Week 65

• Torah (T): Shemot (Exodus) 15:1-27
• Prophets (P): Isaiah 12:1-6
• Apostolic (A): Revelation 19:1-21
• Additional (ADD): Jubilees 48:12-19

RELATED SCRIPTURES

• Nehemiah 9:6-19 (T)
• Psalms 78:1-14 (T)
• Psalms 105:38-43 (T)
• 1 Corinthians 10:1-12 (T)
• Joshua 24:5-7 (T)
• Psalms 106:1-15 (T)
• Exodus 6:6-9 (T)
• 2 Chronicles 20:11-15 (T)
• Joshua 4:15-24 (T)
• Psalms 66:1-7 (T)
• Psalms 114:1-8 (T)
• Hebrews 11:29 (T)
• Psalms 77:11-20 (T)
• Psalms 136:7-16 (T)
• Psalms 78:51-55 (T)
• Isaiah 11:1-16 (T)
• Psalms 118:14-17; Isaiah 12:1-3 (T)
• Isaiah 63:7-13 (T)
• Psalms 74:1-15 (T)
• Revelation 7:1-17 (T)

RELATED ADDITIONAL READINGS

• Judith 5:10-13 (T)
• Wisdom of Solomon 10:15-21 (T)
• Wisdom of Solomon 19:1-10 (T)
• 1 Maccabees 4:5-11 (T)
• Genesis Apocryphon 1Q20 Col. 21 (T)
• Enoch 76:1-13 (T)
• Exodus 13:21 – 15:18 from the Jerusalem Targum aka Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (T)
• Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus 2.15.3 – 2.16.6

Note: (T) means the verse relates to that week’s Torah portion. (P) means the verse relates to that week’s Prophets portion. (A) means the verse relates to that week’s Apostolic portion. (ADD) means the verse relates to that week’s Additional portion.

Torah Portion (T)

15:1 Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to [Elohim],^(LXX) and said, “I will sing to YHWH, for he has triumphed gloriously. He has thrown the horse and his rider into the sea. 2 Yah is my strength and song. He has become my salvation. This is my Elohim, and I will praise him; my father's Elohim, and I will exalt him. 3 YHWH is a man of war. YHWH is his name. 4 He has cast Pharaoh's chariots and his army into the sea. His chosen captains are sunk in the Sea at the End. 5 The deeps cover them. They went down into the depths like a stone. 6 Your right hand, YHWH, is glorious in power. Your right hand, YHWH, dashes the enemy in pieces. 7 In the greatness of your excellency, you overthrow those who rise up against you. You send out your wrath. It consumes them as stubble. 8 With the blast of your nostrils, the waters were piled up. The floods stood upright as a heap. The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea. 9 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue. I will overtake. I will divide the plunder. My desire will be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword. My hand will destroy them.' 10 You blew with your wind. The sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters. 11 Who is like you, YHWH, among the elohim? Who is like you, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? 12 You stretched out your right hand. The land swallowed them. 13 “You, in your loving kindness, have led the people that you have redeemed. You have guided them in your strength to your holy habitation. 14 The peoples have heard. They tremble. Pangs have taken hold of the inhabitants of Philistia. 15 Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed. Trembling takes hold of the mighty men of Moab. All the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. 16 Terror and dread falls on them. By the greatness of your arm they are as still as a stone, until your people pass over, YHWH, until the people you have purchased pass over. 17 You will bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of your inheritance, the place, [YHWH],^{(DSS)(LXX)(SP)} which you have made for yourself to dwell in: the sanctuary, Lord, which your hands have established. 18 YHWH will reign to a hidden time and again.” 19 For the horses of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and YHWH brought back the waters of the sea on them; but the sons of Israel walked on dry land in the middle of the sea. 20 Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dances. 21 Miriam answered them, “Sing to YHWH, for he has triumphed gloriously. He has thrown the horse and his rider into the sea.” 22 Moses led Israel onward from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. 23 When they came to Marah, they couldn’t drink from the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore its name was called Marah. 24 The people murmured against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25 Then he cried to YHWH. YHWH showed him a tree, and he threw it into the waters, and the waters were made sweet. There he made a statute and a judgment for them, and there he tested them. 26 He said, “If you will diligently listen to [the voice of YHWH],^{(DSS)(LXX)(SP)} and will do that which is right in his eyes, and will pay attention to his commandments, and guard all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I am YHWH who heals you.” 27 They came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees. They encamped there by the waters.

Prophets Portion (P)

12:1 In that day you will say, “I will give thanks to you, YHWH; for though you were angry with me, [and]^(LXX) your anger has turned away and you comfort me. 2 Behold, [in]^(DSS) Elohim is my salvation. I will trust, and will not be afraid; for [YHWH],^{(DSS)(LXX)(mss)} is my strength and [my]^(mss)(LXX) song; and he has become my salvation.” 3 Therefore with joy you will draw water out of the wells of salvation. 4 In that day you will say, “Give thanks to YHWH! Call on his name! Declare his doings among the peoples! Proclaim that his name is exalted! 5 Sing to YHWH, for he has done excellent things! Let this be known in all the land! 6 Cry aloud and shout, you inhabitant of Zion, for the Holy One of Israel is great among you!”

