Read Exodus 15:20-21 at Bible Gateway.
Hebrew paragraph division
Exo 15:20-21 {s} Dance of Miriam/ Sing to YHVH
The next paragraph after the Song of Moses begins a new theme, and since it ends with a weak paragraph division, we know it is a theme that will continue in the next paragraphs. However, this paragraph contains a strange near repeat of the theme just concluded:
20 And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. 21 And Miriam sang to them: Sing to YHVH, for He is highly exalted: the horse and his rider He has thrown into the sea. {s} Exo 15:20-21
In fact, this additional paragraph will make a chiastic structure with all the paragraphs of the strong theme just concluded, with very little rearranging:
See the expanded structure for the Song of Moses here.
Hebrew roots
Highly exalted is Strong’s H1342 גאה ga’ah, a primitive root meaning, “to be lifted up, exalted.” The ancient pictographs are gimel + aleph + hey.
gimel ג = the foot, thus foot, walk, gather
aleph א = the ox head, thus strength, power, leader
hey ה = man with upraised arms, thus look, reveal, wonder, worship, breath
The story is to lift (gimel, i.e. when something is lifted it is so that it can be carried it by walking to another place) strongly (aleph) up high (hey, as the man’s upraised arms are held aloft).
Leave a Reply