Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Exodus 15:27 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 27. 27And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
At 15:27, “And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by…” narrows the reader's attention to the person, object, instruction, danger, gift, or outcome active in this section.
Read It With
- Exodus 15:22–27
Read Exodus 15:27 with 15:22–27. At 15:27, “And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by…” narrows the reader's attention to the person, object, instruction, danger, gift, or outcome active in this section. The whole unit shows: Three waterless days end at bitter Marah; complaint, divine provision, a statute and testing speech, and Elim's abundant springs begin wilderness dependence.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within Exodus 12–15's Passover, departure, sea deliverance, judgment, song, and first wilderness test, this unit makes the following contribution: Three waterless days end at bitter Marah; complaint, divine provision, a statute and testing speech, and Elim's abundant springs begin wilderness dependence. At 15:27, the wording “And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by…” makes this verse's contribution precise. At 15:27, “And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by…” narrows the reader's attention to the person, object, instruction, danger, gift, or outcome active in this section.
What Remains True
Because Exodus 15:27 contributes “And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by…” to “Bitter Water at Marah Becomes a Test,” its proportionate enduring truth is: Need exposes fear and mistrust, but the story repeatedly joins provision with practices that train dependence, memory, shared sufficiency, and rest.
How It Can Shape Life
- At Exodus 15:27, the line “And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by…” serves this contextual meaning: Three waterless days end at bitter Marah; complaint, divine provision, a statute and testing speech, and Elim's abundant springs begin wilderness dependence. The bounded action is: A proportionate application of “Bitter Water at Marah Becomes a Test” is this: Respond to complaints by checking the real need and distribution system first; build rhythms that prevent hoarding, burnout, and dependence on one leader.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Exodus 15:22–27 — Bitter Water at Marah Becomes a TestSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: Exodus 15:22–27, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Exodus
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, names, speech, law, ritual vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Exod.xml, words and morphology for 15:22–27
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Exodus with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
eBible.org distribution of the NET Bible, PDF generated 2026-08-12
Supports: Unit-bounded Hebrew, syntax, lexical, textual, name, measure, legal, ritual, and older-English notes; silence is not evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible Exodus PDF, complete 127-page PDF, translation and verse-attached translator notes for 15:22–27
Open source ↗