Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 15:27
And they came to Elim, where [were] twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.
27. Elim ] i.e. Terebinths, or perhaps Sacred trees in general (the word is quite possibly derived from ’l, ‘god’), supposed by the common people to be inhabited by a deity, and venerated accordingly. When a tree or grove of trees is specially mentioned in the OT., a sacred tree, or grove, is often meant (cf. Isa 1:29): e.g. Gen 12:6 (see the writer’s note ad loc.), Exo 35:4; Exo 35:8, Jdg 9:6; Jdg 9:37: see further Nature-Worship, 2, 3, in EB. To the present day Palestine abounds in trees, esp. oaks, supposed to be ‘inhabited,’ or haunted by spirits ( jinn); and the superstitious peasants hang rags upon them as tokens of homage ( L. and B. ii. 104, 171 f., 222, 474).
Elim has been usually, since Burckhardt (p. 473 f.), identified with some spot in the Wady Gharandel 1 [155] , a valley running down from the mountains about 7 miles SE. of Hawwrah, and forming a grateful contrast to the 54 miles of arid wilderness, which the traveller has passed through since leaving ‘Ayn Ms. Two miles below the point at which the route by Hawwrah enters the valley, there are springs which form the usual watering-place for caravans passing along this route: lower down, as the valley comes within 2 or 3 miles of the coast, ‘water rises in considerable volume to the surface, and nurtures a charming oasis,’ in which waterfowl and other birds are abundant, and there are ‘thickets of palms and tamarisks, beds of reeds and bulrushes, with a gurgling brook and pools’ ( Ordn. Survey, p. 75): the thorny shrub called Gharkhad, with a juicy and refreshing berry, of which the Arabs are very fond, is also frequent in it (Burckh. l.c.; cf. Rob. i. 68 f.). The identification must not however be regarded as certain: there is no similarity of name to support it; and as Di. remarks, if the passage of the Israelites took place either through, or N. of, the Bitter Lakes, Elim would be more suitably located at ‘Ayn Ms.
[155] The identification seems really to have been made as early as the 6th cent.: for the Sarandula visited by Antoninus (Anton. Itinerarium, ed. Gildemeister, 1889, 41), at about 570 a.d., can hardly be any other place.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Elim – The valley of Gharandel, two hours journey south of Huwara.
Twelve wells – Read springs; the Hebrew denotes natural sources. These springs may have been perennial when a richer vegetation clothed the adjacent heights.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 27. They came to Elim] This was in the desert of Sin, and, according to Dr. Shaw, about two leagues from Tor, and thirty from Marah or Corondel.
Twelve wells of water] One for each of the tribes of Israel, say the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem.
And threescore and ten palm trees] One for each of the seventy elders.-Ibid.
Dr. Shaw found nine of the twelve wells, the other three having been choked up with sand; and the seventy palm trees multiplied into more than 2000, the dates of which bring a considerable revenue to the Greek monks at Tor. See his account at the end of this book, See Clarke on Ex 40:38. and see also the map. Thus sufficient evidence of the authenticity of this part of the sacred history remains, after the lapse of more than 3000 years.
IN the preceding notes the reader has been referred to Dr. Kennicott’s translation and arrangement of the song of Moses. To this translation he prefixes the following observations: –
“This triumphant ode was sung by Moses and the sons of Israel: and the women, headed by Miriam, answered the men by repeating the two first lines of the song, altering only the first word, which two lines were probably sung more than once as a chorus.
“The conclusion of this ode seems very manifest; and yet, though the ancient Jews had sense enough to write this song differently from prose; and though their authority has prevailed even, to this day in this and three other poems in the Old Testament, (De 32:1-43; Jdg 5:1-31; 2Sa 22:1-51), still expressed by them as poetry; yet have these critics carried their ideas of the song here to the end of Ex 15:19. The reason why the same has been done by others probably is, they thought that the particle for, which begins Ex 15:19, necessarily connected it with the preceding poetry. But this difficulty is removed by translating when, especially if we take Ex 15:19-21 as being a prose explanation of the manner in which this song of triumph was performed. For these three verses say that the men singers were answered in the chorus by Miriam and the women, accompanying their words with musical instruments. ‘When the horse of Pharaoh had gone into the sea, and the Lord had brought the sea upon them; and Israel had passed, on dry land, in the midst of the sea; then Miriam took a timbrel, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and dances; and Miriam (with the women) answered them ( lahem, the men, by way of chorus) in the words, O sing ye, c.’ That this chorus was sung more than once is thus stated by Bishop Lowth: Maria, cum mulieribus, virorum choro IDENTIDEM succinebat. – Praelect. 19.
