3:7 The Lord said, “I have surely seen 3 the affliction of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. 4
106:44 Yet he took notice of their distress,
when he heard their cry for help.
63:9 Through all that they suffered, he suffered too. 5
The messenger sent from his very presence 6 delivered them.
In his love and mercy he protected 7 them;
he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times. 8
1 sn The word for this painfully intense “groaning” appears elsewhere to describe a response to having two broken arms (Ezek 30:24).
2 sn The two verbs “heard” and “remembered,” both preterites, say far more than they seem to say. The verb שָׁמַע (shama’, “to hear”) ordinarily includes responding to what is heard. It can even be found in idiomatic constructions meaning “to obey.” To say God heard their complaint means that God responded to it. Likewise, the verb זָכַר (zakhar, “to remember”) means to begin to act on the basis of what is remembered. A prayer to God that says, “Remember me,” is asking for more than mere recollection (see B. S. Childs, Memory and Tradition in Israel [SBT], 1-8). The structure of this section at the end of the chapter is powerful. There are four descriptions of the Israelites, with a fourfold reaction from God. On the Israelites’ side, they groaned (אָנַח [’anakh], נְאָקָה [nÿ’aqah]) and cried out (זָעַק [za’aq], שַׁוְעָה [shav’ah]) to God. On the divine side God heard (שָׁמָע, shama’) their groaning, remembered (זָכַר, zakhar) his covenant, looked (רָאָה, ra’ah) at the Israelites, and took notice (יָדַע, yada’) of them. These verbs emphasize God’s sympathy and compassion for the people. God is near to those in need; in fact, the deliverer had already been chosen. It is important to note at this point the repetition of the word “God.” The text is waiting to introduce the name “Yahweh” in a special way. Meanwhile, the fourfold repetition of “God” in vv. 24-25 is unusual and draws attention to the statements about his attention to Israel’s plight.
3 tn The use of the infinitive absolute with the perfect tense intensifies the statement: I have surely seen – there is no doubt that I have seen and will do something about it.
4 sn Two new words are introduced now to the report of suffering: “affliction” and “pain/suffering.” These add to the dimension of the oppression of God’s people.
5 tn Heb “in all their distress, there was distress to him” (reading לוֹ [lo] with the margin/Qere).
6 tn Heb “the messenger [or “angel”] of his face”; NIV “the angel of his presence.”
7 tn Or “redeemed” (KJV, NAB, NIV), or “delivered.”
8 tn Heb “all the days of antiquity”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “days of old.”