Keluaran 1:10

1:10 Come, let’s deal wisely ¹  with them. Otherwise ²  they will continue to multiply, ³  and if ⁴  a war breaks out, they will ally themselves with ⁵  our enemies and fight against us and leave ⁶  the country.”

Keluaran 2:9

2:9 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child ⁷  and nurse him for me, and I will pay your ⁸  wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him.

Keluaran 5:23

5:23 From the time I went to speak to Pharaoh in your name, he has caused trouble ⁹  for this people, and you have certainly not rescued ¹⁰  them!” ¹¹ 

Keluaran 6:13

6:13 The Lord spoke ¹²  to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge ¹³  for the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

Keluaran 7:5

7:5 Then ¹⁴  the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I extend my hand ¹⁵  over Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.

Keluaran 9:10

9:10 So they took soot from a furnace and stood before Pharaoh, Moses threw it into the air, and it caused festering boils to break out on both people and animals.

Keluaran 10:17

10:17 So now, forgive my sin this time only, and pray to the Lord your God that he would only ¹⁶  take this death ¹⁷  away from me.”

Keluaran 10:23

10:23 No one ¹⁸  could see ¹⁹  another person, and no one could rise from his place for three days. But the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.

Keluaran 22:8

22:8 If the thief is not caught, ²⁰  then the owner of the house will be brought before the judges ²¹  to see ²²  whether he has laid ²³  his hand on his neighbor’s goods.

Keluaran 24:3

24:3 Moses came ²⁴  and told the people all the Lord’s words ²⁵  and all the decisions. All the people answered together, ²⁶  “We are willing to do ²⁷  all the words that the Lord has said,”

Keluaran 34:12

34:12 Be careful not to make ²⁸  a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it become a snare ²⁹  among you.

[1:10]  ¹ tn The verb is the Hitpael cohortative of חָכַם (khakam, “to be wise”). This verb has the idea of acting shrewdly, dealing wisely. The basic idea in the word group is that of skill. So a skillful decision is required to prevent the Israelites from multiplying any more.

[1:10]  sn Pharaoh’s speech invites evaluation. How wise did his plans prove to be?

[1:10]  ² tn The word פֶּן (pen) expresses fear or precaution and can also be translated “lest” or “else” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 75-76, §461).

[1:10]  ³ tn The verb can be translated simply “will multiply,” but since Pharaoh has already indicated that he is aware they were doing that, the nuance here must mean to multiply all the more, or to continue to multiply. Cf. NIV “will become even more numerous.”

[1:10]  ⁴ tn The words וְהָיָה כִּי (vÿhayah ki) introduce a conditional clause – “if” (see GKC 335 §112.y).

[1:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “and [lest] he [Israel] also be joined to.”

[1:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “and go up from.” All the verbs coming after the particle פֶּן (pen, “otherwise, lest” in v. 10) have the same force and are therefore parallel. These are the fears of the Egyptians. This explains why a shrewd policy of population control was required. They wanted to keep Israel enslaved; they did not want them to become too numerous and escape.

[2:9]  ⁷ tn The verb is the Hiphil imperative of the verb הָלַךְ (halakh), and so is properly rendered “cause to go” or “take away.”

[2:9]  ⁸ tn The possessive pronoun on the noun “wage” expresses the indirect object: “I will pay wages to you.”

[5:23]  ⁹ sn Now the verb (הֵרַע, hera’) has a different subject – Pharaoh. The ultimate cause of the trouble was God, but the immediate cause was Pharaoh and the way he increased the work. Meanwhile, the Israelite foremen have pinned most of the blame on Moses and Aaron. Moses knows all about the sovereignty of God, and as he speaks in God’s name, he sees the effect it has on pagans like Pharaoh. So the rhetorical questions are designed to prod God to act differently.

[5:23]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic: וְהַצֵּל לֹא־הִצַּלְתָּ (vÿhatsel lo’-hitsalta). The verb נָצַל (natsal) means “to deliver, rescue” in the sense of plucking out, even plundering. The infinitive absolute strengthens both the idea of the verb and the negative. God had not delivered this people at all.

[5:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “your people.” The pronoun (“them”) has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons here, to avoid redundancy.

[6:13]  ¹² tn Heb “And Yahweh spoke.”

[6:13]  ¹³ 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.

[7:5]  ¹⁴ tn The emphasis on sequence is clear because the form is the perfect tense with the vav consecutive.

[7:5]  sn The use of the verb “to know” (יָדַע, yada’) underscores what was said with regard to 6:3. By the time the actual exodus took place, the Egyptians would have “known” the name Yahweh, probably hearing it more than they wished. But they will know – experience the truth of it – when Yahweh defeats them.

[7:5]  ¹⁵ sn This is another anthropomorphism, parallel to the preceding. If God were to “put” (נָתַן, natan), “extend” (נָטָה, nata), or “reach out” (שָׁלַח, shalakh) his hand against them, they would be destroyed. Contrast Exod 24:11.

[10:17]  ¹⁶ sn Pharaoh’s double emphasis on “only” uses two different words and was meant to deceive. He was trying to give Moses the impression that he had finally come to his senses, and that he would let the people go. But he had no intention of letting them out.

[10:17]  ¹⁷ sn “Death” is a metonymy that names the effect for the cause. If the locusts are left in the land it will be death to everything that grows.

[10:23]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “a man…his brother.”

[10:23]  ¹⁹ tn The perfect tense in this context requires the somewhat rare classification of a potential perfect.

[22:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “found.”

[22:8]  ²¹ tn Here again the word used is “the gods,” meaning the judges who made the assessments and decisions. In addition to other works, see J. R. Vannoy, “The Use of the Word ha’elohim in Exodus 21:6 and 22:7,8,” The Law and the Prophets, 225-41.

[22:8]  ²² tn The phrase “to see” has been supplied.

[22:8]  ²³ tn The line says “if he has not stretched out his hand.” This could be the oath formula, but the construction here would be unusual, or it could be taken as “whether” (see W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:438). U. Cassuto (Exodus, 286) does not think the wording can possibly fit an oath; nevertheless, an oath would be involved before God (as he takes it instead of “judges”) – if the man swore, his word would be accepted, but if he would not swear, he would be guilty.

[24:3]  ²⁴ sn The general consensus among commentators is that this refers to Moses’ coming from the mountain after he made the ascent in 20:21. Here he came and told them the laws (written in 20:22-23:33), and of the call to come up to Yahweh.

[24:3]  ²⁵ sn The Decalogue may not be included here because the people had heard those commands themselves earlier.

[24:3]  ²⁶ tn The text simply has “one voice” (קוֹל אֶחָד, qol ’ekhad); this is an adverbial accusative of manner, telling how the people answered – “in one voice,” or unanimously (see GKC 375 §118.q).

[24:3]  ²⁷ tn The verb is the imperfect tense (נַעֲשֶׂה, na’aseh), although the form could be classified as a cohortative. If the latter, they would be saying that they are resolved to do what God said. If it is an imperfect, then the desiderative would make the most sense: “we are willing to do.” They are not presumptuously saying they are going to do all these things.

[34:12]  ²⁸ tn The exact expression is “take heed to yourself lest you make.” It is the second use of this verb in the duties, now in the Niphal stem. To take heed to yourself means to watch yourself, be sure not to do something. Here, if they failed to do this, they would end up making entangling treaties.

[34:12]  ²⁹ sn A snare would be a trap, an allurement to ruin. See Exod 23:33.