Song of the sea

For the 1952 Brazilian film, see Song of the Sea (film).

A Sefer Torah rolled to the Song of the Sea

The Song of the Sea (Hebrew: שירת הים‎, also known as Az Yashir Moshe) is a poem which appears in the Book of Exodus of the Hebrew Bible, at Exodus 15:1-18. The poem was reputedly sung by the Israelites after they crossed the Red Sea in safety, and celebrates the destruction of the Egyptian army during the crossing, and looks forward to their future conquest of Canaan.

The poem is included in Jewish prayer books, and recited daily in the morning shacharit services. The poem also comprises the first ode or hymn of the Eastern Orthodox canon, where it is known as the Song or Ode of Moses.

Origin

The poem forms part of Parshat Beshalach. It is one of only two sections of the Sefer Torah that is written with a different layout to the normal simple columns. (see picture) The alternating words are supposed to represent the two walls of the split sea with Israel walking down the middle. (The other section written differently is Moses' song at the end of the Sefer Torah in Ha'azinu.)

Translation

The following is the Hebrew/English translation of the Song:

Shemot/Exodus 15.1-15.18

א אָז יָשִׁיר-מֹשֶׁה וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת-הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת, לַיהוָה, וַיֹּאמְרוּ, {ר} לֵאמֹר: {ס} אָשִׁירָה לַיהוָה כִּי-גָאֹה גָּאָה, {ס} סוּס {ר} וְרֹכְבוֹ רָמָה בַיָּם. {ס} 1 Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto YHWH, and spoke, saying: I will sing unto YHWH, for He is highly exalted; the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea.
ב עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָהּ, וַיְהִי-לִי {ר} לִישׁוּעָה; {ס} זֶה אֵלִי וְאַנְוֵהוּ, {ס} אֱלֹהֵי {ר} אָבִי וַאֲרֹמְמֶנְהוּ. {ס} 2 YHWH is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation; this is my God, and I will glorify Him; my father's God, and I will exalt Him.
ג יְהוָה, אִישׁ מִלְחָמָה; יְהוָה, {ר} שְׁמוֹ. {ס} 3 YHWH is a man of war, YHWH is His name.
ד מַרְכְּבֹת פַּרְעֹה וְחֵילוֹ, יָרָה בַיָּם; {ס} וּמִבְחַר {ר} שָׁלִשָׁיו, טֻבְּעוּ בְיַם-סוּף. {ס} 4 Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath He cast into the sea, and his chosen captains are sunk in the Red Sea.
ה תְּהֹמֹת, יְכַסְיֻמוּ; יָרְדוּ בִמְצוֹלֹת, כְּמוֹ {ר} אָבֶן. {ס} 5 The deeps cover them—they went down into the depths like a stone.
ו יְמִינְךָ יְהוָה, נֶאְדָּרִי בַּכֹּחַ; {ס} יְמִינְךָ {ר} יְהוָה, תִּרְעַץ אוֹיֵב. {ס} 6 Thy right hand, O YHWH, glorious in power, Thy right hand, O LORD, dasheth in pieces the enemy.
ז וּבְרֹב גְּאוֹנְךָ, תַּהֲרֹס {ר} קָמֶיךָ; {ס} תְּשַׁלַּח, חֲרֹנְךָ--יֹאכְלֵמוֹ, כַּקַּשׁ. {ס} 7 And in the greatness of Thine excellency Thou overthrowest them that rise up against Thee; Thou sendest forth Thy wrath, it consumeth them as stubble.
ח וּבְרוּחַ {ר} אַפֶּיךָ נֶעֶרְמוּ מַיִם, {ס} נִצְּבוּ כְמוֹ-נֵד {ר} נֹזְלִים; {ס} קָפְאוּ תְהֹמֹת, בְּלֶב-יָם. {ס} 8 And with the blast of Thy nostrils the waters were piled up—the floods stood upright as a heap; the deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea.
ט אָמַר {ר} אוֹיֵב אֶרְדֹּף אַשִּׂיג, {ס} אֲחַלֵּק שָׁלָל; תִּמְלָאֵמוֹ {ר} נַפְשִׁי-- {ס} אָרִיק חַרְבִּי, תּוֹרִישֵׁמוֹ יָדִי. {ס} 9 The enemy said: 'I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.'
י נָשַׁפְתָּ {ר} בְרוּחֲךָ, כִּסָּמוֹ יָם; {ס} צָלְלוּ, כַּעוֹפֶרֶת, בְּמַיִם, {ר} אַדִּירִים. {ס} 10 Thou didst blow with Thy wind, the sea covered them; they sank as lead in the mighty waters.
יא מִי-כָמֹכָה בָּאֵלִם יְהוָה, {ס} מִי {ר} כָּמֹכָה נֶאְדָּר בַּקֹּדֶשׁ; {ס} נוֹרָא תְהִלֹּת, עֹשֵׂה {ר} פֶלֶא. {ס} 11 Who is like unto Thee, O YHWH, among the gods? who is like unto Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
יב נָטִיתָ, יְמִינְךָ--תִּבְלָעֵמוֹ, אָרֶץ. {ס} 12 Thou stretchedst out Thy right hand—the earth swallowed them.
יג נָחִיתָ {ר} בְחַסְדְּךָ, עַם-זוּ גָּאָלְתָּ; {ס} נֵהַלְתָּ בְעָזְּךָ, אֶל-נְוֵה {ר} קָדְשֶׁךָ. {ס} 13 Thou in Thy love hast led the people that Thou hast redeemed; Thou hast guided them in Thy strength to Thy holy habitation.
יד שָׁמְעוּ עַמִּים, יִרְגָּזוּן; {ס} חִיל {ר} אָחַז, יֹשְׁבֵי פְּלָשֶׁת. {ס} 14 The peoples have heard, they tremble; pangs have taken hold on the inhabitants of Philistia.
טו אָז נִבְהֲלוּ, אַלּוּפֵי {ר} אֱדוֹם-- {ס} אֵילֵי מוֹאָב, יֹאחֲזֵמוֹ רָעַד; {ס} נָמֹגוּ, {ר} כֹּל יֹשְׁבֵי כְנָעַן. {ס} 15 Then were the chiefs of Edom affrighted; the mighty men of Moab, trembling taketh hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan are melted away.
טז תִּפֹּל עֲלֵיהֶם אֵימָתָה {ר} וָפַחַד, {ס} בִּגְדֹל זְרוֹעֲךָ יִדְּמוּ כָּאָבֶן: {ס} עַד {ר} יַעֲבֹר עַמְּךָ יְהוָה, {ס} עַד-יַעֲבֹר עַם-זוּ {ר} קָנִיתָ. {ס} 16 Terror and dread falleth upon them; by the greatness of Thine arm they are as still as a stone; till Thy people pass over, O YHWH, till the people pass over that Thou hast gotten.
יז תְּבִאֵמוֹ, וְתִטָּעֵמוֹ בְּהַר נַחֲלָתְךָ-- {ס} מָכוֹן {ר} לְשִׁבְתְּךָ פָּעַלְתָּ, יְהוָה; {ס} מִקְּדָשׁ, אֲדֹנָי כּוֹנְנוּ {ר} יָדֶיךָ. {ס} 17 Thou bringest them in, and plantest them in the mountain of Thine inheritance, the place, O YHWH, which Thou hast made for Thee to dwell in, the sanctuary, O YHWH, which Thy hands have established.
יח יְהוָה יִמְלֹךְ, לְעֹלָם וָעֶד. {ס} 18 YHWH shall reign for ever and ever.

