And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
Parallel translations
- WEB Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and Yahweh caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
- BSB Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were divided,
- NKJV Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided.
- NASB Then Moses reached out with his hand over the sea; and the Lord swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided.
- NLT Then Moses raised his hand over the sea, and the Lord opened up a path through the water with a strong east wind. The wind blew all that night, turning the seabed into dry land.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Moses stretched out his hand, and Yahweh drove back the sea by a strong east wind, turning it to dry land and dividing the waters.
Overview
God works through natural means, the wind, yet the timing, scale, and effect are unmistakably miraculous. The waters part and the seabed dries, opening a road of salvation. The Creator who first separated the waters now does so to redeem His people, displaying His sovereign power over creation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Isa 63:12That led them by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name?
- Exod 15:8And 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.
- Ps 66:6He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him.
- Neh 9:11And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters.
- Josh 4:23For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over:
- Ps 78:13He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and he made the waters to stand as an heap.
- Ps 74:13Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
- Isa 51:10Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over?
- Exod 14:16But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.
- Ps 136:13To him which divided the Red sea into parts: for his mercy endureth for ever:
- Job 26:12He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud.
- Ps 106:7–10Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea.
- Isa 51:15But I am the LORD thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The LORD of hosts is his name.
- Ps 114:3–5The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back.
- Josh 3:13–16And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the LORD of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 14:21 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.