Keluaran 4:22-23

4:22 You must say ¹  to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says ²  the Lord, “Israel is my son, my firstborn, ³  4:23 and I said to you, ‘Let my son go that he may serve ⁴  me,’ but since you have refused to let him go, ⁵  I will surely kill ⁶  your son, your firstborn!”’”

Keluaran 11:9

11:9 The Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that my wonders ⁷  may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”

Keluaran 7:3

7:3 But I will harden ⁸  Pharaoh’s heart, and although I will multiply ⁹  my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt,

Keluaran 3:20

3:20 So I will extend my hand ¹⁰  and strike Egypt with all my wonders ¹¹  that I will do among them, and after that he will release you. ¹² 

Keluaran 10:1-2

The Eighth Blow: Locusts

10:1 ¹³ The Lord said ¹⁴  to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, in order to display ¹⁵  these signs of mine before him, ¹⁶  10:2 and in order that in the hearing of your son and your grandson you may tell ¹⁷  how I made fools ¹⁸  of the Egyptians ¹⁹  and about ²⁰  my signs that I displayed ²¹  among them, so that you may know ²²  that I am the Lord.”

[4:22]  ¹ tn The sequence of the instruction from God uses the perfect tense with vav (ו), following the preceding imperfects.

[4:22]  ² tn The instantaneous use of the perfect tense fits well with the prophetic announcement of what Yahweh said or says. It shows that the words given to the prophet are still binding.

[4:22]  ³ sn The metaphor uses the word “son” in its connotation of a political dependent, as it was used in ancient documents to describe what was intended to be a loyal relationship with well-known privileges and responsibilities, like that between a good father and son. The word can mean a literal son, a descendant, a chosen king (and so, the Messiah), a disciple (in Proverbs), and here, a nation subject to God. If the people of Israel were God’s “son,” then they should serve him and not Pharaoh. Malachi reminds people that the Law said “a son honors his father,” and so God asked, “If I am a father, where is my honor?” (Mal 1:6).

[4:23]  ⁴ tn The text uses the imperative, “send out” (שַׁלַּח, shallakh) followed by the imperfect or jussive with the vav (ו) to express purpose.

[4:23]  ⁵ tn The Piel infinitive serves as the direct object of the verb, answering the question of what Pharaoh would refuse to do. The command and refusal to obey are the grounds for the announcement of death for Pharaoh’s son.

[4:23]  ⁶ tn The construction is very emphatic. The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) gives it an immediacy and a vividness, as if God is already beginning to act. The participle with this particle has the nuance of an imminent future act, as if God is saying, “I am about to kill.” These words are not repeated until the last plague.

[11:9]  ⁷ sn The thought is essentially the same as in Exod 7:3-4, but the wonders, or portents, here refer to what is yet to be done in Egypt.

[7:3]  ⁸ tn The clause begins with the emphatic use of the pronoun and a disjunctive vav (ו) expressing the contrast “But as for me, I will harden.” They will speak, but God will harden.

[7:3]  sn The imperfect tense of the verb קָשָׁה (qasha) is found only here in these “hardening passages.” The verb (here the Hiphil for “I will harden”) summarizes Pharaoh’s resistance to what God would be doing through Moses – he would stubbornly resist and refuse to submit; he would be resolved in his opposition. See R. R. Wilson, “The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart,” CBQ 41 (1979): 18-36.

[7:3]  ⁹ tn The form beginning the second half of the verse is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive, הִרְבֵּיתִי (hirbeti). It could be translated as a simple future in sequence after the imperfect preceding it, but the logical connection is not obvious. Since it carries the force of an imperfect due to the sequence, it may be subordinated as a temporal clause to the next clause that begins in v. 4. That maintains the flow of the argument.

[3:20]  ¹⁰ sn The outstretched arm is a bold anthropomorphism. It describes the power of God. The Egyptians will later admit that the plagues were by the hand of God (Exod 8:19).

[3:20]  ¹¹ tn The word נִפְלְאֹתַי (niflÿ’otay) does not specify what the intervention will be. As the text unfolds it will be clear that the plagues are intended. Signs and portents could refer to things people might do, but “wonders” only God could do. The root refers to that which is extraordinary, surpassing, amazing, difficult to comprehend. See Isa 9:6; Gen 18:14; Ps 139:6.

[3:20]  ¹² sn The two uses of the root שָׁלָח (shalakh) in this verse contribute to its force. When the Lord “sends” (Qal) his hand, Pharaoh will “send” (Piel) the Israelites out of Egypt.

[10:1]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and Yahweh said.”

[10:1]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “in his midst.”

[10:2]  ¹⁷ tn The expression is unusual: תְּסַפֵּר בְּאָזְנֵי (tÿsapper bÿ’ozne, “[that] you may declare in the ears of”). The clause explains an additional reason for God’s hardening the heart of Pharaoh, namely, so that the Israelites can tell their children of God’s great wonders. The expression is highly poetic and intense – like Ps 44:1, which says, “we have heard with our ears.” The emphasis would be on the clear teaching, orally, from one generation to another.

[10:2]  ¹⁸ tn The verb הִתְעַלַּלְתִּי (hit’allalti) is a bold anthropomorphism. The word means to occupy oneself at another’s expense, to toy with someone, which may be paraphrased with “mock.” The whole point is that God is shaming and disgracing Egypt, making them look foolish in their arrogance and stubbornness (W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:366-67). Some prefer to translate it as “I have dealt ruthlessly” with Egypt (see U. Cassuto, Exodus, 123).

[10:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “of Egypt.” The place is put by metonymy for the inhabitants.

[10:2]  ²⁰ tn The word “about” is supplied to clarify this as another object of the verb “declare.”

[10:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “put” or “placed.”

[10:2]  ²² tn The form is the perfect tense with vav consecutive, וִידַעְתֶּם (vida’tem, “and that you might know”). This provides another purpose for God’s dealings with Egypt in the way that he was doing. The form is equal to the imperfect tense with vav (ו) prefixed; it thus parallels the imperfect that began v. 2 – “that you might tell.”