Exodus 1:7

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

Exodus 2:22

2:22 When she bore ⁴  a son, Moses ⁵  named him Gershom, for he said, “I have become a resident foreigner in a foreign land.” ⁶ 

Exodus 5:5

5:5 Pharaoh was thinking, ⁷  “The people of the land are now many, and you are giving them rest from their labor.”

Exodus 6:11

6:11 “Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt that he must release ⁸  the Israelites from his land.”

Exodus 7:3

7:3 But I will harden ⁹  Pharaoh’s heart, and although I will multiply ¹⁰  my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt,

Exodus 8:7

8:7 The magicians did the same ¹¹  with their secret arts and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt too. ¹² 

Exodus 8:25

8:25 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.” ¹³ 

Exodus 9:5

9:5 The Lord set ¹⁴  an appointed time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this ¹⁵  in the land.”

Exodus 9:26

9:26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived, was there no hail.

Exodus 12:1

The Institution of the Passover

12:1 ¹⁶ The Lord said ¹⁷  to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, ¹⁸ 

Exodus 12:33

12:33 The Egyptians were urging ¹⁹  the people on, in order to send them out of the land quickly, ²⁰  for they were saying, “We are all dead!”

Exodus 14:3

14:3 Pharaoh will think ²¹  regarding the Israelites, ‘They are wandering around confused ²²  in the land – the desert has closed in on them.’ ²³ 

Exodus 19:1

Israel at Sinai

19:1 ²⁴ In the third month after the Israelites went out ²⁵  from the land of Egypt, on the very day, ²⁶  they came to the Desert of Sinai.

Exodus 20:2

20:2 “I, ²⁷  the Lord, am your God, ²⁸  who brought you ²⁹  from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. ³⁰ 

Exodus 22:21

22:21 “You must not wrong ³¹  a foreigner ³²  nor oppress him, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

Exodus 23:26

23:26 No woman will miscarry her young ³³  or be barren in your land. I will fulfill ³⁴  the number of your days.

Exodus 23:30

23:30 Little by little ³⁵  I will drive them out before you, until you become fruitful and inherit the land.

[1:7]  ¹ tn Heb “the sons of Israel.”

[1:7]  ² tn The disjunctive vav marks a contrast with the note about the deaths of the first generation.

[1:7]  ³ tn Using מְאֹד (mÿ’od) twice intensifies the idea of their becoming strong (see GKC 431-32 §133.k).

[2:22]  ⁴ tn The preterite with the vav (ו) consecutive is subordinated to the next clause, which reports the naming and its motivation.

[2:22]  ⁵ tn Heb “and he called”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:22]  ⁶ sn Like the naming of Moses, this naming that incorporates a phonetic wordplay forms the commemorative summary of the account just provided. Moses seems to have settled into a domestic life with his new wife and his father-in-law. But when the first son is born, he named him גֵּרְשֹׁם (gerÿshom). There is little information available about what the name by itself might have meant. If it is linked to the verb “drive away” used earlier (גָרַשׁ, garash), then the final mem (מ) would have to be explained as an enclitic mem. It seems most likely that that verb was used in the narrative to make a secondary wordplay on the name. The primary explanation is the popular etymology supplied by Moses himself. He links the name to the verb גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to live as an alien”). He then adds that he was a sojourner (גֵּר, ger, the participle) in a foreign land. The word “foreign” (נָכְרִיּה, nokhriyyah) adds to the idea of his being a resident alien. The final syllable in the name would then be connected to the adverb “there” (שָׁם, sham). Thus, the name is given the significance in the story of “sojourner there” or “alien there.” He no doubt knew that this was not the actual meaning of the name; the name itself had already been introduced into the family of Levi (1 Chr 6:1, 16). He chose the name because its sounds reflected his sentiment at that time. But to what was Moses referring? In view of naming customs among the Semites, he was most likely referring to Midian as the foreign land. If Egypt had been the strange land, and he had now found his place, he would not have given the lad such a name. Personal names reflect the present or recent experiences, or the hope for the future. So this naming is a clear expression by Moses that he knows he is not where he is supposed to be. That this is what he meant is supported in the NT by Stephen (Acts 7:29). So the choice of the name, the explanation of it, and the wordplay before it, all serve to stress the point that Moses had been driven away from his proper place of service.

[5:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “And Pharaoh said.” This is not the kind of thing that Pharaoh is likely to have said to Moses, and so it probably is what he thought or reasoned within himself. Other passages (like Exod 2:14; 3:3) show that the verb “said” can do this. (See U. Cassuto, Exodus, 67.)

[6:11]  ¹⁰ tn The form וִישַׁלַּח (vishallakh) is the Piel imperfect or jussive with a sequential vav; following an imperative it gives the imperative’s purpose and intended result. They are to speak to Pharaoh, and (so that as a result) he will release Israel. After the command to speak, however, the second clause also indirectly states the content of the speech (cf. Exod 11:2; 14:2, 15; 25:2; Lev 16:2; 22:2). As the next verse shows, Moses doubts that what he says will have the intended effect.

