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Fifth comparison: the passage of the Jews through the Red Sea and the death of the Egyptians in it. The nineteenth chapter contains a new parallel between the Israelites and the Egyptians. The first miraculously passed through the Red Sea, as if on a dry path, to continue their glorious wanderings in the desert; the latter found an extraordinary death in the same sea. Prem.19:1. And unmerciful wrath hung over the wicked to the end, for He foresaw their future deeds, Prem.19:2. that they, having allowed them to go and hastily sent them away, would repent and pursue them, Prem.19:3. for, still having sorrow in their hands and weeping over the graves of the dead, they had another crazy thought, and those whom they sent out with prayer were pursued as fugitives. 1–3. These verses indicate the reason for the final punishment that befell the Egyptians, drowning in the Red Sea. After the Jews left Egypt, when the main guilt of the Egyptians before God, the oppression of His people (Wis. 18:4), ceased to exist, the wrath of God still continued to weigh on the Egyptians: “for He foresaw their future deeds.” It is precisely that the Egyptians, having freed the Jews, even encouraging them to quickly leave their country (Ex. 12:33), will then repent of this and, like fugitives, will send pursuit of them. This “mad thought” arose among the Egyptians when they “had sorrows in their hands and were weeping over the tombs,” a circumstance that showed that even a fresh feeling of deep sorrow for their dead firstborns could not restrain the selfish calculations and anger of the Egyptians. Prem.19:4. The fate to which they were worthy drew them to that end, and it brought oblivion about what had happened, so that they would make up for the punishment that was missing from their torment, 4. It might seem incomprehensible how the Egyptians, after all the executions, and not yet finishing mourning for their slain firstborns, could begin to persecute the Jews again. In explanation of this, the writer says: “Fate drew them to that end... it brought oblivion about what happened.” Undoubtedly, the same thought is expressed here as in the corresponding place in the book of Exodus: “God hardened the heart of Pharaoh” (Ex. 14:4); Only this idea about God’s hardening of the hearts of the Egyptians, as the immediate reason for the resumption of the persecution of the Jews, is expressed by the writer in the language of Greek philosophy: ανάγκη εΐλχε, “drawn by fate.” Both in this and in the other way of expression, the idea of ​​​​the influence of the deity on the will of man is equally allowed under the assumption of the relative freedom of this will. Only with this last assumption could it be said that the Egyptians “were worthy” of the fate that befell them, it was possible to assign responsibility to them and indicate the purpose of the final disaster to be “so that they would make up for the punishment that was missing from their torment.” Thus, the expression: “attracted by fate,” which is completely alien to biblical language, nevertheless expresses a biblical thought. Prem.19:5. and that Thy people may make a glorious journey, and they may find themselves an extraordinary death. Prem.19:6. For all creation was again transformed from above in its nature, obeying special commands, so that Your sons might be preserved unharmed. 6. Having indicated in the previous verse that the persecution of the Jews led to the fact that “Your people made a glorious journey” (v. 5), meaning by this the miraculous passage through the Red Sea, the writer focuses on this miracle and defines its essence. “...All creation was again transformed from above in its nature, obeying special commands...” In these words, the writer gives a more strict concept of a miracle than in the 16th 24th century. There he spoke only about a change in the degree of action of the forces of nature ("aspiration" and "subsidence" of nature), here he speaks of the transformation of nature in its essential properties ("creature ... in its nature"). He puts this transformation in parallel with new creations (“transformed again from above”) and thereby expresses the idea that the direct participation of the Divine will in a miracle is as necessary as in the creative act. Prem.19:7. A cloud appeared, overshadowing the camp, and where there had been water before, dry land appeared, an unobstructed path appeared from the Red Sea, and a green valley appeared from the stormy abyss. Prem.19:8. Covered by Your hand, they walked along it with all the people, seeing wondrous miracles. 7–8. Description of the miracle of the Jews crossing the Red Sea. Pres.19:9. They grazed like horses and played like lambs, praising You, O Lord, their Savior, Prem.19:10. for they still remembered what had happened during their stay there, how the earth, instead of giving birth to other animals, produced scnips, and the river, instead of fish, spewed out many toads. 