Song of the Sea (שירת הים, Shirat HaYam) - Anonymous

“I will sing to the Lord,

For He has triumphed gloriously!

The horse and its rider

He has thrown into the sea!

The Lord is my strength and song,

And He has become my salvation;

He is my God, and I will praise Him;

My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.

The Lord is a man of war;

The Lord is His name.

Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea;

His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.

The depths have covered them;

They sank to the bottom like a stone.

“Your right hand, O Lord, has become glorious in power;

Your right hand, O Lord, has dashed the enemy in pieces.

And in the greatness of Your excellence

You have overthrown those who rose against You;

You sent forth Your wrath;

It consumed them like stubble.

And with the blast of Your nostrils

The waters were gathered together;

The floods stood upright like a heap;

The depths congealed in the heart of the sea.

The enemy said, ‘I will pursue,

I will overtake,

I will divide the spoil;

My desire shall be satisfied on them.

I will draw my sword,

My hand shall destroy them.’

You blew with Your wind,

The sea covered them;

They sank like lead in the mighty waters.

“Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods?

Who is like You, glorious in holiness,

Fearful in praises, doing wonders?

You stretched out Your right hand;

The earth swallowed them.

You in Your mercy have led forth

The people whom You have redeemed;

You have guided them in Your strength

To Your holy habitation.

“The people will hear and be afraid;

Sorrow will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia.

Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed;

The mighty men of Moab,

Trembling will take hold of them;

All the inhabitants of Canaan will melt away.

Fear and dread will fall on them;

By the greatness of Your arm

They will be as still as a stone,

Till Your people pass over, O Lord,

Till the people pass over

Whom You have purchased.

You will bring them in and plant them

In the mountain of Your inheritance,

In the place, O Lord, which You have made

For Your own dwelling,

The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.

“The Lord shall reign forever and ever.”

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Anonymous [attributed to Moses] (c.13th to the 5th century BC) Ancient Israel

Source: Exodus 15:1-18 New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Song of the Sea (Hebrew: שירת הים, Shirat HaYam, also known as Az Yashir Moshe and Song of Moses, or Mi Chamocha) is possibly the oldest part of the Bible. It is written in a style of Hebrew much older than that of the rest of Exodus. [Wikipedia]. The image to the right is an infra-red photograph of the Aahkar-Gilson Manuscript, which dates from the seventh or eighth-century AD. [Journal of Hebrew Studies, Vol 14, Article  7, 2014]