Psalms 18:15

18:15 The depths ¹  of the sea ²  were exposed;

the inner regions ³  of the world were uncovered

by ⁴  your battle cry, ⁵  Lord,

by the powerful breath from your nose. ⁶ 

Psalms 66:6

66:6 He turned the sea into dry land; ⁷ 

they passed through the river on foot. ⁸ 

Let us rejoice in him there! ⁹ 

Psalms 78:13

78:13 He divided the sea and led them across it;

he made the water stand in a heap.

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.

Psalms 114:3-7

114:3 The sea looked and fled; ¹⁰ 

the Jordan River ¹¹  turned back. ¹² 

114:4 The mountains skipped like rams,

the hills like lambs. ¹³ 

114:5 Why do you flee, O sea?

Why do you turn back, O Jordan River?

114:6 Why do you skip like rams, O mountains,

like lambs, O hills?

114:7 Tremble, O earth, before the Lord –

before the God of Jacob,

Psalms 136:13-16

136:13 to the one who divided ¹⁴  the Red Sea ¹⁵  in two, ¹⁶ 

for his loyal love endures,

136:14 and led Israel through its midst,

for his loyal love endures,

136:15 and tossed ¹⁷  Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea,

for his loyal love endures,

136:16 to the one who led his people through the wilderness,

for his loyal love endures,

Exodus 14:21-22

14:21 Moses stretched out his hand toward the sea, and the Lord drove the sea apart ¹⁸  by a strong east wind all that night, and he made the sea into dry land, and the water was divided. 14:22 So the Israelites went through the middle of the sea on dry ground, the water forming a wall ¹⁹  for them on their right and on their left.

Exodus 14:27-29

14:27 So Moses extended his hand toward the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state ²⁰  when the sun began to rise. ²¹  Now the Egyptians were fleeing ²²  before it, but the Lord overthrew ²³  the Egyptians in the middle of the sea. 14:28 The water returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen and all the army of Pharaoh that was coming after the Israelites into the sea ²⁴  – not so much as one of them survived! ²⁵  14:29 But the Israelites walked on dry ground in the middle of the sea, the water forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.

Nehemiah 9:11

9:11 You split the sea before them, and they crossed through ²⁶  the sea on dry ground! But you threw their pursuers ²⁷  into the depths, like a stone into surging ²⁸  waters.

Isaiah 11:14-16

11:14 They will swoop down ²⁹  on the Philistine hills to the west; ³⁰ 

together they will loot the people of the east.

They will take over Edom and Moab, ³¹ 

and the Ammonites will be their subjects.

11:15 The Lord will divide ³²  the gulf ³³  of the Egyptian Sea; ³⁴ 

he will wave his hand over the Euphrates River ³⁵  and send a strong wind, ³⁶ 

he will turn it into seven dried-up streams, ³⁷ 

and enable them to walk across in their sandals.

11:16 There will be a highway leading out of Assyria

for the remnant of his people, ³⁸ 

just as there was for Israel,

when ³⁹  they went up from the land of Egypt.

Nahum 1:4

1:4 He shouts a battle cry ⁴⁰  against the sea ⁴¹  and makes it dry up; ⁴² 

he makes all the rivers ⁴³  run dry.

Bashan and Carmel wither; ⁴⁴ 

the blossom of Lebanon withers.

Matthew 8:26

8:26 But ⁴⁵  he said to them, “Why are you cowardly, you people of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked ⁴⁶  the winds and the sea, ⁴⁷  and it was dead calm.

[18:15]  ¹ tn Or “channels.”

[18:15]  ² tc Ps 18:15 reads “water” (cf. Ps 42:1); “sea” is the reading of 2 Sam 22:16.

[18:15]  ³ tn Or “foundations.”

[18:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “from.” The preposition has a causal sense here.

