Keluaran 4:5

4:5 “that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”

Keluaran 4:8

4:8 “If ¹  they do not believe you or pay attention to ²  the former sign, then they may ³  believe the latter sign. ⁴ 

Keluaran 4:15

4:15 “So you are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And as for me, I will be with your mouth ⁵  and with his mouth, ⁶  and I will teach you both ⁷  what you must do. ⁸ 

Keluaran 4:28

4:28 Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord who had ⁹  sent him and all the signs that he had commanded him.

Keluaran 5:23

5:23 From the time I went to speak to Pharaoh in your name, he has caused trouble ¹⁰  for this people, and you have certainly not rescued ¹¹  them!” ¹² 

Keluaran 6:4

6:4 I also established my covenant with them ¹³  to give them the land of Canaan, where they were living as resident foreigners. ¹⁴ 

Keluaran 8:1

8:1 (7:26) ¹⁵  Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Release my people in order that they may serve me!

Keluaran 9:1

The Fifth Blow: Disease

9:1 ¹⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Release my people that they may serve me!

Keluaran 9:9

9:9 It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt and will cause boils to break out and fester ¹⁷  on both people and animals in all the land of Egypt.”

Keluaran 9:13

The Seventh Blow: Hail

9:13 ¹⁸ The Lord said ¹⁹  to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, stand ²⁰  before Pharaoh, and tell him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: “Release my people so that they may serve me!

Keluaran 9:28

9:28 Pray to the Lord, for the mighty ²¹  thunderings and hail are too much! ²²  I will release you and you will stay no longer.” ²³ 

Keluaran 10:5

10:5 They will cover ²⁴  the surface ²⁵  of the earth, so that you ²⁶  will be unable to see the ground. They will eat the remainder of what escaped ²⁷  – what is left over ²⁸  for you – from the hail, and they will eat every tree that grows for you from the field.

Keluaran 10:28

10:28 Pharaoh said to him, “Go from me! ²⁹  Watch out for yourself! Do not appear before me again, ³⁰  for when ³¹  you see my face you will die!”

Keluaran 11:7

11:7 But against any of the Israelites not even a dog will bark ³²  against either people or animals, ³³  so that you may know that the Lord distinguishes ³⁴  between Egypt and Israel.’

Keluaran 12:4

12:4 If any household is too small ³⁵  for a lamb, ³⁶  the man ³⁷  and his next-door neighbor ³⁸  are to take ³⁹  a lamb according to the number of people – you will make your count for the lamb according to how much each one can eat. ⁴⁰ 

Keluaran 12:11

12:11 This is how you are to eat it – dressed to travel, ⁴¹  your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. ⁴² 

Keluaran 12:46

12:46 It must be eaten in one house; you must not bring any of the meat outside the house, and you must not break a bone of it.

Keluaran 14:10

14:10 When ⁴³  Pharaoh got closer, ⁴⁴  the Israelites looked up, ⁴⁵  and there were the Egyptians marching after them, ⁴⁶  and they were terrified. ⁴⁷  The Israelites cried out to the Lord, ⁴⁸ 

Keluaran 14:31

14:31 When Israel saw ⁴⁹  the great power ⁵⁰  that the Lord had exercised ⁵¹  over the Egyptians, they ⁵²  feared the Lord, and they believed in ⁵³  the Lord and in his servant Moses. ⁵⁴ 

Keluaran 15:23

15:23 Then they came to Marah, ⁵⁵  but they were not able to drink ⁵⁶  the waters of Marah, because ⁵⁷  they were bitter. ⁵⁸  (That is ⁵⁹  why its name was ⁶⁰  Marah.)

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 18:1

The Advice of Jethro

18:1 ⁶¹ Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard about all that God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, that ⁶²  the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. ⁶³ 

Keluaran 18:10

18:10 Jethro said, “Blessed ⁶⁴  be the Lord who has delivered you from the hand of Egypt, and from the hand of Pharaoh, who has delivered the people from the Egyptians’ control! ⁶⁵ 

Keluaran 18:26

18:26 They judged the people under normal circumstances; the difficult cases they would bring ⁶⁶  to Moses, but every small case they would judge themselves.

Keluaran 19:8-9

19:8 and all the people answered together, “All that the Lord has commanded we will do!” ⁶⁷  So Moses brought the words of the people back to the Lord.

19:9 The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come ⁶⁸  to you in a dense cloud, ⁶⁹  so that the people may hear when I speak with you and so that they will always believe in you.” ⁷⁰  And Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.

Keluaran 20:18

20:18 All the people were seeing ⁷¹  the thundering and the lightning, and heard ⁷²  the sound of the horn, and saw ⁷³  the mountain smoking – and when ⁷⁴  the people saw it they trembled with fear ⁷⁵  and kept their distance. ⁷⁶ 

Keluaran 20:22

The Altar

20:22 ⁷⁷ The Lord said ⁷⁸  to Moses: “Thus you will tell the Israelites: ‘You yourselves have seen that I have spoken with you from heaven.

