Exodus 3:15

3:15 God also said to Moses, “You must say this to the Israelites, ‘The Lord ¹  – the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob – has sent me to you. This is my name ²  forever, and this is my memorial from generation to generation.’ ³ 

Exodus 12:17

12:17 So you will keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because on this very ⁴  day I brought your regiments ⁵  out from the land of Egypt, and so you must keep this day perpetually as a lasting ordinance. ⁶ 

Exodus 14:13

14:13 Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! ⁷  Stand firm ⁸  and see ⁹  the salvation ¹⁰  of the Lord that he will provide ¹¹  for you today; for the Egyptians that you see today you will never, ever see again. ¹² 

Exodus 19:9

19:9 The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come ¹³  to you in a dense cloud, ¹⁴  so that the people may hear when I speak with you and so that they will always believe in you.” ¹⁵  And Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.

Exodus 27:21

27:21 In the tent of meeting ¹⁶  outside the curtain that is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons are to arrange it from evening ¹⁷  to morning before the Lord. This is to be a lasting ordinance among the Israelites for generations to come. ¹⁸ 

Exodus 28:43

28:43 These must be on Aaron and his sons when they enter ¹⁹  to the tent of meeting, or when they approach ²⁰  the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they bear no iniquity and die. ²¹  It is to be a perpetual ordinance for him and for his descendants ²²  after him. ²³ 

Exodus 29:28

29:28 It is to belong to Aaron and to his sons from the Israelites, by a perpetual ordinance, for it is a contribution. It is to be a contribution from the Israelites from their peace offerings, their contribution to the Lord.

Exodus 31:17

31:17 It is a sign between me and the Israelites forever; for in six days ²⁴  the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’” ²⁵ 

Exodus 32:13

32:13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel your servants, to whom you swore by yourself and told them, ‘I will multiply your descendants ²⁶  like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken about ²⁷  I will give to your descendants, ²⁸  and they will inherit it forever.’”

¹ sn Heb “Yahweh,” traditionally rendered “the Lord.” First the verb “I AM” was used (v. 14) in place of the name to indicate its meaning and to remind Moses of God’s promise to be with him (v. 12). Now in v. 15 the actual name is used for clear identification: “Yahweh…has sent me.” This is the name that the patriarchs invoked and proclaimed in the land of Canaan.

² sn The words “name” and “memorial” are at the heart of the two parallel clauses that form a poetic pair. The Hebrew word “remembrance” is a poetical synonym for “name” (cf. Job 18:17; Ps 135:13; Prov 10:7; Isa 26:8) and conveys the idea that the nature or character of the person is to be remembered and praised (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 24).

³ tn The repetition of “generation” in this expression serves as a periphrasis for the superlative: “to the remotest generation” (GKC 432 §133.l).

⁴ tn Heb “on the bone of this day.” The expression means “the substance of the day,” the day itself, the very day (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 95).

⁵ tn The word is “armies” or “divisions” (see Exod 6:26 and the note there; cf. also 7:4). The narrative will continue to portray Israel as a mighty army, marching forth in its divisions.

⁶ tn See Exod 12:14.

⁷ tn The use of אַל (’al) with the jussive has the force of “stop fearing.” It is a more immediate negative command than לֹא (lo’) with the imperfect (as in the Decalogue).

⁸ tn The force of this verb in the Hitpael is “to station oneself” or “stand firm” without fleeing.

⁹ tn The form is an imperative with a vav (ו). It could also be rendered “stand firm and you will see” meaning the result, or “stand firm that you may see” meaning the purpose.

¹⁰ tn Or “victory” (NAB) or “deliverance” (NIV, NRSV).

¹¹ tn Heb “do,” i.e., perform or accomplish.

¹² tn The construction uses a verbal hendiadys consisting of a Hiphil imperfect (“you will not add”) and a Qal infinitive construct with a suffix (“to see them”) – “you will no longer see them.” Then the clause adds “again, for ever.”

¹⁰ tn The construction uses the deictic particle and the participle to express the imminent future, what God was about to do. Here is the first announcement of the theophany.

¹¹ tn Heb “the thickness of the cloud”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT “in a thick cloud.”

¹² tn Since “and also in you” begins the clause, the emphasis must be that the people would also trust Moses. See Exod 4:1-9, 31; 14:31.

¹³ tn The LXX has mistakenly rendered this name “the tent of the testimony.”

¹⁴ sn The lamps were to be removed in the morning so that the wicks could be trimmed and the oil replenished (30:7) and then lit every evening to burn through the night.

¹⁵ sn This is the first of several sections of priestly duties. The point is a simple one here: those who lead the worship use the offerings of the people to ensure that access to God is illumined regularly. The NT will make much of the symbolism of light.

¹⁶ tn The construction for this temporal clause is the infinitive construct with the temporal preposition bet (ב) and the suffixed subjective genitive.

¹⁷ tn This construction is also the temporal clause with the infinitive construct and the temporal preposition bet (ב) and the suffixed subjective genitive.

¹⁸ tn The text has וְלאֹ־יִשְׂאוּ עָוֹן וָמֵתוּ (vÿlo’-yis’u ’avon vametu). The imperfect tense here introduces a final clause, yielding a purpose or result translation (“in order that” or “so that”). The last verb is the perfect tense with the vav consecutive, and so it too is equal to a final imperfect – but it would show the result of bearing the iniquity. The idea is that if they approached the holy things with a lack of modesty, perhaps like the pagans who have nakedness and sexuality as part of the religious ritual, they would pollute the holy things, and it would be reckoned to them for iniquity and they would die.

¹⁹ tn Heb “seed.”

²⁰ sn So the priests were to make intercession for the people, give decisions from God’s revealed will, enter his presence in purity, and represent holiness to Yahweh. The clothing of the priests provided for these functions, but in a way that brought honor and dignity. A priest was, therefore, to serve in purity, holiness, and fear (Malachi). There is much that can be derived from this chapter to form principles of spiritual leadership, but the overall point can be worded this way: Those whom God selects to minister to the congregation through intercessory prayer, divine counsel, and sacrificial worship, must always represent the holiness of Yahweh in their activities and demeanor.

¹⁹ tn The expression again forms an adverbial accusative of time.

²⁰ sn The word “rest” essentially means “to cease, stop.” So describing God as “resting” on the seventh day does not indicate that he was tired – he simply finished creation and then ceased or stopped. But in this verse is a very bold anthropomorphism in the form of the verb וַיִּנָּפַשׁ (vayyinnafash), a Niphal preterite from the root נָפַשׁ (nafash), the word that is related to “life, soul” or more specifically “breath, throat.” The verb is usually translated here as “he was refreshed,” offering a very human picture. It could also be rendered “he took breath” (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 345). Elsewhere the verb is used of people and animals. The anthropomorphism is clearly intended to teach people to stop and refresh themselves physically, spiritually, and emotionally on this day of rest.

²² tn Heb “your seed.”

²³ tn “about” has been supplied.

²⁴ tn Heb “seed.”