[18:15]  ⁵ tn The noun is derived from the verb גָּעַר (ga’ar), which is often understood to mean “rebuke.” In some cases it is apparent that scolding or threatening is in view (see Gen 37:10; Ruth 2:16; Zech 3:2). However, in militaristic contexts this translation is inadequate, for the verb refers in this setting to the warrior’s battle cry, which terrifies and paralyzes the enemy. See A. Caquot, TDOT 3:53, and note the use of the verb in Pss 68:30; 106:9; and Nah 1:4, as well as the related noun in Job 26:11; Pss 9:5; 76:6; 104:7; Isa 50:2; 51:20; 66:15.

[18:15]  ⁶ tn 2 Sam 22:16 reads “by the battle cry of the Lord, by the blast of the breath of his nose.” The phrase “blast of the breath” (Heb “breath of breath”) employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.

[66:6]  ⁷ sn He turned the sea into dry land. The psalmist alludes to Israel’s crossing the Red Sea (Exod 14:21).

[66:6]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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.).

[114:3]  ¹⁰ sn The psalmist recalls the crossing of the Red Sea (Exod 14:21).

[114:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the Jordan” (also in v. 5). The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[114:3]  ¹² sn The psalmist recalls the crossing of the Jordan River (Josh 3:13, 16).

[114:4]  ¹³ sn The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs. This may recall the theophany at Sinai when the mountain shook before God’s presence (Exod 19:18).

[136:13]  ¹⁴ tn Or “cut.”

[136:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Reed Sea” (also in v. 15). “Reed Sea” (or “Sea of Reeds”) is a more accurate rendering of the Hebrew expression יָם סוּף (yam suf), traditionally translated “Red Sea.” See the note on the term “Red Sea” in Exod 13:18.

[136:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “into pieces.”

[136:15]  ¹⁷ tn Or “shook off.”

[14:21]  ¹⁸ tn Or “drove the sea back” (NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV). The verb is simply the Hiphil of הָלַךְ (halakh, “to walk, go”). The context requires that it be interpreted along the lines of “go back, go apart.”

[14:22]  ¹⁹ 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.

[14:27]  ²⁰ tn The Hebrew term לְאֵיתָנוֹ (lÿ’etano) means “to its place,” or better, “to its perennial state.” The point is that the sea here had a normal level, and now when the Egyptians were in the sea on the dry ground the water would return to that level.

[14:27]  ²¹ tn Heb “at the turning of the morning”; NASB, NIV, TEV, CEV “at daybreak.”

[14:27]  ²² tn The clause begins with the disjunctive vav (ו) on the noun, signaling either a circumstantial clause or a new beginning. It could be rendered, “Although the Egyptians…Yahweh…” or “as the Egyptians….”

[14:27]  ²³ tn The verb means “shake out” or “shaking off.” It has the significance of “throw downward.” See Neh 5:13 or Job 38:13.

[14:28]  ²⁴ tn Heb “that was coming after them into the sea.” The referent of “them” (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:28]  ²⁵ tn Heb “not was left among them as much as one.”

[9:11]  ²⁶ tn Heb “in the midst of.”

[9:11]  ²⁷ tn Heb “those who pursued them.”

[9:11]  ²⁸ tn Heb “mighty.”

[11:14]  ²⁹ tn Heb “fly.” Ephraim/Judah are compared to a bird of prey.

[11:14]  ³⁰ tn Heb “on the shoulder of Philistia toward the sea.” This refers to the slopes of the hill country west of Judah. See HALOT 506 s.v. כָּתֵף.

[11:14]  ³¹ tn Heb “Edom and Moab [will be the place of] the outstretching of their hand,” i.e., included in their area of jurisdiction (see HALOT 648 s.v. ח(וֹ)מִשְׁלֹ).

[11:15]  ³² tn The verb is usually understood as “put under the ban, destroy,” or emended to חָרָב (kharav, “dry up”). However, HALOT 354 s.v. II חרם proposes a homonymic root meaning “divide.”

[11:15]  ³³ tn Heb “tongue” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[11:15]  ³⁴ sn That is, the Red Sea.

