15:8 By the blast of your nostrils 1 the waters were piled up,
the flowing water stood upright like a heap, 2
and the deep waters were solidified in the heart of the sea.
15:10 But 3 you blew with your breath, and 4 the sea covered them.
They sank 5 like lead in the mighty waters.
1 sn The phrase “the blast of your nostrils” is a bold anthropomorphic expression for the wind that came in and dried up the water.
2 tn The word “heap” describes the walls of water. The waters, which are naturally fluid, stood up as though they were a heap, a mound of earth. Likewise, the flowing waters deep in the ocean solidified – as though they were turned to ice (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 175).
3 tn “But” has been supplied here.
4 tn Here “and” has been supplied.
5 tn The verb may have the idea of sinking with a gurgling sound, like water going into a whirlpool (R. A. Cole, Exodus [TOTC], 124; S. R. Driver, Exodus, 136). See F. M. Cross and D. N. Freedman, “The Song of Miriam,” JNES 14 (1955): 243-47.