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 4:20

4:20 Then Moses took ⁴  his wife and sons ⁵  and put them on a donkey and headed back ⁶  to the land of Egypt, and Moses took the staff of God in his hand.

[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.

[4:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “And Moses took.”

[4:20]  ⁵ sn Only Gershom has been mentioned so far. The other son’s name will be explained in chapter 18. The explanation of Gershom’s name was important to Moses’ sojourn in Midian. The explanation of the name Eliezer fits better in the later chapter (18:2-4).

[4:20]  ⁶ tn The verb would literally be rendered “and returned”; however, the narrative will record other happenings before he arrived in Egypt, so an ingressive nuance fits here – he began to return, or started back.