Exodus 5:2

5:2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord ¹  that ²  I should obey him ³  by releasing ⁴  Israel? I do not know the Lord, ⁵  and I will not release Israel!”

Exodus 5:1

Opposition to the Plan of God

5:1 ⁶ Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “Thus says the Lord, ⁷  the God of Israel, ‘Release ⁸  my people so that they may hold a pilgrim feast ⁹  to me in the desert.’”

Exodus 2:12

2:12 He looked this way and that ¹⁰  and saw that no one was there, ¹¹  and then he attacked ¹²  the Egyptian and concealed the body ¹³  in the sand.

Exodus 2:1

The Birth of the Deliverer

2:1 ¹⁴ A man from the household ¹⁵  of Levi married ¹⁶  a woman who was a descendant of Levi. ¹⁷ 

Exodus 28:9

28:9 “You are to take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, ¹⁸ 

Job 21:14

21:14 So they say to God, ‘Turn away from us!

We do not want to ¹⁹  know your ways. ²⁰ 

Psalms 92:5-6

92:5 How great are your works, O Lord!

Your plans are very intricate! ²¹ 

92:6 The spiritually insensitive do not recognize this;

the fool does not understand this. ²² 

Isaiah 5:12

5:12 They have stringed instruments, ²³  tambourines, flutes,

and wine at their parties.

So they do not recognize what the Lord is doing,

they do not perceive what he is bringing about. ²⁴ 

Jeremiah 9:3

The Lord Laments That He Has No Choice But to Judge Them

9:3 The Lord says, ²⁵ 

“These people are like soldiers who have readied their bows.

Their tongues are always ready to shoot out lies. ²⁶ 

They have become powerful in the land,

but they have not done so by honest means. ²⁷ 

Indeed, they do one evil thing after another ²⁸ 

and do not pay attention to me. ²⁹ 

Jeremiah 22:16

22:16 He upheld the cause of the poor and needy.

So things went well for Judah.’ ³⁰ 

The Lord says,

‘That is a good example of what it means to know me.’ ³¹ 

Jeremiah 31:34

31:34 “People will no longer need to teach their neighbors and relatives to know me. ³²  For all of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me,” ³³  says the Lord. “For ³⁴  I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done.”

Galatians 4:8-9

Heirs of Promise Are Not to Return to Law

4:8 Formerly when you did not know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods at all. ³⁵  4:9 But now that you have come to know God (or rather to be known by God), how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless ³⁶  basic forces? ³⁷  Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again? ³⁸ 

Galatians 4:2

4:2 But he is under guardians ³⁹  and managers until the date set by his ⁴⁰  father.

Galatians 1:8

1:8 But even if we (or an angel from heaven) should preach ⁴¹  a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, ⁴²  let him be condemned to hell! ⁴³ 

Titus 1:16

1:16 They profess to know God but with their deeds they deny him, since they are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.

[5:2]  ¹ tn Heb “Yahweh.” This is a rhetorical question, expressing doubt or indignation or simply a negative thought that Yahweh is nothing (see erotesis in E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 944-45). Pharaoh is not asking for information (cf. 1 Sam 25:5-10).

[5:2]  ² tn The relative pronoun introduces the consecutive clause that depends on the interrogative clause (see GKC 318-19 §107.u).

[5:2]  ³ tn The imperfect tense here receives the classification of obligatory imperfect. The verb שָׁמַע (shama’) followed by “in the voice of” is idiomatic; rather than referring to simple audition – “that I should hear his voice” – it conveys the thought of listening that issues in action – “that I should obey him.”

[5:2]  ⁴ tn The Piel infinitive construct here has the epexegetical usage with lamed (ל); it explains the verb “obey.”

[5:2]  ⁵ sn This absolute statement of Pharaoh is part of a motif that will develop throughout the conflict. For Pharaoh, the Lord (Yahweh) did not exist. So he said “I do not know the Lord [i.e., Yahweh].” The point of the plagues and the exodus will be “that he might know.” Pharaoh will come to know this Yahweh, but not in any pleasant way.

[5:1]  ⁶ sn The enthusiasm of the worshipers in the preceding chapter turns sour in this one when Pharaoh refuses to cooperate. The point is clear that when the people of God attempt to devote their full service and allegiance to God, they encounter opposition from the world. Rather than finding instant blessing and peace, they find conflict. This is the theme that will continue through the plague narratives. But what makes chapter 5 especially interesting is how the people reacted to this opposition. The chapter has three sections: first, the confrontation between Moses and Pharaoh (vv. 1-5); then the report of the stern opposition of the king (vv. 6-14); and finally, the sad account of the effect of this opposition on the people (vv. 15-21).

