Exodus 22:18

22:18 “You must not allow a sorceress to live. ¹ 

Exodus 1:17-18

1:17 But ²  the midwives feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live. ³ 

1:18 Then the king of Egypt summoned ⁴  the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this and let the boys live?” ⁵ 

Exodus 1:22

1:22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “All sons ⁶  that are born you must throw ⁷  into the river, but all daughters you may let live.” ⁸ 

Exodus 19:13

19:13 No hand will touch him ⁹  – but he will surely be stoned or shot through, whether a beast or a human being; ¹⁰  he must not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast they may ¹¹  go up on the mountain.”

[22:18]  ¹ sn There still were many who wished to follow pagan beliefs and consort with the dead (see Deut 18:10-11). The sorceress was someone who dealt with drugs or herbs for occult purposes.

[1:17]  ² tn Heb “and they [fem. pl.] feared”; the referent (the midwives) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:17]  ³ tn The verb is the Piel preterite of חָיָה (khaya, “to live”). The Piel often indicates a factitive nuance with stative verbs, showing the cause of the action. Here it means “let live, cause to live.” The verb is the exact opposite of Pharaoh’s command for them to kill the boys.

[1:18]  ³ tn The verb קָרָא (qara’) followed by the lamed (ל) preposition has here the nuance of “summon.” The same construction is used later when Pharaoh summons Moses.

[1:18]  ⁴ tn The second verb in Pharaoh’s speech is a preterite with a vav (ו) consecutive. It may indicate a simple sequence: “Why have you done…and (so that you) let live?” It could also indicate that this is a second question, “Why have you done …[why] have you let live?”

[1:22]  ⁴ tn The substantive כֹּל (kol) followed by the article stresses the entirety – “all sons” or “all daughters” – even though the nouns are singular in Hebrew (see GKC 411 §127.b).

[1:22]  ⁵ tn The form includes a pronominal suffix that reiterates the object of the verb: “every son…you will throw it.”

[1:22]  ⁶ tn The first imperfect has the force of a definite order, but the second, concerning the girls, could also have the nuance of permission, which may fit better. Pharaoh is simply allowing the girls to live.

[19:13]  ⁵ sn There is some ambiguity here. The clause either means that no man will touch the mountain, so that if there is someone who is to be put to death he must be stoned or shot since they could not go into the mountain region to get him, or, it may mean no one is to touch the culprit who went in to the region of the mountain.

[19:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “a man.”

[19:13]  ⁷ tn The nuance here is permissive imperfect, “they may go up.” The ram’s horn would sound the blast to announce that the revelation period was over and it was permitted then to ascend the mountain.