Matthew Poole and continuators on Exodus 14:30

30 Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians: and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea-shore

Which was done either 1. By the natural power of the Sea, which casteth up its dead bodies, after a certain time, till which time God caused the Israelites to abide near the Sea, that they might see this for their comfort. Or. 2. By the mighty power of God, which brought them, and their arms too, as many probably conceive, to shore, before the usual time. Quest. How could the Israelites, both they and their Cattle, in so little time get over that great Sea? Answ. 1. The Hebrew and some other interpreters deny, that they went over, and tell us, that they onely went into the Sea, and fetched a compass in it, that they might allure the Egyptians to follow them, and then by Moses his conduct returned to the Egyptian shore again. The principal ground of which opinion is this, that as they went into the Sea out of the Wilderness of Etham, Exod. 13. 20. So they came again out of the Sea into the Wilderness of Etham, Numb. 33. 8. But the sameness of the name doth not prove that it is the same place, nothing being more frequent in Scripture than for divers places to be called by one and the same name. And the Israelites might possibly give the name of Etham to this Desert on the Arabian side of the Red-sea either for its great resemblance to that Desert so called on the Egyptian side, or to intimate that God by dividing the Sea, had made that and this to be one continued Desert. Or the name of Etham might be common to all that Desert at the end of the Red-Sea and on both sides of it. Answ. 2. They might all conveniently pass over the Sea to the Arabian shore in the time allowed for it either by the mighty power of God which could easily make both men and beasts to do it in much less than ordinary time, or even by the ccurse of nature. For that part of the Sea was not above eight or nine miles over, as Geographers and others affirm. And the time allotted for their passage seems to me to be much more than Interpreters have assigned for it. For the Egyptians and Israelites were divided one from another by the cloudy pillar all the night, ver. 20. and a strong East wind blew all that night, ver. 21. The next morning, as I apprehend it, the Cloud still keeping between them, and possibly covering the Egyptians with gross and horrible darkness which hindred their march, the whole body of the Israelites, and their Cattle too are drawn by Moses his direction near the shore, and, it may be, the Cattle were put into the Sea, all which might well take up most of that day, then towards the evening they enter into the Sea and so proceed, and the Cloud withdrawing further from the Egyptians and following the Israelites, the Egyptians pursue after them, and as it is very probable from the nature and reason of the thing, stand debating some considerable time, when they came to the shore, whether they should venture to follow them into the Sea or no. At last, the worst Counsel prevails, as it general happens, when a people are under a divine infatuation, and into the Sea they go, and by the beginning of the morning watch they draw near the Israelites, when God seasonably appears for Israels succour, and puts a stop to the march of the Egyptians. So the morning-watch mentioned ver. 24. I take to be, not the morning watch of that night mentioned ver. 20. 21. (for all that night, and therefore the morning watch of that night, which was a third, or at least, a fourth part of it, was now past and gone) but the next morning-watch after that night and the succeeding day: which seems much more reasonable, then to shrink up the march first of the Israelites, and then of the Egyptians, into about three hours time, which is the time between the midnight and the morning watch. Nor is there any thing in the text which in the least contradicts this opinion, but onely that this dayes interval and work is not mentioned in this story, whereas such omissions are frequent in Scripture-relations, in which the substance onely is mentioned and many circumstances omitted, whereof we have seen some instances already, and shall meet with many more hereafter.