The Bible In Paintings, #29: MOSES, Part 5 – PARTING THE RED SEA

Bing Images ^ | c. 2000 BC -- c. 90 AD | Father, Son & Holy Spirit

[Hebrews 11:6]

THE CHASE IS ON!

E X O D U S . . 1 4 New International Version, emphases added
Abridged – the complete text is in your Bible

1 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. 3 Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ 4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites did this.

5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” 6 So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. 7 He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. 8 The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. 9 The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.

10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”

by JAMES TISSOT
“Pharaoh Pursues the Israelites”

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GOD'S DELIVERANCE

13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. 17 I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.”

19 Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 20 coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

by RICHARD MCBEE
"Exodus"

by DANIEL GERHARTZ

by BROOKE SENDELE
“The Book of Exodus”

by YORAM RAANAN
“The Exodus”

by YORAM RAANAN
“The Splitting of the Sea”

by NATALIA KADISH
“The Splitting of the Sea”

by MORDECAI COLODNER
“Faith at the Sea of Reeds”

by YEHOSHUA WISEMAN
“Moses Splits the Sea of Reeds”

“Escape from Egypt”

by CECIL B. DEMILLE
“The Ten Commandments”

by CECIL B. DEMILLE
“The Ten Commandments”

by JAMES TISSOT
“The Waters Are Divided”

by KARLA GUDEON

by REBECCA EDENTON
"Parting Of The Red Sea"

by ROEJAE BAPTISTE
"Moses"

by HIRAKU KUN
"Crossing the Red Sea"

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GOD 1, PHARAOH 0

23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. 24 During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. 25 He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”

26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. 28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.

29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31 And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

by GUSTAV DORÉ
“The Egyptians Drown in the Sea”

by LUCAS CRANACH THE ELDER
“The Sinking of Pharaoh in the Red Sea”

by JAMES TISSOT
“The Egyptians Are Destroyed”

by FREDERICK ARTHUR BRIDGMAN
"Pharaoh's Army Engulfed by the Red Sea"

by GEORGE TINWORTH
"Overthrow of Pharaoh and His Army in the Red Sea"

by ALLAN STANGLIN
"Red Sea Victory"

by MARTIN YOUNG
"Drowned"

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Again, here is the Bing page
"THE PARTING OF THE RED SEA IN ART”,
showing various painters' conceptions.
Several are serious works worthy of interest,
by unknown artists except as noted.

Also, here are links to compendia of three masters
who painted Biblical scenes prolifically:

REMBRANDT van RIJN

GUSTAV DORÉ
(241 wood engravings for
La Grande Bible de Tours)

JAMES TISSOT

Finally, here are links to the
PREVIOUS 26 POSTS IN THIS SERIES

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SPECIAL THANKS
to FReeper left that other site,
who allowed God to make her His conduit
for incomparable enthusiasm, encouragement,
education, advice and technical assistance!

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SNEAK PEEK: Next time,

INTO THE WILDERNESS

[Hebrews 11:6]

At the Holy Spirit's prompting, I am surveying "Bible art" for my own amusement and learning, and I thought others might enjoy it, too. My intent is to proceed methodically left-to right, Genesis to Revelation, as the Lord wills. Back soon with another.

The Bible encourages us to meditate on it (Ps. 1:1-3, 119:11-16, etc.); these artists have done so, and their works can assist us and enrich our own thoughts about biblical characters, incidents and concepts, and increase our faith in He who is behind it all. As you encounter and consider these images and the related Scriptures and the Spirit enlightens your understanding, please share it with us!

But it is not only oil-on-canvas that can so help us; I refer to the astonishing video series The Chosen, which strolls through the four Gospels at the most leisurely pace. The eight episodes of Season 1 are finished, and the second of a planned seven seasons is coming soon. I say "leisurely" because after an entire year’s viewing Jesus still has only seven of the apostles (although He's preparing to call up Thomas from the minor leagues--but Thomas is skeptical, of course). Anticipating a canvas of fifty-plus hours instead of a movie's paltry two hours, The Chosen turns the characters (especially including Jesus!) into three-dimensional humans and brings the Gospels alive--you have never seen anything even remotely like it! Here is the Official Trailer.

Here is a link for free viewing of The Chosen: “Works with your phone, tablet, and you can cast to your Roku or Chromecast.” Last fall I paid $34.98 for DVDs and ongoing internet access—best 35 bucks I’ve ever spent (I don’t recall how much our marriage license cost, but then it was 42 years ago).

