Exodus 14:19-24

14:19 The angel of God, who was going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them, and the pillar ¹  of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them. 14:20 It came between the Egyptian camp and the Israelite camp; it was a dark cloud ²  and it lit up the night so that one camp did not come near the other ³  the whole night. ⁴  14:21 Moses stretched out his hand toward the sea, and the Lord drove the sea apart ⁵  by a strong east wind all that night, and he made the sea into dry land, and the water was divided. 14:22 So the Israelites went through the middle of the sea on dry ground, the water forming a wall ⁶  for them on their right and on their left.

14:23 The Egyptians chased them and followed them into the middle of the sea – all the horses of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen. 14:24 In the morning watch ⁷  the Lord looked down ⁸  on the Egyptian army ⁹  through the pillar of fire and cloud, and he threw the Egyptian army ¹⁰  into a panic. ¹¹ 

Exodus 40:34-38

40:34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 40:35 Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 40:36 But when the cloud was lifted up ¹²  from the tabernacle, the Israelites would set out ¹³  on all their journeys; 40:37 but if the cloud was not lifted up, then they would not journey further until the day it was lifted up. ¹⁴  40:38 For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, but fire would be ¹⁵  on it at night, in plain view ¹⁶  of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

Numbers 9:15-23

The Leading of the Lord

9:15 ¹⁷ On ¹⁸  the day that the tabernacle was set up, ¹⁹  the cloud ²⁰  covered the tabernacle – the tent of the testimony ²¹  – and from evening until morning there was ²²  a fiery appearance ²³  over the tabernacle. 9:16 This is the way it used to be continually: The cloud would cover it by day, ²⁴  and there was a fiery appearance by night. 9:17 Whenever the cloud was taken up ²⁵  from the tabernacle, then after that the Israelites would begin their journey; and in whatever place ²⁶  the cloud settled, there the Israelites would make camp. 9:18 At the commandment ²⁷  of the Lord the Israelites would begin their journey, and at the commandment of the Lord they would make camp; as long as ²⁸  the cloud remained settled over the tabernacle they would camp. 9:19 When the cloud remained over the tabernacle many days, then the Israelites obeyed the instructions ²⁹  of the Lord and did not journey.

9:20 When ³⁰  the cloud remained over the tabernacle a number of days, ³¹  they remained camped according to the Lord’s commandment, ³²  and according to the Lord’s commandment they would journey. 9:21 And when ³³  the cloud remained only ³⁴  from evening until morning, when the cloud was taken up ³⁵  the following morning, then they traveled on. Whether by day or by night, when the cloud was taken up they traveled. 9:22 Whether it was for two days, or a month, or a year, ³⁶  that the cloud prolonged its stay ³⁷  over the tabernacle, the Israelites remained camped without traveling; ³⁸  but when it was taken up, they traveled on. 9:23 At the commandment of the Lord they camped, and at the commandment of the Lord they traveled on; they kept the instructions of the Lord according to the commandment of the Lord, by the authority ³⁹  of Moses.

Numbers 10:34

10:34 ⁴⁰  And the cloud of the Lord was over them by day, when they traveled ⁴¹  from the camp.

Numbers 14:14

14:14 then they will tell it to the inhabitants ⁴²  of this land. They have heard that you, Lord, are among this people, that you, Lord, are seen face to face, ⁴³  that your cloud stands over them, and that you go before them by day in a pillar of cloud and in a pillar of fire by night.

Deuteronomy 1:33

1:33 the one who was constantly going before you to find places for you to set up camp. He appeared by fire at night and cloud by day, to show you the way you ought to go.

Nehemiah 9:12

9:12 You guided them with a pillar of cloud by day and with a pillar of fire by night to illumine for them the path they were to travel.

Nehemiah 9:19

9:19 “Due to your great compassion you did not abandon them in the desert. The pillar of cloud did not stop guiding them in the path by day, ⁴⁴  nor did the pillar of fire stop illuminating for them by night the path on which they should travel.

