Keluaran 9:9

9:9 It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt and will cause boils to break out and fester ¹  on both people and animals in all the land of Egypt.”

Keluaran 9:23

9:23 When Moses extended ²  his staff toward the sky, the Lord ³  sent thunder ⁴  and hail, and fire fell to the earth; ⁵  so the Lord caused hail to rain down on the land of Egypt.

Keluaran 10:5

10:5 They will cover ⁶  the surface ⁷  of the earth, so that you ⁸  will be unable to see the ground. They will eat the remainder of what escaped ⁹  – what is left over ¹⁰  for you – from the hail, and they will eat every tree that grows for you from the field.

Keluaran 10:14

10:14 The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and settled down in all the territory ¹¹  of Egypt. It was very severe; ¹²  there had been no locusts like them before, nor will there be such ever again. ¹³ 

Keluaran 14:28

14:28 The water returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen and all the army of Pharaoh that was coming after the Israelites into the sea ¹⁴  – not so much as one of them survived! ¹⁵ 

Keluaran 15:16

15:16 Fear and dread ¹⁶  will fall ¹⁷  on them;

by the greatness ¹⁸  of your arm they will be as still as stone ¹⁹ 

until ²⁰  your people pass by, O Lord,

until the people whom you have bought ²¹  pass by.

[9:9]  ¹ tn The word שְׁחִין (shÿkhin) means “boils.” It may be connected to an Arabic cognate that means “to be hot.” The illness is associated with Job (Job 2:7-8) and Hezekiah (Isa 38:21); it has also been connected with other skin diseases described especially in the Law. The word connected with it is אֲבַעְבֻּעֹת (’ava’bu’ot); this means “blisters, pustules” and is sometimes translated as “festering.” The etymology is debated, whether from a word meaning “to swell up” or “to overflow” (W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:359).

[9:23]  ² tn The preterite with the vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated to the next clause in view of the emphasis put on the subject, Yahweh, by the disjunctive word order of that clause.

[9:23]  ³ tn By starting the clause with the subject (an example of disjunctive word order) the text is certainly stressing that Yahweh alone did this.

[9:23]  ⁴ tn The expression נָתַן קֹלֹת (natan qolot) literally means “gave voices” (also “voice”). This is a poetic expression for sending the thunder. Ps 29:3 talks about the “voice of Yahweh” – the God of glory thunders!

[9:23]  ⁵ sn This clause has been variously interpreted. Lightning would ordinarily accompany thunder; in this case the mention of fire could indicate that the lightning was beyond normal and that it was striking in such a way as to start fires on the ground. It could also mean that fire went along the ground from the pounding hail.

[10:5]  ⁶ tn The verbs describing the locusts are singular because it is a swarm or plague of locusts. This verb (וְכִסָּה, vÿkhissah, “cover”) is a Piel perfect with a vav consecutive; it carries the same future nuance as the participle before it.

[10:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “eye,” an unusual expression (see v. 15; Num 22:5, 11).

[10:5]  ⁸ tn The text has לִרְאֹת וְלֹא יוּכַל (vÿlo’ yukhal lir’ot, “and he will not be able to see”). The verb has no expressed subjects. The clause might, therefore, be given a passive translation: “so that [it] cannot be seen.” The whole clause is the result of the previous statement.

[10:5]  ⁹ sn As the next phrase explains “what escaped” refers to what the previous plague did not destroy. The locusts will devour everything, because there will not be much left from the other plagues for them to eat.

[10:5]  ¹⁰ tn הַנִּשְׁאֶרֶת (hannish’eret) parallels (by apposition) and adds further emphasis to the preceding two words; it is the Niphal participle, meaning “that which is left over.”

[10:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “border.”

[10:14]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Heb “after them.”

[14:28]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “that was coming after them into the sea.” The referent of “them” (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:28]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “not was left among them as much as one.”

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

[15:16]  ¹⁷ tn The form is an imperfect.

[15:16]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ 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).