Keluaran 4:1

The Source of Sufficiency

4:1 ¹ Moses answered again, ²  “And if ³  they do not believe me or pay attention to me, ⁴  but say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you’?”

Keluaran 5:8

5:8 But you must require ⁵  of them the same quota of bricks that they were making before. ⁶  Do not reduce it, for they are slackers. ⁷  That is why they are crying, ‘Let us go sacrifice to our God.’

Keluaran 6:13

6:13 The Lord spoke ⁸  to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge ⁹  for the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

Keluaran 7:9

7:9 “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Do ¹⁰  a miracle,’ and you say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down ¹¹  before Pharaoh,’ it will become ¹²  a snake.”

Keluaran 8:16

The Third Blow: Gnats

8:16 ¹³ The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Extend your staff and strike the dust of the ground, and it will become ¹⁴  gnats ¹⁵  throughout all the land of Egypt.’”

Keluaran 9:7

9:7 Pharaoh sent representatives to investigate, ¹⁶  and indeed, not even one of the livestock of Israel had died. But Pharaoh’s heart remained hard, ¹⁷  and he did not release the people.

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 17:9

17:9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our ¹⁸  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 18:23

18:23 If you do this thing, and God so commands you, ¹⁹  then you will be able ²⁰  to endure, ²¹  and all these people ²²  will be able to go ²³  home ²⁴  satisfied.” ²⁵ 

Keluaran 19:23

19:23 Moses said to the Lord, “The people are not able to come up to Mount Sinai, because you solemnly warned us, ²⁶  ‘Set boundaries for the mountain and set it apart.’” ²⁷ 

Keluaran 28:39

28:39 You are to weave ²⁸  the tunic of fine linen and make the turban of fine linen, and make the sash the work of an embroiderer.

Keluaran 29:19

29:19 “You are to take the second ram, and Aaron and his sons are to lay their hands on the ram’s head,

Keluaran 32:24

32:24 So I said to them, ‘Whoever has gold, break it off.’ So they gave it ²⁹  to me, and I threw it into the fire, and this calf came out.” ³⁰ 

Keluaran 33:4

33:4 When the people heard this troubling word ³¹  they mourned; ³²  no one put on his ornaments.

Keluaran 36:2

36:2 Moses summoned ³³  Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person in whom ³⁴  the Lord had put skill – everyone whose heart stirred him ³⁵  to volunteer ³⁶  to do the work,

Keluaran 36:4

36:4 So all the skilled people who were doing all the work on the sanctuary came from the work ³⁷  they were doing

[4:1]  ¹ sn In chap. 3, the first part of this extensive call, Yahweh promises to deliver his people. At the hesitancy of Moses, God guarantees his presence will be with him, and that assures the success of the mission. But with chap. 4, the second half of the call, the tone changes sharply. Now Moses protests his inadequacies in view of the nature of the task. In many ways, these verses address the question, “Who is sufficient for these things?” There are three basic movements in the passage. The first nine verses tell how God gave Moses signs in case Israel did not believe him (4:1-9). The second section records how God dealt with the speech problem of Moses (4:10-12). And finally, the last section records God’s provision of a helper, someone who could talk well (4:13-17). See also J. E. Hamlin, “The Liberator’s Ordeal: A Study of Exodus 4:1-9,” Rhetorical Criticism [PTMS], 33-42.

[4:1]  ² tn Heb “and Moses answered and said.”

[4:1]  ³ tn Or “What if.” The use of הֵן (hen) is unusual here, introducing a conditional idea in the question without a following consequence clause (see Exod 8:22 HT [8:26 ET]; Jer 2:10; 2 Chr 7:13). The Greek has “if not” but adds the clause “what shall I say to them?”

[4:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “listen to my voice,” so as to respond positively.

[5:8]  ⁵ tn The verb is the Qal imperfect of שִׂים (sim, “place, put”). The form could be an imperfect of instruction: “You will place upon them the quota.” Or, as here, it may be an obligatory imperfect: “You must place.”

[5:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “yesterday and three days ago” or “yesterday and before that” is idiomatic for “previously” or “in the past.”

[5:8]  ⁷ tn Or “loafers.” The form נִרְפִּים (nirpim) is derived from the verb רָפָה (rafah), meaning “to be weak, to let oneself go.” They had been letting the work go, Pharaoh reasoned, and being idle is why they had time to think about going to worship.

