Portion 16 of 54 · Exodus
בְּשַׁלַּח
Beshalach
The sea opens, the people sing, and three days later they are complaining about the water.
Start by reading it
Exodus 13:17–17:16
5 chapters. About 20 minutes at an unhurried pace.
Paired reading from the prophets: Judges 4:4–5:31
What happens
- 01
Pharaoh changes his mind and chases them to the edge of the sea.
- 02
The sea splits. They walk through. The army does not come out.
- 03
Moses and Miriam lead the people in song — the oldest poetry in the Bible.
- 04
Then: bitter water, no food, no water, and an attack. Manna falls, and the Sabbath is introduced with it.
The thing most people walk past
Freedom did not fix them
Between the greatest miracle in the book and the first complaint there are three days. The Bible is unsentimental about what rescue does and does not change in people.
One verse to carry
The LORD will fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.’
Said to people trapped between an army and a sea. It is the Bible's answer to the moment when there is nothing left to do.
A question to sit with
Manna could not be stored overnight except before the Sabbath. What does a food that will not keep teach a people who have just left scarcity?
There is no answer key. This is the part you take with you.