[7:3]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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.

[8:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “thus, so.”

[8:7]  ¹⁷ sn In these first two plagues the fact that the Egyptians could and did duplicate them is ironic. By duplicating the experience, they added to the misery of Egypt. One wonders why they did not use their skills to rid the land of the pests instead, and the implication of course is that they could not.

[8:25]  ¹⁹ sn After the plague is inflicted on the land, then Pharaoh makes an appeal. So there is the familiar confrontation (vv. 25-29). Pharaoh’s words to Moses are an advancement on his previous words. Now he uses imperatives: “Go, sacrifice to your God.” But he restricts it to “in the [this] land.” This is a subtle attempt to keep them as a subjugated people and prevent their absolute allegiance to their God. This offered compromise would destroy the point of the exodus – to leave Egypt and find a new allegiance under the Lord.

[9:5]  ²² tn Heb “and Yahweh set.”

[9:5]  ²³ tn Heb “this thing.”

[12:1]  ²⁵ sn Chapter 12 details the culmination of the ten plagues on Egypt and the beginning of the actual deliverance from bondage. Moreover, the celebration of this festival of Passover was to become a central part of the holy calendar of Israel. The contents of this chapter have significance for NT studies as well, since the Passover was a type of the death of Jesus. The structure of this section before the crossing of the sea is as follows: the institution of the Passover (12:1-28), the night of farewell and departure (12:29-42), slaves and strangers (12:43-51), and the laws of the firstborn (13:1-16). In this immediate section there is the institution of the Passover itself (12:1-13), then the Unleavened Bread (12:14-20), and then the report of the response of the people (12:21-28).

[12:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and Yahweh said.”

[12:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “saying.”

[12:33]  ²⁸ tn The verb used here (חָזַק, khazaq) is the same verb used for Pharaoh’s heart being hardened. It conveys the idea of their being resolved or insistent in this – they were not going to change.

[12:33]  ²⁹ tn The phrase uses two construct infinitives in a hendiadys, the first infinitive becoming the modifier.

[14:3]  ³¹ tn Heb “and Pharaoh will say.”

[14:3]  ³² sn The word translated “wandering around confused” indicates that Pharaoh thought the Israelites would be so perplexed and confused that they would not know which way to turn in order to escape – and they would never dream of crossing the sea (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 115).

[14:3]  ³³ tn The expression has also been translated “the desert has shut [the way] for them,” and more freely “[the Israelites are] hemmed in by the desert.”

[19:1]  ³⁴ sn This chapter is essentially about mediation. The people are getting ready to meet with God, receive the Law from him, and enter into a covenant with him. All of this required mediation and preparation. Through it all, Israel will become God’s unique possession, a kingdom of priests on earth – if they comply with his Law. The chapter can be divided as follows: vv. 1-8 tell how God, Israel’s great deliverer promised to make them a kingdom of priests; this is followed by God’s declaration that Moses would be the mediator (v. 9); vv. 10-22 record instructions for Israel to prepare themselves to worship Yahweh and an account of the manifestation of Yahweh with all the phenomena; and the chapter closes with the mediation of Moses on behalf of the people (vv. 23-25). Having been redeemed from Egypt, the people will now be granted a covenant with God. See also R. E. Bee, “A Statistical Study of the Sinai Pericope,” Journal of the Royal Statistical Society 135 (1972): 406-21.

[19:1]  ³⁵ tn The construction uses the infinitive construct followed by the subjective genitive to form a temporal clause.

[19:1]  ³⁶ tn Heb “on this day.”

[20:2]  ³⁷ sn The revelation of Yahweh here begins with the personal pronoun. “I” – a person, a living personality, not an object or a mere thought. This enabled him to address “you” – Israel, and all his people, making the binding stipulations for them to conform to his will (B. Jacob, Exodus, 544).

[20:2]  ³⁸ tn Most English translations have “I am Yahweh your God.” But the preceding chapters have again and again demonstrated how he made himself known to them. Now, the emphasis is on “I am your God” – and what that would mean in their lives.

[20:2]  ³⁹ tn The suffix on the verb is second masculine singular. It is this person that will be used throughout the commandments for the whole nation. God addresses them all as his people, but he addresses them individually for their obedience. The masculine form is not, thereby, intended to exclude women.

[20:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “the house of slaves” meaning “the land of slavery.”

[22:21]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “oppress.”

[22:21]  ⁴¹ tn Or “alien,” both here and in 23:9. This individual is a resident foreigner; he lives in the land but, aside from provisions such as this, might easily be without legal rights.

[23:26]  ⁴³ tn Or “abort”; Heb “cast.”

[23:26]  ⁴⁴ sn No one will die prematurely; this applies to the individual or the nation. The plan of God to bless was extensive, if only the people would obey.

[23:30]  ⁴⁶ tn The repetition expresses an exceptional or super-fine quality (see GKC 396 §123.e).