Exodus 22:4

22:4 If the stolen item should in fact be found ¹  alive in his possession, ²  whether it be an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he must pay back double. ³ 

Exodus 4:18

The Return of Moses

4:18 ⁴ So Moses went back ⁵  to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, “Let me go, so that I may return ⁶  to my relatives ⁷  in Egypt and see ⁸  if they are still alive.” Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.”

[22:4]  ¹ tn The construction uses a Niphal infinitive absolute and a Niphal imperfect: if it should indeed be found. Gesenius says that in such conditional clauses the infinitive absolute has less emphasis, but instead emphasizes the condition on which some consequence depends (see GKC 342-43 §113.o).

[22:4]  ² tn Heb “in his hand.”

[22:4]  ³ sn He must pay back one for what he took, and then one for the penalty – his loss as he was inflicting a loss on someone else.

[4:18]  ⁴ sn This last section of the chapter reports Moses’ compliance with the commission. It has four parts: the decision to return (18-20), the instruction (21-23), the confrontation with Yahweh (24-26), and the presentation with Aaron (27-31).

[4:18]  ⁵ tn The two verbs form a verbal hendiadys, the second verb becoming adverbial in the translation: “and he went and he returned” becomes “and he went back.”

[4:18]  ⁶ tn There is a sequence here with the two cohortative forms: אֵלְכָה נָּא וְאָשׁוּבָה (’elÿkhah nna’ vÿ’ashuva) – “let me go in order that I may return.”

[4:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “brothers.”

[4:18]  ⁸ tn This verb is parallel to the preceding cohortative and so also expresses purpose: “let me go that I may return…and that I may see.”