Exodus 10:11

10:11 No! ¹  Go, you men ²  only, and serve the Lord, for that ³  is what you want.” ⁴  Then Moses and Aaron ⁵  were driven ⁶  out of Pharaoh’s presence.

Exodus 13:7

13:7 Bread made without yeast must be eaten ⁷  for seven days; ⁸  no bread made with yeast shall be seen ⁹  among you, and you must have no yeast among you within any of your borders.

Exodus 21:2

Hebrew Servants

21:2 ¹⁰ “If you buy ¹¹  a Hebrew servant, ¹²  he is to serve you for six years, but in the seventh year he will go out free ¹³  without paying anything. ¹⁴ 

Exodus 23:22

23:22 But if you diligently obey him ¹⁵  and do all that I command, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will be an adversary to your adversaries.

[10:11]  ¹ tn Heb “not thus.”

[10:11]  ² tn The word is הַגְּבָרִים (haggÿvarim, “the strong men”), a word different from the more general one that Pharaoh’s servants used (v. 7). Pharaoh appears to be conceding, but he is holding hostages. The word “only” has been supplied in the translation to indicate this.

[10:11]  ³ tn The suffix on the sign of the accusative refers in a general sense to the idea contained in the preceding clause (see GKC 440-41 §135.p).

[10:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “you are seeking.”

[10:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “they”; the referent (Moses and Aaron) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:11]  ⁶ tn The verb is the Piel preterite, third person masculine singular, meaning “and he drove them out.” But “Pharaoh” cannot be the subject of the sentence, for “Pharaoh” is the object of the preposition. The subject is not specified, and so the verb can be treated as passive.

[13:7]  ⁷ tn The imperfect has the nuance of instruction or injunction again, but it could also be given an obligatory nuance.

[13:7]  ⁸ tn The construction is an adverbial accusative of time, answering how long the routine should be followed (see GKC 374 §118.k).

[13:7]  ⁹ tn Or “visible to you” (B. Jacob, Exodus, 366).

[21:2]  ¹³ sn See H. L. Elleson, “The Hebrew Slave: A Study in Early Israelite Society,” EvQ 45 (1973): 30-35; N. P. Lemche, “The Manumission of Slaves – The Fallow Year – The Sabbatical Year – The Jobel Year,” VT 26 (1976): 38-59, and “The ‘Hebrew Slave,’ Comments on the Slave Law – Ex. 21:2-11,” VT 25 (1975): 129-44.

[21:2]  ¹⁴ tn The verbs in both the conditional clause and the following ruling are imperfect tense: “If you buy…then he will serve.” The second imperfect tense (the ruling) could be taken either as a specific future or an obligatory imperfect. Gesenius explains how the verb works in the conditional clauses here (see GKC 497 §159.bb).

[21:2]  ¹⁵ sn The interpretation of “Hebrew” in this verse is uncertain: (l) a gentilic ending, (2) a fellow Israelite, (3) or a class of mercenaries of the population (see W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:431). It seems likely that the term describes someone born a Hebrew, as opposed to a foreigner (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 210). The literature on this includes: M. P. Gray, “The Habiru-Hebrew Problem,” HUCA 29 (1958): 135-202.

[21:2]  ¹⁶ sn The word חָפְשִׁי (khofshi) means “free.” It is possible that there is some connection between this word and a technical term used in other cultures for a social class of emancipated slaves who were freemen again (see I. Mendelsohn, “New Light on the Hupsu,” BASOR 139 [1955]: 9-11).

[21:2]  ¹⁷ tn The adverb חִנָּם (hinnam) means “gratis, free”; it is related to the verb “to be gracious, show favor” and the noun “grace.”

[23:22]  ¹⁹ tn The infinitive absolute here does not add as great an emphasis as normal, but emphasizes the condition that is being set forth (see GKC 342-43 §113.o).