Exodus 25:32-35

25:32 Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand, ¹  three branches of the lampstand from one side of it and three branches of the lampstand from the other side of it. ²  25:33 Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on one branch, and three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on the next ³  branch, and the same ⁴  for the six branches extending from the lampstand. 25:34 On the lampstand there are to be four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms, 25:35 with a bud under the first ⁵  two branches from it, and a bud under the next ⁶  two branches from it, and a bud under the third ⁷  two branches from it, according to the six branches that extend from the lampstand.

Exodus 26:1

The Tabernacle

26:1 ⁸ “The tabernacle itself ⁹  you are to make with ¹⁰  ten curtains of fine twisted linen and blue and purple and scarlet; ¹¹  you are to make them with ¹²  cherubim that are the work of an artistic designer.

Exodus 28:15

28:15 “You are to make a breastpiece for use in making decisions, ¹³  the work of an artistic designer; you are to make it in the same fashion as the ephod; you are to make it of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twisted linen.

Exodus 28:1

The Clothing of the Priests

28:1 ¹⁴ “And you, bring near ¹⁵  to you your brother Aaron and his sons with him from among the Israelites, so that they may minister as my priests ¹⁶  – Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.

Exodus 7:14

The First Blow: Water to Blood

7:14 ¹⁷ The Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hard; ¹⁸  he refuses to release ¹⁹  the people.

Exodus 7:2

7:2 You are to speak ²⁰  everything I command you, ²¹  and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh that he must release ²²  the Israelites from his land.

Exodus 2:7

2:7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get ²³  a nursing woman ²⁴  for you from the Hebrews, so that she may nurse ²⁵  the child for you?”

Exodus 2:13-14

2:13 When he went out ²⁶  the next day, ²⁷  there were ²⁸  two Hebrew men fighting. So he said to the one who was in the wrong, ²⁹  “Why are you attacking ³⁰  your fellow Hebrew?” ³¹ 

2:14 The man ³²  replied, “Who made you a ruler ³³  and a judge over us? Are you planning ³⁴  to kill me like you killed that ³⁵  Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, thinking, ³⁶  “Surely what I did ³⁷  has become known.”

[25:32]  ¹ tn Heb “from the sides of it.”

[25:32]  ² tn Heb “from the second side.”

[25:33]  ³ tn The text uses “one” again; “the one…the one” means “the one…and the next” in the distributive sense.

[25:33]  ⁴ tn Heb “thus.”

[25:35]  ⁵ tn For clarity the phrase “the first” has been supplied.

[25:35]  ⁶ tn For clarity the phrase “the next” has been supplied.

[25:35]  ⁷ tn For clarity the phrase “the third” has been supplied.

[26:1]  ⁸ sn This chapter is given over to the details of the structure itself, the curtains, coverings, boards and walls and veil. The passage can be studied on one level for its function both practically and symbolically for Israel’s worship. On another level it can be studied for its typology, for the tabernacle and many of its parts speak of Christ. For this one should see the commentaries.

[26:1]  ⁹ tn The word order in Hebrew thrusts the direct object to the front for particular emphasis. After the first couple of pieces of furniture are treated (chap. 25), attention turns to the tabernacle itself.

[26:1]  ¹⁰ tn This is for the adverbial accusative explaining how the dwelling place is to be made.

[26:1]  ¹¹ sn S. R. Driver suggests that the curtains were made with threads dyed with these colors (Exodus, 280). Perhaps the colored threads were used for embroidering the cherubim in the curtains.

[26:1]  ¹² tn The construction is difficult in this line because of the word order. “Cherubim” is an adverbial accusative explaining how they were to make the curtains. And מַעֲשֵׂה חֹשֵׁב (ma’aseh khoshev) means literally “work of a designer”; it is in apposition to “cherubim.” The Hebrew participle means “designer” or “deviser” so that one could render this “of artistic designs in weaving” (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 280-81). B. Jacob says that it refers to “artistic weavers” (Exodus, 789).

