Exodus 15:15-16

15:15 Then the chiefs of Edom will be terrified, ¹ 

trembling will seize ²  the leaders of Moab,

and the inhabitants of Canaan will shake.

15:16 Fear and dread ³  will fall ⁴  on them;

by the greatness ⁵  of your arm they will be as still as stone ⁶ 

until ⁷  your people pass by, O Lord,

until the people whom you have bought ⁸  pass by.

[15:15]  ¹ tn This is a prophetic perfect.

[15:15]  ² tn This verb is imperfect tense.

[15:16]  ³ tn The two words can form a nominal hendiadys, “a dreadful fear,” though most English versions retain the two separate terms.

[15:16]  ⁴ tn The form is an imperfect.

[15:16]  ⁵ tn The adjective is in construct form and governs the noun “arm” (“arm” being the anthropomorphic expression for what God did). See GKC 428 §132.c.

[15:16]  ⁶ sn For a study of the words for fear, see N. Waldman, “A Comparative Note on Exodus 15:14-16,” JQR 66 (1976): 189-92.

[15:16]  ⁷ tn Clauses beginning with עַד (’ad) express a limit that is not absolute, but only relative, beyond which the action continues (GKC 446-47 §138.g).

[15:16]  ⁸ tn The verb קָנָה (qanah) here is the verb “acquire, purchase,” and probably not the homonym “to create, make” (see Gen 4:1; Deut 32:6; and Prov 8:22).