1:22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “All sons 1 that are born you must throw 2 into the river, but all daughters you may let live.” 3
39:6 They set the onyx stones in gold filigree settings, engraved as with the engravings of a seal 4 with the names of the sons of Israel. 5
1 tn The substantive כֹּל (kol) followed by the article stresses the entirety – “all sons” or “all daughters” – even though the nouns are singular in Hebrew (see GKC 411 §127.b).
2 tn The form includes a pronominal suffix that reiterates the object of the verb: “every son…you will throw it.”
3 tn The first imperfect has the force of a definite order, but the second, concerning the girls, could also have the nuance of permission, which may fit better. Pharaoh is simply allowing the girls to live.
4 tn Or “as seals are engraved.”
5 sn The twelve names were those of Israel’s sons. The idea was not the remembrance of the twelve sons as such, but the twelve tribes that bore their names.
7 tn The phrase “the number of” has been supplied.