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 6:23

6:23 Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

Keluaran 12:10

12:10 You must leave nothing until morning, but you must burn with fire whatever remains of it until morning.

Keluaran 14:23

14:23 The Egyptians chased them and followed them into the middle of the sea – all the horses of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.

Keluaran 18:3

18:3 and her two sons, one of whom was named Gershom (for Moses ⁷  had said, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land”),

Keluaran 19:17

19:17 Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their place at the foot of the mountain.

Keluaran 21:5

21:5 But if the servant should declare, ⁸  ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out ⁹  free,’

Keluaran 21:9

21:9 If he designated her for his son, then he will deal with her according to the customary rights ¹⁰  of daughters.

Keluaran 27:10

27:10 with ¹¹  twenty posts and their twenty bronze bases, with the hooks of the posts and their bands of silver.

Keluaran 28:20

28:20 and the fourth row, a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. ¹²  They are to be enclosed in gold in their filigree settings.

Keluaran 29:29

29:29 “The holy garments that belong to Aaron are to belong to his sons after him, so that they may be anointed ¹³  in them and consecrated ¹⁴  in them.

Keluaran 34:5

34:5 The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the Lord by name. ¹⁵ 

Keluaran 35:33

35:33 and in cutting stones for their setting, ¹⁶  and in cutting wood, to do work in every artistic craft. ¹⁷ 

Keluaran 39:4

39:4 They made shoulder pieces for it, attached to two of its corners, so it could be joined together.

[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.

[18:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity (also in the following verse).

[21:5]  ⁸ tn The imperfect with the infinitive absolute means that the declaration is unambiguous, that the servant will clearly affirm that he wants to stay with the master. Gesenius says that in a case like this the infinitive emphasizes the importance of the condition on which some consequence depends (GKC 342-43 §113.o).

[21:5]  ⁹ tn Or taken as a desiderative imperfect, it would say, “I do not want to go out free.”

[21:9]  ¹⁰ tn Or “after the manner of” (KJV, ASV); NRSV “shall deal with her as with a daughter.”

[27:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and.”

[28:20]  ¹² sn U. Cassuto (Exodus, 375-76) points out that these are the same precious stones mentioned in Ezek 28:13 that were to be found in Eden, the garden of God. So the priest, when making atonement, was to wear the precious gems that were there and symbolized the garden of Eden when man was free from sin.

[29:29]  ¹³ tn The construction is an infinitive construct with a lamed (ל) preposition. The form simply means “for anointing,” but it serves to express the purpose or result of their inheriting the sacred garments.

[29:29]  ¹⁴ tn This form is a Piel infinitive construct with a lamed (ל) preposition. It literally reads “for filling the hands,” the idiom used throughout this chapter for ordination or installation. Here too it has a parallel use of purpose or result.

[34:5]  ¹⁵ 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.

[35:33]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “to set.”

[35:33]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “in every work of thought,” meaning, every work that required the implementation of design or plan.