Exodus 2:4

2:4 His sister stationed herself ¹  at a distance to find out ²  what would ³  happen to him.

Exodus 4:2

4:2 The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” ⁴ 

Exodus 15:24

15:24 So the people murmured ⁵  against Moses, saying, “What can ⁶  we drink?”

[2:4]  ¹ tn Or “stood.” The verb is the Hitpael preterite of יָצַב (yatsav), although the form is anomalous and perhaps should be spelled as in the Samaritan Pentateuch (see GKC 193 §71). The form yields the meaning of “take a stand, position or station oneself.” His sister found a good vantage point to wait and see what might become of the infant.

[2:4]  ² tn Heb “to know”; many English versions have “to see.”

[2:4]  ³ tn The verb is a Niphal imperfect; it should be classified here as a historic future, future from the perspective of a point in a past time narrative.

[4:2]  ⁴ tn Or “rod” (KJV, ASV); NCV, CEV “walking stick”; NLT “shepherd’s staff.”

[15:24]  ⁷ tn The verb וַיִּלֹנוּ (vayyillonu) from לוּן (lun) is a much stronger word than “to grumble” or “to complain.” It is used almost exclusively in the wilderness wandering stories, to describe the rebellion of the Israelites against God (see also Ps 59:14-15). They were not merely complaining – they were questioning God’s abilities and motives. The action is something like a parliamentary vote of no confidence.

[15:24]  ⁸ tn The imperfect tense here should be given a potential nuance: “What can we drink?” since the previous verse reports that they were not able to drink the water.