15 1(?

) en sang Moses and Israels Sons this song of

Yahweh, and they said, saying:

I would sing of Yahweh, for he acted exaltedly, exaltedly!

Horse and his driver he hurled into the Sea.
2My strength and my power/music is Yah;
And he was for me as salvation.

is is my god, and I exalt him,

My fathers deity, and I elevate him:
3Yahweh Man of War, Yahweh is his name.

4Pharaohschariots and his force he cast into the Sea.

And the choice of his thirds were sunk in the Suph Sea.
5Deeps, they cover them;
ey went down in the depths like stone.
6Your right hand, Yahweh, strong in might,
Your right hand, Yahweh, you sha er enemy.
7
And in your prides greatness you break down your
uprisers.
You release your anger; it consumes them as straw.
8And with your nostrils breath waters were piled;
Streams stood like a heap.
Deeps congealed in Seas heart.
9Enemy said,
Ill pursue, overtake,

Propp, William H. C. Exodus 118: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. Vol. 2. New Haven; London:
Yale University Press, 2008. Print. Anchor Yale Bible.
5
 Apportion spoil.

My gullet will be full of them.

Ill empty my sword.
My hand will dispossess them.
10You blew with your breath; Sea covered them.
ey sank like lead in strong waters.

V 2, p 464 p 464 11Who as you among gods, Yahweh,

Who as you is strong in holiness,
Dreadful of glory, worker of wonder?
12
You extended your right arm;
Earth swallows them.
13
You led by your grace the people which you redeemed;
You guided by your might to your holinesss
pasture/camp/tent.
14
Peoples heard. ey shudder.
Convulsion seized Philistias inhabitants.
15
en perturbed were Edoms princes.
Moabs rams, quaking seizes them.
Liquefied were all Canaans inhabitants.
16
Upon them fall fear and terror.
At your limbs greatness they are still as stone,

Till crosses your people, Yahweh,

Till crosses the people which you have go en.

Propp, William H. C. Exodus 118: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. Vol. 2. New Haven; London:
Yale University Press, 2008. Print. Anchor Yale Bible.
6
 17May you bring them and plant them in your property
mountain,
e firm seat for your si ing/throne/dwelling you
devised, Yahweh,
e sanctum, my Lordship, your hands founded.
18
Yahweh, he will reign, ever and eternity.
19(R)For
Pharaohs horse, with his chariotry and his
horsemen, entered the Sea, and Yahweh brought back
upon them the Seas waters. But Israels Sons walked on
the dry land in the Seas midst.
20(E)And Miriam the prophetess, Aarons sister, took the

drum in her hand, and all the women went forth behind her
with drums and with dances. 21And Miriam sang back to
them:

Sing of Yahweh, for he acted exaltedly, exaltedly!

Horse and his driver he hurled into the Sea.

ANALYSIS
TEXTUAL NOTES
13:17. Deity. roughout vv 1718, the Tgs. ostensibly reflect
Yahwehprobably just loose translation.
13:18. from Egypt. Following Kenn 18, 80, Rossi 2, 16,
296, 543, 766, supported by LXXA and the n-group of Greek
MSS. Standard MT has from the land of Egypt. LXXB,

