Exodus 9:19-21

9:19 So now, send instructions ¹  to gather ²  your livestock and all your possessions in the fields to a safe place. Every person ³  or animal caught ⁴  in the field and not brought into the house – the hail will come down on them, and they will die!”’”

9:20 Those ⁵  of Pharaoh’s servants who feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring their ⁶  servants and livestock into the houses, 9:21 but those ⁷  who did not take ⁸  the word of the Lord seriously left their servants and their cattle ⁹  in the field.

Exodus 9:2

9:2 For if you refuse to release them ¹⁰  and continue holding them, ¹¹ 

Exodus 6:10

6:10 Then the Lord said to Moses,

Acts 2:37-41

The Response to Peter’s Address

2:37 Now when they heard this, ¹²  they were acutely distressed ¹³  and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “What should we do, brothers?” 2:38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each one of you be baptized ¹⁴  in the name of Jesus Christ ¹⁵  for ¹⁶  the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ¹⁷  2:39 For the promise ¹⁸  is for you and your children, and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.” 2:40 With many other words he testified ¹⁹  and exhorted them saying, “Save yourselves from this perverse ²⁰  generation!” 2:41 So those who accepted ²¹  his message ²²  were baptized, and that day about three thousand people ²³  were added. ²⁴ 

Hebrews 11:7

11:7 By faith Noah, when he was warned about things not yet seen, with reverent regard ²⁵  constructed an ark for the deliverance of his family. Through faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

[9:19]  ¹ tn The object “instructions” is implied in the context.

[9:19]  ² tn הָעֵז (ha’ez) is the Hiphil imperative from עוּז (’uz, “to bring into safety” or “to secure”). Although there is no vav (ו) linking the two imperatives, the second could be subordinated by virtue of the meanings. “Send to bring to safety.”

[9:19]  ³ tn Heb “man, human.”

[9:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “[who] may be found.” The verb can be the imperfect of possibility.

[9:20]  ⁵ tn The text has “the one fearing.” The singular expression here and throughout vv. 20-21 refers to all who fit the description.

[9:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “his” (singular).

[9:21]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew text again has the singular.

[9:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “put to his heart.”

[9:21]  ⁹ tn Heb “his servants and his cattle.”

[9:2]  ¹⁰ tn The object “them” is implied in the context.

[9:2]  ¹¹ tn עוֹד (’od), an adverb meaning “yet, still,” can be inflected with suffixes and used as a predicator of existence, with the nuance “to still be, yet be” (T. O. Lambdin, Introduction to Biblical Hebrew, 171-72, §137). Then, it is joined here with the Hiphil participle מַחֲזִיק (makhaziq) to form the sentence “you are still holding them.”

[2:37]  ¹² tn The word “this” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[2:37]  ¹³ tn Grk “they were pierced to the heart” (an idiom for acute emotional distress).

[2:38]  ¹⁴ tn The verb is a third person imperative, but the common translation “let each of you be baptized” obscures the imperative force in English, since it sounds more like a permissive (“each of you may be baptized”) to the average English reader.

[2:38]  ¹⁵ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[2:38]  ¹⁶ tn There is debate over the meaning of εἰς in the prepositional phrase εἰς ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ὑμῶν (eis afesin twn Jamartiwn Jumwn, “for/because of/with reference to the forgiveness of your sins”). Although a causal sense has been argued, it is difficult to maintain here. ExSyn 369-71 discusses at least four other ways of dealing with the passage: (1) The baptism referred to here is physical only, and εἰς has the meaning of “for” or “unto.” Such a view suggests that salvation is based on works – an idea that runs counter to the theology of Acts, namely: (a) repentance often precedes baptism (cf. Acts 3:19; 26:20), and (b) salvation is entirely a gift of God, not procured via water baptism (Acts 10:43 [cf. v. 47]; 13:38-39, 48; 15:11; 16:30-31; 20:21; 26:18); (2) The baptism referred to here is spiritual only. Although such a view fits well with the theology of Acts, it does not fit well with the obvious meaning of “baptism” in Acts – especially in this text (cf. 2:41); (3) The text should be repunctuated in light of the shift from second person plural to third person singular back to second person plural again. The idea then would be, “Repent for/with reference to your sins, and let each one of you be baptized…” Such a view is an acceptable way of handling εἰς, but its subtlety and awkwardness count against it; (4) Finally, it is possible that to a first-century Jewish audience (as well as to Peter), the idea of baptism might incorporate both the spiritual reality and the physical symbol. That Peter connects both closely in his thinking is clear from other passages such as Acts 10:47 and 11:15-16. If this interpretation is correct, then Acts 2:38 is saying very little about the specific theological relationship between the symbol and the reality, only that historically they were viewed together. One must look in other places for a theological analysis. For further discussion see R. N. Longenecker, “Acts,” EBC 9:283-85; B. Witherington, Acts, 154-55; F. F. Bruce, The Acts of the Apostles: The Greek Text with Introduction and Commentary, 129-30; BDAG 290 s.v. εἰς 4.f.

[2:38]  ¹⁷ tn Here the genitive τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος (tou Jagiou pneumato") is a genitive of apposition; the gift consists of the Holy Spirit.

[2:39]  ¹⁸ sn The promise refers to the promise of the Holy Spirit that Jesus received from the Father in 2:33 and which he now pours out on others. The promise consists of the Holy Spirit (see note in 2:33). Jesus is the active mediator of God’s blessing.

[2:40]  ¹⁹ tn Or “warned.”

[2:40]  ²⁰ tn Or “crooked” (in a moral or ethical sense). See Luke 3:5.

[2:41]  ²¹ tn Or “who acknowledged the truth of.”

[2:41]  ²² tn Grk “word.”

[2:41]  ²³ tn Grk “souls” (here an idiom for the whole person).

[2:41]  ²⁴ tn Or “were won over.”

[11:7]  ²⁵ tn Cf. BDAG 407 s.v. εὐλαβέομαι 2, “out of reverent regard (for God’s command).”