Keluaran 10:22-23

10:22 So Moses extended his hand toward heaven, and there was absolute darkness ¹  throughout the land of Egypt for three days. ²  10:23 No one ³  could see ⁴  another person, and no one could rise from his place for three days. But the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.

Keluaran 13:7

13:7 Bread made without yeast must be eaten ⁵  for seven days; ⁶  no bread made with yeast shall be seen ⁷  among you, and you must have no yeast among you within any of your borders.

Keluaran 29:35

29:35 “Thus you are to do for Aaron and for his sons, according to all that I have commanded you; you are to consecrate them ⁸  for ⁹  seven days.

[10:22]  ¹ tn The construction is a variation of the superlative genitive: a substantive in the construct state is connected to a noun with the same meaning (see GKC 431 §133.i).

[10:22]  ² sn S. R. Driver says, “The darkness was no doubt occasioned really by a sand-storm, produced by the hot electrical wind…which blows in intermittently…” (Exodus, 82, 83). This is another application of the antisupernatural approach to these texts. The text, however, is probably describing something that was not a seasonal wind, or Pharaoh would not have been intimidated. If it coincided with that season, then what is described here is so different and so powerful that the Egyptians would have known the difference easily. Pharaoh here would have had to have been impressed that this was something very abnormal, and that his god was powerless. Besides, there was light in all the dwellings of the Israelites.

[10:23]  ³ tn Heb “a man…his brother.”

[10:23]  ⁴ tn The perfect tense in this context requires the somewhat rare classification of a potential perfect.

[13:7]  ⁵ tn The imperfect has the nuance of instruction or injunction again, but it could also be given an obligatory nuance.

[13:7]  ⁶ tn The construction is an adverbial accusative of time, answering how long the routine should be followed (see GKC 374 §118.k).

[13:7]  ⁷ tn Or “visible to you” (B. Jacob, Exodus, 366).

[29:35]  ⁸ tn Heb “you will fill their hand.”

[29:35]  ⁹ tn The “seven days” is the adverbial accusative explaining that the ritual of the filling should continue daily for a week. Leviticus makes it clear that they are not to leave the sanctuary.