Deuteronomy 4:34

4:34 Or has God ¹  ever before tried to deliver ²  a nation from the middle of another nation, accompanied by judgments, ³  signs, wonders, war, strength, power, ⁴  and other very terrifying things like the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?

Deuteronomy 5:15

5:15 Recall that you were slaves in the land of Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there by strength and power. ⁵  That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to observe ⁶  the Sabbath day.

Exodus 12:37

12:37 The Israelites journeyed ⁷  from Rameses ⁸  to Sukkoth. There were about 600,000 men ⁹  on foot, plus their dependants. ¹⁰ 

Exodus 12:41

12:41 At the end of the 430 years, on the very day, all the regiments ¹¹  of the Lord went out of the land of Egypt.

Exodus 12:51

12:51 And on this very day the Lord brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by their regiments.

Exodus 13:3

13:3 Moses said to the people, “Remember ¹²  this day on which you came out from Egypt, from the place where you were enslaved, ¹³  for the Lord brought you out of there ¹⁴  with a mighty hand – and no bread made with yeast may be eaten. ¹⁵ 

Exodus 14:16-31

14:16 And as for you, ¹⁶  lift up your staff and extend your hand toward the sea and divide it, so that ¹⁷  the Israelites may go through the middle of the sea on dry ground. 14:17 And as for me, I am going to harden ¹⁸  the hearts of the Egyptians so that ¹⁹  they will come after them, that I may be honored ²⁰  because ²¹  of Pharaoh and his army and his chariots and his horsemen. 14:18 And the Egyptians will know ²²  that I am the Lord when I have gained my honor ²³  because of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

14:19 The angel of God, who was going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them, and the pillar ²⁴  of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them. 14:20 It came between the Egyptian camp and the Israelite camp; it was a dark cloud ²⁵  and it lit up the night so that one camp did not come near the other ²⁶  the whole night. ²⁷  14:21 Moses stretched out his hand toward the sea, and the Lord drove the sea apart ²⁸  by a strong east wind all that night, and he made the sea into dry land, and the water was divided. 14:22 So the Israelites went through the middle of the sea on dry ground, the water forming a wall ²⁹  for them on their right and on their left.

14:23 The Egyptians chased them and followed them into the middle of the sea – all the horses of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen. 14:24 In the morning watch ³⁰  the Lord looked down ³¹  on the Egyptian army ³²  through the pillar of fire and cloud, and he threw the Egyptian army ³³  into a panic. ³⁴  14:25 He jammed ³⁵  the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving, ³⁶  and the Egyptians said, “Let’s flee ³⁷  from Israel, for the Lord fights ³⁸  for them against Egypt!”

14:26 The Lord said to Moses, “Extend your hand toward the sea, so that the waters may flow ³⁹  back on the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen!” 14:27 So Moses extended his hand toward the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state ⁴⁰  when the sun began to rise. ⁴¹  Now the Egyptians were fleeing ⁴²  before it, but the Lord overthrew ⁴³  the Egyptians in the middle of the sea. 14:28 The water returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen and all the army of Pharaoh that was coming after the Israelites into the sea ⁴⁴  – not so much as one of them survived! ⁴⁵  14:29 But the Israelites walked on dry ground in the middle of the sea, the water forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. 14:30 So the Lord saved ⁴⁶  Israel on that day from the power ⁴⁷  of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead ⁴⁸  on the shore of the sea. 14:31 When Israel saw ⁴⁹  the great power ⁵⁰  that the Lord had exercised ⁵¹  over the Egyptians, they ⁵²  feared the Lord, and they believed in ⁵³  the Lord and in his servant Moses. ⁵⁴ 

Psalms 78:12-13

78:12 He did amazing things in the sight of their ancestors,

in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan. ⁵⁵ 

78:13 He divided the sea and led them across it;

he made the water stand in a heap.

Psalms 105:27-38

105:27 They executed his miraculous signs among them, ⁵⁶ 

and his amazing deeds in the land of Ham.

105:28 He made it dark; ⁵⁷ 

they did not disobey his orders. ⁵⁸ 

105:29 He turned their water into blood,

and killed their fish.

105:30 Their land was overrun by frogs,

which even got into the rooms of their kings.

105:31 He ordered flies to come; ⁵⁹ 

gnats invaded their whole territory.

105:32 He sent hail along with the rain; ⁶⁰ 

there was lightning in their land. ⁶¹ 

105:33 He destroyed their vines and fig trees,

and broke the trees throughout their territory.

105:34 He ordered locusts to come, ⁶² 

innumerable grasshoppers.

105:35 They ate all the vegetation in their land,

and devoured the crops of their fields. ⁶³ 

105:36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land,

the firstfruits of their reproductive power. ⁶⁴ 

105:37 He brought his people ⁶⁵  out enriched ⁶⁶  with silver and gold;

none of his tribes stumbled.