[5:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “Yahweh.”

[5:1]  ⁸ tn The form שַׁלַּח (shallakh), the Piel imperative, has been traditionally translated “let [my people] go.” The Qal would be “send”; so the Piel “send away, release, dismiss, discharge.” B. Jacob observes, “If a person was dismissed through the use of this verb, then he ceased to be within the power or sphere of influence of the individual who had dismissed him. He was completely free and subsequently acted entirely on his own responsibility” (Exodus, 115).

[5:1]  ⁹ tn The verb חָגַג (khagag) means to hold a feast or to go on a pilgrim feast. The Arabic cognate of the noun form is haj, best known for the pilgrim flight of Mohammed, the hajira. The form in the text (וְיָחֹגּוּ, vÿyakhoggu) is subordinated to the imperative and thus shows the purpose of the imperative.

[2:12]  ¹⁰ tn The text literally says, “and he turned thus and thus” (וַיִּפֶן כֹּה וָכֹה, vayyifen koh vakhoh). It may indicate that he turned his gaze in all directions to ascertain that no one would observe what he did. Or, as B. Jacob argues, it may mean that he saw that there was no one to do justice and so he did it himself (Exodus, 37-38, citing Isa 59:15-16).

[2:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he saw that there was no man.”

[2:12]  ¹² sn The verb וַיַּךְ (vayyakh) is from the root נָכָה (nakhah, “to smite, attack”) which is used in v. 11. This new attack is fatal. The repetition of the verb, especially in Exodus, anticipates the idea of “eye for eye, tooth for tooth.” The problem is, however, that Moses was not authorized to take this matter into his own hands in this way. The question the next day was appropriate: “Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?” The answer? No one – yet.

[2:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “him”; for stylistic reasons the referent has been specified as “the body.”

[2:1]  ¹⁴ sn The chapter records the exceptional survival of Moses under the decree of death by Pharaoh (vv. 1-10), the flight of Moses from Pharaoh after killing the Egyptian (vv. 11-15), the marriage of Moses (vv. 16-22), and finally a note about the Lord’s hearing the sighing of the people in bondage (vv. 23-25). The first part is the birth. The Bible has several stories about miraculous or special births and deliverances of those destined to lead Israel. Their impact is essentially to authenticate the individual’s ministry. If the person’s beginning was providentially provided and protected by the Lord, then the mission must be of divine origin too. In this chapter the plot works around the decree for the death of the children – a decree undone by the women. The second part of the chapter records Moses’ flight and marriage. Having introduced the deliverer Moses in such an auspicious way, the chapter then records how this deliverer acted presumptuously and had to flee for his life. Any deliverance God desired had to be supernatural, as the chapter’s final note about answering prayer shows.

[2:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “house.” In other words, the tribe of Levi.

[2:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “went and took”; NASB “went and married.”

[2:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “a daughter of Levi.” The word “daughter” is used in the sense of “descendant” and connects the new account with Pharaoh’s command in 1:22. The words “a woman who was” are added for clarity in English.

[28:9]  ¹⁸ tn Although this is normally translated “Israelites,” here a more literal translation is clearer because it refers to the names of the twelve tribes – the actual sons of Israel.

[21:14]  ¹⁹ tn The absence of the preposition before the complement adds greater vividness to the statement: “and knowing your ways – we do not desire.”

[21:14]  ²⁰ sn Contrast Ps 25:4, which affirms that walking in God’s ways means to obey God’s will – the Torah.

[92:5]  ²¹ tn Heb “very deep [are] your thoughts.” God’s “thoughts” refer here to his moral design of the world, as outlined in vv. 6-15.

[92:6]  ²² tn Heb “the brutish man does not know, and the fool does not understand this.” The adjective בַּעַר (ba’ar, “brutish”) refers to spiritual insensitivity, not mere lack of intelligence or reasoning ability (see Pss 49:10; 73:22; Prov 12:1; 30:2, as well as the use of the related verb in Ps 94:8).

[5:12]  ²³ tn Two types of stringed instruments are specifically mentioned in the Hebrew text, the כִּנּוֹר (kinnor, “zither”) and נֶבֶל (nevel, “harp”).

