Exodus 12:6

12:6 You must care for it ¹  until the fourteenth day of this month, and then the whole community ²  of Israel will kill it around sundown. ³ 

Exodus 20:19

20:19 They said to Moses, “You speak ⁴  to us and we will listen, but do not let God speak with us, lest we die.”

Exodus 23:18

23:18 “You must not offer ⁵  the blood of my sacrifice with bread containing yeast; the fat of my festal sacrifice must not remain until morning. ⁶ 

Exodus 25:12

25:12 You are to cast four gold rings for it and put them on its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other side.

Exodus 25:23

The Table for the Bread of the Presence

25:23 ⁷ “You are to make a table of acacia wood; its length is to be three feet, its width one foot six inches, and its height two feet three inches.

Exodus 26:10

26:10 You are to make fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in one set and fifty loops along the edge of the curtain that joins the second set.

Exodus 26:19

26:19 and you are to make forty silver bases to go under the twenty frames – two bases under the first frame for its two projections, and likewise ⁸  two bases under the next frame for its two projections;

Exodus 26:31

26:31 “You are to make a special curtain ⁹  of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen; it is to be made ¹⁰  with cherubim, the work of an artistic designer.

Exodus 27:9

The Courtyard

27:9 “You are to make the courtyard ¹¹  of the tabernacle. For the south side ¹²  there are to be hangings ¹³  for the courtyard of fine twisted linen, one hundred fifty feet long for one side, ¹⁴ 

Exodus 28:25

28:25 the other ¹⁵  two ends of the two chains you will attach to the two settings and then attach them ¹⁶  to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front of it.

Exodus 28:33

28:33 You are to make pomegranates ¹⁷  of blue, purple, and scarlet all around its hem ¹⁸  and bells of gold between them all around.

Exodus 29:14

29:14 But the meat of the bull, its skin, and its dung you are to burn up ¹⁹  outside the camp. ²⁰  It is the purification offering. ²¹ 

Exodus 40:5

40:5 You are to put ²²  the gold altar for incense in front of the ark of the testimony and put the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle.

Exodus 40:9

40:9 And take ²³  the anointing oil, and anoint ²⁴  the tabernacle and all that is in it, and sanctify ²⁵  it and all its furnishings, and it will be holy.

[12:6]  ¹ tn The text has וְהָיָה לָכֶם לְמִשְׁמֶרֶת (vÿhaya lakem lÿmishmeret, “and it will be for you for a keeping”). This noun stresses the activity of watching over or caring for something, probably to keep it in its proper condition for its designated use (see 16:23, 32-34).

[12:6]  ² tn Heb “all the assembly of the community.” This expression is a pleonasm. The verse means that everyone will kill the lamb, i.e., each family unit among the Israelites will kill its animal.

[12:6]  ³ tn Heb “between the two evenings” or “between the two settings” (בֵּין הָעַרְבָּיִם, ben ha’arbayim). This expression has had a good deal of discussion. (1) Tg. Onq. says “between the two suns,” which the Talmud explains as the time between the sunset and the time the stars become visible. More technically, the first “evening” would be the time between sunset and the appearance of the crescent moon, and the second “evening” the next hour, or from the appearance of the crescent moon to full darkness (see Deut 16:6 – “at the going down of the sun”). (2) Saadia, Rashi, and Kimchi say the first evening is when the sun begins to decline in the west and cast its shadows, and the second evening is the beginning of night. (3) The view adopted by the Pharisees and the Talmudists (b. Pesahim 61a) is that the first evening is when the heat of the sun begins to decrease, and the second evening begins at sunset, or, roughly from 3-5 p.m. The Mishnah (m. Pesahim 5:1) indicates the lamb was killed about 2:30 p.m. – anything before noon was not valid. S. R. Driver concludes from this survey that the first view is probably the best, although the last view was the traditionally accepted one (Exodus, 89-90). Late afternoon or early evening seems to be intended, the time of twilight perhaps.

[20:19]  ⁴ tn The verb is a Piel imperative. In this context it has more of the sense of a request than a command. The independent personal pronoun “you” emphasizes the subject and forms the contrast with God’s speaking.

