Exodus 19:9

19:9 The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come ¹  to you in a dense cloud, ²  so that the people may hear when I speak with you and so that they will always believe in you.” ³  And Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.

Exodus 19:16

19:16 On ⁴  the third day in the morning there was thunder and lightning and a dense ⁵  cloud on the mountain, and the sound of a very loud ⁶  horn; ⁷  all the people who were in the camp trembled.

Exodus 19:2

19:2 After they journeyed ⁸  from Rephidim, they came to the Desert of Sinai, and they camped in the desert; Israel camped there in front of the mountain. ⁹ 

Exodus 6:1

6:1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, ¹⁰  for compelled by my strong hand ¹¹  he will release them, and by my strong hand he will drive them out of his land.” ¹² 

Matthew 17:5

17:5 While he was still speaking, a ¹³  bright cloud ¹⁴  overshadowed ¹⁵  them, and a voice from the cloud said, ¹⁶  “This is my one dear Son, ¹⁷  in whom I take great delight. Listen to him!” ¹⁸ 

[19:9]  ¹ tn The construction uses the deictic particle and the participle to express the imminent future, what God was about to do. Here is the first announcement of the theophany.

[19:9]  ² tn Heb “the thickness of the cloud”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT “in a thick cloud.”

[19:9]  ³ tn Since “and also in you” begins the clause, the emphasis must be that the people would also trust Moses. See Exod 4:1-9, 31; 14:31.

[19:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “and it was on.”

[19:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “heavy” (כָּבֵד, kaved).

[19:16]  ⁶ tn Literally “strong” (חָזָק, khazaq).

[19:16]  ⁷ tn The word here is שֹׁפָר (shofar), the normal word for “horn.” This word is used especially to announce something important in a public event (see 1 Kgs 1:34; 2 Sam 6:15). The previous word used in the context (v. 16) was יֹבֵל (yovel, “ram’s horn”).

[19:2]  ⁸ tn The form is a preterite with vav (ו) consecutive, “and they journeyed.” It is here subordinated to the next clause as a temporal clause. But since the action of this temporal clause preceded the actions recorded in v. 1, a translation of “after” will keep the sequence in order. Verse 2 adds details to the summary in v. 1.

[19:2]  ⁹ sn The mountain is Mount Sinai, the mountain of God, the place where God had met and called Moses and had promised that they would be here to worship him. If this mountain is Jebel Musa, the traditional site of Sinai, then the plain in front of it would be Er-Rahah, about a mile and a half long by half a mile wide, fronting the mountain on the NW side (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 169). The plain itself is about 5000 feet above sea level. A mountain on the west side of the Arabian Peninsula has also been suggested as a possible site.

[6:1]  ¹⁰ sn The expression “I will do to Pharaoh” always refers to the plagues. God would first show his sovereignty over Pharaoh before defeating him.

[6:1]  ¹¹ tn The expression “with a strong hand” (וּבְיָד חֲזָקָה, uvÿyad khazaqah) could refer (1) to God’s powerful intervention (“compelled by my strong hand”) or (2) to Pharaoh’s forceful pursuit (“he will forcefully drive them out”). In Exod 3:20 God has summarized what his hand would do in Egypt, and that is probably what is intended here, as he promises that Moses will see what God will do. All Egypt ultimately desired that Israel be released (12:33), and when they were released Pharaoh pursued them to the sea, and so in a sense drove them out – whether that was his intention or not. But ultimately it was God’s power that was the real force behind it all. U. Cassuto (Exodus, 74) considers that it is unlikely that the phrase would be used in the same verse twice with the same meaning. So he thinks that the first “strong hand” is God’s, and the second “strong hand” is Pharaoh’s. It is true that if Pharaoh acted forcefully in any way that contributed to Israel leaving Egypt it was because God was acting forcefully in his life. So in an understated way, God is saying that when forced by God’s strong hand, Pharaoh will indeed release God’s people.”

[6:1]  ¹² tn Or “and he will forcefully drive them out of his land,” if the second occurrence of “strong hand” refers to Pharaoh’s rather than God’s (see the previous note).

[17:5]  ¹³ tn Grk “behold, a.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated here or in the following clause because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[17:5]  ¹⁴ sn This cloud is the cloud of God’s presence and the voice is his as well.

[17:5]  ¹⁵ tn Or “surrounded.”

[17:5]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “behold, a voice from the cloud, saying.” This is an incomplete sentence in Greek which portrays intensity and emotion. The participle λέγουσα (legousa) was translated as a finite verb in keeping with English style.

[17:5]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “my beloved Son,” or “my Son, the beloved [one].” The force of ἀγαπητός (agaphtos) is often “pertaining to one who is the only one of his or her class, but at the same time is particularly loved and cherished” (L&N 58.53; cf. also BDAG 7 s.v. 1).

[17:5]  ¹⁸ sn The expression listen to him comes from Deut 18:15 and makes two points: 1) Jesus is a prophet like Moses, a leader-prophet, and 2) they have much yet to learn from him.