Exodus 13:21-22

13:21 Now the Lord was going before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them in the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, ¹  so that they could ²  travel day or night. ³  13:22 He did not remove the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night from before the people. ⁴ 

Exodus 14:19-20

14:19 The angel of God, who was going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them, and the pillar ⁵  of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them. 14:20 It came between the Egyptian camp and the Israelite camp; it was a dark cloud ⁶  and it lit up the night so that one camp did not come near the other ⁷  the whole night. ⁸ 

Exodus 14:24

14:24 In the morning watch ⁹  the Lord looked down ¹⁰  on the Egyptian army ¹¹  through the pillar of fire and cloud, and he threw the Egyptian army ¹²  into a panic. ¹³ 

Exodus 25:8

25:8 Let them make ¹⁴  for me a sanctuary, ¹⁵  so that I may live among them.

Exodus 25:21-22

25:21 You are to put the atonement lid on top of the ark, and in the ark you are to put the testimony I am giving you. 25:22 I will meet with you there, ¹⁶  and ¹⁷  from above the atonement lid, from between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will command you for the Israelites.

Exodus 29:43

29:43 There I will meet ¹⁸  with the Israelites, and it will be set apart as holy by my glory. ¹⁹ 

Exodus 33:9

33:9 And ²⁰  whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord ²¹  would speak with Moses. ²² 

Leviticus 16:2

16:2 and the Lord said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother that he must not enter at any time into the holy place inside the veil-canopy ²³  in front of the atonement plate ²⁴  that is on the ark so that he may not die, for I will appear in the cloud over the atonement plate.

Numbers 9:15-23

The Leading of the Lord

9:15 ²⁵ On ²⁶  the day that the tabernacle was set up, ²⁷  the cloud ²⁸  covered the tabernacle – the tent of the testimony ²⁹  – and from evening until morning there was ³⁰  a fiery appearance ³¹  over the tabernacle. 9:16 This is the way it used to be continually: The cloud would cover it by day, ³²  and there was a fiery appearance by night. 9:17 Whenever the cloud was taken up ³³  from the tabernacle, then after that the Israelites would begin their journey; and in whatever place ³⁴  the cloud settled, there the Israelites would make camp. 9:18 At the commandment ³⁵  of the Lord the Israelites would begin their journey, and at the commandment of the Lord they would make camp; as long as ³⁶  the cloud remained settled over the tabernacle they would camp. 9:19 When the cloud remained over the tabernacle many days, then the Israelites obeyed the instructions ³⁷  of the Lord and did not journey.

9:20 When ³⁸  the cloud remained over the tabernacle a number of days, ³⁹  they remained camped according to the Lord’s commandment, ⁴⁰  and according to the Lord’s commandment they would journey. 9:21 And when ⁴¹  the cloud remained only ⁴²  from evening until morning, when the cloud was taken up ⁴³  the following morning, then they traveled on. Whether by day or by night, when the cloud was taken up they traveled. 9:22 Whether it was for two days, or a month, or a year, ⁴⁴  that the cloud prolonged its stay ⁴⁵  over the tabernacle, the Israelites remained camped without traveling; ⁴⁶  but when it was taken up, they traveled on. 9:23 At the commandment of the Lord they camped, and at the commandment of the Lord they traveled on; they kept the instructions of the Lord according to the commandment of the Lord, by the authority ⁴⁷  of Moses.

Numbers 9:1

Passover Regulations

9:1 ⁴⁸ The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out ⁴⁹  of the land of Egypt:

Numbers 8:10-11

8:10 Then you are to bring the Levites before the Lord, and the Israelites are to lay their hands on the Levites; ⁵⁰  8:11 and Aaron is to offer ⁵¹  the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the Israelites, that they may do the work ⁵²  of the Lord.

Numbers 8:2

8:2 “Speak to Aaron and tell him, ‘When you set up ⁵³  the lamps, the seven lamps are to give light ⁵⁴  in front of the lampstand.’”