“I shall now give what appears to me to be an exact translation of this whole song: –
MOSES. Part I
1. I will sing to JEHOVAH, for he hath triumphed
gloriously
The horse and his rider hath he thrown into
the sea.
2. My strength and my song is JEHOVAH;
And he is become to me for salvation:
This is my God, and I will celebrate him;
The God of my father, and I will exalt him.
3. Jehovah is mighty in Perhaps a
battle! – chorus sung
Jehovah is his name! by the men.
Chorus, by Miriam and the women.
Perhaps sung first in this place.
O sing ye to Jehovah, for he hath triumphed
gloriously:
The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the
sea.
MOSES. Part II
4. Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath he
cast into the sea;
And his chosen captains are drowned in the
Red Sea.
5. The depths have covered them, they went
down;
(They sank) to the bottom as a stone.
6. Thy right hand, Jehovah, is become glorious
in power;
Thy right hand, Jehovah, dasheth in pieces
the enemy.
7. And in the greatness of thine excellence
thou overthrowest them that rise against
thee.
Thou sendest forth thy wrath, which consumeth
them as stubble.
8. Even at the blast of thy displeasure the
waters are gathered together;
The floods stand upright as a heap,
Congealed are the depths in the very heart
of the sea.
O sing ye to JEHOVAH, c. Chorus by the
women.
MOSES. Part III
9. The enemy said: ‘I will pursue, I shall
overtake
I shall divide the spoil, my soul shall be
satiated with them;
I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy
them.’
10. Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea
covered them;
They sank as lead in the mighty waters.
11. Who is like thee among the gods, O
JEHOVAH?
Who is like thee, glorious in holiness!
12. Fearful in praises; performing wonders!
Thou stretchest out thy right hand, the
earth swalloweth them!
13. Thou in thy mercy leadest the people whom
thou hast redeemed;
Thou in thy strength guidest to the
habitation of thy holiness!
O sing ye to JEHOVAH, c. Chorus by the
women.
MOSES. Part IV
14. The nations have heard, and are afraid
Sorrow hath seized the inhabitants of
Palestine.
15. Already are the dukes of Edom in
consternation,
And the mighty men of Moab, trembling
hath seized them;
All the inhabitants of Canaan do faint
16. Fear and dread shall fall upon them;
Through the greatness of thine arm they
shall be still as a stone.
17. Till thy people, JEHOVAH, pass over
[Jordan;]
Till the people pass over whom thou hast
redeemed.
18. Thou shalt bring them and plant them in
the mount of thine inheritance:
The place for thy rest which thou, JEHOVAH,
hast made;
The sanctuary, JEHOVAH, which thy hands
have established.
Grand chorus by ALL.
JEHOVAH FOR EVER AND EVER SHALL REIGN.”
1. When poetry is consecrated to the service of God, and employed as above to commemorate his marvellous acts, it then becomes a very useful handmaid to piety, and God is honoured by his gifts. God inspired the song of Moses, and perhaps from this very circumstance it has passed for current among the most polished of the heathen nations, that a poet is a person Divinely inspired; and hence the epithet of , prophet, and vates, of the same import, was given them among the Greeks and Romans.
2. The song of Moses is a proof of the miraculous passage of the Israelites through the Red Sea. There has been no period since the Hebrew nation left Egypt in which this song was not found among them, as composed on that occasion, and to commemorate that event. It may be therefore considered as completely authentic as any living witness could be who had himself passed through the Red Sea, and whose life had been protracted through all the intervening ages to the present day.
