Exodus 10:1-2

The Eighth Blow: Locusts

10:1 ¹ The Lord said ²  to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, in order to display ³  these signs of mine before him, ⁴  10:2 and in order that in the hearing of your son and your grandson you may tell ⁵  how I made fools ⁶  of the Egyptians ⁷  and about ⁸  my signs that I displayed ⁹  among them, so that you may know ¹⁰  that I am the Lord.”

Exodus 13:14

13:14 ¹¹ In the future, ¹²  when your son asks you ¹³  ‘What is this?’ ¹⁴  you are to tell him, ‘With a mighty hand ¹⁵  the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the land of slavery. ¹⁶ 

Deuteronomy 6:7

6:7 and you must teach ¹⁷  them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, ¹⁸  as you lie down, and as you get up.

Joshua 4:6-7

4:6 The stones ¹⁹  will be a reminder to you. ²⁰  When your children ask someday, ‘Why are these stones important to you?’ 4:7 tell them how the water of the Jordan stopped flowing ²¹  before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the water of the Jordan stopped flowing. ²²  These stones will be a lasting memorial for the Israelites.”

Joshua 4:21-22

4:21 He told the Israelites, “When your children someday ask their fathers, ‘What do these stones represent?’ ²³  4:22 explain ²⁴  to your children, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan River ²⁵  on dry ground.’

Psalms 44:1

Psalm 44 ²⁶ 

For the music director; by the Korahites, a well-written song. ²⁷ 

44:1 O God, we have clearly heard; ²⁸ 

our ancestors ²⁹  have told us

what you did ³⁰  in their days,

in ancient times. ³¹ 

Psalms 71:18

71:18 Even when I am old and gray, ³² 

O God, do not abandon me,

until I tell the next generation about your strength,

and those coming after me about your power. ³³ 

Psalms 78:3-8

78:3 What we have heard and learned ³⁴  –

that which our ancestors ³⁵  have told us –

78:4 we will not hide from their ³⁶  descendants.

We will tell the next generation

about the Lord’s praiseworthy acts, ³⁷ 

about his strength and the amazing things he has done.

78:5 He established a rule ³⁸  in Jacob;

he set up a law in Israel.

He commanded our ancestors

to make his deeds known to their descendants, ³⁹ 

78:6 so that the next generation, children yet to be born,

might know about them.

They will grow up and tell their descendants about them. ⁴⁰ 

78:7 Then they will place their confidence in God.

They will not forget the works of God,

and they will obey ⁴¹  his commands.

78:8 Then they will not be like their ancestors,

who were a stubborn and rebellious generation,

a generation that was not committed

and faithful to God. ⁴² 

Psalms 145:4

145:4 One generation will praise your deeds to another,

and tell about your mighty acts! ⁴³ 

Isaiah 38:19

38:19 The living person, the living person, he gives you thanks,

as I do today.

A father tells his sons about your faithfulness.

[10:1]  ¹ sn The Egyptians dreaded locusts like every other ancient civilization. They had particular gods to whom they looked for help in such catastrophes. The locust-scaring deities of Greece and Asia were probably looked to in Egypt as well (especially in view of the origins in Egypt of so many of those religious ideas). The announcement of the plague falls into the now-familiar pattern. God tells Moses to go and speak to Pharaoh but reminds Moses that he has hardened his heart. Yahweh explains that he has done this so that he might show his power, so that in turn they might declare his name from generation to generation. This point is stressed so often that it must not be minimized. God was laying the foundation of the faith for Israel – the sovereignty of Yahweh.

[10:1]  ² tn Heb “and Yahweh said.”

[10:1]  ³ tn The verb is שִׁתִי (shiti, “I have put”); it is used here as a synonym for the verb שִׂים (sim). Yahweh placed the signs in his midst, where they will be obvious.

[10:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “in his midst.”

[10:2]  ⁵ tn The expression is unusual: תְּסַפֵּר בְּאָזְנֵי (tÿsapper bÿ’ozne, “[that] you may declare in the ears of”). The clause explains an additional reason for God’s hardening the heart of Pharaoh, namely, so that the Israelites can tell their children of God’s great wonders. The expression is highly poetic and intense – like Ps 44:1, which says, “we have heard with our ears.” The emphasis would be on the clear teaching, orally, from one generation to another.

[10:2]  ⁶ tn The verb הִתְעַלַּלְתִּי (hit’allalti) is a bold anthropomorphism. The word means to occupy oneself at another’s expense, to toy with someone, which may be paraphrased with “mock.” The whole point is that God is shaming and disgracing Egypt, making them look foolish in their arrogance and stubbornness (W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:366-67). Some prefer to translate it as “I have dealt ruthlessly” with Egypt (see U. Cassuto, Exodus, 123).

[10:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “of Egypt.” The place is put by metonymy for the inhabitants.

