What Does Exodus 14:27 Mean?

So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the LORD threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea.

The sea's return to "its normal course" (Hebrew: le'eitano, to its strength/regular direction) at morning is the natural-divine coordination of the miracle's second phase: the east wind that held the water back throughout the night ceases at dawn, and the sea returns to its normal behavior: simultaneously with Moses' hand-stretching. The natural (wind ceasing, tide returning) and the supernatural (divine command, prophetic hand) converge at the identical moment that maximizes the miracle's impact on Egypt's army.

"As the Egyptians fled into it": the sea returns as Egypt is fleeing toward the sea's Egyptian side. The army that was advancing into the sea bed is now retreating toward the Egyptian shore they came from, and the returning water overtakes them in their retreat. The fleeing army cannot outrun the returning sea: the water comes back faster than the panicked army can retreat. The closing sea catches the entire Egyptian force in its return: none escape (verse 28 specifies this explicitly: "not one of them remained").

"The LORD threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea": the active divine verb (niar, threw off/shook off) describes YHWH's action in the sea's return: YHWH doesn't merely allow the sea to close; he throws the Egyptians into the returning water. The language of divine action (threw) alongside the natural instrument (the sea returning) maintains the dual-causation logic of the entire sea miracle: wind causes, YHWH acts; sea closes, YHWH throws. The miracle is rather than a natural event that happened to coincide with Moses' hand-stretching; it is YHWH's deliberate action executed through natural means.