Keluaran 23:33--24:1

23:33 They must not live in your land, lest they make you sin against me, for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare ⁷⁹  to you.”

The Lord Ratifies the Covenant

24:1 ⁸⁰ But to Moses the Lord ⁸¹  said, “Come up ⁸²  to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from a distance. ⁸³ 

Keluaran 24:7

24:7 He took the Book of the Covenant ⁸⁴  and read it aloud ⁸⁵  to the people, and they said, “We are willing to do and obey ⁸⁶  all that the Lord has spoken.”

Keluaran 25:35

25:35 with a bud under the first ⁸⁷  two branches from it, and a bud under the next ⁸⁸  two branches from it, and a bud under the third ⁸⁹  two branches from it, according to the six branches that extend from the lampstand.

Keluaran 26:10

26:10 You are to make fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in one set and fifty loops along the edge of the curtain that joins the second set.

Keluaran 28:8

28:8 The artistically woven waistband ⁹⁰  of the ephod that is on it is to be like it, of one piece with the ephod, ⁹¹  of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twisted linen.

Keluaran 28:21

28:21 The stones are to be for the names of the sons of Israel, twelve, according to the number of ⁹²  their names. Each name according to the twelve tribes is to be like ⁹³  the engravings of a seal.

Keluaran 28:25

28:25 the other ⁹⁴  two ends of the two chains you will attach to the two settings and then attach them ⁹⁵  to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front of it.

Keluaran 28:41

28:41 “You are to clothe them – your brother Aaron and his sons with him – and anoint them ⁹⁶  and ordain them ⁹⁷  and set them apart as holy, ⁹⁸  so that they may minister as my priests.

Keluaran 29:34

29:34 If any of the meat from the consecration offerings ⁹⁹  or any of the bread is left over ¹⁰⁰  until morning, then you are to burn up ¹⁰¹  what is left over. It must not be eaten, ¹⁰²  because it is holy.

Keluaran 29:41

29:41 The second lamb you are to offer around sundown; you are to prepare for it the same meal offering as for the morning and the same drink offering, for a soothing aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord.

Keluaran 30:4

30:4 You are to make two gold rings for it under its border, on its two flanks; you are to make them on its two sides. ¹⁰³  The rings ¹⁰⁴  will be places ¹⁰⁵  for poles to carry it with.

Keluaran 30:12

30:12 “When you take a census ¹⁰⁶  of the Israelites according to their number, ¹⁰⁷  then each man is to pay a ransom ¹⁰⁸  for his life to the Lord when you number them, ¹⁰⁹  so that there will be no plague among them when you number them.

Keluaran 30:15-16

30:15 The rich are not to increase it, ¹¹⁰  and the poor are not to pay less than the half shekel when giving ¹¹¹  the offering of the Lord, to make atonement ¹¹²  for your lives. 30:16 You are to receive the atonement money ¹¹³  from the Israelites and give it for the service ¹¹⁴  of the tent of meeting. It will be a memorial ¹¹⁵  for the Israelites before the Lord, to make atonement ¹¹⁶  for your lives.”

Keluaran 30:20

30:20 When they enter ¹¹⁷  the tent of meeting, they must wash with ¹¹⁸  water so that they do not die. ¹¹⁹  Also, when they approach ¹²⁰  the altar to minister by burning incense ¹²¹  as an offering made by fire ¹²²  to the Lord,

Keluaran 31:13

31:13 “Tell the Israelites, ‘Surely you must keep my Sabbaths, ¹²³  for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. ¹²⁴ 

Keluaran 32:6

32:6 So they got up early on the next day and offered up burnt offerings and brought peace offerings, and the people sat down to eat and drink, ¹²⁵  and they rose up to play. ¹²⁶ 

Keluaran 32:29

32:29 Moses said, “You have been consecrated ¹²⁷  today for the Lord, for each of you was against his son or against his brother, so he has given a blessing to you today.” ¹²⁸ 

Keluaran 35:2

35:2 In six days ¹²⁹  work may be done, but on the seventh day there must be a holy day ¹³⁰  for you, a Sabbath of complete rest to the Lord. ¹³¹  Anyone who does work on it will be put to death.

Keluaran 36:17

36:17 He made fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in the first set and fifty loops along the edge of the curtain that joined the second set.

Keluaran 36:37

36:37 He made a hanging for the entrance of the tent of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen, the work of an embroiderer,

Keluaran 37:17

The Making of the Lampstand

37:17 He made the lampstand of pure gold. He made the lampstand of hammered metal; its base and its shaft, its cups, its buds, and its blossoms were from the same piece. ¹³² 

Keluaran 37:27

37:27 He also made ¹³³  two gold rings for it under its border, on its two sides, on opposite sides, ¹³⁴  as places ¹³⁵  for poles to carry it with.

Keluaran 38:7

38:7 He put the poles into the rings on the sides of the altar, with which to carry it. He made the altar ¹³⁶  hollow, out of boards.