[28:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “a breastpiece of decision” (חֹשֶׁן מִשְׁפָּט, khoshen mishpat; so NAB). The first word, rendered “breastpiece,” is of uncertain etymology. This item was made of material similar to the ephod. It had four rows of three gems on it, bearing the names of the tribes. In it were the urim and thummim. J. P. Hyatt refers to a similar object found in the Egyptian reliefs, including even the twisted gold chains used to hang it from the priest (Exodus [NCBC], 282).

[28:1]  ¹⁴ sn Some modern scholars find this and the next chapter too elaborate for the wilderness experience. To most of them this reflects the later Zadokite priesthood of the writer’s (P’s) day that was referred to Mosaic legislation for authentication. But there is no compelling reason why this should be late; it is put late because it is assumed to be P, and that is assumed to be late. But both assumptions are unwarranted. This lengthy chapter could be divided this way: instructions for preparing the garments (1-5), details of the apparel (6-39), and a warning against deviating from these (40-43). The subject matter of the first part is that God requires that his chosen ministers reflect his holy nature; the point of the second part is that God requires his ministers to be prepared to fulfill the tasks of the ministry, and the subject matter of the third part is that God warns all his ministers to safeguard the holiness of their service.

[28:1]  ¹⁵ tn The verb is the Hiphil imperative of the root קָרַב (qarav, “to draw near”). In the present stem the word has religious significance, namely, to present something to God, like an offering.

[28:1]  ¹⁶ tn This entire clause is a translation of the Hebrew לְכַהֲנוֹ־לִי (lÿkhahano-li, “that he might be a priest to me”), but the form is unusual. The word means “to be a priest” or “to act as a priest.” The etymology of the word for priest, כֹּהֵן (kohen), is uncertain.

[7:14]  ¹⁷ sn With the first plague, or blow on Pharaoh, a new section of the book unfolds. Until now the dominant focus has been on preparing the deliverer for the exodus. From here the account will focus on preparing Pharaoh for it. The theological emphasis for exposition of the entire series of plagues may be: The sovereign Lord is fully able to deliver his people from the oppression of the world so that they may worship and serve him alone. The distinct idea of each plague then will contribute to this main idea. It is clear from the outset that God could have delivered his people simply and suddenly. But he chose to draw out the process with the series of plagues. There appear to be several reasons: First, the plagues are designed to judge Egypt. It is justice for slavery. Second, the plagues are designed to inform Israel and Egypt of the ability of Yahweh. Everyone must know that it is Yahweh doing all these things. The Egyptians must know this before they are destroyed. Third, the plagues are designed to deliver Israel. The first plague is the plague of blood: God has absolute power over the sources of life. Here Yahweh strikes the heart of Egyptian life with death and corruption. The lesson is that God can turn the source of life into the prospect of death. Moreover, the Nile was venerated; so by turning it into death Moses was showing the superiority of Yahweh.

[7:14]  ¹⁸ tn Or “unresponsive” (so HALOT 456 s.v. I כָּבֵד).

[7:14]  ¹⁹ tn The Piel infinitive construct לְשַׁלַּח (lÿshallakh) serves as the direct object of מֵאֵן (me’en), telling what Pharaoh refuses (characteristic perfect) to do. The whole clause is an explanation (like a metonymy of effect) of the first clause that states that Pharaoh’s heart is hard.

[7:2]  ²⁰ tn The imperfect tense here should have the nuance of instruction or injunction: “you are to speak.” The subject is singular (Moses) and made emphatic by the presence of the personal pronoun “you.”

[7:2]  ²¹ tn The phrase translated “everything I command you” is a noun clause serving as the direct object of the verb “speak.” The verb in the clause (אֲצַוֶּךָ, ’atsavvekha) is the Piel imperfect. It could be classified as a future: “everything that I will command you.” A nuance of progressive imperfect also fits well: “everything that I am commanding you.”

