1

Exodus 15:1-13, 17-18, 20-21

(15:1)

יר .sing” (denominative?) under BDB 1010b“ = ש1

יר .song” under BDB 1010a. Common noun. Learn it now“ = ש

ליהוה 2

.”be boastful, proud“ = אתגאה rise up" under BDB 144a. Arm" = גאה3

I = "cast, shoot" under BDB 941a. Akk ramû = “throw, lay”. Arb rama(y) רמה

“throw, shoot”. Arm רמא.

Grammatical note = Preterite in prose after אז. The particle אז is often followed

by a verb that is spelled like the imperfect but appears to have a past time meaning.

Such verbs might be preterite rather than imperfect. See Williams §177c.

Rw – Williams is hedging a little here. Some (most?) Hebraicists believe there

once was a “prefixed preterite” verb in ancient Hebrew. It did not end in an

original short vowel. In Standard Biblical Hebrew and later the “prefixed preterite”

was marked with ו־ and the prefix of the verb was doubled. Hence the “waw-

consecutive”. That the prefixed preterite did not end in an original short vowel

explains why the waw-consecutive can appear different from a normal prefixed

form. See Wright, Linguistic Evidence for the Pre-exilic Date of the Yahwistic

Source, 22-24 for a short summary. There were two “tenses” in ancient Hebrew

each with three modes. The “prefixed” form is the imperfect indicative and the

waw-consecutive is the preterite indicative. This schema also helps explain

“heavy” suffixes.4

(15:2)

.עזז strength, might” under BDB 738b. Root“ = עז

1 “SamPent אשרו, Version (?) read 1p”.

2 “Septuagint* reads τω θεω” so “to God”.

3 “SamPent גוי, it (?) 21

b”.

4 Robert Hetzron, "Third Person Singular Pronoun Suffixes in ProtoSemitic." Orientalia Suecana

(1969) 18: 101-127. Save the reference!

2

מרה I = “make זמר melody, song (in praise of Yhwh)” under BDB 274a. Root“ = ז

music (in praise of God)”.5

יה6

?”make wide, spacious“ = ישע salvation” under BDB 447a. Root“ = ישועה

?I = Hiphil “beautify” under BDB 627a. Hapax נוה7

be high, exalted, rise”, Polel “raise, exalt” under BDB 926b. Somewhat“ = רום

unusual ־נהו “energic nun” (?) + 3ms suffix. Do such examples call into question

what Robert Hetzron wrote about “heavy suffixes” in classical Hebrew?

(15:3)

איש8

מלחמה9

(15:4)

.Note form fpc – מרכבות

.Hiphil “throw, cast; shoot” under BDB 434b, 435a. Although here Qal = ירה

בחר .”choose“ = בחר choicest, best” under BDB104b. Root“ = מ

יש III = “adjutant, officer” (best explained as third man in chariot) under BDB של

1026b. Rare.

יש .I = “third (part, of an ephah?), name of a measure” under BDB 1026b של

Hapax? Root שלש = (meaning unknown).

5 “A few manuscripts, SamPent, Vulgate י י = Septuagint και σκεπαστης ,־ת תרת compare וס

Deuteronomy 32:38”. 6 “Septuagint omits”.

7 “Septuagint (Syriac, Vulgate) και δοξασω αυτον”.

8 “SamPent, Syriac בור .”Septuagint συωτριβων ,ג

9 “SamPent במלחמה, Septuagint has plural, Syriac wqrbtnʾ = et bellator”.

3

Akk .טבע sink, sink down”, Hiphil “be sunk, settled” under BDB 371b. Arm“ = טבע

ṭebû “sink in”. Arb ṭabaʿa “seal, stamp, imprint”.10

(15:5)

= תהם deep, sea, abyss” (almost always poetry) under BDB 1062b. Root“ = תהום

Akk tiāmtu and others?

Piel “cover” under BDB 491a. We understand 3 = כסה !Not easy to parse – יכסימוrd

Rare 3mp suffix. Is this Archaic ?־מו returns before vocalic suffix. But י*

Biblical Hebrew at work?11

?במצלות depth, deep” under BDB 846b. Okay and why not“ = מצולה

(15:6)

ת ר wide, great, (thence) (poetic)“ = אדר glory, cloak” under BDB 12a. Root“ = אד

high, noble”. Here Niphal. Note unusual ־י construct suffix?