3. We have already seen that it is a song of triumph for the deliverance of the people of God, and that it was intended to point out the final salvation and triumph of the whole Church of Christ; so that in the heaven of heavens the redeemed of the Lord, both among the Jews and the Gentiles, shall unite together to sing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. See Re 15:2-4. Reader, implore the mercy of God to enable thee to make thy calling and election sure, that thou mayest bear thy part in this glorious and eternal triumph.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Palm trees were both pleasant for their shade, and refreshing for their sweet fruit. Thus the Israelites are obliged and encouraged to the obedience commanded, by being put into better circumstances than they were under in their last station.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
27. they came to Elim, where weretwelve wells of watersupposed to be what is now calledWady-Ghurandel, the most extensive watercourse in the westerndesertan oasis, adorned with a great variety of trees, among whichthe palm is still conspicuous, and fertilized by a copious stream. Itis estimated to be a mile in breadth, but stretching out far to thenortheast. After the weary travel through the desert, this must haveappeared a most delightful encampment from its shade and verdure, aswell as from its abundant supply of sweet water for the thirstymultitude. The palm is called “the tree of the desert,” asits presence is always a sign of water. The palms in this spot aregreatly increased in number, but the wells are diminished.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And they came to Elim,…. On the twenty fifth of Nisan; for, according to Aben Ezra, they stayed but one day at Marah. Elim, as a late traveller r says, was upon the northern skirts of the desert of Sin, two leagues from Tor, and near thirty from Corondel; according to Bunting s it was eight miles from Marah:
where were twelve wells of water, and seventy palm trees; and so a very convenient, commodious, and comfortable place to abide at for a time, since here was plenty of water for themselves and cattle, and shady trees to sit under by turns; for as for the fruit of them, that was not ripe at this time of the year, as Aben Ezra observes. Thevenot t seems to confound the waters here with the waters of Marah; for he says, the garden of the monks of Tor is the place which in holy Scripture is called Elim, where were sventy palm trees and twelve wells of bitter water; these wells, adds he, are still in being, being near one another, and most of them within the precinct of the garden, the rest are pretty near; they are all hot, and are returned again to their first bitterness; for I tasted says he, of one of them, where people bathe themselves, which by the Arabs is called Hammam Mouse, i.e. the “bath of Moses”; it is in a little dark cave: there is nothing in that garden but abundance of palm trees, which yield some rent to the monks, but the seventy old palm trees are not there now. This does not agree with an observation of the afore mentioned Jewish writer, that palm trees will not flourish in the ground where the waters are bitter; though they delight in watery places, as Pliny u says; and yet Leo Africanus w asserts, that in Numidia the dates (the fruit of palm trees) are best in a time of drought. A later traveller x tells us, he saw no more than nine of the twelve wells that are mentioned by Moses, the other three being filled up by those drifts of sand which are common in Arabia; yet this loss is amply made up by the great increase in the palm trees, the seventy having propagated themselves into more than 2000; under the shade of these trees is the Hammam Mouse, or “bath of Moses”, particularly so called, which the inhabitants of Tor have in great veneration, acquainting us that it was here where the household of Moses was encamped. Dr. Pocock takes Elim to be the same with Corondel; about four hours or ten miles south of Marah, he says, is the winter torrent of Corondel in a very narrow valley, full of tamarisk trees, where there is tolerable water about half a mile west of the road; beyond this, he says, about half an hour, or little more than a mile, is a winter torrent called Dieh-Salmeh; and about an hour or two further, i.e. about three or four miles, is the valley or torrent of Wousset, where there are several springs of water that are a little salt; and he thinks that one of them, but rather Corondel, is Elim, because it is said afterwards,
they removed from Elim, and encamped at the Red sea; and the way to Corondel, to go to the valley of Baharum, is part of it near the sea, where he was informed there was good water, and so probably the Israelites encamped there; and Dr. Clayton y is of the same mind, induced by the argument he uses: a certain traveller z, in the beginning of the sixteenth century, tells us, that indeed the wells remain unto this day, but that there is not one palm tree, only some few low shrubs; but he could never have been at the right place, or must say a falsehood, since later travellers, who are to be depended upon, say the reverse, as the above quotations show. As to the mystical application of this passage, the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem make the twelve fountains answerable to the twelve tribes of Israel, and seventy palm trees to the seventy elders of the sanhedrim; and so Jarchi: and more evangelically the twelve fountains of water may denote the abundance of grace in Christ, in whom are the wells of salvation, and the sufficiency of it for all his people; and which the doctrine of the Gospel, delivered by his twelve apostles, discovers and reveals, and leads and directs souls unto; and the seventy palm trees may lead us to think of the seventy disciples sent out by Christ, and all other ministers of the word, who for their uprightness, fruitfulness, and usefulness, may be compared to palm trees, as good men in Scripture are, see Ps 92:12,
and they encamped there by the waters; where they stayed, as Aben Ezra thinks, twenty days, since, in the first verse of the following chapter, they are said to come to the wilderness of Sin on the fifteenth day of the second month; here being everything agreeable to them for the refreshment of themselves and cattle, they pitched their tents and abode a while; as it is right in a spiritual sense for the people of God to abide by his word and ordinances.