A codex Alexandrinus

Propp, William H. C. Exodus 118: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. Vol. 2. New Haven; London:
Yale University Press, 2008. Print. Anchor Yale Bible.
7
par[h]), MT is preferable as the more unusual reading,
deviating from the and and and pa ern (cf. 14:7, 9, 17,
18, 23, 26). see also NOTE.
so much as one of them. LXXB, Kenn 69, 95, 251, 674, Rossi
198, 419 and Syr insert and.
14:31. trusted in Yahweh. LXX trusted in the God is
a ractively dicult, given the presence of Yahweh ear-
lier in the verse. cf. TEXTUAL NOTES to 13:21; 14:13; 15:1.
15:1. song of Yahweh. LXX has song to/of the Deity; cf.
TEXTUAL NOTES to 13:21; 14:13, 31.
I would sing. Where MT has the singular r, LXX, Vg,
Tgs. and Syr have we would sing, as if reading *nr.
Assuming the authenticity of MT, perhaps the alteration
reflects adaptation of the text to liturgical use (cf. Wevers
1990: 227). Or the adaptation may rather be to the narrative
context, in which the men sing together. is appears to be
yet another case of the ancient translations pluralizing a
Hebrew collective singular.
Sam agrees with neither MT nor LXX etc. It conflates an
archaically spelled *rh (r) and *rw (ir) to create the
hybrid rw, apparently conceived as a causative imperative
make sing! (Ben-Hayyim 1961: 37); cf. Samaritan Tg.
he acted exaltedly, exaltedly. At first glance, gh gh (15:1,
21) appears di ographic. But both words must be retained
metri causa. e Sam variant gwy gh a [gentile] nation was
exalted (cf. Samaritan Tg.A) is probably midrashic (Ben-
Hayyim 1961: 37).

Propp, William H. C. Exodus 118: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. Vol. 2. New Haven; London:
Yale University Press, 2008. Print. Anchor Yale Bible.
20
 V 2, p 471 p 471 Horse and his driver. Although unexcep-
tionable, this phrase is o en emended. Haupt (1904: 158)
reads *ss wrekeb horse and chariotry (also Cross 1973: 127).
Gressmann (1913: 351), somewhat more conservatively, reads
*ss wrikb horse and his [Pharaohs? the horses?]
chariotry. e Haupt-Gressmann approach has much to
commend it, yet not enough to establish it. e narrative
context, which shares much vocabulary with the Song of
the Sea, repeatedly names Pharaohs rekeb chariotry, but
never any rkb driver. Outside the Song we find ss
wrkb horse and his driver (singular in Jer 51:21; Job
39:18; plural in Hag 2:22; cf. horse driver[s] in Ezek 23:6,
12, 23; 38:15; Amos 2:15; Zech 10:5; 12:4). But more o en ss
parallels rekeb chariotry (Deut 11:4; 20:1; Josh 11:4; 1 Kgs
20:1, 21, etc.). Another consideration in Haupts favor is that
Isa 43:1617, which manifests verbal and thematic links with
the Song (mighty waters, sinking down, burning), refers
to rekeb wss chariotry and horse. Finally, LXX horse and
driver may also support Haupts consonantal reconstruc-
tion *sws wrkb, if not his interpretationbut Hebrew
pronominal suxes are o en unreflected in LXX. (Syr
horses and their horsemen is not a true variant, but para-
phrases MT.) see further under NOTE.
15:2. My strength salvation. is dicult line reap-
pears in Isa 12:2; Ps 118:14. In all three passages, the Versions
disagree within and among themselves:
1. MT Exod 15:2; Ps 118:14: zy wzmrt yh wyhy ly lywh

Propp, William H. C. Exodus 118: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. Vol. 2. New Haven; London:
Yale University Press, 2008. Print. Anchor Yale Bible.
21
 2. Sam Exod 15:2: zy wzmrty wyhy ly lywh
3. LXX, Kenn 573 Exod 15:2: z wzmrt (w)yhy ly lywh
4. Syr Exod 15:2: *z wzmrt yh yhwh wyhy ly lywh. (Syr
actually has ln for us, a pluralized collective.)
5. MT Isa 12:2: zy wzmrt yh yhwh wyhy ly lywh
6. 1QIsaa 12:2: wzy wzmrtyh yhwh hyh ly lywh
7. OG, Syr Isa 12:2; Ps 118:14; Kenn 80, 488 Exod 15:2: zy
wzmrty yh(wh) wyhy ly lywh

