--- title: "Exodus 15 - Study King James Bible with clarkes commentary" description: "Read Exodus 15 with clarkes commentary commentary. 1 Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the" image: "/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg" url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/exodus/15" --- [ Read](/kjv/exodus/15)[ Commentary](/study/exodus/15)[ Interlinear](/interlinear/exodus/15) Audio 1 Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. 2 The LORD *is* my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he *is* my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him. 3 The LORD *is* a man of war: the LORD *is* his name. 4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea. 5 The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone. 6 Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. 7 And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, *which* consumed them as stubble. 8 And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, *and* the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. 9 The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.* 10 Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters. 11 Who *is* like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who *is* like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful *in* praises, doing wonders?* 12 Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them. 13 Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people *which* thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided *them* in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. 14 The people shall hear, *and* be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina. 15 Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. 16 Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be *as* still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O LORD, till the people pass over, *which* thou hast purchased. 17 Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, *in* the place, O LORD, *which* thou hast made for thee to dwell in, *in* the Sanctuary, O Lord, *which* thy hands have established. 18 The LORD shall reign for ever and ever. 19 For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry *land* in the midst of the sea. 20 ¶ And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. 21 And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. 22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. 23 ¶ And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they *were* bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.* 24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? 25 And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, *which* when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, 26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I *am* the LORD that healeth thee. 27 ¶ And they came to Elim, where *were* twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters. [Exodus 14](/study/exodus/14) [Exodus 16](/study/exodus/16) ## Commentary To verse 1 Verse [Exodus 15:1](/kjv/exodus/15/1). ***Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song*** — POETRY has been cultivated in all ages and among all people, from the most refined to the most barbarous; and to it principally, under the kind providence of God, we are indebted for most of the *original accounts* we have of the ancient nations of the universe. Equally measured lines, with a harmonious collocation of expressive, sonorous, and sometimes highly metaphorical terms, the alternate lines either answering to each other in *sense*, or ending with similar *sounds*, were easily committed to *memory*, and easily *retained*. As these were often accompanied with a pleasing *air* or *tune*, the subject being a concatenation of striking and interesting events, histories formed thus became the amusement of youth, the softeners of the tedium of labour, and even the solace of age. In such a way the histories of most nations have been preserved. The interesting *events* celebrated, the *rhythm* or *metre*, and the accompanying *tune* or *recitativo air*, rendered them easily transmissible to posterity; and by means of *tradition* they passed safely from father to son through the times of comparative *darkness*, till they arrived at those ages in which the *pen* and the *press* have given them a sort of deathless duration and permanent stability, by multiplying the copies. Many of the ancient historic and heroic British tales are continued by tradition among the aboriginal inhabitants of Ireland to the present day; and the repetition of them constitutes the chief amusement of the winter evenings. Even the *prose* histories, which were written on the ground of the *poetic*, copied closely their exemplars, and the historians themselves were obliged to study all the *beauties* and *ornaments of style*, that their works might become *popular*; and to this circumstance we owe not a small measure of what is termed *refinement of language*. How observable is this in the history of *Herodotus*, who appears to have closely copied the ancient *poetic records* in his inimitable and harmonious prose; and, that his books might bear as near a resemblance as possible to the ancient and popular originals, he divided them into *nine*, and dedicated each to one of the *muses*! His work therefore seems to occupy the same place between the ancient *poetic compositions* and mere *prosaic histories*, as the *polype* does between *plants* and *animals*. Much even of our *sacred records* is written in *poetry*, which God has thus consecrated to be the faithful transmitter of remote and important events; and of this the *song* before the reader is a proof in point. Though this is not the first specimen of poetry we have met with in the Pentateuch, (see Lamech's speech to his wives, [Genesis 4:23-24](/kjv/genesis/4/23-24); Noah's prophecy