Exodus 15:14-16

15:14 The nations will hear ¹  and tremble;

anguish ²  will seize ³  the inhabitants of Philistia.

15:15 Then the chiefs of Edom will be terrified, ⁴ 

trembling will seize ⁵  the leaders of Moab,

and the inhabitants of Canaan will shake.

15:16 Fear and dread ⁶  will fall ⁷  on them;

by the greatness ⁸  of your arm they will be as still as stone ⁹ 

until ¹⁰  your people pass by, O Lord,

until the people whom you have bought ¹¹  pass by.

Numbers 22:3-4

22:3 And the Moabites were greatly afraid of the people, because they were so numerous. The Moabites were sick with fear because of the Israelites.

22:4 So the Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “Now this mass of people ¹²  will lick up everything around us, as the bull devours the grass of the field. Now Balak son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at this time.

Joshua 2:10

2:10 For we heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you left Egypt and how you annihilated the two Amorite kings, Sihon and Og, on the other side of the Jordan. ¹³ 

Joshua 9:24

9:24 They said to Joshua, “It was carefully reported to your subjects ¹⁴  how the Lord your God commanded Moses his servant to assign you the whole land and to destroy all who live in the land from before you. Because of you we were terrified ¹⁵  we would lose our lives, so we did this thing.

¹ tn This verb is a prophetic perfect, assuming that the text means what it said and this song was sung at the Sea. So all these countries were yet to hear of the victory.

² tn The word properly refers to “pangs” of childbirth. When the nations hear, they will be terrified.

³ tn The verb is again a prophetic perfect.

⁴ tn This is a prophetic perfect.

⁵ tn This verb is imperfect tense.

⁶ tn The two words can form a nominal hendiadys, “a dreadful fear,” though most English versions retain the two separate terms.

⁷ tn The form is an imperfect.

⁸ 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.

⁹ 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.

¹⁰ 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).

¹¹ 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).

¹² tn The word is simply “company,” but in the context he must mean a vast company – a horde of people.

¹³ tn Heb “and what you did to the two Amorite kings who were beyond the Jordan, Sihon and Og, how you annihilated them.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “your servants.”

¹⁵ tn Or “we were very afraid.”