[5:12]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the work of the Lord they do not look at, and the work of his hands they do not see.” God’s “work” can sometimes be his creative deeds, but in this context it is the judgment that he is planning to bring upon his people (cf. vv. 19, 26; 10:12; 28:21).

[9:3]  ²⁵ tn The words “The Lord says” have been moved up from the end of the verse to make clear that a change in speaker has occurred.

[9:3]  ²⁶ tn Heb “They have readied [or strung] their tongue as their bow for lies.”

[9:3]  ²⁷ tn Heb “but not through honesty.”

[9:3]  ²⁸ tn Heb “they go from evil to evil.”

[9:3]  ²⁹ tn Or “do not acknowledge me”; Heb “do not know me.” But “knowing” in Hebrew thought often involves more than intellectual knowledge; it involves emotional and volitional commitment as well. For יָדַע meaning “acknowledge” see 1 Chr 28:9; Isa 29:21; Hos 2:20; Prov 3:6. This word is also found in ancient Near Eastern treaty contexts where it has the idea of a vassal king acknowledging the sovereignty of a greater king (cf. H. Huffmon, “The Treaty Background of Hebrew yada,” BASOR 181 [1966]: 31-37).

[22:16]  ³⁰ tn The words “for Judah” are not in the text, but the absence of the preposition plus object as in the preceding verse suggests that this is a more general statement, i.e., “things went well for everyone.”

[22:16]  ³¹ tn Heb “Is that not what it means to know me.” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer. It is translated in the light of the context.

[31:34]  ³² tn Heb “teach…, saying, ‘Know the Lord.’” The indirect quote has been chosen for stylistic reasons, i.e., to better parallel the following line.

[31:34]  ³³ sn This statement should be understood against the background of Jer 8:8-9 where class distinctions were drawn and certain people were considered to have more awareness and responsibility for knowing the law and also Jer 5:1-5 and 9:3-9 where the sinfulness of Israel was seen to be universal across these class distinctions and no trust was to be placed in friends, neighbors, or relatives because all without distinction had cast off God’s yoke (i.e., refused to submit themselves to his authority).

[31:34]  ³⁴ tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) that introduces this clause refers to more than just the preceding clause (i.e., that all will know the Lord) but to all of vv. 31-34a (See BDB 474 s.v. כִּי 3.c).

[4:8]  ³⁵ tn Grk “those that by nature…” with the word “beings” implied. BDAG 1070 s.v. φύσις 2 sees this as referring to pagan worship: “Polytheists worship…beings that are by nature no gods at all Gal 4:8.”

[4:9]  ³⁶ tn Or “useless.” See L&N 65.16.

[4:9]  ³⁷ tn See the note on the phrase “basic forces” in 4:3.

[4:9]  ³⁸ tn Grk “basic forces, to which you want to be enslaved…” Verse 9 is a single sentence in the Greek text, but has been divided into two in the translation because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence.

[4:2]  ³⁹ tn The Greek term translated “guardians” here is ἐπίτροπος (epitropo"), whose semantic domain overlaps with that of παιδαγωγός (paidagwgo") according to L&N 36.5.

[4:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “the,” but the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[1:8]  ⁴¹ tc ‡ Most witnesses have ὑμῖν (Jumin, “to you”) either after (א² A [D* ὑμᾶς] 6 33 326 614 945 1881 Ï Tert^pt Ambst) or before (Ì^51vid B H 0278 630 1175 [1739* ἡμῖν]) εὐαγγελίζηται (euaggelizhtai, “should preach” [or some variation on the form of this verb]). But the fact that it floats suggests its inauthenticity, especially since it appears to be a motivated reading for purposes of clarification. The following witnesses lack the pronoun: א* F G Ψ ar b g Cyp Mcion^T Tert^pt Lcf. The external evidence admittedly is not as weighty as evidence for the pronoun, but coupled with strong internal evidence the shorter reading should be considered original. Although it is possible that scribes may have deleted the pronoun to make Paul’s statement seem more universal, the fact that the pronoun floats suggests otherwise. NA²⁷ has the pronoun in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.

[1:8]  ⁴² tn Or “other than the one we preached to you.”

[1:8]  ⁴³ tn Grk “let him be accursed” (ἀνάθεμα, anaqema). The translation gives the outcome which is implied by this dreadful curse.