Exodus 21:3

21:3 If he came ¹  in by himself ²  he will go out by himself; if he had ³  a wife when he came in, then his wife will go out with him.

Exodus 21:34

21:34 the owner of the pit must repay ⁴  the loss. He must give money ⁵  to its owner, and the dead animal ⁶  will become his.

Exodus 22:8

22:8 If the thief is not caught, ⁷  then the owner of the house will be brought before the judges ⁸  to see ⁹  whether he has laid ¹⁰  his hand on his neighbor’s goods.

Exodus 14:2

14:2 “Tell the Israelites that they must turn and camp ¹¹  before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you are to camp by the sea before Baal Zephon opposite it. ¹² 

Exodus 14:9

14:9 The Egyptians chased after them, and all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh and his horsemen and his army overtook them camping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-Zephon.

Exodus 21:22

21:22 “If men fight and hit a pregnant woman and her child is born prematurely, ¹³  but there is no serious injury, he will surely be punished in accordance with what the woman’s husband demands of him, and he will pay what the court decides. ¹⁴ 

Exodus 24:14

24:14 He told the elders, “Wait for us in this place until we return to you. Here are ¹⁵  Aaron and Hur with you. Whoever has any matters of dispute ¹⁶  can approach ¹⁷  them.”

[21:3]  ¹ tn The tense is imperfect, but in the conditional clause it clearly refers to action that is anterior to the action in the next clause. Heb “if he comes in single, he goes out single,” that is, “if he came in single, he will go out single.”

[21:3]  ² tn Heb “with his back” meaning “alone.”

[21:3]  ³ tn The phrase says, “if he was the possessor of a wife”; the noun בַּעַל (ba’al) can mean “possessor” or “husband.” If there was a wife, she shared his fortunes or his servitude; if he entered with her, she would accompany him when he left.

[21:34]  ⁴ tn The verb is a Piel imperfect from שָׁלַם (shalam); it has the idea of making payment in full, making recompense, repaying. These imperfects could be given a future tense translation as imperfects of instruction, but in the property cases an obligatory imperfect fits better – this is what he is bound or obliged to do – what he must do.

[21:34]  ⁵ tn Heb “silver.”

[21:34]  ⁶ tn Here the term “animal” has been supplied.

[22:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “found.”

[22:8]  ⁸ tn Here again the word used is “the gods,” meaning the judges who made the assessments and decisions. In addition to other works, see J. R. Vannoy, “The Use of the Word ha’elohim in Exodus 21:6 and 22:7,8,” The Law and the Prophets, 225-41.

[22:8]  ⁹ tn The phrase “to see” has been supplied.

[22:8]  ¹⁰ tn The line says “if he has not stretched out his hand.” This could be the oath formula, but the construction here would be unusual, or it could be taken as “whether” (see W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:438). U. Cassuto (Exodus, 286) does not think the wording can possibly fit an oath; nevertheless, an oath would be involved before God (as he takes it instead of “judges”) – if the man swore, his word would be accepted, but if he would not swear, he would be guilty.

[14:2]  ¹⁰ tn The two imperfects follow the imperative and therefore express purpose. The point in the verses is that Yahweh was giving the orders for the direction of the march and the encampment by the sea.

[14:2]  ¹¹ sn The places have been tentatively identified. W. C. Kaiser summarizes the suggestions that Pi-Hahiroth as an Egyptian word may mean “temple of the [Syrian god] Hrt” or “The Hir waters of the canal” or “The Dwelling of Hator” (“Exodus,” EBC 2:387; see the literature on these names, including C. DeWit, The Date and Route of the Exodus, 17).

[21:22]  ¹³ tn This line has occasioned a good deal of discussion. It may indicate that the child was killed, as in a miscarriage; or it may mean that there was a premature birth. The latter view is taken here because of the way the whole section is written: (1) “her children come out” reflects a birth and not the loss of children, (2) there is no serious damage, and (3) payment is to be set for any remuneration. The word אָסוֹן (’ason) is translated “serious damage.” The word was taken in Mekilta to mean “death.” U. Cassuto says the point of the phrase is that neither the woman or the children that are born die (Exodus, 275). But see among the literature on this: M. G. Kline, “Lex Talionis and the Human Fetus,” JETS 20 (1977): 193-201; W. House, “Miscarriage or Premature Birth: Additional Thoughts on Exodus 21:22-25,” WTJ 41 (1978): 108-23; S. E. Loewenstamm, “Exodus XXI 22-25,” VT 27 (1977): 352-60.

[21:22]  ¹⁴ tn The word בִּפְלִלִים (biflilim) means “with arbitrators.” The point then seems to be that the amount of remuneration for damages that was fixed by the husband had to be approved by the courts. S. R. Driver mentions an alternative to this unusual reading presented by Budde, reading בנפלים as “untimely birth” (Exodus, 219). See also E. A. Speiser, “The Stem PLL in Hebrew,” JBL 82 (1963): 301-6.

[24:14]  ¹⁶ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh) calls attention to the presence of Aaron and Hur to answer the difficult cases that might come up.

[24:14]  ¹⁷ tn Or “issues to resolve.” The term is simply דְּבָרִים (dÿvarim, “words, things, matters”).

[24:14]  ¹⁸ tn The imperfect tense here has the nuance of potential imperfect. In the absence of Moses and Joshua, Aaron and Hur will be available.