Keluaran 15:16

15:16 Fear and dread ¹  will fall ²  on them;

by the greatness ³  of your arm they will be as still as stone ⁴ 

until ⁵  your people pass by, O Lord,

until the people whom you have bought ⁶  pass by.

Keluaran 23:27

23:27 “I will send my terror ⁷  before you, and I will destroy ⁸  all the people whom you encounter; I will make all your enemies turn their backs ⁹  to you.

Ulangan 2:25

2:25 This very day I will begin to fill all the people of the earth ¹⁰  with dread and to terrify them when they hear about you. They will shiver and shake in anticipation of your approach.” ¹¹ 

Yosua 2:9

2:9 She said to the men, “I know the Lord is handing this land over to you. ¹²  We are absolutely terrified of you, ¹³  and all who live in the land are cringing before ¹⁴  you. ¹⁵ 

[15:16]  ¹ tn The two words can form a nominal hendiadys, “a dreadful fear,” though most English versions retain the two separate terms.

[15:16]  ² tn The form is an imperfect.

[15:16]  ³ tn The adjective is in construct form and governs the noun “arm” (“arm” being the anthropomorphic expression for what God did). See GKC 428 §132.c.

[15:16]  ⁴ sn For a study of the words for fear, see N. Waldman, “A Comparative Note on Exodus 15:14-16,” JQR 66 (1976): 189-92.

[15:16]  ⁵ tn Clauses beginning with עַד (’ad) express a limit that is not absolute, but only relative, beyond which the action continues (GKC 446-47 §138.g).

[15:16]  ⁶ tn The verb קָנָה (qanah) here is the verb “acquire, purchase,” and probably not the homonym “to create, make” (see Gen 4:1; Deut 32:6; and Prov 8:22).

[23:27]  ⁷ tn The word for “terror” is אֵימָתִי (’emati); the word has the thought of “panic” or “dread.” God would make the nations panic as they heard of the exploits and knew the Israelites were drawing near. U. Cassuto thinks the reference to “hornets” in v. 28 may be a reference to this fear, an unreasoning dread, rather than to another insect invasion (Exodus, 308). Others suggest it is symbolic of an invading army or a country like Egypt or literal insects (see E. Neufeld, “Insects as Warfare Agents in the Ancient Near East,” Or 49 [1980]: 30-57).

[23:27]  ⁸ tn Heb “kill.”

[23:27]  ⁹ tn The text has “and I will give all your enemies to you [as] a back.” The verb of making takes two accusatives, the second being the adverbial accusative of product (see GKC 371-72 §117.ii, n. 1).

[2:25]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “under heaven” (so NIV, NRSV).

[2:25]  ¹¹ tn Heb “from before you.”

[2:9]  ¹² tn Heb “has given the land to you.” Rahab’s statement uses the Hebrew perfect, suggesting certitude.

[2:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “terror of you has fallen upon us.”

[2:9]  ¹⁴ tn Or “melting away because of.”

[2:9]  ¹⁵ tn Both of these statements are actually subordinated to “I know” in the Hebrew text, which reads, “I know that the Lord…and that terror of you…and that all the inhabitants….”