Keluaran 31:10

31:10 the woven garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons, to minister as priests,

Keluaran 35:19

35:19 the woven garments for serving in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons to minister as priests.”

Keluaran 39:41

39:41 the woven garments for serving ¹  in the sanctuary, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons to minister as priests.

Keluaran 28:41

28:41 “You are to clothe them – your brother Aaron and his sons with him – and anoint them ²  and ordain them ³  and set them apart as holy, ⁴  so that they may minister as my priests.

Keluaran 29:9

29:9 and wrap the sashes around Aaron and his sons ⁵  and put headbands on them, and so the ministry of priesthood will belong to them by a perpetual ordinance. Thus you are to consecrate ⁶  Aaron and his sons.

Keluaran 28:4

28:4 Now these are the garments that they are to make: a breastpiece, ⁷  an ephod, ⁸  a robe, a fitted ⁹  tunic, a turban, and a sash. They are to make holy garments for your brother Aaron and for his sons, that they may minister as my priests.

Keluaran 29:30

29:30 The priest who succeeds him ¹⁰  from his sons, when he first comes ¹¹  to the tent of meeting to minister in the Holy Place, is to wear them for seven days. ¹² 

Keluaran 30:20

30:20 When they enter ¹³  the tent of meeting, they must wash with ¹⁴  water so that they do not die. ¹⁵  Also, when they approach ¹⁶  the altar to minister by burning incense ¹⁷  as an offering made by fire ¹⁸  to the Lord,

Keluaran 40:15

40:15 and anoint them just as you anointed their father, so that they may minister as my priests; their anointing will make them a priesthood that will continue throughout their generations.”

Keluaran 8:4

8:4 Frogs ¹⁹  will come up against you, your people, and all your servants.”’” ²⁰ 

Keluaran 22:28

22:28 “You must not blaspheme ²¹  God ²²  or curse the ruler of your people.

Keluaran 28:3

28:3 You ²³  are to speak to all who are specially skilled, ²⁴  whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, ²⁵  so that they may make ²⁶  Aaron’s garments to set him apart ²⁷  to minister as my priest.

Keluaran 9:30

9:30 But as for you ²⁸  and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear ²⁹  the Lord God.”

Keluaran 8:11

8:11 The frogs will depart from you, your houses, your servants, and your people; they will be left only in the Nile.”

Keluaran 9:20

9:20 Those ³⁰  of Pharaoh’s servants who feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring their ³¹  servants and livestock into the houses,

Keluaran 9:34

9:34 When Pharaoh saw ³²  that the rain and hail and thunder ceased, he sinned again: ³³  both he and his servants hardened ³⁴  their hearts.

Keluaran 29:35

29:35 “Thus you are to do for Aaron and for his sons, according to all that I have commanded you; you are to consecrate them ³⁵  for ³⁶  seven days.

Keluaran 30:30

30:30 “You are to anoint Aaron and his sons and ³⁷  sanctify them, so that they may minister as my priests.

Keluaran 40:13

40:13 Then you are to clothe Aaron with the holy garments and anoint him and sanctify him so that he may minister as my priest.

Keluaran 8:24

8:24 The Lord did so; a ³⁸  thick ³⁹  swarm of flies came into ⁴⁰  Pharaoh’s house and into the houses ⁴¹  of his servants, and throughout the whole land of Egypt the land was ruined ⁴²  because of the swarms of flies.

Keluaran 8:31

8:31 and the Lord did as Moses asked ⁴³  – he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. Not one remained!

Keluaran 9:14

9:14 For this time I will send all my plagues ⁴⁴  on your very self ⁴⁵  and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth.

Keluaran 10:1

The Eighth Blow: Locusts

10:1 ⁴⁶ The Lord said ⁴⁷  to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, in order to display ⁴⁸  these signs of mine before him, ⁴⁹ 

Keluaran 11:3

11:3 (Now the Lord granted the people favor with ⁵⁰  the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, respected by Pharaoh’s servants and by the Egyptian people.) ⁵¹ 

Keluaran 12:30

12:30 Pharaoh got up ⁵²  in the night, ⁵³  along with all his servants and all Egypt, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was no house ⁵⁴  in which there was not someone dead.

Keluaran 28:1

The Clothing of the Priests

28:1 ⁵⁵ “And you, bring near ⁵⁶  to you your brother Aaron and his sons with him from among the Israelites, so that they may minister as my priests ⁵⁷  – Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.

