Exodus 23:9

23:9 “You must not oppress ¹  a foreigner, since you know the life ²  of a foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

Exodus 22:21

22:21 “You must not wrong ³  a foreigner ⁴  nor oppress him, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

Exodus 12:49

12:49 The same law will apply ⁵  to the person who is native-born and to the foreigner who lives among you.”

Exodus 2:22

2:22 When she bore ⁶  a son, Moses ⁷  named him Gershom, for he said, “I have become a resident foreigner in a foreign land.” ⁸ 

Exodus 12:19

12:19 For seven days ⁹  yeast must not be found in your houses, for whoever eats what is made with yeast – that person ¹⁰  will be cut off from the community of Israel, whether a foreigner ¹¹  or one born in the land.

Exodus 18:3

18:3 and her two sons, one of whom was named Gershom (for Moses ¹²  had said, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land”),

Exodus 20:10

20:10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; on it ¹³  you shall not do any work, you, ¹⁴  or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or the resident foreigner who is in your gates. ¹⁵ 

Exodus 23:12

23:12 For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must cease, in order that your ox and your donkey may rest and that your female servant’s son and any hired help ¹⁶  may refresh themselves. ¹⁷ 

Exodus 12:48

12:48 “When a foreigner lives ¹⁸  with you and wants to observe the Passover to the Lord, all his males must be circumcised, ¹⁹  and then he may approach and observe it, and he will be like one who is born in the land ²⁰  – but no uncircumcised person may eat of it.

[23:9]  ¹ tn The verb means “to crush.” S. R. Driver notes that in this context this would probably mean with an unfair judgment in the courts (Exodus, 239).

[23:9]  ² tn Heb “soul, life” – “you know what it feels like.”

[22:21]  ³ tn Or “oppress.”

[22:21]  ⁴ tn Or “alien,” both here and in 23:9. This individual is a resident foreigner; he lives in the land but, aside from provisions such as this, might easily be without legal rights.

[12:49]  ⁵ tn Heb “one law will be to.”

[2:22]  ⁷ tn The preterite with the vav (ו) consecutive is subordinated to the next clause, which reports the naming and its motivation.

[2:22]  ⁸ tn Heb “and he called”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:22]  ⁹ sn Like the naming of Moses, this naming that incorporates a phonetic wordplay forms the commemorative summary of the account just provided. Moses seems to have settled into a domestic life with his new wife and his father-in-law. But when the first son is born, he named him גֵּרְשֹׁם (gerÿshom). There is little information available about what the name by itself might have meant. If it is linked to the verb “drive away” used earlier (גָרַשׁ, garash), then the final mem (מ) would have to be explained as an enclitic mem. It seems most likely that that verb was used in the narrative to make a secondary wordplay on the name. The primary explanation is the popular etymology supplied by Moses himself. He links the name to the verb גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to live as an alien”). He then adds that he was a sojourner (גֵּר, ger, the participle) in a foreign land. The word “foreign” (נָכְרִיּה, nokhriyyah) adds to the idea of his being a resident alien. The final syllable in the name would then be connected to the adverb “there” (שָׁם, sham). Thus, the name is given the significance in the story of “sojourner there” or “alien there.” He no doubt knew that this was not the actual meaning of the name; the name itself had already been introduced into the family of Levi (1 Chr 6:1, 16). He chose the name because its sounds reflected his sentiment at that time. But to what was Moses referring? In view of naming customs among the Semites, he was most likely referring to Midian as the foreign land. If Egypt had been the strange land, and he had now found his place, he would not have given the lad such a name. Personal names reflect the present or recent experiences, or the hope for the future. So this naming is a clear expression by Moses that he knows he is not where he is supposed to be. That this is what he meant is supported in the NT by Stephen (Acts 7:29). So the choice of the name, the explanation of it, and the wordplay before it, all serve to stress the point that Moses had been driven away from his proper place of service.

[12:19]  ⁹ tn “Seven days” is an adverbial accusative of time (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 12, §56).

[12:19]  ¹⁰ tn The term is נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh), often translated “soul.” It refers to the whole person, the soul within the body. The noun is feminine, agreeing with the feminine verb “be cut off.”

[12:19]  ¹¹ tn Or “alien”; or “stranger.”

[18:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity (also in the following verse).

[20:10]  ¹³ tn The phrase “on it” has been supplied for clarity.

[20:10]  ¹⁴ sn The wife is omitted in the list, not that she was considered unimportant, nor that she was excluded from the rest, but rather in reflecting her high status. She was not man’s servant, not lesser than the man, but included with the man as an equal before God. The “you” of the commandments is addressed to the Israelites individually, male and female, just as God in the Garden of Eden held both the man and the woman responsible for their individual sins (see B. Jacob, Exodus, 567-68).

[20:10]  ¹⁵ sn The Sabbath day was the sign of the Sinaitic Covenant. It required Israel to cease from ordinary labors and devote the day to God. It required Israel to enter into the life of God, to share his Sabbath. It gave them a chance to recall the work of the Creator. But in the NT the apostolic teaching for the Church does not make one day holier than another, but calls for the entire life to be sanctified to God. This teaching is an application of the meaning of entering into the Sabbath of God. The book of Hebrews declares that those who believe in Christ cease from their works and enter into his Sabbath rest. For a Christian keeping Saturday holy is not a requirement from the NT; it may be a good and valuable thing to have a day of rest and refreshment, but it is not a binding law for the Church. The principle of setting aside time to worship and serve the Lord has been carried forward, but the strict regulations have not.

[23:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “alien,” or “resident foreigner.” Such an individual would have traveled out of need and depended on the goodwill of the people around him. The rendering “hired help” assumes that the foreigner is mentioned in this context because he is working for an Israelite and will benefit from the Sabbath rest, along with his employer.

[23:12]  ¹⁶ tn The verb is וְיִּנָּפֵשׁ (vÿyyinnafesh); it is related to the word usually translated “soul” or “life.”

[12:48]  ¹⁷ tn Both the participle “foreigner” and the verb “lives” are from the verb גּוּר (gur), which means “to sojourn, to dwell as an alien.” This reference is to a foreigner who settles in the land. He is the protected foreigner; when he comes to another area where he does not have his clan to protect him, he must come under the protection of the Law, or the people. If the “resident alien” is circumcised, he may participate in the Passover (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 104).

[12:48]  ¹⁸ tn The infinitive absolute functions as the finite verb here, and “every male” could be either the object or the subject (see GKC 347 §113.gg and 387 §121.a).

[12:48]  ¹⁹ tn אֶזְרָח (’ezrakh) refers to the native-born individual, the native Israelite as opposed to the “stranger, alien” (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 104); see also W. F. Albright, Archaeology and the Religion of Israel, 127, 210.