Psalms 78:14

78:14 He led them with a cloud by day,

and with the light of a fire all night long.

Psalms 99:7

99:7 He spoke to them from a pillar of cloud; ⁴⁵ 

they obeyed his regulations and the ordinance he gave them.

Psalms 105:39

105:39 He spread out a cloud for a cover, ⁴⁶ 

and provided a fire to light up the night.

Isaiah 4:5-6

4:5 Then the Lord will create

over all of Mount Zion ⁴⁷ 

and over its convocations

a cloud and smoke by day

and a bright flame of fire by night; ⁴⁸ 

indeed a canopy will accompany the Lord’s glorious presence. ⁴⁹ 

4:6 By day it will be a shelter to provide shade from the heat,

as well as safety and protection from the heavy downpour. ⁵⁰ 

Isaiah 4:1

4:1 Seven women will grab hold of

one man at that time. ⁵¹ 

They will say, “We will provide ⁵²  our own food,

we will provide ⁵³  our own clothes;

but let us belong to you ⁵⁴  –

take away our shame!” ⁵⁵ 

Colossians 1:1-2

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁵⁶  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 1:2 to the saints, the faithful ⁵⁷  brothers and sisters ⁵⁸  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ⁵⁹  from God our Father! ⁶⁰ 

[14:19]  ¹ sn B. Jacob (Exodus, 400-401) makes a good case that there may have been only one pillar, one cloud; it would have been a dark cloud behind it, but in front of it, shining the way, a pillar of fire. He compares the manifestation on Sinai, when the mountain was on fire but veiled by a dark cloud (Deut 4:11; 5:22). See also Exod 13:21; Num 14:14; Deut 1:33; Neh 9:12, 19; Josh 24:7; Pss 78:14; 105:39.

[14:20]  ² tn The two nouns “cloud” and “darkness” form a nominal hendiadys: “and it was the cloud and the darkness” means “and it was the dark cloud.” Perhaps this is what the Egyptians saw, preventing them from observing Moses and the Israelites.

[14:20]  ³ tn Heb “this to this”; for the use of the pronouns in this reciprocal sense of “the one to the other,” see GKC 448 §139.e, n. 3.

[14:20]  ⁴ tc The LXX reads very differently at the end of this verse: “and there was darkness and blackness and the night passed.” B. S. Childs (Exodus [OTL], 218) summarizes three proposals: (1) One takes the MT as it stands and explains it along the lines of the Targum and Jewish exegesis, that there was one cloud that was dark to one group and light to the other. (2) Another tries to reconstruct a verb from the noun “darkness” or make some use of the Greek verb. (3) A third seeks a different meaning for the verb “lit,” “gave light” by comparative philology, but no consensus has been reached. Given that there is no easy solution apart from reconstructing the text, and given that the MT can be interpreted as it is, the present translation follows the MT.

[14:21]  ⁵ tn Or “drove the sea back” (NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV). The verb is simply the Hiphil of הָלַךְ (halakh, “to walk, go”). The context requires that it be interpreted along the lines of “go back, go apart.”

[14:22]  ⁶ tn The clause literally reads, “and the waters [were] for them a wall.” The word order in Hebrew is disjunctive, with the vav (ו) on the noun introducing a circumstantial clause.

[14:24]  ⁷ tn The night was divided into three watches of about four hours each, making the morning watch about 2:00-6:00 a.m. The text has this as “the watch of the morning,” the genitive qualifying which of the night watches was meant.

[14:24]  ⁸ tn This particular verb, שָׁקַף (shaqaf) is a bold anthropomorphism: Yahweh looked down. But its usage is always with some demonstration of mercy or wrath. S. R. Driver (Exodus, 120) suggests that the look might be with fiery flashes to startle the Egyptians, throwing them into a panic. Ps 77:17-19 pictures torrents of rain with lightning and thunder.

[14:24]  ⁹ tn Heb “camp.” The same Hebrew word is used in Exod 14:20. Unlike the English word “camp,” it can be used of a body of people at rest (encamped) or on the move.

