Keluaran 13:4

13:4 On this day, ¹  in the month of Abib, ²  you are going out. ³ 

Keluaran 14:24

14:24 In the morning watch ⁴  the Lord looked down ⁵  on the Egyptian army ⁶  through the pillar of fire and cloud, and he threw the Egyptian army ⁷  into a panic. ⁸ 

Keluaran 16:9

16:9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole community ⁹  of the Israelites, ‘Come ¹⁰  before the Lord, because he has heard your murmurings.’”

[13:4]  ¹ tn The word הַיּוֹם (hayyom) means literally “the day, today, this day.” In this sentence it functions as an adverbial accusative explaining when the event took place.

[13:4]  ² sn Abib appears to be an old name for the month, meaning something like “[month of] fresh young ears” (Lev 2:14 [Heb]) (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 106). B. Jacob (Exodus, 364) explains that these names were not precise designations, but general seasons based on the lunar year in the agricultural setting.

[13:4]  ³ tn The form is the active participle, functioning verbally.

[14:24]  ⁴ tn The night was divided into three watches of about four hours each, making the morning watch about 2:00-6:00 a.m. The text has this as “the watch of the morning,” the genitive qualifying which of the night watches was meant.

[14:24]  ⁵ tn This particular verb, שָׁקַף (shaqaf) is a bold anthropomorphism: Yahweh looked down. But its usage is always with some demonstration of mercy or wrath. S. R. Driver (Exodus, 120) suggests that the look might be with fiery flashes to startle the Egyptians, throwing them into a panic. Ps 77:17-19 pictures torrents of rain with lightning and thunder.

[14:24]  ⁶ tn Heb “camp.” The same Hebrew word is used in Exod 14:20. Unlike the English word “camp,” it can be used of a body of people at rest (encamped) or on the move.

[14:24]  ⁷ tn Heb “camp.”

[14:24]  ⁸ tn The verb הָמַם (hamam) means “throw into confusion.” It is used in the Bible for the panic and disarray of an army before a superior force (Josh 10:10; Judg 4:15).

[16:9]  ⁹ tn Or “congregation” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV); the same word occurs in v. 10.

[16:9]  ¹⁰ tn The verb means “approach, draw near.” It is used in the Torah of drawing near for religious purposes. It is possible that some sacrifice was involved here, but no mention is made of that.