Exodus 1:20

1:20 So God treated the midwives well, ¹  and the people multiplied and became very strong.

Exodus 16:17

16:17 The Israelites did so, and they gathered – some more, some less.

Exodus 1:7

1:7 The Israelites, ²  however, ³  were fruitful, increased greatly, multiplied, and became extremely strong, ⁴  so that the land was filled with them.

Exodus 1:12

1:12 But the more the Egyptians ⁵  oppressed them, the more they multiplied and spread. ⁶  As a result the Egyptians loathed ⁷  the Israelites,

Exodus 7:3

7:3 But I will harden ⁸  Pharaoh’s heart, and although I will multiply ⁹  my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt,

Exodus 16:18

16:18 When ¹⁰  they measured with an omer, the one who gathered much had nothing left over, and the one who gathered little lacked nothing; each one had gathered what he could eat.

Exodus 11:9

11:9 The Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that my wonders ¹¹  may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”

Exodus 30:15

30:15 The rich are not to increase it, ¹²  and the poor are not to pay less than the half shekel when giving ¹³  the offering of the Lord, to make atonement ¹⁴  for your lives.

Exodus 36:5

36:5 and told Moses, “The people are bringing much more than ¹⁵  is needed for the completion ¹⁶  of the work which the Lord commanded us to do!” ¹⁷ 

Exodus 1:10

1:10 Come, let’s deal wisely ¹⁸  with them. Otherwise ¹⁹  they will continue to multiply, ²⁰  and if ²¹  a war breaks out, they will ally themselves with ²²  our enemies and fight against us and leave ²³  the country.”

Exodus 32:13

32:13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel your servants, to whom you swore by yourself and told them, ‘I will multiply your descendants ²⁴  like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken about ²⁵  I will give to your descendants, ²⁶  and they will inherit it forever.’”

[1:20]  ¹ tn The verb וַיֵּיטֶב (vayyetev) is the Hiphil preterite of יָטַב (yatav). In this stem the word means “to cause good, treat well, treat favorably.” The vav (ו) consecutive shows that this favor from God was a result of their fearing and obeying him.

[1:7]  ² tn Heb “the sons of Israel.”

[1:7]  ³ tn The disjunctive vav marks a contrast with the note about the deaths of the first generation.

[1:7]  ⁴ tn Using מְאֹד (mÿ’od) twice intensifies the idea of their becoming strong (see GKC 431-32 §133.k).

[1:12]  ³ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Egyptians) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:12]  ⁴ tn The imperfect tenses in this verse are customary uses, expressing continual action in past time (see GKC 315 §107.e). For other examples of כַּאֲשֶׁר (ka’asher) with כֵּן (ken) expressing a comparison (“just as…so”) see Gen 41:13; Judg 1:7; Isa 31:4.

[1:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “they felt a loathing before/because of”; the referent (the Egyptians) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:3]  ⁴ tn The clause begins with the emphatic use of the pronoun and a disjunctive vav (ו) expressing the contrast “But as for me, I will harden.” They will speak, but God will harden.

[7:3]  ⁵ tn The form beginning the second half of the verse is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive, הִרְבֵּיתִי (hirbeti). It could be translated as a simple future in sequence after the imperfect preceding it, but the logical connection is not obvious. Since it carries the force of an imperfect due to the sequence, it may be subordinated as a temporal clause to the next clause that begins in v. 4. That maintains the flow of the argument.

[16:18]  ⁵ tn The preterite with the vav (ו) consecutive is subordinated here as a temporal clause.

[11:9]  ⁶ sn The thought is essentially the same as in Exod 7:3-4, but the wonders, or portents, here refer to what is yet to be done in Egypt.

[30:15]  ⁷ tn Or “pay more.”

[30:15]  ⁸ tn The form is לָתֵת (latet), the Qal infinitive construct with the lamed preposition. The infinitive here is explaining the preceding verbs. They are not to increase or diminish the amount “in paying the offering.” The construction approximates a temporal clause.

[30:15]  ⁹ tn This infinitive construct (לְכַפֵּר, lÿkhapper) provides the purpose of the giving the offering – to atone.

[36:5]  ⁸ tn The construction uses the verbal hendiadys: מַרְבִּים לְהָבִיא (marbim lÿhavi’) is the Hiphil participle followed (after the subject) by the Hiphil infinitive construct. It would read, “they multiply…to bring,” meaning, “they bring more” than is needed.

[36:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “for the service” (so KJV, ASV).

[36:5]  ¹⁰ tn The last clause is merely the infinitive with an object – “to do it.” It clearly means the skilled workers are to do it.

[1:10]  ⁹ tn The verb is the Hitpael cohortative of חָכַם (khakam, “to be wise”). This verb has the idea of acting shrewdly, dealing wisely. The basic idea in the word group is that of skill. So a skillful decision is required to prevent the Israelites from multiplying any more.

[1:10]  ¹⁰ tn The word פֶּן (pen) expresses fear or precaution and can also be translated “lest” or “else” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 75-76, §461).

[1:10]  ¹¹ tn The verb can be translated simply “will multiply,” but since Pharaoh has already indicated that he is aware they were doing that, the nuance here must mean to multiply all the more, or to continue to multiply. Cf. NIV “will become even more numerous.”

[1:10]  ¹² tn The words וְהָיָה כִּי (vÿhayah ki) introduce a conditional clause – “if” (see GKC 335 §112.y).

[1:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “and [lest] he [Israel] also be joined to.”

[1:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and go up from.” All the verbs coming after the particle פֶּן (pen, “otherwise, lest” in v. 10) have the same force and are therefore parallel. These are the fears of the Egyptians. This explains why a shrewd policy of population control was required. They wanted to keep Israel enslaved; they did not want them to become too numerous and escape.

[32:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “your seed.”

[32:13]  ¹¹ tn “about” has been supplied.

[32:13]  ¹² tn Heb “seed.”