r Shaw, ut supra. (Travels, p. 314.) s Travels, p. 82. t Travels into the Levant, B. 2. ch. 26. p. 166. u Nat. Hist. l. 13. c. 4. w Descriptio Africae, l. 1. p. 82. x Dr. Shaw, ut supra. (r) y Chronolgy of the Hebrew Bible, p. 296, 297. z Baumgarten. Peregrinatio, l. 1. c. 21. p. 44.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Verse 27:
“Elim” is thought by some to be the modern “Ghurundel.” Many springs of water may be found there, along with tamarisks, and palm trees. Here Israel camped for an unspecified time.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
27. And they came to Elim. Moses here relates that a more pleasant station was granted to the people, when they were led to a well-watered spot, even planted with palm-trees, which do not usually grow in a dry soil. But we learn from what precedes, that this was a concession to their infirmity, because they had borne their thirst so impatiently.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(27) Elimthe next stage to Marah, where there were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm treesseems to be rightly identified with the Wady Ghurundel in which abundant grass grows thick and high, where acacias and tamarisks are plentiful, and in which, notwithstanding the ruthless denudation of the country by the Arabs, there are still a certain number of palm-trees. These are not now seventy in number, neither are they the ideal palm-trees of pictures, or even such as grow in the Valley of the Nile and in Upper Egypt generally. They are either dwarfthat is, trunklessor else with savage hairy trunks, and branches all dishevelled (Stanley: Sinai and Palestine, p. 68)specimens of the palm-tree growing under difficulties. The exact number of twelve wells, which is mentioned in the text, cannot now be traced with any distinctness; but there is a perennial brook which supports the vegetation through the whole of the year, and in the winter-time there is a large stream which flows down to the sea through the wady.(Niebuhr: Description de lArabie, p. 347.)
They encamped there.The head-quarters of the camp were at Elim (Wady Ghurundel); probably the mass of the people filled all the neighbouring wadys, as those of Useit, Ethal, and Tayibeh, or Shuweikah, which are all fertile, and have good pasturage.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
27. Elim Trees. Here were palm trees and waters, or springs, around which they encamped, (rested and refreshed themselves,) probably for from two to three weeks, since it was just a month from the time of their leaving Rameses that they broke up from Elim . Exo 16:1. As the next encampment was “by the Red Sea,” according to the itinerary in Numbers xxxiii, which gives a fuller catalogue of the stations, it is plain that Elim took them back from the shore, within sight of which they had been moving . Just below Hawwarah, and surrounding three sides of Jebel ( Mount) Hammam, there are several fertile wadies, through and across which their route now led them, which perfectly met their requirement. Jebel Hammam is a bare, picturesque cliff of flinty limestone, warm sulphur springs rising from its northern base, which comes down to the Sea in steep bluffs five miles long, thus cutting off the plain already described as the “Wilderness of Shur,” and compelling caravans from Suez to go round and over its northern shoulder in order to reach the plain which skirts the Sea below the Mount, and which we suppose to be the “Desert of Sin.” Exo 16:1. The Israelites were probably spread through all these wadies around Mount Hammam, while the headquarters of the host were encamped where there were wells corresponding in number to the tribes, and where there was a grove of palms corresponding to the tribal families the Wady Gharandel . Gharandel is the principal halting place and the most fertile spot between Suez and Sinai; Wady Feiran alone comparing with it in richness and loveliness . It is in some places nearly a mile broad, its running brook fringed with trees, while water can be anywhere found by digging a little depth . “Here are the wild palms,” says Stanley, “successors of the threescore and ten. Not like those of Egypt or of pictures, but either dwarf, that is, trunkless, or else with savage, hairy trunks, and branches all dishevelled. Then there are the feathery tamarisks, here assuming gnarled boughs and hoary heads; the wild acacia; a tangled, spreading tree, which shoots out its gay foliage and blue blossoms over the desert.” Sinai and Pal., p. 65. Here, too, the bright green grass is most refreshing to the eye wearied by the hot, white desert, but it is coarse and rough to the touch. Tischendorf says, “This is a glorious oasis enclosed like a jewel between the chalky cliffs. We reposed for a long time in the grass, which was as tall as ourselves; tamarisks and dwarf palms stretched like a garland from east to west.” (Quoted by Kurtz.)
