Keluaran 5:15

5:15 ¹ The Israelite foremen went and cried out to Pharaoh, “Why are you treating ²  your servants this way?

Keluaran 34:5-6

34:5 The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the Lord by name. ³  34:6 The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: ⁴  “The Lord, the Lord, ⁵  the compassionate and gracious ⁶  God, slow to anger, ⁷  and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness, ⁸ 

Keluaran 37:9

37:9 The cherubim were spreading their wings ⁹  upward, overshadowing the atonement lid with their wings. The cherubim ¹⁰  faced each other, ¹¹  looking toward the atonement lid. ¹² 

[5:15]  ¹ sn The last section of this event tells the effect of the oppression on Israel, first on the people (15-19) and then on Moses and Aaron (20-21). The immediate reaction of Israel was to cry to Pharaoh – something they would learn should be directed to God. When Pharaoh rebuffed them harshly, they turned bitterly against their leaders.

[5:15]  ² tn The imperfect tense should be classified here with the progressive imperfect nuance, because the harsh treatment was a present reality.

[34:5]  ³ tn Some commentaries wish to make Moses the subject of the second and the third verbs, the first because he was told to stand there and this verb suggests he did it, and the last because it sounds like he was worshiping Yahweh (cf. NASB). But it is clear from v. 6 that Yahweh was the subject of the last clause of v. 5 – v. 6 tells how he did it. So if Yahweh is the subject of the first and last clauses of v. 5, it seems simpler that he also be the subject of the second. Moses took his stand there, but God stood by him (B. Jacob, Exodus, 981; U. Cassuto, Exodus, 439). There is no reason to make Moses the subject in any of the verbs of v. 5.

[34:6]  ⁴ tn Here is one of the clearest examples of what it means “to call on the name of the Lord,” as that clause has been translated traditionally (וַיִּקְרָא בְשֵׁם יְהוָה, vayyiqra’ vÿshem yÿhvah). It seems more likely that it means “to make proclamation of Yahweh by name.” Yahweh came down and made a proclamation – and the next verses give the content of what he said. This cannot be prayer or praise; it is a proclamation of the nature or attributes of God (which is what his “name” means throughout the Bible). Attempts to make Moses the subject of the verb are awkward, for the verb is repeated in v. 6 with Yahweh clearly doing the proclaiming.

[34:6]  ⁵ sn U. Cassuto (Exodus, 439) suggests that these two names be written as a sentence: “Yahweh, He is Yahweh.” In this manner it reflects “I am that I am.” It is impossible to define his name in any other way than to make this affirmation and then show what it means.

[34:6]  ⁶ tn See Exod 33:19.

[34:6]  ⁷ sn This is literally “long of anger.” His anger prolongs itself, allowing for people to repent before punishment is inflicted.

[34:6]  ⁸ sn These two words (“loyal love” and “truth”) are often found together, occasionally in a hendiadys construction. If that is the interpretation here, then it means “faithful covenant love.” Even if they are left separate, they are dual elements of a single quality. The first word is God’s faithful covenant love; the second word is God’s reliability and faithfulness.

[37:9]  ⁹ tn The construction is a participle in construct followed by the genitive “wings” – “spreaders of wings.”

[37:9]  ¹⁰ tn “The cherubim” has been placed here instead of in the second clause to produce a smoother translation.

[37:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and their faces a man to his brother.”

[37:9]  ¹² tn Heb “to the atonement lid were the faces of the cherubim.”