The Song of the Sea

"Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD… I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation."

The song retells the night: "With the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap." The enemy boasted, "I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil"; "thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters."

"Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?"

Then the song looks forward: the nations of Philistia, Edom, Moab and Canaan will tremble, "till thy people pass over, O LORD," and God will plant them "in the mountain of thine inheritance… the Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established. The LORD shall reign for ever and ever."

"And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea."

One of the oldest poems in the Bible

Many scholars, including Frank Moore Cross and David Noel Freedman, judged the Song of the Sea to be among the oldest compositions in the Hebrew Bible, perhaps from the 12th or 11th century BC. Its Hebrew uses archaic grammar and spelling found in early poetry, and it closely resembles the Song of Deborah (Judges 5). Others date it later, noting the reference to a sanctuary. Even later dates make it very early Israelite poetry.

Women's victory songs

Women greeting a victory with frame drums and dancing is a well-attested custom: Jephthah's daughter (Judges 11:34), the women who sang of Saul and David (1 Samuel 18:6). Clay figurines of women holding frame drums are common finds in Iron Age Israel and Phoenicia. Miriam leads as a prophetess, the first woman given that title in the Bible.

A longer Song of Miriam

Exodus records only one line of Miriam's song. A Dead Sea Scroll known as 4Q365 ("Reworked Pentateuch"), copied around 75–50 BC, inserts several more lines after Exodus 15:21, including "You are great, a deliverer… the hope of the enemy has perished… Extol the one who raises up, who gives triumph." Scholars debate whether this is an ancient tradition or an expansion composed to fill the gap. It shows that Jewish scribes were interested in Miriam's song long before the time of Jesus.