11and brought Israel out from among them
12with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.
13He divided the Red Sea in two
14and led Israel through the midst,
15but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea.
His Love Endures Forever
He divided the Red Sea in two Psalm 136:13 · Berean Standard Bible
God literally split the Red Sea into two walls of water—an act so impossible that it could only be divine.
Imagine standing at the shore with the Egyptian army closing in and seeing the water part. This wasn't a natural phenomenon you could explain away; it was undeniable proof that God had directly intervened.
The psalmist, narrating the exodus climax
This is Exodus 14—the moment when God's power became visible in the most dramatic way possible, and Israel's faith was born in awe.
The psalm narrates the mechanism of liberation: God 'divided the Red Sea in two,' splitting the waters and creating a pathway—the Hebrew parad suggests tearing or rending apart, emphasizing the violent rupture of natural order required for Israel's passage.
This refers to the climactic moment of Exodus 14, when the sea that had seemed to trap Israel between the pursuing Egyptians and an impassable barrier became the instrument of salvation. The community would have understood this not as a natural tidal phenomenon but as manifest divine intervention overriding normal causation.
The collective liturgical voice continues the narrative sequence, moving from liberation in general terms to the specific miraculous acts that accomplished it.
The sea-crossing becomes in biblical and Christian tradition the archetypal salvific passage—baptism is interpreted through this lens (1 Corinthians 10:1-2), and the Red Sea crossing features prominently in early Christian catechesis as a type prefiguring Christian initiation and the ultimate passage into God's kingdom.
11and brought Israel out from among them
12with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.
13He divided the Red Sea in two
14and led Israel through the midst,
15but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea.
Read all of Psalm 136 — Twenty-six verses. Twenty-six times the refrain: His steadfast love endures forever. Repetition becomes revelation.
This page covers one. BibleKey does all 31,102 — tap any verse for its meaning, any word for its Hebrew or Greek root, and keep reading without leaving the chapter.
Not just the famous ones. BibleKey is free on iPhone and iPad.
Download on the App StoreFree on iPhone & iPad