The wadies which succeed Gharandel resemble it somewhat in character, but are much inferior in fertility, although Useit once surpassed it in its palm-grove. Through these valleys we suppose the Israelitish camp to have spread, round the northern shoulder of Jebel Hammam, perhaps into Wady Taiyebeh, a beautiful valley, winding between steep cliffs of red sandstone, flinty chalk, and variegated conglomerates, down to the plain el Murkha, which skirts the Sea. When they left Elim they encamped at the mouth of the wady, and scattered along this plain, “by the Red Sea.”
Num 33:10. As they descended the mountain pass, between the high steep walls, then as now curtained here and there with the green, creeping caper, and painted, as they neared the Sea, with bright bands of red, and brown, and black as they poured down into the plain and spread along the shelly beach they caught one more view of the distant hills of Egypt across the blue waters that had swallowed up the chariots and horses of Pharaoh.
From Gharandel to the Sea at Ras (Cape) Zelinea is, by this route, about eight hours’ travel, an easy day’s journey for the men of Israel after their long rest at Elim, but quite long for the remainder of the host, who, it is likely, had generally to come only from Useit, or the upper part of Taiyebeh. Palmer, who has thoroughly surveyed all these wadies, decides that Taiyebeh is the only valley by which they could have descended to the Sea.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Exo 15:27. And they came to Elim Elim was situated upon the northern skirts of the desert of Sin, two leagues from Tor, and near thirty from Corondel. I saw, says Dr. Shaw, no more than nine of the twelve wells which are mentioned by Moses, the other three being filled up by those drifts of sand which are common in Arabia. Yet, this loss is amply made up by the great increase in the palm-trees, the seventy having propagated themselves into more than two thousand. Under the shade of these trees is the hammam Mousa, or bath of Moses, particularly so called; which the inhabitants of Tor have in great esteem and veneration; acquainting us, that it was here where the household of Moses was encamped. The Israelites, it is supposed, staid but one day at Marah; and, on the 25th of Nisan, came to Elim: a word, which, according to some, signifies rams, from its good pasturage for sheep: according to others, plains, from that part of the wilderness, where there were large and spacious plains.
REFLECTIONS.They who would go to heaven, must expect crosses in the way. The Israelites no sooner begin their journey, than, 1. They are in want of water; and to a marching army what more dangerous? Nor was their condition much mended at Marah, where, though there was plenty, it was bitter, or brackish, and not fit for drink. Our expected comforts are thus in the possession often embittered, in order to lead us to the Fountain of living waters. 2. Their impatience is immediately discovered. They who live by sense, not by faith, will not long continue in a cheerful frame: every new difficulty will deject them. 3. Observe the supply which is granted at Moses’s prayer. There is not an useful plant for food or physic, but we should read in it the wisdom and goodness of God. 4. The charge given them. Twice they had begun to shew their murmuring spirit: God now expects their confidence, and promises them his blessing, and freedom from the plagues of Egypt, if they be obedient; and therein intimates, that if they should join with Egypt in rebellion, they would share with it in suffering. Note; God is no respecter of persons; if his own people sin, they must suffer for it. 5. Another march brings them to Elim, where they have water in abundance and shady palms to cover them. Note; (1.) If our comforts be delayed, yet we should possess our souls in patience. (2.) God is usually better to us than our wishes. (3.) When we are most prosperous, we should remember that we are marching to the grave; that we may sit as loose to our comforts, as content under our crosses.
