Exodus 1:1

Blessing during Bondage in Egypt

1:1 ¹ These ²  are the names ³  of the sons of Israel ⁴  who entered Egypt – each man with his household ⁵  entered with Jacob:

Exodus 2:21

2:21 Moses agreed ⁶  to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage. ⁷ 

Exodus 8:2

8:2 But if you refuse to release them, then I am going to plague ⁸  all your territory with frogs. ⁹ 

Exodus 9:20

9:20 Those ¹⁰  of Pharaoh’s servants who feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring their ¹¹  servants and livestock into the houses,

Exodus 12:5

12:5 Your lamb must be ¹²  perfect, ¹³  a male, one year old; ¹⁴  you may take ¹⁵  it from the sheep or from the goats.

Exodus 21:21

21:21 However, if the injured servant ¹⁶  survives one or two days, the owner ¹⁷  will not be punished, for he has suffered the loss. ¹⁸ 

Exodus 23:4

23:4 “If you encounter ¹⁹  your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, you must by all means return ²⁰  it to him.

Exodus 25:34

25:34 On the lampstand there are to be four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms,

Exodus 26:28

26:28 The middle bar in the center of the frames will reach from end to end. ²¹ 

Exodus 29:38

29:38 “Now this is what you are to prepare ²²  on the altar every day continually: two lambs a year old.

Exodus 30:24

30:24 and twelve and a half pounds of cassia, all weighed ²³  according to the sanctuary shekel, and four quarts ²⁴  of olive oil.

Exodus 36:30

36:30 So there were eight frames and their silver bases, sixteen bases, two bases under each frame.

[1:1]  ¹ sn Chapter 1 introduces the theme of bondage in Egypt and shows the intensifying opposition to the fulfillment of promises given earlier to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The first seven verses announce the theme of Israel’s prosperity in Egypt. The second section (vv. 8-14) reports continued prosperity in the face of deliberate opposition. The third section (vv. 15-21) explains the prosperity as divine favor in spite of Pharaoh’s covert attempts at controlling the population. The final verse records a culmination in the developing tyranny and provides a transition to the next section – Pharaoh commands the open murder of the males. The power of God is revealed in the chapter as the people flourish under the forces of evil. However, by the turn of affairs at the end of the chapter, the reader is left with a question about the power of God – “What can God do?” This is good Hebrew narrative, moving the reader through tension after tension to reveal the sovereign power and majesty of the Lord God, but calling for faith every step of the way. See also D. W. Wicke, “The Literary Structure of Exodus 1:2–2:10,” JSOT 24 (1982): 99-107.

[1:1]  ² tn Heb “now these” or “and these.” The vav (ו) disjunctive marks a new beginning in the narrative begun in Genesis.

[1:1]  ³ sn The name of the book of Exodus in the Hebrew Bible is שְׁמוֹת (shÿmot), the word for “Names,” drawn from the beginning of the book. The inclusion of the names at this point forms a literary connection to the book of Genesis. It indicates that the Israelites living in bondage had retained a knowledge of their ancestry, and with it, a knowledge of God’s promise.

[1:1]  ⁴ tn The expression בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל (bÿne yisra’el, “sons of Israel”) in most places refers to the nation as a whole and can be translated “Israelites,” although traditionally it has been rendered “the children of Israel” or “the sons of Israel.” Here it refers primarily to the individual sons of the patriarch Israel, for they are named. But the expression is probably also intended to indicate that they are the Israelites (cf. Gen 29:1, “eastern people,” or “easterners,” lit., “sons of the east”).

[1:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “a man and his house.” Since this serves to explain “the sons of Israel,” it has the distributive sense. So while the “sons of Israel” refers to the actual sons of the patriarch, the expression includes their families (cf. NIV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[2:21]  ⁶ tn Or “and Moses was willing” to stay with Reuel. The Talmud understood this to mean that he swore, and so when it came time to leave he had to have a word from God and permission from his father-in-law (Exod 4:18-19).

[2:21]  ⁷ tn The words “in marriage” are implied, and have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[8:2]  ¹¹ tn The construction here uses the deictic particle and the participle to convey the imminent future: “I am going to plague/about to plague.” The verb נָגַף (nagaf) means “to strike, to smite,” and its related noun means “a blow, a plague, pestilence” or the like. For Yahweh to say “I am about to plague you” could just as easily mean “I am about to strike you.” That is why these “plagues” can be described as “blows” received from God.

[8:2]  ¹² tn Heb “plague all your border with frogs.” The expression “all your border” is figurative for all the territory of Egypt and the people and things that are within the borders (also used in Exod 10:4, 14, 19; 13:7).

[9:20]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “his” (singular).

[12:5]  ²¹ tn The construction has: “[The] lamb…will be to you.” This may be interpreted as a possessive use of the lamed, meaning, “[the] lamb…you have” (your lamb) for the Passover. In the context instructing the people to take an animal for this festival, the idea is that the one they select, their animal, must meet these qualifications.

[12:5]  ²² tn The Hebrew word תָּמִים (tamim) means “perfect” or “whole” or “complete” in the sense of not having blemishes and diseases – no physical defects. The rules for sacrificial animals applied here (see Lev 22:19-21; Deut 17:1).

[12:5]  ²³ tn The idiom says “a son of a year” (בֶּן־שָׁנָה, ben shanah), meaning a “yearling” or “one year old” (see GKC 418 §128.v).

[12:5]  ²⁴ tn Because a choice is being given in this last clause, the imperfect tense nuance of permission should be used. They must have a perfect animal, but it may be a sheep or a goat. The verb’s object “it” is supplied from the context.

[21:21]  ²⁶ tn Heb “if he”; the referent (the servant struck and injured in the previous verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:21]  ²⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the owner of the injured servant) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[21:21]  ²⁸ tn This last clause is a free paraphrase of the Hebrew, “for he is his money” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “his property.” It seems that if the slave survives a couple of days, it is probable that the master was punishing him and not intending to kill him. If he then dies, there is no penalty other than that the owner loses the slave who is his property – he suffers the loss.

[23:4]  ³¹ tn Heb “meet” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).

[23:4]  ³² tn The construction uses the imperfect tense (taken here as an obligatory imperfect) and the infinitive absolute for emphasis.

[26:28]  ³⁶ sn These bars served as reinforcements to hold the upright frames together. The Hebrew term for these bars is also used of crossbars on gates (Judg 16:3; Neh 3:3).

[29:38]  ⁴¹ tn The verb is “you will do,” “you will make.” It clearly refers to offering the animals on the altar, but may emphasize all the preparation that was involved in the process.

[30:24]  ⁴⁶ tn The words “all weighed” are added for clarity in English.

[30:24]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “a hin.” A hin of oil is estimated at around one gallon (J. Durham, Exodus [WBC], 3:406).