Bible Strands
Exodus 15:14
The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will grip the dwellers of Philistia.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The text records a declaration following the Red Sea crossing, situated between promises of God’s guidance to the redeemed and a parallel account of Edom, Moab, and Canaan’s reactions. It functions as a prophetic observation of how neighboring peoples will react to the reported deliverance.
The words — יִרְגָּז֑וּ (yir.ga.Zu) means they tremble, and חִ֣יל (chil) denotes anguish. Paired with אָחַ֔ז ('a.Chaz) = it has seized, the language describes a sudden, involuntary physical paralysis.
The thread — The pattern of hearing triggering fear runs through Deuteronomy 2:25, where dread is placed upon all nations, Joshua 2:9, where fear falls on everyone who hears the report, and Psalms 48:6, which equates trembling with seizure-like agony.
Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment that reported divine action produces immediate psychological collapse in opposing populations. It requires the reader to accept that fear precedes territorial displacement.
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
The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 2:25 This very day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon all the nations under heaven. They will hear the reports of you and tremble in anguish because of you.”
- Joshua 2:9 and said to them, “I know that the LORD has given you this land and that the fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who dwell in the land are melting in fear of you.
- Psalms 48:6 Trembling seized them there, anguish like a woman in labor.
- Numbers 14:14 And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have already heard that You, O LORD, are in the midst of this people, that You, O LORD, have been seen face to face, that Your cloud stands over them, and that You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
- Joshua 9:24 The Gibeonites answered, “Your servants were told clearly that the LORD your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land and wipe out all its inhabitants before you. So we greatly feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we have done this.
- Isaiah 14:31 Wail, O gate! Cry out, O city! Melt away, all you Philistines! For a cloud of smoke comes from the north, and there are no stragglers in its ranks.
- Numbers 22:5 he sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates in the land of his people. “Behold, a people has come out of Egypt,” said Balak. “They cover the face of the land and have settled next to me.
- Deuteronomy 2:4 and command the people: ‘You will pass through the territory of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so you must be very careful.
- Isaiah 14:29 Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken. For a viper will spring from the root of the snake, and a flying serpent from its egg.