Exodus 15:11

15:11 Who is like you, ¹  O Lord, among the gods? ² 

Who is like you? – majestic in holiness, fearful in praises, ³  working wonders?

Exodus 15:2

15:2 The Lord ⁴  is my strength and my song, ⁵ 

and he has become my salvation.

This is my God, and I will praise him, ⁶ 

my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

Exodus 7:22

7:22 But the magicians of Egypt did the same ⁷  by their secret arts, and so ⁸  Pharaoh’s heart remained hard, ⁹  and he refused to listen to Moses and Aaron ¹⁰  – just as the Lord had predicted.

Psalms 35:10

35:10 With all my strength I will say, ¹¹ 

“O Lord, who can compare to you?

You rescue ¹²  the oppressed from those who try to overpower them; ¹³ 

the oppressed and needy from those who try to rob them.” ¹⁴ 

Psalms 71:19

71:19 Your justice, O God, extends to the skies above; ¹⁵ 

you have done great things. ¹⁶ 

O God, who can compare to you? ¹⁷ 

Psalms 86:8

86:8 None can compare to you among the gods, O Lord!

Your exploits are incomparable! ¹⁸ 

Psalms 89:6

89:6 For who in the skies can compare to the Lord?

Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings, ¹⁹ 

Psalms 89:8

89:8 O Lord, sovereign God! ²⁰ 

Who is strong like you, O Lord?

Your faithfulness surrounds you.

Isaiah 40:18

40:18 To whom can you compare God?

To what image can you liken him?

Isaiah 40:25

40:25 “To whom can you compare me? Whom do I resemble?”

says the Holy One. ²¹ 

Jeremiah 10:6

10:6 I said, ²² 

“There is no one like you, Lord. ²³ 

You are great.

And you are renowned for your power. ²⁴ 

Daniel 3:29

3:29 I hereby decree ²⁵  that any people, nation, or language group that blasphemes ²⁶  the god of Shadrach, Meshach, or Abednego will be dismembered and his home reduced to rubble! For there exists no other god who can deliver in this way.”

[15:11]  ¹ tn The question is of course rhetorical; it is a way of affirming that no one is comparable to God. See C. J. Labuschagne, The Incomparability of Yahweh in the Old Testament, 22, 66-67, and 94-97.

[15:11]  ² sn Verses 11-17 will now focus on Yahweh as the incomparable one who was able to save Israel from their foes and afterward lead them to the promised land.

[15:11]  ³ tn S. R. Driver suggests “praiseworthy acts” as the translation (Exodus, 137).

[15:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “Yah.” Moses’ poem here uses a short form of the name Yahweh, traditionally rendered in English by “the LORD.”

[15:2]  ⁵ tn The word וְזִמְרָת (vÿzimrat) is problematic. It probably had a suffix yod (י) that was accidentally dropped because of the yod (י) on the divine name following. Most scholars posit another meaning for the word. A meaning of “power” fits the line fairly well, forming a hendiadys with strength – “strength and power” becoming “strong power.” Similar lines are in Isa 12:2 and Ps 118:14. Others suggest “protection” or “glory.” However, there is nothing substantially wrong with “my song” in the line – only that it would be a nicer match if it had something to do with strength.

[15:2]  ⁶ tn The word נָוָה (navah) occurs only here. It may mean “beautify, adorn” with praises (see BDB 627 s.v.). See also M. Dahood, “Exodus 15:2: ‘anwehu and Ugaritic snwt,” Bib 59 (1979): 260-61; and M. Klein, “The Targumic Tosefta to Exodus 15:2,” JJS 26 (1975): 61-67; and S. B. Parker, “Exodus 15:2 Again,” VT 21 (1971): 373-79.

[7:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “thus, so.”

[7:22]  ⁸ tn The vav consecutive on the preterite introduces the outcome or result of the matter – Pharaoh was hardened.

[7:22]  ⁹ tn Heb “and the heart of Pharaoh became hard.” This phrase translates the Hebrew word חָזַק (khazaq; see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 53). In context this represents the continuation of a prior condition.

[7:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “to them”; the referents (Moses and Aaron) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[35:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “all my bones will say.”

[35:10]  ¹² tn Heb “[the one who] rescues.” The substantival participle in the Hebrew text characterizes God as one who typically rescues the oppressed.

[35:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “from [the one who is] too strong for him.” The singular forms are used in a representative sense. The typical oppressed individual and typical oppressor are in view.

[35:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the oppressed [one] and needy [one] from [the one who] robs him.” As in the previous line, the singular forms are used in a representative sense.

[71:19]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “your justice, O God, [is] unto the height.” The Hebrew term מָרוֹם (marom, “height”) is here a title for the sky/heavens.

[71:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “you who have done great things.”

[71:19]  ¹⁷ tn Or “Who is like you?”

[86:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and there are none like your acts.”

[89:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “sons of gods”; or “sons of God.” Though אֵלִים (’elim) is vocalized as a plural form (“gods”) in the Hebrew text, it is likely that the final mem (ם) is actually enclitic rather than a plural marker. In this case one may read “God.” Some, following a Qumran text and the LXX, also propose the phrase occurred in the original text of Deut 32:8. The phrase בְנֵי אֵלִים (vÿney ’elim, “sons of gods” or “sons of God”) occurs only here and in Ps 29:1. Since the “sons of gods/God” are here associated with “the assembly of the holy ones” and “council of the holy ones,” the heavenly assembly (comprised of so-called “angels” and other supernatural beings) appears to be in view. See Job 5:1; 15:15 and Zech 14:5, where these supernatural beings are referred to as “holy ones.” In Canaanite mythological texts the divine council of the high god El is called “the sons of El.” The OT apparently uses the Canaanite phrase, applying it to the supernatural beings that surround the Lord’s heavenly throne.

[89:8]  ²⁰ tn Traditionally “God of hosts.” The title here pictures the Lord as enthroned in the midst of the angelic hosts of heaven.

[40:25]  ²¹ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[10:6]  ²² tn The words “I said” are not in the Hebrew text, but there appears to be a shift in speaker. Someone is now addressing the Lord. The likely speaker is Jeremiah, so the words “I said” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[10:6]  ²³ tn The form that introduces this line has raised debate. The form מֵאֵין (me’en) normally means “without” and introduces a qualification of a term expressing desolation or “so that not” and introduces a negative result (cf. BDB 35 s.v. II אַיִן 6.b). Neither of these nuances fit either this verse or the occurrence in v. 7. BDB 35 s.v. II אַיִן 6.b.γ notes that some have explained this as a strengthened form of אַיִן (’ayin) which occurs in a similar phrase five other times (cf., e.g., 1 Kgs 8:23). Though many including BDB question the validity of this solution it is probably better than the suggestion that BDB gives of repointing to מֵאַיִן (me’ayin, “whence”), which scarcely fits the context of v. 7, or the solution of HALOT 41 s.v. I אַיִן, which suggests that the מ (mem) is a double writing (dittograph) of the final consonant from the preceding word. That would assume that the scribe made the same error twice or was influenced the second time by the first erroneous writing.

[10:6]  ²⁴ tn Heb “Great is your name in power.”

[3:29]  ²⁵ tn Aram “from me is placed an edict.”

[3:29]  ²⁶ tn Aram “speaks negligence.”