Apostolic Portion (A)

Additional Portion (ADD)

Between 1947 and 1956 approximately 15 Jubilees scrolls were found in five caves at Qumran, all written in Hebrew. The large number of manuscripts (more than for any biblical books except for Psalms, Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Exodus, and Genesis, in descending order) indicates that Jubilees was widely used at Qumran. A comparison of the Qumran texts with the Ethiopic version, performed by James VanderKam, found that the Ethiopic was in most respects an accurate and literalistic translation. Scholars have dated Jubilees to have been written sometime around 160-150 B.C.

48:12 And notwithstanding all (these) signs and wonders the prince of the Mastema was not put to shame because he took courage and cried to the Egyptians to pursue after you with all the powers of the Egyptians, with their chariots, and with their horses, and with all the hosts of the peoples of Egypt. 13. And I stood between the Egyptians and Israel, and we delivered Israel out of his hand, and out of the hand of his people, and YHWH brought them through the midst of the sea as if it were dry land. 14. And all the peoples whom he brought to pursue after Israel, YHWH our Elohim cast them into the midst of the sea, into the depths of the abyss beneath the sons of Israel, even as the people of Egypt had cast their children into the river. 4 He took vengeance on 1,000,000 of them, and one thousand strong and energetic men were destroyed on account of one suckling of the children of your people which they had thrown into the river. 15. And on the fourteenth day and on the fifteenth and on the sixteenth and on the seventeenth and on the eighteenth the prince of the Mastema was bound and imprisoned behind the sons of Israel that he might not accuse them. 16. And on the nineteenth we let them loose that they might help the Egyptians and pursue the sons of Israel. 17. And he hardened their hearts and made them stubborn, and the device was devised by YHWH our Elohim that He might smite the Egyptians and cast them into the sea. 18. And on the fourteenth we bound him that he might not accuse the sons of Israel on the day when they asked the Egyptians for vessels and garments, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of bronze, in order to despoil the Egyptians in return for the bondage in which they had forced them to serve. 19. And we did not lead forth the sons of Israel from Egypt empty handed.

Related Scriptures

9:6 You are YHWH, even you alone. You have made the heavens, the heavens of the heavens, with all their army, the land and all things that are on it, the seas and all that is in them, and you preserve them all. The army of the heavens worships you. 7 You are YHWH, the Elohim who chose Abram, brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees, gave him the name of Abraham, 8 found his heart faithful before you, and cut a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite, to give it to his seed, and have performed your words, for you are righteous. 9 “You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heard their cry by the Sea of Reeds, 10 and showed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, against all his servants, and against all the people of his land, for you knew that they dealt proudly against them, and made a name for yourself, as it is today. 11 You divided the sea before them, so that they went through the middle of the sea on the dry land; and you cast their pursuers into the depths, as a stone into the mighty waters. 12 Moreover, in a pillar of cloud you led them by day; and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light in the way in which they should go. 13 “You also came down on Mount Sinai, and spoke with them from the heavens, and gave them right ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments, 14 and made known to them your holy Sabbath, and commanded them commandments, statutes, and a law, by Moses your servant, 15 and gave them bread from the heavens for their hunger, and brought water out of the rock for them for their thirst, and commanded them that they should go in to possess the land which you had sworn to give them. 16 “But they and our fathers behaved proudly, hardened their neck, didn’t listen to your commandments, 17 and refused to obey. They weren’t mindful of your wonders that you did among them, but hardened their neck, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage. But you are an Elohim ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and didn’t forsake them. 18 Yes, when they had made themselves a molded calf, and said, ‘This is your Elohim who brought you up out of Egypt,’ and had committed awful blasphemies, 19 yet you in your manifold mercies didn’t forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud didn’t depart from over them by day, to lead them in the way; neither did the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way in which they should go.

78:1 Hear my teaching, my people. Turn your ears to the words of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth in a parable. I will utter dark sayings of old, 3 which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. 4 We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of YHWH, his strength, and his wondrous deeds that he has done. 5 For he established a covenant in Jacob, and appointed a Torah in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children; 6 that the generation to come might know, even the children who should be born; who should arise and tell their children, 7 that they might set their hope in Elohim, and not forget Elohim’s deeds, but guard his commandments, 8 and might not be as their fathers— a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that didn’t make their hearts loyal, whose spirit was not steadfast with Elohim. 9 The sons of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. 10 They didn’t keep Elohim’s covenant, and refused to walk in his law. 11 They forgot his doings, his wondrous deeds that he had shown them. 12 He did marvelous things in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. 13 He split the sea, and caused them to pass through. He made the waters stand as a heap. 14 In the daytime he also led them with a cloud, and all night with a light of fire.

