Keluaran 7:5

7:5 Then ¹  the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I extend my hand ²  over Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.

Ayub 30:21

30:21 You have become cruel to me; ³ 

with the strength of your hand you attack me. ⁴ 

Yeremia 6:12

6:12 Their houses will be turned over to others

as will their fields and their wives.

For I will unleash my power ⁵ 

against those who live in this land,”

says the Lord.

Yeremia 51:25

51:25 The Lord says, ⁶  “Beware! I am opposed to you, Babylon! ⁷ 

You are like a destructive mountain that destroys all the earth.

I will unleash my power against you; ⁸ 

I will roll you off the cliffs and make you like a burned-out mountain. ⁹ 

Yehezkiel 20:34

20:34 I will bring you out from the nations, and will gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a powerful hand and an outstretched arm and with an outpouring of rage!

[7:5]  ¹ tn The emphasis on sequence is clear because the form is the perfect tense with the vav consecutive.

[7:5]  sn The use of the verb “to know” (יָדַע, yada’) underscores what was said with regard to 6:3. By the time the actual exodus took place, the Egyptians would have “known” the name Yahweh, probably hearing it more than they wished. But they will know – experience the truth of it – when Yahweh defeats them.

[7:5]  ² sn This is another anthropomorphism, parallel to the preceding. If God were to “put” (נָתַן, natan), “extend” (נָטָה, nata), or “reach out” (שָׁלַח, shalakh) his hand against them, they would be destroyed. Contrast Exod 24:11.

[30:21]  ³ tn The idiom uses the Niphal verb “you are turned” with “to cruelty.” See Job 41:20b, as well as Isa 63:10.

[30:21]  ⁴ tc The LXX reads this verb as “you scourged/whipped me.” But there is no reason to adopt this change.

[6:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “I will reach out my hand.” This figure involves both comparing God to a person (anthropomorphism) and substitution (metonymy) where hand is put for the actions or exertions of the hand. A common use of “hand” is for the exertion of power or strength (cf. BDB 290 s.v. יָד 2 and 289-90 s.v. יָד 1.e(2); cf. Deut 34:12; Ps 78:42; Jer 16:21).

[51:25]  ⁶ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[51:25]  ⁷ tn The word “Babylon” is not in the text but is universally understood as the referent. It is supplied in the translation here to clarify the referent for the sake of the average reader.

[51:25]  ⁸ tn Heb “I will reach out my hand against you.” See the translator’s note on 6:12 for explanation.

[51:25]  ⁹ tn Heb “I am against you, oh destroying mountain that destroys all the earth. I will reach out my hand against you and roll you down from the cliffs and make you a mountain of burning.” The interpretation adopted here follows the lines suggested by S. R. Driver, Jeremiah, 318, n. c and reflected also in BDB 977 s.v. שְׂרֵפָה. Babylon is addressed as a destructive mountain because it is being compared to a volcano. The Lord, however, will make it a “burned-out mountain,” i.e., an extinct volcano which is barren and desolate. This interpretation seems to this translator to fit the details of the text more consistently than alternative ones which separate the concept of “destroying/destructive” from “mountain” and explain the figure of the mountain to refer to the dominating political position of Babylon and the reference to a “mountain of burning” to be a “burned [or burned over] mountain.” The use of similes in place of metaphors makes it easier for the modern reader to understand the figures and also more easily incorporates the dissonant figure of “rolling you down from the cliffs” which involves the figure of personification.

[51:25]  sn The figure here involves comparing Babylon to a destructive volcano which the Lord makes burned-out, i.e., he will destroy her power to destroy. The figure of personification is also involved because the Lord is said to roll her off the cliffs; that would not be applicable to a mountain.