Chapter XIX.
On the punishment of the Egyptians through their own death.
But to the impious even to the end. After he has treated the punishment of the Egyptians through the death of the firstborn, here he treats their punishment through their own death, namely when they were drowned in the Red Sea. And first is touched upon the drowning of the Egyptians; second, the liberation of the Hebrews: For every creature: third, the giving of thanks for both: Seeing your: fourth, the obedience of creatures in both: For the elements in themselves.
First, the drowning of the Egyptians.
In the first part, first is touched upon the gravity of the punishment: second, the reason on the part of the one punishing: He foreknew; third, the desert on the part of the punished: For still: fourth, the fittingness of the penalty: For he led.
(Vers. 1.). But to the impious etc., as if to say: thus the Israelites were freed from the fire: but, standing for "however": to the impious, namely the Egyptians, lacking the piety of religion toward God and of compassion toward neighbor, because they both despised God and oppressed his people: even to the end, that is, finally: Proverbs 5: "Her end is bitter as wormwood"; wrath came upon them without mercy. Without mercy, namely not relenting, but delivering without mercy, and this because they were impious and without mercy: James 2: "Judgment without mercy to him who has not shown mercy." Wrath, that is, the vengeance of sin, which is a sign of anger; came upon them, that is, by the heavenly judgment of God it came to their destruction: Job 21: "The lamp of the wicked shall be extinguished, and a flood shall come upon them"; Proverbs 1: "When tribulation and distress shall come upon you." And deservedly it came upon them etc.; for he foreknew, namely God, and, that is also, their future deeds, namely their sins, before they came to be: Hebrews 4: "All things are naked and open to his eyes"; likewise in the Psalm: "You have understood my thoughts from afar"; likewise Ecclesiasticus 23: "To the Lord our God, before all things were created, they are known" etc.
(Vers. 2.). For when they themselves, namely the Egyptians, had returned, namely to their heart, according to what Isaiah admonishes, saying: "Return to your heart, you transgressors," Isaiah forty-six. Had returned, I say, to their heart, outside of which they had been on account of fear: in the Psalm: "My heart has forsaken me." And had permitted, namely previously, that they should lead them away, that is, that the children of Israel should lead them apart from their land; whence Exodus eleven: "Go forth, you and all the people who are subject to you." And with great solicitude, that is, urgency, had sent them forth, namely by compelling them to go out; whence Exodus twelve: "The Egyptians urged the people to go out of the land quickly." There followed upon them, namely the Egyptians, when they had done this, the driving of repentance, that is, grief over their departure—grief, I say, in the heart, and confession on the lips, and the manifestation of both in the work of pursuit: Exodus fourteen: "The heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was changed regarding the people, and they said: What did we intend to do, that we should let Israel go?"
(Vers. 3.). And I rightly said that there followed etc. For while still having mourning in their hands, that is, the matter of mourning, namely the dead firstborn, or: mourning, that is, the signs of mourning; and bewailing, that is, weeping greatly, or weeping from the heart, or: bewailing, that is, weeping over the death of the firstborn. Rightly there follows: At the tombs of the dead, namely of the firstborn, they took up another thought, etc. Rightly he says: They took up, etc., because an evil thought is from man, but a good one from God; Second Corinthians three: "Not that we are sufficient to think anything of ourselves," etc. A thought, I say, of ignorance, that is, of foolishness. For every evildoer errs: Proverbs fourteen: "They err who work evil." The prior thought had been foolish, by which they had thought to detain them by force; the other also was foolish, by which they had thought to recall or bring them back by force. And those whom, entreating, they had cast out, namely by compelling the children of Israel to go out, as is clear from Exodus twelve; these, as though fugitives, that is, as though departing without their permission, which was false, they pursued, as is clear from Exodus fourteen.
(Vers. 4.). There led etc., as if to say: and fittingly, for a worthy necessity led them to this end, namely of obstinacy and drowning, a worthy necessity, not of fortune or fate, but of divine justice.
But to the contrary: Because they tended toward this voluntarily, therefore not by necessity.
It must be said that it was not a necessity of coercion, but of immutability.
But to the contrary: Because they could have repented and thus avoided that punishment.
It must be said that they could have, but they did not will to. Whence that necessity was consequent upon the will, not antecedent to it. Or: they could not do so fully of themselves, nor did they will to seek the help of God.
And of those things which had happened, namely the many plagues inflicted for the retention of the children of Israel, Exodus seven, eight, nine, ten, and twelve, they lost the remembrance, that is, they were losing it, if not in disposition, nevertheless in act; or in deed, if not in heart: Hosea thirteen: "They lifted up their heart and forgot me." So that what was lacking to the torments, namely the preceding ones, for they had not yet been sufficiently punished, the punishment might supply, namely the following one, and the word so that is placed consecutively, not causally.