[Hebrews 11:6]

Ping List for the series
"THE BIBLE IN PAINTINGS"

To receive an alert for each new posting
in this series, either reply here or FRmail me.

[Ezekiel]

Oh wow, stunning. Thanks for your time and effort in putting this collection together!

red tape (n.)

“excessive bureaucratic rigmarole,” 1736, in reference to the red tape formerly used in Great Britain (and the American colonies) for binding up legal and other official documents, mentioned from 1690s.

Moses knew how to cut right through it all, while Pharoah’s army drowned. :)

[Hebrews 11:6]

Moses had a rather powerful Friend.

[InkStone]

Hey Hebrews 11:6 - thank you for your post, and your bio too.

[Hebrews 11:6]

Hey, Leon! Had thought about pinging you and a few others to this series but didn’t want to presume. Very glad you’ve arrived—hope this is enjoyable and a blessing to you.

[TheConservativeParty]

Wonderful! Will check this thread out more in the morning Have a good evening. 🌙⭐️😴

[Hebrews 11:6]

Sweet dreams! In the morning I think you’ll find a far higher ratio of impressionistic versus realistic art than usual on this thread. It’s not my doing—that’s just what I found. Change of pace.

[left that other site]

"Crossing The Red Sea"

by Arnold Fryberg (Ten Commandments Artist) My Personal Favorite.

[Hebrews 11:6]

That is a fine one—quite realistic and scary. Had I spotted it I surely would have included it. Just never came across it for some reason. Glad you added it.

[SheepWhisperer]

For those unfamiliar with Ron Wyatt’s research, I highly recommend searching for it. Your faith will be fortified and you will be blessed.

Mount Sinai is not on the Sinai Peninsula as had been taught for many years. Even the map in my bible shows this errant location. Moses was trending uncle Jethro’s sheep in Midian, “which is Arabia” when God appeared to him in the burning bush on Mt. Sinai. This is in Arabia, now Saudi Arabia. jebel el lawz. The mountain of the law. Search it out on Google earth. See the alter at its base. See the pillars. Find the rock that Moses split with the erosion marks from millions of gallons of water that flowed from it.

To God alone be all the glory in what you find.

Example...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=N1YX2N6vJTk

[Hebrews 11:6]

To God alone be all the glory in what you find.

That is certainly my heart's desire; I never want to get between the Holy Spirit and the viewer, and I take that responsibility seriously and prayerfully. I'm with John the Baptist: "He must increase and I must decrease." Kindly inform me wherever you notice something less.

Several times I've encountered art containing minor Biblical errors, and then I've asked the Spirit to guide me: which to omit, which to annotate, and which simply to leave to viewers' discernment. I had an example yesterday: Chartres Cathedral's windows include several dedicated to saints. After consulting the Spirit I included them, but with an explanation that I would have preferred seeing Biblical scenes instead: thus giving the glory not to men but to God.

[SheepWhisperer]

My past was in NO way intended to be critical

[Hebrews 11:6]

And I certainly did not take it that way. Instead, I believe the Holy Spirit was speaking through you, and I took it as two opportunities:

(1) to state what perhaps I should have made plain already--and now I am asking Him whether and, if so, how to incorporate such a statement into each post (if I do, I'll alert you)

(2) to recruit you personally, inasmuch as the Spirit seems to have appointed you already, as my helper in being vigilant against my dangers both of self-aggrandisement and of failing to post God-honoring works and words; I should add that doing so will require no "active vigilance" by you, because the Spirit will do that work and then just give you a poke, which you can then simply forward to me

So, thanks!

[left that other site]

That’s Joshua (John Derek) on the horse. So dramatic!

I had to really search for the painting, and only got it because I knew it existed, and used special search words.

[Hebrews 11:6]

I've changed the first sentence of the introduction to better specify the focus:

"At the Holy Spirit's prompting, I am surveying "Bible art" to give God glory, as many of these artists have done, and for my own amusement and learning, and I thought others might enjoy it and be blessed by it, too."

[Hebrews 11:6]

special search words

So, you're admitting you cheated!

[SheepWhisperer]

Your recent painting threads are excellent. Great finds

[Hebrews 11:6]

Just dawned on me: is that another storyboard? Looks too elaborate.

[Hebrews 11:6]

Your recent painting threads

Not sure whether I'm doing a better job or whether the recent topics inspire better art. But I do keep finding (and in one case, creating out of necessity) more and more useful sites to search besides just Bing, so I'm increasingly able to deliver the available art more comprehensively.