Keluaran 3:19

3:19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go, ¹  not even under force. ² 

Keluaran 10:4

10:4 But if you refuse to release my people, I am going to bring ³  locusts ⁴  into your territory ⁵  tomorrow.

Keluaran 18:16

18:16 When they have a dispute, ⁶  it comes to me and I decide ⁷  between a man and his neighbor, and I make known the decrees of God and his laws.” ⁸ 

Keluaran 21:5

21:5 But if the servant should declare, ⁹  ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out ¹⁰  free,’

Keluaran 21:7

21:7 “If a man sells his daughter ¹¹  as a female servant, ¹²  she will not go out as the male servants do.

Keluaran 21:9-11

21:9 If he designated her for his son, then he will deal with her according to the customary rights ¹³  of daughters. 21:10 If he takes another wife, ¹⁴  he must not diminish the first one’s food, ¹⁵  her clothing, or her marital rights. ¹⁶  21:11 If he does not provide her with these three things, then she will go out free, without paying money. ¹⁷ 

Keluaran 21:20-21

21:20 “If a man strikes his male servant or his female servant with a staff so that he or she ¹⁸  dies as a result of the blow, ¹⁹  he will surely be punished. ²⁰  21:21 However, if the injured servant ²¹  survives one or two days, the owner ²²  will not be punished, for he has suffered the loss. ²³ 

Keluaran 21:26-27

21:26 “If a man strikes the eye of his male servant or his female servant so that he destroys it, ²⁴  he will let the servant ²⁵  go free ²⁶  as compensation for the eye. 21:27 If he knocks out the tooth of his male servant or his female servant, he will let the servant ²⁷  go free as compensation for the tooth.

Keluaran 22:4

22:4 If the stolen item should in fact be found ²⁸  alive in his possession, ²⁹  whether it be an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he must pay back double. ³⁰ 

Keluaran 22:13

22:13 If it is torn in pieces, then he will bring it for evidence, ³¹  and he will not have to pay for what was torn.

Keluaran 22:17

22:17 If her father refuses to give her to him, he must pay money for the bride price of virgins.

Keluaran 22:23

22:23 If you afflict them ³²  in any way ³³  and they cry to me, I will surely hear ³⁴  their cry,

Keluaran 22:26

22:26 If you do take ³⁵  the garment of your neighbor in pledge, you must return it to him by the time the sun goes down, ³⁶ 

Keluaran 23:22

23:22 But if you diligently obey him ³⁷  and do all that I command, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will be an adversary to your adversaries.

Keluaran 33:15

33:15 And Moses ³⁸  said to him, “If your presence does not go ³⁹  with us, ⁴⁰  do not take us up from here. ⁴¹ 

[3:19]  ¹ tn After verbs of perception, as with “I know” here, the object may be a noun clause introduced with the particle כִּי (ki) – “I know that….” Gesenius observes that the object clause may have a kind of accusative and an infinitive construction (especially after נָתַן [natan] with the idea of “allow”): “he will not permit you to go” (see GKC 491 §157.b, n. 2).

[3:19]  ² tn Heb “and not with a mighty hand.” This expression (וְלֹא בְּיָד חֲזָקָה, vÿlo’ vÿyad khazaqa) is unclear, since v. 20 says that God will stretch out his hand and do his wonders. Some have taken v. 19b to refer to God’s mighty hand also, meaning that the king would not let them go unless a mighty hand compels him (NIV). The expression “mighty hand” is used of God’s rescuing Israel elsewhere (Exod 6:1, 13:9, 32:11; but note also Num 20:20). This idea is a rather general interpretation of the words; it owes much to the LXX, which has “except by a mighty hand,” though “and not with” does not have the meaning of “except” or “unless” in other places. In view of these difficulties, others have suggested that v. 19b means “strong [threats]” from the Israelites (as in 4:24ff. and 5:3; see B. Jacob, Exodus, 81). This does not seem as convincing as the first view. Another possibility is that the phrase conveys Pharaoh’s point of view and intention; the Lord knows that Pharaoh plans to resist letting the Israelites go, regardless of the exercise of a strong hand against him (P. Addinall, “Exodus III 19B and the Interpretation of Biblical Narrative,” VT 49 [1999]: 289-300; see also the construction “and not with” in Num 12:8; 1 Sam 20:15 and elsewhere). If that is the case, v. 20 provides an ironic and pointed contradiction to Pharaoh’s plans as the Lord announces the effect that his hand will have. At any rate, Pharaoh will have to be forced to let Israel go.

[10:4]  ³ tn הִנְנִי (hinni) before the active participle מֵבִיא (mevi’) is the imminent future construction: “I am about to bring” or “I am going to bring” – precisely, “here I am bringing.”

[10:4]  ⁴ tn One of the words for “locusts” in the Bible is אַרְבֶּה (’arbeh), which comes from רָבָה (ravah, “to be much, many”). It was used for locusts because of their immense numbers.

[10:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “within your border.”

[18:16]  ⁶ tn Or “thing,” “matter,” “issue.”

[18:16]  ⁷ tn The verb שָׁפַט (shafat) means “to judge”; more specifically, it means to make a decision as an arbiter or umpire. When people brought issues to him, Moses decided between them. In the section of laws in Exodus after the Ten Commandments come the decisions, the מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishppatim).

[18:16]  ⁸ tn The “decrees” or “statutes” were definite rules, stereotyped and permanent; the “laws” were directives or pronouncements given when situations arose. S. R. Driver suggests this is another reason why this event might have taken place after Yahweh had given laws on the mountain (Exodus, 165).

