Keluaran 6:8

6:8 I will bring you to the land I swore to give ¹  to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob – and I will give it to you ²  as a possession. I am the Lord!’”

Keluaran 6:13

6:13 The Lord spoke ³  to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge ⁴  for the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

Keluaran 18:16

18:16 When they have a dispute, ⁵  it comes to me and I decide ⁶  between a man and his neighbor, and I make known the decrees of God and his laws.” ⁷ 

Keluaran 23:5

23:5 If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen under its load, you must not ignore him, ⁸  but be sure to help ⁹  him with it. ¹⁰ 

[6:8]  ¹ tn Heb “which I raised my hand to give it.” The relative clause specifies which land is their goal. The bold anthropomorphism mentions part of an oath-taking ceremony to refer to the whole event and reminds the reader that God swore that he would give the land to them. The reference to taking an oath would have made the promise of God sure in the mind of the Israelite.

[6:8]  ² sn Here is the twofold aspect again clearly depicted: God swore the promise to the patriarchs, but he is about to give what he promised to this generation. This generation will know more about him as a result.

[6:13]  ³ tn Heb “And Yahweh spoke.”

[6:13]  ⁴ 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.

[18:16]  ⁵ tn Or “thing,” “matter,” “issue.”

[18:16]  ⁶ tn The verb שָׁפַט (shafat) means “to judge”; more specifically, it means to make a decision as an arbiter or umpire. When people brought issues to him, Moses decided between them. In the section of laws in Exodus after the Ten Commandments come the decisions, the מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishppatim).

[18:16]  ⁷ tn The “decrees” or “statutes” were definite rules, stereotyped and permanent; the “laws” were directives or pronouncements given when situations arose. S. R. Driver suggests this is another reason why this event might have taken place after Yahweh had given laws on the mountain (Exodus, 165).

[23:5]  ⁸ tn The line reads “you will cease to forsake him” – refrain from leaving your enemy without help.

[23:5]  ⁹ tn The law is emphatic here as well, using the infinitive absolute and the imperfect of instruction (or possibly obligation). There is also a wordplay here: two words עָזַב (’azav) are used, one meaning “forsake” and the other possibly meaning “arrange” based on Arabic and Ugaritic evidence (see U. Cassuto, Exodus, 297-98).

[23:5]  ¹⁰ sn See H. B. Huffmon, “Exodus 23:4-5: A Comparative Study,” A Light Unto My Path, 271-78.