Keluaran 38:23

38:23 and with him was Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an artisan, a designer, and an embroiderer in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen.

Keluaran 39:5

39:5 The artistically woven waistband of the ephod that was on it was like it, of one piece with it, ¹³⁷  of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Keluaran 39:25

39:25 They made bells of pure gold and attached the bells between the pomegranates around the hem of the robe between the pomegranates.

Keluaran 40:29

40:29 He also put the altar for the burnt offering by the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the meal offering, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

[4:8]  ¹ tn Heb “and it will be if.”

[4:8]  ² tn Heb “listen to the voice of,” meaning listen so as to respond appropriately.

[4:8]  ³ tn The nuance of this perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive will be equal to the imperfect of possibility – “they may believe.”

[4:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “believe the voice of the latter sign,” so as to understand and accept the meaning of the event.

[4:15]  ⁵ tn Or “I will help you speak.” The independent pronoun puts emphasis (“as for me”) on the subject (“I”).

[4:15]  ⁶ tn Or “and will help him speak.”

[4:15]  ⁷ tn The word “both” is supplied to convey that this object (“you”) and the subject of the next verb (“you must do”) are plural in the Hebrew text, referring to Moses and Aaron. In 4:16 “you” returns to being singular in reference to Moses.

[4:15]  ⁸ tn The imperfect tense carries the obligatory nuance here as well. The relative pronoun with this verb forms a noun clause functioning as the direct object of “I will teach.”

[4:28]  ⁹ tn This verb and the last one in the verse are rendered with the past perfect nuance because they refer to what the Lord had done prior to Moses’ telling Aaron.

[5:23]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Heb “your people.” The pronoun (“them”) has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons here, to avoid redundancy.

[6:4]  ¹³ tn The statement refers to the making of the covenant with Abraham (Gen 15 and following) and confirming it with the other patriarchs. The verb הֲקִמֹתִי (haqimoti) means “set up, establish, give effect to, conclude” a covenant agreement. The covenant promised the patriarchs a great nation, a land – Canaan, and divine blessing. They lived with those promises, but now their descendants were in bondage in Egypt. God’s reference to the covenant here is meant to show the new revelation through redemption will start to fulfill the promises and show what the reality of the name Yahweh is to them.

[6:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the land of their sojournings.” The noun מְגֻרִים (mÿgurim) is a reminder that the patriarchs did not receive the promises. It is also an indication that those living in the age of promise did not experience the full meaning of the name of the covenant God. The “land of their sojournings” is the land of Canaan where the family lived (גּרוּ, garu) as foreigners, without owning property or having the rights of kinship with the surrounding population.

[8:1]  ¹⁵ sn Beginning with 8:1, the verse numbers through 8:32 in English Bibles differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 8:1 ET = 7:26 HT, 8:2 ET = 7:27 HT, 8:3 ET = 7:28 HT, 8:4 ET = 7:29 HT, 8:5 ET = 8:1 HT, etc., through 8:32 ET = 8:28 HT. Thus in English Bibles chapter 8 has 32 verses, while in the Hebrew Bible it has 28 verses, with the four extra verses attached to chapter 7.

[9:1]  ¹⁶ sn This plague demonstrates that Yahweh has power over the livestock of Egypt. He is able to strike the animals with disease and death, thus delivering a blow to the economic as well as the religious life of the land. By the former plagues many of the Egyptian religious ceremonies would have been interrupted and objects of veneration defiled or destroyed. Now some of the important deities will be attacked. In Goshen, where the cattle are merely cattle, no disease hits, but in the rest of Egypt it is a different matter. Osiris, the savior, cannot even save the brute in which his own soul is supposed to reside. Apis and Mnevis, the ram of Ammon, the sheep of Sais, and the goat of Mendes, perish together. Hence, Moses reminds Israel afterward, “On their gods also Yahweh executed judgments” (Num 33:4). When Jethro heard of all these events, he said, “Now I know that Yahweh is greater than all the gods” (Exod 18:11).

[9:9]  ¹⁷ 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).

[9:13]  ¹⁸ sn With the seventh plague there is more explanation of what God is doing to Pharaoh. This plague begins with an extended lesson (vv. 13-21). Rain was almost unknown in Egypt, and hail and lightning were harmless. The Egyptians were fascinated by all these, though, and looked on them as portentous. Herodotus describes how they studied such things and wrote them down (1.2.c.38). If ordinary rainstorms were ominous, what must fire and hail have been? The Egyptians had denominated fire Hephaistos, considering it to be a mighty deity (cf. Diodorus, 1.1.c.1). Porphry says that at the opening of the temple of Serapis the Egyptians worshiped with water and fire. If these connections were clearly understood, then these elements in the plague were thought to be deities that came down on their own people with death and destruction.

[9:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and Yahweh said.”

[9:13]  ²⁰ tn Or “take your stand.”

[9:28]  ²¹ sn The text has Heb “the voices of God.” The divine epithet can be used to express the superlative (cf. Jonah 3:3).

