Keluaran 1:19

1:19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew ¹  women are not like the Egyptian women – for the Hebrew women ²  are vigorous; they give birth before the midwife gets to them!” ³ 

Keluaran 5:23

5:23 From the time I went to speak to Pharaoh in your name, he has caused trouble ⁴  for this people, and you have certainly not rescued ⁵  them!” ⁶ 

Keluaran 9:18

9:18 I am going to cause very severe hail to rain down ⁷  about this time tomorrow, such hail as has never occurred ⁸  in Egypt from the day it was founded ⁹  until now.

Keluaran 18:7

18:7 Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him; ¹⁰  they each asked about the other’s welfare, and then they went into the tent.

Keluaran 24:1

The Lord Ratifies the Covenant

24:1 ¹¹ But to Moses the Lord ¹²  said, “Come up ¹³  to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from a distance. ¹⁴ 

Keluaran 24:14

24:14 He told the elders, “Wait for us in this place until we return to you. Here are ¹⁵  Aaron and Hur with you. Whoever has any matters of dispute ¹⁶  can approach ¹⁷  them.”

Keluaran 29:40

29:40 With the first lamb offer a tenth of an ephah ¹⁸  of fine flour mixed with a fourth of a hin ¹⁹  of oil from pressed olives, and a fourth of a hin of wine as a drink offering.

Keluaran 33:3

33:3 Go up ²⁰  to a land flowing with milk and honey. But ²¹  I will not go up among you, for you are a stiff-necked people, and I might destroy you ²²  on the way.”

Keluaran 38:17

38:17 The bases for the posts were bronze. The hooks of the posts and their bands were silver, their tops were overlaid with silver, and all the posts of the courtyard had silver bands. ²³ 

Keluaran 38:26

38:26 one beka per person, that is, a half shekel, ²⁴  according to the sanctuary shekel, for everyone who crossed over to those numbered, from twenty years old or older, ²⁵  603,550 in all. ²⁶ 

[1:19]  ¹ sn See further N. Lemche, “‘Hebrew’ as a National Name for Israel,” ST 33 (1979): 1-23.

[1:19]  ² tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Hebrew women) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:19]  ³ tn Heb “before the midwife comes to them (and) they give birth.” The perfect tense with the vav consecutive serves as the apodosis to the preceding temporal clause; it has the frequentative nuance (see GKC 337-38 §112.oo).

[1:19]  sn The point of this brief section is that the midwives respected God above the king. They simply followed a higher authority that prohibited killing. Fearing God is a basic part of the true faith that leads to an obedient course of action and is not terrified by worldly threats. There probably was enough truth in what they were saying to be believable, but they clearly had no intention of honoring the king by participating in murder, and they saw no reason to give him a straightforward answer. God honored their actions.

[5:23]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “your people.” The pronoun (“them”) has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons here, to avoid redundancy.

[9:18]  ⁷ tn הִנְנִי מַמְטִיר (hinÿni mamtir) is the futur instans construction, giving an imminent future translation: “Here – I am about to cause it to rain.”

[9:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “which not was like it in Egypt.” The pronoun suffix serves as the resumptive pronoun for the relative particle: “which…like it” becomes “the like of which has not been.” The word “hail” is added in the translation to make clear the referent of the relative particle.

[9:18]  ⁹ tn The form הִוָּסְדָה (hivvasdah) is perhaps a rare Niphal perfect and not an infinitive (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 117).

[18:7]  ¹⁰ sn This is more than polite oriental custom. Jethro was Moses’ benefactor, father-in-law, and a priest. He paid much respect to him. Now he could invite Jethro into his home (see B. Jacob, Exodus, 496).

[24:1]  ¹¹ sn Exod 24 is the high point of the book in many ways, but most importantly, here Yahweh makes a covenant with the people – the Sinaitic Covenant. The unit not only serves to record the event in Israel’s becoming a nation, but it provides a paradigm of the worship of God’s covenant people – entering into the presence of the glory of Yahweh. See additionally W. A. Maier, “The Analysis of Exodus 24 According to Modern Literary, Form, and Redaction Critical Methodology,” Springfielder 37 (1973): 35-52. The passage may be divided into four parts for exposition: vv. 1-2, the call for worship; vv. 3-8, the consecration of the worshipers; vv. 9-11, the confirmation of the covenant; and vv. 12-18, the communication with Yahweh.

[24:1]  ¹² tn Heb “And he;” the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:1]  ¹³ sn They were to come up to the Lord after they had made the preparations that are found in vv. 3-8.

[24:1]  ¹⁴ sn These seventy-four people were to go up the mountain to a certain point. Then they were to prostrate themselves and worship Yahweh as Moses went further up into the presence of Yahweh. Moses occupies the lofty position of mediator (as Christ in the NT), for he alone ascends “to Yahweh” while everyone waits for his return. The emphasis of “bowing down” and that from “far off” stresses again the ominous presence that was on the mountain. This was the holy God – only the designated mediator could draw near to him.

[24:14]  ¹⁵ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh) calls attention to the presence of Aaron and Hur to answer the difficult cases that might come up.

[24:14]  ¹⁶ tn Or “issues to resolve.” The term is simply דְּבָרִים (dÿvarim, “words, things, matters”).

[24:14]  ¹⁷ tn The imperfect tense here has the nuance of potential imperfect. In the absence of Moses and Joshua, Aaron and Hur will be available.

[24:14]  sn Attention to the preparation for Moses’ departure contributes to the weight of the guilt of the faithless Israelites (chap. 32) and of Aaron, to whom Moses had delegated an important duty.

[29:40]  ¹⁸ tn The phrase “of an ephah” has been supplied for clarity (cf. Num 28:5). The ephah was a commonly used dry measure whose capacity is now uncertain: “Quotations given for the ephah vary from ca. 45 to 20 liters” (C. Houtman, Exodus, 2:340-41).

[29:40]  ¹⁹ tn “Hin” is a transliterated Hebrew word that seems to have an Egyptian derivation. The amount of liquid measured by a hin is uncertain: “Its presumed capacity varies from about 3,5 liters to 7,5 liters” (C. Houtman, Exodus, 3:550).

[33:3]  ²⁰ tn This verse seems to be a continuation of the command to “go up” since it begins with “to a land….” The intervening clauses are therefore parenthetical or relative. But the translation is made simpler by supplying the verb.

[33:3]  ²¹ tn This is a strong adversative here, “but.”

[33:3]  ²² tn The clause is “lest I consume you.” It would go with the decision not to accompany them: “I will not go up with you…lest I consume (destroy) you in the way.” The verse is saying that because of the people’s bent to rebellion, Yahweh would not remain in their midst as he had formerly said he would do. Their lives would be at risk if he did.

[38:17]  ²³ tn Heb “they were banded with silver.”

[38:26]  ²⁴ sn The weight would be about half an ounce.

[38:26]  ²⁵ tn Heb “upward.”

[38:26]  ²⁶ tn The phrase “in all” has been supplied.