Numbers 5:13

5:13 and a man has sexual relations ⁵⁵  with her ⁵⁶  without her husband knowing it, ⁵⁷  and it is hidden that she has defiled herself, since ⁵⁸  there was no witness against her, nor was she caught –

Numbers 7:2

7:2 Then the leaders of Israel, the heads of their clans, ⁵⁹  made an offering. They were the leaders of the tribes; they were the ones who had been supervising ⁶⁰  the numbering.

Psalms 18:10-12

18:10 He mounted ⁶¹  a winged angel ⁶²  and flew;

he glided ⁶³  on the wings of the wind. ⁶⁴ 

18:11 He shrouded himself in darkness, ⁶⁵ 

in thick rain clouds. ⁶⁶ 

18:12 From the brightness in front of him came

hail and fiery coals. ⁶⁷ 

Isaiah 4:5-6

4:5 Then the Lord will create

over all of Mount Zion ⁶⁸ 

and over its convocations

a cloud and smoke by day

and a bright flame of fire by night; ⁶⁹ 

indeed a canopy will accompany the Lord’s glorious presence. ⁷⁰ 

4:6 By day it will be a shelter to provide shade from the heat,

as well as safety and protection from the heavy downpour. ⁷¹ 

Isaiah 6:4

6:4 The sound of their voices shook the door frames, ⁷²  and the temple was filled with smoke.

Ezekiel 43:4-7

43:4 The glory of the Lord came into the temple by way of the gate that faces east. 43:5 Then a wind ⁷³  lifted me up and brought me to the inner court; I watched ⁷⁴  the glory of the Lord filling the temple. ⁷⁵ 

43:6 I heard someone speaking to me from the temple, while the man was standing beside me. 43:7 He said to me: “Son of man, this is the place of my throne ⁷⁶  and the place for the soles of my feet, ⁷⁷  where I will live among the people of Israel forever. The house of Israel will no longer profane my holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their spiritual prostitution or by the pillars of their kings set up when they die. ⁷⁸ 

Haggai 2:7

2:7 I will also shake up all the nations, and they ⁷⁹  will offer their treasures; ⁸⁰  then I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the Lord who rules over all.

Haggai 2:9

2:9 ‘The future splendor of this temple will be greater than that of former times,’ ⁸¹  the Lord who rules over all declares, ‘and in this place I will give peace.’” ⁸² 

Revelation 15:8

15:8 and the temple was filled with smoke from God’s glory and from his power. Thus ⁸³  no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues from the seven angels were completed.

Revelation 21:3

21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Look! The residence ⁸⁴  of God is among human beings. ⁸⁵  He ⁸⁶  will live among them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them. ⁸⁷ 

Revelation 21:23-24

21:23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God lights it up, and its lamp is the Lamb. 21:24 The nations ⁸⁸  will walk by its light and the kings of the earth will bring their grandeur ⁸⁹  into it.

[13:21]  ¹ sn God chose to guide the people with a pillar of cloud in the day and one of fire at night, or, as a pillar of cloud and fire, since they represented his presence. God had already appeared to Moses in the fire of the bush, and so here again is revelation with fire. Whatever the exact nature of these things, they formed direct, visible revelations from God, who was guiding the people in a clear and unambiguous way. Both clouds and fire would again and again represent the presence of God in his power and majesty, guiding and protecting his people, by judging their enemies.

[13:21]  ² tn The infinitive construct here indicates the result of these manifestations – “so that they went” or “could go.”

[13:21]  ³ tn These are adverbial accusatives of time.

[13:22]  ⁴ sn See T. W. Mann, “The Pillar of Cloud in the Reed Sea Narrative,” JBL 90 (1971): 15-30.

[14:19]  ⁵ sn B. Jacob (Exodus, 400-401) makes a good case that there may have been only one pillar, one cloud; it would have been a dark cloud behind it, but in front of it, shining the way, a pillar of fire. He compares the manifestation on Sinai, when the mountain was on fire but veiled by a dark cloud (Deut 4:11; 5:22). See also Exod 13:21; Num 14:14; Deut 1:33; Neh 9:12, 19; Josh 24:7; Pss 78:14; 105:39.

[14:20]  ⁶ tn The two nouns “cloud” and “darkness” form a nominal hendiadys: “and it was the cloud and the darkness” means “and it was the dark cloud.” Perhaps this is what the Egyptians saw, preventing them from observing Moses and the Israelites.