105:38 Egypt was glad when they departed, for the fear of them had fallen on them. 39 He spread a cloud for a covering, fire to give light in the night. 40 They asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of the heavens. 41 He opened the rock, and waters gushed out. They ran as a river in the dry places. 42 For he remembered his holy word, and Abraham, his servant. 43 He brought his people out with joy, his chosen with singing.

10:1 Now I would not have you ignorant, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 and were all immersed into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 and all ate the same spiritual food; 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Messiah. 5 However with most of them, Elohim was not well pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not covet after evil things as they also coveted. 7 Don’t be idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” 8 Let’s not commit whoring, as some of them committed, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell. 9 Let’s not test Messiah, as some of them tested, and perished by the nachashim. 10 Don’t grumble, as some of them also grumbled, and perished by the destroyer. 11 Now all these things happened to them by way of example, and they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands be careful that he doesn’t fall.

24:5 I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out. 6 I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and you came to the sea. The Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and with horsemen to the Sea of Reeds. 7 When they cried out to YHWH, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea on them, and covered them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. You lived in the wilderness many days.

106:1 Halleluyah! Give thanks to YHWH, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever. 2 Who can utter the mighty acts of YHWH, or fully declare all his praise? 3 Blessed are those who keep justice. Blessed is one who does what is right at all times. 4 Remember me, YHWH, with the favor that you show to your people. Visit me with your salvation, 5 that I may see the prosperity of your chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory with your inheritance. 6 We have sinned with our fathers. We have committed iniquity. We have done wickedly. 7 Our fathers didn’t understand your wonders in Egypt. They didn’t remember the multitude of your loving kindnesses, but were rebellious at the sea, even at the Sea of Reeds. 8 Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make his mighty power known. 9 He rebuked the Sea of Reeds also, and it was dried up; so he led them through the depths, as through a desert. 10 He saved them from the hand of him who hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. 11 The waters covered their adversaries. There was not one of them left. 12 Then they believed his words. They sang his praise. 13 They soon forgot his works. They didn’t wait for his counsel, 14 but gave in to craving in the desert, and tested Elohim in the wasteland. 15 He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul.

6:6 Therefore tell the sons of Israel, ‘I am YHWH, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments. 7 I will take you to myself for a people. I will be your Elohim; and you will know that I am YHWH your Elohim, who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it to you for a heritage: I am YHWH.’ ” 9 Moses spoke so to the sons of Israel, but they didn’t listen to Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.

20:11 behold, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. 12 Our Elohim, will you not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that comes against us. We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” 13 All Judah stood before YHWH, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. 14 Then the spirit of YHWH came on Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite, of the sons of Asaph, in the middle of the assembly; 15 and he said, “Listen, all Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, king Jehoshaphat. YHWH says to you, ‘Don’t be afraid, and don’t be dismayed because of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but Elohim’s.

4:15 YHWH spoke to Joshua, saying, 16 “Command the priests who bear the ark of the witness, that they come up out of the Jordan.” 17 Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, “Come up out of the Jordan!” 18 When the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of YHWH had come up out of the middle of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet had been lifted up to the dry ground, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and went over all its banks, as before. 19 The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, on the east border of Jericho. 20 Joshua set up those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, in Gilgal. 21 He spoke to the sons of Israel, saying, “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 Then you will let your children know, saying, ‘Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. 23 For YHWH your Elohim dried up the waters of the Jordan from before you until you had crossed over, as YHWH your Elohim did to the Sea of Reeds, which he dried up from before us, until we had crossed over, 24 that all the peoples of the land may know that the hand of YHWH is mighty, and that you may fear YHWH your Elohim forever.’ ”

66:1 Make a joyful shout to Elohim, all the land! 2 Sing to the glory of his name! Offer glory and praise! 3 Tell Elohim, “How awesome are your deeds! Through the greatness of your power, your enemies submit themselves to you. 4 All the land will worship you, and will sing to you; they will sing to your name.” Selah. 5 Come, and see Elohim’s deeds— awesome work on behalf of the sons of men. 6 He turned the sea into dry land. They went through the river on foot. There, we rejoiced in him. 7 He rules by his might forever. His eyes watch the nations. Don’t let the rebellious rise up against him. Selah.

114:1 When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of foreign language, 2 Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his dominion. 3 The sea saw it, and fled. The Jordan was driven back. 4 The mountains skipped like rams, the little hills like lambs. 5 What was it, you sea, that you fled? You Jordan, that you turned back? 6 You mountains, that you skipped like rams? You little hills, like lambs? 7 Tremble, you land, at the face of the Lord, at the face of the Elohim of Jacob, 8 who turned the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of waters.

