Exodus 14:3Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The Lord informs Moses about the impression this remarkable guidance will create in Pharaoh. Pharaoh will claim that the Israelites have wandered aimlessly in the land. Instead of exiting Egyptian territory, they seem to remain trapped within it, having deviated from the proper path and meandering along the barren shores of the Red Sea, which are part of Egypt. They find themselves confined in the wilderness with no escape from Egypt, as the sea lies to their left and insurmountable mountains to their right. To the north and south, they confront the desert, which presents no feasible exit from the realm of Egypt. The northern route back is easily obstructed by military force, and heading southwards would only take them further into Egyptian territory.

The advance of the Israelites into the narrow space bordered by the mountains and the Red Sea must have appeared to the Egyptians as sheer folly. They aimed to exploit what they perceived as the Israelites' error, ready to accuse them of fleeing and regard them as captives of war, treating their possessions as plunder. Pharaoh's declaration that "the wilderness hath locked them up" strikingly reflects his viewpoint: they will not be able to escape our grasp.