[14:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “this to this”; for the use of the pronouns in this reciprocal sense of “the one to the other,” see GKC 448 §139.e, n. 3.

[14:20]  ⁸ tc The LXX reads very differently at the end of this verse: “and there was darkness and blackness and the night passed.” B. S. Childs (Exodus [OTL], 218) summarizes three proposals: (1) One takes the MT as it stands and explains it along the lines of the Targum and Jewish exegesis, that there was one cloud that was dark to one group and light to the other. (2) Another tries to reconstruct a verb from the noun “darkness” or make some use of the Greek verb. (3) A third seeks a different meaning for the verb “lit,” “gave light” by comparative philology, but no consensus has been reached. Given that there is no easy solution apart from reconstructing the text, and given that the MT can be interpreted as it is, the present translation follows the MT.

[14:24]  ⁹ tn The night was divided into three watches of about four hours each, making the morning watch about 2:00-6:00 a.m. The text has this as “the watch of the morning,” the genitive qualifying which of the night watches was meant.

[14:24]  ¹⁰ tn This particular verb, שָׁקַף (shaqaf) is a bold anthropomorphism: Yahweh looked down. But its usage is always with some demonstration of mercy or wrath. S. R. Driver (Exodus, 120) suggests that the look might be with fiery flashes to startle the Egyptians, throwing them into a panic. Ps 77:17-19 pictures torrents of rain with lightning and thunder.

[14:24]  ¹¹ tn Heb “camp.” The same Hebrew word is used in Exod 14:20. Unlike the English word “camp,” it can be used of a body of people at rest (encamped) or on the move.

[14:24]  ¹² tn Heb “camp.”

[14:24]  ¹³ tn The verb הָמַם (hamam) means “throw into confusion.” It is used in the Bible for the panic and disarray of an army before a superior force (Josh 10:10; Judg 4:15).

[25:8]  ¹⁴ tn The verb is a perfect with vav (ו) consecutive; it follows in the sequence initiated by the imperative in v. 2 and continues with the force of a command.

[25:8]  ¹⁵ tn The word here is מִקְדּשׁ (miqdash), “a sanctuary” or “holy place”; cf. NLT “sacred residence.” The purpose of building it is to enable Yahweh to reside (וְשָׁכַנְתִּי, vÿshakhanti) in their midst. U. Cassuto reminds the reader that God did not need a place to dwell, but the Israelites needed a dwelling place for him, so that they would look to it and be reminded that he was in their midst (Exodus, 327).

[25:22]  ¹⁶ sn Here then is the main point of the ark of the covenant, and the main point of all worship – meeting with God through atonement. The text makes it clear that here God would meet with Moses (“you” is singular) and then he would speak to the people – he is the mediator of the covenant. S. R. Driver (Exodus, 272) makes the point that the verb here is not the word that means “to meet by chance” (as in Exod 3:18), but “to meet” by appointment for a purpose (וְנוֹעַדְתִּי, vÿno’adti). The parallel in the NT is Jesus Christ and his work. The theology is that the Law condemns people as guilty of sin, but the sacrifice of Christ makes atonement. So he is the “place of propitiation (Rom 3:25) who gains communion with the Father for sinners. A major point that could be made from this section is this: At the center of worship must be the atoning work of Christ – a perpetual reminder of God’s righteous standard (the testimony in the ark) and God’s gracious provision (the atonement lid).

[25:22]  ¹⁷ tn The verb is placed here in the text: “and I will speak”; it has been moved in this translation to be closer to the direct object clause.

[29:43]  ¹⁸ tn The verb now is a Niphal perfect from the same root, with a vav (ו) consecutive. It simply continues the preceding verb, announcing now that he would meet the people.

[29:43]  ¹⁹ tn Or “will be sanctified by my glory” (KJV and ASV both similar).

[33:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and it was when.”

[33:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:9]  ²² tn Both verbs, “stand” and “speak,” are perfect tenses with vav (ו) consecutive.