9–10. Overwhelmed by a sense of joy upon crossing the Red Sea, the Jews are compared to galloping lambs and horses grazing freely (similar to Ps. 114:6). This feeling of joy, in addition to the miracle that had just occurred, was also aroused by memories of the events in Egypt (Ex. 7:26–28, 7:12–14). Prem.19:11. And then they saw a new genus of birds, when, carried away by desire, they asked for pleasant food, 11. Wed. Prem.16:2. The writer made the mention of quails only to show that the feeling of joy of the Jews was strong. It was not only stimulated by the present event and nourished by the memories of the past, but was supported by manifestations of God’s help in the future. It can be assumed that the writer deliberately strengthens the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe welfare of the Jews in order to obtain a stronger contrast with the Egyptians, whose punishment he then proceeds to punish. Prem.19:12. for to console them quails flew from the sea, and the sinners suffered punishment, not without signs that came by the power of lightning. They justly suffered for their malice, 12. From the twelfth verse the writer moves on to the Egyptians, calling them simply “sinners” who “suffered punishment not without signs that came by the power of lightning.” These words refer to the drowning of the Egyptians in the Red Sea and correspond to Ex. 14:24–25 art. We find a similar image of the passage through the Red Sea with thunder and lightning in other places of Holy Scripture: for example, Ps. 76:18–21. Prem.19:13 . for they had a stronger hatred of foreigners: some did not accept unknown strangers, but these enslaved beneficent strangers. Prem.19:14 . And not only this, but there will also be judgment against them for the fact that they received strangers with hostility, Prem.19:15 . and these, having joyfully accepted, then began to oppress those who already enjoyed the same rights with terrible work. Prem.19:16. Therefore they were struck with blindness, as those once were at the door of the righteous man, when, being enveloped in thick darkness, they each sought the entrance to his door. 13–16. The writer compares the attitude of the Egyptians towards the Jews with the attitude of the inhabitants of the city of Sodom towards foreigners, known from the Bible (Gen. XIX ch.). The comparison does not speak in favor of the Egyptians and a terrible judgment is announced to them in the future. The Sodomites refused to receive strangers whom they did not know at all; The Egyptians showed great hatred of foreigners: they enslaved strangers who were already known to them as beneficent people (i.e. Jews). The first revealed simply hostility, and the second also showed treachery: having accepted the Jews with joy and giving them rights, they then began to oppress them with work. Therefore, the Egyptians were punished like the Sodomites: “they were struck with blindness, as they were once at the door of the righteous man” (i.e. Lot, see Gen. XIX). By the blindness of the Egyptians, the writer means either the three-day darkness (Wis. 17:2), or the fact that they, as if blinded, not seeing the imminent danger, rushed after the Jews along the bottom of the sea. But this is not the last punishment of the Egyptians: “there will still be judgment on them.” Here the writer probably expresses his messianic hope that the Jews will judge all nations (Wed. 3:8). Prem.19:17. The very elements have changed, just as sounds in a harp change their character, always remaining the same sounds; this can be seen through careful observation of the ex. 17–21. In this last section of the nineteenth chapter. the writer once again returns to reflecting on the miraculous intervention of God in the course of events during the liberation of the Jews from slavery and concludes the book with the glorification of Jehovah, who exalted his people. 17. Mention of a miracle in v. 17. gives the writer a reason again (as in Art. 6) to express his deep metaphysical view of the essence of the miracle. "Through careful observation of the former", i.e. miracles that occurred, “one can see,” he says, that in the miracle “the very elements have changed, just as sounds in a harp change their character, always remaining the same sounds.” The writer calls elements those then considered to be the primary simple substances of the world or elements: water, earth, fire and air. A miracle is expressed in the fact that the properties and actions of the elements change, but their essence remains the same. In the next 18-20 verses the writer gave examples of this change. Prem.19:18 . For the animals of the earth were changed into water animals, and those swimming in the waters came to earth. 18. The meaning of the verse itself is clear. The only difficulty is to indicate what events the writer meant when he said that “terrestrial animals changed into aquatic animals, and those swimming in the waters came to land.” According to a more likely opinion, the first half of the verse refers to the Jews, when they and their herds of cattle crossed along the bottom of the Red Sea, and the water stood like walls on both sides; the other half - to the second execution, the appearance of a large number of toads on land from the waters. Of course, strictly speaking, in none of the above cases there was a transformation of terrestrial animals into aquatic animals and vice versa, but this does not prove that the writer did not understand these events. In the latter part of his book, this is not the only example where he sacrifices historical accuracy in order to pursue a well-known idea. Prem.19:19 . Fire in water retained its strength, and water lost its extinguishing property; Prem.19:20 . the flame, on the contrary, did not harm the bodies of wandering destructible animals, and the easily melted snow-like celestial food did not melt. Prem.19:21. Thus, Lord, You magnified and glorified Your people in everything, and did not abandon them, but remained with them at all times and in all places. 19–21. Wed. Wisdom 16:17–23. Teacher of the St. Petersburg Theological Seminary, candidate of theology, P.S. Tychinin.