Keluaran 2:6

2:6 opened it, ¹  and saw the child ²  – a boy, ³  crying! ⁴  – and she felt compassion ⁵  for him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”

Keluaran 3:7

3:7 The Lord said, “I have surely seen ⁶  the affliction of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. ⁷ 

Keluaran 4:10

4:10 Then Moses said to the Lord, ⁸  “O ⁹  my Lord, ¹⁰  I am not an eloquent man, ¹¹  neither in the past ¹²  nor since you have spoken to your servant, for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” ¹³ 

Keluaran 5:23

5:23 From the time I went to speak to Pharaoh in your name, he has caused trouble ¹⁴  for this people, and you have certainly not rescued ¹⁵  them!” ¹⁶ 

Keluaran 9:8-9

The Sixth Blow: Boils

9:8 ¹⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot ¹⁸  from a furnace, and have Moses throw it ¹⁹  into the air while Pharaoh is watching. ²⁰  9:9 It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt and will cause boils to break out and fester ²¹  on both people and animals in all the land of Egypt.”

Keluaran 10:1

The Eighth Blow: Locusts

10:1 ²² The Lord said ²³  to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, in order to display ²⁴  these signs of mine before him, ²⁵ 

Keluaran 10:11

10:11 No! ²⁶  Go, you men ²⁷  only, and serve the Lord, for that ²⁸  is what you want.” ²⁹  Then Moses and Aaron ³⁰  were driven ³¹  out of Pharaoh’s presence.

Keluaran 10:17

10:17 So now, forgive my sin this time only, and pray to the Lord your God that he would only ³²  take this death ³³  away from me.”

Keluaran 12:42

12:42 It was a night of vigil for the Lord to bring them out from the land of Egypt, ³⁴  and so ³⁵  on this night all Israel is to keep the vigil ³⁶  to the Lord for generations to come.

Keluaran 13:16

13:16 It will be for a sign on your hand and for frontlets ³⁷  on your forehead, for with a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.” ³⁸ 

Keluaran 16:20

16:20 But they did not listen to Moses; some ³⁹  kept part of it until morning, and it was full ⁴⁰  of worms and began to stink, and Moses was angry with them.

Keluaran 16:22

16:22 And ⁴¹  on the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, two omers ⁴²  per person; ⁴³  and all the leaders ⁴⁴  of the community ⁴⁵  came and told ⁴⁶  Moses.

Keluaran 16:28

16:28 So the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuse ⁴⁷  to obey my commandments and my instructions?

Keluaran 16:33

16:33 Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put in it an omer full of manna, and place it before the Lord to be kept for generations to come.”

Keluaran 17:2

17:2 So the people contended ⁴⁸  with Moses, and they said, “Give us water to drink!” ⁴⁹  Moses said to them, “Why do you contend ⁵⁰  with me? Why do you test ⁵¹  the Lord?”

Keluaran 17:9

17:9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our ⁵²  men and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”

Keluaran 18:11

18:11 Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods, for in the thing in which they dealt proudly against them he has destroyed them.” ⁵³ 

Keluaran 19:21

19:21 The Lord said to Moses, “Go down and solemnly warn ⁵⁴  the people, lest they force their way through to the Lord to look, and many of them perish. ⁵⁵ 

Keluaran 20:19

20:19 They said to Moses, “You speak ⁵⁶  to us and we will listen, but do not let God speak with us, lest we die.”

Keluaran 26:25

26:25 So there are to be eight frames and their silver bases, sixteen bases, two bases under the first frame, and two bases under the next frame.

Keluaran 29:42

29:42 “This will be a regular ⁵⁷  burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet ⁵⁸  with you to speak to you there.

Keluaran 30:16

30:16 You are to receive the atonement money ⁵⁹  from the Israelites and give it for the service ⁶⁰  of the tent of meeting. It will be a memorial ⁶¹  for the Israelites before the Lord, to make atonement ⁶²  for your lives.”

Keluaran 32:10

32:10 So now, leave me alone ⁶³  so that my anger can burn against them and I can destroy them, and I will make from you a great nation.”

Keluaran 36:4

36:4 So all the skilled people who were doing all the work on the sanctuary came from the work ⁶⁴  they were doing

[2:6]  ¹ tn Heb “and she opened.”

