Exodus 14:22

14:22 So the Israelites went through the middle of the sea on dry ground, the water forming a wall ¹  for them on their right and on their left.

Job 38:8-11

38:8 “Who shut up ²  the sea with doors

when it burst forth, ³  coming out of the womb,

38:9 when I made ⁴  the storm clouds its garment,

and thick darkness its swaddling band, ⁵ 

38:10 when I prescribed ⁶  its limits,

and set ⁷  in place its bolts and doors,

38:11 when I said, ‘To here you may come ⁸ 

and no farther, ⁹ 

here your proud waves will be confined’? ¹⁰ 

Psalms 66:6-7

66:6 He turned the sea into dry land; ¹¹ 

they passed through the river on foot. ¹² 

Let us rejoice in him there! ¹³ 

66:7 He rules ¹⁴  by his power forever;

he watches ¹⁵  the nations.

Stubborn rebels should not exalt ¹⁶  themselves. (Selah)

Psalms 77:19-20

77:19 You walked through the sea; ¹⁷ 

you passed through the surging waters, ¹⁸ 

but left no footprints. ¹⁹ 

77:20 You led your people like a flock of sheep,

by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Psalms 78:52-53

78:52 Yet he brought out his people like sheep;

he led them through the wilderness like a flock.

78:53 He guided them safely along,

while the sea covered their enemies.

Isaiah 43:2

43:2 When you pass through the waters, I am with you;

when you pass ²⁰  through the streams, they will not overwhelm you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;

the flames will not harm ²¹  you.

Isaiah 51:10

51:10 Did you not dry up the sea,

the waters of the great deep?

Did you not make ²²  a path through the depths of the sea,

so those delivered from bondage ²³  could cross over?

Isaiah 51:13

51:13 Why do you forget ²⁴  the Lord, who made you,

who stretched out the sky ²⁵ 

and founded the earth?

Why do you constantly tremble all day long ²⁶ 

at the anger of the oppressor,

when he makes plans to destroy?

Where is the anger of the oppressor? ²⁷ 

Isaiah 63:12-13

63:12 the one who made his majestic power available to Moses, ²⁸ 

who divided the water before them,

gaining for himself a lasting reputation, ²⁹ 

63:13 who led them through the deep water?

Like a horse running on flat land ³⁰  they did not stumble.

[14:22]  ¹ tn The clause literally reads, “and the waters [were] for them a wall.” The word order in Hebrew is disjunctive, with the vav (ו) on the noun introducing a circumstantial clause.

[38:8]  ² tn The MT has “and he shut up.” The Vulgate has “Who?” and so many commentaries and editions adopt this reading, if not from the Vulgate, then from the sense of the sequence in the text itself.

[38:8]  ³ tn The line uses two expressions, first the temporal clause with גִּיחַ (giakh, “when it burst forth”) and then the finite verb יֵצֵא (yetse’, “go out”) to mark the concomitance of the two actions.

[38:9]  ⁴ tn The temporal clause here uses the infinitive from שִׂים (sim, “to place; to put; to make”). It underscores the sovereign placing of things.

[38:9]  ⁵ tn This noun is found only here. The verb is in Ezek 16:4, and a related noun is in Ezek 30:21.

[38:10]  ⁶ tc The MT has “and I broke,” which cannot mean “set, prescribed” or the like. The LXX and the Vulgate have such a meaning, suggesting a verb עֲשִׁית (’ashiyt, “plan, prescribe”). A. Guillaume finds an Arabic word with a meaning “measured it by span by my decree.” Would God give himself a decree? R. Gordis simply argues that the basic meaning “break” develops the connotation of “decide, determine” (2 Sam 5:24; Job 14:3; Dan 11:36).

[38:10]  ⁷ tn Dhorme suggested reversing the two verbs, making this the first, and then “shatter” for the second colon.

[38:11]  ⁸ tn The imperfect verb receives the permission nuance here.

[38:11]  ⁹ tn The text has תֹסִיף (tosif, “and you may not add”), which is often used idiomatically (as in verbal hendiadys constructions).

[38:11]  ¹⁰ tn The MT literally says, “here he will put on the pride of your waves.” The verb has no expressed subject and so is made a passive voice. But there has to be some object for the verb “put,” such as “limit” or “boundary”; the translations “confined; halted; stopped” all serve to paraphrase such an idea. The LXX has “broken” at this point, suggesting the verse might have been confused – but “breaking the pride” of the waves would mean controlling them. Some commentators have followed this, exchanging the verb in v. 11 with this one.

[66:6]  ¹¹ sn He turned the sea into dry land. The psalmist alludes to Israel’s crossing the Red Sea (Exod 14:21).

[66:6]  ¹² tn Because of the reference to “the river,” some understand this as an allusion to Israel’s crossing the Jordan River. However, the Hebrew term נָהָר (nahad) does not always refer to a “river” in the technical sense; it can be used of sea currents (see Jonah 2:4). So this line may also refer to the Red Sea crossing (cf. NEB).

[66:6]  ¹³ tn The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is used here, as often in poetic texts, to point “to a spot in which a scene is localized vividly in the imagination” (BDB 1027 s.v.).

[66:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “[the] one who rules.”

[66:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “his eyes watch.” “Eyes” are an anthropomorphism, attributed to God here to emphasize his awareness of all that happens on earth.

[66:7]  ¹⁶ tn The verb form is jussive (note the negative particle אַל, ’al). The Kethib (consonantal text) has a Hiphil form of the verb, apparently to be understood in an exhibitive sense (“demonstrate stubborn rebellion”; see BDB 927 s.v. רוּם Hiph), while the Qere (marginal reading) has a Qal form, to be understood in an intransitive sense. The preposition -לְ (lamed) with pronominal suffix should be understood in a reflexive sense (“for themselves”) and indicates that the action is performed with the interest of the subject in mind.

[77:19]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “in the sea [was] your way.”

[77:19]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and your paths [were] in the mighty waters.”

[77:19]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and your footprints were not known.”

[43:2]  ²⁰ tn The verb is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[43:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “burn” (so NASB); NAB, NRSV, NLT “consume”; NIV “set you ablaze.”

[51:10]  ²² tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “Are you not the one who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made…?”

[51:10]  ²³ tn Heb “the redeemed” (so ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); KJV “the ransomed.”

[51:13]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and that you forget.”

[51:13]  ²⁵ tn Or “the heavens” (also in v. 16). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[51:13]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and that you tremble constantly all the day.”

[51:13]  ²⁷ tn The question anticipates the answer, “Ready to disappear!” See v. 14.

[63:12]  ²⁸ tn Heb “who caused to go at the right hand of Moses the arm of his splendor.”

[63:12]  ²⁹ tn Heb “making for himself a lasting name.”

[63:13]  ³⁰ tn Heb “in the desert [or “steppe”].”