Keluaran 8:12

8:12 Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried ¹  to the Lord because of ²  the frogs that he had brought on ³  Pharaoh.

Keluaran 9:33

9:33 So Moses left Pharaoh, went out of the city, and spread out his hands to the Lord, and the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain stopped pouring on the earth.

Keluaran 10:10

10:10 He said to them, “The Lord will need to be with you ⁴  if I release you and your dependents! ⁵  Watch out! ⁶  Trouble is right in front of you! ⁷ 

Keluaran 10:24

10:24 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, serve the Lord – only your flocks and herds will be detained. Even your families ⁸  may go with you.”

Keluaran 18:18-19

18:18 You will surely wear out, ⁹  both you and these people who are with you, for this is too ¹⁰  heavy a burden ¹¹  for you; you are not able to do it by yourself. 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 20:22

The Altar

20:22 ¹⁶ The Lord said ¹⁷  to Moses: “Thus you will tell the Israelites: ‘You yourselves have seen that I have spoken with you from heaven.

Keluaran 22:16

Moral and Ceremonial Laws

22:16 ¹⁸ “If a man seduces a virgin ¹⁹  who is not engaged ²⁰  and has sexual relations with her, he must surely endow ²¹  her to be his wife.

Keluaran 22:25

22:25 “If you lend money to any of ²²  my people who are needy among you, do not be like a moneylender ²³  to him; do not charge ²⁴  him interest. ²⁵ 

Keluaran 22:30

22:30 You must also do this for your oxen and for your sheep; seven days they may remain with their mothers, but give them to me on the eighth day.

Keluaran 23:5

23:5 If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen under its load, you must not ignore him, ²⁶  but be sure to help ²⁷  him with it. ²⁸ 

Keluaran 33:9

33:9 And ²⁹  whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord ³⁰  would speak with Moses. ³¹ 

[8:12]  ¹ tn The verb צָעַק (tsa’aq) is used for prayers in which people cry out of trouble or from danger. U. Cassuto observes that Moses would have been in real danger if God had not answered this prayer (Exodus, 103).

[8:12]  ² tn Heb “over the matter of.”

[8:12]  ³ tn The verb is an unusual choice if it were just to mean “brought on.” It is the verb שִׂים (sim, “place, put”). S. R. Driver thinks the thought is “appointed for Pharaoh” as a sign (Exodus, 64). The idea of the sign might be too much, but certainly the frogs were positioned for the instruction of the stubborn king.

[10:10]  ⁴ sn Pharaoh is by no means offering a blessing on them in the name of Yahweh. The meaning of his “wish” is connected to the next clause – as he is releasing them, may God help them. S. R. Driver says that in Pharaoh’s scornful challenge Yahweh is as likely to protect them as Pharaoh is likely to let them go – not at all (Exodus, 80). He is planning to keep the women and children as hostages to force the men to return. U. Cassuto (Exodus, 125) paraphrases it this way: “May the help of your God be as far from you as I am from giving you permission to go forth with your little ones.” The real irony, Cassuto observes, is that in the final analysis he will let them go, and Yahweh will be with them.

[10:10]  ⁵ tn The context of Moses’ list of young and old, sons and daughters, and the contrast with the word for strong “men” in v. 11 indicates that טַפְּכֶם (tappÿkhem), often translated “little ones” or “children,” refers to dependent people, noncombatants in general.

[10:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “see.”

[10:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “before your face.”

[10:10]  sn The “trouble” or “evil” that is before them could refer to the evil that they are devising – the attempt to escape from Egypt. But that does not make much sense in the sentence – why would he tell them to take heed or look out about that? U. Cassuto (Exodus, 126) makes a better suggestion. He argues that Pharaoh is saying, “Don’t push me too far.” The evil, then, would be what Pharaoh was going to do if these men kept making demands on him. This fits the fact that he had them driven out of his court immediately. There could also be here an allusion to Pharaoh’s god Re’, the sun-deity and head of the pantheon; he would be saying that the power of his god would confront them.