[9:28]  ²² tn The expression וְרַב מִהְיֹת (vÿrav mihyot, “[the mighty thunder and hail] is much from being”) means essentially “more than enough.” This indicates that the storm was too much, or, as one might say, “It is enough.”

[9:28]  ²³ tn The last clause uses a verbal hendiadys: “you will not add to stand,” meaning “you will no longer stay.”

[10:5]  ²⁴ tn The verbs describing the locusts are singular because it is a swarm or plague of locusts. This verb (וְכִסָּה, vÿkhissah, “cover”) is a Piel perfect with a vav consecutive; it carries the same future nuance as the participle before it.

[10:5]  ²⁵ tn Heb “eye,” an unusual expression (see v. 15; Num 22:5, 11).

[10:5]  ²⁶ tn The text has לִרְאֹת וְלֹא יוּכַל (vÿlo’ yukhal lir’ot, “and he will not be able to see”). The verb has no expressed subjects. The clause might, therefore, be given a passive translation: “so that [it] cannot be seen.” The whole clause is the result of the previous statement.

[10:5]  ²⁷ sn As the next phrase explains “what escaped” refers to what the previous plague did not destroy. The locusts will devour everything, because there will not be much left from the other plagues for them to eat.

[10:5]  ²⁸ tn הַנִּשְׁאֶרֶת (hannish’eret) parallels (by apposition) and adds further emphasis to the preceding two words; it is the Niphal participle, meaning “that which is left over.”

[10:28]  ²⁹ tn The expression is לֵךְ מֵעָלָי (lekh me’alay, “go from on me”) with the adversative use of the preposition, meaning from being a trouble or a burden to me (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 84; R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 51, §288).

[10:28]  ³⁰ tn Heb “add to see my face.” The construction uses a verbal hendiadys: “do not add to see” (אַל־תֹּסֶף רְאוֹת, ’al-toseph rÿ’ot), meaning “do not see again.” The phrase “see my face” means “come before me” or “appear before me.”

[10:28]  ³¹ tn The construction is בְּיוֹם רְאֹתְךָ (bÿyom rÿ’otÿkha), an adverbial clause of time made up of the prepositional phrase, the infinitive construct, and the suffixed subjective genitive. “In the day of your seeing” is “when you see.”

[11:7]  ³² tn Or perhaps “growl”; Heb “not a dog will sharpen his tongue.” The expression is unusual, but it must indicate that not only would no harm come to the Israelites, but that no unfriendly threat would come against them either – not even so much as a dog barking. It is possible this is to be related to the watchdog (see F. C. Fensham, “Remarks on Keret 114^b – 136^a,” JNSL 11 [1983]: 75).

[11:7]  ³³ tn Heb “against man or beast.”

[11:7]  ³⁴ tn The verb פָּלָה (palah) in Hiphil means “to set apart, make separate, make distinct.” See also Exod 8:22 (18 HT); 9:4; 33:16.

[12:4]  ³⁵ sn Later Judaism ruled that “too small” meant fewer than ten (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 88).

[12:4]  ³⁶ tn The clause uses the comparative min (מִן) construction: יִמְעַט הַבַּיִת מִהְיֹת מִשֶּׂה (yim’at habbayit mihyot miseh, “the house is small from being from a lamb,” or “too small for a lamb”). It clearly means that if there were not enough people in the household to have a lamb by themselves, they should join with another family. For the use of the comparative, see GKC 430 §133.c.

[12:4]  ³⁷ tn Heb “he and his neighbor”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:4]  ³⁸ tn Heb “who is near to his house.”

[12:4]  ³⁹ tn The construction uses a perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive after a conditional clause: “if the household is too small…then he and his neighbor will take.”

[12:4]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “[every] man according to his eating.”

[12:4]  sn The reference is normally taken to mean whatever each person could eat. B. Jacob (Exodus, 299) suggests, however, that the reference may not be to each individual person’s appetite, but to each family. Each man who is the head of a household was to determine how much his family could eat, and this in turn would determine how many families shared the lamb.

[12:11]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “your loins girded.”

[12:11]  ⁴² tn The meaning of פֶּסַח (pesakh) is debated. (1) Some have tried to connect it to the Hebrew verb with the same radicals that means “to halt, leap, limp, stumble.” See 1 Kgs 18:26 where the word describes the priests of Baal hopping around the altar; also the crippled child in 2 Sam 4:4. (2) Others connect it to the Akkadian passahu, which means “to appease, make soft, placate”; or (3) an Egyptian word to commemorate the harvest (see J. B. Segal, The Hebrew Passover, 95-100). The verb occurs in Isa 31:5 with the connotation of “to protect”; B. S. Childs suggests that this was already influenced by the exodus tradition (Exodus [OTL], 183, n. 11). Whatever links there may or may not have been that show an etymology, in Exod 12 it is describing Yahweh’s passing over or through.

[14:10]  ⁴³ tn The disjunctive vav introduces a circumstantial clause here.

[14:10]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “drew near.”

