Keluaran 1:22

1:22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “All sons ¹  that are born you must throw ²  into the river, but all daughters you may let live.” ³ 

Keluaran 9:28

9:28 Pray to the Lord, for the mighty ⁴  thunderings and hail are too much! ⁵  I will release you and you will stay no longer.” ⁶ 

Keluaran 16:28

16:28 So the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuse ⁷  to obey my commandments and my instructions?

Keluaran 21:32

21:32 If the ox gores a male servant or a female servant, the owner ⁸  must pay thirty shekels of silver, ⁹  and the ox must be stoned. ¹⁰ 

Keluaran 22:1

Laws about Property

22:1 ¹¹ (21:37) ¹²  “If a man steals an ox or a sheep and kills it or sells it, he must pay back ¹³  five head of cattle for the ox, and four sheep for the one sheep. ¹⁴ 

Keluaran 22:7

22:7 “If a man gives his neighbor money or articles ¹⁵  for safekeeping, ¹⁶  and it is stolen from the man’s house, if the thief is caught, ¹⁷  he must repay double.

Keluaran 22:14

22:14 “If a man borrows an animal ¹⁸  from his neighbor, and it is hurt or dies when its owner was not with it, the man who borrowed it ¹⁹  will surely pay.

Keluaran 22:16

Moral and Ceremonial Laws

22:16 ²⁰ “If a man seduces a virgin ²¹  who is not engaged ²²  and has sexual relations with her, he must surely endow ²³  her to be his wife.

Keluaran 28:28

28:28 They are to tie the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod by blue cord, so that it may be above the waistband of the ephod, and so that the breastpiece will not be loose from the ephod.

Keluaran 32:10

32:10 So now, leave me alone ²⁴  so that my anger can burn against them and I can destroy them, and I will make from you a great nation.”

Keluaran 32:29

32:29 Moses said, “You have been consecrated ²⁵  today for the Lord, for each of you was against his son or against his brother, so he has given a blessing to you today.” ²⁶ 

Keluaran 34:21

34:21 “On six days ²⁷  you may labor, but on the seventh day you must rest; ²⁸  even at the time of plowing and of harvest ²⁹  you are to rest. ³⁰ 

[1:22]  ¹ tn The substantive כֹּל (kol) followed by the article stresses the entirety – “all sons” or “all daughters” – even though the nouns are singular in Hebrew (see GKC 411 §127.b).

[1:22]  ² tn The form includes a pronominal suffix that reiterates the object of the verb: “every son…you will throw it.”

[1:22]  ³ tn The first imperfect has the force of a definite order, but the second, concerning the girls, could also have the nuance of permission, which may fit better. Pharaoh is simply allowing the girls to live.

[1:22]  sn Verse 22 forms a fitting climax to the chapter, in which the king continually seeks to destroy the Israelite strength. Finally, with this decree, he throws off any subtlety and commands the open extermination of Hebrew males. The verse forms a transition to the next chapter, in which Moses is saved by Pharaoh’s own daughter. These chapters show that the king’s efforts to destroy the strength of Israel – so clearly a work of God – met with failure again and again. And that failure involved the efforts of women, whom Pharaoh did not consider a threat.

[9:28]  ⁴ sn The text has Heb “the voices of God.” The divine epithet can be used to express the superlative (cf. Jonah 3:3).

[9:28]  ⁵ tn The expression וְרַב מִהְיֹת (vÿrav mihyot, “[the mighty thunder and hail] is much from being”) means essentially “more than enough.” This indicates that the storm was too much, or, as one might say, “It is enough.”

[9:28]  ⁶ tn The last clause uses a verbal hendiadys: “you will not add to stand,” meaning “you will no longer stay.”

[16:28]  ⁷ tn The verb is plural, and so it is addressed to the nation and not to Moses. The perfect tense in this sentence is the characteristic perfect, denoting action characteristic, or typical, of the past and the present.

[21:32]  ⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the owner) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:32]  ⁹ sn A shekel was a unit for measure by means of a scale. Both the weight and the value of a shekel of silver are hard to determine. “Though there is no certainty, the shekel is said to weigh about 11,5 grams” (C. Houtman, Exodus, 3:181). Over four hundred years earlier, Joseph was sold into Egypt for 20 shekels. The free Israelite citizen was worth about 50 shekels (Lev 27:3f.).

[21:32]  ¹⁰ sn See further B. S. Jackson, “The Goring Ox Again [Ex. 21,28-36],” JJP 18 (1974): 55-94.

