15:11 Who is like you, 1 O Lord, among the gods? 2
Who is like you? – majestic in holiness, fearful in praises, 3 working wonders?
15:1 4 Then Moses and the Israelites sang 5 this song to the Lord. They said, 6
“I will sing 7 to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously, 8
the horse and its rider 9 he has thrown into the sea.
35:10 With all my strength I will say, 22
“O Lord, who can compare to you?
You rescue 23 the oppressed from those who try to overpower them; 24
the oppressed and needy from those who try to rob them.” 25
86:8 None can compare to you among the gods, O Lord!
Your exploits are incomparable! 26
89:6 For who in the skies can compare to the Lord?
Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings, 27
89:7 a God who is honored 28 in the great angelic assembly, 29
and more awesome than 30 all who surround him?
89:8 O Lord, sovereign God! 31
Who is strong like you, O Lord?
Your faithfulness surrounds you.
113:5 Who can compare to the Lord our God,
who sits on a high throne? 32
40:18 To whom can you compare God?
To what image can you liken him?
40:25 “To whom can you compare me? Whom do I resemble?”
says the Holy One. 33
10:6 I said, 34
“There is no one like you, Lord. 35
You are great.
And you are renowned for your power. 36
10:16 The Lord, who is the inheritance 37 of Jacob’s descendants, 38 is not like them.
He is the one who created everything.
And the people of Israel are those he claims as his own. 39
He is known as the Lord who rules over all.” 40
7:18 There is no other God like you! 41
You 42 forgive sin
and pardon 43 the rebellion
of those who remain among your people. 44
You do not remain angry forever, 45
but delight in showing loyal love.
1 tn The question is of course rhetorical; it is a way of affirming that no one is comparable to God. See C. J. Labuschagne, The Incomparability of Yahweh in the Old Testament, 22, 66-67, and 94-97.
2 sn Verses 11-17 will now focus on Yahweh as the incomparable one who was able to save Israel from their foes and afterward lead them to the promised land.
3 tn S. R. Driver suggests “praiseworthy acts” as the translation (Exodus, 137).
4 sn This chapter is a song of praise sung by Moses and the people right after the deliverance from the Sea. The song itself is vv. 1b-18; it falls into three sections – praise to God (1b-3), the cause for the praise (4-13), and the conclusion (14-18). The point of the first section is that God’s saving acts inspire praise from his people; the second is that God’s powerful acts deliver his people from the forces of evil; and the third section is that God’s demonstrations of his sovereignty inspire confidence in him by his people. So the Victory Song is very much like the other declarative praise psalms – the resolve to praise, the power of God, the victory over the enemies, the incomparability of God in his redemption, and the fear of the people. See also C. Cohen, “Studies in Early Israelite Poetry I: An Unrecognized Case of Three Line Staircase Parallelism in the Song of the Sea,” JANESCU 7 (1975): 13-17; D. N. Freedman, “Strophe and Meter in Exodus 15,” A Light unto My Path, 163-203; E. Levine, “Neofiti I: A Study of Exodus 15,” Bib 54 (1973): 301-30; T. C. Butler, “‘The Song of the Sea’: Exodus 15:1-18: A Study in the Exegesis of Hebrew Poetry,” DissAb 32 (1971): 2782-A.
5 tn The verb is יָשִׁיר (yashir), a normal imperfect tense form. But after the adverb “then” this form is to be treated as a preterite (see GKC 314-15 §107.c).
6 tn Heb “and they said, saying.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
7 tn The form is the singular cohortative, expressing the resolution of Moses to sing the song of praise (“I will” being stronger than “I shall”).
8 tn This causal clause gives the reason for and summary of the praise. The Hebrew expression has כִּי־גָּאֹה גָּאָה (ki ga’oh ga’ah). The basic idea of the verb is “rise up loftily” or “proudly.” But derivatives of the root carry the nuance of majesty or pride (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 132). So the idea of the perfect tense with its infinitive absolute may mean “he is highly exalted” or “he has done majestically” or “he is gloriously glorious.”
9 sn The common understanding is that Egypt did not have people riding horses at this time, and so the phrase the horse and its rider is either viewed as an anachronism or is interpreted to mean charioteers. The word “to ride” can mean on a horse or in a chariot. Some have suggested changing “rider” to “chariot” (re-vocalization) to read “the horse and its chariot.”
10 tn Or “conceived” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
11 tn A preterite form with the vav consecutive can be subordinated to a following clause. What she saw stands as a reason for what she did: “when she saw…she hid him three months.”
12 tn After verbs of perceiving or seeing there are frequently two objects, the formal accusative (“she saw him”) and then a noun clause that explains what it was about the child that she perceived (“that he was healthy”). See GKC 365 §117.h.