11:29 By faith they passed through the Sea of Reeds as on dry land. When the Egyptians tried to do so, they were swallowed up.

77:11 I will remember Yah’s deeds; for I will remember your wonders of old. 12 I will also meditate on all your work, and consider your doings. 13 Your way, Elohim, is in the sanctuary. What elohim is great like Elohim? 14 You are the Elohim who does wonders. You have made your strength known among the peoples. 15 You have redeemed your people with your arm, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah. 16 The waters saw you, Elohim. The waters saw you, and they writhed. The depths also convulsed. 17 The clouds poured out water. The heavens resounded with thunder. Your arrows also flashed around. 18 The voice of your thunder was in the whirlwind. The lightnings lit up the world. The land trembled and shook. 19 Your way was through the sea, your paths through the great waters. Your footsteps were not known. 20 You led your people like a flock, by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

136:7 to him who made the great lights, for his loving kindness endures forever; 8 the sun to rule by day, for his loving kindness endures forever; 9 the moon and stars to rule by night, for his loving kindness endures forever; 10 to him who struck down the Egyptian firstborn, for his loving kindness endures forever; 11 and brought out Israel from among them, for his loving kindness endures forever; 12 with a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, for his loving kindness endures forever; 13 to him who divided the Sea of Reeds apart, for his loving kindness endures forever; 14 and made Israel to pass through the middle of it, for his loving kindness endures forever; 15 but overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Sea of Reeds, for his loving kindness endures forever; 16 to him who led his people through the wilderness, for his loving kindness endures forever

78:51 and struck all the firstborn in Egypt, the chief of their strength in the tents of Ham. 52 But he led out his own people like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock. 53 He led them safely, so that they weren’t afraid, but the sea overwhelmed their enemies. 54 He brought them to the border of his sanctuary, to this mountain, which his right hand had taken. 55 He also drove out the nations before them, allotted them for an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.

11:1 A shoot will come out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots will bear fruit. 2 The spirit of YHWH will rest on him: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of YHWH. 3 His delight will be in the fear of YHWH. He will not judge by the sight of his eyes, neither decide by the hearing of his ears; 4 but he will judge the poor with righteousness, and decide with equity for the humble of the land. He will strike the land with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips he will kill the wicked. 5 Righteousness will be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his waist. 6 The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, the calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf together; and a little child will lead them. 7 The cow and the bear will graze. Their young ones will lie down together. The lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child will play near a cobra’s hole, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. 9 They will not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the land will be full of the knowledge of YHWH, as the waters cover the sea. 10 It will happen in that day that the nations will seek the root of Jesse, who stands as a banner of the peoples; and his resting place will be glorious. 11 It will happen in that day that the Lord will set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 12 He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the land. 13 The envy also of Ephraim will depart, and those who persecute Judah will be cut off. Ephraim won’t envy Judah, and Judah won’t persecute Ephraim. 14 They will fly down on the shoulders of the Philistines on the west. Together they will plunder the sons of the east. They will extend their power over Edom and Moab, and the sons of Ammon will obey them. 15 YHWH will utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his scorching wind he will wave his hand over the River, and will split it into seven streams, and cause men to march over in sandals. 16 There will be a highway for the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, like there was for Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.

Psalms 118:14 Yah is my strength and song. He has become my salvation. 15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous. “The right hand of YHWH does valiantly. 16 The right hand of YHWH is exalted! The right hand of YHWH does valiantly!” 17 I will not die, but live, and declare Yah’s works.

Isaiah 12:1 In that day you will say, “I will give thanks to you, YHWH; for though you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you comfort me. 2 Behold, Elohim is my salvation. I will trust, and will not be afraid; for Yah, YHWH, is my strength and song; and he has become my salvation.” 3 Therefore with joy you will draw water out of the wells of salvation.

63:7 I will tell of the loving kindnesses of YHWH and the praises of YHWH, according to all that YHWH has given to us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he has given to them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses. 8 For he said, “Surely, they are my people, children who will not deal falsely;” so he became their Savior. 9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his face saved them. In his love and in his pity he redeemed them. He bore them, and carried them all the days of old. 10 But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. Therefore he turned and became their enemy, and he himself fought against them. 11 Then he remembered the days of old, Moses and his people, saying, “Where is he who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? Where is he who put his Holy Spirit among them?” 12 Who caused his glorious arm to be at Moses’ right hand? Who divided the waters before them, to make himself an everlasting name? 13 Who led them through the depths, like a horse in the wilderness, so that they didn’t stumble?

