There is another point that needs to be addressed – why in the conclusion of the matter did the Torah once again change and refer to Israel merely as 'the people' – 'and the people feared the Lord.'

It seems that both of these questions can be resolved together, with the addition of another difficulty that needs to be addressed, regarding what is stated here 'and they believed in the Lord and in Moses His servant,' which implies that only now did they reach the level of faith in the Lord and in Moses. This is seemingly difficult, for already when Moses first came to speak with them in the name of the Lord, after He revealed Himself to him at the burning bush, it is stated (Exodus 4:31), "And the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had remembered the children of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped." Thus, they already believed back then.

Furthermore, as the Torah testified back then that Israel believed, it also testified similarly about them at the time of the Exodus from Egypt, as it is stated (Exodus 12:39): "And they baked the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt into matzot cakes, for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any provision." Rashi explains, "Neither had they prepared for themselves any provision – for the way. This tells of the praise of Israel, for they did not say, 'How shall we go out into the wilderness without provisions?' but they believed and went. This is what is explicitly stated in the Prophets (Jeremiah 2:2): 'I remember the kindness of your youth, the love of your betrothal, how you went after Me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.' And what reward follows? 'Israel is holy to the Lord, etc.' (ibid., 3)."

Now, several approaches have been suggested to resolve this question, and we will present a few of them:

One approach, which is the closest to the plain meaning of the text, is the approach of Rabbi Abraham ben HaRambam in his commentary here. He wrote, "And they believed – this means an increase in their faith and strengthening of their trust. If not, it would be difficult, for their faith already preceded, as it is written 'and the people believed.' For the repetition of the miracle causes an increase in faith." Meaning, there are endless degrees of faith, and thus, even though when Moses first came to speak with them, they already believed in the Lord and His words, they still had the potential to progress and ascend further and further in the levels of faith. And so they did, and thus the Torah testifies about them at the time of the Exodus: 'and the people believed.' Similarly now, after the splitting of the Red Sea, the Torah again testifies about them, for they once again ascended and elevated further and further – 'and they believed in the Lord and in Moses His servant.'