[22:1]  ¹¹ sn The next section of laws concerns property rights. These laws protected property from thieves and oppressors, but also set limits to retribution. The message could be: God’s laws demand that the guilty make restitution for their crimes against property and that the innocent be exonerated.

[22:1]  ¹² sn Beginning with 22:1, the verse numbers through 22:31 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 22:1 ET = 21:37 HT, 22:2 ET = 22:1 HT, etc., through 22:31 ET = 22:30 HT. Thus in the English Bible ch. 22 has 31 verses, while in the Hebrew Bible it has 30 verses, with the one extra verse attached to ch. 21 in the Hebrew Bible.

[22:1]  ¹³ tn The imperfect tense here has the nuance of obligatory imperfect – he must pay back.

[22:1]  ¹⁴ tn בָּקַר (baqar) and צֹאן (tso’n) are the categories to which the ox and the sheep belonged, so that the criminal had some latitude in paying back animals.

[22:7]  ¹⁵ tn The word usually means “vessels” but can have the sense of household goods and articles. It could be anything from jewels and ornaments to weapons or pottery.

[22:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “to keep.” Here “safekeeping,” that is, to keep something secure on behalf of a third party, is intended.

[22:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “found.”

[22:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “if a man asks [an animal] from his neighbor” (see also Exod 12:36). The ruling here implies an animal is borrowed, and if harm comes to it when the owner is not with it, the borrower is liable. The word “animal” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[22:14]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man who borrowed the animal) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:16]  ²⁰ sn The second half of the chapter records various laws of purity and justice. Any of them could be treated in an expository way, but in the present array they offer a survey of God’s righteous standards: Maintain the sanctity of marriage (16-17); maintain the purity of religious institutions (18-20), maintain the rights of human beings (21-28), maintain the rights of Yahweh (29-31).

[22:16]  ²¹ tn This is the word בְּתוּלָה (bÿtulah); it describes a young woman who is not married or a young woman engaged to be married; in any case, she is presumed to be a virgin.

[22:16]  ²² tn Or “pledged” for marriage.

[22:16]  ²³ tn The verb מָהַר (mahar) means “pay the marriage price,” and the related noun is the bride price. B. Jacob says this was a proposal gift and not a purchase price (Exodus, 700). This is the price paid to her parents, which allowed for provision should there be a divorce. The amount was usually agreed on by the two families, but the price was higher for a pure bride from a noble family. Here, the one who seduces her must pay it, regardless of whether he marries her or not.

[32:10]  ²⁴ tn The imperative, from the word “to rest” (נוּחַ, nuakh), has the sense of “leave me alone, let me be.” It is a directive for Moses not to intercede for the people. B. S. Childs (Exodus [OTL], 567) reflects the Jewish interpretation that there is a profound paradox in God’s words. He vows the severest punishment but then suddenly conditions it on Moses’ agreement. “Let me alone that I may consume them” is the statement, but the effect is that he has left the door open for intercession. He allows himself to be persuaded – that is what a mediator is for. God could have slammed the door (as when Moses wanted to go into the promised land). Moreover, by alluding to the promise to Abraham God gave Moses the strongest reason to intercede.

[32:29]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Your hand was filled.” The phrase “fill your hands” is a familiar expression having to do with commissioning and devotion to a task that is earlier used in 28:41; 29:9, 29, 33, 35. This has usually been explained as a Qal imperative. S. R. Driver explains it “Fill your hand today,” meaning, take a sacrifice to God and be installed in the priesthood (Exodus, 355). But it probably is a Piel perfect, meaning “they have filled your hands today,” or, “your hand was filled today.” This was an expression meant to say that they had been faithful to God even though it turned them against family and friends – but God would give them a blessing.

[32:29]  ²⁶ tn The text simply has “and to give on you today a blessing.” Gesenius notes that the infinitive construct seems to be attached with a vav (ו; like the infinitive absolute) as the continuation of a previous finite verb. He reads the verb “fill” as an imperative: “fill your hand today…and that to bring a blessing on you, i.e., that you may be blessed” (see GKC 351 §114.p). If the preceding verb is taken as perfect tense, however, then this would also be perfect – “he has blessed you today.”

[34:21]  ²⁷ tn This is an adverbial accusative of time.

[34:21]  ²⁸ tn Or “cease” (i.e., from the labors).

[34:21]  ²⁹ sn See M. Dahood, “Vocative lamed in Exodus 2,4 and Merismus in 34,21,” Bib 62 (1981): 413-15.

[34:21]  ³⁰ tn The imperfect tense expresses injunction or instruction.