Keluaran 29:1

The Consecration of Aaron and His Sons

29:1 ⁵⁸ “Now this is what ⁵⁹  you are to do for them to consecrate them so that they may minister as my priests. Take a young ⁶⁰  bull and two rams without blemish; ⁶¹ 

Keluaran 29:44

29:44 “So I will set apart as holy ⁶²  the tent of meeting and the altar, and I will set apart as holy Aaron and his sons, that they may minister as priests to me.

Keluaran 8:3

8:3 The Nile will swarm ⁶³  with frogs, and they will come up and go into your house, in your bedroom, and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens and your kneading troughs. ⁶⁴ 

Keluaran 8:9

8:9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “You may have the honor over me ⁶⁵  – when shall I pray for you, your servants, and your people, for the frogs to be removed ⁶⁶  from you and your houses, so that ⁶⁷  they will be left ⁶⁸  only in the Nile?”

Keluaran 8:21

8:21 If you do not release ⁶⁹  my people, then I am going to send ⁷⁰  swarms of flies ⁷¹  on you and on your servants and on your people and in your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies, and even the ground they stand on. ⁷² 

Keluaran 8:29

8:29 Moses said, “I am going to go out ⁷³  from you and pray to the Lord, and the swarms of flies will go away from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people tomorrow. Only do not let Pharaoh deal falsely again ⁷⁴  by not releasing ⁷⁵  the people to sacrifice to the Lord.”

Keluaran 10:6-7

10:6 They will fill your houses, the houses of your servants, and all the houses of Egypt, such as ⁷⁶  neither ⁷⁷  your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen since they have been ⁷⁸  in the land until this day!’” Then Moses ⁷⁹  turned and went out from Pharaoh.

10:7 Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long ⁸⁰  will this man be a menace ⁸¹  to us? Release the people so that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not know ⁸²  that Egypt is destroyed?”

Keluaran 11:8

11:8 All these your servants will come down to me and bow down ⁸³  to me, saying, ‘Go, you and all the people who follow ⁸⁴  you,’ and after that I will go out.” Then Moses ⁸⁵  went out from Pharaoh in great anger.

Keluaran 14:5

14:5 When it was reported ⁸⁶  to the king of Egypt that the people had fled, ⁸⁷  the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people, and the king and his servants said, ⁸⁸  “What in the world have we done? ⁸⁹  For we have released the people of Israel ⁹⁰  from serving us!”

Keluaran 39:1

The Making of the Priestly Garments

39:1 From the blue, purple, and scarlet yarn they made woven garments for serving in the sanctuary; they made holy garments that were for Aaron, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ⁹¹ 

[39:41]  ¹ tn The form is the infinitive construct; it means the clothes to be used “to minister” in the holy place.

[28:41]  ² sn The instructions in this verse anticipate chap. 29, as well as the ordination ceremony described in Lev 8 and 9. The anointing of Aaron is specifically required in the Law, for he is to be the High Priest. The expression “ordain them” might also be translated as “install them” or “consecrate them”; it literally reads “and fill their hands,” an expression for the consecration offering for priesthood in Lev 8:33. The final instruction to sanctify them will involve the ritual of the atoning sacrifices to make the priests acceptable in the sanctuary.

[28:41]  ³ tn Heb “fill their hand.” As a result of this installation ceremony they will be officially designated for the work. It seems likely that the concept derives from the notion of putting the priestly responsibilities under their control (i.e., “filling their hands” with work). See note on the phrase “ordained seven days” in Lev 8:33.

[28:41]  ⁴ tn Traditionally “sanctify them” (KJV, ASV).

[29:9]  ⁵ tc Hebrew has both the objective pronoun “them” and the names “Aaron and his sons.” Neither the LXX nor Leviticus 8:13 has “Aaron and his sons,” suggesting that this may have been a later gloss in the text.

[29:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “and you will fill the hand” and so “consecrate” or “ordain.” The verb draws together the individual acts of the process.

[28:4]  ⁷ sn The breastpiece seems to have been a pouch of sorts or to have had a pocket, since it was folded in some way (28:16; 39:9) and contained the Urim and Thummim (Exod 28:30; Lev 8:8).

[28:4]  ⁸ sn The word “ephod” is taken over directly from Hebrew, because no one knows how to translate it, nor is there agreement about its design. It refers here to a garment worn by the priests, but the word can also refer to some kind of image for a god (Judg 8:27).

