2 Kings 11:15

11:15 Jehoiada the priest ordered the officers of the units of hundreds, who were in charge of the army, ¹  “Bring her outside the temple to the guards. ²  Put the sword to anyone who follows her.” The priest gave this order because he had decided she should not be executed in the Lord’s temple. ³ 

Exodus 21:14

21:14 But if a man willfully attacks his neighbor to kill him cunningly, ⁴  you will take him even from my altar that he may die.

Exodus 21:1

The Decisions

21:1 ⁵ “These are the decisions that you will set before them:

Exodus 2:1-2

The Birth of the Deliverer

2:1 ⁶ A man from the household ⁷  of Levi married ⁸  a woman who was a descendant of Levi. ⁹  2:2 The woman became pregnant ¹⁰  and gave birth to a son. When ¹¹  she saw that ¹²  he was a healthy ¹³  child, she hid him for three months.

Exodus 23:7

23:7 Keep your distance ¹⁴  from a false charge ¹⁵  – do not kill the innocent and the righteous, ¹⁶  for I will not justify the wicked. ¹⁷ 

[11:15]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text also has, “and said to them.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[11:15]  ² tn Heb “ranks.”

[11:15]  ³ tn Heb “for the priest had said, ‘Let her not be put to death in the house of the Lord.’”

[21:14]  ⁴ tn The word עָרְמָה (’ormah) is problematic. It could mean with prior intent, which would be connected with the word in Prov 8:5, 12 which means “understanding” (or “prudence” – fully aware of the way things are). It could be connected also to an Arabic word for “enemy” which would indicate this was done with malice or evil intentions (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 270). The use here seems parallel to the one in Josh 9:4, an instance involving intentionality and clever deception.

[21:1]  ⁵ sn There follows now a series of rulings called “the decisions” or “the judgments” (הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים, hammishpatim). A precept is stated, and then various cases in which the law is applicable are examined. These rulings are all in harmony with the Decalogue that has just been given and can be grouped into three categories: civil or criminal laws, religious or cultic laws, and moral or humanitarian laws. The civil and criminal laws make up most of chap. 21; the next two chapters mix the other kinds of laws. Among the many studies of this section of the book are F. C. Fensham, “The Role of the Lord in the Legal Sections of the Covenant Code,” VT 26 (1976): 262-74; S. Paul, “Unrecognized Biblical Legal Idioms in Light of Comparative Akkadian Expressions,” RB 86 (1979): 231-39; M. Galston, “The Purpose of the Law According to Maimonides,” JQR 69 (1978): 27-51.

[2:1]  ⁶ sn The chapter records the exceptional survival of Moses under the decree of death by Pharaoh (vv. 1-10), the flight of Moses from Pharaoh after killing the Egyptian (vv. 11-15), the marriage of Moses (vv. 16-22), and finally a note about the Lord’s hearing the sighing of the people in bondage (vv. 23-25). The first part is the birth. The Bible has several stories about miraculous or special births and deliverances of those destined to lead Israel. Their impact is essentially to authenticate the individual’s ministry. If the person’s beginning was providentially provided and protected by the Lord, then the mission must be of divine origin too. In this chapter the plot works around the decree for the death of the children – a decree undone by the women. The second part of the chapter records Moses’ flight and marriage. Having introduced the deliverer Moses in such an auspicious way, the chapter then records how this deliverer acted presumptuously and had to flee for his life. Any deliverance God desired had to be supernatural, as the chapter’s final note about answering prayer shows.

[2:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “house.” In other words, the tribe of Levi.

[2:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “went and took”; NASB “went and married.”

[2:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “a daughter of Levi.” The word “daughter” is used in the sense of “descendant” and connects the new account with Pharaoh’s command in 1:22. The words “a woman who was” are added for clarity in English.

[2:2]  ¹⁰ tn Or “conceived” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[2:2]  ¹¹ tn A preterite form with the vav consecutive can be subordinated to a following clause. What she saw stands as a reason for what she did: “when she saw…she hid him three months.”

[2:2]  ¹² tn After verbs of perceiving or seeing there are frequently two objects, the formal accusative (“she saw him”) and then a noun clause that explains what it was about the child that she perceived (“that he was healthy”). See GKC 365 §117.h.

[2:2]  ¹³ tn Or “fine” (טוֹב, tov). The construction is parallel to phrases in the creation narrative (“and God saw that it was good,” Gen 1:4, 10, 12, 17, 21, 25, 31). B. Jacob says, “She looked upon her child with a joy similar to that of God upon His creation (Gen 1.4ff.)” (Exodus, 25).

[23:7]  ¹⁴ tn Or “stay away from,” or “have nothing to do with.”

[23:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “a false matter,” this expression in this context would have to be a case in law that was false or that could only be won by falsehood.

[23:7]  ¹⁶ tn The two clauses probably should be related: the getting involved in the false charge could lead to the death of an innocent person (so, e.g., Naboth in 1 Kgs 21:10-13).

[23:7]  ¹⁷ sn God will not declare right the one who is in the wrong. Society should also be consistent, but it cannot see the intents and motives, as God can.