(Vers. 5.). And indeed your people, namely the Israelite people, might pass through wondrously, namely through the Red Sea with dry footstep: whence Exodus fifteen: "The children of Israel walked through the dry land in the midst of it." But those, namely the Egyptians, might find a new death, namely a new manner of dying, namely through miraculous drowning: in the same place: "The horseman, that is the cavalry, entered"—"of Pharaoh," in the genitive case—"with chariots and horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them."
Second, the liberation of the Hebrews.
For every etc. Here is touched upon the liberation of the Hebrews, and first in general; second, in particular: For the cloud.
(Vers. 6.). For every etc., as if to say thus: The Egyptians were drowned, and the Israelites were freed: for every creature, that is, all the elements, to its own kind from the beginning, namely the disposition it had, was being refashioned, that is, was again made like what it was, in this namely, that it did not harm the good, just as neither did it in the state of innocence; whence Isidore: "If man had not sinned, water would not drown, fire would not burn, nor would the pricks of thorns wound." The creature itself, I say, serving your commands, that is, your ordinance and will; in the Psalm: "He established them forever and for ages of ages; he set a decree, and it shall not pass away"; likewise Jeremiah five: "Who placed the sand as the boundary of the sea, an everlasting decree, which it shall not pass beyond." So that your children, namely the Hebrews subject to you: Isaiah eight: "Behold, I and my children"; might be kept unharmed; Proverbs two: "He will guard the salvation of the righteous and protect those who walk in simplicity."
(Vers. 7.). For the cloud, namely given by God through the ministry of an Angel, their camp, namely of the Hebrews, overshadowed, "standing between their camp and the camp of the Egyptians, so that throughout the whole night they were unable to approach them," as is clear from Exodus fourteen. And from water, that is, after the water, just as when it is said: from morning comes midday, that is, after. From water, I say, which was there before, in the place through which they crossed, dry land appeared, namely dried by the blast of the wind, as is clear from Exodus fourteen. And in the Red Sea, namely divided, as is clear there; likewise in the Psalm: "Who divided the Red Sea into divisions"; a way namely appeared, without impediment, namely of water or mud, according to that word of the Psalm: "In the sea is your way," etc.; Habakkuk three: "You made a way in the sea for your horses"; likewise Isaiah fifty-one: (You made the depth of the sea a way, that the redeemed might cross over). And a sprouting field, that is, a level and delightful way, as through a sprouting field, from the exceeding deep, that is, after the exceeding depth of water previously existing there.
(Vers. 8.). Through which, namely the field, the whole nation, namely of the Hebrews, crossed over, or might cross over, with the Egyptians pursuing. Which was covered, that is, protected, by your hand, that is, by your power: Isaiah forty-nine: "In the shadow of his hand he protected me," or by your Son, as in the Psalm: "Send forth your hand from on high," etc.
Third, the thanksgiving.
Seeing, etc. Here is subjoined the thanksgiving, first for the liberation of the Hebrews; second, for the punishment of the Egyptians or their drowning: And the vexations.
In the first part is touched upon the leading of the Hebrews out of Egypt; second, the wonders done for them in Egypt: For remembering; third, their refreshment in the desert: But at last.
Seeing your things, as if to say: not only hearing but also seeing; First John one: "What we have seen, what we have heard," etc. Your wonders and portents: wonders, namely lesser ones, and portents, namely greater ones; or: wonders, in their liberation, portents, in the overthrow of the Egyptians. For a portent is called not only something wondrous but also something terrible.
(Vers. 9.). Seeing, I say etc: for, that is certainly, they fed upon food, namely in the overthrow or destruction of their adversaries. Or he says this inasmuch as they delighted in the destruction of those, just as horses when they eat or feed upon food. Like horses, upon which namely the Lord was riding, according to that passage in Habakkuk 3: "You made a way in the sea for your horses." Like horses, namely neighing at the overcoming of their enemies, according to that passage in Isaiah 24: "These shall lift up their voice and shall praise. When the Lord shall be glorified, they shall neigh from the sea." And like lambs, namely simple and meek: in the Psalm: "The mountains skipped like rams, and the hills like lambs of the flock," that is, both the greater and the lesser among them: they exulted, not only inwardly in heart, but also outwardly in rejoicing. Magnifying you, O Lord, that is, proclaiming you as great or praising you magnificently: Exodus 15: "Let us sing to the Lord, for he has been gloriously magnified." Who delivered them, namely by leading them through the sea; Isaiah 63: "Who led them out through the depths, like a horse in the desert that does not stumble, and like an animal in the field"; and rightly they magnified you.