[28:4]  ⁹ tn The word תָּשְׁבֵּץ (tashbets), which describes the tunic and which appears only in this verse, is related to a verb (also rare) of the same root in 28:39 that describes making the tunic. Their meaning is uncertain (see the extended discussion in C. Houtman, Exodus, 3:473-75). A related noun describes gold fasteners and the “settings,” or “mountings,” for precious stones (28:11, 13, 14, 20, 25; 36:18; 39:6, 13, 16, 18; cf. Ps 45:14). The word “fitted” in 28:4 reflects the possibility that “the tunic is to be shaped by sewing, … so that it will fit tightly around the body” (C. Houtman, Exodus, 3:475).

[29:30]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “after him”; NCV, NLT “after Aaron.”

[29:30]  ¹¹ tn The text just has the relative pronoun and the imperfect tense. It could be translated “who comes/enters.” But the context seems to indicate that this would be when he first comes to the tent to begin his tenure as High Priest, and so a temporal clause makes this clear. “First” has been supplied.

[29:30]  ¹² tn “Seven days” is an adverbial accusative of time. The ritual of ordination is to be repeated for seven days, and so they are to remain there in the court in full dress.

[30:20]  ¹³ tn The form is an infinitive construct with the temporal preposition bet (ב), and a suffixed subjective genitive: “in their going in,” or, whenever they enter.

[30:20]  ¹⁴ tn “Water” is an adverbial accusative of means, and so is translated “with water.” Gesenius classifies this with verbs of “covering with something.” But he prefers to emend the text with a preposition (see GKC 369 §117.y, n. 1).

[30:20]  ¹⁵ tn The verb is a Qal imperfect with a nuance of final imperfect. The purpose/result clause here is indicated only with the conjunction: “and they do not die.” But clearly from the context this is the intended result of their washing – it is in order that they not die.

[30:20]  ¹⁶ tn Here, too, the infinitive is used in a temporal clause construction. The verb נָגַשׁ (nagash) is the common verb used for drawing near to the altar to make offerings – the official duties of the priest.

[30:20]  ¹⁷ tn The text uses two infinitives construct: “to minister to burn incense”; the first is the general term and expresses the purpose of the drawing near, and the second infinitive is epexegetical, explaining the first infinitive.

[30:20]  ¹⁸ tn The translation “as an offering made by fire” is a standard rendering of the one word in the text that appears to refer to “fire.” Milgrom and others contend that it simply means a “gift” (Leviticus 1-16, 161).

[8:4]  ¹⁹ tn Here again is the generic use of the article, designating the class – frogs.

[8:4]  ²⁰ sn The word order of the Hebrew text is important because it shows how the plague was pointedly directed at Pharaoh: “and against you, and against your people, and against all your servants frogs will go up.”

[22:28]  ²¹ tn The two verbs in this verse are synonyms: קָלַל (qalal) means “to treat lightly, curse,” and אָרַר (’arar) means “to curse.”

[22:28]  ²² 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).

[28:3]  ²³ tn Heb “And you, you will speak to.”

[28:3]  ²⁴ tn Heb “wise of heart.” The word for “wise” (חַכְמֵי, khakhme, the plural construct form) is from the word group that is usually translated “wisdom, wise, be wise,” but it has as its basic meaning “skill” or “skillful.” This is the way it is used in 31:3, 6 and 35:10 etc. God gave these people “wisdom” so that they would know how to make these things. The “heart” for the Hebrews is the locus of understanding, the mind and the will. To be “wise of heart” or “wise in heart” means that they had the understanding to do skillful work, they were talented artisans and artists.

[28:3]  ²⁵ sn There is no necessity to take this as a reference to the Holy Spirit who produces wisdom in these people, although that is not totally impossible. A number of English versions (e.g., NAB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT) do not even translate the word “spirit.” It probably refers to their attitude and ability. U. Cassuto has “to all the artisans skilled in the making of stately robes, in the heart [i.e., mind] of each of whom I have implanted sagacity in his craft so that he may do his craft successfully” (Exodus, 371).

[28:3]  ²⁶ tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; after the instruction to speak to the wise, this verb, equal to an imperfect, will have the force of purpose.

[28:3]  ²⁷ tn Or “to sanctify him” (ASV) or “to consecrate him” (KJV, NASB, NRSV). It is the garments that will set Aaron apart, or sanctify him, not the workers. The expression could be taken to mean “for his consecration” (NIV) since the investiture is part of his being set apart for service.

