Discovery BoxExodus 3:7-8
Context3:7 The Lord said, “I have surely seen 1 the affliction of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. 2 3:8 I have come down 3 to deliver them 4 from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a land that is both good and spacious, 5 to a land flowing with milk and honey, 6 to the region of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 7
Psalms 12:5
Context12:5 “Because of the violence done to the oppressed, 8
because of the painful cries 9 of the needy,
I will spring into action,” 10 says the Lord.
“I will provide the safety they so desperately desire.” 11
Psalms 72:12-13
Context72:12 For he will rescue the needy 12 when they cry out for help,
and the oppressed 13 who have no defender.
72:13 He will take pity 14 on the poor and needy;
the lives of the needy he will save.
Psalms 140:12
Context140:12 I know 15 that the Lord defends the cause of the oppressed
and vindicates the poor. 16
Isaiah 61:1-3
Context61:1 The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me,
because the Lord has chosen 17 me. 18
He has commissioned 19 me to encourage 20 the poor,
to help 21 the brokenhearted,
to decree the release of captives,
and the freeing of prisoners,
61:2 to announce the year when the Lord will show his favor,
the day when our God will seek vengeance, 22
to console all who mourn,
61:3 to strengthen those who mourn in Zion,
by giving them a turban, instead of ashes,
oil symbolizing joy, 23 instead of mourning,
a garment symbolizing praise, 24 instead of discouragement. 25
They will be called oaks of righteousness, 26
trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor. 27
Isaiah 63:9
Context63:9 Through all that they suffered, he suffered too. 28
The messenger sent from his very presence 29 delivered them.
In his love and mercy he protected 30 them;
he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times. 31
Matthew 5:3
Context5:3 “Blessed 32 are the poor in spirit, 33 for the kingdom of heaven belongs 34 to them.
[3:7] 1 tn The use of the infinitive absolute with the perfect tense intensifies the statement: I have surely seen – there is no doubt that I have seen and will do something about it.
[3:7] 2 sn Two new words are introduced now to the report of suffering: “affliction” and “pain/suffering.” These add to the dimension of the oppression of God’s people.
[3:8] 3 sn God’s coming down is a frequent anthropomorphism in Genesis and Exodus. It expresses his direct involvement, often in the exercise of judgment.
[3:8] 4 tn The Hiphil infinitive with the suffix is לְהַצִּילוֹ (lÿhatsilo, “to deliver them”). It expresses the purpose of God’s coming down. The verb itself is used for delivering or rescuing in the general sense, and snatching out of danger for the specific.
[3:8] 5 tn Heb “to a land good and large”; NRSV “to a good and broad land.” In the translation the words “that is both” are supplied because in contemporary English “good and” combined with any additional descriptive term can be understood as elative (“good and large” = “very large”; “good and spacious” = “very spacious”; “good and ready” = “very ready”). The point made in the Hebrew text is that the land to which they are going is both good (in terms of quality) and large (in terms of size).
[3:8] 6 tn This vibrant description of the promised land is a familiar one. Gesenius classifies “milk and honey” as epexegetical genitives because they provide more precise description following a verbal adjective in the construct state (GKC 418-19 §128.x). The land is modified by “flowing,” and “flowing” is explained by the genitives “milk and honey.” These two products will be in abundance in the land, and they therefore exemplify what a desirable land it is. The language is hyperbolic, as if the land were streaming with these products.
[3:8] 7 tn Each people group is joined to the preceding by the vav conjunction, “and.” Each also has the definite article, as in other similar lists (3:17; 13:5; 34:11). To repeat the conjunction and article in the translation seems to put more weight on the list in English than is necessary to its function in identifying what land God was giving the Israelites.
[12:5] 8 tn The term translated “oppressed” is an objective genitive; the oppressed are the recipients/victims of violence.
[12:5] 9 tn Elsewhere in the psalms this noun is used of the painful groans of prisoners awaiting death (79:11; 102:20). The related verb is used of the painful groaning of those wounded in combat (Jer 51:52; Ezek 26:15) and of the mournful sighing of those in grief (Ezek 9:4; 24:17).
[12:5] 10 tn Heb “I will rise up.”
[12:5] 11 tn Heb “I will place in deliverance, he pants for it.” The final two words in Hebrew (יָפִיחַ לוֹ, yafiakh lo) comprise an asyndetic relative clause, “the one who pants for it.” “The one who pants” is the object of the verb “place” and the antecedent of the pronominal suffix (in the phrase “for it”) is “deliverance.” Another option is to translate, “I will place in deliverance the witness for him,” repointing יָפִיחַ (a Hiphil imperfect from פּוּחַ, puakh, “pant”) as יָפֵחַ (yafeakh), a noun meaning “witness.” In this case the
[72:12] 12 tn The singular is representative. The typical needy individual here represents the entire group.
[72:12] 13 tn The singular is representative. The typical oppressed individual here represents the entire group.
[72:13] 14 tn The prefixed verb form is best understood as a defectively written imperfect (see Deut 7:16).
[140:12] 15 tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew
[140:12] 16 tn Heb “and the just cause of the poor.”
[61:1] 17 tn Heb “anointed,” i.e., designated to carry out an assigned task.
[61:1] 18 sn The speaker is not identified, but he is distinct from the Lord and from Zion’s suffering people. He possesses the divine spirit, is God’s spokesman, and is sent to release prisoners from bondage. The evidence suggests he is the Lord’s special servant, described earlier in the servant songs (see 42:1-4, 7; 49:2, 9; 50:4; see also 51:16).
[61:1] 19 tn Or “sent” (NAB); NCV “has appointed me.”
[61:1] 20 tn Or “proclaim good news to.”
[61:1] 21 tn Heb “to bind up [the wounds of].”
[61:2] 22 tn Heb “to announce the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance.
[61:3] 23 tn Heb “oil of joy” (KJV, ASV); NASB, NIV, NRSV “the oil of gladness.”
[61:3] 24 tn Heb “garment of praise.”
[61:3] 25 tn Heb “a faint spirit” (so NRSV); KJV, ASV “the spirit of heaviness”; NASB “a spirit of fainting.”
[61:3] 26 tn Rather than referring to the character of the people, צֶדֶק (tsedeq) may carry the nuance “vindication” here, suggesting that God’s restored people are a testimony to his justice. See v. 2, which alludes to the fact that God will take vengeance against the enemies of his people. Cf. NAB “oaks of justice.”
[61:3] 27 tn Heb “a planting of the Lord to reveal splendor.”
[63:9] 28 tn Heb “in all their distress, there was distress to him” (reading לוֹ [lo] with the margin/Qere).
[63:9] 29 tn Heb “the messenger [or “angel”] of his face”; NIV “the angel of his presence.”
[63:9] 30 tn Or “redeemed” (KJV, NAB, NIV), or “delivered.”
[63:9] 31 tn Heb “all the days of antiquity”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “days of old.”
[5:3] 32 sn The term Blessed introduces the first of several beatitudes promising blessing to those whom God cares for. They serve as an invitation to come into the grace God offers.
[5:3] 33 sn The poor in spirit is a reference to the “pious poor” for whom God especially cares. See Ps 14:6; 22:24; 25:16; 34:6; 40:17; 69:29.
[5:3] 34 sn The present tense (belongs) here is significant. Jesus makes the kingdom and its blessings currently available. This phrase is unlike the others in the list with the possessive pronoun being emphasized.
