Exodus 15:12

15:12 You stretched out your right hand,

the earth swallowed them. ¹ 

Exodus 7:12

7:12 Each man ²  threw down his staff, and the staffs became snakes. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.

¹ tn The verb is the prefixed conjugation, the preterite without the vav consecutive. The subject, the “earth,” must be inclusive of the sea, or it may indicate the grave or Sheol; the sea drowned them. Some scholars wish to see this as a reference to Dathan and Abiram, and therefore evidence of a later addition or compilation. It fits this passage well, however.

² tn The verb is plural, but the subject is singular, “a man – his staff.” This noun can be given a distributive sense: “each man threw down his staff.”