[9:30]  ²⁸ tn The verse begins with the disjunctive vav to mark a strong contrastive clause to what was said before this.

[9:30]  ²⁹ tn The adverb טֶרֶם (terem, “before, not yet”) occurs with the imperfect tense to give the sense of the English present tense to the verb negated by it (GKC 314-15 §107.c). Moses is saying that he knew that Pharaoh did not really stand in awe of God, so as to grant Israel’s release, i.e., fear not in the religious sense but “be afraid of” God – fear “before” him (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 76).

[9:20]  ³⁰ tn The text has “the one fearing.” The singular expression here and throughout vv. 20-21 refers to all who fit the description.

[9:20]  ³¹ tn Heb “his” (singular).

[9:34]  ³² tn The clause beginning with the preterite and vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated to the next, and main clause – that he hardened his heart again.

[9:34]  ³³ tn The construction is another verbal hendiadys: וַיֹּסֶף לַחֲטֹּא (vayyosef lakhatto’), literally rendered “and he added to sin.” The infinitive construct becomes the main verb, and the Hiphil preterite becomes adverbial. The text is clearly interpreting as sin the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart and his refusal to release Israel. At the least this means that the plagues are his fault, but the expression probably means more than this – he was disobeying Yahweh God.

[9:34]  ³⁴ tn This phrase translates the Hebrew word כָּבֵד (kaved); see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 53.

[29:35]  ³⁵ tn Heb “you will fill their hand.”

[29:35]  ³⁶ tn The “seven days” is the adverbial accusative explaining that the ritual of the filling should continue daily for a week. Leviticus makes it clear that they are not to leave the sanctuary.

[30:30]  ³⁷ tn The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive follows the imperfect of instruction; it may be equal to the instruction, but more likely shows the purpose or result of the act.

[8:24]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and there came a….”

[8:24]  ³⁹ tn Heb “heavy,” or “severe.”

[8:24]  ⁴⁰ tn Here, and in the next phrase, the word “house” has to be taken as an adverbial accusative of termination.

[8:24]  ⁴¹ tn The Hebrew text has the singular here.

[8:24]  ⁴² tc Concerning the connection of “the land was ruined” with the preceding, S. R. Driver (Exodus, 68) suggests reading with the LXX, Smr, and Peshitta; this would call for adding a conjunction before the last clause to make it read, “into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt; and the land was…”

[8:24]  tn The Hebrew word תִּשָּׁחֵת (tishakhet) is a strong word; it is the Niphal imperfect of שָׁחַת (shakhat) and is translated “ruined.” If the classification as imperfect stands, then it would have to be something like a progressive imperfect (the land was being ruined); otherwise, it may simply be a preterite without the vav (ו) consecutive. The verb describes utter devastation. This is the verb that is used in Gen 13:10 to describe how Yahweh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Swarms of flies would disrupt life, contaminate everything, and bring disease.

[8:31]  ⁴³ tn Heb “according to the word of Moses” (so KJV, ASV).

[9:14]  ⁴⁴ tn The expression “all my plagues” points to the rest of the plagues and anticipates the proper outcome. Another view is to take the expression to mean the full brunt of the attack on the Egyptian people.

[9:14]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “to your heart.” The expression is unusual, but it may be an allusion to the hard heartedness of Pharaoh – his stubbornness and blindness (B. Jacob, Exodus, 274).

[10:1]  ⁴⁶ 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]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “and Yahweh said.”

[10:1]  ⁴⁸ 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]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “in his midst.”

[11:3]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[11:3]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “in the eyes of the servants of Pharaoh and in the eyes of the people.” In the translation the word “Egyptian” has been supplied to clarify that the Egyptians and not the Israelites are meant here.

[11:3]  sn The presence of this clause about Moses, which is parenthetical in nature, further indicates why the Egyptians gave rather willingly to the Israelites. They were impressed by Moses’ miracles and his power with Pharaoh. Moses was great in stature – powerful and influential.

[12:30]  ⁵² tn Heb “arose,” the verb קוּם (qum) in this context certainly must describe a less ceremonial act. The entire country woke up in terror because of the deaths.

[12:30]  ⁵³ tn The noun is an adverbial accusative of time – “in the night” or “at night.”

[12:30]  ⁵⁴ sn Or so it seemed. One need not push this description to complete literalness. The reference would be limited to houses that actually had firstborn people or animals. In a society in which households might include more than one generation of humans and animals, however, the presence of a firstborn human or animal would be the rule rather than the exception.

