The climax of the crossing of the Red Sea unfolds just as the night recedes and dawn breaks. Following a dramatic night where the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground, the miraculous path of salvation suddenly transforms into a deadly trap for their pursuers. Nature is commanded to resume its normal course, guided by divine precision to finalize the downfall of the Egyptians. The arrival of morning is not merely a measure of time but a profound symbol; as the physical day begins to illuminate the world, the light of Israel's redemption breaks forth [רש"י, אבן עזרא, ברכת אשר].
The sea's return to its original state carries multiple layers of physical and spiritual meaning. The primary approach among commentators is that the waters crashed back with their primordial strength and raw power [רש"י, אבן עזרא, שד"ל, רבנו בחיי, שטיינזלץ]. Water that has been unnaturally held back and suddenly released surges with far greater violence than its normal flow [פרדס יוסף]. On a fundamental level, the sea simply reverted to its natural behavior, as any separated element inherently seeks to rejoin its whole once the dividing force is removed [העמק דבר, ביאור יש"ר].
Beyond the physical mechanics of the event, the sea's return reveals a deeper arrangement. God had established a condition with the waters during the six days of creation, embedding the future splitting of the sea into the very fabric of nature [אור החיים, רבנו בחיי, צאינה וראינה]. This means the miracle was not a sudden rupture of natural law, but the activation of an ancient divine plan [רבנו בחיי, צפנת פענח]. Such a preordained condition was essential. At that moment, both the Israelites and the Egyptians were entrenched in idolatry, meaning the sea did not part due to Israel's present merit, but rather for their future destiny, upon which the existence of the entire world depended [נחלת יעקב]. Furthermore, the sea's return to its full strength was invoked through the merit of Abraham, the patriarch who embodied unyielding spiritual fortitude [שפתי כהן].
As the waters collapsed, a deeply tragic irony unfolded as the fleeing Egyptians found themselves running directly into their own destruction. Struck by overwhelming panic and confusion, they lost their bearings. Believing they were sprinting back toward the safety of dry land, they inadvertently rushed headlong into the surging waves [רש"י, אבן עזרא, ספורנו]. Other commentators explain that the waters began to return at the shorelines first. When the Egyptian army attempted to retreat to the coast they had departed from, they crashed into a wall of water that had already sealed off their escape route [רשב"ם, חזקוני, מלבי"ם, חתם סופר]. Alternatively, the waters themselves behaved as if they were a living entity, actively surging toward the Egyptians to swallow them, rushing with zeal to fulfill the will of their Creator [אור החיים, הדר זקנים].
The physical destruction of the Egyptian forces is described as a violent shaking, much like a person shaking a cooking pot and flipping its contents upside down. The Egyptians were violently tossed up and down, battered within the churning sea [רש"י, ביאור יש"ר]. The turbulent waters overturned their chariots, forcefully ejecting the riders and plunging them straight to the ocean floor. Paralyzed by absolute terror, they sank like stones without even attempting to swim [ספורנו, רש"ר הירש]. This extreme turbulence served a specific purpose, neutralizing even the most expert swimmers who might have otherwise survived the flood [אור החיים, אלשיך].
The punishment was designed to be acutely felt. God infused the Egyptians with a unique vitality during this violent tossing so they would fully experience the agony of their judgment rather than dying instantly [רש"י, משכיל לדוד]. He also caused them to cry out with such volume that the Israelites on the shore would hear them, providing absolute certainty that their oppressors were gone [רלב"ג]. On a spiritual plane, this physical destruction mirrored a heavenly defeat. God first overthrew the guiding spiritual prince of Egypt in the celestial realm, subjecting him to the raw forces of nature [אור החיים, אלשיך]. Witnessing this absolute and undeniable collapse of the Egyptian empire finally elevated the Israelites to a state of complete faith, culminating in their song of thanksgiving [צרור המור].