Exodus 5:2

5:2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord that I should obey him by releasing Israel? I do not know the Lord, and I will not release Israel!”

Exodus 5:2

5:2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord that I should obey him by releasing Israel? I do not know the Lord, 10  and I will not release Israel!”

Exodus 32:15

32:15 Moses turned and went down from the mountain with 11  the two tablets of the testimony in his hands. The tablets were written on both sides – they were written on the front and on the back.

Job 21:14

21:14 So they say to God, ‘Turn away from us!

We do not want to 12  know your ways. 13 

Daniel 3:15

3:15 Now if you are ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must bow down and pay homage to the statue that I had made. If you don’t pay homage to it, you will immediately be thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. Now, who is that god who can rescue you from my power?” 14 

Daniel 7:25

7:25 He will speak words against the Most High.

He will harass 15  the holy ones of the Most High continually.

His intention 16  will be to change times established by law. 17 

They will be delivered into his hand

For a time, times, 18  and half a time.

Revelation 13:6

13:6 So 19  the beast 20  opened his mouth to blaspheme against God – to blaspheme both his name and his dwelling place, 21  that is, those who dwell in heaven.

tn Heb “Yahweh.” This is a rhetorical question, expressing doubt or indignation or simply a negative thought that Yahweh is nothing (see erotesis in E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 944-45). Pharaoh is not asking for information (cf. 1 Sam 25:5-10).

tn The relative pronoun introduces the consecutive clause that depends on the interrogative clause (see GKC 318-19 §107.u).

tn The imperfect tense here receives the classification of obligatory imperfect. The verb שָׁמַע (shama’) followed by “in the voice of” is idiomatic; rather than referring to simple audition – “that I should hear his voice” – it conveys the thought of listening that issues in action – “that I should obey him.”

tn The Piel infinitive construct here has the epexegetical usage with lamed (ל); it explains the verb “obey.”

sn This absolute statement of Pharaoh is part of a motif that will develop throughout the conflict. For Pharaoh, the Lord (Yahweh) did not exist. So he said “I do not know the Lord [i.e., Yahweh].” The point of the plagues and the exodus will be “that he might know.” Pharaoh will come to know this Yahweh, but not in any pleasant way.

tn Heb “Yahweh.” This is a rhetorical question, expressing doubt or indignation or simply a negative thought that Yahweh is nothing (see erotesis in E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 944-45). Pharaoh is not asking for information (cf. 1 Sam 25:5-10).

tn The relative pronoun introduces the consecutive clause that depends on the interrogative clause (see GKC 318-19 §107.u).

tn The imperfect tense here receives the classification of obligatory imperfect. The verb שָׁמַע (shama’) followed by “in the voice of” is idiomatic; rather than referring to simple audition – “that I should hear his voice” – it conveys the thought of listening that issues in action – “that I should obey him.”

tn The Piel infinitive construct here has the epexegetical usage with lamed (ל); it explains the verb “obey.”

10 sn This absolute statement of Pharaoh is part of a motif that will develop throughout the conflict. For Pharaoh, the Lord (Yahweh) did not exist. So he said “I do not know the Lord [i.e., Yahweh].” The point of the plagues and the exodus will be “that he might know.” Pharaoh will come to know this Yahweh, but not in any pleasant way.

11 tn The disjunctive vav (ו) serves here as a circumstantial clause indicator.

12 tn The absence of the preposition before the complement adds greater vividness to the statement: “and knowing your ways – we do not desire.”

13 sn Contrast Ps 25:4, which affirms that walking in God’s ways means to obey God’s will – the Torah.

14 tn Aram “hand.” So also in v. 17.

15 tn Aram “wear out” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV); NASB, NLT “wear down.” The word is a hapax legomenon in biblical Aramaic, but in biblical Hebrew it especially refers to wearing out such things as garments. Here it is translated “harass…continually.”

16 tn Aram “he will think.”

17 tn Aram “times and law.” The present translation is based on the understanding that the expression is a hendiadys.

18 sn Although the word times is vocalized in the MT as a plural, it probably should be regarded as a dual. The Masoretes may have been influenced here by the fact that in late Aramaic (and Syriac) the dual forms fall out of use. The meaning would thus be three and a half “times.”

19 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the permission granted to the beast.

20 tn Grk “he” (or “it”); the referent (the beast) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

21 tc The reading “and his dwelling place” does not occur in codex C, but its omission is probably due to scribal oversight since the phrase has the same ending as the phrase before it, i.e., they both end in “his” (αὐτοῦ, autou). This is similar to the mistake this scribe made in 12:14 with the omission of the reading “and half a time” (καὶ ἥμισυ καιροῦ, kai {hmisu kairou).