74:1 Elohim, why have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture? 2 Remember your congregation, which you purchased of old, which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your inheritance: Mount Zion, in which you have lived. 3 Lift up your feet to the perpetual ruins, all the evil that the enemy has done in the sanctuary. 4 Your adversaries have roared in the middle of your appointed time. They have set up their standards as signs. 5 They behaved like men wielding axes, cutting through a thicket of trees. 6 Now they break all its carved work down with hatchet and hammers. 7 They have burned your sanctuary to the ground. They have profaned the dwelling place of your Name. 8 They said in their heart, “We will crush them completely.” They have burned up all the places in the land where Elohim was worshiped. 9 We see no miraculous signs. There is no longer any prophet, neither is there among us anyone who knows how long. 10 How long, Elohim, will the adversary reproach? Will the enemy blaspheme your name forever? 11 Why do you draw back your hand, even your right hand? Take it from your chest and consume them! 12 Yet Elohim is my King of old, working salvation throughout the land. 13 You divided the sea by your strength. You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters. 14 You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces. You gave him as food to people and desert creatures. 15 You opened up spring and stream. You dried up mighty rivers.

7:1 After this, I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the land, holding the four winds of the land, so that no wind would blow on the land, or on the sea, or on any tree. 2 I saw another angel ascend from the sunrise, having the seal of the living Elohim. He cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to harm the land and the sea, 3 saying, “Don’t harm the land, the sea, or the trees, until we have sealed the bondservants of our Elohim on their foreheads!” 4 I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the sons of Israel: 5 of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed, of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand, 6 of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand, 7 of the tribe of Shimon twelve thousand, of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand, 8 of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, and of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed. 9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could count, out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands. 10 They cried with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation be to our Elohim, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 All the angels were standing around the throne, the elders, and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before his throne, and did bow down to Elohim, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might, be to our Elohim forever and ever! Amen.” 13 One of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are arrayed in the white robes, who are they, and where did they come from?” 14 I told him, “My lord, you know.” He said to me, “These are those who came out of the great suffering. They washed their robes and made them white in the Lamb’s blood. 15 Therefore they are before the throne of Elohim, and they serve him day and night in his temple. He who sits on the throne will spread his tabernacle over them. 16 They will never be hungry or thirsty any more. The sun won’t beat on them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb who is in the middle of the throne shepherds them and leads them to springs of life-giving waters. And Elohim will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Additional Readings​

The Book of Judith relates the story of God’s deliverance of the Jewish people. This was accomplished “by the hand of a female”—a constant motif meant to recall the “hand” of God in the Exodus narrative. The work may have been written around 100 B.C., but its historical range is extraordinary.

5:10 Then they went down into Egypt, for a famine covered all the land of Canaan. They sojourned there until they had grown up. They became a great multitude there, so that one could not count the population of their nation. 11 Then the king of Egypt rose up against them, and dealt subtly with them, and brought them low, making them labor in brick, and made them slaves. 12 They cried to their Elohim, and he struck all the land of Egypt with incurable plagues; so the Egyptians cast them out of their sight. 13 Elohim dried up the Sea of Reeds before them.

The Wisdom of Solomon or Book of Wisdom is a Jewish work, written in Greek, and most likely composed in Alexandria, Egypt. Generally dated to the mid first century B.C. It is uncertain whether the book has a single author or comes from a school of writers, but recent scholarship has favored regarding it as a unified work. Fragments of the Wisdom of Solomon were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls in the first discovered and excavated cave at Qumran in 1949.

10:15 Wisdom delivered a holy people and a blameless seed from a nation of oppressors. 16 She entered into the soul of a servant of the Lord, and withstood terrible kings in wonders and signs. 17 She rendered to holy men a reward of their toils. She guided them along a marvelous way, and became to them a covering in the day-time, and a starry flame through the night. 18 She brought them over the Sea of Reeds, and led them through much water; 19 but she drowned their enemies, and she cast them up from the bottom of the deep. 20 Therefore the righteous plundered the impious, and they sang praise to your holy name, O Lord, and extolled with one accord your hand that fought for them, 21 because wisdom opened the mouth of the mute, and made the tongues of babes to speak clearly.

19:1 But indignation without mercy came upon the impious to the end; for Elohim also foreknew their future, 2 how, having changed their minds to let your people go, and having sped them eagerly on their way, they would change their minds and pursue them. 3 For while they were yet in the midst of their mourning, and lamenting at the graves of the dead, they made another foolish decision, and pursued as fugitives those whom they had begged to leave and driven out. 4 For the doom which they deserved was drawing them to this end, and it made them forget the things that had happened to them, that they might fill up the punishment which was yet lacking from their torments, 5 and that your people might journey on by a marvelous road, but they themselves might find a strange death. 6 For the whole creation, each part in its diverse kind, was made new again, complying with your commandments, that your servants might be kept unharmed. 7 Then the cloud that overshadowed the camp was seen, and dry land rising up out of what had been water, out of the Sea of Reeds an unhindered highway, and a grassy plain out of the violent surge, 8 by which they passed over with all their army, these who were covered with your hand, having seen strange marvels. 9 For like horses they roamed at large, and they skipped about like lambs, praising you, O Lord, who was their deliverer. 10 For they still remembered the things that happened in the time of their sojourning, how instead of bearing cattle, the land brought forth lice, and instead of fish, the river spewed out a multitude of frogs.