[14:10]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “lifted up their eyes,” an expression that indicates an intentional and careful looking – they looked up and fixed their sights on the distance.

[14:10]  ⁴⁶ tn The construction uses הִנֵּה (hinneh) with the participle, traditionally rendered “and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them.” The deictic particle calls attention in a dramatic way to what was being seen. It captures the surprise and the sudden realization of the people.

[14:10]  ⁴⁷ tn The verb “feared” is intensified by the adverb מְאֹד (mÿ’od): “they feared greatly” or “were terrified.” In one look their defiant boldness seems to have evaporated.

[14:10]  ⁴⁸ sn Their cry to the Lord was proper and necessary. But their words to Moses were a rebuke and disloyal, showing a lack of faith and understanding. Their arrogance failed them in the crisis because it was built on the arm of flesh. Moses would have to get used to this murmuring, but here he takes it in stride and gives them the proper instructions. They had cried to the Lord, and now the Lord would deliver.

[14:31]  ⁴⁹ tn The preterite with the vav (ו) consecutive introduces a clause that is subordinate to the main points that the verse is making.

[14:31]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “the great hand,” with “hand” being a metonymy for work or power. The word play using “hand” contrasts the Lord’s hand/power at work on behalf of the Israelites with the hand/power of Egypt that would have killed them.

[14:31]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “did, made.”

[14:31]  ⁵² tn Heb “and the people feared.”

[14:31]  ⁵³ tn The verb is the Hiphil preterite of אָמַן (’aman).

[14:31]  sn S. R. Driver says that the belief intended here is not simply a crediting of a testimony concerning a person or a thing, but a laying firm hold morally on a person or a thing (Exodus, 122). Others take the Hiphil sense to be declarative, and that would indicate a considering of the object of faith trustworthy or dependable, and therefore to be acted on. In this passage it does not mean that here they came to faith, but that they became convinced that he would save them in the future.

[14:31]  ⁵⁴ sn Here the title of “servant” is given to Moses. This is the highest title a mortal can have in the OT – the “servant of Yahweh.” It signifies more than a believer; it describes the individual as acting on behalf of God. For example, when Moses stretched out his hand, God used it as his own (Isa 63:12). Moses was God’s personal representative. The chapter records both a message of salvation and of judgment. Like the earlier account of deliverance at the Passover, this chapter can be a lesson on deliverance from present troubles – if God could do this for Israel, there is no trouble too great for him to overcome. The passage can also be understood as a picture (at least) of the deliverance at the final judgment on the world. But the Israelites used this account for a paradigm of the power of God: namely, God is able to deliver his people from danger because he is the sovereign Lord of creation. His people must learn to trust him, even in desperate situations; they must fear him and not the situation. God can bring any threat to an end by bringing his power to bear in judgment on the wicked.

[15:23]  ⁵⁵ sn The Hebrew word “Marah” means “bitter.” This motif will be repeated four times in this passage to mark the central problem. Earlier in the book the word had been used for the “bitter herbs” in the Passover, recalling the bitter labor in bondage. So there may be a double reference here – to the bitter waters and to Egypt itself – God can deliver from either.

[15:23]  ⁵⁶ tn The infinitive construct here provides the direct object for the verb “to be able,” answering the question of what they were not able to do.

[15:23]  ⁵⁷ tn The causal clause here provides the reason for their being unable to drink the water, as well as a clear motivation for the name.

[15:23]  ⁵⁸ sn Many scholars have attempted to explain these things with natural phenomena. Here Marah is identified with Ain Hawarah. It is said that the waters of this well are notoriously salty and brackish; Robinson said it was six to eight feet in diameter and the water about two feet deep; the water is unpleasant, salty, and somewhat bitter. As a result the Arabs say it is the worst tasting water in the area (W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:398). But that would not be a sufficient amount of water for the number of Israelites in the first place, and in the second, they could not drink it at all. But third, how did Moses change it?

[15:23]  ⁵⁹ tn The עַל־כֵּן (’al-ken) formula in the Pentateuch serves to explain to the reader the reason for the way things were. It does not necessarily mean here that Israel named the place – but they certainly could have.

[15:23]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “one called its name,” the expression can be translated as a passive verb if the subject is not expressed.

[18:1]  ⁶¹ sn This chapter forms the transition to the Law. There has been the deliverance, the testing passages, the provision in the wilderness, and the warfare. Any God who can do all this for his people deserves their allegiance. In chap. 18 the Lawgiver is giving advice, using laws and rulings, but then he is given advice to organize the elders to assist. Thus, when the Law is fully revealed, a system will be in place to administer it. The point of the passage is that a great leader humbly accepts advice from other godly believers to delegate responsibility. He does not try to do it all himself; God does not want one individual to do it all. The chapter has three parts: vv. 1-12 tell how Jethro heard and came and worshiped and blessed; vv. 13-23 have the advice of Jethro, and then vv. 24-27 tell how Moses implemented the plan and Jethro went home. See further E. J. Runions, “Exodus Motifs in 1 Samuel 7 and 8,” EvQ 52 (1980): 130-31; and also see for another idea T. C. Butler, “An Anti-Moses Tradition,” JSOT 12 (1979): 9-15.

