Exodus 2:12

2:12 He looked this way and that ¹  and saw that no one was there, ²  and then he attacked ³  the Egyptian and concealed the body ⁴  in the sand.

Exodus 5:11

5:11 You ⁵  go get straw for yourselves wherever you can ⁶  find it, because there will be no reduction at all in your workload.’”

Exodus 8:10

8:10 He said, “Tomorrow.” And Moses said, ⁷  “It will be ⁸  as you say, ⁹  so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God.

Exodus 21:11

21:11 If he does not provide her with these three things, then she will go out free, without paying money. ¹⁰ 

Exodus 22:2

22:2 “If a thief is caught ¹¹  breaking in ¹²  and is struck so that he dies, there will be no blood guilt for him. ¹³ 

Exodus 32:32

32:32 But now, if you will forgive their sin…, ¹⁴  but if not, wipe me out ¹⁵  from your book that you have written.” ¹⁶ 

Exodus 33:15

33:15 And Moses ¹⁷  said to him, “If your presence does not go ¹⁸  with us, ¹⁹  do not take us up from here. ²⁰ 

[2:12]  ¹ tn The text literally says, “and he turned thus and thus” (וַיִּפֶן כֹּה וָכֹה, vayyifen koh vakhoh). It may indicate that he turned his gaze in all directions to ascertain that no one would observe what he did. Or, as B. Jacob argues, it may mean that he saw that there was no one to do justice and so he did it himself (Exodus, 37-38, citing Isa 59:15-16).

[2:12]  ² tn Heb “he saw that there was no man.”

[2:12]  ³ sn The verb וַיַּךְ (vayyakh) is from the root נָכָה (nakhah, “to smite, attack”) which is used in v. 11. This new attack is fatal. The repetition of the verb, especially in Exodus, anticipates the idea of “eye for eye, tooth for tooth.” The problem is, however, that Moses was not authorized to take this matter into his own hands in this way. The question the next day was appropriate: “Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?” The answer? No one – yet.

[2:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “him”; for stylistic reasons the referent has been specified as “the body.”

[5:11]  ⁵ tn The independent personal pronoun emphasizes that the people were to get their own straw, and it heightens the contrast with the king. “You – go get.”

[5:11]  ⁶ tn The tense in this section could be translated as having the nuance of possibility: “wherever you may find it,” or the nuance of potential imperfect: “wherever you are able to find any.”

[8:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “And he said”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:10]  ¹⁰ tn “It will be” has been supplied.

[8:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “according to your word” (so NASB).

[21:11]  ¹³ sn The lessons of slavery and service are designed to bring justice to existing customs in antiquity. The message is: Those in slavery for one reason or another should have the hope of freedom and the choice of service (vv. 2-6). For the rulings on the daughter, the message could be: Women, who were often at the mercy of their husbands or masters, must not be trapped in an unfortunate situation, but be treated well by their masters or husbands (vv. 7-11). God is preventing people who have power over others from abusing it.

[22:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “found” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV).

[22:2]  ¹⁸ tn The word בַּמַּחְתֶּרֶת (bammakhteret) means “digging through” the walls of a house (usually made of mud bricks). The verb is used only a few times and has the meaning of dig in (as into houses) or row hard (as in Jonah 1:13).

[22:2]  ¹⁹ tn The text has “there is not to him bloods.” When the word “blood” is put in the plural, it refers to bloodshed, or the price of blood that is shed, i.e., blood guiltiness.

[32:32]  ²¹ tn The apodosis is not expressed; it would be understood as “good.” It is not stated because of the intensity of the expression (the figure is aposiopesis, a sudden silence). It is also possible to take this first clause as a desire and not a conditional clause, rendering it “Oh that you would forgive!”

[32:32]  ²² tn The word “wipe” is a figure of speech indicating “remove me” (meaning he wants to die). The translation “blot” is traditional, but not very satisfactory, since it does not convey complete removal.

[32:32]  ²³ sn The book that is referred to here should not be interpreted as the NT “book of life” which is portrayed (figuratively) as a register of all the names of the saints who are redeemed and will inherit eternal life. Here it refers to the names of those who are living and serving in this life, whose names, it was imagined, were on the roster in the heavenly courts as belonging to the chosen. Moses would rather die than live if these people are not forgiven (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 356).

[33:15]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:15]  ²⁶ tn The construction uses the active participle to stress the continual going of the presence: if there is not your face going.

[33:15]  ²⁷ tn “with us” has been supplied.

[33:15]  ²⁸ tn Heb “from this.”