[2:6]  ² tn The grammatical construction has a pronominal suffix on the verb as the direct object along with the expressed object: “and she saw him, the child.” The second object defines the previous pronominal object to avoid misunderstanding (see GKC 425 §131.m).

[2:6]  ³ tn The text has נַעַר (na’ar, “lad, boy, young man”), which in this context would mean a baby boy.

[2:6]  ⁴ tn This clause is introduced with a disjunctive vav and the deictic particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “behold” in the KJV). The particle in this kind of clause introduces the unexpected – what Pharaoh’s daughter saw when she opened the basket: “and look, there was a baby boy crying.” The clause provides a parenthetical description of the child as she saw him when she opened the basket and does not advance the narrative. It is an important addition, however, for it puts readers in the position of looking with her into the basket and explains her compassion.

[2:6]  ⁵ tn The verb could be given a more colloquial translation such as “she felt sorry for him.” But the verb is stronger than that; it means “to have compassion, to pity, to spare.” What she felt for the baby was strong enough to prompt her to spare the child from the fate decreed for Hebrew boys. Here is part of the irony of the passage: What was perceived by many to be a womanly weakness – compassion for a baby – is a strong enough emotion to prompt the woman to defy the orders of Pharaoh. The ruler had thought sparing women was safe, but the midwives, the Hebrew mother, the daughter of Pharaoh, and Miriam, all work together to spare one child – Moses (cf. 1 Cor 1:27-29).

[3:7]  ⁶ tn The use of the infinitive absolute with the perfect tense intensifies the statement: I have surely seen – there is no doubt that I have seen and will do something about it.

[3:7]  ⁷ sn Two new words are introduced now to the report of suffering: “affliction” and “pain/suffering.” These add to the dimension of the oppression of God’s people.

[4:10]  ⁸ sn Now Moses took up another line of argumentation, the issue of his inability to speak fluently (vv. 10-17). The point here is that God’s servants must yield themselves as instruments to God, the Creator. It makes no difference what character traits they have or what weaknesses they think they have (Moses manages to speak very well) if God is present. If the sovereign God has chosen them, then they have everything that God intended them to have.

[4:10]  ⁹ tn The word בִּי (bi) is a particle of entreaty; it seeks permission to speak and is always followed by “my lord” or “my Lord.” Often rendered “please,” it is “employed in petitions, complaints and excuses” (W. H. C. Propp, Exodus 1–18 [AB], 213).

[4:10]  ¹⁰ tn The designation in Moses’ address is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay), a term of respect and deference such as “lord, master, sir” but pointed as it would be when it represents the tetragrammaton. B. Jacob says since this is the first time Moses spoke directly to Yahweh, he did so hesitatingly (Exodus, 87).

[4:10]  ¹¹ tn When a noun clause is negated with לֹא (lo’), rather than אֵין (’en), there is a special emphasis, since the force of the negative falls on a specific word (GKC 479 §152.d). The expression “eloquent man” is אִישׁ דְּבָרִים (’ish dÿvarim, “a man of words”). The genitive may indicate a man characterized by words or a man who is able to command or control words. Moses apparently is resigned to the fact that he can do the signs, but he knows the signs have to be explained.

[4:10]  ¹² tn Heb “also from yesterday also from three days ago” or “neither since yesterday nor since before that” is idiomatic for “previously” or “in the past.”

[4:10]  ¹³ tn The two expressions are כְבַד־פֶּה (khÿvad peh, “heavy of mouth”), and then כְבַד לָשׁוֹן (khÿvad lashon, “heavy of tongue”). Both use genitives of specification, the mouth and the tongue being what are heavy – slow. “Mouth” and “tongue” are metonymies of cause. Moses is saying that he has a problem speaking well. Perhaps he had been too long at the other side of the desert, or perhaps he was being a little dishonest. At any rate, he has still not captured the meaning of God’s presence. See among other works, J. H. Tigay, “‘Heavy of Mouth’ and ‘Heavy of Tongue’: On Moses’ Speech Difficulty,” BASOR 231 (1978): 57-67.

