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bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast would hardly let us go, that the LORD slew to the LORD.

7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters.

8 And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the LORD did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt.

9 And it shall be for a sign unto thee проп thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the LORD's law may be in thy mouth for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt.

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10 Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year.

11 ¶ And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, as he sware unto thee and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee,

12 That thou shalt 'set apart unto the LORD all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the LORD'S.

13 And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem.

14 And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage:

15 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh

all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem.

16 And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt.

17 ¶ And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt:

18 But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up 'harnessed out of the land of Egypt.

19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, "God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.

20 T And 'they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.

21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:

22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

5 Or, kid.

Heb. to-morrow. 10 Num. 14. 14. Deut. 1. 33. Neh. 9. 19. Psal. 78. 14. 1 Cor. 10. 1.

3 Chap. 22. 29, and 34. 19. Ezek. 44. 30. 4 Heb. cause to pass over. Or, by five in a rank. 8 Gen. 50. 25. Josh. 24. 32. 9 Num. 33. 6.

Verse 18. The Red sea.'-We have already explained what relates to this name of the Arabian Gulf; and this seems the proper place to state a few particulars concerning the gulf itself. It occupies a basin, in general deep and rocky, and its length from Suez to the Straits is 1400 miles, while its average breadth approaches to 150. Throughout this great extent it does not receive the waters of a single river. The western coast is of a bolder character, and has a greater depth of water, than the eastern. The gulf abounds in sunken rocks, sand-banks, and small islands, together with numerous coral-reefs, which in some places rise above the water to the height of ten fathoms. The bottom is covered abundantly with the same substance, as well as with marine plants, which in calm weather give that appearance of submarine forests and verdant meadows to which the sea probably owes its Hebrew name of Yam Suph (see note on chap. ii. 3), as well as its present Arabic name of Bahr Souf. Burckhardt observes, that the coral is red in the inlet of Akabah, and white in that of Suez. The remarkably beautiful appearance which this sea exhibits has attracted notice in all ages; and among its other characteristics, the far more than ordinary phosphorescence of its waters has been men

tioned with peculiar admiration. The width of the gulf contracts towards its extremities, and at its mouth is considerably narrower than in any other part. The strait of Bab-el-Mandeb is there formed, and does not exceed fourteen miles in breadth; beside which it is divided, at the distance of three miles from the Arabian shore, by the island of Perim. At its northern extremity the Red Sea separates into two minor gulfs or inlets, which inclose between them the peninsula of Sinai. The easternmost of these is that of Akabah or Ailah, called by the Greeks and Romans Elanites; this is only about half the extent of the other, and is rendered very dangerous by shoals and coral-reefs. The westernmost gulf is called the Gulf of Suez, anciently Heroopolites: the ancient and modern names of both inlets being from towns that formerly did, or do now, stand at their extremities. It is the latter, the western gulf, which was crossed by the Hebrews. It is about 160 miles in length, with a mean breadth of about thirty miles, narrowing very much at its northern extremity. The mean depth of its water is from nine to fourteen fathoms, with a sandy bottom; and it is of much safer navigation than the other. There are many indications which place it beyond a doubt that the Arabian Gulf

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was formerly much deeper and more extensive than at present. One of the most certain proofs of this is, that cities, which were formerly mentioned as sea-ports, are now considerably inland. This is particularly the case in the Gulf of Suez, where the shore is unusually low. That the sea formerly extended more northward than at present, there is much reason to conclude, from the marine appearances of the now dry soil. There is certainly nothing in the appearance of the soil about the isthmus of Suez to render it impossible that the Red Sea was formerly no other than a strait uniting the Mediterranean with the Indian Ocean; and that the isthmus which is now inter

posed between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean was formed by drifts of sand from the adjoining deserts. This, however, is an hypothesis: but there is nothing hypothetical in the statement that the gulf once extended more to the north than at present, at least to the limits of the present salt marsh; and this fact is of importance, because it enables us to see that nothing less than a miraculous interposition of the Divine Power could have enabled the Israelites to cross the bay, even at the highest of the points which has been selected by those who perhaps have been influenced by the wish to diminish the force of the miracle or to account for it on natural principles. [APPENDIX, No. 3.]

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20. Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.'-The second day's march brought the Israelites to this place, upon the border of the desert. Encampments of caravans have in every age been regulated by the situation of wateringplaces; and if we may suppose that these watering-places have remained the same from remote ages, then we may as well agree with Niebuhr and others, who have found Etham in the modern Adjeroud (rather Ajrúd), where

there is now a square fortress with a well of bitter water two hundred and fifty feet deep, built for the accommodation and protection of the pilgrims on their way to and from Mecca. It is a curious circumstance that the two very different routes eastward from near On and southward from Heroöpolis, equally admit of Adjeroud being the Etham of our text. It is about twelve miles north-west from Suez, and is literally in the edge of the desert.

CHAPTER XIV.

1 God instructeth the Israelites in their journey. 5 Pharaoh pursueth after them. 10 The Israelites murmur. 13 Moses comforteth them. 15 God instructeth Moses. 19 The cloud removeth behind the camp. 21 The Israelites pass through the Red sea, 23 which drowneth the Egyptians.

AND the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before 'Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baal-zephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea.

3 For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.

4 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so.

5 ¶ And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? 6 And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him:

7 And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them.

8 And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand.

9 But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-zephon.

10 And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD.

11 And they said unto Moses, Because

there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?

12 Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.

13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for

ever.

14 The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

15 And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:

16 But 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.

17 And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

19 And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went. behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:

20 And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

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21 ¶ 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

Or, for whereas ye have seen the Egyptians to day, &c.

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