Exodus 8:15

8:15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, ¹  he hardened ²  his heart and did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted. ³ 

Matthew 12:45

12:45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so ⁴  the last state of that person is worse than the first. It will be that way for this evil generation as well!”

Matthew 12:2

12:2 But when the Pharisees ⁵  saw this they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is against the law to do on the Sabbath.”

Matthew 2:22

2:22 But when he heard that Archelaus ⁶  was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, ⁷  he was afraid to go there. After being warned in a dream, he went to the regions of Galilee.

[8:15]  ¹ tn The word רְוָחָה (rÿvakhah) means “respite, relief.” BDB 926 relates it to the verb רָוַח (ravakh, “to be wide, spacious”). There would be relief when there was freedom to move about.

[8:15]  ² tn וְהַכְבֵּד (vÿhakhbed) is a Hiphil infinitive absolute, functioning as a finite verb. The meaning of the word is “to make heavy,” and so stubborn, sluggish, indifferent. It summarizes his attitude and the outcome, that he refused to keep his promises.

[8:15]  ³ sn The end of the plague revealed clearly God’s absolute control over Egypt’s life and deities – all at the power of the man who prayed to God. Yahweh had made life unpleasant for the people by sending the plague, but he was also the one who could remove it. The only recourse anyone has in such trouble is to pray to the sovereign Lord God. Everyone should know that there is no one like Yahweh.

[12:45]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the concluding point of the story.

[12:2]  ⁵ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[2:22]  ⁶ sn Archelaus took after his father Herod the Great in terms of cruelty and ruthlessness, so Joseph was afraid to go there. After further direction in a dream, he went instead to Galilee.

[2:22]  ⁷ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1.