[5:23]  ¹⁴ sn Now the verb (הֵרַע, hera’) has a different subject – Pharaoh. The ultimate cause of the trouble was God, but the immediate cause was Pharaoh and the way he increased the work. Meanwhile, the Israelite foremen have pinned most of the blame on Moses and Aaron. Moses knows all about the sovereignty of God, and as he speaks in God’s name, he sees the effect it has on pagans like Pharaoh. So the rhetorical questions are designed to prod God to act differently.

[5:23]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic: וְהַצֵּל לֹא־הִצַּלְתָּ (vÿhatsel lo’-hitsalta). The verb נָצַל (natsal) means “to deliver, rescue” in the sense of plucking out, even plundering. The infinitive absolute strengthens both the idea of the verb and the negative. God had not delivered this people at all.

[5:23]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “your people.” The pronoun (“them”) has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons here, to avoid redundancy.

[9:8]  ¹⁷ sn This sixth plague, like the third, is unannounced. God instructs his servants to take handfuls of ashes from the Egyptians’ furnaces and sprinkle them heavenward in the sight of Pharaoh. These ashes would become little particles of dust that would cause boils on the Egyptians and their animals. Greta Hort, “The Plagues of Egypt,” ZAW 69 [1957]: 101-3, suggests it is skin anthrax (see W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:359). The lesson of this plague is that Yahweh has absolute control over the physical health of the people. Physical suffering consequent to sin comes to all regardless of their position and status. The Egyptians are helpless in the face of this, as now God begins to touch human life; greater judgments on human wickedness lie ahead.

[9:8]  ¹⁸ tn This word פִּיחַ (piakh) is a hapax legomenon, meaning “soot”; it seems to be derived from the verb פּוּחַ (puakh, “to breathe, blow”). The “furnace” (כִּבְשָׁן, kivshan) was a special kiln for making pottery or bricks.

[9:8]  ¹⁹ tn The verb זָרַק (zaraq) means “to throw vigorously, to toss.” If Moses tosses the soot into the air, it will symbolize that the disease is falling from heaven.

[9:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “before the eyes of Pharaoh.”

[9:9]  ²¹ tn The word שְׁחִין (shÿkhin) means “boils.” It may be connected to an Arabic cognate that means “to be hot.” The illness is associated with Job (Job 2:7-8) and Hezekiah (Isa 38:21); it has also been connected with other skin diseases described especially in the Law. The word connected with it is אֲבַעְבֻּעֹת (’ava’bu’ot); this means “blisters, pustules” and is sometimes translated as “festering.” The etymology is debated, whether from a word meaning “to swell up” or “to overflow” (W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:359).

[10:1]  ²² sn The Egyptians dreaded locusts like every other ancient civilization. They had particular gods to whom they looked for help in such catastrophes. The locust-scaring deities of Greece and Asia were probably looked to in Egypt as well (especially in view of the origins in Egypt of so many of those religious ideas). The announcement of the plague falls into the now-familiar pattern. God tells Moses to go and speak to Pharaoh but reminds Moses that he has hardened his heart. Yahweh explains that he has done this so that he might show his power, so that in turn they might declare his name from generation to generation. This point is stressed so often that it must not be minimized. God was laying the foundation of the faith for Israel – the sovereignty of Yahweh.

[10:1]  ²³ tn Heb “and Yahweh said.”

[10:1]  ²⁴ tn The verb is שִׁתִי (shiti, “I have put”); it is used here as a synonym for the verb שִׂים (sim). Yahweh placed the signs in his midst, where they will be obvious.

[10:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “in his midst.”

[10:11]  ²⁶ tn Heb “not thus.”

[10:11]  ²⁷ tn The word is הַגְּבָרִים (haggÿvarim, “the strong men”), a word different from the more general one that Pharaoh’s servants used (v. 7). Pharaoh appears to be conceding, but he is holding hostages. The word “only” has been supplied in the translation to indicate this.

[10:11]  ²⁸ tn The suffix on the sign of the accusative refers in a general sense to the idea contained in the preceding clause (see GKC 440-41 §135.p).

[10:11]  ²⁹ tn Heb “you are seeking.”

