...catching up
Previous notes on the Song (don't miss the excellent comments)
Historicity
(1) 13:17
ויהי בשלח פרעה את־העם ולא־נחם אלהים דרך ארץ פלשתים כי קרוב הוא כי אמר אלהים פן־ינחם העם בראתם מלחמה ושבו מצרימה׃
It came to pass when Pharaoh let the people go, that God did not lead them [by the] Way of the Land of the Philistines for it was near, because God said, Lest the people reconsider when they see war and return to Egypt
The "Way of the Land of the Philistines" would have invited danger not because of the presence of war-hungry Philistines, but because it would have been thick with Egyptians. As Sarna explains, the "Way of the Land of the Philistines" would have been something like a fortified coastal highway, lined with armed Egyptians deployed there to protect the trade route.
Internal Parallels
(1) 15:20
וַתִּקַּח מִרְיָם הַנְּבִיאָה אֲחֹות אַהֲרֹן אֶת־הַתֹּף בְּיָדָהּ וַתֵּצֶאןָ כָל־הַנָּשִׁים אַחֲרֶיהָ בְּתֻפִּים וּבִמְחֹלֹת׃
And Miriam the prophetess, sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dances.
Alter surmises that Miriam is called a "prophetess" here in the old sense of an ecstatic who employs music and dance to produce a prophetic frenzy. [Compare with the story of Saul among the prophets] she is designated as Aaron's sister, in keeping with the practice of identifying a woman by the name of her oldest brother. [See Elisheva] Also, the David story depicts women greeting triumphant men with singing and dancing.
(2) Miriam is specifically mentioned as a witness at the water when Moshe's story begins, and again, here, when the water splits.
(3) The wind blowing on the water, followed by a division between sea and land is strongly reminiscent of the beginning of creation.
Style Alert
(1) When Pharaoh has his back against the wall his speech is short and urgent.
וַיְמַהֵר פַּרְעֹה לִקְרֹא לְמֹשֶׁה וּלְאַהֲרֹן וַיֹּאמֶר חָטָאתִי לַיהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם וְלָכֶם׃ [Exodus 10:16]
At other points in the story, he demonstrates confidence and imperiousness by speaking in verse:
ואמר פרעה לבני ישראל נבכים הם בארץ סגר עליהם המדבר׃ [Exodus 14:3]
Are these exact quotes, or the editorial embellishments of the Author? Let's leave that as a question for the reader.
Numerology
(1) The word "yad" appears exactly 7 times in the Amelek episode. (Cassuito)
Symbolism
(1) Passing between walls of water is a strong bit of birth imagery. [Ilana Pardos]
Inside Rashi's Bes Medresh
(1) ...on Exodus 13:17: for it was near and it was easy to return by that road to Egypt. There are also many aggadic midrashim [regarding this].
What are those midrashim?
(a) for it was too near (in time) to the promise Abrahma had made Abimelch [See Gen 20]
(b) For it was too near (in time) to when the Canaanites had taken the land, and they weren't yet deserving of genocide/expulsion etc.
Why doesn't Rashi use these midrashim to interpret the verse? Because they don't solve text problems.
(2) ... on Exodus 14:21 and the waters split All the water in the world. — [from Mechilta Exod. Rabbah 21:6]
Why does Rashi say this? Look at the verse: And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord led the sea with the strong east wind all night, and He made the sea into dry land and the waters split.
The verse uses the word "sea" three times, but when the miracle happens the language switches and we're told "the waters split."
(Whether or not Rashi actually thought every body of water in the world split at that moment, too, is left as a question for the reader) (I think he's just proposing a solution to what some might see as a textual anomaly. I don't think he's attempting to provide a history lesson.)
Musar
(1) What we must learn from the fact that God took Israel the long way around, rather than directly through the land of the Phillis tines.
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