[10:24]  ⁸ tn Or “dependents.” The term is often translated “your little ones,” but as mentioned before (10:10), this expression in these passages takes in women and children and other dependents. Pharaoh will now let all the people go, but he intends to detain the cattle to secure their return.

[18:18]  ⁹ tn The verb means “to fall and fade” as a leaf (Ps 1:3). In Ps 18:45 it is used figuratively of foes fading away, failing in strength and courage (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 166). Here the infinitive absolute construction heightens the meaning.

[18:18]  ¹⁰ tn Gesenius lists the specialized use of the comparative min (מ) where with an adjective the thought expressed is that the quality is too difficult for the attainment of a particular aim (GKC 430 §133.c).

[18:18]  ¹¹ tn Here “a burden” has been supplied.

[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.”

[20:22]  ¹⁶ sn Based on the revelation of the holy sovereign God, this pericope instructs Israel on the form of proper worship of such a God. It focuses on the altar, the centerpiece of worship. The point of the section is this: those who worship this holy God must preserve holiness in the way they worship – they worship where he permits, in the manner he prescribes, and with the blessings he promises. This paragraph is said to open the Book of the Covenant, which specifically rules on matters of life and worship.

[20:22]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and Yahweh said.”

[22:16]  ¹⁸ sn The second half of the chapter records various laws of purity and justice. Any of them could be treated in an expository way, but in the present array they offer a survey of God’s righteous standards: Maintain the sanctity of marriage (16-17); maintain the purity of religious institutions (18-20), maintain the rights of human beings (21-28), maintain the rights of Yahweh (29-31).

[22:16]  ¹⁹ tn This is the word בְּתוּלָה (bÿtulah); it describes a young woman who is not married or a young woman engaged to be married; in any case, she is presumed to be a virgin.

[22:16]  ²⁰ tn Or “pledged” for marriage.

[22:16]  ²¹ tn The verb מָהַר (mahar) means “pay the marriage price,” and the related noun is the bride price. B. Jacob says this was a proposal gift and not a purchase price (Exodus, 700). This is the price paid to her parents, which allowed for provision should there be a divorce. The amount was usually agreed on by the two families, but the price was higher for a pure bride from a noble family. Here, the one who seduces her must pay it, regardless of whether he marries her or not.

[22:25]  ²² tn “any of” has been supplied.

[22:25]  ²³ sn The moneylender will be demanding and exacting. In Ps 109:11 and 2 Kgs 4:1 the word is rendered as “extortioner.”

[22:25]  ²⁴ tn Heb “set.”

[22:25]  ²⁵ sn In ancient times money was lent primarily for poverty and not for commercial ventures (H. Gamoran, “The Biblical Law against Loans on Interest,” JNES 30 [1971]: 127-34). The lending to the poor was essentially a charity, and so not to be an opportunity to make money from another person’s misfortune. The word נֶשֶׁךְ (neshekh) may be derived from a verb that means “to bite,” and so the idea of usury or interest was that of putting out one’s money with a bite in it (See S. Stein, “The Laws on Interest in the Old Testament,” JTS 4 [1953]: 161-70; and E. Neufeld, “The Prohibition against Loans at Interest in the Old Testament,” HUCA 26 [1955]: 355-412).

[23:5]  ²⁶ tn The line reads “you will cease to forsake him” – refrain from leaving your enemy without help.

[23:5]  ²⁷ tn The law is emphatic here as well, using the infinitive absolute and the imperfect of instruction (or possibly obligation). There is also a wordplay here: two words עָזַב (’azav) are used, one meaning “forsake” and the other possibly meaning “arrange” based on Arabic and Ugaritic evidence (see U. Cassuto, Exodus, 297-98).

[23:5]  ²⁸ sn See H. B. Huffmon, “Exodus 23:4-5: A Comparative Study,” A Light Unto My Path, 271-78.

[33:9]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and it was when.”

[33:9]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:9]  ³¹ tn Both verbs, “stand” and “speak,” are perfect tenses with vav (ו) consecutive.