Exodus 13:15

13:15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused ¹  to release us, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of people to the firstborn of animals. ²  That is why I am sacrificing ³  to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb, but all my firstborn sons I redeem.’

Exodus 16:4

16:4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain ⁴  bread from heaven for you, and the people will go out ⁵  and gather the amount for each day, so that I may test them. ⁶  Will they will walk in my law ⁷  or not?

Exodus 16:23

16:23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a time of cessation from work, ⁸  a holy Sabbath ⁹  to the Lord. Whatever you want to ¹⁰  bake, bake today; ¹¹  whatever you want to boil, boil today; whatever is left put aside for yourselves to be kept until morning.’”

Exodus 21:29

21:29 But if the ox had the habit of goring, and its owner was warned, ¹²  and he did not take the necessary precautions, ¹³  and then it killed a man or a woman, the ox must be stoned and the man must be put to death.

¹ tn Heb “dealt hardly in letting us go” or “made it hard to let us go” (see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 110). The verb is the simple Hiphil perfect הִקְשָׁה (hiqshah, “he made hard”); the infinitive construct לְשַׁלְּחֵנוּ (lÿshallÿkhenu, “to release us”) could be taken epexegetically, meaning “he made releasing us hard.” But the infinitive more likely gives the purpose or the result after the verb “hardened himself.” The verb is figurative for “be stubborn” or “stubbornly refuse.”

² tn The text uses “man” and “beast.”

³ tn The form is the active participle.

⁴ tn The particle הִנְנִי (hinni) before the active participle indicates the imminent future action: “I am about to rain.”

⁵ tn This verb and the next are the Qal perfect tenses with vav (ו) consecutives; they follow the sequence of the participle, and so are future in orientation. The force here is instruction – “they will go out” or “they are to go out.”

⁶ tn The verb in the purpose/result clause is the Piel imperfect of נָסָה (nasah), אֲנַסֶּנוּ (’anassenu) – “in order that I may prove them [him].” The giving of the manna will be a test of their obedience to the detailed instructions of God as well as being a test of their faith in him (if they believe him they will not gather too much). In chap. 17 the people will test God, showing that they do not trust him.

⁷ sn The word “law” here properly means “direction” at this point (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 146), but their obedience here would indicate also whether or not they would be willing to obey when the Law was given at Sinai.

⁷ tn The noun שַׁבָּתוֹן (shabbaton) has the abstract ending on it: “resting, ceasing.” The root word means “cease” from something, more than “to rest.” The Law would make it clear that they were to cease from their normal occupations and do no common work.

⁸ tn The technical expression is now used: שַׁבַּת־קֹדֶשׁ (shabbat-qodesh, “a holy Sabbath”) meaning a “cessation of/for holiness” for Yahweh. The rest was to be characterized by holiness.

⁹ tn The two verbs in these objective noun clauses are desiderative imperfects – “bake whatever you want to bake.”

¹⁰ tn The word “today” is implied from the context.

¹⁰ tn The Hophal perfect has the idea of “attested, testified against.”

¹¹ tn Heb “he was not keeping it” or perhaps guarding or watching it (referring to the ox).