[10:11]  ³⁰ tn Heb “they”; the referent (Moses and Aaron) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:11]  ³¹ tn The verb is the Piel preterite, third person masculine singular, meaning “and he drove them out.” But “Pharaoh” cannot be the subject of the sentence, for “Pharaoh” is the object of the preposition. The subject is not specified, and so the verb can be treated as passive.

[10:17]  ³² sn Pharaoh’s double emphasis on “only” uses two different words and was meant to deceive. He was trying to give Moses the impression that he had finally come to his senses, and that he would let the people go. But he had no intention of letting them out.

[10:17]  ³³ sn “Death” is a metonymy that names the effect for the cause. If the locusts are left in the land it will be death to everything that grows.

[12:42]  ³⁴ tn There is some ambiguity in לֵיל שִׁמֻּרִים הוּא לַיהוָה (lel shimmurim hu’ la’adonay [layhveh]). It is likely that this first clause means that Yahweh was on watch for Israel to bring them out, as the next clause says. He was protecting his people (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 102). Then, the night of vigil will be transferred to Israel, who now must keep it “to” him.

[12:42]  ³⁵ tn “and so” has been supplied.

[12:42]  ³⁶ tn Heb “this night is for Yahweh a vigil for all Israelites for their generations.”

[13:16]  ³⁷ tn The word is טוֹטָפֹת (totafot, “frontlets”). The etymology is uncertain, but the word denotes a sign or an object placed on the forehead (see m. Shabbat 6:1). The Gemara interprets it as a band that goes from ear to ear. In the Targum to 2 Sam 1:10 it is an armlet worn by Saul (see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 110). These bands may have resembled the Egyptian practice of wearing as amulets “forms of words written on folds of papyrus tightly rolled up and sewn in linen” (W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:384).

[13:16]  ³⁸ sn The pattern of the passage now emerges more clearly; it concerns the grateful debt of the redeemed. In the first part eating the unleavened bread recalls the night of deliverance in Egypt, and it calls for purity. In the second part the dedication of the firstborn was an acknowledgment of the deliverance of the firstborn from bondage. They were to remember the deliverance and choose purity; they were to remember the deliverance and choose dedication. The NT will also say, “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price, therefore, glorify God” (1 Cor 6:20). Here too the truths of God’s great redemption must be learned well and retained well from generation to generation.

[16:20]  ³⁹ tn Heb “men”; this usage is designed to mean “some” (see GKC 447 §138.h, n. 1).

[16:20]  ⁴⁰ tn The verb וַיָּרֻם (vayyarum) is equivalent to a passive – “it was changed” – to which “worms” is added as an accusative of result (GKC 388-89 §121.d, n. 2).

[16:22]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “and it happened/was.”

[16:22]  ⁴² tn This construction is an exception to the normal rule for the numbers 2 through 10 taking the object numbered in the plural. Here it is “two of the omer” or “the double of the omer” (see GKC 433 §134.e).

[16:22]  ⁴³ tn Heb “for one.”

[16:22]  ⁴⁴ tn The word suggests “the ones lifted up” above others, and therefore the rulers or the chiefs of the people.

[16:22]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “congregation” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[16:22]  ⁴⁶ sn The meaning here is probably that these leaders, the natural heads of the families in the clans, saw that people were gathering twice as much and they reported this to Moses, perhaps afraid it would stink again (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 197).

[16:28]  ⁴⁷ tn The verb is plural, and so it is addressed to the nation and not to Moses. The perfect tense in this sentence is the characteristic perfect, denoting action characteristic, or typical, of the past and the present.

[17:2]  ⁴⁸ tn The verb וַיָּרֶב (vayyarev) is from the root רִיב (riv); it forms the basis of the name “Meribah.” The word means “strive, quarrel, be in contention” and even “litigation.” A translation “quarrel” does not appear to capture the magnitude of what is being done here. The people have a legal dispute – they are contending with Moses as if bringing a lawsuit.

[17:2]  ⁴⁹ tn The imperfect tense with the vav (ו) follows the imperative, and so it carries the nuance of the logical sequence, showing purpose or result. This may be expressed in English as “give us water so that we may drink,” but more simply with the English infinitive, “give us water to drink.”

