Keluaran 13:9

13:9 ¹  It ²  will be a sign ³  for you on your hand and a memorial ⁴  on your forehead, ⁵  so that the law of the Lord may be ⁶  in your mouth, ⁷  for ⁸  with a mighty hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt.

Keluaran 14:12

14:12 Isn’t this what we told you ⁹  in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone so that we can serve the Egyptians, ¹⁰  because it is better for us to serve ¹¹  the Egyptians than to die in the desert!’” ¹² 

Keluaran 16:3

16:3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died ¹³  by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by ¹⁴  the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full, ¹⁵  for you have brought us out into this desert to kill ¹⁶  this whole assembly with hunger!”

Keluaran 32:27

32:27 and he said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Each man fasten ¹⁷  his sword on his side, and go back and forth ¹⁸  from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and each one kill his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’” ¹⁹ 

Keluaran 33:13

33:13 Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me ²⁰  your way, that I may know you, ²¹  that I may continue to find ²²  favor in your sight. And see ²³  that this nation is your people.”

Keluaran 34:9

34:9 and said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, let my Lord ²⁴  go among us, for we ²⁵  are a stiff-necked people; pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”

[13:9]  ¹ sn This passage has, of course, been taken literally by many devout Jews, and portions of the text have been encased in phylacteries and bound on the arm and forehead. B. Jacob (Exodus, 368), weighing the pros and cons of the literal or the figurative meaning, says that those who took it literally should not be looked down on for their symbolic work. In many cases, he continues, it is the spirit that kills and the letter makes alive – because people who argue against a literal usage do so to excuse lack of action. This is a rather interesting twist in the discussion. The point of the teaching was obviously meant to keep the Law of Yahweh in the minds of the people, to remind them of their duties.

[13:9]  ² tn That is, this ceremony.

[13:9]  ³ tn Heb “for a sign.”

[13:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “for a memorial.”

[13:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “between your eyes” (KJV and ASV both similar); the same expression occurs in v. 16.

[13:9]  sn That these festivals and consecrations were to be signs and memorials is akin to the expressions used in the book of Proverbs (Prov 3:3, “bind them around your neck…write them on your heart”). The people were to use the festivals as outward and visible tokens to remind them to obey what the Law required.

[13:9]  ⁶ tn The purpose of using this ceremony as a sign and a memorial is that the Law might be in their mouth. The imperfect tense, then, receives the classification of final imperfect in the purpose clause.

[13:9]  ⁷ sn “Mouth” is a metonymy of cause; the point is that they should be ever talking about the Law as their guide as they go about their duties (see Deut 6:7; 11:19; Josh 1:8).

[13:9]  ⁸ tn This causal clause gives the reason for what has just been instructed. Because Yahweh delivered them from bondage, he has the strongest claims on their life.

[14:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “Is not this the word that we spoke to you.”

[14:12]  ¹⁰ sn U. Cassuto (Exodus, 164) explains this statement by the people as follows: “The question appears surprising at first, for we have not read previously that such words were spoken to Moses. Nor is the purport of the protest of the Israelite foremen (v 21 [5:21]) identical with that of the words uttered now. However, from a psychological standpoint the matter can be easily explained. In the hour of peril the children of Israel remember that remonstrance, and now it seems to them that it was of a sharper character and flowed from their foresight, and that the present situation justifies it, for death awaits them at this moment in the desert.” This declaration that “we told you so,” born of fright, need not have been strictly accurate or logical.

[14:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “better for us to serve.”

[14:12]  ¹² tn Since Hebrew does not use quotation marks to indicate the boundaries of quotations, there is uncertainty about whether the Israelites’ statement in Egypt includes the end of v. 12 or consists solely of “leave us alone so that we can serve the Egyptians.” In either case, the command to Moses to leave them alone rested on the assumption, spoken or unspoken, that serving Egypt would be less risky than what Moses was proposing. Now with the Egyptian army on the horizon, the Israelites are sure that their worst predictions are about to take place.

[16:3]  ¹³ tn The text reads: מִי־יִתֵּן מוּתֵנוּ (mi-yitten mutenu, “who will give our dying”) meaning “If only we had died.” מוּתֵנוּ is the Qal infinitive construct with the suffix. This is one way that Hebrew expresses the optative with an infinitive construct. See R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 91-92, §547.

[16:3]  ¹⁴ tn The form is a Qal infinitive construct used in a temporal clause, and the verb “when we ate” has the same structure.

[16:3]  ¹⁵ sn That the complaint leading up to the manna is unjustified can be seen from the record itself. They left Egypt with flocks and herds and very much cattle, and about 45 days later they are complaining that they are without food. Moses reminded them later that they lacked nothing (Deut 3:7; for the whole sermon on this passage, see 8:1-20). Moreover, the complaint is absurd because the food of work gangs was far more meager than they recall. The complaint was really against Moses. They crave the eating of meat and of bread and so God will meet that need; he will send bread from heaven and quail as well.

[16:3]  ¹⁶ tn לְהָמִית (lÿhamit) is the Hiphil infinitive construct showing purpose. The people do not trust the intentions or the plan of their leaders and charge Moses with bringing everyone out to kill them.

[32:27]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “put.”

[32:27]  ¹⁸ tn The two imperatives form a verbal hendiadys: “pass over and return,” meaning, “go back and forth” throughout the camp.

[32:27]  ¹⁹ tn The phrases have “and kill a man his brother, and a man his companion, and a man his neighbor.” The instructions were probably intended to mean that they should kill leaders they knew to be guilty because they had been seen or because they failed the water test – whoever they were.

[33:13]  ²⁰ tn The prayer uses the Hiphil imperative of the verb “to know.” “Cause me to know” is “show me, reveal to me, teach or inform me.” Moses wanted to know more of God’s dealings with people, especially after all that has happened in the preceding chapter.

[33:13]  ²¹ tn The imperfect tense of the verb “to know” with the vav follows the imperative of this root, and so this indicates the purpose clause (final imperfect): “in order that I may know you.” S. R. Driver summarizes it this way: that I may understand what your nature and character is, and shape my petitions accordingly, so that I may find grace in your sight, and my future prayers may be answered (Exodus, 361).

[33:13]  ²² tn The purpose clause simply uses the imperfect, “that I may find.” But since he already has found favor in God’s eyes, he is clearly praying that it be so in the future as well as now.

[33:13]  ²³ tn The verb “see” (an imperative) is a request for God to acknowledge Israel as his people by providing the divine leadership needed. So his main appeal will be for the people and not himself. To underscore this, he repeats “see” the way the section opened.

[34:9]  ²⁴ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” two times here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[34:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “it is.” Hebrew uses the third person masculine singular pronoun here in agreement with the noun “people.”