[18:1]  ⁶² tn This clause beginning with כִּי (ki) answers the question of what Jethro had heard; it provides a second, explanatory noun clause that is the object of the verb – “he heard (1) all that God had done… (2) that he had brought….” See R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 81, §490.

[18:1]  ⁶³ sn This is an important report that Jethro has heard, for the claim of God that he brought Israel out of bondage in Egypt will be the foundation of the covenant stipulations (Exod 20).

[18:10]  ⁶⁴ tn This is a common form of praise. The verb בָּרוּךְ (barukh) is the Qal passive participle of the verb. Here must be supplied a jussive, making this participle the predicate: “May Yahweh be blessed.” The verb essentially means “to enrich”; in praise it would mean that he would be enriched by the praises of the people.

[18:10]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “from under the hand of the Egyptians.”

[18:26]  ⁶⁶ tn This verb and the verb in the next clause are imperfect tenses. In the past tense narrative of the verse they must be customary, describing continuous action in past time.

[19:8]  ⁶⁷ tn The verb is an imperfect. The people are not being presumptuous in stating their compliance – there are several options open for the interpretation of this tense. It may be classified as having a desiderative nuance: “we are willing to do” or, “we will do.”

[19:9]  ⁶⁸ tn The construction uses the deictic particle and the participle to express the imminent future, what God was about to do. Here is the first announcement of the theophany.

[19:9]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “the thickness of the cloud”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT “in a thick cloud.”

[19:9]  ⁷⁰ tn Since “and also in you” begins the clause, the emphasis must be that the people would also trust Moses. See Exod 4:1-9, 31; 14:31.

[20:18]  ⁷¹ tn The participle is used here for durative action in the past time (GKC 359 §116.o).

[20:18]  ⁷² tn The verb “to see” (רָאָה, ra’ah) refers to seeing with all the senses, or perceiving. W. C. Kaiser suggests that this is an example of the figure of speech called zeugma because the verb “saw” yokes together two objects, one that suits the verb and the other that does not. So, the verb “heard” is inserted here to clarify (“Exodus,” EBC 2:427).

[20:18]  ⁷³ tn The verb “saw” is supplied here because it is expected in English (see the previous note on “heard”).

[20:18]  ⁷⁴ tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated as a temporal clause to the following clause, which receives the prominence.

[20:18]  ⁷⁵ tn The meaning of נוּעַ (nua’) is “to shake, sway to and fro” in fear. Compare Isa 7:2 – “and his heart shook…as the trees of the forest shake with the wind.”

[20:18]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “and they stood from/at a distance.”

[20:22]  ⁷⁷ sn Based on the revelation of the holy sovereign God, this pericope instructs Israel on the form of proper worship of such a God. It focuses on the altar, the centerpiece of worship. The point of the section is this: those who worship this holy God must preserve holiness in the way they worship – they worship where he permits, in the manner he prescribes, and with the blessings he promises. This paragraph is said to open the Book of the Covenant, which specifically rules on matters of life and worship.

[20:22]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “and Yahweh said.”

[23:33]  ⁷⁹ tn The idea of the “snare” is to lure them to judgment; God is apparently warning about contact with the Canaanites, either in worship or in business. They were very syncretistic, and so it would be dangerous to settle among them.

[24:1]  ⁸⁰ sn Exod 24 is the high point of the book in many ways, but most importantly, here Yahweh makes a covenant with the people – the Sinaitic Covenant. The unit not only serves to record the event in Israel’s becoming a nation, but it provides a paradigm of the worship of God’s covenant people – entering into the presence of the glory of Yahweh. See additionally W. A. Maier, “The Analysis of Exodus 24 According to Modern Literary, Form, and Redaction Critical Methodology,” Springfielder 37 (1973): 35-52. The passage may be divided into four parts for exposition: vv. 1-2, the call for worship; vv. 3-8, the consecration of the worshipers; vv. 9-11, the confirmation of the covenant; and vv. 12-18, the communication with Yahweh.

[24:1]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “And he;” the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:1]  ⁸² sn They were to come up to the Lord after they had made the preparations that are found in vv. 3-8.

[24:1]  ⁸³ sn These seventy-four people were to go up the mountain to a certain point. Then they were to prostrate themselves and worship Yahweh as Moses went further up into the presence of Yahweh. Moses occupies the lofty position of mediator (as Christ in the NT), for he alone ascends “to Yahweh” while everyone waits for his return. The emphasis of “bowing down” and that from “far off” stresses again the ominous presence that was on the mountain. This was the holy God – only the designated mediator could draw near to him.

[24:7]  ⁸⁴ tn The noun “book” would be the scroll just written containing the laws of chaps. 20-23. On the basis of this scroll the covenant would be concluded here. The reading of this book would assure the people that it was the same that they had agreed to earlier. But now their statement of willingness to obey would be more binding, because their promise would be confirmed by a covenant of blood.