105:38 Egypt was happy when they left,

for they were afraid of them. ⁶⁷ 

Psalms 106:7-10

106:7 Our ancestors in Egypt failed to appreciate your miraculous deeds,

they failed to remember your many acts of loyal love,

and they rebelled at the sea, by the Red Sea. ⁶⁸ 

106:8 Yet he delivered them for the sake of his reputation, ⁶⁹ 

that he might reveal his power.

106:9 He shouted at ⁷⁰  the Red Sea and it dried up;

he led them through the deep water as if it were a desert.

106:10 He delivered them from the power ⁷¹  of the one who hated them,

and rescued ⁷²  them from the power ⁷³  of the enemy.

Isaiah 63:12

63:12 the one who made his majestic power available to Moses, ⁷⁴ 

who divided the water before them,

gaining for himself a lasting reputation, ⁷⁵ 

[4:34]  ¹ tn The translation assumes the reference is to Israel’s God in which case the point is this: God’s intervention in Israel’s experience is unique in the sense that he has never intervened in such power for any other people on earth. The focus is on the uniqueness of Israel’s experience. Some understand the divine name here in a generic sense, “a god,” or “any god.” In this case God’s incomparability is the focus (cf. v. 35, where this theme is expressed).

[4:34]  ² tn Heb “tried to go to take for himself.”

[4:34]  ³ tn Heb “by testings.” The reference here is the judgments upon Pharaoh in the form of plagues. See Deut 7:19 (cf. v. 18) and 29:3 (cf. v. 2).

[4:34]  ⁴ tn Heb “by strong hand and by outstretched arm.”

[5:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “by a strong hand and an outstretched arm,” the hand and arm symbolizing divine activity and strength. Cf. NLT “with amazing power and mighty deeds.”

[5:15]  ⁶ tn Or “keep” (so KJV, NRSV).

[12:37]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the sons of Israel journeyed.”

[12:37]  ⁸ sn The wilderness itinerary begins here. W. C. Kaiser records the identification of these two places as follows: The name Rameses probably refers to Qantir rather than Tanis, which is more remote, because Qantir was by the water; Sukkoth is identified as Tell el Maskhuta in the Wadi Tumilat near modern Ismailia – or the region around the city (“Exodus,” EBC 2:379). Of the extensive bibliography, see G. W. Coats, “The Wilderness Itinerary,” CBQ 34 (1972): 135-52; G. I. Davies, “The Wilderness Itineraries: A Comparative Study,” TynBul 25 (1974): 46-81; and J. T. Walsh, “From Egypt to Moab. A Source Critical Analysis of the Wilderness Itinerary,” CBQ 39 (1977): 20-33.

[12:37]  ⁹ tn The word for “men” (הַגְּבָרִים, haggÿvarim) stresses their hardiness and capability – strong men, potential soldiers – in contrast with the word that follows and designates noncombatants.

[12:37]  ¹⁰ tn For more on this word see 10:10 and 24.

[12:41]  ¹¹ sn This military term is used elsewhere in Exodus (e.g., 6:26; 7:4; 12:17, 50), but here the Israelites are called “the regiments of the Lord.”

[13:3]  ¹² tn The form is the infinitive absolute of זָכַר (zakhar, “remember”). The use of this form in place of the imperative (also found in the Decalogue with the Sabbath instruction) stresses the basic meaning of the root word, everything involved with remembering (emphatic imperative, according to GKC 346 §113.bb). The verb usually implies that there will be proper action based on what was remembered.

[13:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “from a house of slaves.” “House” is obviously not meant to be literal; it indicates a location characterized by slavery, a land of slaves, as if they were in a slave house. Egypt is also called an “iron-smelting furnace” (Deut 4:20).

[13:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “from this” [place].

[13:3]  ¹⁵ tn The verb is a Niphal imperfect; it could be rendered “must not be eaten” in the nuance of the instruction or injunction category, but permission fits this sermonic presentation very well – nothing with yeast may be eaten.

[14:16]  ¹⁶ tn The conjunction plus pronoun (“and you”) is emphatic – “and as for you” – before the imperative “lift up.” In contrast, v. 17 begins with “and as for me, I….”

[14:16]  ¹⁷ tn The imperfect (or jussive) with the vav (ו) is sequential, coming after the series of imperatives instructing Moses to divide the sea; the form then gives the purpose (or result) of the activity – “that they may go.”

[14:17]  ¹⁸ tn הִנְנִי (hinni) before the participle gives it the force of a futur instans participle, meaning “I am about to harden” or “I am going to harden” their heart.

[14:17]  ¹⁹ tn The form again is the imperfect tense with vav (ו) to express the purpose or the result of the hardening. The repetition of the verb translated “come” is interesting: Moses is to divide the sea in order that the people may cross, but God will harden the Egyptians’ hearts in order that they may follow.

