Exodus 18:15

18:15 Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire ¹  of God.

Exodus 18:22

18:22 They will judge ²  the people under normal circumstances, ³  and every difficult case ⁴  they will bring to you, but every small case ⁵  they themselves will judge, so that ⁶  you may make it easier for yourself, ⁷  and they will bear the burden ⁸  with you.

Deuteronomy 17:8

Appeal to a Higher Court

17:8 If a matter is too difficult for you to judge – bloodshed, ⁹  legal claim, ¹⁰  or assault ¹¹  – matters of controversy in your villages ¹²  – you must leave there and go up to the place the Lord your God chooses. ¹³ 

Deuteronomy 17:1

17:1 You must not sacrifice to him ¹⁴  a bull or sheep that has a blemish or any other defect, because that is considered offensive ¹⁵  to the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 3:16-28

3:16 To the Reubenites and Gadites I allocated the territory extending from Gilead as far as Wadi Arnon (the exact middle of the wadi was a boundary) all the way to the Wadi Jabbok, the Ammonite border. 3:17 The Arabah and the Jordan River ¹⁶  were also a border, from the sea of Chinnereth ¹⁷  to the sea of the Arabah (that is, the Salt Sea), ¹⁸  beneath the watershed ¹⁹  of Pisgah ²⁰  to the east.

Instructions to the Transjordanian Tribes

3:18 At that time I instructed you as follows: “The Lord your God has given you this land for your possession. You warriors are to cross over before your fellow Israelites ²¹  equipped for battle. 3:19 But your wives, children, and livestock (of which I know you have many) may remain in the cities I have given you. 3:20 You must fight ²²  until the Lord gives your countrymen victory ²³  as he did you and they take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them on the other side of the Jordan River. Then each of you may return to his own territory that I have given you.” 3:21 I also commanded Joshua at the same time, “You have seen everything the Lord your God did to these two kings; he ²⁴  will do the same to all the kingdoms where you are going. ²⁵  3:22 Do not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God will personally fight for you.”

Denial to Moses of the Promised Land

3:23 Moreover, at that time I pleaded with the Lord, 3:24 “O, Lord God, ²⁶  you have begun to show me ²⁷  your greatness and strength. ²⁸  (What god in heaven or earth can rival your works and mighty deeds?) 3:25 Let me please cross over to see the good land on the other side of the Jordan River – this good hill country and the Lebanon!” ²⁹  3:26 But the Lord was angry at me because of you and would not listen to me. Instead, he ³⁰  said to me, “Enough of that! ³¹  Do not speak to me anymore about this matter. 3:27 Go up to the top of Pisgah and take a good look to the west, north, south, and east, ³²  for you will not be allowed to cross the Jordan. 3:28 Commission ³³  Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, because he will lead these people over and will enable them to inherit the land you will see.”

Deuteronomy 10:1

The Opportunity to Begin Again

10:1 At that same time the Lord said to me, “Carve out for yourself two stone tablets like the first ones and come up the mountain to me; also make for yourself a wooden ark. ³⁴ 

Job 29:16

29:16 I was a father ³⁵  to the needy,

and I investigated the case of the person I did not know;

[18:15]  ¹ tn The form is לִדְרֹשׁ (lidrosh), the Qal infinitive construct giving the purpose. To inquire of God would be to seek God’s will on a matter, to obtain a legal decision on a matter, or to settle a dispute. As a judge Moses is speaking for God, but as the servant of Yahweh Moses’ words will be God’s words. The psalms would later describe judges as “gods” because they made the right decisions based on God’s Law.

[18:22]  ² tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive, making it equivalent to the imperfect of instruction in the preceding verse.

[18:22]  ³ tn Heb “in every time,” meaning “in all normal cases” or “under normal circumstances.” The same phrase occurs in v. 26.

[18:22]  ⁴ tn Heb “great thing.”

[18:22]  ⁵ tn Heb “thing.”

[18:22]  ⁶ tn The vav here shows the result or the purpose of the instructions given.

[18:22]  ⁷ tn The expression וְהָקֵל מֵעָלֶיךָ (vÿhaqel me’aleykha) means literally “and make it light off yourself.” The word plays against the word for “heavy” used earlier – since it was a heavy or burdensome task, Moses must lighten the load.

[18:22]  ⁸ tn Here “the burden” has been supplied.

[17:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “between blood and blood.”

[17:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “between claim and claim.”

[17:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “between blow and blow.”

[17:8]  ¹² tn Heb “gates.”

[17:8]  ¹³ tc Several Greek recensions add “to place his name there,” thus completing the usual formula to describe the central sanctuary (cf. Deut 12:5, 11, 14, 18; 16:6). However, the context suggests that the local Levitical towns, and not the central sanctuary, are in mind.

[17:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “to the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 16:1.

[17:1]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “an abomination”; cf. NAB) describes persons, things, or practices offensive to ritual or moral order. See M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 4:314-18; see also the note on the word “abhorrent” in Deut 7:25.

[3:17]  ¹⁶ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity (also in vv. 20, 25).

[3:17]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “from Chinnereth.” The words “the sea of” have been supplied in the translation as a clarification.

[3:17]  ¹⁸ sn The Salt Sea is another name for the Dead Sea (cf. Gen 14:3; Josh 3:16).

[3:17]  ¹⁹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term אַשְׁדֹּת (’ashdot) is unclear. It is usually translated either “slopes” (ASV, NAB, NIV) or “watershed” (NEB).

[3:17]  ²⁰ sn Pisgah. This appears to refer to a small range of mountains, the most prominent peak of which is Mount Nebo (Num 21:20; 23:14; Deut 3:27; cf. 34:1).

[3:18]  ²¹ tn Heb “your brothers, the sons of Israel.”

[3:20]  ²² tn The words “you must fight” are not present in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[3:20]  ²³ tn Heb “gives your brothers rest.”

[3:21]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the Lord.” The translation uses the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.

[3:21]  ²⁵ tn Heb “which you are crossing over there.”

[3:24]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Lord Lord.” The phrase אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה (’adonay yÿhvih) is customarily rendered by Jewish tradition as “Lord God.” Cf. NIV, TEV, NLT “Sovereign Lord.”

[3:24]  ²⁷ tn Heb “your servant.” The pronoun is used in the translation to clarify that Moses is speaking of himself, since in contemporary English one does not usually refer to oneself in third person.

[3:24]  ²⁸ tn Heb “your strong hand” (so NIV), a symbol of God’s activity.

[3:25]  ²⁹ tn The article is retained in the translation (“the Lebanon,” cf. also NAB, NRSV) to indicate that a region (rather than the modern country of Lebanon) is referred to here. Other recent English versions accomplish this by supplying “mountains” after “Lebanon” (TEV, CEV, NLT).

[3:26]  ³⁰ tn Heb “the Lord.” For stylistic reasons the pronoun (“he”) has been used in the translation here.

[3:26]  ³¹ tn Heb “much to you” (an idiom).

[3:27]  ³² tn Heb “lift your eyes to the west, north, south, and east and see with your eyes.” The translation omits the repetition of “your eyes” for stylistic reasons.

[3:28]  ³³ tn Heb “command”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “charge Joshua.”

[10:1]  ³⁴ tn Or “chest” (so NIV, CEV); NLT “sacred chest”; TEV “wooden box.” This chest was made of acacia wood; it is later known as the ark of the covenant.

[29:16]  ³⁵ sn The word “father” does not have a wide range of meanings in the OT. But there are places that it is metaphorical, especially in a legal setting like this where the poor need aid.