Exodus 14:20

so that it came between the camps of Egypt and Israel. The cloud was there in the darkness, but it lit up the night. So all night long neither camp went near the other.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The narrator records the pillar of cloud's movement after it shifts from the front to the rear of the Israelite camp (Exodus 14:19) and immediately before Moses stretches out his hand over the sea (Exodus 14:21).

The words — בֵּין (bein) translates literally as "between" and appears twice to mark the cloud's exact placement. מַחֲנֶה (machaneh) means "camp" and identifies the two opposing groups held in place.

The thread — The text positions a dividing barrier between hostile camps, paralleling the dual role of divine presence as sanctuary and stumbling stone (Isaiah 8:14) and the simultaneous reality of salvation and perishing among those who encounter God (2 Corinthians 2:15).

Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to acknowledge that God's intervention halts human movement and enforces separation until the divine command for passage is given.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

King James Version

And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

Cross-references

Isaiah 8:14 And He will be a sanctuary—but to both houses of Israel a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, to the dwellers of Jerusalem a trap and a snare.
2 Corinthians 2:15 For we are to God the sweet aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.
Proverbs 4:18 The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.
Psalms 18:11 He made darkness His hiding place, and storm clouds a canopy around Him.