Exodus 14:20

And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
came	וַיָּבֹ֞א vai.ya.Vo'	H935	to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
camp	מַחֲנֵ֣ה ma.cha.Neh	H4264	an encampment (of travellers or troops) · noun, common feminine singular construct
Egyptians	מִצְרַ֗יִם mitz.Ra.yim	H4714	Mitsrajim · proper noun, a place name
camp	מַחֲנֵ֣ה ma.cha.Neh	H4264	an encampment (of travellers or troops) · noun, common feminine singular construct
Israel	יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל Yis.ra.'El	H3478	Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
cloud	הֶֽעָנָן֙ he.'a.Nan	H6051	a cloud (as covering the sky) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
darkness	וְהַחֹ֔שֶׁךְ ve.ha.Cho.shekh	H2822	the dark · conjunction + definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
light	וַיָּ֖אֶר vai.Ya.'er	H215	to be (causative · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
night	הַלָּ֑יְלָה ha.La.ye.lah	H3915	properly · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
near	קָרַ֥ב ka.Rav	H7126	to approach (causatively · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
other	זֶ֛ה zeh	H2088	the masculine demonstrative pronoun · demonstrative particle
night	הַלָּֽיְלָה ha.La.ye.lah	H3915	properly · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Isaiah 8:14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a sn…
2 Corinthians 2:15-16 For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:
Proverbs 4:18-19 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
Psalms 18:11 He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 14:15-20

We have here, I. Direction given to Israel's leader. 1. What he must do himself. He must, for the present, leave off praying, and apply himself to his business (Exo 14:15): Wherefore cryest thou unto me? Moses, though he was assured of a good issue to the present distress, yet did not neglect prayer. We read not of one word he said in prayer, but he lifted up to God his heart, the language of which God well understood and took notice of. Moses's silent prayers of faith prevailed more with God than Israel's loud outcries of fear, Exo 14:10. Note, (1.) Praying, if of the right kind, is crying to God, which denotes it to be the language both of a natural and of an importunate desire. (2.) To qu…

Read the whole note in the console

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 14:19

the angel of God--that is, the pillar of cloud [see on Exo 13:21]. The slow and silent movement of that majestic column through the air, and occupying a position behind them must have excited the astonishment of the Israelites (Isa 58:8). It was an effectual barrier between them and their pursuers, not only protecting them, but concealing their movements. Thus, the same cloud produced light (a symbol of favor) to the people of God, and darkness (a symbol of wrath) to their enemies (compare Co2 2:16).

Adam Clarke on Exodus 14:20

It was a cloud and darkness to them, etc. - That the Israelites might not be dismayed at the appearance of their enemies, and that these might not be able to discern the object of their pursuit, the pillar of cloud moved from the front to the rear of the Israelitish camp, so as perfectly to separate between them and the Egyptians. It appears also that this cloud had two sides, one dark and the other luminous: the luminous side gave light to the whole camp of Israel during the night of passage; and the dark side, turned towards the pursuing Egyptians, prevented them from receiving any benefit from that light. How easily can God make the same thing an instrument of destruction or salvation, as…

Read the whole note in the console

The Church Fathers

Therefore this darkness of the body has been placed between us and God, like the cloud of old between the Egyptians and the Hebrews. This is perhaps what is meant by "He made darkness his separate place," namely, our dullness, through which few can see even a little.
— Gregory of Nazianzus, THEOLOGICAL ORATION 2:12

And it is written also in Exodus that when the ruler of the land of the Egyptians with his warriors was pursuing after the Israelites and was already upon the point of engaging with them in battle, the angel of God stood between the camp of the Israelites and of the Egyptians, and the one came not near the other all the night. There is therefore nothing unbefitting in supposing here also that the holy angel who was the guardian of the synagogue offered supplications in its behalf and prayed for a respite, if perchance yielding to better influence it might yet bring forth fruit.
— Cyril of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 96

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Red Sea — The sea so called extends along the west coast of Arabia for about 1,400 miles, and separates Asia from Africa. It is connected with the Indian Ocean, of which it is an arm, by the Strait of…
Shechinah — A Chaldee word meaning resting-place, not found in Scripture, but used by the later Jews to designate the visible symbol of God’s presence in the tabernacle, and afterwards in Solomon’s temple. When…
Cloud Of Glory · Was dark to the enemies of Israel — Was dark to the enemies of Israel
Desert, Journey Of Israel Through The · Under God’s protection — Under God’s protection
Egypt · .Army of — .Army of
Egyptians · Pursue Israelites, and the army of, — Pursue Israelites, and the army of,
Light · Divided into: Extraordinary or miraculous — Divided into: Extraordinary or miraculous
Miracles · .The pillar of cloud and fire — .The pillar of cloud and fire
Readings, Select · THE — THE
Symbols And Similitudes · Of the divine presence, the pillar of clou — Of the divine presence, the pillar of clou

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Exodus 14:20

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 14:15-20

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 14:19

Adam Clarke on Exodus 14:20

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Exodus 14:20

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 14:15-20

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 14:19

Adam Clarke on Exodus 14:20

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Exodus 14:20

John Calvin on Exodus 14:19-25

Keil & Delitzsch on Exodus 14:20

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Exodus 14:19-25

Rashi on Exodus 14:20