Bible Commentaries
Go deeper in Scripture
Browse trusted public-domain commentary alongside DiscipleDeck Bible study. References inside each commentary open Bible previews in place.
35,156 commentary entries
All active commentary sources
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 15:6-18
Between Exodus 15:5 and Exodus 15:6, Miriam's chorus was probably interposed "Sing ye unto the Lord," etc. Then began the second strophe or stanza of the ode. It is, in the main, expansive and exegetical of the precedin…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 15:6
Thy right hand, O Lord. Another anthropomorphism, here used for the first time. Compare Exodus 15:12; Deuteronomy 33:2; and the Psalms, passim. Is become glorious Or "is glorious. Kalisch rightly regards verses 6 and 7…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 15:7
Thou hast overthrown, etc. Here again the verbs are future. Translate—"thou wilt overthrow," or "thou overthrowest them that rise up against thee; thou (wilt send) sendest forth thy wrath, which consumes them as stubble…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 15:8
With the blast of thy nostril the waters were gathered together. Poetically, Moses describes the east wind which God set in motion as "the blast" or "breath of his nostrils." By means of it, he says, the waters were "ga…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 15:9
The enemy said. This verse is important as giving the animus of the pursuit, showing what was in the thoughts of the soldiers who flocked to Pharaoh's standard at his call—a point which had not been previously touched.…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 15:10
Thou didst blow with thy wind. Here we have another fact not mentioned in the direct narrative, but entirely harmonising with it. The immediate cause of the return of the waters, as of their retirement, was a wind. This…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 15:11
Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? It was one great object of the whole series of miraculous visitations whereof Egypt had been the scene, that the true God, Jehovah, should be exalted far above all the gods…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 15:11
Jehovah among the gods. As long as these deities—the deities, say, of Egypt, Philistia, Edom, Moab, Canaan—were simply to be compared among themselves, there might be room for rivalries among them; there might be reason…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 15:12
Thou stretchedst out thy right hand. Thou hadst only to stretch out an arm, and at once thy enemies perished. The earth swallowed them up—i.e; the sea, which is a part of the earth. Part II.
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 15:13
Thou in thy mercy hast led forth. Or "leadest forth." See the Introduction to the chapter. Which thou hast redeemed. See the comment on Exodus 6:6. Then hast guided. Or "thou guidest." Thy holy habitation. By "God's hol…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 15:14
The people shall hear.—Rather, "the peoples"—i.e; the tribes, or nations, of these parts—Philistines, Amalekites, Edomites, Moabites, etc.—will hear of the wonders done in Egypt, especially of the crowning wonder of all…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 15:15
The Dukes of Edom. Compare Genesis 36:15. By the time that the Israelitesapproached the borders of Edom, the dukes had given place to kings (Numbers 20:14), and everything like abject fear of Israel had passed sway. The…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 15:16
Fear and dread shall fall upon them. Compare Deuteronomy 2:25; Deuteronomy 11:25. The Edomites of Mount Seir and the Moabites gave Israel a free passage through their borders (Deuteronomy 2:4-8, Deuteronomy 2:18, Deuter…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 15:17
Thou shalt bring them in—i.e; give them possession of the laud. And plant them—i.e; fix them firmly in it—enable them to take root there. The mountain of thine inheritance. The land of Canaan, which is almost wholly mou…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 15:18
In terms most simple yet most grand, often imitated (Psalms 10:16; Psalms 29:10; Psalms 146:10, etc.), but never surpassed, the poet gives the final result of all God's providential and temporary arrangements, to wit, t…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 15:19-21
Sequel to the Song. The "sequel" treats of two quite separate masters. 1. It asserts, in verse 19, the historic groundwork of the song, reiterating in a condensed form the three principal facts of the presage—already re…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 15:19
The horse of Pharaoh, with his chariots, and with his horsemen. Rather, "with his chariots, and with his chariot men." Compare Exodus 14:23. The Lord brought again the waters of the sea upon them. See Exodus 14:26, Exod…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 15:20
Miriam, the prophetess. Miriam is regarded by the prophet Micah 6:4, as having had a share in the deliverance of Israel, and claims the prophetic gift in Numbers 12:2. Her claim appears to be allowed both in the present…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 15:21
Miriam answered them. Miriam, with her chorus of women, answered the chorus of men, responding at the termination of each stanza or separate part of the ode with the refrain, "Sing ye to the Lord," etc. (See the "Introd…
Matthew Henry on Exodus 15:22-27
In the wilderness of Shur the Israelites had no water. At Marah they had water, but it was bitter; so that they could not drink it. God can make bitter to us that from which we promise ourselves most, and often does so…
The Waters of Marah. (b. c. 1491.)
THE WATERS OF MARAH. (B. C. 1491.) It should seem, it was with some difficulty that Moses prevailed with Israel to leave that triumphant shore on which they sang the foregoing song. They were so taken up with the sight,…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 15:22-27
EXPOSITION THE JOURNEY FROM THE RED SEA TO ELIM. After a stay, which cannot be exactly measured, but which was probably one of some days, near the point of the Eastern coast of the Gulf of Suez, at which they had emerge…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 15:22
So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea. There is no such connection between this verse and the preceding narrative as the word "so" expresses. Translate "And Moses brought." The wilderness of Shur, called also that of…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 15:22-27
Marah and Ellim. "So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea, anti they went out into the wilderness of Shur," etc. The main topics here are— I. THE SWEET FOLLOWED BY THE BITTER. Singing these songs of triumph, and praisi…