For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.
For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots ... This verse, in accordance with the Semitic style of competition, which indulges in frequent repetitions, is a recapitulation of the great facts in which the song originated. In this view the initiatory word "For" serves to introduce the explanation by rehearsing the substance of the first verse as an epitome of the whole subject. [But Rosenmuller (Schol., in loco.) considers that the song closes at Exodus 15:18; and that this verse, together with the two following ones, contains a brief resume, in prosaic narrative, of the memorable incident which gave birth to this epinikion.] Pharaoh is here represented as riding upon his horse at the head of the army which marched in hot pursuit of the Israelites, and the total destruction of which, in circumstances so appalling, is graphically described in the preceding song. It is alleged that a memorial of the king's person and dreadful fate is found among the Sinaitic inscriptions. 'Among the events of the exode.' says Mr. Foster ('The Voice of Israel from the Rocks'), 'those records comprise a reference to the passage of the Red Sea, with the introduction of Pharaoh twice by name, and two notices of the Egyptian tyrant's vain attempt to save himself by flight on horseback, from the returning waters; together with hieroglyphical representations of himself and of his horse, in accordance with this passage before us, which has hitherto been unexplained.'