Plainly, the clustering of waws and yodhs, virtually identi-

cal in Greco-Roman Hebrew script (Cross 1961a; Qimron
1972), interspersed with repeated hes, created fertile
ground for textual corruption. Particularly unclear is
whether there are two divine names (4, 5, 6 [corrected tex-
t]), one (1,6 [original text], 7), or none at all (2, 3). I think that
at least Yah must be original; it is a Leitwort in Ps 118:5,
1719. Although the sequence yh yhwh (variants 4, 5) is sus-
pect, it may be paralleled in Khirbet Beit Lei Burial Cave
Inscription B (AHI 15.007). (One might consider wyhy/hyh in
the second colon a miswriting of the divine name yhwh,
comparing yahwe[h] l in Isa 45:24 [?]; Ps 118:6, 7. But to be
as a salvation is an idiom a ested in 2 Sam 10:11; Ps 118:21
and all seven versions of our passage [cf. also Job 13:16].)
My translation adopts variant 7, which to me feels the
most idiomatic (with Talmon 1954b). I take standard MT
zimrt to be the product of haplography (yy > y), though
a DSS Isaiah (Burrows 195051)

Propp, William H. C. Exodus 118: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. Vol. 2. New Haven; London:
Yale University Press, 2008. Print. Anchor Yale Bible.
22
other explanations are possible: e.g., zmrt might be a hyper-
archaic spelling of *zimrt (Cross and Freedman 1975: 55), or
the sux on V 2, p 472 p 472 ozz my strength might gov-
ern zimrt as well (cf. thillt/at glory [Qere] paralleling
m my joy in Jer 49:25).
and I exalt and I elevate. Both times, Syr lacks the con-
junction w (also Syr Ps 118:28). is contrasts with Syrs
polysyndeton in vv 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 (but cf. TEXTUAL NOTE to
15:7). Could Syr be correct here? Note that, for each conjunc-
tion in 15:2, the previous word ends in y, similar to w in
Herodian script. us either di ography (y > yw) or haplog-
raphy (yw > y) may have occurred. Syrs shorter reading is
more consistent with the asyndetic style of archa(ist)ic
poetry (see Cross and Freedman 1975: 12627). And Ps 118:28,
a virtual paraphrase of our verse, oers partial confirma-
tion, using the conjunction only in the first colon: l a
wdekk lhay rmmekk you are my god, and I praise
you; my deityI elevate you (so MT; OG has two conjunc-
tions).
15:3. Man of War. For MT milm Man of War, Sam
reads gbwr bmlmh Hero in War. Syr g(n)br wqrbtn Hero
and Warrior presumably reflects a conflated *gibbr w
milm (but cf. Isa 3:2; Ezek 39:20 and similar expressions
in 1 Sam 16:18; 2 Kgs 24:16; Isa 42:13; 1 Chr 12:1; 2 Chr 13:3;
17:13).
LXX features the curious paraphrase the Lord destroys
(syntribn) warfare (also Jdt 16:3). e closest biblical paral-

Propp, William H. C. Exodus 118: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. Vol. 2. New Haven; London:
Yale University Press, 2008. Print. Anchor Yale Bible.
23
lel is Ps 46:10, mabt milmt making wars cease,
although here the Greek uses a dierent verb (antanairein).
Since syntribein most o en corresponds to Hebrew br,
conceivably an original *gbr mlm(w)t Hero of Wars (cf. Ps
24:8 gbwr mlmh) was corrupted into br mlm(w)t by ink
abrasion (gimel resembles the middle of shin in paleo-
Hebrew; cf. Tov 1992: 92).
We are le to choose between MT and Sam. is is ulti-
mately impossible and perhaps unnecessary, assuming oral
transmission (cf. Cross and Freedman 1975: 56).
15:4. And the choice. e conjunction is absent in LXX,
Kenn 69 and Vg. Cross and Freedman (1975: 58) prefer this
shorter reading.
his thirds. LXX appears to render l(y)w with two
words, riders, thirds, as if reading *pryw lyw. More like-
ly, however, the translators inserted riders to clarify the
nature of thirds, on which see NOTE to 14:7.
were sunk. Where MT and Tg. Onqelos have a passive
Pual ubb (also LXXB, but see Wevers 1990: 228), the orig-
inal LXX seems to have read an active verb, presumably Piel
*ibba he submerged (also Syr, Fragmentary Targum, Tgs.
Ps.-Jonathan, Neofiti I). But LXX, Syr, etc., may be loosely
translating to enlarge Yahwehs role. Even accepting the MT
consonantal text, there are other ways to parse bw. Jacob
(1992: 427) sees a Qal Passive rather than a Pual, on the
grounds that Biblical Hebrew lacks a corresponding Piel
ibba. Be er still, we might read *b as an ordinary Qal