[16:2]  ²³ tn Heb “into the holy place from house to the veil-canopy.” In this instance, the Hebrew term “the holy place” refers to “the most holy place” (lit. “holy of holies”), since it is the area “inside the veil-canopy” (cf. Exod 26:33-34). The Hebrew term פָּרֹכֶת (parokhet) is usually translated “veil” or “curtain,” but it seems to have stretched not only in front of but also over the top of the ark of the covenant which stood behind and under it inside the most holy place, and thus formed more of a canopy than simply a curtain (see R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 3:687-89).

[16:2]  ²⁴ tn Heb “to the faces of the atonement plate.” The exact meaning of the Hebrew term כַּפֹּרֶת (kapporet) here rendered “atonement plate” is much debated. The traditional “mercy seat” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV) does not suit the cognate relationship between this term and the Piel verb כִּפֶּר (kipper, “to make atonement, to make expiation”). The translation of the word should also reflect the fact that the most important atonement procedures on the Day of Atonement were performed in relation to it. Since the Lord would “appear in the cloud over the atonement plate,” and since it was so closely associated with the ark of the covenant (the ark being his “footstool”; cf. 1 Chr 28:2 and Ps 132:7-8), one could take it to be the place of his throne at which he accepts atonement. See J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:1014; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 234-35; and R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:691, 699. Cf. NIV “the atonement cover”; NCV “the lid on the Ark”; NLT “the Ark’s cover – the place of atonement.”

[9:15]  ²⁵ sn This section (Num 9:15-23) recapitulates the account in Exod 40:34 but also contains some additional detail about the cloud that signaled Israel’s journeys. Here again material from the book of Exodus is used to explain more of the laws for the camp in motion.

[9:15]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and/now on the day.”

[9:15]  ²⁷ tn The construction uses the temporal expression with the Hiphil infinitive construct followed by the object, the tabernacle. “On the day of the setting up of the tabernacle” leaves the subject unstated, and so the entire clause may be expressed in the passive voice.

[9:15]  ²⁸ sn The explanation and identification of this cloud has been a subject of much debate. Some commentators have concluded that it was identical with the cloud that led the Israelites away from Egypt and through the sea, but others have made a more compelling case that this is a different phenomenon (see ZPEB 4:796). A number of modern scholars see the description as a retrojection from later, perhaps Solomonic times (see G. H. Davies, IDB 3:817). Others have tried to connect it with Ugaritic terminology, but unconvincingly (see T. W. Mann, “The Pillar of Cloud in the Reed Sea Narrative,” JBL 90 [1971]: 15-30; G. E. Mendenhall, The Tenth Generation, 32-66, 209-13; and R. Good, “Cloud Messengers?” UF 10 [1978]: 436-37).

[9:15]  ²⁹ sn The cloud apparently was centered over the tent, over the spot of the ark of the covenant in the most holy place. It thereafter spread over the whole tabernacle.

[9:15]  ³⁰ tn The imperfect tense in this and the next line should be classified as a customary imperfect, stressing incomplete action but in the past time – something that used to happen, or would happen.

[9:15]  ³¹ tn Heb “like the appearance of fire.”

[9:16]  ³² tc The MT lacks the words “by day,” but a number of ancient versions have this reading (e.g., Greek, Syriac, Tg. Ps.-J., Latin Vulgate).

[9:17]  ³³ tn The verb in this initial temporal clause is the Niphal infinitive construct.

[9:17]  ³⁴ tn Heb “in the place where it settled there”; the relative clause modifies the noun “place,” and the resumptive adverb completes the related idea – “which it settled there” means “where it settled.”

[9:18]  ³⁵ tn Heb “at the mouth of” (so also in vv. 20, 23).

[9:18]  ³⁶ tn Heb “all the days of – that the cloud settled over the tabernacle.” “All” is the adverbial accusative of time telling how long they camped in one spot – all. The word is then qualified by the genitive of the thing measured – “all of the days” – and this in turn is qualified by a noun clause functioning as a genitive after “days of.”

[9:19]  ³⁷ tn This is the same Hebrew expression that was used earlier for the Levites “keeping their charge” or more clearly, “fulfilling their obligations” to take care of the needs of the people and the sanctuary. It is a general expression using שָׁמַר (shamar) followed by its cognate noun מִשְׁמֶרֶת (mishmeret).

