Keluaran 6:1

6:1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, ¹  for compelled by my strong hand ²  he will release them, and by my strong hand he will drive them out of his land.” ³ 

Keluaran 6:6

6:6 Therefore, tell the Israelites, ‘I am the Lord. I will bring you out ⁴  from your enslavement to ⁵  the Egyptians, I will rescue you from the hard labor they impose, ⁶  and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.

Keluaran 20:2

20:2 “I, ⁷  the Lord, am your God, ⁸  who brought you ⁹  from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. ¹⁰ 

Yesaya 43:3

43:3 For I am the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel, ¹¹  your deliverer.

I have handed over Egypt as a ransom price,

Ethiopia and Seba ¹²  in place of you.

[6:1]  ¹ sn The expression “I will do to Pharaoh” always refers to the plagues. God would first show his sovereignty over Pharaoh before defeating him.

[6:1]  ² tn The expression “with a strong hand” (וּבְיָד חֲזָקָה, uvÿyad khazaqah) could refer (1) to God’s powerful intervention (“compelled by my strong hand”) or (2) to Pharaoh’s forceful pursuit (“he will forcefully drive them out”). In Exod 3:20 God has summarized what his hand would do in Egypt, and that is probably what is intended here, as he promises that Moses will see what God will do. All Egypt ultimately desired that Israel be released (12:33), and when they were released Pharaoh pursued them to the sea, and so in a sense drove them out – whether that was his intention or not. But ultimately it was God’s power that was the real force behind it all. U. Cassuto (Exodus, 74) considers that it is unlikely that the phrase would be used in the same verse twice with the same meaning. So he thinks that the first “strong hand” is God’s, and the second “strong hand” is Pharaoh’s. It is true that if Pharaoh acted forcefully in any way that contributed to Israel leaving Egypt it was because God was acting forcefully in his life. So in an understated way, God is saying that when forced by God’s strong hand, Pharaoh will indeed release God’s people.”

[6:1]  ³ tn Or “and he will forcefully drive them out of his land,” if the second occurrence of “strong hand” refers to Pharaoh’s rather than God’s (see the previous note).

[6:1]  sn In Exod 12:33 the Egyptians were eager to send (release) Israel away in haste, because they all thought they were going to die.

[6:6]  ⁴ sn The verb וְהוֹצֵאתִי (vÿhotse’ti) is a perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive, and so it receives a future translation – part of God’s promises. The word will be used later to begin the Decalogue and other covenant passages – “I am Yahweh who brought you out….”

[6:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “from under the burdens of” (so KJV, NASB); NIV “from under the yoke of.”

[6:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “from labor of them.” The antecedent of the pronoun is the Egyptians who have imposed slave labor on the Hebrews.

[20:2]  ⁷ sn The revelation of Yahweh here begins with the personal pronoun. “I” – a person, a living personality, not an object or a mere thought. This enabled him to address “you” – Israel, and all his people, making the binding stipulations for them to conform to his will (B. Jacob, Exodus, 544).

[20:2]  ⁸ tn Most English translations have “I am Yahweh your God.” But the preceding chapters have again and again demonstrated how he made himself known to them. Now, the emphasis is on “I am your God” – and what that would mean in their lives.

[20:2]  ⁹ tn The suffix on the verb is second masculine singular. It is this person that will be used throughout the commandments for the whole nation. God addresses them all as his people, but he addresses them individually for their obedience. The masculine form is not, thereby, intended to exclude women.

[20:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the house of slaves” meaning “the land of slavery.”

[20:2]  sn By this announcement Yahweh declared what he had done for Israel by freeing them from slavery. Now they are free to serve him. He has a claim on them for gratitude and obedience. But this will not be a covenant of cruel slavery and oppression; it is a covenant of love, as God is saying “I am yours, and you are mine.” This was the sovereign Lord of creation and of history speaking, declaring that he was their savior.

[43:3]  ¹¹ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[43:3]  ¹² sn Seba is not the same as Sheba in southern Arabia; cf. Gen 1:10; 1 Chr 1:9.