Introduction
Moses has failed to persuade Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave Egypt, so he has taken matters into his own hands and brought them out anyway. Pharaoh quickly puts aside grief for his firstborn son, taken by God’s angel of death, and rides after the escaped slaves with vengeance in his heart.
PHARAOH believed he had the Israelites pinned down, trapped between his host and the Red Sea, and many of the Israelites feared so too.
But Moses lifted up his staff, and the waters of the sea parted, heaping up left and right. Between these swirling walls the Israelites crossed the glistening sands on foot, led by God (though he left no footprint),* together with their flocks. Pharaoh’s chariots and cavalry followed them in headlong, but the exposed sea-floor was heavy going.
The Israelites reached the farther shore first, where there was sweet water, and palm trees.* There Moses turned. He stretched out his hand over the sea, and the turbid walls of water began to fall. Down upon Pharaoh’s host they fell. Horse and rider were cast into the sea, sank like lead, and were lost.
But there was no rest for the Israelites. Almost at once, Moses led them away into the wilderness beyond, towards the land that God had promised to them.*
Remarked in Psalm 77:16-20. In the Christian liturgy, the birth of Christ is spoken of in these same terms, as God left no footprint in entering our world: Mary remained a virgin still.
The Israelites crossed into the Sinai Peninsula, meaning that they probably crossed not the Red Sea proper but the Gulf of Suez, an arm of the Red Sea projecting northwest towards the Mediterranean, to which it is now joined by the British-built Suez Canal.
Archive
Word Games
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Cast. Chariot. So.
2 Almost. First. Going.
3 Sea. Together. Too.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Homonyms Find in Think and Speak
Each of the words below has more than one possible meaning. Compose your own sentences to show what those different meanings are.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1. Lead. 2. Sink. 3. Left. 4. Host. 5. Right. 6. Down. 7. Like. 8. Rest. 9. Cast.
Adjectives Find in Think and Speak
For each word below, compose sentences to show that it may be used as an adjective. Adjectives provide extra information about a noun, e.g. a black cat, a round table, the early bird etc..
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Lost. 2 Farther. 3 Leading. 4 Sweet. 5 Far. 6 Turbid. 7 Rightful. 8 Restless. 9 Right.
Variations: 1.show whether your adjective can also be used as e.g. a noun, verb or adverb. 2.show whether your adjective can be used in comparisons (e.g. good/better/best). 3.show whether your adjective can be used in attributive position (e.g. a dangerous corner) and also in predicate position (this corner is dangerous).
Add Vowels Find in Think and Speak
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
ttr (6+1)
attire. otter. tauter. teeter. tutor. utter.
tater.
