Keluaran 1:5

1:5 All the people ¹  who were directly descended ²  from Jacob numbered seventy. ³  But Joseph was already in Egypt, ⁴ 

Keluaran 3:5

3:5 God ⁵  said, “Do not approach any closer! ⁶  Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ⁷  ground.” ⁸ 

Keluaran 4:22

4:22 You must say ⁹  to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says ¹⁰  the Lord, “Israel is my son, my firstborn, ¹¹ 

Keluaran 6:9

6:9 ¹² Moses told this ¹³  to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him ¹⁴  because of their discouragement ¹⁵  and hard labor.

Keluaran 7:17

7:17 Thus says the Lord: “By this you will know that I am the Lord: I am going to strike ¹⁶  the water of the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and it will be turned into blood. ¹⁷ 

Keluaran 7:20

7:20 Moses and Aaron did so, ¹⁸  just as the Lord had commanded. Moses raised ¹⁹  the staff ²⁰  and struck the water that was in the Nile right before the eyes ²¹  of Pharaoh and his servants, ²²  and all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood. ²³ 

Keluaran 9:12

9:12 But the Lord hardened ²⁴  Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted to Moses.

Keluaran 15:18

15:18 The Lord will reign forever and ever!

Keluaran 16:21

16:21 So they gathered it each morning, ²⁵  each person according to what he could eat, and when the sun got hot, it would melt. ²⁶ 

Keluaran 17:4

17:4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What will I do with ²⁷  this people? – a little more ²⁸  and they will stone me!” ²⁹ 

Keluaran 20:26

20:26 And you must not go up by steps to my altar, so that your nakedness is not exposed.’ ³⁰ 

Keluaran 21:16

21:16 “Whoever kidnaps someone ³¹  and sells him, ³²  or is caught still holding him, ³³  must surely be put to death.

Keluaran 28:6

28:6 “They are to make the ephod of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twisted linen, the work of an artistic designer.

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 34:20

34:20 Now the firstling ³⁴  of a donkey you may redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then break its neck. ³⁵  You must redeem all the firstborn of your sons.

“No one will appear before me empty-handed. ³⁶ 

Keluaran 37:22

37:22 Their buds and their branches were of one piece; ³⁷  all of it was one hammered piece of pure gold.

Keluaran 38:31

38:31 the bases for the courtyard all around, the bases for the gate of the courtyard, all the tent pegs of the tabernacle, and all the tent pegs of the courtyard all around. ³⁸ 

Keluaran 39:31

39:31 They attached to it a blue cord, to attach it to the turban above, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

[1:5]  ¹ tn The word נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is often translated “soul.” But the word refers to the whole person, the body with the soul, and so “life” or “person” is frequently a better translation.

[1:5]  ² tn The expression in apposition to נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) literally says “those who went out from the loins of Jacob.” This distinguishes the entire company as his direct descendants.

[1:5]  ³ sn Gen 46 describes in more detail Jacob’s coming to Egypt with his family. The Greek text of Exod 1:5 and of Gen 46:27 and two Qumran manuscripts, have the number as seventy-five, counting the people a little differently. E. H. Merrill in conjunction with F. Delitzsch notes that the list in Gen 46 of those who entered Egypt includes Hezron and Hamul, who did so in potentia, since they were born after the family entered Egypt. Joseph’s sons are also included, though they too were born in Egypt. “The list must not be pressed too literally” (E. H. Merrill, Kingdom of Priests, 49).

[1:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “and Joseph was in Egypt” (so ASV). The disjunctive word order in Hebrew draws attention to the fact that Joseph, in contrast to his brothers, did not come to Egypt at the same time as Jacob.

[3:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “And he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:5]  ⁶ sn Even though the Lord was drawing near to Moses, Moses could not casually approach him. There still was a barrier between God and human, and God had to remind Moses of this with instructions. The removal of sandals was, and still is in the East, a sign of humility and reverence in the presence of the Holy One. It was a way of excluding the dust and dirt of the world. But it also took away personal comfort and convenience and brought the person more closely in contact with the earth.

[3:5]  ⁷ sn The word קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh, “holy”) indicates “set apart, distinct, unique.” What made a mountain or other place holy was the fact that God chose that place to reveal himself or to reside among his people. Because God was in this place, the ground was different – it was holy.

[3:5]  ⁸ tn The causal clause includes within it a typical relative clause, which is made up of the relative pronoun, then the independent personal pronoun with the participle, and then the preposition with the resumptive pronoun. It would literally be “which you are standing on it,” but the relative pronoun and the resumptive pronoun are combined and rendered, “on which you are standing.”

[4:22]  ⁹ tn The sequence of the instruction from God uses the perfect tense with vav (ו), following the preceding imperfects.

[4:22]  ¹⁰ tn The instantaneous use of the perfect tense fits well with the prophetic announcement of what Yahweh said or says. It shows that the words given to the prophet are still binding.

[4:22]  ¹¹ sn The metaphor uses the word “son” in its connotation of a political dependent, as it was used in ancient documents to describe what was intended to be a loyal relationship with well-known privileges and responsibilities, like that between a good father and son. The word can mean a literal son, a descendant, a chosen king (and so, the Messiah), a disciple (in Proverbs), and here, a nation subject to God. If the people of Israel were God’s “son,” then they should serve him and not Pharaoh. Malachi reminds people that the Law said “a son honors his father,” and so God asked, “If I am a father, where is my honor?” (Mal 1:6).

