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Êxodo 14

BLIVRE · Chapter 14/40

1E falou o SENHOR a Moisés, dizendo:

2Fala aos filhos de Israel que deem a volta, e assentem seu acampamento diante de Pi-Hairote, entre Migdol e o mar até Baal-Zefom: diante dele assentareis o campo, junto ao mar.

3Porque Faraó dirá dos filhos de Israel: Estão andando confusos na terra, o deserto os encurralou.

4E eu endurecerei o coração de Faraó para que os siga; e serei glorificado em Faraó e em todo o seu exército; e saberão os egípcios que eu sou o SENHOR. E eles o fizeram assim.

5E foi dado aviso ao rei do Egito como o povo se fugia: e o coração de Faraó e de seus servos se voltou contra o povo, e disseram: Como fizemos isto de haver deixado ir a Israel, para que não nos sirva?

6E preparou seu carro, e tomou consigo seu povo;

7e tomou seiscentos carros escolhidos, e todos os carros do Egito, e os capitães sobre eles.

8E endureceu o SENHOR o coração de Faraó rei do Egito, e seguiu aos filhos de Israel; mas os filhos de Israel haviam saído com mão poderosa.

9Seguindo-os, pois, os egípcios, com toda a cavalaria e carros de Faraó, seus cavaleiros, e todo seu exército, alcançaram-nos assentando o acampamento junto ao mar, ao lado de Pi-Hairote, diante de Baal-Zefom.

10E quando Faraó se aproximou, os filhos de Israel levantaram seus olhos, e eis que os egípcios vinham atrás deles; por isso temeram muito, e os filhos de Israel clamaram ao SENHOR.

11E disseram a Moisés: Não havia sepulcros no Egito, que nos tiraste para morrermos no deserto? Por que o fizeste assim conosco, que nos tiraste do Egito?

12Não é isto o que te falamos no Egito, dizendo: Deixa-nos servir aos egípcios? Pois melhor nos teria sido servir aos egípcios, que morrermos no deserto.

13E Moisés disse ao povo: Não temais; ficai quietos, e vede a salvação do SENHOR, que ele fará hoje convosco; porque os egípcios que hoje vistes, nunca mais para sempre os vereis.

14O SENHOR lutará por vós, e vós ficai quietos.

15Então o SENHOR disse a Moisés: “Por que clamas a mim? Diz aos filhos de Israel que marchem.

16Quanto a ti, ergue a tua vara, estende a tua mão sobre o mar, e divide-o. Que os filhos de Israel entre por meio do mar em seco.

17E eu, eis que endurecerei o coração dos egípcios, para que os sigam. E eu me glorificarei em Faraó, e em todo o seu exército, e em suas carruagens, e em sua cavalaria;

18E os egípcios saberão que eu sou o SENHOR, quando eu me glorificar em Faraó, em seus carros, e em seus cavaleiros.”

19E o anjo de Deus que ia diante do acampamento de Israel, se separou, e ia detrás deles; e também a coluna de nuvem que ia diante deles, separou-se, e pôs-se atrás deles;

20e ia entre o acampamento dos egípcios e o acampamento de Israel; e era nuvem e trevas para aqueles, e iluminava a Israel de noite; e em toda aquela noite não se aproximaram uns dos outros.

21E estendeu Moisés sua mão sobre o mar, e fez o SENHOR que o mar se retirasse por forte vento oriental toda aquela noite; e tornou o mar em seco, e as águas restaram divididas.

22Então os filhos de Israel entraram por meio do mar em seco, tendo as águas como muro à sua direita e à sua esquerda;

23E seguindo-os os egípcios, entraram atrás deles até o meio do mar, toda a cavalaria de Faraó, seus carros, e seus cavaleiros.

24E aconteceu à vigília da manhã, que o SENHOR olhou ao campo dos egípcios desde a coluna de fogo e nuvem, e perturbou o acampamento dos egípcios.

25E tirou-lhes as rodas de seus carros, e transtornou-os gravemente. Então os egípcios disseram: Fujamos de diante de Israel, porque o SENHOR luta por eles contra os egípcios.

26E o SENHOR disse a Moisés: Estende tua mão sobre o mar, para que as águas voltem sobre os egípcios, sobre seus carros, e sobre sua cavalaria.

27E Moisés estendeu sua mão sobre o mar, e o mar se voltou em sua força quando amanhecia; e os egípcios iam até ela: e o SENHOR derrubou aos egípcios em meio do mar.

28E voltaram as águas, e cobriram os carros e a cavalaria, e todo o exército de Faraó que havia entrado atrás eles no mar; não restou deles nenhum.

29E os filhos de Israel foram por meio do mar em seco, tendo as águas por muro à sua direita e à sua esquerda.

30Assim salvou o SENHOR aquele dia a Israel da mão dos egípcios; e Israel viu aos egípcios mortos à beira do mar.

31E viu Israel aquele grande feito que o SENHOR executou contra os egípcios: e o povo temeu ao SENHOR, e creram no SENHOR e em Moisés seu servo.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Pharaoh changes his mind and pursues the Israelites with his army; trapped at the Red Sea, the people cry out to God, who opens a dry path through the sea, allowing Israel to cross while drowning the Egyptian army.

Explanation

This is one of the most dramatic and symbolically rich moments in the entire Bible: trapped between the sea and the Egyptian army, the Israelites move from understandable panic ('Because there were no graves in Egypt...?', v. 11) to witnessing one of the greatest displays of divine power ever recorded. Moses' response, 'The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace' (v. 14), teaches a lesson in active trust: standing still before God does not mean complete passivity, but a confidence that allows one to move forward even without fully understanding how the solution will unfold. The parting of the waters, allowing passage on dry ground with walls of water on both sides, and the subsequent collapse of those waters upon the pursuing army, became the founding event of Israel's identity as a people saved by God, referenced repeatedly throughout the Old Testament as historical proof of God's power and faithfulness.

