Keluaran 8:1

8:1 (7:26) ¹  Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Release my people in order that they may serve me!

Keluaran 8:20

The Fourth Blow: Flies

8:20 ² The Lord ³  said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and position yourself before Pharaoh as he goes out to the water, and tell him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Release my people that they may serve me!

Keluaran 13:15

13:15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused ⁴  to release us, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of people to the firstborn of animals. ⁵  That is why I am sacrificing ⁶  to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb, but all my firstborn sons I redeem.’

Keluaran 14:5

14:5 When it was reported ⁷  to the king of Egypt that the people had fled, ⁸  the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people, and the king and his servants said, ⁹  “What in the world have we done? ¹⁰  For we have released the people of Israel ¹¹  from serving us!”

[8:1]  ¹ sn Beginning with 8:1, the verse numbers through 8:32 in English Bibles differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 8:1 ET = 7:26 HT, 8:2 ET = 7:27 HT, 8:3 ET = 7:28 HT, 8:4 ET = 7:29 HT, 8:5 ET = 8:1 HT, etc., through 8:32 ET = 8:28 HT. Thus in English Bibles chapter 8 has 32 verses, while in the Hebrew Bible it has 28 verses, with the four extra verses attached to chapter 7.

[8:20]  ² sn The announcement of the fourth plague parallels that of the first plague. Now there will be flies, likely dogflies. Egypt has always suffered from flies, more so in the summer than in the winter. But the flies the plague describes involve something greater than any normal season for flies. The main point that can be stressed in this plague comes by tracing the development of the plagues in their sequence. Now, with the flies, it becomes clear that God can inflict suffering on some people and preserve others – a preview of the coming judgment that will punish Egypt but set Israel free. God is fully able to keep the dog-fly in the land of the Egyptians and save his people from these judgments.

[8:20]  ³ tn Heb “And Yahweh said.”

[13:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “dealt hardly in letting us go” or “made it hard to let us go” (see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 110). The verb is the simple Hiphil perfect הִקְשָׁה (hiqshah, “he made hard”); the infinitive construct לְשַׁלְּחֵנוּ (lÿshallÿkhenu, “to release us”) could be taken epexegetically, meaning “he made releasing us hard.” But the infinitive more likely gives the purpose or the result after the verb “hardened himself.” The verb is figurative for “be stubborn” or “stubbornly refuse.”

[13:15]  ⁵ tn The text uses “man” and “beast.”

[13:15]  ⁶ tn The form is the active participle.

[14:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “and it was told.” The present translation uses “reported,” since this involves information given to a superior.

[14:5]  ⁸ tn The verb must be given a past perfect translation because the fleeing occurred before the telling.

[14:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “and they said.” The referent (the king and his servants) is supplied for clarity.

[14:5]  ¹⁰ tn The question literally is “What is this we have done?” The demonstrative pronoun is used as an enclitic particle for emphasis (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).

[14:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “released Israel.” By metonymy the name of the nation is used collectively for the people who constitute it (the Israelites).