4:5 Gorgias came into the camp of Judas by night and found no man. He sought them in the mountains; for he said, “These men are running away from us.” 6 As soon as it was day, Judas appeared in the plain with three thousand men. However they didn’t have the armor and swords they desired. 7 They saw the camp of the Nations strong and fortified, with cavalry all around it; and these were expert in war. 8 Judas said to the men who were with him, “Don’t be afraid of their multitude, or when they charge. 9 Remember how our fathers were saved in the Sea of Reeds, when Pharaoh pursued them with an army. 10 Now let’s cry to the heavens, if he will have us, and will remember the covenant of our fathers, and destroy this army before our face today. 11 Then all the Nations will know that there is one who redeems and saves Israel.

Col. 21 I went to all my old campsites until I reached Bethel, the place where I once built an altar, and then I built another one and offered up burnt offerings and a grain offerings to the Elohim of Most High, and invoked the name of the Lord of the Universe there. I praised Elohim’s name and blessed elohim and gave thanks to Him there for all the flocks and goods and wealth which he has given me, for the good he has done for me, and because He had returned me to this land safely. After this day, Lot left me on the account of our shepherd’s behavior. He went to live in the Valley of Jordan taking all his flocks with him. And I also added greatly to what he had. he pastured his flock and kept moving until he reached Sodom and bought a house there, while I still lived in the mountain of Bethel. It bothered me that Lot and I had separated. Elohim came to me in a dream and said to me: Go up to Ramat Hazor which is north of Bethel, the place you are living now, and look to the east, west, south and to the north. Look at the land which I am giving you and your descendants forever. The next morning I went up to Ramat Hazor and looked at the land from that height, from the river of Egypt up to Lebanon and Senir, and from the Great Sea up to Hauran, and all the land of Gebel to Qadesh, and all the Great Desert, as far as the Euphrates and he said to me: I will give all this land to your descendants; and they will inherit it forever. I will multiply your descendants like the dust of the land that none can count. Your descendants will be numberless. Arise, walk about, go see how long and how wide it is, for I will give it to you and to your descendants after you, forever. Then I, Abraham, went out traveling in a circuit to survey the land. I began the circuit at the Gihon River, I went along the Mediterranean Sea until I reached the Mountain of the Bull (Taurus). I circled from the coast of this great river saltwater sea, skirting the Mount of the Bull, and continued eastward through the breadth of the and until I came to the Euphrates river. I traveled along the side of the Euphrates until I reached the Red Sea toward the east. I continued going along the side of the Red Sea until I reached the inlet (lit. ‘tongue’) of the Sea of Reeds which emerges from the Red Sea. From there I completed the circuit, moving southward to arrive at Gihon River. Then I returned home safely and found all is well with my men. Then I went and settled next to the oaks of Mamre, which is northeast of Hebron. There I built an altar and offered up burnt offering and a grain offering to the Elohim Most High. I ate and drank there, I and all the men of my household, and invited Mamre, Arnem, and Eshkol, three Amorite brothers and my friends. They ate and drank together with me.

Enoch 76:1 And at the ends of the land I saw twelve portals open to all the quarters (of the heavens), from which the winds go forth and blow over the land. 2. Three of them are open on the face (i.e. the east) of the heavens, and three in the west, and three on the right (i.e. the south) of the heavens, and three on the left (i.e. the north). 3. And the three first are those of the east, and three are of †the north, and three [after those on the left] of the south†, and three of the west. 4. Through four of these come winds of blessing and prosperity, and from those eight come hurtful winds: when they are sent, they bring destruction on all the land and on the water upon it, and on all who dwell thereon, and on everything which is in the water and on the land. 5. And the first wind from those portals, called the east wind, comes forth through the first portal which is in the east, inclining towards the south: from it come forth desolation, drought, heat, and destruction. 6. And through the second portal in the middle comes what is fitting, and from it there come rain and fruitfulness and prosperity and dew; and through the third portal which lies toward the north come cold and drought. 7. And after these come forth the south winds through three portals: through the first portal of them inclining to the east comes forth a hot wind. 8. And through the middle portal next to it there come forth fragrant smells, and dew and rain, and prosperity and health. 9. And through the third portal lying to the west come forth dew and rain, locusts and desolation. 10. And after these the north winds: from the seventh portal in the east come dew and rain, locusts and desolation. 11. And from the middle portal come in a direct direction health and rain and dew and prosperity; and through the third portal in the west come cloud and hoar-frost, and snow and rain, and dew and locusts. 12. And after these [four] are the west winds: through the first portal adjoining the north come forth dew and hoar-frost, and cold and snow and frost. And from the middle portal come forth dew and rain, and prosperity and blessing; and through the last portal which adjoins the south come forth drought and desolation, and burning and destruction. 14. And the twelve portals of the four quarters of the heavens are therewith completed, and all their laws and all their plagues and all their benefactions have I shown to thee, my son Methuselah.

