Keluaran 3:20

3:20 So I will extend my hand ¹  and strike Egypt with all my wonders ²  that I will do among them, and after that he will release you. ³ 

Keluaran 10:14

10:14 The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and settled down in all the territory ⁴  of Egypt. It was very severe; ⁵  there had been no locusts like them before, nor will there be such ever again. ⁶ 

Keluaran 12:30

12:30 Pharaoh got up ⁷  in the night, ⁸  along with all his servants and all Egypt, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was no house ⁹  in which there was not someone dead.

Keluaran 15:11

15:11 Who is like you, ¹⁰  O Lord, among the gods? ¹¹ 

Who is like you? – majestic in holiness, fearful in praises, ¹²  working wonders?

Keluaran 15:16

15:16 Fear and dread ¹³  will fall ¹⁴  on them;

by the greatness ¹⁵  of your arm they will be as still as stone ¹⁶ 

until ¹⁷  your people pass by, O Lord,

until the people whom you have bought ¹⁸  pass by.

Keluaran 23:27

23:27 “I will send my terror ¹⁹  before you, and I will destroy ²⁰  all the people whom you encounter; I will make all your enemies turn their backs ²¹  to you.

[3:20]  ¹ sn The outstretched arm is a bold anthropomorphism. It describes the power of God. The Egyptians will later admit that the plagues were by the hand of God (Exod 8:19).

[3:20]  ² tn The word נִפְלְאֹתַי (niflÿ’otay) does not specify what the intervention will be. As the text unfolds it will be clear that the plagues are intended. Signs and portents could refer to things people might do, but “wonders” only God could do. The root refers to that which is extraordinary, surpassing, amazing, difficult to comprehend. See Isa 9:6; Gen 18:14; Ps 139:6.

[3:20]  ³ sn The two uses of the root שָׁלָח (shalakh) in this verse contribute to its force. When the Lord “sends” (Qal) his hand, Pharaoh will “send” (Piel) the Israelites out of Egypt.

[10:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “border.”

[10:14]  ⁵ tn This is an interpretive translation. The clause simply has כָּבֵד מְאֹד (kaved mÿ’od), the stative verb with the adverb – “it was very heavy.” The description prepares for the following statement about the uniqueness of this locust infestation.

[10:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “after them.”

[12:30]  ⁷ tn Heb “arose,” the verb קוּם (qum) in this context certainly must describe a less ceremonial act. The entire country woke up in terror because of the deaths.

[12:30]  ⁸ tn The noun is an adverbial accusative of time – “in the night” or “at night.”

[12:30]  ⁹ sn Or so it seemed. One need not push this description to complete literalness. The reference would be limited to houses that actually had firstborn people or animals. In a society in which households might include more than one generation of humans and animals, however, the presence of a firstborn human or animal would be the rule rather than the exception.

[15:11]  ¹⁰ tn The question is of course rhetorical; it is a way of affirming that no one is comparable to God. See C. J. Labuschagne, The Incomparability of Yahweh in the Old Testament, 22, 66-67, and 94-97.

[15:11]  ¹¹ sn Verses 11-17 will now focus on Yahweh as the incomparable one who was able to save Israel from their foes and afterward lead them to the promised land.

[15:11]  ¹² tn S. R. Driver suggests “praiseworthy acts” as the translation (Exodus, 137).

[15:16]  ¹³ tn The two words can form a nominal hendiadys, “a dreadful fear,” though most English versions retain the two separate terms.

[15:16]  ¹⁴ tn The form is an imperfect.

[15:16]  ¹⁵ tn The adjective is in construct form and governs the noun “arm” (“arm” being the anthropomorphic expression for what God did). See GKC 428 §132.c.

[15:16]  ¹⁶ sn For a study of the words for fear, see N. Waldman, “A Comparative Note on Exodus 15:14-16,” JQR 66 (1976): 189-92.

[15:16]  ¹⁷ tn Clauses beginning with עַד (’ad) express a limit that is not absolute, but only relative, beyond which the action continues (GKC 446-47 §138.g).

[15:16]  ¹⁸ tn The verb קָנָה (qanah) here is the verb “acquire, purchase,” and probably not the homonym “to create, make” (see Gen 4:1; Deut 32:6; and Prov 8:22).

[23:27]  ¹⁹ tn The word for “terror” is אֵימָתִי (’emati); the word has the thought of “panic” or “dread.” God would make the nations panic as they heard of the exploits and knew the Israelites were drawing near. U. Cassuto thinks the reference to “hornets” in v. 28 may be a reference to this fear, an unreasoning dread, rather than to another insect invasion (Exodus, 308). Others suggest it is symbolic of an invading army or a country like Egypt or literal insects (see E. Neufeld, “Insects as Warfare Agents in the Ancient Near East,” Or 49 [1980]: 30-57).

[23:27]  ²⁰ tn Heb “kill.”

[23:27]  ²¹ tn The text has “and I will give all your enemies to you [as] a back.” The verb of making takes two accusatives, the second being the adverbial accusative of product (see GKC 371-72 §117.ii, n. 1).