Exodus 14:16

14:16 And as for you, ¹  lift up your staff and extend your hand toward the sea and divide it, so that ²  the Israelites may go through the middle of the sea on dry ground.

Exodus 7:9

7:9 “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Do ³  a miracle,’ and you say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down ⁴  before Pharaoh,’ it will become ⁵  a snake.”

Exodus 8:16

The Third Blow: Gnats

8:16 ⁶ The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Extend your staff and strike the dust of the ground, and it will become ⁷  gnats ⁸  throughout all the land of Egypt.’”

Exodus 7:19

7:19 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over Egypt’s waters – over their rivers, over their canals, ⁹  over their ponds, and over all their reservoirs ¹⁰  – so that it becomes ¹¹  blood.’ There will be blood everywhere in ¹²  the land of Egypt, even in wooden and stone containers.”

[14:16]  ¹ tn The conjunction plus pronoun (“and you”) is emphatic – “and as for you” – before the imperative “lift up.” In contrast, v. 17 begins with “and as for me, I….”

[14:16]  ² tn The imperfect (or jussive) with the vav (ו) is sequential, coming after the series of imperatives instructing Moses to divide the sea; the form then gives the purpose (or result) of the activity – “that they may go.”

[7:9]  ³ tn The verb is תְּנוּ (tÿnu), literally “give.” The imperative is followed by an ethical dative that strengthens the subject of the imperative: “you give a miracle.”

[7:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “and throw it.” The direct object, “it,” is implied.

[7:9]  ⁵ tn The form is the jussive יְהִי ( yÿhi). Gesenius notes that frequently in a conditional clause, a sentence with a protasis and apodosis, the jussive will be used. Here it is in the apodosis (GKC 323 §109.h).

[8:16]  ⁵ sn The third plague is brief and unannounced. Moses and Aaron were simply to strike the dust so that it would become gnats. Not only was this plague unannounced, but also it was not duplicated by the Egyptians.

[8:16]  ⁶ tn The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive, meaning “and it will be.” When הָיָה (hayah) is followed by the lamed (ל) proposition, it means “become.”

[8:16]  ⁷ tn The noun is כִּנִּים (kinnim). The insect has been variously identified as lice, gnats, ticks, flies, fleas, or mosquitoes. “Lice” follows the reading in the Peshitta and Targum (and so Josephus, Ant. 2.14.3 [2.300]). Greek and Latin had “gnats.” By “gnats” many commentators mean “mosquitoes,” which in and around the water of Egypt were abundant (and the translators of the Greek text were familiar with Egypt). Whatever they were they came from the dust and were troublesome to people and animals.

[7:19]  ⁷ tn Or “irrigation rivers” of the Nile.

[7:19]  ⁸ sn The Hebrew term means “gathering,” i.e., wherever they gathered or collected waters, notably cisterns and reservoirs. This would naturally lead to the inclusion of both wooden and stone vessels – down to the smallest gatherings.

[7:19]  ⁹ tn The imperfect tense with vav (ו) after the imperative indicates the purpose or result: “in order that they [the waters] be[come] blood.”

[7:19]  ¹⁰ tn Or “in all.”