Shemot 15:1-18 records the song that Moshe and the people sang by Yam Suf after the great miracle of the splitting of the Yam Suf. The song can be divided into two parts based on its content. 15:1-12 refer to the miracle of the splitting of the Yam Suf, while 15:13-17 refer to future events, and 15:18 is the conclusion to the song.
A different approach is to divide the song into three sections (15:1-6, 15:7-11, 15:12-16) based on the three sets of doubles words in 15:6,11,16 (see Cassuto 1967, p. 173, 177, and Alter 2011, pp. 59-64) and then 15:17,18 are an epilogue to the song. In addition, prior to each double phrase, there is a simile involving stone (15:5,16) or lead (15:10). Also, in each of the three double phrases, there a mention of G-d’s name.
This structure is very appealing, but I would make two variations. One, 15:1,2, are the introduction to the song and not part of the first section, 15:3-6 is the first section, 15:7-11 is the second section, 15:12-16 is the third section and 15:17,18 is the conclusion to the song. This structure follows the idea that the double words of 15:6,11,16, end each section. A second variation is that the three double phrases indicate the section is about to end, but the section only ends with the following verse. With this possibility, the structure of the song would be: 15:1,2, the introduction to the song, 15:3-7, 15:8-12, 15:9-17, and 15:18 is the conclusion to the song.
Following the second variation, the first section of the song is 15:3-7. The theme of this section is that G-d destroyed the Egyptians forces, but there is no mention of the miracle of the water stopping. Thus, the section begins by declaring that G-d is a warrior, 15:3, and the double phrase, 15:6, refers to the G-d's strength.
15:7 refers to "G-d consuming them as straw" which appears to refer to G-d striking the Egyptian chariots, 14:24, and then the end of the first section, 15:7, is linked to the beginning of the first section, 15:4, which refers to the chariots.
The advantage of moving 15:7 to the end of the first section (the second variation) is that the second section then begins with 15:8, that the waters of the Yam Suf are standing still, before the Egyptian forces were drowned. 15:4,5,7 refer to the drowning of the Egyptian forces, but those verses were from the first section. 15:8 then starts the story afresh, from the point where the waters of the Yam Suf were divided but before the Egyptian forces were drowned. Accordingly, from that point, 15:9 then records the Egyptian forces confidently chasing the Jewish people before they were drowned, which is referred to in 15:10,12. Note if one follows the idea that 15:6 is the end of the first section, then one could explain that 15:7 is foreshadowing in a general way G-d’s power, but since there is no explicit reference to Egyptians in the verse, then the story can start afresh with the waters standing and the Egyptian forces entering the dry land.
The second section with the second variation ends with 15:12. Alter (2004, p. 400; 2011, p. 63) notes that 15:12 is connected with 15:13 since there is a "phonetic assimilation of these three leading verbs (in 15:12 and 15:13) involving alliteration, assonance, and rhyme – natita, nahita, neihalta." This phonetic assimilation implies that 15:12 should be in the third section of the song, as Cassuto and Alter argue, but in terms of content 15:12 belong to the second section. 15:12 refers to the Egyptians being swallowed in the bottom of the sea, while the remaining verses in the third section have no reference to the Egyptians. Thus, 15:12 should be the last verse of the second section. With this idea, 15:12 is in contrast to 15:9, which referred to the Egyptians threatening the Jews that their hands would subdue the Jewish people, while 15:12 states that G-d's hand subdued the Egyptians. Instead, the phonetic assimilation in 15:12,13 serves as a bridge to connect the second section (and first section) with the third section, and this bridge is warranted due to the huge change in the content of the song between the second and third sections of the song. (I thank Joe Berliner for this idea that the verses are a bridge.)
With either structure, the second section discusses the miracle of G-d stopping the flow of the water and then releasing the water, 15:8,10. This would show G-d’s wonders which is the double phrase of 15:11.
(If one follows the idea that 15:11 is the end of the second section, then presumably one has to argue that before the song can refer to other nations in section three, still there needs to be a reference to the Egyptians in each section. With this idea, 15:12 is a short cryptic reference to the Egyptians, and the reference to land in the verse leads into the rest of the section.)
