Exodus 13:5

13:5 When ¹  the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, ²  then you will keep ³  this ceremony ⁴  in this month.

Exodus 18:14

18:14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this ⁵  that you are doing for the people? ⁶  Why are you sitting by yourself, and all the people stand around you from morning until evening?”

Exodus 27:21

27:21 In the tent of meeting ⁷  outside the curtain that is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons are to arrange it from evening ⁸  to morning before the Lord. This is to be a lasting ordinance among the Israelites for generations to come. ⁹ 

[13:5]  ¹ tn Heb “and it will be when.”

[13:5]  ² tn See notes on Exod 3:8.

[13:5]  ³ tn The verb is וְעָבַדְתָּ (vÿ’avadta), the Qal perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive. It is the equivalent of the imperfect tense of instruction or injunction; it forms the main point after the temporal clause – “when Yahweh brings you out…then you will serve.”

[13:5]  ⁴ tn The object is a cognate accusative for emphasis on the meaning of the service – “you will serve this service.” W. C. Kaiser notes how this noun was translated “slavery” and “work” in the book, but “service” or “ceremony” for Yahweh. Israel was saved from slavery to Egypt into service for God as remembered by this ceremony (“Exodus,” EBC 2:383).

[18:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “what is this thing.”

[18:14]  ⁶ sn This question, “what are you doing for the people,” is qualified by the next question. Sitting alone all day and the people standing around all day showed that Moses was exhibiting too much care for the people – he could not do this.

[27:21]  ⁹ tn The LXX has mistakenly rendered this name “the tent of the testimony.”

[27:21]  ¹⁰ sn The lamps were to be removed in the morning so that the wicks could be trimmed and the oil replenished (30:7) and then lit every evening to burn through the night.

[27:21]  ¹¹ sn This is the first of several sections of priestly duties. The point is a simple one here: those who lead the worship use the offerings of the people to ensure that access to God is illumined regularly. The NT will make much of the symbolism of light.