[6:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “And Yahweh spoke.”

[6:13]  ⁹ tn The term וַיְצַוֵּם (vayÿtsavvem) is a Piel preterite with a pronominal suffix on it. The verb צָוָה (tsavah) means “to command” but can also have a much wider range of meanings. In this short summary statement, the idea of giving Moses and Aaron a commission to Israel and to Pharaoh indicates that come what may they have their duty to perform.

[7:9]  ¹⁰ tn The verb is תְּנוּ (tÿnu), literally “give.” The imperative is followed by an ethical dative that strengthens the subject of the imperative: “you give a miracle.”

[7:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and throw it.” The direct object, “it,” is implied.

[7:9]  ¹² tn The form is the jussive יְהִי ( yÿhi). Gesenius notes that frequently in a conditional clause, a sentence with a protasis and apodosis, the jussive will be used. Here it is in the apodosis (GKC 323 §109.h).

[8:16]  ¹³ sn The third plague is brief and unannounced. Moses and Aaron were simply to strike the dust so that it would become gnats. Not only was this plague unannounced, but also it was not duplicated by the Egyptians.

[8:16]  ¹⁴ tn The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive, meaning “and it will be.” When הָיָה (hayah) is followed by the lamed (ל) proposition, it means “become.”

[8:16]  ¹⁵ tn The noun is כִּנִּים (kinnim). The insect has been variously identified as lice, gnats, ticks, flies, fleas, or mosquitoes. “Lice” follows the reading in the Peshitta and Targum (and so Josephus, Ant. 2.14.3 [2.300]). Greek and Latin had “gnats.” By “gnats” many commentators mean “mosquitoes,” which in and around the water of Egypt were abundant (and the translators of the Greek text were familiar with Egypt). Whatever they were they came from the dust and were troublesome to people and animals.

[9:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Pharaoh sent.” The phrase “representatives to investigate” is implied in the context.

[9:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and the heart of Pharaoh was hardened.” This phrase translates the Hebrew word כָּבֵד (kaved; see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 53). In context this represents the continuation of a prior condition.

[17:9]  ¹⁸ 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.

[18:23]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ 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]  ²² tn Literally “this people.”

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

[18:23]  ²⁴ tn Heb “his place.”

[18:23]  ²⁵ 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.

[19:23]  ²⁶ tn The construction is emphatic: “because you – you solemnly warned us.” Moses’ response to God is to ask how they would break through when God had already charged them not to. God knew them better than Moses did.

[19:23]  ²⁷ tn Heb “sanctify it.”

[28:39]  ²⁸ tn It is difficult to know how to translate וְשִׁבַּצְּתָּ (vÿshibbatsta); it is a Piel perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive, and so equal to the imperfect of instruction. Some have thought that this verb describes a type of weaving and that the root may indicate that the cloth had something of a pattern to it by means of alternate weaving of the threads. It was the work of a weaver (39:27) and not so detailed as certain other fabrics (26:1), but it was more than plain weaving (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 310). Here, however, it may be that the fabric is assumed to be in existence and that the action has to do with sewing (C. Houtman, Exodus, 3:475, 517).

[32:24]  ²⁹ tn Here “it” has been supplied.

[32:24]  ³⁰ sn Aaron first tried to blame the people, and then he tried to make it sound like a miracle – was it to sound like one of the plagues where out of the furnace came life? This text does not mention it, but Deut 9:20 tells how angry God was with Aaron. Only intercession saved his life.

[33:4]  ³¹ tn Or “bad news” (NAB, NCV).

[33:4]  ³² sn The people would rather have risked divine discipline than to go without Yahweh in their midst. So they mourned, and they took off the ornaments. Such had been used in making the golden calf, and so because of their association with all of that they were to be removed as a sign of remorse.

[36:2]  ³³ tn The verb קָרָא (qara’) plus the preposition “to” – “to call to” someone means “to summon” that person.

[36:2]  ³⁴ tn Here there is a slight change: “in whose heart Yahweh had put skill.”

[36:2]  ³⁵ tn Or “whose heart was willing.”

[36:2]  ³⁶ sn The verb means more than “approach” or “draw near”; קָרַב (qarav) is the word used for drawing near the altar as in bringing an offering. Here they offer themselves, their talents and their time.

[36:4]  ³⁷ tn Heb “a man, a man from his work”; or “each one from his work.”