Keluaran 1:10

1:10 Come, let’s deal wisely ¹  with them. Otherwise ²  they will continue to multiply, ³  and if ⁴  a war breaks out, they will ally themselves with ⁵  our enemies and fight against us and leave ⁶  the country.”

Keluaran 16:13

16:13 In the evening the quail ⁷  came up and covered the camp, and in the morning a layer of dew was all around the camp.

Keluaran 19:9

19:9 The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come ⁸  to you in a dense cloud, ⁹  so that the people may hear when I speak with you and so that they will always believe in you.” ¹⁰  And Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.

Keluaran 23:2

23:2 “You must not follow a crowd ¹¹  in doing evil things; ¹²  in a lawsuit you must not offer testimony that agrees with a crowd so as to pervert justice, ¹³ 

Keluaran 23:29

23:29 I will not drive them out before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild animals ¹⁴  multiply against you.

Keluaran 36:6

36:6 Moses instructed them to take ¹⁵  his message ¹⁶  throughout the camp, saying, “Let no man or woman do any more work for the offering for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing any more. ¹⁷ 

[1:10]  ¹ tn The verb is the Hitpael cohortative of חָכַם (khakam, “to be wise”). This verb has the idea of acting shrewdly, dealing wisely. The basic idea in the word group is that of skill. So a skillful decision is required to prevent the Israelites from multiplying any more.

[1:10]  sn Pharaoh’s speech invites evaluation. How wise did his plans prove to be?

[1:10]  ² tn The word פֶּן (pen) expresses fear or precaution and can also be translated “lest” or “else” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 75-76, §461).

[1:10]  ³ tn The verb can be translated simply “will multiply,” but since Pharaoh has already indicated that he is aware they were doing that, the nuance here must mean to multiply all the more, or to continue to multiply. Cf. NIV “will become even more numerous.”

[1:10]  ⁴ tn The words וְהָיָה כִּי (vÿhayah ki) introduce a conditional clause – “if” (see GKC 335 §112.y).

[1:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “and [lest] he [Israel] also be joined to.”

[1:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “and go up from.” All the verbs coming after the particle פֶּן (pen, “otherwise, lest” in v. 10) have the same force and are therefore parallel. These are the fears of the Egyptians. This explains why a shrewd policy of population control was required. They wanted to keep Israel enslaved; they did not want them to become too numerous and escape.

[16:13]  ⁷ sn These are migratory birds, said to come up in the spring from Arabia flying north and west, and in the fall returning. They fly with the wind, and so generally alight in the evening, covering the ground. If this is part of the explanation, the divine provision would have had to alter their flight paths to bring them to the Israelites, and bring them in vast numbers.

[19:9]  ⁸ tn The construction uses the deictic particle and the participle to express the imminent future, what God was about to do. Here is the first announcement of the theophany.

[19:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “the thickness of the cloud”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT “in a thick cloud.”

[19:9]  ¹⁰ tn Since “and also in you” begins the clause, the emphasis must be that the people would also trust Moses. See Exod 4:1-9, 31; 14:31.

[23:2]  ¹¹ tn The word רָבִּים (rabbim), here rendered “crowd,” is also used infrequently to refer to the “mighty,” people of importance in society (Job 35:9; cf. Lev 19:15).

[23:2]  ¹² tn For any individual to join a group that is bent on acting wickedly would be a violation of the Law and would incur personal responsibility.

[23:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “you will not answer in a lawsuit to turn after the crowd to turn.” The form translated “agrees with” (Heb “to turn after”) is a Qal infinitive construct from נָטָה (natah); the same root is used at the end of the verse but as a Hiphil infinitive construct, “to pervert [justice].”

[23:29]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the beast of the field.”

[36:6]  ¹⁵ tn The verse simply reads, “and Moses commanded and they caused [a voice] to cross over in the camp.” The second preterite with the vav may be subordinated to the first clause, giving the intent (purpose or result).

[36:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “voice.”

[36:6]  ¹⁷ tn The verse ends with the infinitive serving as the object of the preposition: “from bringing.”