Charles Ellicott Commentary Exodus 15:12

"Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, The earth swallowed them." — Exodus 15:12 (ASV)

The earth swallowed them.—The sea, which actually “swallowed them,” was a part of the earth. Literalism might argue that the statement contradicted former ones (Exodus 15:4–5; Exodus 15:10); but the fact is otherwise. If we only allow our common sense fair play, and permit sacred writers the same latitude as secular writers, we shall find wonderfully few discrepancies, or even difficulties, in the Biblical narrative.