[28:1]  ⁵⁵ sn Some modern scholars find this and the next chapter too elaborate for the wilderness experience. To most of them this reflects the later Zadokite priesthood of the writer’s (P’s) day that was referred to Mosaic legislation for authentication. But there is no compelling reason why this should be late; it is put late because it is assumed to be P, and that is assumed to be late. But both assumptions are unwarranted. This lengthy chapter could be divided this way: instructions for preparing the garments (1-5), details of the apparel (6-39), and a warning against deviating from these (40-43). The subject matter of the first part is that God requires that his chosen ministers reflect his holy nature; the point of the second part is that God requires his ministers to be prepared to fulfill the tasks of the ministry, and the subject matter of the third part is that God warns all his ministers to safeguard the holiness of their service.

[28:1]  ⁵⁶ tn The verb is the Hiphil imperative of the root קָרַב (qarav, “to draw near”). In the present stem the word has religious significance, namely, to present something to God, like an offering.

[28:1]  ⁵⁷ tn This entire clause is a translation of the Hebrew לְכַהֲנוֹ־לִי (lÿkhahano-li, “that he might be a priest to me”), but the form is unusual. The word means “to be a priest” or “to act as a priest.” The etymology of the word for priest, כֹּהֵן (kohen), is uncertain.

[29:1]  ⁵⁸ sn Chap. 29 is a rather long, involved discussion of the consecration of Aaron the priest. It is similar to the ordination service in Lev 8. In fact, the execution of what is instructed here is narrated there. But these instructions must have been formulated after or in conjunction with Lev 1-7, for they presuppose a knowledge of the sacrifices. The bulk of the chapter is the consecration of the priests: 1-35. It has the preparation (1-3), washing (4), investiture and anointing (5-9), sin offering (10-14), burnt offering (15-18), installation peace offering (19-26, 31-34), other offerings’ rulings (27-30), and the duration of the ritual (35). Then there is the consecration of the altar (36-37), and the oblations (38-46). There are many possibilities for the study and exposition of this material. The whole chapter is the consecration of tabernacle, altar, people, and most of all the priests. God was beginning the holy operations with sacral ritual. So the overall message would be: Everyone who ministers, everyone who worships, and everything they use in the presence of Yahweh, must be set apart to God by the cleansing, enabling, and sanctifying work of God.

[29:1]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “the thing.”

[29:1]  ⁶⁰ tn Literally: “take one bull, a ‘son’ of the herd.”

[29:1]  ⁶¹ tn The word תָּמִים (tamim) means “perfect.” The animals could not have diseases or be crippled or blind (see Mal 1). The requirement was designed to ensure that the people would give the best they had to Yahweh. The typology pointed to the sinless Messiah who would fulfill all these sacrifices in his one sacrifice on the cross.

[29:44]  ⁶² tn This verse affirms the same point as the last, but now with an active verb: “I will set apart as holy” (or “I will sanctify”). This verse, then, probably introduces the conclusion of the chapter: “So I will….”

[8:3]  ⁶³ sn The choice of this verb שָׁרַץ (sharats) recalls its use in the creation account (Gen 1:20). The water would be swarming with frogs in abundance. There is a hint here of this being a creative work of God as well.

[8:3]  ⁶⁴ sn This verse lists places the frogs will go. The first three are for Pharaoh personally – they are going to touch his private life. Then the text mentions the servants and the people. Mention of the ovens and kneading bowls (or troughs) of the people indicates that food would be contaminated and that it would be impossible even to eat a meal in peace.

[8:9]  ⁶⁵ tn The expression הִתְפָּאֵר עָלַי (hitpa’er ’alay) is problematic. The verb would be simply translated “honor yourself” or “deck yourself with honor.” It can be used in the bad sense of self-exaltation. But here it seems to mean “have the honor or advantage over me” in choosing when to remove the frogs. The LXX has “appoint for me.” Moses is doing more than extending a courtesy to Pharaoh; he is giving him the upper hand in choosing the time. But it is also a test, for if Pharaoh picked the time it would appear less likely that Moses was manipulating things. As U. Cassuto puts it, Moses is saying “my trust in God is so strong you may have the honor of choosing the time” (Exodus, 103).

[8:9]  ⁶⁶ tn Or “destroyed”; Heb “to cut off the frogs.”

[8:9]  ⁶⁷ tn The phrase “so that” is implied.