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Josephus was born Joseph ben Mattathias in 37 AD in Jerusalem of a priestly and royal family. He excelled in his studies of Jewish law and studied with the Sadducees, Pharisees, and the Essenes, eventually aligning himself with the Pharisees. In 62 AD he went to Rome to free some imprisoned priests. After accomplishing this mission through the intercession of Nero’s wife, Poppaea, he returned to Jerusalem in 65 AD to find the country in revolt against Rome. Josephus shrewdly reinterpreted the Messianic prophecies. He predicted that Vespasian would become the ruler of the ‘entire world’. His prophecy became true in 68 AD when Nero committed suicide and Vespasian became Ceasar. As a result, Josephus was freed; he moved to Rome and became a Roman citizen, taking the Vespasian family name Flavius. Vespasian commissioned Josephus to write a history of the war, which he finished in 78 AD, the Jewish War. His second major work, the Antiquities of the Jews, was completed in 93 AD. The extant manuscripts of the book Antiquities of the Jews contain two references to Yeshua of Nazareth (18.3.3. and 20.9.1.) and one reference to the imprisonment and death of John the Baptist (18.5.2.).

2.15.3. But the Egyptians soon repented that the Hebrews were gone; and the king also was mightily concerned that this had been procured by the magic arts of Moses; so they resolved to go after them. Accordingly they took their weapons, and other warlike furniture, and pursued after them, in order to bring them back, if once they overtook them, because they would now have no pretense to pray to Elohim against them, since they had already been permitted to go out; and they thought they should easily overcome them, as they had no armor, and would be weary with their journey; so they made haste in their pursuit, and asked of every one they met which way they were gone. And indeed that land was difficult to be traveled over, not only by armies, but by single persons. Now Moses led the Hebrews this way, that in case the Egyptians should repent and be desirous to pursue after them, they might undergo the punishment of their wickedness, and of the breach of those promises they had made to them. As also he led them this way on account of the Philistines, who had quarreled with them, and hated them of old, that by all means they might not know of their departure, for their country is near to that of Egypt; and thence it was that Moses led them not along the road that tended to the land of the Philistines, but he was desirous that they should go through the desert, that so after a long journey, and after many afflictions, they might enter upon the land of Canaan. Another reason of this was, that Elohim commanded him to bring the people to Mount Sinai, that there they might offer him slaughters. Now when the Egyptians had overtaken the Hebrews, they prepared to fight them, and by their multitude they drove them into a narrow place; for the number that pursued after them was six hundred chariots, with fifty thousand horsemen, and two hundred thousand foot-men, all armed. They also seized on the passages by which they imagined the Hebrews might fly, shutting them up between inaccessible precipices and the sea; for there was [on each side] a [ridge of] mountains that terminated at the sea, which were impassable by reason of their roughness, and obstructed their flight; wherefore they there pressed upon the Hebrews with their army, where [the ridges of] the mountains were closed with the sea; which army they placed at the chops of the mountains, that so they might deprive them of any passage into the plain.

2.15.4. When the Hebrews, therefore, were neither able to bear up, being thus, as it were, besieged, because they wanted provisions, nor saw any possible way of escaping; and if they should have thought of fighting, they had no weapons; they expected a universal destruction, unless they delivered themselves up to the Egyptians. So they laid the blame on Moses, and forgot all the signs that had been wrought by Elohim for the recovery of their freedom; and this so far, that their incredulity prompted them to throw stones at the prophet, while he encouraged them and promised them deliverance; and they resolved that they would deliver themselves up to the Egyptians. So there was sorrow and lamentation among the women and children, who had nothing but destruction before their eyes, while they were encompassed with mountains, the sea, and their enemies, and discerned no way of flying from them.

2.15.5. But Moses, though the multitude looked fiercely at him, did not, however, give over the care of them, but despised all dangers, out of his trust in Elohim, who, as he had afforded them the several steps already taken for the recovery of their liberty, which he had foretold them, would not now suffer them to be subdued by their enemies, to be either made slaves or be slain by them; and, standing in midst of them, he said, “It is not just of us to distrust even men, when they have hitherto well managed our affairs, as if they would not be the same hereafter; but it is no better than madness, at this time to despair of the providence of Elohim, by whose power all those things have been performed he promised, when you expected no such things: I mean all that I have been concerned in for deliverance and escape from slavery. Nay, when we are in the utmost distress, as you see we ought rather to hope that Elohim will succor us, by whose operation it is that we are now this narrow place, that he may out of such difficulties as are otherwise insurmountable and out of which neither you nor your enemies expect you can be delivered, and may at once demonstrate his own power and his providence over us. Nor does Elohim use to give his help in small difficulties to those whom he favors, but in such cases where no one can see how any hope in man can better their condition. Depend, therefore, upon such a Protector as is able to make small things great, and to show that this mighty force against you is nothing but weakness, and be not affrighted at the Egyptian army, nor do you despair of being preserved, because the sea before, and the mountains behind, afford you no opportunity for flying, for even these mountains, if Elohim so please, may be made plain ground for you, and the sea become dry land.”