[6:9]  ¹² sn The final part of this section focuses on instructions for Moses. The commission from God is the same – he is to speak to Pharaoh and he is to lead Israel out. It should have been clear to him that God would do this, for he had just been reminded how God was going to lead out, deliver, redeem, take the people as his people, and give them land. It was God’s work of love from beginning to end. Moses simply had his task to perform.

[6:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “and Moses spoke thus.”

[6:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “to Moses.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[6:9]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew מִקֹּצֶּר רוּחַ (miqqotser ruakh) means “because of the shortness of spirit.” This means that they were discouraged, dispirited, and weary – although some have also suggested it might mean impatient. The Israelites were now just not in the frame of mind to listen to Moses.

[7:17]  ¹⁶ tn The construction using הִנֵּה (hinneh) before the participle (here the Hiphil participle מַכֶּה, makkeh) introduces a futur instans use of the participle, expressing imminent future, that he is about to do something.

[7:17]  ¹⁷ sn W. C. Kaiser summarizes a view that has been adopted by many scholars, including a good number of conservatives, that the plagues overlap with natural phenomena in Egypt. Accordingly, the “blood” would not be literal blood, but a reddish contamination in the water. If there was an unusually high inundation of the Nile, the water flowed sluggishly through swamps and was joined with the water from the mountains that washed out the reddish soil. If the flood were high, the water would have a deeper red color. In addition to this discoloration, there is said to be a type of algae which produce a stench and a deadly fluctuation of the oxygen level of the river that is fatal to fish (see W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:350; he cites Greta Hort, “The Plagues of Egypt,” ZAW 69 [1957]: 84-103; same title, ZAW 70 [1958]: 48-59). While most scholars would agree that the water did not actually become blood (any more than the moon will be turned to literal blood [Joel 2:31]), many are not satisfied with this kind of explanation. If the event was a fairly common feature of the Nile, it would not have been any kind of sign to Pharaoh – and it should still be observable. The features that would have to be safeguarded are that it was understood to be done by the staff of God, that it was unexpected and not a mere coincidence, and that the magnitude of the contamination, color, stench, and death, was unparalleled. God does use natural features in miracles, but to be miraculous signs they cannot simply coincide with natural phenomena.

[7:20]  ¹⁸ sn Both Moses and Aaron had tasks to perform. Moses, being the “god” to Pharaoh, dealt directly with him and the Nile. He would strike the Nile. But Aaron, “his prophet,” would stretch out the staff over the rest of the waters of Egypt.

[7:20]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “And he raised”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:20]  ²⁰ tn Gesenius calls the preposition on “staff” the בְּ (bet) instrumenti, used to introduce the object (GKC 380-81 §119.q). This construction provides a greater emphasis than an accusative.

[7:20]  ²¹ tn The text could be rendered “in the sight of,” or simply “before,” but the literal idea of “before the eyes of” may stress how obvious the event was and how personally they were witnesses of it.

[7:20]  ²² sn U. Cassuto (Exodus, 98) notes that the striking of the water was not a magical act. It signified two things: (1) the beginning of the sign, which was in accordance with God’s will, as Moses had previously announced, and (2) to symbolize actual “striking,” wherewith the Lord strikes Egypt and its gods (see v. 25).

[7:20]  ²³ sn There have been various attempts to explain the details of this plague or blow. One possible suggestion is that the plague turned the Nile into “blood,” but that it gradually turned back to its normal color and substance. However, the effects of the “blood” polluted the water so that dead fish and other contamination left it undrinkable. This would explain how the magicians could also do it – they would not have tried if all water was already turned to blood. It also explains why Pharaoh did not ask for the water to be turned back. This view was put forward by B. Schor; it is summarized by B. Jacob (Exodus, 258), who prefers the view of Rashi that the blow affected only water in use.

[9:12]  ²⁴ tn This phrase translates the Hebrew word חָזַק (khazaq); see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 53.

[16:21]  ²⁵ tn Heb “morning by morning.” This is an example of the repetition of words to express the distributive sense; here the meaning is “every morning” (see GKC 388 §121.c).

[16:21]  ²⁶ tn The perfect tenses here with vav (ו) consecutives have the frequentative sense; they function in a protasis-apodosis relationship (GKC 494 §159.g).

[17:4]  ²⁷ tn The preposition lamed (ל) is here specification, meaning “with respect to” (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 49, §273).

[17:4]  ²⁸ tn Or “they are almost ready to stone me.”

[17:4]  ²⁹ tn The perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive almost develops an independent force; this is true in sentences where it follows an expression of time, as here (see GKC 334 §112.x).

[20:26]  ³⁰ tn Heb “uncovered” (so ASV, NAB).

[21:16]  ³¹ tn Heb “a stealer of a man,” thus “anyone stealing a man.”

[21:16]  ³² sn The implication is that it would be an Israelite citizen who was kidnapped and sold to a foreign tribe or country (like Joseph). There was always a market for slaves. The crime would be in forcibly taking the individual away from his home and religion and putting him into bondage or death.

[21:16]  ³³ tn Literally “and he is found in his hand” (KJV and ASV both similar), being not yet sold.

[34:20]  ³⁴ tn Heb “and the one that opens [the womb of] the donkey.”

[34:20]  ³⁵ sn See G. Brin, “The Firstling of Unclean Animals,” JQR 68 (1971): 1-15.

[34:20]  ³⁶ tn The form is the adverb “empty.”

[37:22]  ³⁷ tn Heb “were from it.”

[38:31]  ³⁸ sn The bronze altar is the altar for the burnt offering; the large bronze basin is not included here in the list.