According
to the accounts, the king had consented to the exodus, and latterly
had even forced it on, but it was none the less a secret flight.
To a not very numerous pastoral people such an undertaking
presented no great difficulty. Nevertheless its execution was not
to be carried out unimpeded. The Hebrews, compelled to abandon
the direct eastward road (Exod. xiii. 17, 18), turned towards
the south-west and encamped at last on the Egyptian shore of the
northern arm of the Red Sea, where they were overtaken by
Pharaoh's army. The situation was a critical one; but a high
wind during the night left the shallow sea so low that it became
possible to ford it. Moses eagerly accepted the suggestion, and
made the venture with success. The Egyptians, rushing after, came
up with them on the further shore, and a struggle ensued. But the
assailants fought at a disadvantage, the ground being ill suited
for their chariots and horsemen; they fell into confusion and
attempted a retreat. Meanwhile the wind had changed; the waters
returned, apd the pursuers were annihilated./1/
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