The Song of the Sea ( he, שירת הים, ''Shirat HaYam'', also known as ''Az Yashir Moshe'' and Song of Moses, or ''Mi Chamocha'') is a

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

that appears in the

Book of Exodus The Book of Exodus (from grc, Ἔξοδος, translit=Éxodos; he, שְׁמוֹת ''Šəmōṯ'', "Names") is the second book of the Bible. It narrates the story of the Exodus, in which the Israelites leave slavery in Biblical Egypt through ...

of the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...

, at . It is followed in verses 20 and 21 by a much shorter song sung by Miriam and the other women. The Song of the Sea was reputedly sung by the

Israelites The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...

after their

crossing the Red Sea The Crossing of the Red Sea ( he, קריעת ים סוף, Kriat Yam Suph, parting of the Sea of Reeds) forms an episode in the biblical narrative of The Exodus. It tells of the escape of the Israelites, led by Moses, from the pursuing Egyptians ...

in safety, and celebrates the destruction of the Egyptian army during the crossing, and looks forward to the future conquest of

Canaan Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...

. The poem is included in Jewish prayer books, and recited daily in the morning

shacharit ''Shacharit'' ( he, שַחֲרִית ''šaḥăriṯ''), or ''Shacharis'' in Ashkenazi Hebrew, is the morning ''tefillah'' (prayer) of Judaism, one of the three daily prayers. Different traditions identify different primary components o ...

services. The poem also comprises the first ode or hymn of the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

, where it is known as the Song or Ode of Moses. It is also used in the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, Eastern Orthodox, and other

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

liturgies Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

at the

Easter Vigil Easter Vigil, also called the Paschal Vigil or the Great Vigil of Easter, is a liturgy held in traditional Christian churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. Historically, it is during this liturgy that people are ...

when the history of salvation is recounted. These traditions follow Revelation 15:3 by calling it the "Song of Moses" (not to be confused with the

Song of Moses The Song of Moses is the name sometimes given to the poem which appears in Deuteronomy of the Hebrew Bible, which according to the Bible was delivered just prior to Moses' death on Mount Nebo. Sometimes the Song is referred to as Deuteronomy 32 ...

in Deuteronomy). The poem forms part of the sixteenth

weekly Torah portion It is a custom among religious Jewish communities for a weekly Torah portion to be read during Jewish prayer services on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. The full name, ''Parashat HaShavua'' ( he, פָּרָשַׁת הַשָּׁבוּעַ), is po ...

, or ''parshat

Beshalach Beshalach, Beshallach, or Beshalah (—Hebrew language, Hebrew for "when elet go" (literally: "in (having) sent"), the second word and first distinctive word in the parashah) is the sixteenth weekly Torah portion (, ''parashah'') in the annua ...

''. The Sabbath on which it is read is known as Sabbath of the Song (שבת שירה). It is one of only two sections of the

Sefer Torah A ( he, סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה; "Book of Torah"; plural: ) or Torah scroll is a handwritten copy of the Torah, meaning the five books of Moses (the first books of the Hebrew Bible). The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Tora ...

(Torah scroll) that is written with a different layout from the normal simple columns. The other section written differently is the Song of Moses at the end of Deuteronomy, in the 53rd weekly portion, or ''parshat

Ha'azinu Haazinu, Ha'azinu, or Ha'Azinu ( — Hebrew for "listen" when directed to more than one person, the first word in the parashah) is the 53rd weekly Torah portion (, ''parashah'') in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the 10th in the Book ...

''.

Origin

The Song of the Sea is noted for its archaic language. It is written in a style of Hebrew much older than that of the rest of Exodus. A number of scholars consider it the oldest surviving text describing

the Exodus The Exodus (Hebrew language, Hebrew: יציאת מצרים, ''Yeẓi’at Miẓrayim'': ) is the founding myth of the Israelites whose narrative is spread over four books of the Torah (or Pentateuch, corresponding to the first five books of the ...

, dating to the pre-monarchic period. An alternative is that it was deliberately written in an archaic style, a known literary device. As such, proposed dates for its composition range from the 13th to the 5th century BCE.

Page layout

The

Ashkar-Gilson Manuscript The Ashkar-Gilson Manuscript (circa 600-700CE) is a fragment of a Torah scroll containing a portion of Shemot (Book of Exodus). The section is a crucial text that displays the unique layout of Shirat HaYam ( The Song of the Sea). It was found in B ...

is a fragment of a 7th or 8th century Torah scroll that contains the Song of the Sea. Some scholars have argued that the "brickwork" pattern of the Ashkar-Gilson version shows that the

Masoretes The Masoretes ( he, בַּעֲלֵי הַמָּסוֹרָה, Baʿălēy Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Masters of the Tradition') were groups of Jewish scribe-scholars who worked from around the end of the 5th through 10th centuries CE, based primarily in ...

accurately copied earlier manuscripts. This pattern was not used in the

Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the ...

