Keluaran 15:25

15:25 He cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him ¹  a tree. ²  When Moses ³  threw it into the water, the water became safe to drink. There the Lord ⁴  made for them ⁵  a binding ordinance, ⁶  and there he tested ⁷  them.

Yosua 24:7

24:7 Your fathers ⁸  cried out for help to the Lord; he made the area between you and the Egyptians dark, ⁹  and then drowned them in the sea. ¹⁰  You witnessed with your very own eyes ¹¹  what I did in Egypt. You lived in the wilderness for a long time. ¹² 

Nehemia 9:9

9:9 “You saw the affliction of our ancestors in Egypt, and you heard their cry at the Red Sea. ¹³ 

Mazmur 5:3

5:3 Lord, in the morning ¹⁴  you will hear ¹⁵  me; ¹⁶ 

in the morning I will present my case to you ¹⁷  and then wait expectantly for an answer. ¹⁸ 

Mazmur 34:18

34:18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted;

he delivers ¹⁹  those who are discouraged. ²⁰ 

Mazmur 50:15

50:15 Pray to me when you are in trouble! ²¹ 

I will deliver you, and you will honor me!” ²² 

Mazmur 107:6

107:6 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;

he delivered them from their troubles.

Mazmur 107:28

107:28 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;

he delivered them from their troubles.

[15:25]  ¹ tn The verb is וַיּוֹרֵהוּ (vayyorehu, “and he showed him”). It is the Hiphil preterite from יָרָה (yarah), which has a basic meaning of “to point, show, direct.” It then came to mean “to teach”; it is the verb behind the noun “Law” (תּוֹרָה, torah).

[15:25]  sn U. Cassuto notes that here is the clue to the direction of the narrative: Israel needed God’s instruction, the Law, if they were going to enjoy his provisions (Exodus, 184).

[15:25]  ² tn Or “a [piece of] wood” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, TEV, CEV); NLT “a branch.”

[15:25]  sn S. R. Driver (Exodus, 143) follows some local legends in identifying this tree as one that is supposed to have – even to this day – the properties necessary for making bitter water sweet. B. Jacob (Exodus, 436) reports that no such tree has ever been found, but then he adds that this does not mean there was not such a bush in the earlier days. He believes that here God used a natural means (“showed, instructed”) to sweeten the water. He quotes Ben Sira as saying God had created these things with healing properties in them.

[15:25]  ³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:25]  ⁴ tn Heb “there he”; the referent (the Lord) is supplied for clarity.

[15:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “for him” (referring to Israel as a whole).

[15:25]  ⁶ tn This translation interprets the two nouns as a hendiadys: “a statute and an ordinance” becomes “a binding ordinance.”

[15:25]  ⁷ tn The verb נִסָּהוּ (nissahu, “and he tested him [them]”) is from the root נָסָה (nasah). The use of this word in the Bible indicates that there is question, doubt, or uncertainty about the object being tested.

[15:25]  sn The whole episode was a test from God. He led them there through Moses and let them go hungry and thirsty. He wanted to see how great their faith was.

[24:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the fathers) has been specified in the translation for clarity (see the previous verse).

[24:7]  ⁹ tn Or “put darkness between you and the Egyptians.”

[24:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he brought over them the sea and covered them.”

[24:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “your eyes saw.”

[24:7]  ¹² tn Heb “many days.”

[9:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “the Sea of Reeds.” Traditionally this is identified as the Red Sea, and the modern designation has been used in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ¹⁴ sn In the morning is here viewed as the time of prayer (Pss 59:16; 88:13) and/or of deliverance (Ps 30:5).

[5:3]  ¹⁵ tn The imperfect is here understood in a specific future sense; the psalmist is expressing his confidence that God will be willing to hear his request. Another option is to understand the imperfect as expressing the psalmist’s wish or request. In this case one could translate, “Lord, in the morning hear me.”

[5:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “my voice.”

[5:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “I will arrange for you.” Some understand a sacrifice or offering as the implied object (cf. NEB “I set out my morning sacrifice”). The present translation assumes that the implied object is the psalmist’s case/request. See Isa 44:7.

[5:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and I will watch.”

[34:18]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form highlights the generalizing statement and draws attention to the fact that the Lord typically delivers the oppressed and needy.

[34:18]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the crushed in spirit.”

[50:15]  ²¹ tn Heb “call [to] me in a day of trouble.”

[50:15]  ²² sn In vv. 7-15 the Lord makes it clear that he was not rebuking Israel because they had failed to offer sacrifices (v. 8a). On the contrary, they had been faithful in doing so (v. 8b). However, their understanding of the essence of their relationship with God was confused. Apparently they believed that he needed/desired such sacrifices and that offering them would ensure their prosperity. But the Lord owns all the animals of the world and did not need Israel’s meager sacrifices (vv. 9-13). Other aspects of the relationship were more important to the Lord. He desired Israel to be thankful for his blessings (v. 14a), to demonstrate gratitude for his intervention by repaying the vows they made to him (v. 14b), and to acknowledge their absolute dependence on him (v. 15a). Rather than viewing their sacrifices as somehow essential to God’s well-being, they needed to understand their dependence on him.