The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone.

EXODUS 15:5KJV
Know the Bible

Exodus 15:5 (KJV)

What does Exodus 15:5 mean?

Exodus 15:5 describes how the Egyptian army was overwhelmed by the sea during their pursuit of the Israelites, sinking quickly and completely beneath the water. The verse uses the image of sinking "as a stone" to show how swiftly and thoroughly they were swallowed up.

Moses and the Israelites are singing a song of victory to God after crossing the Red Sea. This verse is part of their praise, recalling how God’s intervention caused the Egyptian forces to be covered and lost in the depths of the sea, leaving no trace behind. The language highlights the finality and totality of the Egyptians’ defeat.

The Hebrew behind Exodus 15:5

  • "depths" (תְּהֹמֹת, tehomot): This word often refers to deep waters or the chaotic depths of the sea, emphasizing how completely the Egyptians were submerged.
  • "covered" (כָּסָה, kasah): This verb means to cover over or conceal, stressing that the Egyptians were not just drowned but hidden from sight by the waters.
  • "sank" (יָרַד, yarad): This word means to go down or descend, describing the Egyptians’ rapid plunge beneath the surface.
  • "bottom" (מְצוּלָה, metsulah): This refers to the very depths or the deep part of the sea, underlining how far down the Egyptians fell.
  • "as" (כְּמוֹ, kemo) and "stone" (אֶבֶן, even): The comparison to a stone makes the image vivid, showing how quickly and helplessly the Egyptians sank.

Why Exodus 15:5 matters

  • This verse clears up any idea that the Egyptian army might have survived or escaped; the language stresses their complete and irreversible defeat.
  • The vivid imagery connects back to the earlier narrative of the Red Sea crossing, reinforcing the miraculous nature of Israel’s deliverance.
  • The verse sets a tone of awe and gratitude in the song, helping the reader feel the weight of what God did for the Israelites.

Where else these words appear

“bottom” Hebrew H4688 · used in 11 verses

  • Nehemiah 9:11 And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters.
  • Psalms 69:2 I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.
  • Psalms 107:24 These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.

“as” Hebrew H3644 · used in 19 verses

  • Genesis 19:15 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.
  • 1 Kings 22:4 And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramothgilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses.
  • Isaiah 26:18 We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.

“depths” Hebrew H8415 · used in 35 verses

  • Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
  • Psalms 33:7 He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.
  • Proverbs 3:20 By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.

“covered” Hebrew H3680 · used in 149 verses

  • Genesis 7:19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.
  • 1 Samuel 19:13 And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth.
  • Proverbs 24:31 And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.