Pearls of the Word

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In the midst of the sea

by Jean-Louis Coraboeuf

"For the horses of Pharaoh went with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea [הים] upon them and the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea [הים]" (Exodus 15:19 Chumash of Jerusalem).

The Letters to the Hebrew says that "By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land" (Hebrews 11:29). Here is how the end of the above verse is written in Shemot Megillah, the scroll of Exodus:

הים    ובני ישראל הלכו ביבשה בתוך    הים

The two Hebrew words הים (sea) are right-justified and left-justified to visually show the Israelites walking between the two walls of water of the sea (Exodus 14:22). They were pursued by Pharaoh and his horsemen. There was therefore only one way for them: to move forward in God's plan.

Note: the word size of הים was increased and coloured in blue to better highlight 'the sea' and the Israelite people in the middle.