What Does Exodus 14:23 Mean?

The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. The hardening of verse 17 is enacted in verse 23: Egypt's army follows Israel into the sea bed.

The entire Egyptian chariot force, "all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen", pursues Israel into the sea channel where the walls of water stand on either side. The army that saw the walls of water did not retreat; the hardening overrode the instinct that should have paused them at the sea bed's entrance. They followed Israel into the passage prepared for Israel: and entered the trap that verse 4's "I will get glory" announced.

The Egyptian army's entry into the sea bed is both the pursuit's climax and its fatal error. The sea bed that was Israel's salvation path becomes Egypt's execution ground: the same dry ground that allowed Israel to cross allows Egypt's army to advance: and the same walls of water that protected Israel will close on Egypt. The army that saw the miracle and was not deterred by it (the walls of water should have announced supernatural danger, not opportunity) is the hardening's final expression: supernatural evidence that would warn any rational military commander does not stop the supernaturally hardened army.

The "horses, chariots, horsemen" military catalog is repeated from verses 7 and 17 for the third time: the reader is being positioned to recognize the exact force that will drown in verse 28. The catalog tracks the Egyptian military from mobilization (verse 7) through the glory-announcement (verse 17) to the sea entrance (verse 23) to the destruction (verse 28). The repetition is the narrative's body count preparation: when the force drowns, the reader knows exactly who was in the sea.