שמות, פרק י״ד, פסוק י״ז

The path through the split sea was never a mere geographic necessity on the journey to the Promised Land. Instead, it was a carefully designed divine trap meant to draw the pursuing army to its ultimate downfall. God reveals this strategy to the Israelites ahead of time out of deep mercy, aiming to spare them from panic. Without this prior knowledge, the Israelites might have lost their faith entirely upon seeing the waters remain parted for the Egyptians, mistakenly believing their enemies were successfully catching up [אבן עזרא, אור החיים].

The necessity of divine intervention becomes clear when considering the sheer lack of logic in the pursuers' actions. From a rational standpoint, after enduring a devastating chain of plagues, the pursuing army should have exercised extreme caution rather than marching directly into the ocean [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. To counter this natural hesitation, God takes immediate action to embolden them, giving them the unnatural courage required to step inside [קאסוטו]. This emboldening took the form of removing their basic understanding. As they charged forward, the pursuers were completely unaware that they were descending into the depths of the ocean. They operated under the delusion that they were riding on solid ground or experiencing a natural, routine receding of the tide [העמק דבר, מלבי״ם]. Furthermore, this psychological influence was not limited to Pharaoh alone. It swept through the entire Egyptian populace, gripping the masses, the chariots, and the horsemen who all rushed blindly into the water [העמק דבר, קאסוטו].

The ultimate purpose of this grand design was for God to be glorified through their defeat, delivering a precise, measure-for-measure punishment for their cruelty [מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. However, commentators present different perspectives regarding the exact fate of those who marched into the sea. One approach suggests that anyone who entered the parted waters was completely swept away and destroyed when the sea returned to its natural state, with the exception of the crowds lingering at the rear who managed to escape backward in time [העמק דבר].

In contrast, another perspective draws a sharp distinction between the general forces and Pharaoh's elite military. According to this view, the broader forces included other nations under the Egyptian empire who had joined the pursuit. God drew them into the sea not to drown them, but to violently toss them in the waves as a display of His ultimate power. These allied nations actually survived and emerged from the water alive, though struck with profound terror and grief, so they could return home and spread the story of God's might across the globe. The absolute destruction and drowning were reserved exclusively for Pharaoh and his direct army, ensuring that the ultimate divine glory was established specifically upon the ruin of his personal chariots and horsemen [שפתי כהן].