concerning his sons, [Genesis 9:25-27](/kjv/genesis/9/25-27); and Jacob's blessing to the twelve patriarchs, [Genesis 49:2-27](/kjv/genesis/49/2-27), and the notes there,) yet it is the first regular ode of any considerable length, having but *one* subject; and it is all written in *hemistichs*, or half lines, the usual form in Hebrew poetry; and though this form frequently occurs, it is not attended to in our common printed Hebrew Bibles, except in *this* and *three* other places, ([Deuteronomy 32:1-43](/kjv/deuteronomy/32/1-43); [Judges 5:1-31](/kjv/judges/5/1-31); and [2 Samuel 22:1-51](/kjv/2-samuel/22/1-51)), all of which shall be noticed as they occur. But in Dr. Kennicott's edition of the Hebrew Bible, all the poetry, wheresoever it occurs, is printed in its own *hemistich* form. After what has been said it is perhaps scarcely necessary to observe, that as such ancient poetic histories commemorated great and extraordinary displays of *providence, courage, strength*, *fidelity, heroism*, and *piety*; hence the origin of EPIC *poems*, of which the song in this chapter is the *earliest* specimen. And on the principle of preserving the memory of such events, most nations have had their *epic poets*, who have *generally* taken for their subject the most splendid or most remote events of their country's history, which either referred to the *formation* or *extension* of their *empire*, the *exploits* of their *ancestors*, or the *establishment* of their *religion*. Hence the ancient HEBREWS had their *Shir Mosheh*, the piece in question: the GREEKS, their *Ilias*; the HINDOOS, their *Mahabarat*; the ROMANS, their *AEneis*; the NORWEGIANS, their *Edda*; the IRISH and SCOTCH, their *Fingal* and *Chronological poems*; the WELSH, their *Taliessin* and his *Triads*; the ARABS, their *Nebiun-Nameh* (exploits of Mohammed) and *Hamleh* *Heedry*, (exploits of Aly;) the PERSIANS, their SHAH *Nameh*, (book of kings;) the ITALIANS, their *Gerusalemme Liberata*; the PORTUGUESE, their *Lusiad*; the ENGLISH, their *Paradise Lost*; and, in humble imitation of all the rest, (*etsi non passibus aequis*,) the FRENCH, their *Henriade*. The song of Moses has been in the highest repute in the Church of God from the beginning; the author of the *Book of Wisdom* attributes it in a particular manner to the wisdom of God, and says that on this occasion *God opened the mouth of the dumb, and* *made the tongues of infants eloquent*; *[Wisdom 10:21](/kjv/wisdom/10/21)*. As if he had said, Every person felt an interest in the great events which had taken place, and all laboured to give Jehovah that praise which was due to his name. "With this song of victory over Pharaoh," says Mr. Ainsworth, "the Holy Ghost compares the song of those who have gotten the victory over the spiritual Pharaoh, the *beast*, (Antichrist), when they stand by the *sea of glass mingled with* *fire*, (as Israel stood here by the Red Sea,) *having the harps of* *God*, (as the women here had timbrels, [Exodus 15:20](/kjv/exodus/15/20)), *and they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song* *of the Lamb*, the Son of God," [Revelation 15:2-4](/kjv/revelation/15/2-4). ***I will sing unto the Lord*** — Moses begins the song, and in the two first hemistichs states the *subject* of it; and these two first lines became the *grand chorus* of the piece, as we may learn from [Exodus 15:21](/kjv/exodus/15/21). See Dr. Kennicott's arrangement and translation of this piece at the end of this chapter. [Exodus 15:26](/kjv/exodus/15/26); [Exodus 15:26](/kjv/exodus/15/26). ***Triumphed gloriously*** — כי גאה גאה *ki gaoh gaah*, *he is* *exceedingly exalted*, rendered by the Septuagint, Ενδοξως γαρ δεδοξασται, *He is gloriously glorified*; and surely this was one of the most signal displays of the glorious majesty of God ever exhibited since the *creation* of the world. And when it is considered that the whole of this transaction shadowed out the *redemption of the human race* from the *thraldom* and *power* of *sin* and *iniquity* by the *Lord Jesus*, and the *final triumph* of the *Church* of God over all its *enemies*, we may also join in the song, and celebrate Him who has triumphed so gloriously, having conquered death, and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com","name":"Real Bible Believers","description":"RBB","publisher":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/search?q={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/exodus/15#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","width":672,"height":448,"caption":"Real Bible Believers"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/exodus/15#webpage","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/exodus/15","name":"Exodus 15 - Study King James Bible with clarkes commentary","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/exodus/15#primaryimage"},"author":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"description":"Read Exodus 15 with clarkes commentary commentary. 1 Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/exodus/15#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/exodus/15"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/exodus/15#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","name":"Study Bible"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary","name":"clarkes commentary"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/exodus","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/exodus","name":"Exodus"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/exodus/15","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/exodus/15","name":"15"}}]},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","width":512,"height":512},"logo":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo"},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/RBiblebeliever","https://www.facebook.com/RBibleBelievers"]}]} ```