to charioteers as horsemen, and
  also chooses to harden the hearts of the
  Egyptians, rather than making them obstinate,
  like in the NAB.

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Wrap Up

• The story of Moses parting the Red Sea is
  significant because
• God, by enabling Moses to perform such a miracle,
  saves the lives of the Israelite people.
• The Catholic idea of Christ gaining strength from
  God to make the world a better place relates to
  God empowering Moses to rescue the Israelite
  people.

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Bibliography

• The New American Bible.
• www.enduringworld.com/commentaries
• www.mystae.com (Rohl, David M. A Test of Time
  The Bible From Myth to History)
• The King James Bible
• wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn