Keluaran 2:1

The Birth of the Deliverer

2:1 ¹ A man from the household ²  of Levi married ³  a woman who was a descendant of Levi. ⁴ 

Keluaran 3:19

3:19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go, ⁵  not even under force. ⁶ 

Keluaran 4:19

4:19 The Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back ⁷  to Egypt, because all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” ⁸ 

Keluaran 5:22

The Assurance of Deliverance

5:22 ⁹ Moses returned ¹⁰  to the Lord, and said, “Lord, ¹¹  why have you caused trouble for this people? ¹²  Why did you ever ¹³  send me?

Keluaran 11:4

11:4 Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘About midnight ¹⁴  I will go throughout Egypt, ¹⁵ 

Keluaran 12:20

12:20 You will not eat anything made with yeast; in all the places where you live you must eat bread made without yeast.’”

Keluaran 16:10

16:10 As Aaron spoke ¹⁶  to the whole community of the Israelites and they looked toward the desert, there the glory of the Lord ¹⁷  appeared ¹⁸  in the cloud,

Keluaran 16:14

16:14 When ¹⁹  the layer of dew had evaporated, ²⁰  there on the surface of the desert was a thin flaky substance, ²¹  thin like frost on the earth.

Keluaran 18:4

18:4 and the other Eliezer (for Moses had said, ²²  “The God of my father has been my help ²³  and delivered ²⁴  me from the sword of Pharaoh”).

Keluaran 21:10

21:10 If he takes another wife, ²⁵  he must not diminish the first one’s food, ²⁶  her clothing, or her marital rights. ²⁷ 

Keluaran 23:8-9

23:8 “You must not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see ²⁸  and subverts the words of the righteous.

23:9 “You must not oppress ²⁹  a foreigner, since you know the life ³⁰  of a foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

Keluaran 25:17-18

25:17 “You are to make an atonement lid ³¹  of pure gold; ³²  its length is to be three feet nine inches, and its width is to be two feet three inches. 25:18 You are to make two cherubim ³³  of gold; you are to make them of hammered metal on the two ends of the atonement lid.

Keluaran 26:3

26:3 Five curtains are to be joined, ³⁴  one to another, ³⁵  and the other ³⁶  five curtains are to be joined, one to another.

Keluaran 26:5

26:5 You are to make fifty loops on the one curtain, and you are to make fifty loops on the end curtain which is on the second set, so that the loops are opposite one to another. ³⁷ 

Keluaran 26:13

26:13 The foot and a half ³⁸  on the one side and the foot and a half on the other side of what remains in the length of the curtains of the tent will hang over the sides of the tabernacle, on one side and the other side, to cover it. ³⁹ 

Keluaran 26:27

26:27 and five bars for the frames on the second side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the frames on the back of the tabernacle on the west.

Keluaran 27:10

27:10 with ⁴⁰  twenty posts and their twenty bronze bases, with the hooks of the posts and their bands of silver.

Keluaran 28:10

28:10 six ⁴¹  of their names on one stone, and the six remaining names on the second stone, according to the order of their birth. ⁴² 

Keluaran 28:36

28:36 “You are to make a plate ⁴³  of pure gold and engrave on it the way a seal is engraved: ⁴⁴  “Holiness to the Lord.” ⁴⁵ 

Keluaran 28:40

28:40 “For Aaron’s sons you are to make tunics, sashes, and headbands ⁴⁶  for glory and for beauty.

Keluaran 30:9

30:9 You must not offer strange incense on it, nor burnt offering, nor meal offering, and you must not pour out a drink offering on it.

Keluaran 30:18

30:18 “You are also to make a large bronze ⁴⁷  basin with a bronze stand ⁴⁸  for washing. You are to put it between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it, ⁴⁹ 

Keluaran 30:30

30:30 “You are to anoint Aaron and his sons and ⁵⁰  sanctify them, so that they may minister as my priests.

Keluaran 30:33

30:33 Whoever makes perfume like it and whoever puts any of it on someone not a priest ⁵¹  will be cut off ⁵²  from his people.’”

Keluaran 30:35

30:35 and make it into an incense, ⁵³  a perfume, ⁵⁴  the work of a perfumer. It is to be finely ground, ⁵⁵  and pure and sacred.

Keluaran 31:11

31:11 the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the Holy Place. They will make all these things just as I have commanded you.”

Keluaran 34:6

34:6 The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: ⁵⁶  “The Lord, the Lord, ⁵⁷  the compassionate and gracious ⁵⁸  God, slow to anger, ⁵⁹  and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness, ⁶⁰ 

Keluaran 34:27

34:27 The Lord said to Moses, “Write down ⁶¹  these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”

Keluaran 35:34

35:34 And he has put it in his heart ⁶²  to teach, he and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.

Keluaran 37:12

37:12 He made a surrounding frame for it about three inches wide, and he made a surrounding border of gold for its frame.

Keluaran 39:26

39:26 There was ⁶³  a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, all around the hem of the robe, to be used in ministering, ⁶⁴  just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Keluaran 39:28

39:28 and the turban of fine linen, the headbands of fine linen, and the undergarments of fine twisted linen.

Keluaran 40:10

40:10 Then you are to anoint the altar for the burnt offering with ⁶⁵  all its utensils; you are to sanctify the altar, and it will be the most holy altar.

Keluaran 40:24

40:24 And he put the lampstand in the tent of meeting opposite the table, on the south side of the tabernacle.

Keluaran 40:30

40:30 Then he put the large basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it ⁶⁶  for washing.

[2:1]  ¹ sn The chapter records the exceptional survival of Moses under the decree of death by Pharaoh (vv. 1-10), the flight of Moses from Pharaoh after killing the Egyptian (vv. 11-15), the marriage of Moses (vv. 16-22), and finally a note about the Lord’s hearing the sighing of the people in bondage (vv. 23-25). The first part is the birth. The Bible has several stories about miraculous or special births and deliverances of those destined to lead Israel. Their impact is essentially to authenticate the individual’s ministry. If the person’s beginning was providentially provided and protected by the Lord, then the mission must be of divine origin too. In this chapter the plot works around the decree for the death of the children – a decree undone by the women. The second part of the chapter records Moses’ flight and marriage. Having introduced the deliverer Moses in such an auspicious way, the chapter then records how this deliverer acted presumptuously and had to flee for his life. Any deliverance God desired had to be supernatural, as the chapter’s final note about answering prayer shows.

[2:1]  ² tn Heb “house.” In other words, the tribe of Levi.

[2:1]  ³ tn Heb “went and took”; NASB “went and married.”

[2:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “a daughter of Levi.” The word “daughter” is used in the sense of “descendant” and connects the new account with Pharaoh’s command in 1:22. The words “a woman who was” are added for clarity in English.

[2:1]  sn The first part of this section is the account of hiding the infant (vv. 1-4). The marriage, the birth, the hiding of the child, and the positioning of Miriam, are all faith operations that ignore the decree of Pharaoh or work around it to preserve the life of the child.

[3:19]  ⁵ tn After verbs of perception, as with “I know” here, the object may be a noun clause introduced with the particle כִּי (ki) – “I know that….” Gesenius observes that the object clause may have a kind of accusative and an infinitive construction (especially after נָתַן [natan] with the idea of “allow”): “he will not permit you to go” (see GKC 491 §157.b, n. 2).

[3:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “and not with a mighty hand.” This expression (וְלֹא בְּיָד חֲזָקָה, vÿlo’ vÿyad khazaqa) is unclear, since v. 20 says that God will stretch out his hand and do his wonders. Some have taken v. 19b to refer to God’s mighty hand also, meaning that the king would not let them go unless a mighty hand compels him (NIV). The expression “mighty hand” is used of God’s rescuing Israel elsewhere (Exod 6:1, 13:9, 32:11; but note also Num 20:20). This idea is a rather general interpretation of the words; it owes much to the LXX, which has “except by a mighty hand,” though “and not with” does not have the meaning of “except” or “unless” in other places. In view of these difficulties, others have suggested that v. 19b means “strong [threats]” from the Israelites (as in 4:24ff. and 5:3; see B. Jacob, Exodus, 81). This does not seem as convincing as the first view. Another possibility is that the phrase conveys Pharaoh’s point of view and intention; the Lord knows that Pharaoh plans to resist letting the Israelites go, regardless of the exercise of a strong hand against him (P. Addinall, “Exodus III 19B and the Interpretation of Biblical Narrative,” VT 49 [1999]: 289-300; see also the construction “and not with” in Num 12:8; 1 Sam 20:15 and elsewhere). If that is the case, v. 20 provides an ironic and pointed contradiction to Pharaoh’s plans as the Lord announces the effect that his hand will have. At any rate, Pharaoh will have to be forced to let Israel go.

[4:19]  ⁷ tn The text has two imperatives, “Go, return”; if these are interpreted as a hendiadys (as in the translation), then the second is adverbial.

[4:19]  ⁸ sn The text clearly stated that Pharaoh sought to kill Moses; so this seems to be a reference to Pharaoh’s death shortly before Moses’ return. Moses was forty years in Midian. In the 18th dynasty, only Pharaoh Thutmose III had a reign of the right length (1504-1450 b.c.) to fit this period of Moses’ life. This would place Moses’ returning to Egypt near 1450 b.c., in the beginning of the reign of Amenhotep II, whom most conservatives identify as the pharaoh of the exodus. Rameses II, of course, had a very long reign (1304-1236). But if he were the one from whom Moses fled, then he could not be the pharaoh of the exodus, but his son would be – and that puts the date of the exodus after 1236, a date too late for anyone. See E. H. Merrill, Kingdom of Priests, 62.

[5:22]  ⁹ sn In view of the apparent failure of the mission, Moses seeks Yahweh for assurance. The answer from Yahweh not only assures him that all is well, but that there will be a great deliverance. The passage can be divided into three parts: the complaint of Moses (5:22-23), the promise of Yahweh (6:1-9), and the instructions for Moses (6:10-13). Moses complains because God has not delivered his people as he had said he would, and God answers that he will because he is the sovereign covenant God who keeps his word. Therefore, Moses must keep his commission to speak God’s word. See further, E. A. Martens, “Tackling Old Testament Theology,” JETS 20 (1977): 123-32. The message is very similar to that found in the NT, “Where is the promise of his coming?” (2 Pet 3:4). The complaint of Moses (5:22-23) can be worded with Peter’s “Where is the promise of his coming?” theme; the assurance from Yahweh (6:1-9) can be worded with Peter’s “The Lord is not slack in keeping his promises” (2 Pet 3:9); and the third part, the instructions for Moses (6:10-13) can be worded with Peter’s “Prepare for the day of God and speed its coming” (2 Pet 3:12). The people who speak for God must do so in the sure confidence of the coming deliverance – Moses with the deliverance from the bondage of Egypt, and Christians with the deliverance from this sinful world.

[5:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and Moses returned.”

[5:22]  ¹¹ tn The designation in Moses’ address is “Lord” (אֲדֹנָי, ’adonay) – the term for “lord” or “master” but pointed as it would be when it represents the tetragrammaton.

[5:22]  ¹² tn The verb is הֲרֵעֹתָה (hare’otah), the Hiphil perfect of רָעַע (ra’a’). The word itself means “to do evil,” and in this stem “to cause evil” – but evil in the sense of pain, calamity, trouble, or affliction, and not always in the sense of sin. Certainly not here. That God had allowed Pharaoh to oppose them had brought greater pain to the Israelites.

[5:22]  sn Moses’ question is rhetorical; the point is more of a complaint or accusation to God, although there is in it the desire to know why. B. Jacob (Exodus, 139) comments that such frank words were a sign of the man’s closeness to God. God never has objected to such bold complaints by the devout. He then notes how God was angered by his defenders in the book of Job rather than by Job’s heated accusations.

[5:22]  ¹³ tn The demonstrative pronoun serves for emphasis in the question (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118). This second question continues Moses’ bold approach to God, more chiding than praying. He is implying that if this was the result of the call, then God had no purpose calling him (compare Jeremiah’s similar complaint in Jer 20).

[11:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “about the middle of the night.”

[11:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I will go out in the midst of Egypt.”

[16:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and it was as Aaron spoke.” The construction uses the temporal indicator and then the Piel infinitive construct followed by the subjective genitive “Aaron.”

[16:10]  ¹⁷ sn S. R. Driver says, “A brilliant glow of fire…symbolizing Jehovah’s presence, gleamed through the cloud, resting…on the Tent of Meeting. The cloud shrouds the full brilliancy of the glory, which human eye could not behold” (Exodus, 147-48; see also Ezek 1:28; 3:12, 23; 8:4; 9:3, et al.). A Hebrew word often translated “behold” or “lo” introduces the surprising sight.

[16:10]  ¹⁸ tn The verb is the Niphal perfect of the verb “to see” – “it was seen.” But the standard way of translating this form is from the perspective of Yahweh as subject – “he appeared.”

[16:14]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and [the dew…] went up.”

[16:14]  ²⁰ tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated as a temporal clause to the main clause; since that clause calls special attention to what was there after the dew evaporated.

[16:14]  ²¹ sn Translations usually refer to the manna as “bread.” In fact it appears to be more like grain, because it could be ground in hand-mills and made into cakes. The word involved says it is thin, flakelike (if an Arabic etymological connection is correct). What is known about it from the Bible in Exodus is that it was a very small flakelike substance, it would melt when the sun got hot, if left over it bred worms and became foul, it could be ground, baked, and boiled, it was abundant enough for the Israelites to gather an omer a day per person, and they gathered it day by day throughout the wilderness sojourn. Num 11 says it was like coriander seed with the appearance of bdellium, it tasted like fresh oil, and it fell with the dew. Deut 8:3 says it was unknown to Israel or her ancestors; Psalm 78:24 parallels it with grain. Some scholars compare ancient references to honeydew that came from the heavens. F. S. Bodenheimer (“The Manna of Sinai,” BA 10 [1947]: 2) says that it was a sudden surprise for the nomadic Israelites because it provided what they desired – sweetness. He says that it was a product that came from two insects, making the manna a honeydew excretion from plant lice and scale insects. The excretion hardens and drops to the ground as a sticky solid. He notes that some cicadas are called man in Arabic. This view accounts for some of the things in these passages: the right place, the right time, the right description, and a similar taste. But there are major difficulties: Exodus requires a far greater amount, it could breed worms, it could melt away, it could be baked into bread, it could decay and stink. The suggestion is in no way convincing. Bodenheimer argues that “worms” could mean “ants” that carried them away, but that is contrived – the text could have said ants. The fact that the Bible calls it “bread” creates no problem. לֶחֶם (lekhem) is used in a wide range of meanings from bread to all kinds of food including goats (Judg 13:15-16) and honey (1 Sam 14:24-28). Scripture does not say that manna was the only thing that they ate for the duration. But they did eat it throughout the forty years. It simply must refer to some supernatural provision for them in their diet. Modern suggestions may invite comparison and analysis, but they do not satisfy or explain the text.

[18:4]  ²² tn The referent (Moses) and the verb have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:4]  ²³ tn Now is given the etymological explanation of the name of Moses’ other son, Eliezer (אֱלִיעֶזֶר, ’eli’ezer), which means “my God is a help.” The sentiment that explains this name is אֱלֹהֵי אָבִי בְּעֶזְרִי (’elohe ’avi bÿ’ezri, “the God of my father is my help”). The preposition in the sentiment is the bet (ב) essentiae (giving the essence – see GKC 379 §119.i). Not mentioned earlier, the name has become even more appropriate now that God has delivered Moses from Pharaoh again. The word for “help” is a common word in the Bible, first introduced as a description of the woman in the Garden. It means to do for someone what he or she cannot do for himself or herself. Samuel raised the “stone of help” (Ebenezer) when Yahweh helped Israel win the battle (1 Sam 7:12).

[18:4]  ²⁴ sn The verb “delivered” is an important motif in this chapter (see its use in vv. 8, 9, and 10 with reference to Pharaoh).

[21:10]  ²⁵ tn “wife” has been supplied.

[21:10]  ²⁶ tn The translation of “food” does not quite do justice to the Hebrew word. It is “flesh.” The issue here is that the family she was to marry into is wealthy, they ate meat. She was not just to be given the basic food the ordinary people ate, but the fine foods that this family ate.

[21:10]  ²⁷ sn See S. Paul, “Exodus 21:10, A Threefold Maintenance Clause,” JNES 28 (1969): 48-53. Paul suggests that the third element listed is not marital rights but ointments since Sumerian and Akkadian texts list food, clothing, and oil as the necessities of life. The translation of “marital rights” is far from certain, since the word occurs only here. The point is that the woman was to be cared for with all that was required for a woman in that situation.

[23:8]  ²⁸ tn Heb “blinds the open-eyed.”

[23:9]  ²⁹ tn The verb means “to crush.” S. R. Driver notes that in this context this would probably mean with an unfair judgment in the courts (Exodus, 239).

[23:9]  ³⁰ tn Heb “soul, life” – “you know what it feels like.”

[25:17]  ³¹ tn The noun is כַּפֹּרֶת (kapporet), translated “atonement lid” or “atonement plate.” The traditional translation “mercy-seat” (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV) came from Tyndale in 1530 and was also used by Luther in 1523. The noun is formed from the word “to make atonement.” The item that the Israelites should make would be more than just a lid for the ark. It would be the place where atonement was signified. The translation of “covering” is probably incorrect, for it derives from a rare use of the verb, if the same verb at all (the evidence shows “cover” is from another root with the same letters as this). The value of this place was that Yahweh sat enthroned above it, and so the ark essentially was the “footstool.” Blood was applied to the lid of the box, for that was the place of atonement (see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 269-270).

[25:17]  ³² tn After verbs of making or producing, the accusative (like “gold” here) may be used to express the material from which something is made (see GKC 371 §117.hh).

[25:18]  ³³ tn The evidence suggests that the cherubim were composite angelic creatures that always indicated the nearness of God. So here images of them were to be crafted and put on each end of the ark of the covenant to signify that they were there. Ezekiel 1 describes four cherubim as each having human faces, four wings, and parts of different animals for their bodies. Traditions of them appear in the other cultures as well. They serve to guard the holy places and to bear the throne of God. Here they were to be beaten out as part of the lid.

[26:3]  ³⁴ tn This is the active participle, not the passive. It would normally be rendered “joining together.” The Bible uses the active because it has the result of the sewing in mind, namely, that every curtain accompanies another (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 348).

[26:3]  ³⁵ tn Heb “a woman to her sister,” this form of using nouns to express “one to another” is selected because “curtains” is a feminine noun (see GKC 448 §139.e).

[26:3]  ³⁶ tn The phrase “the other” has been supplied.

[26:5]  ³⁷ tn Heb “a woman to her sister.”

[26:13]  ³⁸ tn Literally “cubit.”

[26:13]  ³⁹ sn U. Cassuto states the following: “To the north and to the south, since the tent curtains were thirty cubits long, there were ten cubits left over on each side; these covered the nine cubits of the curtains of the tabernacle and also the bottom cubit of the boards, which the tabernacle curtains did not suffice to cover. It is to this that v. 13 refers” (Exodus, 353).

[27:10]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “and.”

[28:10]  ⁴¹ tn This is in apposition to the direct object of the verb “engrave.” It further defines how the names were to be engraved – six on one and the other six on the other.

[28:10]  ⁴² tn Heb “according to their begettings” (the major word in the book of Genesis). What is meant is that the names would be listed in the order of their ages.

[28:36]  ⁴³ tn The word צִּיץ (tsits) seems to mean “a shining thing” and so here a plate of metal. It originally meant “flower,” but they could not write on a flower. So it must have the sense of something worn openly, visible, and shining. The Rabbinic tradition says it was two fingers wide and stretched from ear to ear, but this is an attempt to give details that the Law does not give (see B. Jacob, Exodus, 818).

[28:36]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “the engravings of a seal”; this phrase is an adverbial accusative of manner.

[28:36]  ⁴⁵ sn The engraving was a perpetual reminder of the holiness that was due the Lord (Heb “Yahweh”), that all the clothing, the furnishings, and the activities were to come under that description. This corresponded to the symbolism for the whole nation of binding the law between the eyes. It was to be a perpetual reminder of commitment.

[28:40]  ⁴⁶ sn This refers to a band of linen wrapped around the head, forming something like a brimless convex cap, resembling something like a half egg. It refers to the headgear of ordinary priests only (see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 310-11).

[30:18]  ⁴⁷ sn The metal for this object was obtained from the women from their mirrors (see Exod 38:8).

[30:18]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “and its stand bronze.”

[30:18]  ⁴⁹ tn The form is the adverb “there” with the directive qamets-he ( ָה).

[30:30]  ⁵⁰ tn The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive follows the imperfect of instruction; it may be equal to the instruction, but more likely shows the purpose or result of the act.

[30:33]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “a stranger,” meaning someone not ordained a priest.

[30:33]  ⁵² sn The rabbinic interpretation of this is that it is a penalty imposed by heaven, that the life will be cut short and the person could die childless.

[30:35]  ⁵³ tn This is an accusative of result or product.

[30:35]  ⁵⁴ tn The word is in apposition to “incense,” further defining the kind of incense that is to be made.

[30:35]  ⁵⁵ tn The word מְמֻלָּח (mÿmullakh), a passive participle, is usually taken to mean “salted.” Since there is no meaning like that for the Pual form, the word probably should be taken as “mixed,” as in Rashi and Tg. Onq. Seasoning with salt would work if it were food, but since it is not food, if it means “salted” it would be a symbol of what was sound and whole for the covenant. Some have thought that it would have helped the incense burn quickly with more smoke.

[34:6]  ⁵⁶ 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]  ⁵⁷ 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]  ⁵⁸ tn See Exod 33:19.

[34:6]  ⁵⁹ sn This is literally “long of anger.” His anger prolongs itself, allowing for people to repent before punishment is inflicted.

[34:6]  ⁶⁰ 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.

[34:27]  ⁶¹ tn Once again the preposition with the suffix follows the imperative, adding some emphasis to the subject of the verb.

[35:34]  ⁶² sn The expression means that God has given them the ability and the desire to teach others how to do the work. The infinitive construct “to teach” is related to the word Torah, “instruction, guide, law.” They will be able to direct others in the work.

[39:26]  ⁶³ tn The words “there was” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[39:26]  ⁶⁴ tn The infinitive “to minister” is present; “to be used” is supplied from the context.

[40:10]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “and.”

[40:30]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “there.”