Syntax at the Shore: Unfolding the Structure of Exodus 15:19

כִּ֣י בָא֩ ס֨וּס פַּרְעֹ֜ה בְּרִכְבֹּ֤ו וּבְפָרָשָׁיו֙ בַּיָּ֔ם וַיָּ֧שֶׁב יְהוָ֛ה עֲלֵהֶ֖ם אֶת־מֵ֣י הַיָּ֑ם וּבְנֵ֧י יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל הָלְכ֥וּ בַיַּבָּשָׁ֖ה בְּתֹ֥וךְ הַיָּֽם׃ (Exodus 15:19)

Scene and Syntax: A Thematic Overture

Exodus 15:19 is not merely a narrative summary but a carefully structured retelling that contrasts two paths and two destinies—Pharaoh’s cavalry in chaos and Yisraʾel in salvation. The syntax reflects this dualism, moving from cause to climax, from motion to miracle, through vivid verbal placement and contrastive clauses.

Word Order: Dual Narratives, Parallel Paths

The verse begins with the conjunction כִּ֣י, often used to introduce temporal or causal background. The opening clause:

כִּ֣י בָא֩ ס֨וּס פַּרְעֹ֜ה בְּרִכְבֹּ֤ו וּבְפָרָשָׁיו֙ בַּיָּ֔ם
(“For Pharaoh’s horse came with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea”)

follows a typical Verb-Subject (VS) order with בָא֩ leading. However, the noun phrase ס֨וּס פַּרְעֹ֜ה is placed after the verb for normal narrative structure, preserving the poetic rhythm of the Song of the Sea.

Clause Structure: Parallelism with a Turn

This verse is structured around three main clauses:

1. Temporal Background:
כִּ֣י בָא֩ ס֨וּס פַּרְעֹ֜ה…
2. Divine Intervention:
וַיָּ֧שֶׁב יְהוָ֛ה עֲלֵהֶ֖ם אֶת־מֵ֣י הַיָּ֑ם
3. Human Salvation:
וּבְנֵ֧י יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל הָלְכ֥וּ בַיַּבָּשָׁ֖ה בְּתֹ֥וךְ הַיָּֽם

The structure alternates: enemy enters > YHWH acts > Israel walks. The conjunction ו (waw) initiates each new clause, functioning sequentially, aligning the verse with wayyiqtol narrative flow.

Nominal Phrases: Compressed and Evocative

– סוּס פַּרְעֹה: a construct chain, identifying the subject as Pharaoh’s own military asset, not just generic horses.
– בְרִכְבֹּו וּבְפָרָשָׁיו: two prepositional phrases coordinated with ו, showing the vehicle and cavalry force accompanying the horse.
– בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל: collective identity in the absolute plural, set in contrast with Pharaoh’s army.

Verbal Phrases: Movement and Mirroring

– בָא: perfect verb, indicating completed motion. The subject (horse of Pharaoh) follows, typical for narrative.
– וַיָּשֶׁב: a wayyiqtol verb from the root שׁוּב, used here in a transitive, causative sense: “caused to return.”
– הָלְכוּ: perfect, again used for narrative completion, with plural subject בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.

Each verb moves the narrative forward spatially and semantically.

Agreement and Grammatical Concord

– בָא (3ms) aligns with סוּס פַּרְעֹה (ms).
– וַיָּשֶׁב (3ms) aligns with יְהוָה.
– הָלְכוּ (3mp) aligns with בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל (mp).

There is perfect agreement in person and number throughout, enhancing the sense of divine control and literary symmetry.

Tense, Aspect, and Narrative Flow

The verse mixes perfect verbs (בָא, הָלְכוּ) with a wayyiqtol (וַיָּשֶׁב). The perfects mark completed actions, while the wayyiqtol signals a key event that reverses the momentum. The divine action (וַיָּשֶׁב) interrupts Pharaoh’s advance, reversing it—literally and syntactically.

Waw-Consecutive and Thematic Reversal

– וַיָּשֶׁב indicates YHWH’s pivotal response.
– וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הָלְכוּ uses waw + perfect, likely functioning as contrastive rather than sequential: while they were drowning, Israel walked.

This interleaving of verb types serves rhetorical contrast, not chronological sequence.

Emphasis and Focus

The preposed phrase וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל sets Israel’s survival in contrast to the doom of Pharaoh’s horse. Similarly, the use of אֶת־מֵי הַיָּם (with the particle אֶת) highlights the specific object that YHWH reversed—water now becomes a weapon.

Discourse Structure: Contrast at the Core

The verse encapsulates the climax of divine deliverance, contrasting enemy and elect. The symmetrical syntax reinforces a chiastic structure:

This tableau reinforces the theological tension: those who pursued were engulfed, those pursued were preserved—all enacted through verbal symmetry.

Syntactic Symphony of the Sea

Exodus 15:19 demonstrates how syntax serves storytelling: tightly coordinated clauses carry the reader through a dramatic reversal of fate. With wayyiqtol interruption, noun phrase contrasts, and mirrored movements, the verse unfolds a mini-drama of destruction and deliverance. The very syntax becomes the shoreline where chaos breaks and covenant continues.