Propp, William H. C. Exodus 118: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. Vol. 2. New Haven; London:
Yale University Press, 2008. Print. Anchor Yale Bible.
24
intransitive (Ehrlich 1908: 320).
15:5. Deeps, they cover them. LXX he covered them with
the Sea apparently reads *thmt ykassm/ykassym,
vs. MT thmt ykasym (Dillmann 1880: 156). Again, LXX
emphasizes Gods active role (cf. previous TEXTUAL NOTE).
Sam yksmw could be interpreted as either *ykassm he
covers them or *ykassm they [the deeps] cover
them (Samaritan Tg. V 2, p 473 p 473 supports the la er).
(We find a similar ambiguity in MT Ps 140:10: Kethibh
ykswmw [ykassm] vs. Qere ykassm.)
Which is correct here? One might argue against MT that
it contains a gender error: ykasym is masculine, thmt
deeps is feminine. But gender incongruence is ubiquitous
in Hebrew and not, in general, grounds for emendation
(Levi 1987). Perhaps LXX is trying to correct this mistake.
went down. Syr has went down and sank, an expansion
apparently based upon v 16, where Syr renders yiddm as
sink, rather than be still.
depths. Although MT mlt and Sam mlwt axe plural,
LXX has a singular bathos the Deep. Elsewhere OG trans-
lates m/lt with the plural bath (Mic 7:19; Zech 10:11),
while in OG Jonah 2:4, Greek bathos is the equivalent of the
Hebrew singular ml. us it is possible that LXX takes
m(w)lt in Exod 15:5 as a singular *mlt (cf. zimrt in v 2
[MT]; on such forms, see GKC 80g). If the singular is correc-
t, then Sam and the Massoretic vocalization have matched
m(w)lt to the parallel thmt Deeps (cf. Jacob 1992: 429).
see also TEXTUAL NOTE to 15:11 glory.

Propp, William H. C. Exodus 118: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. Vol. 2. New Haven; London:
Yale University Press, 2008. Print. Anchor Yale Bible.
25
 15:6. enemy. LXX enemies and Syr your enemies are
not true variants, but pluralizations of the collective singu-
lar.
15:8. And. Cross and Freedman (1975: 59) follow Syr,
which lacks a conjunction (cf. TEXTUAL NOTE to 15:2). If w-
is indeed secondary, it was presumably borrowed from the
following verse, which is syntactically parallel and begins
with the same le ers wbr. Adopting the Syr reading would
help my argument that v 8 begins a new stanza (see NOTE),
but Syr is not in general our best textual witness.
Piled. LXX separated is periphrastic, perhaps reflecting
uncertainty as to the meaning of neerm. e main intent,
however, is to make the Song match the P account, in which
the Sea is split (see also following).
stood congealed. LXX translates both verbs with epag
congeal. Wevers (1990: 230) suggests that the translator is
trying to evoke two walls of water, as in the prose account
(14:22, 29); see also previous TEXTUAL NOTE.
15:9. of them them. LXX omits them because it is
unnecessary in Greek. LXX also changes the person of the
verb (I will fill), as if reading *mall/eml() to match
the preceding and following verbs (note, too, that aleph and
taw are somewhat similar in paleo-Hebrew [Tov 1992:
24445]).
dispossess. LXX renders, dominate, as if deriving a
defective *trmw (MT twrmw) from ry have power (pace
Wevers 1990: 231; see Tournay 1958: 339).
15:10. You blew. For MT npt, a rare lexeme (15:10; Isa

