Exodus 15:25

15:25 He cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him ¹  a tree. ²  When Moses ³  threw it into the water, the water became safe to drink. There the Lord ⁴  made for them ⁵  a binding ordinance, ⁶  and there he tested ⁷  them.

Exodus 15:27

15:27 Then they came to Elim, ⁸  where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there by the water.

Exodus 18:3

18:3 and her two sons, one of whom was named Gershom (for Moses ⁹  had said, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land”),

Exodus 18:5

18:5 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’ ¹⁰  sons and his wife, came to Moses in the desert where he was camping by ¹¹  the mountain of God. ¹² 

Exodus 20:7

20:7 “You shall not take ¹³  the name of the Lord your God in vain, ¹⁴  for the Lord will not hold guiltless ¹⁵  anyone who takes his name in vain.

Exodus 29:42

29:42 “This will be a regular ¹⁶  burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet ¹⁷  with you to speak to you there.

Exodus 34:2

34:2 Be prepared ¹⁸  in the morning, and go up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and station yourself ¹⁹  for me there on the top of the mountain.

[15:25]  ¹ tn The verb is וַיּוֹרֵהוּ (vayyorehu, “and he showed him”). It is the Hiphil preterite from יָרָה (yarah), which has a basic meaning of “to point, show, direct.” It then came to mean “to teach”; it is the verb behind the noun “Law” (תּוֹרָה, torah).

[15:25]  ² tn Or “a [piece of] wood” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, TEV, CEV); NLT “a branch.”

[15:25]  ³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:25]  ⁴ tn Heb “there he”; the referent (the Lord) is supplied for clarity.

[15:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “for him” (referring to Israel as a whole).

[15:25]  ⁶ tn This translation interprets the two nouns as a hendiadys: “a statute and an ordinance” becomes “a binding ordinance.”

[15:25]  ⁷ tn The verb נִסָּהוּ (nissahu, “and he tested him [them]”) is from the root נָסָה (nasah). The use of this word in the Bible indicates that there is question, doubt, or uncertainty about the object being tested.

[15:27]  ⁸ sn Judging from the way the story is told they were not far from the oasis. But God had other plans for them, to see if they would trust him wholeheartedly and obey. They did not do very well this first time, and they will have to learn how to obey. The lesson is clear: God uses adversity to test his people’s loyalty. The response to adversity must be prayer to God, for he can turn the bitter into the sweet, the bad into the good, and the prospect of death into life.

[18:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity (also in the following verse).

[18:5]  ²² tn Heb “his”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:5]  ²³ tn This is an adverbial accusative that defines the place (see GKC 373-74 §118.g).

[18:5]  ²⁴ sn The mountain of God is Horeb, and so the desert here must be the Sinai desert by it. But chap. 19 suggests that they left Rephidim to go the 24 miles to Sinai. It may be that this chapter fits in chronologically after the move to Sinai, but was placed here thematically. W. C. Kaiser defends the present location of the story by responding to other reasons for the change given by Lightfoot, but does not deal with the travel locations (W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:411).

[20:7]  ²⁹ tn Or “use” (NCV, TEV); NIV, CEV, NLT “misuse”; NRSV “make wrongful use of.”

[20:7]  ³⁰ tn שָׁוְא (shav’, “vain”) describes “unreality.” The command prohibits use of the name for any idle, frivolous, or insincere purpose (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 196). This would include perjury, pagan incantations, or idle talk. The name is to be treated with reverence and respect because it is the name of the holy God.

[20:7]  ³¹ tn Or “leave unpunished.”

[29:42]  ³⁶ tn The translation has “regular” instead of “continually,” because they will be preparing this twice a day.

[29:42]  ³⁷ tn The relative clause identifies the place in front of the Tent as the place that Yahweh would meet Moses. The main verb of the clause is אִוָּעֵד (’ivva’ed), a Niphal imperfect of the verb יָעַד (ya’ad), the verb that is cognate to the name “tent of meeting” – hence the name. This clause leads into the next four verses.

[34:2]  ⁴³ tn The form is a Niphal participle that means “be prepared, be ready.” This probably means that Moses was to do in preparation what the congregation had to do back in Exod 19:11-15.

[34:2]  ⁴⁴ sn The same word is used in Exod 33:21. It is as if Moses was to be at his post when Yahweh wanted to communicate to him.