Pursued by Pharaoh's chariots, the Israelites came to the shore of the Sea of Reeds (often called the Red Sea), apparently trapped. Moses lifted his staff at the LORD's command, and 'the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and made the sea dry land; and the waters were divided' (Exodus 14:21).
Israel crossed on dry ground between walls of water. When Pharaoh's army pursued, the waters returned and drowned them. The episode is the founding event of Jewish national identity and is recalled in every Passover.
St. Paul reads it as a prefiguration of Christian baptism: 'our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea' (1 Corinthians 10:1–2).