A review of the deliverance of the Israelites.
Having thus far seen the redemption of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage perfected, let us pause a little; and, with due reverence, contemplate these mighty works of Jehovah. Convinced of the truth of these striking facts, are can want no further proof of the interposing Providence and irresistible Power of the Lord of the whole earth. And while we observe his signal and fatherly distinction of his people; his separation of them from those terrible evils which he inflicted on incorrigible sinners; his attention to their cries, and his relief of all their necessities; we cannot fail to rejoice with full resignation of heart, when we consider ourselves as the creatures and subjects of such a GOD.
The miracles displayed in Egypt, are incontestible proofs of his Omnipotence: and, though his judgments were administered with every circumstance of terror, the humble soul can find no cause to remonstrate or complain; for it perceives strict justice waving the tremendous sword of destruction, while tender mercy long struggles to prevent its execution; and, in the midst of punishment, shews, that this is the strange work of the Lord, and that goodness and salvation are his glory and delight.
The joyful strains of Moses and the people must fill every pious heart with rapture: for what so amiable, what so excellent, as gratitude to the Supreme Benefactor! We seem to join with them in the triumphant eulogy; when, with united voices they sing, Who is like unto thee, O JEHOVAH! who is like unto Thee? glorious in holiness; fearful in praises; doing wonders! Happy we, if, like them, with zealous and thankful praises, we magnify the Lord our Deliverer for his manifold favours to us; but, more especially, for his mercy and power manifested in the work of our redemption, by CHRIST JESUS our Lord!
After such a display of miracles on their behalf; after such particular distinction made for their preservation; after a song of praise, so full of just and elevated devotion; who could have thought that these Israelites would, in a little time, murmur and grow discontented; and distrust that Providence, which had interposed so remarkably for their salvation? Yet,too striking example of the infidelity and ingratitude of our nature,such was the case. But condemn not, O man! these murmurers too hastily: consult thy own breast, and thou wilt find a strong picture of them there. How many mercies and favours has the free bounty of God conferred upon thee? and what power and goodness has he displayed in thy creation, continual preservation, and, above all, in the redemption of thy soul? Indeed what hadst thou, which thou didst not receive; yet how much hast thou forgotten the Divine Source of all thy blessings? How seldom hast thou shewed thyself sufficiently thankful, while falling into impatience and discontent on the smallest disappointments, and becoming ungrateful to thy God for all he has given, because he has thought fit to withhold, and that, perhaps, for thy truest good, something which thy fond heart too blindly and vehemently wished.
But observe we, that, while the conduct of the Israelites paints, in expressive colours, the too general disposition of mankind; the forbearance and lenity which the great Father of the Universe shewed towards them, affords the believing soul the most pleasing foundation for comfort and hope. Long-suffering towards them, he heard and condescended to relieve their complaints. Unworthy though they were, he gave them fresh proofs of his love, and granted them new favours; studious, as it were, to gain their affection, and to lead them to true happiness. Thus, thou blessed Source of unexhausted good! thus dost thou continue to deal, abundant in mercy and truth, with us thy frail and offending creatures. Knowing our weakness, thou art slow to punish. Though we sin, thou forbearest: and, by heaping new blessings upon us, thou dost graciously endeavour to awaken us to an ingenuous shame, and a conscious acknowledgment of our offences against thee. Attentive to our true welfare, thy chastisements, no less than thy blessings, are graciously intended to accomplish it. Teach us to receive each, with the spirit of faith, humility, and love: to discern thy hand pointing to our felicity, whether it bestow good or evil. And give us wisdom, implicitly and with childlike obedience to follow thy sacred guidance: that so, delivered from the bondage, and all the sufferings, of this world of trial; conducted by thy spirit, and saved by the blood of thy son, we may pass triumphant through the waves of death; and, safely landed on the blessed shore, may unite with those who have gotten the victory; and who, having the harps of GOD, sing the song of Moses, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, LORD GOD ALMIGHTY: just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord! and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: all nations shall come and worship before thee: for thy judgments are made manifest. Salvation to our GOD who sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Marah dispensations will be succeeded by Elim comforts. How happy Paul felt himself under both. Phi 4:12 . Are these wells, which were twelve in number, typical of the tribes of Israel, and the apostles of the Lord Jesus? Rev 21:12 . Is not this also a type of the church? Zec 3:10 .
