What exactly is described in the poetry of Exodus 15? How do you understand Miriam’s refrain as a part of this song?
What different accounts of the crossing of the sea are combined in Exodus 14? Is there a way to reconcile these stories, or should we as readers see them as two accounts of an event that leads to the escape of the Israelites?
How does genre support what is happening in these chapters?
Applying the Text:
Have you ever felt like God cleared a path for you, like God did for the escaping Israelites? How did this feel? Was anyone else affected?
Each of the different sources tells the story of the encounter at the sea differently. How is interpreting of the Exodus as a historical fact different from understanding it as a mythical tale?
This story depicts God as a warrior when Moses says that he will fight for the Israelites. How does this characterization of God fit with or contradict our modern ideas of God? Can (and should) we reconcile these differences?