Exodus 10:14

10:14 The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and settled down in all the territory ¹  of Egypt. It was very severe; ²  there had been no locusts like them before, nor will there be such ever again. ³ 

Exodus 17:12

17:12 When ⁴  the hands of Moses became heavy, ⁵  they took a stone and put it under him, and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and one on the other, ⁶  and so his hands were steady ⁷  until the sun went down.

Exodus 19:16

19:16 On ⁸  the third day in the morning there was thunder and lightning and a dense ⁹  cloud on the mountain, and the sound of a very loud ¹⁰  horn; ¹¹  all the people who were in the camp trembled.

[10:14]  ¹ tn Heb “border.”

[10:14]  ² tn This is an interpretive translation. The clause simply has כָּבֵד מְאֹד (kaved mÿ’od), the stative verb with the adverb – “it was very heavy.” The description prepares for the following statement about the uniqueness of this locust infestation.

[10:14]  ³ tn Heb “after them.”

[17:12]  ⁴ tn Literally “now the hands of Moses,” the disjunctive vav (ו) introduces a circumstantial clause here – of time.

[17:12]  ⁵ tn The term used here is the adjective כְּבֵדִים (kÿvedim). It means “heavy,” but in this context the idea is more that of being tired. This is the important word that was used in the plague stories: when the heart of Pharaoh was hard, then the Israelites did not gain their freedom or victory. Likewise here, when the staff was lowered because Moses’ hands were “heavy,” Israel started to lose.

[17:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “from this, one, and from this, one.”

[17:12]  ⁷ tn The word “steady” is אֱמוּנָה (’emuna) from the root אָמַן (’aman). The word usually means “faithfulness.” Here is a good illustration of the basic idea of the word – firm, steady, reliable, dependable. There may be a double entendre here; on the one hand it simply says that his hands were stayed so that Israel might win, but on the other hand it is portraying Moses as steady, firm, reliable, faithful. The point is that whatever God commissioned as the means or agency of power – to Moses a staff, to the Christians the Spirit – the people of God had to know that the victory came from God alone.

[19:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “and it was on.”

[19:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “heavy” (כָּבֵד, kaved).

[19:16]  ⁹ tn Literally “strong” (חָזָק, khazaq).

[19:16]  ¹⁰ tn The word here is שֹׁפָר (shofar), the normal word for “horn.” This word is used especially to announce something important in a public event (see 1 Kgs 1:34; 2 Sam 6:15). The previous word used in the context (v. 16) was יֹבֵל (yovel, “ram’s horn”).