Propp, William H. C. Exodus 118: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. Vol. 2. New Haven; London:
Yale University Press, 2008. Print. Anchor Yale Bible.
26
40:24) with cognates in Akkadian, Arabic and Aramaic, Sam
has the synonymous and more common nbt. MT is prefer-
able as the more dicult reading. Moreover, it makes a pun
(see NOTE).
15:11. among gods. Absent in Syr, presumably by theologi-
cal censorship.
in holiness. LXX among the holy ones is probably an
interpretation of MT bqd, not a literal rendering of a vari-
ant *bqd(y)m (pace Haupt 1904: 161; Cross and Freedman
1975: 61); see NOTE. Still, since the next word V 2, p
474 p 474 begins in n, similar to m in paleo-Hebrew script,
haplography (mn > n) is not inconceivable.
dreadful. For MT ndr, Sam has ndry, as in v 6.
glory. MT has thillt, a plural of intensification or
abstraction (GKC 124e, g). Conceivably, however, we should
read an archaic singular *thillt (cf. zimrt in MT 15:2),
matching the singular qde holiness and pele wonder. see
also TEXTUAL NOTE to 15:5.
wonder. For MT pl, Sam has plh, probably to be read
pl (cf. Ps 139:6 pl [Qere]).
15:12. Earth. Sam adds the definite article: the earth.
15:13. the people which. Here and in 15:16, Syr and Tgs.
render, this people which, while LXX expands further:
this your people which (cf. TEXTUAL NOTE to 15:16). is
which is a double rendering of MT z (Sam zh), which
can mean this or which, but not both together (Wevers
1990: 232). see NOTE.

Propp, William H. C. Exodus 118: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. Vol. 2. New Haven; London:
Yale University Press, 2008. Print. Anchor Yale Bible.
27
 You guided. For MT nhlt, Sam MSS, Kenn 82 and Tg. Ps.-
Jonathan read nlt you endowed. ere is li le likelihood of
this being original. It arises from the graphic and aural simi-
larity of h and and the presence of nyt you led at the
beginning of the verse as well as the proximity of nltk
your property (15:17).
15:14. ey shudder. 4QExodc, LXX and Sam prefix
and (w-). e conjunction w may also be a di ography of
the following y, similar to w in Herodian script (Cross 1961a;
Qimron 1972). MT is presumably original, since asyndeton is
archaic-poetic, polysyndeton prosaic (Cross and Freedman
1975 passim; Watson 1984: 37).
seized. Syr has seized them, anticipating the next verse.
15:16. fall. For MT tippl (Qal), one could in theory read
*tappl you cast (Hiphil) with Fragmentary Targum, Tg.
Neofiti I and Cross and Freedman (1975: 63 nn. 4748). Sup-
porting MT Exod 15:16, however, Josh 2:9 has npl
matkem ln your fear has fallen upon us.
fear. For the rare mt (MT), 4QExodc and Sam have
simply ymh.
greatness. Holzinger (1900: 49) and Cross and Freedman
(1975: 63) read *bgdel (vs. MT bigdl), but see NOTE.
are still. On the vocalization of ydmw, see NOTE.
the people which. LXX this, your people which repre-
sents a double rendering of z (see TEXTUAL NOTE to 15:13)
as well as duplication of your people from the first colon. I
prefer the shorter text of MT (with Freedman 1980: 197; vs.
Cross and Freedman 1975: 63). MT feels more idiomatic and
Propp, William H. C. Exodus 118: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. Vol. 2. New Haven; London:
Yale University Press, 2008. Print. Anchor Yale Bible.
28
finds a parallel in Ps 78:54, har-ze(h) qnt ymn the
mountain which his right hand acquired (not *hr-ze[h]
his mountain which ).
15:17. bring them and plant them. For both verbs, 4QExodc
has the ordinary, short sux (tbym wm), vs. MT tbymw
wtmw.
Because the line is metrically overlong and features
coordinate verbs in the same colon, Freedman (1980: 185,
214) reconstructs *tbm [el-gbl qodek] wtim
bhar naltek May you bring them [to your holinesss
V 2, p 475 p 475 territory/mountain,] and may you plant
them in your property mountain (cf. Ps 78:54). I find this
too radical (see NOTE).
sanctum. MT misplaces the daghesh, reading miqq
for *miqd. D. N. Freedman (privately) suggests that the
punctator may have been thinking of the prefix mi- from,
which doubles the following consonant. For comparable
forms, see TEXTUAL NOTES to 2:3; 5:18.
my Lordship. 4QExodc, Sam and many witnesses to MT,
from both the Cairo Genizah (BHS) and elsewhere (Kenni-
co 177680: 138; de Rossi 178485: 6061), as well as early
printed Bibles (Ginsburg 1894: 127), read yhwh for (or in
addition to) standard MT dny my Lordship. Whichever
is original, the source of confusion is the Jews replacement
of the sacred name Yahweh, in study and prayer, with
dny my Lordship since at least the third century B.C.E.
is practice has led to the occasional interchange of divine