.כחח strength, power” under BDB 470b. Root“ = כוח

.Amarna raḫāṣu .רעץ shatter” under BDB 950a. Very rare. Arm“ = רעץ

(15:7)

.”rise up“ גאה exaltation” (pride?) under BDB 144b. Root“ = גאון

,throw down, break or tear down” under BDB 248b. Arab harasa “bruise“ = הרס

bray, pound, crush”.

A little tricky to parse and an unusual way to express “enemies” – literally – קמיך

“your ones-who-arise”.

anger” under BDB 354b. How do we find what root this is (burning of)“ = חרון

under in BDB? Remember that ן־ו is sometimes a noun sufformative. Try

.חרה

10

“Septuagint-B82

(Syriac) κατεποντισεν = בע .”ט11

“Cairo תכסיומו”; SamPent יכסמו compare Septuagint εκαλυψεν αυτους”.

4

.־מו Again the very unusual 3ms suffix – יאכלמו

.”(?)be old, dried up“ = קשש I = "stubble, chaff" under BDB 905b. Rare. Root קש

(15:8)

I = Niphal “be heaped up” under BDB 790b. Hapax? Arm ⁽arimu(n). Sab ערם

.”plural of “dam = אערמהו

and other נצב Niphal “take one’s stand, stand” under BDB 662a. Ph (Pun) = נצב

forms “monument”. Nab Palm נצב “set up”. Zinj נצב “statue”. Palm מצבא

“image”. Akk (perhaps) naṣābu (Amarna). Arm נצב. Arb naṣaba “set up,

erect”. Sab נצב “cippus”.

= II נדד heap of waters" (of Red Sea or of Jordan) under BDB 622b. Root" = נד

“high hill, hill rising high into the sky, earth-heap, sand-heap”.

flow, trickle, drop, distil (poetry)” under BDB 633b. Arb nazala “descend“ = נזל

(milk into udder but also in general)”.

.thicken, condense, congeal” under BDB 891a“ = קפא

(15:9)

.Hiphil “reach, overtake” under BDB 673a = נשג

.divide, share” under BDB 323b“ = חלק

.spoil, plunder” under BDB 1021b“ = שלל

but again the unusual 3ms suffix. Literally “I will be מלא We recognize – תמלאמו

full (of) him”.12

,Hiphil "make empty, empty" under BDB 937b. Arb rāqa (y) = “pour out = ריק

forth”. Arm ריק = “empty, pour”. Akk rêqu = “empty”.

12

“Septuagint εμπλησω; Syriac tblʿ ʾnwn as in verse 12”.

5

take possession of, inherit, disposess”, Niphal “be impoverished, come to“ = ירש

poverty” (very rare) under BDB 439b. Note Hiphil prefix + rare alternate 3ms

suffix.

The phrasing of this verse is difficult. Literally “… I will make empty my sword, I

will dispossess them = I will draw my sword, I will destroy them”.

(15:10)

.blow" under BDB 676a. Arb nasafa (vulgar). Very rare" = נשף13

rare 3mp suffix. Should we be surprised by so many + כסה Difficult to parse – כסמו

object suffixes attached directly to verbs? Probably not. Although the forms are

unusual.

,II = “sink, be submerged” under BDB 853a. Hapax? Akk ṣalālu = “sink down צלל

sink to rest”.

ת ר .lead” under BDB 780a. Arb ⁾abār“ = עפ

יר .”wide, great, high, noble“ = אדר majestic” under BDB 12a. Root“ = אד

(15:11)

.A little unusual – כמכה

נאדר14

בקדש15

”??? = Literally “feared/awesome (of) praises – נוראתהלת

לא ,separate (from the ordinary)“ = פלא wonder” under BDB 810a. Root“ = פ

distinguish”.

(15:20)

13

“SamPent נשבת”. 14

“SamPent י .”Syriac hdjr = magnificus ,נדר15

“Septuagint εναγιοις = בקדשים?”

6

.”timbrel, drum“ = תפף timbrel, tambourine" under BDB 1074a. Root" = תף

.”whirl, dance, writhe“ = חיל חול dancing" under BDB 298a. Root" = מחולה

(15:21)

שירו16

גאה17

16

“Septuagint, Targum Jonathan, Vulgate have 1p” so “let us sing”. 17

“Compare 1c” so גוי.