13 tn Or “fine” (טוֹב, tov). The construction is parallel to phrases in the creation narrative (“and God saw that it was good,” Gen 1:4, 10, 12, 17, 21, 25, 31). B. Jacob says, “She looked upon her child with a joy similar to that of God upon His creation (Gen 1.4ff.)” (Exodus, 25).
14 tn Or “conceived” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
15 tn A preterite form with the vav consecutive can be subordinated to a following clause. What she saw stands as a reason for what she did: “when she saw…she hid him three months.”
16 tn After verbs of perceiving or seeing there are frequently two objects, the formal accusative (“she saw him”) and then a noun clause that explains what it was about the child that she perceived (“that he was healthy”). See GKC 365 §117.h.
17 tn Or “fine” (טוֹב, tov). The construction is parallel to phrases in the creation narrative (“and God saw that it was good,” Gen 1:4, 10, 12, 17, 21, 25, 31). B. Jacob says, “She looked upon her child with a joy similar to that of God upon His creation (Gen 1.4ff.)” (Exodus, 25).
18 tn Heb “thus, so.”
19 tn The vav consecutive on the preterite introduces the outcome or result of the matter – Pharaoh was hardened.
20 tn Heb “and the heart of Pharaoh became hard.” This phrase translates the Hebrew word חָזַק (khazaq; see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 53). In context this represents the continuation of a prior condition.
21 tn Heb “to them”; the referents (Moses and Aaron) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
22 tn Heb “all my bones will say.”
23 tn Heb “[the one who] rescues.” The substantival participle in the Hebrew text characterizes God as one who typically rescues the oppressed.
24 tn Heb “from [the one who is] too strong for him.” The singular forms are used in a representative sense. The typical oppressed individual and typical oppressor are in view.
25 tn Heb “the oppressed [one] and needy [one] from [the one who] robs him.” As in the previous line, the singular forms are used in a representative sense.
26 tn Heb “and there are none like your acts.”
27 tn Heb “sons of gods”; or “sons of God.” Though אֵלִים (’elim) is vocalized as a plural form (“gods”) in the Hebrew text, it is likely that the final mem (ם) is actually enclitic rather than a plural marker. In this case one may read “God.” Some, following a Qumran text and the LXX, also propose the phrase occurred in the original text of Deut 32:8. The phrase בְנֵי אֵלִים (vÿney ’elim, “sons of gods” or “sons of God”) occurs only here and in Ps 29:1. Since the “sons of gods/God” are here associated with “the assembly of the holy ones” and “council of the holy ones,” the heavenly assembly (comprised of so-called “angels” and other supernatural beings) appears to be in view. See Job 5:1; 15:15 and Zech 14:5, where these supernatural beings are referred to as “holy ones.” In Canaanite mythological texts the divine council of the high god El is called “the sons of El.” The OT apparently uses the Canaanite phrase, applying it to the supernatural beings that surround the
28 tn Heb “feared.”
29 tn Heb “in the great assembly of the holy ones.”
30 tn Or perhaps “feared by.”
31 tn Traditionally “God of hosts.” The title here pictures the
32 tn Heb “the one who makes high to sit.”
33 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
34 tn The words “I said” are not in the Hebrew text, but there appears to be a shift in speaker. Someone is now addressing the
35 tn The form that introduces this line has raised debate. The form מֵאֵין (me’en) normally means “without” and introduces a qualification of a term expressing desolation or “so that not” and introduces a negative result (cf. BDB 35 s.v. II אַיִן 6.b). Neither of these nuances fit either this verse or the occurrence in v. 7. BDB 35 s.v. II אַיִן 6.b.γ notes that some have explained this as a strengthened form of אַיִן (’ayin) which occurs in a similar phrase five other times (cf., e.g., 1 Kgs 8:23). Though many including BDB question the validity of this solution it is probably better than the suggestion that BDB gives of repointing to מֵאַיִן (me’ayin, “whence”), which scarcely fits the context of v. 7, or the solution of HALOT 41 s.v. I אַיִן, which suggests that the מ (mem) is a double writing (dittograph) of the final consonant from the preceding word. That would assume that the scribe made the same error twice or was influenced the second time by the first erroneous writing.
36 tn Heb “Great is your name in power.”
37 tn The words “The
38 tn Heb “The Portion of Jacob.” “Descendants” is implied, and is supplied in the translation for clarity.
39 tn Heb “And Israel is the tribe of his possession.”
40 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies is his name.”
41 tn Heb “Who is a God like you?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one!”
42 tn Heb “one who.” The prayer moves from direct address (second person) in v. 18a to a descriptive (third person) style in vv. 18b-19a and then back to direct address (second person) in vv. 19b-20. Due to considerations of English style and the unfamiliarity of the modern reader with alternation of persons in Hebrew poetry, the entire section has been rendered as direct address (second person) in the translation.
43 tn Heb “pass over.”
44 tn Heb “of the remnant of his inheritance.”
45 tn Heb “he does not keep hold of his anger forever.”