What Does Exodus 14:26 Mean in the King James?
And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
“Come again” is שׁוּב (shuv, return): the sea’s passage reverses, and its return drowns the force pursuing through it.
THE MEANING
You stand inside a passage that can reverse: the sea that opens a path now closes over the Egyptian chariots and horsemen. The verse names that return as lethal and leaves the drowning exposed.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that an opened way is safe for everyone who enters dissolves here: the same waters carry passage to one side and death to the other.
THE ROOT
וְיָשֻׁבוּ
veyashuvu
GROWS FROM
שׁוּב
Return, turn back, or bring back.
“come again” in this verse is veyashuvu. The verb וְיָשֻׁבוּ (veyashuvu, “and they return”) makes “again” more than repetition: the waters turn back over the pursuers. The same root can describe return as restoration or as a force coming back upon someone; here, that return is deadly.
ALSO GROWS
heshiv: Bring back, restore.
הֵשִׁיב
This causative form of the root shows that return can be something brought about; in the verse, the waters are made to return.
teshuvah: Return, turning back.
תְּשׁוּבָה
This noun preserves the root’s sense of turning back, revealing the reversal beneath the English “again.”
מִצְרַיִם
Mitzrayim
GROWS FROM
צָרַר
Bind, constrict, or press into distress.
“Egyptians” in this verse is Mitzrayim. The name Mitzrayim carries the sense of narrowness, so the verse sets a constricting force beneath the returning waters. The chariots and horsemen remain literal in the sentence; the name’s resonance deepens the scene without replacing its violence.
ALSO GROWS
tsar: Narrow, tight; distress.
צַר
This branch gives the narrowness carried in the name Mitzrayim, which is the force the returning waters cover.
metzar: A strait, narrow place, or distress.
מֵצַר
The narrow place gives the verse’s named constriction a spatial sense: the pursuing force is met by waters returning over it.
Mitzrayim: Egypt; the two narrows.
מִצְרַיִם
The Hebrew name behind “Egyptians” echoes constriction as the waters return over the people, chariots, and horsemen.
נְטֵה
neteih
GROWS FROM
נָטָה
Stretch, extend, incline, or spread.
“stretch out” in this verse is neteih. The hand’s extension marks the turning point: natah can also describe inclining or spreading something out. The verse moves from an outstretched hand over the sea to the sea’s return over the pursuing force.
ALSO GROWS
natah: Stretch out or extend.
נָטָה
This is the action commanded in the verse, placing the hand over the sea before the waters return.
natah: Incline or turn aside.
נָטָה
This branch of the same verb adds the sense of a change in direction, echoing the sea’s reversal.
natah: Pitch or spread a tent.
נָטָה
The verb can describe spreading something outward across a space; here, the hand extends over the sea as its open passage closes.
THE PATTERN
Return reverses direction: what recedes or goes forth can come back and alter what stands in its path.
And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate.For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.THE THREAD
And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.Genesis uses the same root, שׁוּב (shuv, return), for waters moving back from the earth. There, their return uncovers ground; here, the waters return over Egypt’s chariots and horsemen, giving the same word sharply different consequences.
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