1 Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to YHVH, saying, "I will sing to YHVH, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.

 

YHVH is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my god, and I will praise him, God of my Father, and I will exalt him.

 

YHVH is a man of war; YHVH is his name.

 

4 "Pharaoh's chariots and his host he cast into the sea; and his picked officers are sunk in the Red Sea.

 

5 The floods cover them; they went down into the depths like a stone.

 

6 Thy right hand, O YHVH, glorious in power, thy right hand, O YHVH, shatters the enemy.

 

7 In the greatness of thy majesty thou overthrowest thy adversaries; thou sendest forth thy fury, it consumes them like stubble.

 

8 At the blast of thy nostrils the waters piled up, the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.

 

9 The enemy said, 'I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of 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, O YHVH, among the mighty?  Who is like thee, majestic in holiness, terrible in glorious deeds, doing wonders?

 

12 Thou didst stretch out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.

 

13 "Thou hast led in thy steadfast love the people whom thou hast redeemed, thou hast guided them by thy strength to thy holy abode.

 

14 The peoples have heard, they tremble; pangs have seized on the inhabitants of Philistia.

 

15 Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed; the leaders of Moab, trembling seizes them; all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.

 

16 Terror and dread fall upon them; because of the greatness of thy arm, they are as still as a stone, till thy people, O YHVH, pass by, till the people pass by whom thou hast purchased.

 

17 Thou wilt bring them in, and plant them on thy own mountain, the place, O YHVH, which thou hast made for thy abode, the sanctuary, YHVH, which thy hands have established.

 

18 YHVH will reign for ever and ever."

 

19 For when the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the seaYHVH brought back the waters of the sea upon them; but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea.

 

20 Then Miriam, the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and dancing.

 

21 And Miriam sang to them: "Sing to YHVH, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea."

This is the celebration of the victory over the lower forces.  It is truly a song of the heart.  The habitation referred to is the Temple within us, wherein the Spirit of the Gods may live.

 

22 Then Moses led Israel onward from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur; they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.

 

23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah.

 

24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?"

 

25 And he cried to YHVH; and YHVH showed him a tree, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.  There YHVH made for them a statute and an ordinance and there he proved them,

 

26 saying, "If you will diligently hearken to the voice of YHVH, your god, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give heed to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases upon you which I put upon the Egyptians; for I am YHVH, your healer."

Shur means going round about, and refers to the continuing process of development that we go through.  The three days without water are symbolic of three periods of preparation which all must go through.  The lack of good water indicates that they were still working on raising the emotional feminine side.  This is made clear by the method of solving the problem: the use of a tree.  Trees symbolize the divine creative power within man; the tree of life.  The promise is given that if we follow the laws of YHVH, or Divine Law, and maintain control over our elevated emotions, we will not be overcome by the water or emotions as were the Egyptians.

 

27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees; and they encamped there by the water.

Elim means palm trees.  The 70 trees are an indication of a realization of the fullness of life and victory over the lower emotions.  The number 70 symbolizes rest and victory but not final completion.  The twelve wells symbolize fullness in the spiritual and inner cleansing.  We have come to a resting place after achieving an important spiritual goal.