[10:2]  ⁸ tn The word “about” is supplied to clarify this as another object of the verb “declare.”

[10:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “put” or “placed.”

[10:2]  ¹⁰ tn The form is the perfect tense with vav consecutive, וִידַעְתֶּם (vida’tem, “and that you might know”). This provides another purpose for God’s dealings with Egypt in the way that he was doing. The form is equal to the imperfect tense with vav (ו) prefixed; it thus parallels the imperfect that began v. 2 – “that you might tell.”

[13:14]  ¹¹ sn As with v. 8, the Law now requires that the children be instructed on the meaning of this observance. It is a memorial of the deliverance from bondage and the killing of the firstborn in Egypt.

[13:14]  ¹² tn Heb “tomorrow.”

[13:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “and it will be when your son will ask you.”

[13:14]  ¹⁴ tn The question is cryptic; it simply says, “What is this?” but certainly refers to the custom just mentioned. It asks, “What does this mean?” or “Why do we do this?”

[13:14]  ¹⁵ tn The expression is “with strength of hand,” making “hand” the genitive of specification. In translation “strength” becomes the modifier, because “hand” specifies where the strength was. But of course the whole expression is anthropomorphic for the power of God.

[13:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “house of slaves.”

[6:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “repeat” (so NLT). If from the root I שָׁנַן (shanan), the verb means essentially to “engrave,” that is, “to teach incisively” (Piel); note NAB “Drill them into your children.” Cf. BDB 1041-42 s.v.

[6:7]  ¹⁸ tn Or “as you are away on a journey” (cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT); NAB “at home and abroad.”

[4:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “that this may be”; the referent of “this” (the twelve stones) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:6]  ²⁰ tn Heb “in order that this might be a sign among you.”

[4:7]  ²¹ tn Heb “were cut off from before.”

[4:7]  ²² tn Heb “how the waters descending from above stood still.”

[4:21]  ²³ tn Heb “What are these stones?”

[4:22]  ²⁴ tn Heb “make known.”

[4:22]  ²⁵ tn Heb “crossed this Jordan”; the word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied to clarify the meaning.

[44:1]  ²⁶ sn Psalm 44. The speakers in this psalm (the worshiping community within the nation Israel) were disappointed with God. The psalm begins on a positive note, praising God for leading Israel to past military victories. Verses 1-8 appear to be a song of confidence and petition which the people recited prior to battle. But suddenly the mood changes as the nation laments a recent defeat. The stark contrast between the present and the past only heightens the nation’s confusion. Israel trusted in God for victory, but the Lord rejected them and allowed them to be humiliated in battle. If Israel had been unfaithful to God, their defeat would make sense, but the nation was loyal to the Lord. Comparing the Lord to a careless shepherd, the nation urges God to wake up and to extend his compassion to his suffering people.

[44:1]  ²⁷ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 42.

[44:1]  ²⁸ tn Heb “with our ears we have heard.”

[44:1]  ²⁹ tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 2; the same Hebrew word may be translated either “fathers” or “ancestors” depending on the context.

[44:1]  ³⁰ tn Heb “the work you worked.”

[44:1]  ³¹ tn Heb “in the days of old.” This refers specifically to the days of Joshua, during Israel’s conquest of the land, as vv. 2-3 indicate.

[71:18]  ³² tn Heb “and even unto old age and gray hair.”

[71:18]  ³³ tn Heb “until I declare your arm to a generation, to everyone who comes your power.” God’s “arm” here is an anthropomorphism that symbolizes his great strength.

[78:3]  ³⁴ tn Or “known.”

[78:3]  ³⁵ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 5, 8, 12, 57).

[78:4]  ³⁶ tn The pronominal suffix refers back to the “fathers” (“our ancestors,” v. 3).

[78:4]  ³⁷ tn Heb “to a following generation telling the praises of the Lord.” “Praises” stand by metonymy for the mighty acts that prompt worship. Cf. Ps 9:14.

[78:5]  ³⁸ tn The Hebrew noun עֵדוּת (’edut) refers here to God’s command that the older generation teach their children about God’s mighty deeds in the nation’s history (see Exod 10:2; Deut 4:9; 6:20-25).

[78:5]  ³⁹ tn Heb “which he commanded our fathers to make them known to their sons.” The plural suffix “them” probably refers back to the Lord’s mighty deeds (see vv. 3-4).

[78:6]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “in order that they might know, a following generation, sons [who] will be born, they will arise and will tell to their sons.”

[78:7]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “keep.”

[78:8]  ⁴² tn Heb “a generation that did not make firm its heart and whose spirit was not faithful with God.” The expression “make firm the heart” means “to be committed, devoted” (see 1 Sam 7:3).

[145:4]  ⁴³ tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 4 are understood as imperfects, indicating how the psalmist expects his audience to respond to his praise. Another option is to take the forms as jussives, indicating the psalmist’s wish, “may one generation praise…and tell about.”