[21:5]  ⁹ tn The imperfect with the infinitive absolute means that the declaration is unambiguous, that the servant will clearly affirm that he wants to stay with the master. Gesenius says that in a case like this the infinitive emphasizes the importance of the condition on which some consequence depends (GKC 342-43 §113.o).

[21:5]  ¹⁰ tn Or taken as a desiderative imperfect, it would say, “I do not want to go out free.”

[21:7]  ¹¹ sn This paragraph is troubling to modern readers, but given the way that marriages were contracted and the way people lived in the ancient world, it was a good provision for people who might want to find a better life for their daughter. On the subject in general for this chapter, see W. M. Swartley, Slavery, Sabbath, War, and Women, 31-64.

[21:7]  ¹² tn The word אָמָה (’amah) refers to a female servant who would eventually become a concubine or wife; the sale price included the amount for the service as well as the bride price (see B. Jacob, Exodus, 621). The arrangement recognized her honor as an Israelite woman, one who could be a wife, even though she entered the household in service. The marriage was not automatic, as the conditions show, but her treatment was safeguarded come what may. The law was a way, then, for a poor man to provide a better life for a daughter.

[21:9]  ¹³ tn Or “after the manner of” (KJV, ASV); NRSV “shall deal with her as with a daughter.”

[21:10]  ¹⁴ tn “wife” has been supplied.

[21:10]  ¹⁵ tn The translation of “food” does not quite do justice to the Hebrew word. It is “flesh.” The issue here is that the family she was to marry into is wealthy, they ate meat. She was not just to be given the basic food the ordinary people ate, but the fine foods that this family ate.

[21:10]  ¹⁶ sn See S. Paul, “Exodus 21:10, A Threefold Maintenance Clause,” JNES 28 (1969): 48-53. Paul suggests that the third element listed is not marital rights but ointments since Sumerian and Akkadian texts list food, clothing, and oil as the necessities of life. The translation of “marital rights” is far from certain, since the word occurs only here. The point is that the woman was to be cared for with all that was required for a woman in that situation.

[21:11]  ¹⁷ sn The lessons of slavery and service are designed to bring justice to existing customs in antiquity. The message is: Those in slavery for one reason or another should have the hope of freedom and the choice of service (vv. 2-6). For the rulings on the daughter, the message could be: Women, who were often at the mercy of their husbands or masters, must not be trapped in an unfortunate situation, but be treated well by their masters or husbands (vv. 7-11). God is preventing people who have power over others from abusing it.

[21:20]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “so that he”; the words “or she” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[21:20]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “under his hand.”

[21:20]  ²⁰ tn Heb “will be avenged” (how is not specified).

[21:21]  ²¹ tn Heb “if he”; the referent (the servant struck and injured in the previous verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:21]  ²² tn Heb “he”; the referent (the owner of the injured servant) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[21:21]  ²³ tn This last clause is a free paraphrase of the Hebrew, “for he is his money” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “his property.” It seems that if the slave survives a couple of days, it is probable that the master was punishing him and not intending to kill him. If he then dies, there is no penalty other than that the owner loses the slave who is his property – he suffers the loss.

[21:26]  ²⁴ tn The form וְשִׁחֲתָהּ (vÿshikhatah) is the Piel perfect with the vav (ל) consecutive, rendered “and destroys it.” The verb is a strong one, meaning “to ruin, completely destroy.”

[21:26]  ²⁵ tn Heb “him”; the referent (the male or female servant) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:26]  ²⁶ sn Interestingly, the verb used here for “let him go” is the same verb throughout the first part of the book for “release” of the Israelites from slavery. Here, an Israelite will have to release the injured slave.

[21:27]  ²⁷ tn Heb “him”; the referent (the male or female servant) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:4]  ²⁸ tn The construction uses a Niphal infinitive absolute and a Niphal imperfect: if it should indeed be found. Gesenius says that in such conditional clauses the infinitive absolute has less emphasis, but instead emphasizes the condition on which some consequence depends (see GKC 342-43 §113.o).

[22:4]  ²⁹ tn Heb “in his hand.”

[22:4]  ³⁰ sn He must pay back one for what he took, and then one for the penalty – his loss as he was inflicting a loss on someone else.

[22:13]  ³¹ tn The word עֵד (’ed) actually means “witness,” but the dead animal that is returned is a silent witness, i.e., evidence. The word is an adverbial accusative.

[22:23]  ³² tn The accusative here is the masculine singular pronoun, which leads S. R. Driver to conclude that this line is out of place, even though the masculine singular can be used in places like this (Exodus, 232). U. Cassuto says its use is to refer to certain classes (Exodus, 292).

[22:23]  ³³ tn Here again and with “cry” the infinitive absolute functions with a diminished emphasis (GKC 342-43 §113.o).

[22:23]  ³⁴ tn Here is the normal use of the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense to emphasize the verb: “I will surely hear,” implying, “I will surely respond.”

[22:26]  ³⁵ tn The construction again uses the infinitive absolute with the verb in the conditional clause to stress the condition.

[22:26]  ³⁶ tn The clause uses the preposition, the infinitive construct, and the noun that is the subjective genitive – “at the going in of the sun.”

[23:22]  ³⁷ tn The infinitive absolute here does not add as great an emphasis as normal, but emphasizes the condition that is being set forth (see GKC 342-43 §113.o).

[33:15]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:15]  ³⁹ tn The construction uses the active participle to stress the continual going of the presence: if there is not your face going.

[33:15]  ⁴⁰ tn “with us” has been supplied.

[33:15]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “from this.”