Kabbalah zu Schemot 15:16

The fifth virtue [of Kabbalah] is that one who pursues this science will know how to explain several matters in the Torah which are difficult for those who rely upon the plain meaning [of Scripture], such as superfluous letters, ones which are written but not pronounced or pronounced and not written, and similar [cases].¹The Biblical text, as preserved by the Masoretes, contains numerous cases where a grammatical analysis required that the text be modified. Since the text itself was sacrosanct, the purpose was achieved in these ways. For example, in the verse You will bring them and plant them (Exod. 15:17), there is a superfluous vav. Similarly [in the verse] You will bring upon them fear and dread (Exod. 15:16). The word “fear” [‘ematah] should have been written without the superfluous tav. In the Zohar, section Be-shalaḥ, it was explained in this way:²Zohar II, 59b.