[17:2]  sn One wonders if the people thought that Moses and Aaron had water and were withholding it from the people, or whether Moses was able to get it on demand. The people should have come to Moses to ask him to pray to God for water, but their action led Moses to say that they had challenged God (B. Jacob, Exodus, 476).

[17:2]  ⁵⁰ tn In this case and in the next clause the imperfect tenses are to be taken as progressive imperfects – the action is in progress.

[17:2]  ⁵¹ tn The verb נָסָה (nasah) means “to test, tempt, try, prove.” It can be used of people simply trying to do something that they are not sure of (such as David trying on Saul’s armor), or of God testing people to see if they will obey (as in testing Abraham, Gen 22:1), or of people challenging others (as in the Queen of Sheba coming to test Solomon), and of the people in the desert in rebellion putting God to the test. By doubting that God was truly in their midst, and demanding that he demonstrate his presence, they tested him to see if he would act. There are times when “proving” God is correct and required, but that is done by faith (as with Gideon); when it is done out of unbelief, then it is an act of disloyalty.

[17:9]  ⁵² tn This could be rendered literally “choose men for us.” But the lamed (ל) preposition probably indicates possession, “our men,” and the fact that Joshua was to choose from Israel, as well as the fact that there is no article on “men,” indicates he was to select some to fight.

[18:11]  ⁵³ tn The end of this sentence seems not to have been finished, or it is very elliptical. In the present translation the phrase “he has destroyed them” is supplied. Others take the last prepositional phrase to be the completion and supply only a verb: “[he was] above them.” U. Cassuto (Exodus, 216) takes the word “gods” to be the subject of the verb “act proudly,” giving the sense of “precisely (כִּי, ki) in respect of these things of which the gods of Egypt boasted – He is greater than they (עֲלֵיהֶם, ‘alehem).” He suggests rendering the clause, “excelling them in the very things to which they laid claim.”

[19:21]  ⁵⁴ tn The imperative הָעֵד (ha’ed) means “charge” them – put them under oath, or solemnly warn them. God wished to ensure that the people would not force their way past the barriers that had been set out.

[19:21]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “and fall”; NAB “be struck down.”

[20:19]  ⁵⁶ tn The verb is a Piel imperative. In this context it has more of the sense of a request than a command. The independent personal pronoun “you” emphasizes the subject and forms the contrast with God’s speaking.

[29:42]  ⁵⁷ tn The translation has “regular” instead of “continually,” because they will be preparing this twice a day.

[29:42]  ⁵⁸ tn The relative clause identifies the place in front of the Tent as the place that Yahweh would meet Moses. The main verb of the clause is אִוָּעֵד (’ivva’ed), a Niphal imperfect of the verb יָעַד (ya’ad), the verb that is cognate to the name “tent of meeting” – hence the name. This clause leads into the next four verses.

[30:16]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “the silver of the atonements.” The genitive here is the result (as in “sheep of slaughter”) telling what the money will be used for (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 11, §44).

[30:16]  ⁶⁰ sn The idea of “service” is maintenance and care of the sanctuary and its service, meaning the morning and evening sacrifices and the other elements to be used.

[30:16]  ⁶¹ sn S. R. Driver says this is “to keep Jehovah in continual remembrance of the ransom which had been paid for their lives” (Exodus, 334).

[30:16]  ⁶² tn The infinitive could be taken in a couple of ways here. It could be an epexegetical infinitive: “making atonement.” Or it could be the infinitive expressing result: “so that atonement will be made for your lives.”

[32:10]  ⁶³ tn The imperative, from the word “to rest” (נוּחַ, nuakh), has the sense of “leave me alone, let me be.” It is a directive for Moses not to intercede for the people. B. S. Childs (Exodus [OTL], 567) reflects the Jewish interpretation that there is a profound paradox in God’s words. He vows the severest punishment but then suddenly conditions it on Moses’ agreement. “Let me alone that I may consume them” is the statement, but the effect is that he has left the door open for intercession. He allows himself to be persuaded – that is what a mediator is for. God could have slammed the door (as when Moses wanted to go into the promised land). Moreover, by alluding to the promise to Abraham God gave Moses the strongest reason to intercede.

[36:4]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “a man, a man from his work”; or “each one from his work.”