Keluaran 21:22

21:22 “If men fight and hit a pregnant woman and her child is born prematurely, ¹  but there is no serious injury, he will surely be punished in accordance with what the woman’s husband demands of him, and he will pay what the court decides. ² 

Keluaran 12:12

12:12 I will pass through ³  the land of Egypt in the same ⁴  night, and I will attack ⁵  all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of humans and of animals, ⁶  and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. ⁷  I am the Lord.

Keluaran 18:21-26

18:21 But you choose ⁸  from the people capable men, ⁹  God-fearing, ¹⁰  men of truth, ¹¹  those who hate bribes, ¹²  and put them over the people ¹³  as rulers ¹⁴  of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 18:22 They will judge ¹⁵  the people under normal circumstances, ¹⁶  and every difficult case ¹⁷  they will bring to you, but every small case ¹⁸  they themselves will judge, so that ¹⁹  you may make it easier for yourself, ²⁰  and they will bear the burden ²¹  with you. 18:23 If you do this thing, and God so commands you, ²²  then you will be able ²³  to endure, ²⁴  and all these people ²⁵  will be able to go ²⁶  home ²⁷  satisfied.” ²⁸ 

18:24 Moses listened to ²⁹  his father-in-law and did everything he had said. 18:25 Moses chose capable men from all Israel, and he made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 18:26 They judged the people under normal circumstances; the difficult cases they would bring ³⁰  to Moses, but every small case they would judge themselves.

Keluaran 22:8-9

22:8 If the thief is not caught, ³¹  then the owner of the house will be brought before the judges ³²  to see ³³  whether he has laid ³⁴  his hand on his neighbor’s goods. 22:9 In all cases of illegal possessions, ³⁵  whether for an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any kind of lost item, about which someone says ‘This belongs to me,’ ³⁶  the matter of the two of them will come before the judges, ³⁷  and the one whom ³⁸  the judges declare guilty ³⁹  must repay double to his neighbor.

Keluaran 22:28

22:28 “You must not blaspheme ⁴⁰  God ⁴¹  or curse the ruler of your people.

[21:22]  ¹ tn This line has occasioned a good deal of discussion. It may indicate that the child was killed, as in a miscarriage; or it may mean that there was a premature birth. The latter view is taken here because of the way the whole section is written: (1) “her children come out” reflects a birth and not the loss of children, (2) there is no serious damage, and (3) payment is to be set for any remuneration. The word אָסוֹן (’ason) is translated “serious damage.” The word was taken in Mekilta to mean “death.” U. Cassuto says the point of the phrase is that neither the woman or the children that are born die (Exodus, 275). But see among the literature on this: M. G. Kline, “Lex Talionis and the Human Fetus,” JETS 20 (1977): 193-201; W. House, “Miscarriage or Premature Birth: Additional Thoughts on Exodus 21:22-25,” WTJ 41 (1978): 108-23; S. E. Loewenstamm, “Exodus XXI 22-25,” VT 27 (1977): 352-60.

[21:22]  ² tn The word בִּפְלִלִים (biflilim) means “with arbitrators.” The point then seems to be that the amount of remuneration for damages that was fixed by the husband had to be approved by the courts. S. R. Driver mentions an alternative to this unusual reading presented by Budde, reading בנפלים as “untimely birth” (Exodus, 219). See also E. A. Speiser, “The Stem PLL in Hebrew,” JBL 82 (1963): 301-6.

[12:12]  ³ tn The verb וְעָבַרְתִּי (vÿ’avarti) is a Qal perfect with vav (ו) consecutive, announcing the future action of God in bringing judgment on the land. The word means “pass over, across, through.” This verb provides a contextual motive for the name “Passover.”

[12:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “this night.”

[12:12]  ⁵ tn The verb נָכָה (nakhah) means “to strike, smite, attack”; it does not always mean “to kill,” but that is obviously its outcome in this context. This is also its use in 2:12, describing how Moses killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand.

[12:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “from man and to beast.”

[12:12]  ⁷ tn The phrase אֶעֱשֶׂה שְׁפָטִים (’e’eseh shÿfatim) is “I will do judgments.” The statement clearly includes what had begun in Exod 6:1. But the statement that God would judge the gods of Egypt is appropriately introduced here (see also Num 33:4) because with the judgment on Pharaoh and the deliverance from bondage, Yahweh would truly show himself to be the one true God. Thus, “I am Yahweh” is fitting here (see B. Jacob, Exodus, 312).

[18:21]  ⁸ tn The construction uses the independent pronoun for emphasis, and then the imperfect tense “see” (חָזָה, khazah) – “and you will see from all….” Both in Hebrew and Ugaritic expressions of “seeing” are used in the sense of choosing (Gen 41:33). See U. Cassuto, Exodus, 220.

[18:21]  ⁹ tn The expression is אַנְשֵׁי־חַיִל (’anshe khayil, “capable men”). The attributive genitive is the word used in expressions like “mighty man of valor.” The word describes these men as respected, influential, powerful people, those looked up to by the community as leaders, and those who will have the needs of the community in mind.

[18:21]  ¹⁰ tn The description “fearers of God” uses an objective genitive. It describes them as devout, worshipful, obedient servants of God.