[23:18]  ⁷ tn The verb is תִּזְבַּח (tizbbakh), an imperfect tense from the same root as the genitive that qualifies the accusative “blood”: “you will not sacrifice the blood of my sacrifice.” The verb means “to slaughter”; since one cannot slaughter blood, a more general translation is required here. But if the genitive is explained as “my blood-sacrifice” (a genitive of specification; like “the evil of your doings” in Isa 1:16), then a translation of sacrifice would work (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 304).

[23:18]  ⁸ sn See N. Snaith, “Exodus 23:18 and 34:25,” JTS 20 (1969): 533-34; see also M. Haran, “The Passover Sacrifice,” Studies in the Religion of Ancient Israel (VTSup), 86-116.

[25:23]  ¹⁰ sn The Table of the Bread of the Presence (Tyndale’s translation, “Shewbread,” was used in KJV and influenced ASV, NAB) was to be a standing acknowledgment that Yahweh was the giver of daily bread. It was called the “presence-bread” because it was set out in his presence. The theology of this is that God provides, and the practice of this is that the people must provide for constant thanks. So if the ark speaks of communion through atonement, the table speaks of dedicatory gratitude.

[26:19]  ¹³ tn The clause is repeated to show the distributive sense; it literally says, “and two bases under the one frame for its two projections.”

[26:31]  ¹⁶ tn Although translated “curtain” (traditionally “veil,” so ASV, NAB, NASB) this is a different word from the one used earlier of the tent curtains, so “special curtain” is used. The word פָרֹכֶת (farokhet) seems to be connected with a verb that means “to shut off” and was used with a shrine. This curtain would form a barrier in the approach to God (see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 289).

[26:31]  ¹⁷ tn The verb is the third masculine singular form, but no subject is expressed. It could be translated “one will make” or as a passive. The verb means “to make,” but probably has the sense of embroidering both here and in v. 1.

[27:9]  ¹⁹ tn Or “enclosure” (TEV).

[27:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “south side southward.”

[27:9]  ²¹ tn Or “curtains.”

[27:9]  ²² sn The entire courtyard of 150 feet by 75 feet was to be enclosed by a curtain wall held up with posts in bases. All these hangings were kept in place by a cord and tent pegs.

[28:25]  ²² tn Here “the other” has been supplied.

[28:25]  ²³ tn Here “them” has been supplied.

[28:33]  ²⁵ sn This must mean round balls of yarn that looked like pomegranates. The fruit was very common in the land, but there is no indication of the reason for its choice here. Pomegranates are found in decorative schemes in Ugarit, probably as signs of fertility. It may be that here they represent the blessing of God on Israel in the land. The bells that are between them possibly have the intent of drawing God’s attention as the priest moves and the bells jingle (anthropomorphic, to be sure), or that the people would know that the priest was still alive and moving inside. Some have suggested that the pomegranate may have recalled the forbidden fruit eaten in the garden (the gems already have referred to the garden), the reason for the priest entering for atonement, and the bells would divert the eye (of God) to remind him of the need. This is possible but far from supportable, since nothing is said of the reason, nor is the fruit in the garden identified.

[28:33]  ²⁶ tn The text repeats the idea: “you will make for its hem…all around its hem.”

[29:14]  ²⁸ tn Heb “burn with fire.”

[29:14]  ²⁹ sn This is to be done because there is no priesthood yet. Once they are installed, then the sin/purification offering is to be eaten by the officiating priests as a sign that the offering was received. But priests could not consume their own sin offering.

[29:14]  ³⁰ sn There were two kinds of “purification offering,” those made with confession for sin and those made without. The title needs to cover both of them, and if it is called in the traditional way “the sin offering,” that will convey that when people offered it for skin diseases, menstruation, or having babies, they had sinned. That was not the case. Moreover, it is usual to translate the names of the sacrifices by what they do more than what they cover – so peace offering, reparation offering, and purification offering.

[40:5]  ³¹ tn Heb “give” (also four additional times in vv. 6-8).

[40:9]  ³⁴ tn Heb “you will take” (perfect with vav, ו).

[40:9]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and you will anoint” (perfect with vav, ו).

[40:9]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and you will sanctify” (perfect with vav, ו).