[9:20]  ³⁸ tn The sentence uses וְיֵשׁ (vÿyesh) followed by a noun clause introduced with אֲשֶׁר (’asher) to express an existing situation; it is best translated as an adverbial clause of time: “and it was when the cloud was….”

[9:20]  ³⁹ tn The word “number” is in apposition to the word “days” to indicate that their stay was prolonged for quite a few days.

[9:20]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “mouth of the Lord.”

[9:21]  ⁴¹ tn The construction is the same in the preceding verse.

[9:21]  ⁴² tn “Only” is supplied to reflect the contrast between the two verses.

[9:21]  ⁴³ tn The construction in this half of the verse uses two vav (ו) consecutive clauses. The first is subordinated to the second as a temporal clause: “when…then….”

[9:22]  ⁴⁴ tn The MT has אוֹ־יָמִים (’o-yamim). Most translators use “or a year” to interpret this expression in view of the sequence of words leading up to it, as well as in comparison with passages like Judg 17:10 and 1 Sam 1:3 and 27:7. See also the uses in Gen 40:4 and 1 Kgs 17:15. For the view that it means four months, see F. S. North, “Four Month Season of the Hebrew Bible,” VT 11 (1961): 446-48.

[9:22]  ⁴⁵ tn In the Hebrew text this sentence has a temporal clause using the preposition with the Hiphil infinitive construct of אָרַךְ (’arakh) followed by the subjective genitive, “the cloud.” But this infinitive is followed by the infinitive construct לִשְׁכֹּן (lishkon), the two of them forming a verbal hendiadys: “the cloud made long to stay” becomes “the cloud prolonged its stay.”

[9:22]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “and they would not journey”; the clause can be taken adverbially, explaining the preceding verbal clause.

[9:23]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “hand.”

[9:1]  ⁴⁸ sn The chapter has just the two sections, the observance of the Passover (vv. 1-14) and the cloud that led the Israelites in the wilderness (vv. 15-23). It must be remembered that the material in vv. 7-9 is chronologically earlier than vv. 1-6, as the notices in the text will make clear. The two main discussions here are the last major issues to be reiterated before dealing with the commencement of the journey.

[9:1]  ⁴⁹ tn The temporal clause is formed with the infinitive construct of יָצָא (yatsa’, “to go out; to leave”). This verse indicates that a full year had passed since the exodus and the original Passover; now a second ruling on the Passover is included at the beginning of the second year. This would have occurred immediately after the consecration of the tabernacle, in the month before the census at Sinai.

[8:10]  ⁵⁰ sn The consecration ceremony was to be done in full view of the assembled people. In all probability the laying on of the hands was done through representatives of the tribes, and not all the people. This ritual of the imposition of hands showed that the people were taking part in the consecration, and that the Levites represented them in the service of the Lord.

[8:11]  ⁵¹ tn The Hebrew text actually has “wave the Levites as a wave offering.” The wave offering was part of the ritual of the peace offering and indicated the priest’s portion being presented to God in a lifted, waving motion for all to see. The Levites were going to be in the sanctuary to serve the Lord and assist the priests. It is unclear how Moses would have presented them as wave offerings, but the intent is that they would be living sacrifices, as Paul would later say in Rom 12:1 for all Christians.

[8:11]  ⁵² tn The construction emphasizes the spiritual service of the Levites, using the infinitive construct of עָבַד (’avad) followed by its cognate accusative.

[8:2]  ⁵³ tn The verb is עָלָה (’alah). The Hiphil infinitive construct functions in a temporal clause. The idea of arranging the lamps on the lampstand certainly involved raising the lamps and placing them on the tops of each shaft and branch. Some have taken the idea to mean cause the flame to go up, or light the lamps.

[8:2]  ⁵⁴ tn The imperfect tense forms part of the instruction, and so the translation has to indicate that. The instruction would seem obvious, but the light was to shine in the area immediately in front of the lampstand, so that it would illumine the way and illumine the table that was across the room (hence, “in front of”).

[5:13]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “and a man lies with her with the emission of semen.” This makes it clear that there was adultery involved, so that the going astray is going astray morally. The indication in the text is that if she had never behaved suspiciously the sin might not have been detected.