[14:17]  ²⁰ tn For the comments on this verb see the discussion in v. 4. God would get glory by defeating Egypt.

[14:17]  ²¹ tn Or “I will get glory over.”

[14:18]  ²² tn The construction is unusual in that it says, “And Egypt will know.” The verb is plural, and so “Egypt” must mean “the Egyptians.” The verb is the perfect tense with the vav consecutive, showing that this recognition or acknowledgment by Egypt will be the result or purpose of the defeat of them by God.

[14:18]  ²³ tn The form is בְּהִכָּבְדִי (bÿhikkavÿdi), the Niphal infinitive construct with a preposition and a suffix. For the suffix on a Niphal, see GKC 162-63 §61.c. The word forms a temporal clause in the line.

[14:19]  ²⁴ sn B. Jacob (Exodus, 400-401) makes a good case that there may have been only one pillar, one cloud; it would have been a dark cloud behind it, but in front of it, shining the way, a pillar of fire. He compares the manifestation on Sinai, when the mountain was on fire but veiled by a dark cloud (Deut 4:11; 5:22). See also Exod 13:21; Num 14:14; Deut 1:33; Neh 9:12, 19; Josh 24:7; Pss 78:14; 105:39.

[14:20]  ²⁵ tn The two nouns “cloud” and “darkness” form a nominal hendiadys: “and it was the cloud and the darkness” means “and it was the dark cloud.” Perhaps this is what the Egyptians saw, preventing them from observing Moses and the Israelites.

[14:20]  ²⁶ tn Heb “this to this”; for the use of the pronouns in this reciprocal sense of “the one to the other,” see GKC 448 §139.e, n. 3.

[14:20]  ²⁷ tc The LXX reads very differently at the end of this verse: “and there was darkness and blackness and the night passed.” B. S. Childs (Exodus [OTL], 218) summarizes three proposals: (1) One takes the MT as it stands and explains it along the lines of the Targum and Jewish exegesis, that there was one cloud that was dark to one group and light to the other. (2) Another tries to reconstruct a verb from the noun “darkness” or make some use of the Greek verb. (3) A third seeks a different meaning for the verb “lit,” “gave light” by comparative philology, but no consensus has been reached. Given that there is no easy solution apart from reconstructing the text, and given that the MT can be interpreted as it is, the present translation follows the MT.

[14:21]  ²⁸ tn Or “drove the sea back” (NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV). The verb is simply the Hiphil of הָלַךְ (halakh, “to walk, go”). The context requires that it be interpreted along the lines of “go back, go apart.”

[14:22]  ²⁹ tn The clause literally reads, “and the waters [were] for them a wall.” The word order in Hebrew is disjunctive, with the vav (ו) on the noun introducing a circumstantial clause.

[14:24]  ³⁰ tn The night was divided into three watches of about four hours each, making the morning watch about 2:00-6:00 a.m. The text has this as “the watch of the morning,” the genitive qualifying which of the night watches was meant.

[14:24]  ³¹ tn This particular verb, שָׁקַף (shaqaf) is a bold anthropomorphism: Yahweh looked down. But its usage is always with some demonstration of mercy or wrath. S. R. Driver (Exodus, 120) suggests that the look might be with fiery flashes to startle the Egyptians, throwing them into a panic. Ps 77:17-19 pictures torrents of rain with lightning and thunder.

[14:24]  ³² tn Heb “camp.” The same Hebrew word is used in Exod 14:20. Unlike the English word “camp,” it can be used of a body of people at rest (encamped) or on the move.

[14:24]  ³³ tn Heb “camp.”

[14:24]  ³⁴ tn The verb הָמַם (hamam) means “throw into confusion.” It is used in the Bible for the panic and disarray of an army before a superior force (Josh 10:10; Judg 4:15).

[14:25]  ³⁵ tn The word in the text is וַיָּסַר (vayyasar), which would be translated “and he turned aside” with the sense perhaps of removing the wheels. The reading in the LXX, Smr, and Syriac suggests a root אָסַר (’asar, “to bind”). The sense here might be “clogged – presumably by their sinking in the wet sand” (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 120).

[14:25]  ³⁶ tn The clause is וַיְנַהֲגֵהוּ בִּכְבֵדֻת (vaynahagehu bikhvedut). The verb means “to drive a chariot”; here in the Piel it means “cause to drive.” The suffix is collective, and so the verbal form can be translated “and caused them to drive.” The idea of the next word is “heaviness” or “hardship”; it recalls the previous uses of related words to describe Pharaoh’s heart. Here it indicates that the driving of the crippled chariots was with difficulty.