[18:21]  ¹¹ tn The expression “men of truth” (אַנְשֵׁי אֱמֶת, ’anshe ’emet) indicates that these men must be seekers of truth, who know that the task of a judge is to give true judgment (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 220). The word “truth” includes the ideas of faithfulness or reliability, as well as factuality itself. It could be understood to mean “truthful men,” men whose word is reliable and true.

[18:21]  ¹² tn Heb “haters of bribes.” Here is another objective genitive, one that refers to unjust gain. To hate unjust gain is to reject and refuse it. Their decisions will not be swayed by greed.

[18:21]  ¹³ tn Heb “over them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:21]  ¹⁴ sn It is not clear how this structure would work in a judicial setting. The language of “captains of thousands,” etc., is used more for military ranks. There must have been more detailed instruction involved here, for each Israelite would have come under four leaders with this arrangement, and perhaps difficult cases would be sent to the next level. But since the task of these men would also involve instruction and guidance, the breakdown would be very useful. Deut 1:9, 13 suggest that the choice of these people was not simply Moses’ alone.

[18:22]  ¹⁵ tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive, making it equivalent to the imperfect of instruction in the preceding verse.

[18:22]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “in every time,” meaning “in all normal cases” or “under normal circumstances.” The same phrase occurs in v. 26.

[18:22]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “great thing.”

[18:22]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “thing.”

[18:22]  ¹⁹ tn The vav here shows the result or the purpose of the instructions given.

[18:22]  ²⁰ tn The expression וְהָקֵל מֵעָלֶיךָ (vÿhaqel me’aleykha) means literally “and make it light off yourself.” The word plays against the word for “heavy” used earlier – since it was a heavy or burdensome task, Moses must lighten the load.

[18:22]  ²¹ tn Here “the burden” has been supplied.

[18:23]  ²² tn The form is a Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive; it carries the same nuance as the preceding imperfect in the conditional clause.

[18:23]  ²³ tn The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive now appears in the apodosis of the conditional sentence – “if you do this…then you will be able.”

[18:23]  ²⁴ tn Heb “to stand.” B. Jacob (Exodus, 501) suggests that there might be a humorous side to this: “you could even do this standing up.”

[18:23]  ²⁵ tn Literally “this people.”

[18:23]  ²⁶ tn The verb is the simple imperfect, “will go,” but given the sense of the passage a potential nuance seems in order.

[18:23]  ²⁷ tn Heb “his place.”

[18:23]  ²⁸ tn Heb “in peace.”

[18:23]  sn See further T. D. Weinshall, “The Organizational Structure Proposed by Jethro to Moses (Ex. 18:17),” Public Administration in Israel and Abroad 12 (1972): 9-13; and H. Reviv, “The Traditions Concerning the Inception of the Legal System in Israel: Significance and Dating,” ZAW 94 (1982): 566-75.

[18:24]  ²⁹ tn The idiom “listen to the voice of” means “obey, comply with, heed.”

[18:26]  ³⁰ tn This verb and the verb in the next clause are imperfect tenses. In the past tense narrative of the verse they must be customary, describing continuous action in past time.

[22:8]  ³¹ tn Heb “found.”

[22:8]  ³² tn Here again the word used is “the gods,” meaning the judges who made the assessments and decisions. In addition to other works, see J. R. Vannoy, “The Use of the Word ha’elohim in Exodus 21:6 and 22:7,8,” The Law and the Prophets, 225-41.

[22:8]  ³³ tn The phrase “to see” has been supplied.

[22:8]  ³⁴ tn The line says “if he has not stretched out his hand.” This could be the oath formula, but the construction here would be unusual, or it could be taken as “whether” (see W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:438). U. Cassuto (Exodus, 286) does not think the wording can possibly fit an oath; nevertheless, an oath would be involved before God (as he takes it instead of “judges”) – if the man swore, his word would be accepted, but if he would not swear, he would be guilty.

[22:9]  ³⁵ tn Heb “concerning every kind [thing] of trespass.”

[22:9]  ³⁶ tn The text simply has “this is it” (הוּא זֶה, hu’ zeh).

[22:9]  ³⁷ tn Again, or “God.”

[22:9]  ³⁸ tn This kind of clause Gesenius calls an independent relative clause – it does not depend on a governing substantive but itself expresses a substantival idea (GKC 445-46 §138.e).

[22:9]  ³⁹ tn The verb means “to be guilty” in Qal; in Hiphil it would have a declarative sense, because a causative sense would not possibly fit.

[22:28]  ⁴⁰ tn The two verbs in this verse are synonyms: קָלַל (qalal) means “to treat lightly, curse,” and אָרַר (’arar) means “to curse.”

[22:28]  ⁴¹ tn The word אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is “gods” or “God.” If taken as the simple plural, it could refer to the human judges, as it has in the section of laws; this would match the parallelism in the verse. If it was taken to refer to God, then the idea of cursing God would be more along the line of blasphemy. B. Jacob says that the word refers to functioning judges, and that would indirectly mean God, for they represented the religious authority, and the prince the civil authority (Exodus, 708).