Propp, William H. C. Exodus 118: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. Vol. 2. New Haven; London:
Yale University Press, 2008. Print. Anchor Yale Bible.
29
names (see Tov 1992: 214). I follow standard MT as the more
dicult reading (vs. Haupt 1904: 163; Cross 1973: 131).
15:18. Yahweh, he will reign. LXX the Lord is ruling is a
paraphrase conditioned on the presence of *wwd and still
in the Vorlage (see following).
ever and eternity. While MT has lwlm wd, 4QExodc,
4QReworked Pentateuchc and Sam omit the preposition
to, reading wlm wd. is is the shorter and more unusual
reading, and, as it finds a parallel in Ps 10:16 (yhwh mlk wlm
wd), I adopt it here.
Some Sam MSS read wlm wwd eternity and still or
ever and beyond. While there is li le chance that this is
correct, the error is quite ancient. e LXX Vorlage appears
to have read *wlm wd wwd ever and eternity and still,
conflating MT and Sam.
15:19. waters. While 4QReworked Pentateuchc has mymy,
all other witnesses have my.
Seas midst. 4QReworked Pentateuchc contains a unique
addition at the end of the verse: with the waters for them a
wall from their right and from their le (partly recon-
structed). It is barely possible that this is correct, having
fallen out from the other witnesses by homoioteleuton (hym
mlm). But far more likely, we have a harmonizing bor-
rowing from 14:22, 29. Sam and 4QpaleoExodm feature
comparable expansions throughout the Plagues pericope;

m DSS Exodus (DJD 9.53130)

Propp, William H. C. Exodus 118: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. Vol. 2. New Haven; London:
Yale University Press, 2008. Print. Anchor Yale Bible.
30
see TEXTUAL NOTES to 7:811:10.
15:21. to them. em is masculine in MT (lhm), but Syr
and some witnesses to LXX have the feminine (*lhn). Given
the similarity of m and n in sound and, in paleo-Hebrew
script, shape, it is conceivable that an original *lhn mrym
was corrupted into lhm mrym. But MT is probably correct
(see NOTE). A er to them, LXX adds saying.
Sing. While MT, Sam and Tg. Onqelos have an imperative
yrw sing! LXX, Vg, Fragmentary Targum and Tgs. Ps.-
Jonathan and Neofiti I have we would sing (see TEXTUAL
NOTE to 15:1). Syr, curiously, has a feminine singular imper-
ative byn praise! as if reading *yry (on waw-yodh confu-
sion, see Cross 1961a; Qimron 1972). us, in Syr, Miriam
exhorts the women to sing, addressing them in the collective
singular.
V 2, p 476 p 476 he acted exaltedly, exaltedly. On Sam gwy
gh, see TEXTUAL NOTE to 15:1.
Horse and his driver. Syr pluralizes the collectives: hors-
es and their horsemen.
the Sea. Uniquely, 4QReworked Pentateuchc contains a
continuation of Miriams song. e text is incompletely
preserved and almost certainly a secondary concoction
(White 1992: 222).

SOURCE ANALYSIS

All critics regard 13:1715:21 as composite (on past analyses,

see Childs 1974: 21920; Weimar 1985). Most likely, we have
five sources or strata: J, E, P, R and the Song of the Sea.
Propp, William H. C. Exodus 118: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. Vol. 2. New Haven; London:
Yale University Press, 2008. Print. Anchor Yale Bible.
31