Ketuba of Yom Vayyosha

The Ketubá del Seten Dia de Pesah (or כתובה ליום השביעי של פסח - Ketuba Le-yom Ha-shebi`i shel Pesah) is a liturgical poem in Ladino, describing Pharaoh's defeat in the Sea of Reeds. Some Sephardic Jewish communities, at least in Turkey, sing this poem on 21 Nisan, the seventh day of Passover, known as Yom Vayyosha, "The Day of the Song of the Sea". According to Jewish tradition, this is the day on which Pharaoh's army was drowned in the Sea of Reeds, and the Israelite people sang the Song of the Sea in gratitude for this victory.

Presumably, this text is called a ketuba ("marriage contract") because the relationship between God and the Jewish people is traditionally described as a marriage, and the splitting of the sea is considered to be an important event leading to that marriage, which ultimately took place 42 days later, at Mt. Sinai.

A tune for the Ladino poem (along with the entire text itself) can be found in Isaac Levy's Anthology of Sepharadic Hazzanut.

Scholarly interpretations

According to the documentary hypothesis, the Song of the Sea was at one time an independent text that came to be embedded into the Jahwist source, and then into the Torah.

According to this theory, the date of the original text is uncertain, and it may in fact be an original source for the more verbose tale that appears elsewhere in the text. The text also appears to have been included in the Elohist source, although after these texts were redacted together, only the first two lines of the Elohist copy remain, immediately after the lines from the Jahwist copy, the duplication being unnecessary.

External links

• A collection of articles on the Song of the Sea from a Jewish perspective. at Chabad.org
• Biblical Hebrew Poetry - Reconstructing the Original Oral, Aural and Visual Experience
• Song of the Sea (Exodus 15:1b-18) Reconstructed