Fun facts

  • The crossing of the Red Sea (or 'Sea of Reeds,' an alternative translation of the Hebrew term Yam Suph) is the most cited event in Israel's entire history throughout the rest of the Old Testament, appearing in Psalms, Isaiah, Nehemiah, and other books as the supreme example of God's saving power.
  • The detail that God made the sea go back 'by a strong east wind all that night' (v. 21) describes a process that lasted hours, not an instant — suggesting that even biblical miracles often involve observable processes, though supernaturally directed and timed.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Êxodo 14:1After the exodus from Egypt, God gives Moses a new instruction about which way to go, changing direction in a strategic way, as the next verse shows.
  2. Êxodo 14:2God orders the people to turn back and camp near the sea, in a position that looks like a wrong turn but is actually part of a trap set against Pharaoh.
  3. Êxodo 14:3God foresees that Pharaoh will read this strange position as the people being lost and trapped, which will drive the pursuit told next.
  4. Êxodo 14:4Once again appears the idea of God hardening Pharaoh’s heart, this time so that he decides to pursue the people all the way to the sea, the trigger that sets up the final scene of the pursuit and the crossing. Some read this as God using a stubbornness that already belonged to the king; others, as part of a larger plan to publicly display His power.
  5. Êxodo 14:5As soon as he learns that the people have really left, Pharaoh regrets letting his slave labor go and changes his mind about letting them depart in peace.
  6. Êxodo 14:6Pharaoh personally prepares his war chariot to lead the pursuit, showing how urgently this decision was made.
  7. Êxodo 14:7The army gathered by Pharaoh includes an elite force of six hundred chosen chariots, plus the rest of the Egyptian fleet, a considerable military force.
  8. Êxodo 14:8Repeats that it is God who hardens Pharaoh’s heart at this specific moment, allowing the pursuit that will lead to the miracle at the Red Sea.
  9. Êxodo 14:9The Egyptian army catches up with the Hebrew people already camped by the sea, at the very spot God had directed beforehand, closing the trap.
  10. Êxodo 14:10Seeing the Egyptian army closing in, the people panic, trapped between the sea ahead and the Egyptians behind, and cry out to God for help.
  11. Êxodo 14:11The people react with bitter sarcasm, suggesting it would have been better never to have left Egypt than to die in the wilderness like this.
  12. Êxodo 14:12They recall having already warned, back in Egypt, that they would rather stay slaves than take this risk — a complaint that comes up again and again during the wilderness journey.
  13. Êxodo 14:13Moses tries to calm the people with a strong promise: that very Egyptian army now terrifying them will never be seen again after that day.
  14. Êxodo 14:14Moses sums up the expected attitude of the people: stay quiet and let God handle the situation Himself, without needing any military response from them.
  15. Êxodo 14:15God answers Moses directly, almost rebuking the outcry: instead of just praying, it is time to act and move forward.
  16. Êxodo 14:16God gives Moses the practical instruction for the miracle: use the same rod already used in the plagues to open a way through the sea.
  17. Êxodo 14:17Repeats the pattern of hardening the Egyptians’ hearts so they go in after the people into the sea, setting up the final defeat of the Egyptian army.
  18. Êxodo 14:18The stated goal of the whole scene is, once again, to make the Egyptians recognize God’s power, this time through the very defeat of their army.
  19. Êxodo 14:19The angel and the pillar of cloud, which until then had guided the people from in front, move behind the camp, acting as a barrier between the two armies.
  20. Êxodo 14:20The same cloud that had guided the people moves behind the camp and comes to separate the two groups: on the Egyptian side it is total darkness, on the Israelite side it lights up the night. It is this barrier that keeps the armies from reaching each other while the people cross the sea.
  21. Êxodo 14:21The text explains the miracle through a described mechanism: a strong east wind blowing all night long pushes back the waters and opens a dry path, not an instant, silent parting, but something that takes the whole night to happen. It is common to debate whether this wind is simply the means God used or the miracle itself described in terms that made sense to those who lived through it.
  22. Êxodo 14:22The people cross the sea on dry ground, with the waters forming a kind of wall on each side — the most famous image in the whole book of Exodus.
  23. Êxodo 14:23The Egyptian army follows the Hebrews right into the seabed itself, falling exactly into the trap God had prepared.
  24. Êxodo 14:24Still before dawn, God watches the Egyptian army from the pillar of fire and cloud, and begins to throw them into confusion.
  25. Êxodo 14:25The text says God took off “the wheels” of the Egyptian war chariots, making them drive with difficulty through the mud of the seabed. It is a very practical detail explaining why the army, even with horses and chariots, could not catch up with the people on foot before the waters returned.
  26. Êxodo 14:26God orders Moses to stretch out his hand over the sea again, this time so that the waters return and cover the Egyptian army.
  27. Êxodo 14:27Moses obeys the order at daybreak, and the sea returns to normal at the very moment the Egyptians were trying to flee back, and they are swept away by the water itself.
  28. Êxodo 14:28The waters completely cover the Egyptian army, chariots and horsemen, with not one of them surviving the pursuit.
  29. Êxodo 14:29Repeats, in contrast with the Egyptian destruction, that the Israelites crossed the whole sea safely, on dry ground between the waters.
  30. Êxodo 14:30Closes the account of the crossing with the confirmation of the outcome: the people see with their own eyes the bodies of the Egyptians on the shore, visible proof of their salvation.
  31. Êxodo 14:31The people’s final reaction is one of reverent fear and faith, both in God and in Moses’s leadership, after witnessing a miracle of that magnitude.

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