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 7:18

7:18 Fish ⁵  in the Nile will die, the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable ⁶  to drink water from the Nile.”’”

Exodus 12:33

12:33 The Egyptians were urging ⁷  the people on, in order to send them out of the land quickly, ⁸  for they were saying, “We are all dead!”

Exodus 12:35

12:35 Now the Israelites had done ⁹  as Moses told them – they had requested from the Egyptians ¹⁰  silver and gold items and clothing.

Exodus 14:18

14:18 And the Egyptians will know ¹¹  that I am the Lord when I have gained my honor ¹²  because of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

Exodus 14:23

14:23 The Egyptians chased them and followed them into the middle of the sea – all the horses of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.

[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.”

[7:18]  ⁵ tn The definite article here has the generic use, indicating the class – “fish” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 19, §92).

[7:18]  ⁶ tn The verb לָאָה (la’a), here in the Niphal perfect with a vav consecutive, means “be weary, impatient.” The Niphal meaning is “make oneself weary” in doing something, or “weary (strenuously exert) oneself.” It seems always to indicate exhausted patience (see BDB 521 s.v.). The term seems to imply that the Egyptians were not able to drink the red, contaminated water, and so would expend all their energy looking for water to drink – in frustration of course.

[12:33]  ⁹ tn The verb used here (חָזַק, khazaq) is the same verb used for Pharaoh’s heart being hardened. It conveys the idea of their being resolved or insistent in this – they were not going to change.

[12:33]  ¹⁰ tn The phrase uses two construct infinitives in a hendiadys, the first infinitive becoming the modifier.

[12:35]  ¹³ tn The verbs “had done” and then “had asked” were accomplished prior to the present narrative (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 99). The verse begins with disjunctive word order to introduce the reminder of earlier background information.

[12:35]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “from Egypt.” Here the Hebrew text uses the name of the country to represent the inhabitants (a figure known as metonymy).

[14:18]  ¹⁷ tn The construction is unusual in that it says, “And Egypt will know.” The verb is plural, and so “Egypt” must mean “the Egyptians.” The verb is the perfect tense with the vav consecutive, showing that this recognition or acknowledgment by Egypt will be the result or purpose of the defeat of them by God.

[14:18]  ¹⁸ tn The form is בְּהִכָּבְדִי (bÿhikkavÿdi), the Niphal infinitive construct with a preposition and a suffix. For the suffix on a Niphal, see GKC 162-63 §61.c. The word forms a temporal clause in the line.