Exodus 20:4

20:4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image ¹  or any likeness ²  of anything ³  that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water below. ⁴ 

Exodus 6:7

6:7 I will take you to myself for a people, and I will be your God. ⁵  Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from your enslavement to ⁶  the Egyptians.

Exodus 18:10

18:10 Jethro said, “Blessed ⁷  be the Lord who has delivered you from the hand of Egypt, and from the hand of Pharaoh, who has delivered the people from the Egyptians’ control! ⁸ 

Exodus 37:27

37:27 He also made ⁹  two gold rings for it under its border, on its two sides, on opposite sides, ¹⁰  as places ¹¹  for poles to carry it with.

Exodus 6:6

6:6 Therefore, tell the Israelites, ‘I am the Lord. I will bring you out ¹²  from your enslavement to ¹³  the Egyptians, I will rescue you from the hard labor they impose, ¹⁴  and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.

Exodus 17:14

17:14 The Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in the ¹⁵  book, and rehearse ¹⁶  it in Joshua’s hearing; ¹⁷  for I will surely wipe out ¹⁸  the remembrance ¹⁹  of Amalek from under heaven.

Exodus 30:4

30:4 You are to make two gold rings for it under its border, on its two flanks; you are to make them on its two sides. ²⁰  The rings ²¹  will be places ²²  for poles to carry it with.

[20:4]  ¹ tn A פֶּסֶל (pesel) is an image that was carved out of wood or stone. The Law was concerned with a statue that would be made for the purpose of worship, an idol to be venerated, and not any ordinary statue.

[20:4]  ² tn The word תְּמוּנָה (tÿmunah) refers to the mental pattern from which the פֶּסֶל (pesel) is constructed; it is a real or imagined resemblance. If this is to stand as a second object to the verb, then the verb itself takes a slightly different nuance here. It would convey “you shall not make an image, neither shall you conceive a form” for worship (B. Jacob, Exodus, 547). Some simply make the second word qualify the first: “you shall not make an idol in the form of…” (NIV).

[20:4]  ³ tn Here the phrase “of anything” has been supplied.

[20:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “under the earth” (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[6:7]  ⁵ sn These covenant promises are being reiterated here because they are about to be fulfilled. They are addressed to the nation, not individuals, as the plural suffixes show. Yahweh was their God already, because they had been praying to him and he is acting on their behalf. When they enter into covenant with God at Sinai, then he will be the God of Israel in a new way (19:4-6; cf. Gen 17:7-8; 28:20-22; Lev 26:11-12; Jer 24:7; Ezek 11:17-20).

[6:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “from under the burdens of” (so KJV, NASB); NIV “from under the yoke of.”

[18:10]  ⁹ tn This is a common form of praise. The verb בָּרוּךְ (barukh) is the Qal passive participle of the verb. Here must be supplied a jussive, making this participle the predicate: “May Yahweh be blessed.” The verb essentially means “to enrich”; in praise it would mean that he would be enriched by the praises of the people.

[18:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from under the hand of the Egyptians.”

[37:27]  ¹³ tn Heb “and he made.”

[37:27]  ¹⁴ sn Since it was a small altar, it needed only two rings, one on either side, in order to be carried. The second mention of their location clarifies that they should be on the sides, the right and the left, as one approached the altar.

[37:27]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “for houses.”

[6:6]  ¹⁷ sn The verb וְהוֹצֵאתִי (vÿhotse’ti) is a perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive, and so it receives a future translation – part of God’s promises. The word will be used later to begin the Decalogue and other covenant passages – “I am Yahweh who brought you out….”

[6:6]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “from under the burdens of” (so KJV, NASB); NIV “from under the yoke of.”

[6:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “from labor of them.” The antecedent of the pronoun is the Egyptians who have imposed slave labor on the Hebrews.

[17:14]  ²¹ tn The presence of the article does not mean that he was to write this in a book that was existing now, but in one dedicated to this purpose (book, meaning scroll). See GKC 408 §126.s.

[17:14]  ²² tn The Hebrew word is “place,” meaning that the events were to be impressed on Joshua.

[17:14]  ²³ tn Heb “in the ears of Joshua.” The account should be read to Joshua.

[17:14]  ²⁴ tn The construction uses the infinitive absolute and the imperfect tense to stress the resolution of Yahweh to destroy Amalek. The verb מָחָה (makhah) is often translated “blot out” – but that is not a very satisfactory image, since it would not remove completely what is the object. “Efface, erase, scrape off” (as in a palimpsest, a manuscript that is scraped clean so it can be reused) is a more accurate image.

[17:14]  ²⁵ sn This would seem to be defeated by the preceding statement that the events would be written in a book for a memorial. If this war is recorded, then the Amalekites would be remembered. But here God was going to wipe out the memory of them. But the idea of removing the memory of a people is an idiom for destroying them – they will have no posterity and no lasting heritage.

[30:4]  ²⁵ sn Since it was a small altar, it needed only two rings, one on either side, in order to be carried. The second clause clarifies that the rings should be on the sides, the right and the left, as you approach the altar.

[30:4]  ²⁶ tn Heb “And it”; this refers to the rings collectively in their placement on the box, and so the word “rings” has been used to clarify the referent for the modern reader.

[30:4]  ²⁷ tn Heb “for houses.”