[14:24]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “camp.”

[14:24]  ¹¹ tn The verb הָמַם (hamam) means “throw into confusion.” It is used in the Bible for the panic and disarray of an army before a superior force (Josh 10:10; Judg 4:15).

[40:36]  ¹² tn The construction uses the Niphal infinitive construct to form the temporal clause.

[40:36]  ¹³ tn The imperfect tense in this context describes a customary action.

[40:37]  ¹⁴ tn The clause uses the Niphal infinitive construct in the temporal clause: “until the day of its being taken up.”

[40:38]  ¹⁵ tn Here is another imperfect tense of the customary nuance.

[40:38]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “to the eyes of all”; KJV, ASV, NASB “in the sight of all”; NRSV “before the eyes of all.”

[9:15]  ¹⁷ sn This section (Num 9:15-23) recapitulates the account in Exod 40:34 but also contains some additional detail about the cloud that signaled Israel’s journeys. Here again material from the book of Exodus is used to explain more of the laws for the camp in motion.

[9:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and/now on the day.”

[9:15]  ¹⁹ tn The construction uses the temporal expression with the Hiphil infinitive construct followed by the object, the tabernacle. “On the day of the setting up of the tabernacle” leaves the subject unstated, and so the entire clause may be expressed in the passive voice.

[9:15]  ²⁰ sn The explanation and identification of this cloud has been a subject of much debate. Some commentators have concluded that it was identical with the cloud that led the Israelites away from Egypt and through the sea, but others have made a more compelling case that this is a different phenomenon (see ZPEB 4:796). A number of modern scholars see the description as a retrojection from later, perhaps Solomonic times (see G. H. Davies, IDB 3:817). Others have tried to connect it with Ugaritic terminology, but unconvincingly (see T. W. Mann, “The Pillar of Cloud in the Reed Sea Narrative,” JBL 90 [1971]: 15-30; G. E. Mendenhall, The Tenth Generation, 32-66, 209-13; and R. Good, “Cloud Messengers?” UF 10 [1978]: 436-37).

[9:15]  ²¹ sn The cloud apparently was centered over the tent, over the spot of the ark of the covenant in the most holy place. It thereafter spread over the whole tabernacle.

[9:15]  ²² tn The imperfect tense in this and the next line should be classified as a customary imperfect, stressing incomplete action but in the past time – something that used to happen, or would happen.

[9:15]  ²³ tn Heb “like the appearance of fire.”

[9:16]  ²⁴ tc The MT lacks the words “by day,” but a number of ancient versions have this reading (e.g., Greek, Syriac, Tg. Ps.-J., Latin Vulgate).

[9:17]  ²⁵ tn The verb in this initial temporal clause is the Niphal infinitive construct.

[9:17]  ²⁶ tn Heb “in the place where it settled there”; the relative clause modifies the noun “place,” and the resumptive adverb completes the related idea – “which it settled there” means “where it settled.”

[9:18]  ²⁷ tn Heb “at the mouth of” (so also in vv. 20, 23).

[9:18]  ²⁸ tn Heb “all the days of – that the cloud settled over the tabernacle.” “All” is the adverbial accusative of time telling how long they camped in one spot – all. The word is then qualified by the genitive of the thing measured – “all of the days” – and this in turn is qualified by a noun clause functioning as a genitive after “days of.”

[9:19]  ²⁹ tn This is the same Hebrew expression that was used earlier for the Levites “keeping their charge” or more clearly, “fulfilling their obligations” to take care of the needs of the people and the sanctuary. It is a general expression using שָׁמַר (shamar) followed by its cognate noun מִשְׁמֶרֶת (mishmeret).

[9:20]  ³⁰ tn The sentence uses וְיֵשׁ (vÿyesh) followed by a noun clause introduced with אֲשֶׁר (’asher) to express an existing situation; it is best translated as an adverbial clause of time: “and it was when the cloud was….”

[9:20]  ³¹ tn The word “number” is in apposition to the word “days” to indicate that their stay was prolonged for quite a few days.

