Exodus 4:18

The Return of Moses

4:18 ¹ So Moses went back ²  to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, “Let me go, so that I may return ³  to my relatives ⁴  in Egypt and see ⁵  if they are still alive.” Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.”

Exodus 4:1

The Source of Sufficiency

4:1 ⁶ Moses answered again, ⁷  “And if ⁸  they do not believe me or pay attention to me, ⁹  but say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you’?”

Exodus 1:17

1:17 But ¹⁰  the midwives feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live. ¹¹ 

Exodus 25:35

25:35 with a bud under the first ¹²  two branches from it, and a bud under the next ¹³  two branches from it, and a bud under the third ¹⁴  two branches from it, according to the six branches that extend from the lampstand.

Mark 5:34

5:34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. ¹⁵  Go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

Luke 7:50

7:50 He ¹⁶  said to the woman, “Your faith ¹⁷  has saved you; ¹⁸  go in peace.”

Luke 8:48

8:48 Then ¹⁹  he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. ²⁰  Go in peace.”

[4:18]  ¹ sn This last section of the chapter reports Moses’ compliance with the commission. It has four parts: the decision to return (18-20), the instruction (21-23), the confrontation with Yahweh (24-26), and the presentation with Aaron (27-31).

[4:18]  ² tn The two verbs form a verbal hendiadys, the second verb becoming adverbial in the translation: “and he went and he returned” becomes “and he went back.”

[4:18]  ³ tn There is a sequence here with the two cohortative forms: אֵלְכָה נָּא וְאָשׁוּבָה (’elÿkhah nna’ vÿ’ashuva) – “let me go in order that I may return.”

[4:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “brothers.”

[4:18]  ⁵ tn This verb is parallel to the preceding cohortative and so also expresses purpose: “let me go that I may return…and that I may see.”

[4:1]  ⁶ sn In chap. 3, the first part of this extensive call, Yahweh promises to deliver his people. At the hesitancy of Moses, God guarantees his presence will be with him, and that assures the success of the mission. But with chap. 4, the second half of the call, the tone changes sharply. Now Moses protests his inadequacies in view of the nature of the task. In many ways, these verses address the question, “Who is sufficient for these things?” There are three basic movements in the passage. The first nine verses tell how God gave Moses signs in case Israel did not believe him (4:1-9). The second section records how God dealt with the speech problem of Moses (4:10-12). And finally, the last section records God’s provision of a helper, someone who could talk well (4:13-17). See also J. E. Hamlin, “The Liberator’s Ordeal: A Study of Exodus 4:1-9,” Rhetorical Criticism [PTMS], 33-42.

[4:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “and Moses answered and said.”

[4:1]  ⁸ tn Or “What if.” The use of הֵן (hen) is unusual here, introducing a conditional idea in the question without a following consequence clause (see Exod 8:22 HT [8:26 ET]; Jer 2:10; 2 Chr 7:13). The Greek has “if not” but adds the clause “what shall I say to them?”

[4:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “listen to my voice,” so as to respond positively.

[1:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and they [fem. pl.] feared”; the referent (the midwives) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:17]  ¹¹ tn The verb is the Piel preterite of חָיָה (khaya, “to live”). The Piel often indicates a factitive nuance with stative verbs, showing the cause of the action. Here it means “let live, cause to live.” The verb is the exact opposite of Pharaoh’s command for them to kill the boys.

[25:35]  ¹² tn For clarity the phrase “the first” has been supplied.

[25:35]  ¹³ tn For clarity the phrase “the next” has been supplied.

[25:35]  ¹⁴ tn For clarity the phrase “the third” has been supplied.

[5:34]  ¹⁵ tn Or “has delivered you”; Grk “has saved you.” This should not be understood as an expression for full salvation in the immediate context; it refers only to the woman’s healing.

[7:50]  ¹⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[7:50]  ¹⁷ sn On faith see Luke 5:20; 7:9; 8:25; 12:28; 17:6; 18:8; 22:32.

[7:50]  ¹⁸ sn The questioning did not stop Jesus. He declared authoritatively that the woman was forgiven by God (your faith has saved you). This event is a concrete example of Luke 5:31-32.

[8:48]  ¹⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[8:48]  ²⁰ tn Or “has delivered you”; Grk “has saved you.” This should not be understood as an expression for full salvation in the immediate context; it refers only to the woman’s healing.