[5:13]  ⁵⁶ tc The sign of the accusative אֹתָהּ (’otah) is probably to be repointed to the preposition with the suffix, אִתָּהּ (’ittah).

[5:13]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “and it is concealed from the eyes of her husband.”

[5:13]  ⁵⁸ tn The noun clause beginning with the simple conjunction is here a circumstantial clause, explaining that there was no witness to the sin.

[7:2]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “the house of their fathers.”

[7:2]  ⁶⁰ tn The form is the Qal active participle from the verb “to stand” (עָמַד, ’amad). The form describes these leaders as “the ones standing over [the ones numbered].” The expression, along with the clear indication of the first census in chapter 1, shows that this was a supervisory capacity.

[18:10]  ⁶¹ tn Or “rode upon.”

[18:10]  ⁶² tn Heb “a cherub.” Because of the typical associations of the word “cherub” in English with chubby winged babies, the term has been rendered “winged angel” in the translation.

[18:10]  ⁶³ tc 2 Sam 22:11 reads “appeared” (from רָאָה, ra’ah); the relatively rare verb דָאָה (da’ah, “glide”) is more difficult and probably the original reading here in Ps 18.

[18:10]  ⁶⁴ sn The wings of the wind. Verse 10 may depict (1) the Lord riding a cherub, which is in turn propelled by the wind current. Another option (2) is that two different vehicles (a cherub and the wind) are envisioned. Yet another option (3) is that the wind is personified as a cherub. For a discussion of ancient Near Eastern parallels to the imagery in v. 10, see M. Weinfeld, “‘Rider of the Clouds’ and ‘Gatherer of the Clouds’,” JANESCU 5 (1973): 422-24.

[18:11]  ⁶⁵ tc Heb “he made darkness his hiding place around him, his covering.” 2 Sam 22:12 reads, “he made darkness around him coverings,” omitting “his hiding place” and pluralizing “covering.” Ps 18:11 may include a conflation of synonyms (“his hiding place” and “his covering”) or 2 Sam 22:12 may be the result of haplography/homoioarcton. Note that three successive words in Ps 18:11 begin with the Hebrew letter samek: סִתְרוֹ סְבִיבוֹתָיו סֻכָּתוֹ (sitro sÿvivotayv sukkato).

[18:11]  ⁶⁶ tc Heb “darkness of water, clouds of clouds.” The noun “darkness” (חֶשְׁכַת, kheshkhat) is probably a corruption of an original reading חשׁרת, a form that is preserved in 2 Sam 22:12. The latter is a construct form of חַשְׁרָה (khashrah, “sieve”) which occurs only here in the OT. A cognate Ugaritic noun means “sieve,” and a related verb חָשַׁר (khashar, “to sift”) is attested in postbiblical Hebrew and Aramaic. The phrase חַשְׁרַת מַיִם (khashrat mayim) means literally “a sieve of water.” It pictures the rain clouds as a sieve through which the rain falls to the ground (see F. M. Cross and D. N. Freedman, Studies in Ancient Yahwistic Poetry [SBLDS], 146, n. 33).

[18:12]  ⁶⁷ tc Heb “from the brightness in front of him his clouds came, hail and coals of fire.” 2 Sam 22:13 reads, “from the brightness in front of him burned coals of fire.” The Lucianic family of texts within the Greek tradition of 2 Sam 22:13 seems to assume the underlying Hebrew text: מנגה נגדו עברו ברד וגחלי אשׁ, “from the brightness in front of him came hail and coals of fire” (the basis for the present translation). The textual situation is perplexing and the identity of the original text uncertain. The verbs עָבָרוּ (’avaru; Ps 18:12) and בָּעֲרוּ (ba’aru; 2 Sam 22:13) appear to be variants involving a transposition of the first two letters. The noun עָבָיו (’avayv, “his clouds,” Ps 18:12) may be virtually dittographic (note the following עָבְרוּ, ’avru), or it could have accidentally dropped out from the text of 2 Sam 22:13 by virtual haplography (note the preceding בָּעֲרוּ, which might have originally read עָבְרוּ). The noun בָּרָד (barad, “hail,” Ps 18:12) may be virtually dittographic (note the preceding עָבְרוּ), or it could have dropped out from 2 Sam 22:13 by virtual haplography (note the preceding בָּעֲרוּ, which might have originally read עָבְרוּ). For a fuller discussion of the text and its problems, see R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 74-76.

