Keluaran 3:13

3:13 Moses said ¹  to God, “If ²  I go to the Israelites and tell them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ ³  – what should I say ⁴  to them?”

Keluaran 5:1

Opposition to the Plan of God

5:1 ⁵ Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “Thus says the Lord, ⁶  the God of Israel, ‘Release ⁷  my people so that they may hold a pilgrim feast ⁸  to me in the desert.’”

Keluaran 10:7

10:7 Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long ⁹  will this man be a menace ¹⁰  to us? Release the people so that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not know ¹¹  that Egypt is destroyed?”

Keluaran 18:19

18:19 Now listen to me, ¹²  I will give you advice, and may God be with you: You be a representative for the people to God, ¹³  and you bring ¹⁴  their disputes ¹⁵  to God;

Keluaran 23:15

23:15 You are to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; seven days ¹⁶  you must eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you, at the appointed time of the month of Abib, for at that time ¹⁷  you came out of Egypt. No one may appear before ¹⁸  me empty-handed.

Keluaran 29:22

29:22 “You are to take from the ram the fat, the fat tail, the fat that covers the entrails, the lobe ¹⁹  of the liver, the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, and the right thigh – for it is the ram for consecration ²⁰  –

Keluaran 33:12

33:12 Moses said to the Lord, “See, you have been saying to me, ‘Bring this people up,’ ²¹  but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. But you said, ‘I know you by name, ²²  and also you have found favor in my sight.’

Keluaran 34:9

34:9 and said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, let my Lord ²³  go among us, for we ²⁴  are a stiff-necked people; pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”

[3:13]  ¹ tn Heb “And Moses said.”

[3:13]  ² tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) in this clause introduces the foundation for what comes later – the question. Moses is saying, “Suppose I do all this and they ask this question – what should I say?”

[3:13]  ³ sn There has been considerable debate about the name of Yahweh in the Pentateuch, primarily because of theories that have maintained that the name Yahweh was not known in antiquity (see also 6:3 and notes there). The argument of this whole section nullifies that view. The idea that God’s name was revealed only here raises the question of what he was called earlier. The word “God” is not a name. “El Shaddai” is used only a few times in Genesis. But Israel would not have had a nameless deity – especially since Genesis says that from the very beginning people were making proclamation of the name of Yahweh (Gen 4:26; 12:8). It is possible that they did not always need a name if they were convinced that only he existed and there was no other God. But probably what Moses was anticipating was the Israelites’ wanting to be sure that Moses came with a message from their God, and that some sign could prove it. They would have known his name (Yahweh), and they would have known the ways that he had manifested himself. It would do no good for Moses to come with a new name for God, for that would be like introducing them to a new God. That would in no way authenticate to them Moses’ call, only confuse; after all, they would not be expecting a new name – they had been praying to their covenant God all along. They would want to be sure that their covenant God actually had sent Moses. To satisfy the Israelites Moses would have had to have been familiar with the name Yahweh – as they were – and know that he appeared to individuals. They would also want to know if Yahweh had sent Moses, how this was going to work in their deliverance, because they had been crying to him for deliverance. As it turned out, the Israelites had less problem with this than Moses anticipated – they were delighted when he came. It is likely that much of this concern was Moses’ own need for assurance that this was indeed the God of the fathers and that the promised deliverance was now to take place.

[3:13]  ⁴ tn The imperfect tense here has a deliberative nuance (“should”), for Moses is wondering what would be best to say when the Israelites want proof of the calling.

[5:1]  ⁵ sn The enthusiasm of the worshipers in the preceding chapter turns sour in this one when Pharaoh refuses to cooperate. The point is clear that when the people of God attempt to devote their full service and allegiance to God, they encounter opposition from the world. Rather than finding instant blessing and peace, they find conflict. This is the theme that will continue through the plague narratives. But what makes chapter 5 especially interesting is how the people reacted to this opposition. The chapter has three sections: first, the confrontation between Moses and Pharaoh (vv. 1-5); then the report of the stern opposition of the king (vv. 6-14); and finally, the sad account of the effect of this opposition on the people (vv. 15-21).

[5:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “Yahweh.”

[5:1]  ⁷ tn The form שַׁלַּח (shallakh), the Piel imperative, has been traditionally translated “let [my people] go.” The Qal would be “send”; so the Piel “send away, release, dismiss, discharge.” B. Jacob observes, “If a person was dismissed through the use of this verb, then he ceased to be within the power or sphere of influence of the individual who had dismissed him. He was completely free and subsequently acted entirely on his own responsibility” (Exodus, 115).

[5:1]  ⁸ tn The verb חָגַג (khagag) means to hold a feast or to go on a pilgrim feast. The Arabic cognate of the noun form is haj, best known for the pilgrim flight of Mohammed, the hajira. The form in the text (וְיָחֹגּוּ, vÿyakhoggu) is subordinated to the imperative and thus shows the purpose of the imperative.

[10:7]  ⁹ sn The question of Pharaoh’s servants echoes the question of Moses – “How long?” Now the servants of Pharaoh are demanding what Moses demanded – “Release the people.” They know that the land is destroyed, and they speak of it as Moses’ doing. That way they avoid acknowledging Yahweh or blaming Pharaoh.

[10:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “snare” (מוֹקֵשׁ, moqesh), a word used for a trap for catching birds. Here it is a figure for the cause of Egypt’s destruction.

[10:7]  ¹¹ tn With the adverb טֶרֶם (terem), the imperfect tense receives a present sense: “Do you not know?” (See GKC 481 §152.r).

[18:19]  ¹² tn Heb “hear my voice.”

[18:19]  ¹³ tn The line reads “Be you to the people before God.” He is to be their representative before God. This is introducing the aspect of the work that only Moses could do, what he has been doing. He is to be before God for the people, to pray for them, to appeal on their behalf. Jethro is essentially saying, I understand that you cannot delegate this to anyone else, so continue doing it (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 219-20).

[18:19]  ¹⁴ tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; following the imperative it will be instruction as well. Since the imperative preceding this had the idea of “continue to be” as you are, this too has that force.

[18:19]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “words”; KJV, ASV “the causes”; NRSV “cases”; NLT “questions.”

[23:15]  ¹⁶ tn This is an adverbial accusative of time.

[23:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “in it.”

[23:15]  ¹⁸ tn The verb is a Niphal imperfect; the nuance of permission works well here – no one is permitted to appear before God empty (Heb “and they will not appear before me empty”).

[29:22]  ¹⁹ tn S. R. Driver suggests that this is the appendix or an appendix, both here and in v. 13 (Exodus, 320). “The surplus, the appendage of liver, found with cow, sheep, or goat, but not with humans: Lobus caudatus” (HALOT 453 s.v. יֹתֶרֶת).

[29:22]  ²⁰ tn Heb “filling.”

[33:12]  ²¹ tn The Hiphil imperative is from the same verb that has been used before for bringing the people up from Egypt and leading them to Canaan.

[33:12]  ²² tn That is, “chosen you.”

[34:9]  ²³ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” two times here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[34:9]  ²⁴ tn Heb “it is.” Hebrew uses the third person masculine singular pronoun here in agreement with the noun “people.”