Exodus 15: A Hymn & A Cognate

Sometimes, I read the holy scriptures and I think it is only for my consumption, not for sharing. But, the holy scriptures are constantly asking us to share, and today, when I felt reading Exodus 15 would only serve me, a thought popped into my head about how I could serve you. I call that inspiration. How 'bout you?

As I read this passage, two noteworthy (I literally handwrote some notes about them) points were on my mind. 1st, a portion of this passage is used in the hymnography of the Ge'ez Rite during what the West calls Good Friday and Ethiopia & Eritrea call siqlet (crucifixion) and sigdet (prostration). 2nd, even though I know that Semitic languages are closely related, I am pleasantly-surprised every time I find a potential cognate.

"Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously" (Exodus 15:21 RSV)

"Let us sing to the Lord, for he is supremely glorified" (Exodus 15:21 Lexham English Septuagint) 

nisaybiho (x2) leigzeeabiheyr, sibuha zetesebiha — let us glorify (x2) the Lord, glorious is He who is glorified

Father Paul Nadim Tarazi often reminds us that repetition is used in scripture to highlight and emphasize points because that is the tool that was available to the authors of scripture in their time and place. Today, we have highlighter pens, CAPS LOCK, emojis (contemporary hieroglyphics) etc. Look at how the Ge'ez Rite hymnographers use repetition. Recall that they sing and chant these words, and these words alone, for 15-20 minutes. Do you think they used iterations of the word glory enough? Did you get their point? Good. If so, glorify God in all that you think, say, and do.

In the Ge'ez Rite hymnography these words are interpreted in light of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. His death, resurrection, and ascension are seen as signs of His victory over death and the fear of death. In this way, Pharoah and his troops' ("the horse and his rider") demise prefigure the demise of death itself—and the triumph of life and the author of life. The former triumph is extra-impressive in light of God's total control over that chaotic beast that Semites greatly feared—the sea. The latter triumph shows that the might of whichever earthly imperial power is ruling the world (Egypt, Rome, USA etc.) pales in comparison to the might of He who is enthroned in heaven and laughs.

"Then Moses led Israel onward from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur; they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah." (Exodus 15:22,23 RSV)

Repetition, our beloved friend, shows up again with the word marah. In addition to my suspicion that it is a cognate, repetition is what told me to take notes. The Revised Standard Version (RSV) has a note entitled u for these verses. There, it says that marah (in Hebrew) means bitterness. In Amharic, "merara" means bitter, "yimeral" means it is bitter, "meraranet" means bitterness, and "merereñ" means "imo it was bitter or "it was bitter for me". Is there a connection here? I won't say so with 100% certainty, but this is an educated guess of mine, and my educated guesses are more often right than wrong. Look into it, and let me know.

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