[4:5]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “over all the place, Mount Zion.” Cf. NLT “Jerusalem”; CEV “the whole city.”

[4:5]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “a cloud by day, and smoke, and brightness of fire, a flame by night.” Though the accents in the Hebrew text suggest otherwise, it might be preferable to take “smoke” with what follows, since one would expect smoke to accompany fire.

[4:5]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “indeed (or “for”) over all the glory, a canopy.” This may allude to Exod 40:34-35, where a cloud overshadows the meeting tent as it is filled with God’s glory.

[4:6]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “a shelter it will be for shade by day from heat, and for a place of refuge and for a hiding place from cloudburst and rain.” Since both of the last nouns of this verse can mean rain, they can either refer to the rain storm and the rain as distinct items or together refer to a heavy downpour. Regardless, they do not represent unrelated phenomena.

[6:4]  ⁷² tn On the phrase אַמּוֹת הַסִּפִּים (’ammot hassippim, “pivots of the frames”) see HALOT 763 s.v. סַף.

[43:5]  ⁷³ tn See note on “wind” in 2:2.

[43:5]  ⁷⁴ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[43:5]  ⁷⁵ sn In 1 Kgs 8:10-11 we find a similar event with regard to Solomon’s temple. See also Exod 40:34-35. and Isa 6:4.

[43:7]  ⁷⁶ sn God’s throne is mentioned in Isa 6:1; Jer 3:17.

[43:7]  ⁷⁷ sn See 1 Chr 28:2; Ps 99:5; 132:7; Isa 60:13; Lam 2:1.

[43:7]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “by their corpses in their death.” But the term normally translated “corpses” is better understood here as a reference to funeral pillars or funerary offerings. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:583-85, and L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:257.

[2:7]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “all the nations.”

[2:7]  ⁸⁰ tn Though the subject here is singular (חֶמְדַּה, khemdah; “desire”), the preceding plural predicate mandates a collective subject, “desired (things)” or, better, an emendation to a plural form, חֲמֻדֹת (khamudot, “desirable [things],” hence “treasures”). Cf. ASV “the precious things”; NASB “the wealth”; NRSV “the treasure.” In the OT context this has no direct reference to the coming of the Messiah.

[2:9]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “greater will be the latter splendor of this house than the former”; NAB “greater will be the future glory.”

[2:9]  ⁸² tn In the Hebrew text there is an implicit play on words in the clause “in this place [i.e., Jerusalem] I will give peace”: in יְרוּשָׁלַיִם (yÿrushalayim) there will be שָׁלוֹם (shalom).

[15:8]  ⁸³ tn Grk “power, and no one.” A new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “thus” to indicate the implied result of the temple being filled with smoke.

[21:3]  ⁸⁴ tn Or “dwelling place”; traditionally, “tabernacle”; literally “tent.”

[21:3]  ⁸⁵ tn Or “people”; Grk “men” (ἀνθρώπων, anqrwpwn), a generic use of the term. In the translation “human beings” was used here because “people” occurs later in the verse and translates a different Greek word (λαοί, laoi).

[21:3]  ⁸⁶ tn Grk “men, and he.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[21:3]  ⁸⁷ tc ‡ Most mss (א Ï^K) do not add the words “[as] their God” (αὐτῶν θεός, autwn qeos) after “he will be with them.” The mss with these words include A 2030 2050 2329 al. The Andreas group (Ï^A) also has the words, but in a different arrangement with the preceding (ἔσται μετ᾿ αὐτῶν θεὸς αὐτῶν, estai met’ autwn qeo" autwn). Not only do the words float, but scribes may have been motivated to make a connection here more directly with Isa 7:14; 8:8; Jer 24:7; 31:33; Zech 8:8. In light of sufficient external evidence as well as the possibility that the longer reading is theologically motivated, the shorter reading is preferred. NA²⁷ places the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.

[21:24]  ⁸⁸ tn Or “the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[21:24]  ⁸⁹ tn Or “splendor”; Grk “glory.”