5:6 That same day Pharaoh commanded 1 the slave masters and foremen 2 who were 3 over the people: 4
16:27 On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather it, but they found nothing.
32:28 The Levites did what Moses ordered, 11 and that day about three thousand men of the people died. 12
40:17 So the tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month, in the second year.
1 tn Heb “and Pharaoh commanded on that day.”
2 tn The Greek has “scribes” for this word, perhaps thinking of those lesser officials as keeping records of the slaves and the bricks.
3 tn The phrase “who were” is supplied for clarity.
4 sn In vv. 6-14 the second section of the chapter describes the severe measures by the king to increase the labor by decreasing the material. The emphasis in this section must be on the harsh treatment of the people and Pharaoh’s reason for it – he accuses them of idleness because they want to go and worship. The real reason, of course, is that he wants to discredit Moses (v. 9) and keep the people as slaves.
5 tn Heb “Seven days.”
6 tn The imperfect tense functions with the nuance of instruction or injunction. It could also be given an obligatory nuance: “you must eat” or “you are to eat.” Some versions have simply made it an imperative.
7 tn The phrase “there is to be” has been supplied.
9 tn The Hebrew term וַיּוֹשַׁע (vayyosha’) is the key summation of the chapter, and this part of the book: “So Yahweh saved Israel.” This is the culmination of all the powerful works of God through these chapters.
10 tn Heb “the hand,” with “hand” being a metonymy for power.
11 tn The participle “dead” is singular, agreeing in form with “Egypt.”
13 tn Heb “did according to the word of Moses.”
14 tn Heb “fell.”
17 tn Heb “you will raise,” an imperfect of instruction.