1Then YHVH said to Moses, 2“Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. You are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal-zephon.
3For Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, ‘They are wandering the land in confusion; the wilderness has boxed them in.’ 4And I will hardena Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. But I will gain honour by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am YHVH.”
So this is what the Israelites did.
5When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have released Israel from serving us.”
6So Pharaoh prepared his chariot and took his army with him. 7He took 600 of the best chariots, and all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them.
8And YHVH hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out defiantly.b 9The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi-hahiroth, opposite Baal-zephon.
10As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians marching after them, and they were terrified and cried out to YHVH. 11They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us into the wilderness to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12Did we not say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
13But Moses told the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see YHVH’s salvation, which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. 14 YHVH will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
15Then YHVH said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. 16And as for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. 17And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. Then I will gain honor by means of Pharaoh and all his army and chariots and horsemen. 18The Egyptians will know that I am YHVH when I am honored through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
19And the angelc of Elohim, who had gone before the camp of Israel, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from before them and stood behind them, 20so that it came between the camps of Egypt and Israel. The cloud was there in the darkness, but it lit up the night.d So all night long neither camp went near the other.
21Then 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, 22and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left.
23And the Egyptians chased after them—all Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and horsemen—and followed them into the sea. 24At morning watch, however, YHVH looked down on the army of the Egyptians from the pillar of fire and cloud, and He threw their camp into confusion. 25He caused their chariot wheels to wobble,e so that they had difficulty driving. “Let us flee from the Israelites,” said the Egyptians, “for YHVH is fighting for them against Egypt!”
26Then YHVH said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” 27So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal state. As the Egyptians were retreating, YHVH swept them into the sea. 28The waters flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had chased the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.
29But the Israelites had walked through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left. 30That day YHVH saved Israel from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the shore. 31When Israel saw the great power that YHVH had exercised over the Egyptians, the people feared YHVH and believed in Him and in His servant Moses.
Exodus 14
1Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to YHVH:
“I will sing to YHVH,
for He is highly exalted.
The horse and rider
He has thrown into the sea.
2YHVH is my strength and my song,
and He has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise Him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
3YHVH is a warrior,
YHVH is His name.
4Pharaoh’s chariots and army
He has cast into the sea;
the finest of his officers
are drowned in the Red Sea.a
5The depths have covered them;
they sank there like a stone.
6Your right hand, O YHVH,
is majestic in power;
Your right hand, O YHVH,
has shattered the enemy.
7You overthrew Your adversaries
by Your great majesty.
You unleashed Your burning wrath;
it consumed them like stubble.
8At the blast of Your nostrils
the waters piled up;
like a wall the currents stood firm;
the depths congealed in the heart of the sea.
9The enemy declared,
‘I will pursue, I will overtake.
I will divide the spoils;
I will gorge myself on them.
I will draw my sword;
my hand will destroy them.’
10But You blew with Your breath,
and the sea covered them.
They sank like lead
in the mighty waters.
11Who among the gods is like You, O YHVH?
Who is like You—majestic in holiness,
revered with praises,
performing wonders?
12You stretched out Your right hand,
and the earth swallowed them up.
13With loving devotionb You will lead
the people You have redeemed;
with Your strength You will guide them
to Your holy dwelling.
14The nations will hear and tremble;
anguish will grip the dwellers of Philistia.
15Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed;
trembling will seize the leaders of Moab;
those who dwell in Canaan will melt away,
16and terror and dread will fall on them.
By the power of Your arm
they will be as still as a stone
until Your people pass by, O YHVH,
until the people You have bought pass by.
17You will bring them in and plant them
on the mountain of Your inheritance—
the place, O YHVH, You have prepared for Your dwelling,
the sanctuary, O Adonay, Your hands have established.
18YHVH will reign forever and ever!”
19For when Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and horsemen went into the sea, YHVH brought the waters of the sea back over them. But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.
20Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her with tambourines and dancing. 21And Miriam sang back to them:
“Sing to YHVH,
for He is highly exalted;
the horse and rider
He has thrown into the sea.”
Exodus 15:1-21
Williams and others place Dedumose as the last king of Egypt’s 13th Dynasty. Djedneferre Dedumose II is known from a stela originally from Gebelein which is now in the Cairo Museum (CG 20533).[10] On the stela Dedumose claims to have been raised for kingship, which may indicate he is a son of Dedumose I, although the statement may also merely be a form of propaganda. The martial tone of the stela probably reflects the constant state of war of the final years of the 16th Dynasty, when the Hyksos invaded its territory:[11]
The good god, beloved of Thebes; The one chosen by Horus, who increases his [army], who has appeared like the lightning of the sun, who is acclaimed to the kingship of both lands; The one who belongs to shouting.
Ludwig Morenz believes that the above excerpt of the stele, in particular “who is acclaimed to the kingship“, may confirm the controversial idea of Eduard Meyer that certain pharaohs were elected to office.[11]
Dedumose is usually linked to Timaios[12][13] mentioned by the historian Josephus – who was quoting Manetho – as a king during whose reign an army of Asiatic foreigners subdued the country without a fight.[14]
He sent forth upon them the fierceness of His anger, Wrath, and indignation, and trouble, A sending of messengers of evil. He cleared a path for His anger;
Psalms 78:49-50a
The ‘Early Hyksos’ invaders of Egypt were Amalekite tribesmen who migrated through Sinai from northern Arabia. There they met the Israelites in battle. They then settles in the eastern delta and drove the Egyptian pharaohs back to their capital at Its-Tawy in Upper Egypt. The Amalekites can be identified with the non-Egyptianised Asiatic newcomers who occupied Avaris at the beginning of stratum F of Tell ed-Daba main Tell A, following the Hiatus layer when the site was abandoned by the Exodus of Israelites.