2.16.1. When Moses had said this, he led them to the sea, while the Egyptians looked on; for they were within sight. Now these were so distressed by the toil of their pursuit, that they thought proper to put off fighting till the next day. But when Moses was come to the sea-shore, he took his rod, and made supplication to Elohim, and called upon him to be their helper and assistant; and said “Thou art not ignorant, O Lord, that it is beyond human strength and human contrivance to avoid the difficulties we are now under; but it must be thy work altogether to procure deliverance to this army, which has left Egypt at thy appointment. We despair of any other assistance or contrivance, and have recourse only to that hope we have in thee; and if there be any method that can promise us an escape by thy providence, we look up to thee for it. And let it come quickly, and manifest thy power to us; and do thou raise up this people unto good courage and hope of deliverance, who are deeply sunk into a disconsolate state of mind. We are in a helpless place, but still it is a place that thou possessest; still the sea is thine, the mountains also that enclose us are thine; so that these mountains will open themselves if thou commandest them, and the sea also, if thou commandest it, will become dry land. Nay, we might escape by a flight through the air, if thou shouldst determine we should have that way of salvation.”

2.16.2. When Moses had thus addressed himself to Elohim, he smote the sea with his rod, which parted asunder at the plague, and receiving those waters into itself, left the ground dry, as a road and a place of flight the Hebrews. Now when Moses saw this appearance of Elohim, and that the sea went out of its own place, and left dry land, he went first of all into it, and bid the Hebrews to follow him along that divine road, and to rejoice at the danger their enemies that followed them were in; and gave thanks to Elohim for this so surprising a deliverance which appeared from him.

2.16.3. Now, while these Hebrews made no stay, but went on earnestly, as led by Elohim’s face with them, the Egyptians supposed first that they were distracted, and were going rashly upon manifest destruction. But when they saw that they were going a great way without any harm, and that no obstacle or difficulty fell in their journey, they made haste to pursue them, hoping that the sea would be calm for them also. They put their horse foremost, and went down themselves into the sea. Now the Hebrews, while these were putting on their armor, and therein spending their time, were beforehand with them, and escaped them, and got first over to the land on the other side without any hurt. Whence the others were encouraged, and more courageously pursued them, as hoping no harm would come to them neither: but the Egyptians were not aware that they went into a road made for the Hebrews, and not for others; that this road was made for the deliverance of those in danger, but not for those that were earnest to make use of it for the others’ destruction. As soon, therefore, as ever the whole Egyptian army was within it, the sea flowed to its own place, and came down with a torrent raised by storms of wind, and encompassed the Egyptians. Showers of rain also came down from the heavens, and dreadful thunders and lightning, with flashes of fire. Thunderbolts also were darted upon them. Nor was there any thing which used to be sent by Elohim upon men, as indications of his wrath, which did not happen at this time, for a dark and dismal night oppressed them. And thus did all these men perish, so that there was not one man left to be a messenger of this calamity to the rest of the Egyptians.

2.16.4. But the Hebrews were not able to contain themselves for joy at their wonderful deliverance, and destruction of their enemies; now indeed supposing themselves firmly delivered, when those that would have forced them into slavery were destroyed, and when they found they had Elohim so evidently for their protector. And now these Hebrews having escaped the danger they were in, after this manner, and besides that, seeing their enemies punished in such a way as is never recorded of any other men whomsoever, were all the night employed in singing of hymns, and in mirth.

2.16.5. As for myself, I have delivered every part of this history as I found it in the sacred books; nor let any one wonder at the strangeness of the narration if a way were discovered to those men of old time, who were free from the wickedness of the modern ages, whether it happened by the will of Elohim or whether it happened of its own accord;—while, for the sake of those that accompanied Alexander, king of Macedonia, who yet lived, comparatively but a little while ago, the Pamphylian Sea retired and afforded them a passage through itself, had no other way to go; I mean, when it was the will of Elohim to destroy the monarchy of the Persians: and this is confessed to be true by all that have written about the actions of Alexander. But as to these events, let every one determine as he pleases.

2.16.6. On the next day Moses gathered together the weapons of the Egyptians, which were brought to the camp of the Hebrews by the current of the sea, and the force of the winds resisting it; and he conjectured that this also happened by Divine Providence, that so they might not be destitute of weapons. So when he had ordered the Hebrews to arm themselves with them, he led them to Mount Sinai, in order to offer slaughter to Elohim, and to render oblations for the salvation of the multitude, as he was charged to do beforehand.