REFLECTIONS
Reader! In the contemplation of this deliverance to Israel, shall not you and I, while we consider it as a type of a far greater deliverance from sill and everlasting death, call upon our souls to join in the celebration of God’s mercies? I would say to the drowsy faculties of my heart, Awake, awake, utter a song. Did the Lord bring his people out of Egyptian bondage, and did Israel sing his mercies at the Red sea, and shall not I, whom he hath brought out of nature’s darkness, and out of the bondage of sin and Satan, shout alike the Salvation of the Lord! Oh! thou blessed and only Potentate, King of Kings, and Lord of Lord’s: thou infinite and eternal Jehovah, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost: fain would my awakened soul look up to thee, under each and all of those glorious distinctions of person, and power, and praise thee with unfeigned lips. Thou hast indeed, as thou didst to Israel of old, brought me out of the iron furnace, out of the horrible pit, the mire, and the clay, and hast set my feet upon a rock and established my goings: hast put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: so that many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.
But blessed Lord! Oh grant me faith, and grace, in full exercise, that in all the after stages of a wilderness dispensation, whether in the sweet enjoyment of Palm trees at Elim, or the bitter waters of affliction at Marah, I may still by living upon thee and thy fulness, be never cast down in unbelief, and repining in the emptiness, or unsatisfying nature, of all creature enjoyments. Oh! lead me on to Canaan: and till the happy hour shall come when I shall have done with all things here below, enable me by faith, amidst all changing providences, to live upon an unchangeable God. Let faith give me a present enjoyment of the good things to come. Let me see Jesus in everything; and his wisdom, and love, and faithfulness, mingled with every dispensation. And let my experience resemble his of old, who thus expressed himself: For this cause we faint not: while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Exo 15:27 And they came to Elim, where [were] twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.
Ver. 27. And they came to Elim. ] The heathens slandered the Jews, that they found these fountains by the means of certain asses that guided them. Whence they are called Asinarii by Melon and Appion of Alexandria; who affirmed that for this cause the Jews worshipped the golden head of an ass, &c. a
a Corn. Tacit., Annul., lib. xii.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
were. Supply Ellipsis, “they found”, instead of “were”. Compare Num 21:16-18. The scene at Rephidim (Exodus 17) after the thirty-nine years was be-cause they expected God to provide for them still.
twelve . . . threescore . . . ten. See App-10.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Elim: This was on the northern skirts of the desert of Sin, and, according to Dr. Shaw, two leagues from Tor, and near 30 from Corondel, which he conjectures to be Marah, where there is a small rill, which is brackish. He found but nine of the wells, the other three being filled up with sand; but the 70 palm trees had increased into more than 2,000. Num 33:9, Isa 12:3, Eze 47:12, Rev 7:17, Rev 22:2
Reciprocal: Exo 16:1 – took Exo 18:1 – done Exo 20:2 – brought Jos 24:6 – Egyptians Psa 78:13 – He divided Psa 89:10 – Thou hast Psa 135:9 – sent tokens Jer 2:6 – brought us up Jer 21:2 – according Eze 20:6 – to bring Dan 9:15 – that hast Mat 19:28 – the twelve
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Exo 15:27. Twelve wells of water One for each tribe, and the seventy palm-trees affording a cooling shade.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
At Elim Israel learned something else about God. Not only would He deliver them (Exo 15:3) and heal them (Exo 15:26), but He would also provide refreshing drink and nourishing food for them as their Shepherd (cf. Psa 23:2).
A method of God’s dealing with the Israelites as His people that He frequently employed stands out clearly in these incidents. God did not lead the Israelites around every difficulty. Instead He led them into many difficulties, but He also provided deliverance for them in their difficulties. This caused the Israelites to learn to look to Him for the supply of their needs. He still deals with His children the same way. [Note: See Allen P. Ross, "When God Gives His People Bitter Water (Exodus 15:22-27)," Exegesis and Exposition 1:1 (Fall 1986):55-66.]