[24:7]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “read it in the ears of.”

[24:7]  ⁸⁶ tn A second verb is now added to the people’s response, and it is clearly an imperfect and not a cohortative, lending support for the choice of desiderative imperfect in these commitments – “we want to obey.” This was their compliance with the covenant.

[25:35]  ⁸⁷ tn For clarity the phrase “the first” has been supplied.

[25:35]  ⁸⁸ tn For clarity the phrase “the next” has been supplied.

[25:35]  ⁸⁹ tn For clarity the phrase “the third” has been supplied.

[28:8]  ⁹⁰ tn This is the rendering of the word חֵשֶׁב (kheshev), cognate to the word translated “designer” in v. 6. Since the entire ephod was of the same material, and this was of the same piece, it is unclear why this is singled out as “artistically woven.” Perhaps the word is from another root that just describes the item as a “band.” Whatever the connection, this band was to be of the same material, and the same piece, as the ephod, but perhaps a different pattern (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 301). It is this sash that attaches the ephod to the priest’s body, that is, at the upper border of the ephod and clasped together at the back.

[28:8]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “from it” but meaning “of one [the same] piece”; the phrase “the ephod” has been supplied.

[28:21]  ⁹² tn For clarity the words “the number of” have been supplied.

[28:21]  ⁹³ tn The phrase translated “the engravings of a seal” is an adverbial accusative of manner here.

[28:25]  ⁹⁴ tn Here “the other” has been supplied.

[28:25]  ⁹⁵ tn Here “them” has been supplied.

[28:41]  ⁹⁶ 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]  ⁹⁷ 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]  ⁹⁸ tn Traditionally “sanctify them” (KJV, ASV).

[29:34]  ⁹⁹ tn Or “ordination offerings” (Heb “fillings”).

[29:34]  ¹⁰⁰ tn The verb in the conditional clause is a Niphal imperfect of יָתַר (yatar); this verb is repeated in the next clause (as a Niphal participle) as the direct object of the verb “you will burn” (a Qal perfect with a vav [ו] consecutive to form the instruction).

[29:34]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “burn with fire.”

[29:34]  ¹⁰² tn The verb is a Niphal imperfect negated. It expresses the prohibition against eating this, but in the passive voice: “it will not be eaten,” or stronger, “it must not be eaten.”

[30:4]  ¹⁰³ sn Since it was a small altar, it needed only two rings, one on either side, in order to be carried. The second clause clarifies that the rings should be on the sides, the right and the left, as you approach the altar.

[30:4]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Heb “And it”; this refers to the rings collectively in their placement on the box, and so the word “rings” has been used to clarify the referent for the modern reader.

[30:4]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “for houses.”

[30:12]  ¹⁰⁶ tn The expression is “when you take [lift up] the sum [head] of the Israelites.”

[30:12]  ¹⁰⁷ tn The form is לִפְקֻדֵיהֶם (lifqudehem, “according to those that are numbered of/by them”) from the verb פָּקַד (paqad, “to visit”). But the idea of this word seems more to be that of changing or determining the destiny, and so “appoint” and “number” become clear categories of meaning for the word. Here it simply refers to the census, but when this word is used for a census it often involves mustering an army for a military purpose. Here there is no indication of a war, but it may be laying down the principle that when they should do this, here is the price. B. Jacob (Exodus, 835) uses Num 31 as a good illustration, showing that the warrior was essentially a murderer, if he killed anyone in battle. For this reason his blood was forfeit; if he survived he must pay a כֹּפֶר (kofer) because every human life possesses value and must be atoned for. The payment during the census represented a “presumptive ransom” so that they could not be faulted for what they might do in war.

[30:12]  ¹⁰⁸ tn The “ransom” is כֹּפֶר (kofer), a word related to words translated “atone” and “atonement.” Here the noun refers to what is paid for the life. The idea is that of delivering or redeeming by a substitute – here the substitute is the money. If they paid the amount, their lives would be safe (W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:473).

[30:12]  ¹⁰⁹ tn The temporal clause uses a preposition, an infinitive construct, and then an accusative. The subject is supplied: “in numbering them” means “when [you] number them.” The verb could also be rendered “when you muster them.”

[30:15]  ¹¹⁰ tn Or “pay more.”

[30:15]  ¹¹¹ tn The form is לָתֵת (latet), the Qal infinitive construct with the lamed preposition. The infinitive here is explaining the preceding verbs. They are not to increase or diminish the amount “in paying the offering.” The construction approximates a temporal clause.

[30:15]  ¹¹² tn This infinitive construct (לְכַפֵּר, lÿkhapper) provides the purpose of the giving the offering – to atone.

[30:16]  ¹¹³ 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]  ¹¹⁴ 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]  ¹¹⁵ 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]  ¹¹⁶ 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.”

