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 7:20

7:20 Moses and Aaron did so, ⁵  just as the Lord had commanded. Moses raised ⁶  the staff ⁷  and struck the water that was in the Nile right before the eyes ⁸  of Pharaoh and his servants, ⁹  and all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood. ¹⁰ 

Exodus 8:17

8:17 They did so; Aaron extended his hand with his staff, he struck the dust of the ground, and it became gnats on people ¹¹  and on animals. All the dust of the ground became gnats throughout all the land of Egypt.

Exodus 9:25

9:25 The hail struck everything in the open fields, both ¹²  people and animals, throughout all the land of Egypt. The hail struck everything that grows ¹³  in the field, and it broke all the trees of the field to pieces.

[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.”

[7:20]  ⁵ sn Both Moses and Aaron had tasks to perform. Moses, being the “god” to Pharaoh, dealt directly with him and the Nile. He would strike the Nile. But Aaron, “his prophet,” would stretch out the staff over the rest of the waters of Egypt.

[7:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “And he raised”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:20]  ⁷ tn Gesenius calls the preposition on “staff” the בְּ (bet) instrumenti, used to introduce the object (GKC 380-81 §119.q). This construction provides a greater emphasis than an accusative.

[7:20]  ⁸ tn The text could be rendered “in the sight of,” or simply “before,” but the literal idea of “before the eyes of” may stress how obvious the event was and how personally they were witnesses of it.

[7:20]  ⁹ sn U. Cassuto (Exodus, 98) notes that the striking of the water was not a magical act. It signified two things: (1) the beginning of the sign, which was in accordance with God’s will, as Moses had previously announced, and (2) to symbolize actual “striking,” wherewith the Lord strikes Egypt and its gods (see v. 25).

[7:20]  ¹⁰ sn There have been various attempts to explain the details of this plague or blow. One possible suggestion is that the plague turned the Nile into “blood,” but that it gradually turned back to its normal color and substance. However, the effects of the “blood” polluted the water so that dead fish and other contamination left it undrinkable. This would explain how the magicians could also do it – they would not have tried if all water was already turned to blood. It also explains why Pharaoh did not ask for the water to be turned back. This view was put forward by B. Schor; it is summarized by B. Jacob (Exodus, 258), who prefers the view of Rashi that the blow affected only water in use.

[8:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “man,” but in the generic sense of “humans” or “people” (also in v. 18).

[9:25]  ¹³ tn The exact expression is “from man even to beast.” R. J. Williams lists this as an example of the inclusive use of the preposition מִן (min) to be rendered “both…and” (Hebrew Syntax, 57, §327).

[9:25]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “all the cultivated grain of.”