. A similar pattern is used in modern Torah scrolls, and the Ashkenazi and Sepharadi Torah scrolls differ from the Yemenite scrolls in the arrangement of the very last line.

Text

Ketuba of the Seventh Day of Pesah

The ''Ketubá del Seten Dia de Pesah'' (or כתובה ליום השביעי של פסח – ''Ketuba Le-yom Ha-shebi`i shel Pesah'') is a liturgical poem in

Ladino Ladino, derived from Latin, may refer to: * The register of Judaeo-Spanish used in the translation of religious texts, such as the Ferrara Bible *Ladino people, a socio-ethnic category of Mestizo or Hispanicized people in Central America especi ...

, describing Pharaoh's defeat in the Sea of Reeds. Most Jewish communities sing this poem on 21 Nisan, the seventh day of

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Ancient Egypt, Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew calendar, He ...

. According to Jewish tradition, this is the day on which Pharaoh's army was drowned in the Sea of Reeds, and the Israelite people sang the ''Song of the Sea'' in gratitude for this victory. Presumably, this text is called a '' ketuba'' ("marriage contract") because the relationship between God and the Jewish people is traditionally described as a marriage, and the splitting of the sea is considered to be an important event leading to that marriage, which ultimately took place 42 days later, at

Mt. Sinai Mount Sinai ( he , הר סיני ''Har Sinai''; Aramaic: ܛܘܪܐ ܕܣܝܢܝ ''Ṭūrāʾ Dsyny''), traditionally known as Jabal Musa ( ar, جَبَل مُوسَىٰ, translation: Mount Moses), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is ...

. A tune for the Ladino poem along with the entire text itself can be found in Isaac Levy's ''Anthology of Sepharadic Hazzanut''.

Musical settings

In Hebrew Cantillation, the Song is given a unique, festive tune, not bound to the ordinary trope marks. The following settings exist for the Song of the Sea: * Cantique de Moïse (French)

Étienne Moulinié Étienne Moulinié (10 October 1599 – 1676) was a French Baroque composer. He was born in Languedoc, and when he was a child he sang at the Narbonne Cathedral. Through the influence of his brother Antoine (died 1655), Moulinié gained an app ...

. * Canticum Moysis (Latin)

Fernando de las Infantas Fernando de las Infantas (1534ca. 1610) was a Spanish nobleman, composer and theologian. Life Infantas was born in Córdoba in 1534, a descendant of Juan Fernández de Córdoba who had conveyed the two daughters, ''infantas'' (hence the surname), ...

. * Cantemus Domino Ascanio Trombetti. * Part Three of Handel's 1739 oratorio ''

Israel in Egypt ''Israel in Egypt'', HWV 54, is a biblical oratorio by the composer George Frideric Handel. Most scholars believe the libretto was prepared by Charles Jennens, who also compiled the biblical texts for Handel's '' Messiah''. It is composed ...

'', entitled ''Moses' Song''. * ''Mirjams Siegesgesang'' (Miriam's Song of Triumph), Op. 136, D. 942 by

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

. Some of the song features in the 1998 animated film ''

The Prince of Egypt ''The Prince of Egypt'' is a 1998 American animated musical drama film produced by DreamWorks Animation and released by DreamWorks Pictures. The first feature film from DreamWorks to be traditionally animated, it is an adaptation of the Bo ...

''. The text consists of a few selected lines and paraphrases from the Hebrew text inserted in the bridge of the song ''

When You Believe "When You Believe" is a song from the 1998 DreamWorks musical animated feature ''The Prince of Egypt''. It was written and composed by Stephen Schwartz. A pop single version of "When You Believe", with additional music and lyrics by writer-pr ...

''. Portions of the song are paraphrased in both of the melodic and textual variations of the popular

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

song, "O Mary Don't You Weep".

References

External links

A collection of articles on the Song of the Sea from a Jewish perspective.
at

Chabad.org Chabad.org is the flagship website of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement. It was one of the first Jewish internet sites and the first and largest virtual congregation. History In 1988, Yosef Yitzchak Kazen, a Chabad rabbi, began creating ...

Biblical Hebrew Poetry - Reconstructing the Original Oral, Aural and Visual Experience

{{DEFAULTSORT:Song Of The Sea Book of Exodus Canticles Documentary hypothesis Jewish prayer and ritual texts Pesukei dezimra Yam Suph Siddur of Orthodox Judaism Jewish poetry Moses Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish prayers and blessings