[30:20]  ¹¹⁷ 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]  ¹¹⁸ 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]  ¹¹⁹ 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]  ¹²⁰ 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]  ¹²¹ 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]  ¹²² 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).

[31:13]  ¹²³ sn The instruction for the Sabbath at this point seems rather abrupt, but it follows logically the extended plans of building the sanctuary. B. Jacob, following some of the earlier treatments, suggests that these are specific rules given for the duration of the building of the sanctuary (Exodus, 844). The Sabbath day is a day of complete cessation; no labor or work could be done. The point here is that God’s covenant people must faithfully keep the sign of the covenant as a living commemoration of the finished work of Yahweh, and as an active part in their sanctification. See also H. Routtenberg, “The Laws of Sabbath: Biblical Sources,” Dor le Dor 6 (1977): 41-43, 99-101, 153-55, 204-6; G. Robinson, “The Idea of Rest in the OT and the Search for the Basic Character of Sabbath,” ZAW 92 (1980): 32-42; M. Tsevat, “The Basic Meaning of the Biblical Sabbath, ZAW 84 (1972): 447-59; M. T. Willshaw, “A Joyous Sign,” ExpTim 89 (1978): 179-80.

[31:13]  ¹²⁴ tn Or “your sanctifier.”

[32:6]  ¹²⁵ tn The second infinitive is an infinitive absolute. The first is an infinitive construct with a lamed (ל) preposition, expressing the purpose of their sitting down. The infinitive absolute that follows cannot take the preposition, but with the conjunction follows the force of the form before it (see GKC 340 §113.e).

[32:6]  ¹²⁶ tn The form is לְצַחֵק (lÿtsakheq), a Piel infinitive construct, giving the purpose of their rising up after the festal meal. On the surface it would seem that with the festival there would be singing and dancing, so that the people were celebrating even though they did not know the reason. W. C. Kaiser says the word means “drunken immoral orgies and sexual play” (“Exodus,” EBC 2:478). That is quite an assumption for this word, but is reflected in some recent English versions (e.g., NCV “got up and sinned sexually”; TEV “an orgy of drinking and sex”). The word means “to play, trifle.” It can have other meanings, depending on its contexts. It is used of Lot when he warned his sons-in-law and appeared as one who “mocked” them; it is also used of Ishmael “playing” with Isaac, which Paul interprets as mocking; it is used of Isaac “playing” with his wife in a manner that revealed to Abimelech that they were not brother and sister, and it is used by Potiphar’s wife to say that her husband brought this slave Joseph in to “mock” them. The most that can be gathered from these is that it is playful teasing, serious mocking, or playful caresses. It might fit with wild orgies, but there is no indication of that in this passage, and the word does not mean it. The fact that they were festive and playing before an idol was sufficient.

[32:29]  ¹²⁷ tn Heb “Your hand was filled.” The phrase “fill your hands” is a familiar expression having to do with commissioning and devotion to a task that is earlier used in 28:41; 29:9, 29, 33, 35. This has usually been explained as a Qal imperative. S. R. Driver explains it “Fill your hand today,” meaning, take a sacrifice to God and be installed in the priesthood (Exodus, 355). But it probably is a Piel perfect, meaning “they have filled your hands today,” or, “your hand was filled today.” This was an expression meant to say that they had been faithful to God even though it turned them against family and friends – but God would give them a blessing.

[32:29]  ¹²⁸ tn The text simply has “and to give on you today a blessing.” Gesenius notes that the infinitive construct seems to be attached with a vav (ו; like the infinitive absolute) as the continuation of a previous finite verb. He reads the verb “fill” as an imperative: “fill your hand today…and that to bring a blessing on you, i.e., that you may be blessed” (see GKC 351 §114.p). If the preceding verb is taken as perfect tense, however, then this would also be perfect – “he has blessed you today.”

[35:2]  ¹²⁹ tn This is an adverbial accusative of time.

[35:2]  ¹³⁰ tn The word is קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh, “holiness”). S. R. Driver suggests that the word was transposed, and the line should read: “a sabbath of entire rest, holy to Jehovah” (Exodus, 379). But the word may simply be taken as a substitution for “holy day.”

[35:2]  ¹³¹ sn See on this H. Routtenberg, “The Laws of the Sabbath: Biblical Sources,” Dor le Dor 6 (1977): 41-43, 99-101, 153-55, 204-6; G. Robinson, “The Idea of Rest in the Old Testament and the Search for the Basic Character of Sabbath,” ZAW 92 (1980): 32-43.

[37:17]  ¹³² tn Heb “from it”; the referent (“the same piece” of wrought metal) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:27]  ¹³³ tn Heb “and he made.”

[37:27]  ¹³⁴ sn Since it was a small altar, it needed only two rings, one on either side, in order to be carried. The second mention of their location clarifies that they should be on the sides, the right and the left, as one approached the altar.

[37:27]  ¹³⁵ tn Heb “for houses.”

[38:7]  ¹³⁶ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the altar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[39:5]  ¹³⁷ tn Heb “from it” or the same.