[8:9]  ⁶⁸ tn Or “survive, remain.”

[8:21]  ⁶⁹ tn The construction uses the predicator of nonexistence – אֵין (’en, “there is not”) – with a pronominal suffix prior to the Piel participle. The suffix becomes the subject of the clause. Heb “but if there is not you releasing.”

[8:21]  ⁷⁰ tn Here again is the futur instans use of the participle, now Qal with the meaning “send”: הִנְנִי מַשְׁלִיחַ (hinni mashliakh, “here I am sending”).

[8:21]  ⁷¹ tn The word עָרֹב (’arov) means “a mix” or “swarm.” It seems that some irritating kind of flying insect is involved. Ps 78:45 says that the Egyptians were eaten or devoured by them. Various suggestions have been made over the years: (1) it could refer to beasts or reptiles; (2) the Greek took it as the dog-fly, a vicious blood-sucking gadfly, more common in the spring than in the fall; (3) the ordinary house fly, which is a symbol of Egypt in Isa 7:18 (Hebrew זְבוּב, zÿvuv); and (4) the beetle, which gnaws and bites plants, animals, and materials. The fly probably fits the details of this passage best; the plague would have greatly intensified a problem with flies that already existed.

[8:21]  ⁷² tn Or perhaps “the land where they are” (cf. NRSV “the land where they live”).

[8:29]  ⁷³ tn The deictic particle with the participle usually indicates the futur instans nuance: “I am about to…,” or “I am going to….” The clause could also be subordinated as a temporal clause.

[8:29]  ⁷⁴ tn The verb תָּלַל (talal) means “to mock, deceive, trifle with.” The construction in this verse forms a verbal hendiadys. The Hiphil jussive אַל־יֹסֵף (’al-yosef, “let not [Pharaoh] add”) is joined with the Hiphil infinitive הָתֵל (hatel, “to deceive”). It means: “Let not Pharaoh deceive again.” Changing to the third person in this warning to Pharaoh is more decisive, more powerful.

[8:29]  ⁷⁵ tn The Piel infinitive construct after lamed (ל) and the negative functions epexegetically, explaining how Pharaoh would deal falsely – “by not releasing.”

[10:6]  ⁷⁶ tn The relative pronoun אֲשֶׁר (’asher) is occasionally used as a comparative conjunction (see GKC 499 §161.b).

[10:6]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “which your fathers have not seen, nor your fathers’ fathers.”

[10:6]  ⁷⁸ tn The Hebrew construction מִיּוֹם הֱיוֹתָם (miyyom heyotam, “from the day of their being”). The statement essentially says that no one, even the elderly, could remember seeing a plague of locusts like this. In addition, see B. Childs, “A Study of the Formula, ‘Until This Day,’” JBL 82 (1963).

[10:6]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:7]  ⁸⁰ sn The question of Pharaoh’s servants echoes the question of Moses – “How long?” Now the servants of Pharaoh are demanding what Moses demanded – “Release the people.” They know that the land is destroyed, and they speak of it as Moses’ doing. That way they avoid acknowledging Yahweh or blaming Pharaoh.

[10:7]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “snare” (מוֹקֵשׁ, moqesh), a word used for a trap for catching birds. Here it is a figure for the cause of Egypt’s destruction.

[10:7]  ⁸² tn With the adverb טֶרֶם (terem), the imperfect tense receives a present sense: “Do you not know?” (See GKC 481 §152.r).

[11:8]  ⁸³ sn Moses’ anger is expressed forcefully. “He had appeared before Pharaoh a dozen times either as God’s emissary or when summoned by Pharaoh, but he would not come again; now they would have to search him out if they needed help” (B. Jacob, Exodus, 289-90).

[11:8]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “that are at your feet.”

[11:8]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:5]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “and it was told.” The present translation uses “reported,” since this involves information given to a superior.

[14:5]  ⁸⁷ tn The verb must be given a past perfect translation because the fleeing occurred before the telling.

[14:5]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “and they said.” The referent (the king and his servants) is supplied for clarity.

[14:5]  ⁸⁹ tn The question literally is “What is this we have done?” The demonstrative pronoun is used as an enclitic particle for emphasis (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).

[14:5]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “released Israel.” By metonymy the name of the nation is used collectively for the people who constitute it (the Israelites).

[39:1]  ⁹¹ sn This chapter also will be almost identical to the instructions given earlier, with a few changes along the way.