Exodus 12:22

12:22 Take a branch of hyssop, ¹  dip it in the blood that is in the basin, ²  and apply to the top of the doorframe and the two side posts some of the blood that is in the basin. Not one of you is to go out ³  the door of his house until morning.

Exodus 24:6

24:6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and half of the blood he splashed on the altar. ⁴ 

Exodus 24:1

The Lord Ratifies the Covenant

24:1 ⁵ But to Moses the Lord ⁶  said, “Come up ⁷  to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from a distance. ⁸ 

Exodus 7:1

7:1 So the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God ⁹  to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. ¹⁰ 

Exodus 7:1

7:1 So the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God ¹¹  to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. ¹² 

Exodus 28:17

28:17 You are to set in it a setting for stones, four rows of stones, a row with a ruby, a topaz, and a beryl – the first row;

Exodus 28:2

28:2 You must make holy garments ¹³  for your brother Aaron, for glory and for beauty. ¹⁴ 

Exodus 4:8

4:8 “If ¹⁵  they do not believe you or pay attention to ¹⁶  the former sign, then they may ¹⁷  believe the latter sign. ¹⁸ 

Exodus 4:11

4:11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave ¹⁹  a mouth to man, or who makes a person mute or deaf or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? ²⁰ 

Jeremiah 52:19

52:19 The captain of the royal guard took the gold and silver bowls, censers, ²¹  basins, pots, lampstands, pans, and vessels. ²² 

[12:22]  ¹ sn The hyssop is a small bush that grows throughout the Sinai, probably the aromatic herb Origanum Maru L., or Origanum Aegyptiacum. The plant also grew out of the walls in Jerusalem (1 Kgs 4:33). See L. Baldensperger and G. M. Crowfoot, “Hyssop,” PEQ 63 (1931): 89-98. A piece of hyssop was also useful to the priests because it worked well for sprinkling.

[12:22]  ² tn The Greek and the Vulgate translate סַף (saf, “basin”) as “threshold.” W. C. Kaiser reports how early traditions grew up about the killing of the lamb on the threshold (“Exodus,” EBC 2:376).

[12:22]  ³ tn Heb “and you, you shall not go out, a man from the door of his house.” This construction puts stress on prohibiting absolutely everyone from going out.

[24:6]  ⁴ sn The people and Yahweh through this will be united by blood, for half was spattered on the altar and the other half spattered on/toward the people (v. 8).

[24:1]  ⁵ sn Exod 24 is the high point of the book in many ways, but most importantly, here Yahweh makes a covenant with the people – the Sinaitic Covenant. The unit not only serves to record the event in Israel’s becoming a nation, but it provides a paradigm of the worship of God’s covenant people – entering into the presence of the glory of Yahweh. See additionally W. A. Maier, “The Analysis of Exodus 24 According to Modern Literary, Form, and Redaction Critical Methodology,” Springfielder 37 (1973): 35-52. The passage may be divided into four parts for exposition: vv. 1-2, the call for worship; vv. 3-8, the consecration of the worshipers; vv. 9-11, the confirmation of the covenant; and vv. 12-18, the communication with Yahweh.

[24:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “And he;” the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:1]  ⁷ sn They were to come up to the Lord after they had made the preparations that are found in vv. 3-8.

[24:1]  ⁸ sn These seventy-four people were to go up the mountain to a certain point. Then they were to prostrate themselves and worship Yahweh as Moses went further up into the presence of Yahweh. Moses occupies the lofty position of mediator (as Christ in the NT), for he alone ascends “to Yahweh” while everyone waits for his return. The emphasis of “bowing down” and that from “far off” stresses again the ominous presence that was on the mountain. This was the holy God – only the designated mediator could draw near to him.

[7:1]  ⁹ tn The word “like” is added for clarity, making explicit the implied comparison in the statement “I have made you God to Pharaoh.” The word אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is used a few times in the Bible for humans (e.g., Pss 45:6; 82:1), and always clearly in the sense of a subordinate to GOD – they are his representatives on earth. The explanation here goes back to 4:16. If Moses is like God in that Aaron is his prophet, then Moses is certainly like God to Pharaoh. Only Moses, then, is able to speak to Pharaoh with such authority, giving him commands.

[7:1]  ¹⁰ tn The word נְבִיאֶךָ (nÿvi’ekha, “your prophet”) recalls 4:16. Moses was to be like God to Aaron, and Aaron was to speak for him. This indicates that the idea of a “prophet” was of one who spoke for God, an idea with which Moses and Aaron and the readers of Exodus are assumed to be familiar.

[7:1]  ¹¹ tn The word “like” is added for clarity, making explicit the implied comparison in the statement “I have made you God to Pharaoh.” The word אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is used a few times in the Bible for humans (e.g., Pss 45:6; 82:1), and always clearly in the sense of a subordinate to GOD – they are his representatives on earth. The explanation here goes back to 4:16. If Moses is like God in that Aaron is his prophet, then Moses is certainly like God to Pharaoh. Only Moses, then, is able to speak to Pharaoh with such authority, giving him commands.

[7:1]  ¹² tn The word נְבִיאֶךָ (nÿvi’ekha, “your prophet”) recalls 4:16. Moses was to be like God to Aaron, and Aaron was to speak for him. This indicates that the idea of a “prophet” was of one who spoke for God, an idea with which Moses and Aaron and the readers of Exodus are assumed to be familiar.

[28:2]  ¹³ sn The genitive “holiness” is the attribute for “garments” – “garments of holiness.” The point of the word “holy” is that these garments would be distinctive from ordinary garments, for they set Aaron apart to sanctuary service and ministry.

[28:2]  ¹⁴ tn The expression is לְכָבוֹד וּלְתִפְארֶת (lÿkhavod ulÿtif’aret, “for glory and for beauty”). W. C. Kaiser (“Exodus,” EBC 2:465), quoting the NIV’s “to give him dignity and honor,” says that these clothes were to exalt the office of the high priest as well as beautify the worship of God (which explains more of what the text has than the NIV rendering). The meaning of the word “glory” has much to do with the importance of the office, to be sure, but in Exodus the word has been used also for the brilliance of the presence of Yahweh, and so the magnificence of these garments might indeed strike the worshiper with the sense of the exaltation of the service.

[4:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and it will be if.”

[4:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “listen to the voice of,” meaning listen so as to respond appropriately.

[4:8]  ¹⁷ tn The nuance of this perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive will be equal to the imperfect of possibility – “they may believe.”

[4:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “believe the voice of the latter sign,” so as to understand and accept the meaning of the event.

[4:11]  ¹⁹ tn The verb שִׂים (sim) means “to place, put, set”; the sentence here more precisely says, “Who put a mouth into a man?”

[4:11]  ²⁰ sn The final question obviously demands a positive answer. But the clause is worded in such a way as to return to the theme of “I AM.” Isaiah 45:5-7 developed this same idea of God’s control over life. Moses protests that he is not an eloquent speaker, and the Lord replies with reminders about himself and promises, “I will be with your mouth,” an assertion that repeats the verb he used four times in 3:12 and 14 and in promises to Isaac and Jacob (Gen 26:3; 31:3).

[52:19]  ²¹ sn The censers held the embers used for the incense offerings.

[52:19]  ²² sn These vessels were used for drink offerings.