[14:25]  ³⁷ tn The cohortative has the hortatory use here, “Let’s flee.” Although the form is singular, the sense of it is plural and so hortatory can be used. The form is singular to agree with the singular subject, “Egypt,” which obviously means the Egyptian army. The word for “flee” is used when someone runs from fear of immanent danger and is a different word than the one used in 14:5.

[14:25]  ³⁸ tn The form is the Niphal participle; it is used as the predicate here, that is, the verbal use: “the Lord is fighting.” This corresponds to the announcement in v. 14.

[14:26]  ³⁹ tn The verb, “and they will return,” is here subordinated to the imperative preceding it, showing the purpose of that act.

[14:27]  ⁴⁰ tn The Hebrew term לְאֵיתָנוֹ (lÿ’etano) means “to its place,” or better, “to its perennial state.” The point is that the sea here had a normal level, and now when the Egyptians were in the sea on the dry ground the water would return to that level.

[14:27]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “at the turning of the morning”; NASB, NIV, TEV, CEV “at daybreak.”

[14:27]  ⁴² tn The clause begins with the disjunctive vav (ו) on the noun, signaling either a circumstantial clause or a new beginning. It could be rendered, “Although the Egyptians…Yahweh…” or “as the Egyptians….”

[14:27]  ⁴³ tn The verb means “shake out” or “shaking off.” It has the significance of “throw downward.” See Neh 5:13 or Job 38:13.

[14:28]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “that was coming after them into the sea.” The referent of “them” (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:28]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “not was left among them as much as one.”

[14:30]  ⁴⁶ 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.

[14:30]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “the hand,” with “hand” being a metonymy for power.

[14:30]  ⁴⁸ tn The participle “dead” is singular, agreeing in form with “Egypt.”

[14:31]  ⁴⁹ tn The preterite with the vav (ו) consecutive introduces a clause that is subordinate to the main points that the verse is making.

[14:31]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “the great hand,” with “hand” being a metonymy for work or power. The word play using “hand” contrasts the Lord’s hand/power at work on behalf of the Israelites with the hand/power of Egypt that would have killed them.

[14:31]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “did, made.”

[14:31]  ⁵² tn Heb “and the people feared.”

[14:31]  ⁵³ tn The verb is the Hiphil preterite of אָמַן (’aman).

[14:31]  ⁵⁴ sn Here the title of “servant” is given to Moses. This is the highest title a mortal can have in the OT – the “servant of Yahweh.” It signifies more than a believer; it describes the individual as acting on behalf of God. For example, when Moses stretched out his hand, God used it as his own (Isa 63:12). Moses was God’s personal representative. The chapter records both a message of salvation and of judgment. Like the earlier account of deliverance at the Passover, this chapter can be a lesson on deliverance from present troubles – if God could do this for Israel, there is no trouble too great for him to overcome. The passage can also be understood as a picture (at least) of the deliverance at the final judgment on the world. But the Israelites used this account for a paradigm of the power of God: namely, God is able to deliver his people from danger because he is the sovereign Lord of creation. His people must learn to trust him, even in desperate situations; they must fear him and not the situation. God can bring any threat to an end by bringing his power to bear in judgment on the wicked.

[78:12]  ⁵⁵ sn The region of Zoan was located in the Egyptian delta, where the enslaved Israelites lived (see Num 13:22; Isa 19:11, 13; 30:4; Ezek 30:14).

[105:27]  ⁵⁶ tn Apparently the pronoun refers to “his servants” (i.e., the Israelites, see v. 25).

[105:28]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “he sent darkness and made it dark.”

[105:28]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “they did not rebel against his words.” Apparently this refers to Moses and Aaron, who obediently carried out God’s orders.

[105:31]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “he spoke and flies came.”

[105:32]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “he gave their rains hail.”

[105:32]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “fire of flames [was] in their land.”

[105:34]  ⁶² tn Heb “he spoke and locusts came.”

[105:35]  ⁶³ tn Heb “the fruit of their ground.”

[105:36]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “the beginning of all their strength,” that is, reproductive power (see Ps 78:51).

[105:37]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the Lord’s people) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[105:37]  ⁶⁶ tn The word “enriched” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[105:38]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “for fear of them had fallen upon them.”

[106:7]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “Reed Sea” (also in vv. 9, 22). “Reed Sea” (or “Sea of Reeds”) is a more accurate rendering of the Hebrew expression יָם סוּף (yam suf), traditionally translated “Red Sea.” See the note on the term “Red Sea” in Exod 13:18.

[106:8]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “his name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.

[106:9]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “rebuked.”

[106:10]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “hand.”

[106:10]  ⁷² tn Or “redeemed.”

[106:10]  ⁷³ tn Heb “hand.”

[63:12]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “who caused to go at the right hand of Moses the arm of his splendor.”

[63:12]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “making for himself a lasting name.”