[7:2]  ²² tn The form is וְשִׁלַּח (vÿshillakh), a Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive. Following the imperfects of injunction or instruction, this verb continues the sequence. It could be taken as equal to an imperfect expressing future (“and he will release”) or subordinate to express purpose (“to release” = “in order that he may release”).

[2:7]  ²³ sn The text uses קָרָא (qara’), meaning “to call” or “summon.” Pharaoh himself will “summon” Moses many times in the plague narratives. Here the word is used for the daughter summoning the child’s mother to take care of him. The narratives in the first part of the book of Exodus include a good deal of foreshadowing of events that occur in later sections of the book (see M. Fishbane, Biblical Text and Texture).

[2:7]  ²⁴ tn The object of the verb “get/summon” is “a woman.” But מֵינֶקֶת (meneqet, “nursing”), the Hiphil participle of the verb יָנַק (yanaq, “to suck”), is in apposition to it, clarifying what kind of woman should be found – a woman, a nursing one. Of course Moses’ mother was ready for the task.

[2:7]  ²⁵ tn The form וְתֵינִק (vÿteniq) is the Hiphil imperfect/jussive, third feminine singular, of the same root as the word for “nursing.” It is here subordinated to the preceding imperfect (“shall I go”) and perfect with vav (ו) consecutive (“and summon”) to express the purpose: “in order that she may.”

[2:13]  ²⁶ tn The preterite with the vav consecutive is subordinated to the main idea of the verse.

[2:13]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the second day” (so KJV, ASV).

[2:13]  ²⁸ tn The deictic particle is used here to predicate existence, as in “here were” or “there were.” But this use of הִנֵּה (hinneh) indicates also that what he encountered was surprising or sudden – as in “Oh, look!”

[2:13]  ²⁹ tn The word רָשָׁע (rasha’) is a legal term, meaning the guilty. This guilty man rejects Moses’ intervention for much the same reason Pharaoh will later (5:2) – he does not recognize his authority. Later Pharaoh will use this term to declare himself as in the wrong (9:27) and God in the right.

[2:13]  ³⁰ tn This is the third use of the verb נָכָה (nakha) in the passage; here it is the Hiphil imperfect. It may be given a progressive imperfect nuance – the attack was going on when Moses tried to intervene.

[2:13]  ³¹ sn Heb “your neighbor.” The word רֵעֶךָ (re’ekha) appears again in 33:11 to describe the ease with which God and Moses conversed. The Law will have much to say about how the Israelites were to treat their “neighbors, fellow citizens” (Exod 20:16-17; 21:14, 18, 35; 22:7-11, 14, 26; cf. Luke 10:25-37).

[2:14]  ³² tn Heb “And he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:14]  ³³ tn Heb “Who placed you for a man, a ruler and a judge over us?” The pleonasm does not need to be translated. For similar constructions see Lev 21:9; Judg 6:8; 2 Sam 1:13; Esth 7:6.

[2:14]  ³⁴ tn The line reads “[is it] to kill me you are planning?” The form אֹמֵר (’omer) is the active participle used verbally; it would literally be “[are you] saying,” but in this context it conveys the meaning of “thinking, planning.” The Qal infinitive then serves as the object of this verbal form – are you planning to kill me?

[2:14]  ³⁵ tn Heb “the Egyptian.” Here the Hebrew article functions in an anaphoric sense, referring back to the individual Moses killed.

[2:14]  ³⁶ tn The verb form is “and he said.” But the intent of the form is that he said this within himself, and so it means “he thought, realized, said to himself.” The form, having the vav consecutive, is subordinated to the main idea of the verse, that he was afraid.

[2:14]  ³⁷ tn The term הַדָּבָר (haddavar, “the word [thing, matter, incident]”) functions here like a pronoun to refer in brief to what Moses had done. For clarity this has been specified in the translation with the phrase “what I did.”