Keluaran 5:3

5:3 And they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Let us go a three-day journey ¹  into the desert so that we may sacrifice ²  to the Lord our God, so that he does not strike us with plague or the sword.” ³ 

Keluaran 10:27

10:27 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to release them.

Keluaran 12:26

12:26 When your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ ⁴  –

Keluaran 18:22

18:22 They will judge ⁵  the people under normal circumstances, ⁶  and every difficult case ⁷  they will bring to you, but every small case ⁸  they themselves will judge, so that ⁹  you may make it easier for yourself, ¹⁰  and they will bear the burden ¹¹  with you.

Keluaran 26:22

26:22 And for the back of the tabernacle on the west ¹²  you will make six frames.

Keluaran 27:13

27:13 The width of the court on the east side, toward the sunrise, is to be seventy-five feet.

Keluaran 28:13

28:13 You are to make filigree settings of gold

Keluaran 30:11

The Ransom Money

30:11 ¹³ The Lord spoke to Moses: ¹⁴ 

Keluaran 33:13

33:13 Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me ¹⁵  your way, that I may know you, ¹⁶  that I may continue to find ¹⁷  favor in your sight. And see ¹⁸  that this nation is your people.”

Keluaran 33:16

33:16 For how will it be known then that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not by your going with us, so that we will be distinguished, I and your people, from all the people who are on the face of the earth?” ¹⁹ 

Keluaran 36:27

36:27 And for the back of the tabernacle on the west he made six frames.

Keluaran 37:24

37:24 He made the lampstand ²⁰  and all its accessories with seventy-five pounds of pure gold.

Keluaran 40:6

40:6 You are to put the altar for the burnt offering in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting.

Keluaran 40:16

40:16 This is what Moses did, according to all the Lord had commanded him – so he did.

[5:3]  ¹ tn The word “journey” is an adverbial accusative telling the distance that Moses wanted the people to go. It is qualified by “three days.” It is not saying that they will be gone three days, but that they will go a distance that will take three days to cover (see Gen 31:22-23; Num 10:33; 33:8).

[5:3]  ² tn The purpose clause here is formed with a second cohortative joined with a vav (ו): “let us go…and let us sacrifice.” The purpose of the going was to sacrifice.

[5:3]  sn Where did Moses get the idea that they should have a pilgrim feast and make sacrifices? God had only said they would serve Him in that mountain. In the OT the pilgrim feasts to the sanctuary three times a year incorporated the ideas of serving the Lord and keeping the commands. So the words here use the more general idea of appearing before their God. They would go to the desert because there was no homeland yet. Moses later spoke of the journey as necessary to avoid offending Egyptian sensibilities (8:25-26).

[5:3]  ³ sn The last clause of this verse is rather unexpected here: “lest he meet [afflict] us with pestilence or sword.” To fail to comply with the summons of one’s God was to invite such calamities. The Law would later incorporate many such things as the curses for disobedience. Moses is indicating to Pharaoh that there is more reason to fear Yahweh than Pharaoh.

[12:26]  ⁴ tn Heb “what is this service to you?”

[18:22]  ⁵ tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive, making it equivalent to the imperfect of instruction in the preceding verse.

[18:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “in every time,” meaning “in all normal cases” or “under normal circumstances.” The same phrase occurs in v. 26.

[18:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “great thing.”

[18:22]  ⁸ tn Heb “thing.”

[18:22]  ⁹ tn The vav here shows the result or the purpose of the instructions given.

[18:22]  ¹⁰ tn The expression וְהָקֵל מֵעָלֶיךָ (vÿhaqel me’aleykha) means literally “and make it light off yourself.” The word plays against the word for “heavy” used earlier – since it was a heavy or burdensome task, Moses must lighten the load.

[18:22]  ¹¹ tn Here “the burden” has been supplied.

[26:22]  ¹² tn Or “westward” (toward the sea).

[30:11]  ¹³ sn This brief section has been interpreted a number of ways by biblical scholars (for a good survey and discussion, see B. Jacob, Exodus, 829-35). In this context the danger of erecting and caring for a sanctuary may have been in view. A census would be taken to count the losses and to cover the danger of coming into such proximity with the holy place; payment was made to ransom the lives of the people numbered so that they would not die. The money collected would then be used for the care of the sanctuary. The principle was fairly straightforward: Those numbered among the redeemed of the Lord were to support the work of the Lord to maintain their fellowship with the covenant. The passage is fairly easy to outline: I. Every covenant member must give a ransom for his life to avoid death (11-12); II. The ransom is the same for all, whether rich or poor (13-15); and III. The ransom money supports the sanctuary as a memorial for the ransomed (16).

[30:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying.” This full means for introducing a quotation from the Lord is used again in 30:17, 22; 31:1; and 40:1. It appears first in 6:10. Cynthia L. Miller discusses its use in detail (The Representation of Speech in Biblical Hebrew Narrative, 373-86).

[33:13]  ¹⁵ tn The prayer uses the Hiphil imperative of the verb “to know.” “Cause me to know” is “show me, reveal to me, teach or inform me.” Moses wanted to know more of God’s dealings with people, especially after all that has happened in the preceding chapter.

[33:13]  ¹⁶ tn The imperfect tense of the verb “to know” with the vav follows the imperative of this root, and so this indicates the purpose clause (final imperfect): “in order that I may know you.” S. R. Driver summarizes it this way: that I may understand what your nature and character is, and shape my petitions accordingly, so that I may find grace in your sight, and my future prayers may be answered (Exodus, 361).

[33:13]  ¹⁷ tn The purpose clause simply uses the imperfect, “that I may find.” But since he already has found favor in God’s eyes, he is clearly praying that it be so in the future as well as now.

[33:13]  ¹⁸ tn The verb “see” (an imperative) is a request for God to acknowledge Israel as his people by providing the divine leadership needed. So his main appeal will be for the people and not himself. To underscore this, he repeats “see” the way the section opened.

[33:16]  ¹⁹ sn See W. Brueggemann, “The Crisis and Promise of Presence in Israel,” HBT 1 (1979): 47-86; and N. M. Waldman, “God’s Ways – A Comparative Note,” JQR 70 (1979): 67-70.

[37:24]  ²⁰ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the lampstand) has been specified in the translation for clarity.