Kejadian 19:9

19:9 “Out of our way!” ¹  they cried, and “This man came to live here as a foreigner, ²  and now he dares to judge us! ³  We’ll do more harm ⁴  to you than to them!” They kept ⁵  pressing in on Lot until they were close enough ⁶  to break down the door.

Keluaran 2:14

2:14 The man ⁷  replied, “Who made you a ruler ⁸  and a judge over us? Are you planning ⁹  to kill me like you killed that ¹⁰  Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, thinking, ¹¹  “Surely what I did ¹²  has become known.”

Bilangan 16:13

16:13 Is it a small thing ¹³  that you have brought us up out of the land that flows with milk and honey, ¹⁴  to kill us in the wilderness? Now do you want to make yourself a prince ¹⁵  over us?

Mazmur 133:1

Psalm 133 ¹⁶ 

A song of ascents, ¹⁷  by David.

133:1 Look! How good and how pleasant it is

when brothers live together! ¹⁸ 

[19:9]  ¹ tn Heb “approach out there” which could be rendered “Get out of the way, stand back!”

[19:9]  ² tn Heb “to live as a resident alien.”

[19:9]  ³ tn Heb “and he has judged, judging.” The infinitive absolute follows the finite verbal form for emphasis. This emphasis is reflected in the translation by the phrase “dares to judge.”

[19:9]  ⁴ tn The verb “to do wickedly” is repeated here (see v. 7). It appears that whatever “wickedness” the men of Sodom had intended to do to Lot’s visitors – probably nothing short of homosexual rape – they were now ready to inflict on Lot.

[19:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “and they pressed against the man, against Lot, exceedingly.”

[19:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “and they drew near.”

[2:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “And he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “Who placed you for a man, a ruler and a judge over us?” The pleonasm does not need to be translated. For similar constructions see Lev 21:9; Judg 6:8; 2 Sam 1:13; Esth 7:6.

[2:14]  ⁹ tn The line reads “[is it] to kill me you are planning?” The form אֹמֵר (’omer) is the active participle used verbally; it would literally be “[are you] saying,” but in this context it conveys the meaning of “thinking, planning.” The Qal infinitive then serves as the object of this verbal form – are you planning to kill me?

[2:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the Egyptian.” Here the Hebrew article functions in an anaphoric sense, referring back to the individual Moses killed.

[2:14]  ¹¹ tn The verb form is “and he said.” But the intent of the form is that he said this within himself, and so it means “he thought, realized, said to himself.” The form, having the vav consecutive, is subordinated to the main idea of the verse, that he was afraid.

[2:14]  ¹² tn The term הַדָּבָר (haddavar, “the word [thing, matter, incident]”) functions here like a pronoun to refer in brief to what Moses had done. For clarity this has been specified in the translation with the phrase “what I did.”

[16:13]  ¹³ tn The question is rhetorical. It was not a small thing to them – it was a big thing.

[16:13]  ¹⁴ tn The modern scholar who merely sees these words as belonging to an earlier tradition about going up to the land of Canaan that flows with milk and honey misses the irony here. What is happening is that the text is showing how twisted the thinking of the rebels is. They have turned things completely around. Egypt was the land flowing with milk and honey, not Canaan where they will die. The words of rebellion are seldom original, and always twisted.

[16:13]  ¹⁵ tn The verb הִשְׂתָּרֵר (histarer) is the Hitpael infinitive absolute that emphasizes the preceding תִשְׂתָּרֵר (tistarer), the Hitpael imperfect tense (both forms having metathesis). The verb means “to rule; to act like a prince; to make oneself a prince.” This is the only occurrence of the reflexive for this verb. The exact nuance is difficult to translate into English. But they are accusing Moses of seizing princely power for himself, perhaps making a sarcastic reference to his former status in Egypt. The rebels here are telling Moses that they had discerned his scheme, and so he could not “hoodwink” them (cf. NEB).

[133:1]  ¹⁶ sn Psalm 133. The psalmist affirms the benefits of family unity.

[133:1]  ¹⁷ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[133:1]  ¹⁸ sn This statement refers to the extended family structure of ancient Israel, where brothers would often live in proximity to one another (Deut 25:5), giving the family greater social prominence and security. However, in its later application in the Israelite cult it probably envisions unity within the covenant community. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 212-15.