[11:15]  ³⁵ tn Heb “the river”; capitalized in some English versions (e.g., ASV, NASB, NRSV) as a reference to the Euphrates River.

[11:15]  ³⁶ tn Heb “with the [?] of his wind” [or “breath”]. The Hebrew term עַיָם (’ayam) occurs only here. Some attempt to relate the word to an Arabic root and translate, “scorching [or “hot”] wind.” This interpretation fits especially well if one reads “dry up” in the previous line. Others prefer to emend the form to עֹצֶם (’otsem, “strong”). See HALOT 817 s.v. עֲצַם.

[11:15]  ³⁷ tn Heb “seven streams.” The Hebrew term נַחַל (nakhal, “stream”) refers to a wadi, or seasonal stream, which runs during the rainy season, but is otherwise dry. The context (see v. 15b) here favors the translation, “dried up streams.” The number seven suggests totality and completeness. Here it indicates that God’s provision for escape will be thorough and more than capable of accommodating the returning exiles.

[11:16]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and there will be a highway for the remnant of his people who remain, from Assyria.”

[11:16]  ³⁹ tn Heb “in the day” (so KJV).

[1:4]  ⁴⁰ tn The term גָּעַר (ga’ar) often denotes “reprimand” and “rebuke” (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). When it is used in the context of a military attack, it denotes an angry battle cry shouted by a mighty warrior to strike fear into his enemies to drive them away (e.g., 2 Sam 23:16; Isa 30:17; Pss 18:15; 76:6; 80:17; 104:7). For example, the parallel Ugaritic term is used when Baal utters a battle cry against Yamm before they fight to the death. For further study see, A. A. MacIntosh, “A Consideration of Hebrew g`r,” VT 14 (1969): 474; P. J. van Zijl, “A Consideration of the root ga’ar (“rebuke”),” OTWSA 12 (1969): 56-63; A. Caquot, TDOT 3:49-53.

[1:4]  ⁴¹ sn The “sea” is personified as an antagonistic enemy, representing the wicked forces of chaos (Pss 66:6; 72:8; 80:12; 89:26; 93:3-4; Isa 50:2; Mic 7:12; Hab 3:8; Zech 9:10).

[1:4]  ⁴² tn This somewhat unusual use of the preterite (וַיַּבְּשֵׁהוּ, vayyabbÿshehu) follows a participle which depicts characteristic (present-time) action or imminent future action; the preterite depicts the subsequent present or future-time action (see IBHS 561-62 §33.3.5).

[1:4]  ⁴³ sn The Assyrians waged war every spring after the Tigris and Euphrates rivers dried up, allowing them to cross. As the Mighty Warrior par excellence, the Lord is able to part the rivers to attack Assyria.

[1:4]  ⁴⁴ tn The term אֻמְלַל (’umlal, “withers”) occurs twice in this verse in MT. The repetition of אֻמְלַל is also supported by the Dead Sea Scrolls (4QpNah). The BHS editors suggest emending the first occurrence of אֻמְלַל (“withers”) to דָּלְלוּ (dollu, “languishes”) to recover the letter ד (dalet) in the partial acrostic. Several versions do, in fact, employ two different verbs in the line (LXX, Syr, Targum, and Vg). However, the first verb at the beginning of the line in all of the versions reflects a reading of אֻמְלַל. Although several elements of an acrostic are present in Nahum 1, the acrostic is incomplete (only א [alef] to כ [kaf] in vv. 2-8) and broken (several elements are missing within vv. 2-8). There is no textual evidence for a complete, unbroken acrostic throughout the book of Nahum in any ancient Hebrew mss or other textual versions; it is most prudent simply to leave the MT as it stands.

[8:26]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[8:26]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “commanded” (often with the implication of a threat, L&N 33.331).

[8:26]  ⁴⁷ sn Who has authority over the seas and winds is discussed in the OT: Ps 104:3; 135:7; 107:23-30. When Jesus rebuked the winds and the sea he was making a statement about who he was.