The third section according to the second variation is 15:13-17, and this section has a chiastic structure. The last verse, 15:17, parallels the first verse of the section, 15:13, since both verses refer to G-d's sanctuary. Note, most likely, both verses are referring to Mount Sinai, which Moshe knew about from his first conversation with G-d, see Shemot 3:1,12. The middle verses, 15:14-16, refer to other nations being scared seven times with seven different words: Twice in 15:14, three times in 15:15, and twice in 15:16.
Within these seven references to fear, one can view the first reference 15:14a as parallel to the last reference, 15:16a. The intervening passages, 15:14b, and 15:15 refer to four specific nations being scared, and the list can be viewed as having a chiastic structure, see Avishur, 2007, p. 98. The first nation is the Pelishtim, 15:14b, who lived on the western side of the Jordan River in the land of Israel (13:17, on the outskirts?) and who had no biological connection with the Jewish people, and these points also apply to the fourth nation, the Canaanites, mentioned in the end of 15:15. The middle two nations in the section, Edom and Moav, both mentioned in 15:15, lived on the eastern side of the Jordan River, and had some biological connection with the Jewish people, through Lot and Esav. Also, by the Pelishtim and the Canaanites, they are referred as the inhabitants, yoshvei, while by Edom and Moav, the reference is to their leaders.
The theme of the third section is the fear of G-d, and G-d leading the people, the double words of 15:16.
15:18 is the conclusion to the song. Maybe this verse was the only one recited by the Jewish people after hearing Moshe sing the verses 15:1-17. This idea can explain why the verse lacks the poetic structure of the other lines of the song.
With the structure of the second variation, there might be another repeated simile, G-d's hand, in each of the three sections. This simile is referred to in the double words of first section, 15:6, if the term right in the verse refers to a hand, in the second section, 15:12 and in the third section, 15:17. Also, the first and third sections have a literary connection with the introduction to the song. The word
gaoncha in 15:7, in the end of the first section, is similar to the words
gaah in the introduction of the song, 15:1, see Alter, 2004, p. 399. Also, the word
neveh in 15:13, by the beginning of the third section, is in the word,
ve-anvehu, in 15:2.
There is also a thematic connection between the three sections and the introductory verses of the song. The end of 15:1 refers to the horse and rider being flung in the water, and this image is elaborated on in the first section. The beginning of the 15:2 refers to G-d saving the people, and the second section records how the Egyptian forces were threatening the Jewish people but G-d saved the people. The end of the introduction of the song, the second half of 15:2 refers to glorying G-d, which is not only the idea of the song, but also in the third section, Moshe refers to the future worship of G-d, which would also be to glorify G-d.
The three sections, with either variation, along with the introduction and the conclusion correspond to the structure of the plagues, 1, 3, 3, 3, 1: The turning of the staff to a
tanin, three sets of three plagues and the tenth plague.
The three themes in the song of Az Yashir might also correspond to the lessons that were to be derived from the three sets of three plagues (plagues one through nine), though with a different order, see our discussion on 7:8-12:29, “
The ten plagues in Egypt: Their structure and their order.” The theme of the first set of three plagues was G-d's existence, 7:175, and correspondingly, the first section of Az Yashir records not just G-d's existence, 15:3, but also G-d's powers. The theme of the second set of plagues is G-d's involvement in the world, 8:18, and the differentiation between the Jewish people and the Egyptians. These ideas also occur in the third section, that G-d would guide the people and the fear of the other nations of G-d. The theme of the third set of plagues is that G-d is incomparable, 9:14, and this is the theme of the second section of Az Yashir.
A different correspondence is from Moshe’s description of G-d in Devarim 10:17, which we recite in the first blessing of the
Shemoneh Esrei, that G-d is
gadol,
gibbor and
nora, great, heroic and feared. The great would correspond to G-d being the G-d of war in the first section, the heroic would correspond to G-d doing the miracle of stopping the waters from flowing in the second section, and the feared would correspond to all the nations who fear G-d in the third section.
Bibliography:
Cassuto, Umberto (1883-1951), 1967, A commentary on the book of Exodus, Jerusalem: The Magnes Press.
Alter, Robert, 2004, The five books of Moses: A translation and commentary, New York: W. W. Norton and Company.
Alter, Robert, 2011, The art of biblical poetry, revised and updated, New York: Basic Books.
Avishur, Yitzhak, 2007, The World of the Bible: Shemot, edited by Shemaryahu Talmon and Yitzhak Avishur, Tel Aviv: Yedidot Achronot, Divrie Hayamim, Sifrie Hemed.