Exodus 22:20

22:20 “Whoever sacrifices to a god other than the Lord ¹  alone must be utterly destroyed. ² 

Exodus 29:45

29:45 I will reside ³  among the Israelites, and I will be their God,

Exodus 4:16

4:16 He ⁴  will speak for you to the people, and it will be as if ⁵  he ⁶  were your mouth ⁷  and as if you were his God. ⁸ 

Exodus 6:7

6:7 I will take you to myself for a people, and I will be your God. ⁹  Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from your enslavement to ¹⁰  the Egyptians.

Exodus 18:12

18:12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought ¹¹  a burnt offering and sacrifices for God, ¹²  and Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to eat food ¹³  with the father-in-law of Moses before God.

[22:20]  ¹ tn Heb “not to Yahweh.”

[22:20]  ² tn The verb חָרַם (kharam) means “to be devoted” to God or “to be banned.” The idea is that it would be God’s to do with as he liked. What was put under the ban was for God alone, either for his service or for his judgment. But it was out of human control. Here the verb is saying that the person will be utterly destroyed.

[29:45]  ³ tn The verb has the root שָׁכַן (shakan), from which came the word for the dwelling place, or sanctuary, itself (מִשְׁכָּן, mishkan). It is also used for the description of “the Shekinah glory.” God is affirming that he will reside in the midst of his people.

[4:16]  ⁵ tn The word “he” represents the Hebrew independent pronoun, which makes the subject emphatic.

[4:16]  ⁶ tn The phrase “as if” is supplied for clarity.

[4:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “and it will be [that] he, he will be to you for a mouth,” or more simply, “he will be your mouth.”

[4:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “he will be to you for a mouth.”

[4:16]  ⁹ tn The phrase “as if” is supplied for clarity. The word “you” represents the Hebrew independent pronoun, which makes the subject emphatic.

[6:7]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “from under the burdens of” (so KJV, NASB); NIV “from under the yoke of.”

[18:12]  ⁹ tn The verb is “and he took” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB). It must have the sense of getting the animals for the sacrifice. The Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate have “offered.” But Cody argues because of the precise wording in the text Jethro did not offer the sacrifices but received them (A. Cody, “Exodus 18,12: Jethro Accepts a Covenant with the Israelites,” Bib 49 [1968]: 159-61).

[18:12]  ¹⁰ sn Jethro brought offerings as if he were the one who had been delivered. The “burnt offering” is singular, to honor God first. The other sacrifices were intended for the invited guests to eat (a forerunner of the peace offering). See B. Jacob, Exodus, 498.

[18:12]  ¹¹ tn The word לֶחֶם (lekhem) here means the sacrifice and all the foods that were offered with it. The eating before God was part of covenantal ritual, for it signified that they were in communion with the Deity, and with one another.