[9:20]  ³² tn Heb “mouth of the Lord.”

[9:21]  ³³ tn The construction is the same in the preceding verse.

[9:21]  ³⁴ tn “Only” is supplied to reflect the contrast between the two verses.

[9:21]  ³⁵ tn The construction in this half of the verse uses two vav (ו) consecutive clauses. The first is subordinated to the second as a temporal clause: “when…then….”

[9:22]  ³⁶ tn The MT has אוֹ־יָמִים (’o-yamim). Most translators use “or a year” to interpret this expression in view of the sequence of words leading up to it, as well as in comparison with passages like Judg 17:10 and 1 Sam 1:3 and 27:7. See also the uses in Gen 40:4 and 1 Kgs 17:15. For the view that it means four months, see F. S. North, “Four Month Season of the Hebrew Bible,” VT 11 (1961): 446-48.

[9:22]  ³⁷ tn In the Hebrew text this sentence has a temporal clause using the preposition with the Hiphil infinitive construct of אָרַךְ (’arakh) followed by the subjective genitive, “the cloud.” But this infinitive is followed by the infinitive construct לִשְׁכֹּן (lishkon), the two of them forming a verbal hendiadys: “the cloud made long to stay” becomes “the cloud prolonged its stay.”

[9:22]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and they would not journey”; the clause can be taken adverbially, explaining the preceding verbal clause.

[9:23]  ³⁹ tn Heb “hand.”

[10:34]  ⁴⁰ tc The scribes sensed that there was a dislocation with vv. 34-36, and so they used the inverted letters nun (נ) as brackets to indicate this.

[10:34]  ⁴¹ tn The adverbial clause of time is composed of the infinitive construct with a temporal preposition and a suffixed subjective genitive.

[14:14]  ⁴² tn The singular participle is to be taken here as a collective, representing all the inhabitants of the land.

[14:14]  ⁴³ tn “Face to face” is literally “eye to eye.” It only occurs elsewhere in Isa 52:8. This expresses the closest communication possible.

[9:19]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “did not turn from them by day to guide them in the path.”

[99:7]  ⁴⁵ sn A pillar of cloud. The psalmist refers to the reality described in Exod 33:9-10; Num 12:5; and Deut 31:15.

[105:39]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “curtain.”

[4:5]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “over all the place, Mount Zion.” Cf. NLT “Jerusalem”; CEV “the whole city.”

[4:5]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “a cloud by day, and smoke, and brightness of fire, a flame by night.” Though the accents in the Hebrew text suggest otherwise, it might be preferable to take “smoke” with what follows, since one would expect smoke to accompany fire.

[4:5]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “indeed (or “for”) over all the glory, a canopy.” This may allude to Exod 40:34-35, where a cloud overshadows the meeting tent as it is filled with God’s glory.

[4:6]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “a shelter it will be for shade by day from heat, and for a place of refuge and for a hiding place from cloudburst and rain.” Since both of the last nouns of this verse can mean rain, they can either refer to the rain storm and the rain as distinct items or together refer to a heavy downpour. Regardless, they do not represent unrelated phenomena.

[4:1]  ⁵¹ tn Or “in that day” (ASV).

[4:1]  ⁵² tn Heb “eat” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “buy.”

[4:1]  ⁵³ tn Heb “wear” (so NASB, NRSV); NCV “make.”

[4:1]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “only let your name be called over us.” The Hebrew idiom “call the name over” indicates ownership. See 2 Sam 12:28, and BDB 896 s.v. I ָקרָא Niph. 2.d.(4). The language reflects the cultural reality of ancient Israel, where women were legally the property of their husbands.

[4:1]  ⁵⁵ sn This refers to the humiliation of being unmarried and childless. The women’s words reflect the cultural standards of ancient Israel, where a woman’s primary duties were to be a wife and mother.

[1:1]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:2]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.

[1:2]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:2]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ⁶⁰ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these mss would surely have deleted the phrase in the rest of the corpus Paulinum), it is surely authentic.