Exodus 3:20

3:20 So I will extend my hand ¹  and strike Egypt with all my wonders ²  that I will do among them, and after that he will release you. ³ 

Exodus 23:21

23:21 Take heed because of him, and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgressions, for my name ⁴  is in him.

Exodus 10:1

The Eighth Blow: Locusts

10:1 ⁵ The Lord said ⁶  to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, in order to display ⁷  these signs of mine before him, ⁸ 

Exodus 34:10

34:10 He said, “See, I am going to make ⁹  a covenant before all your people. I will do wonders such as have not been done ¹⁰  in all the earth, nor in any nation. All the people among whom you live will see the work of the Lord, for it is a fearful thing that I am doing with you. ¹¹ 

[3:20]  ¹ sn The outstretched arm is a bold anthropomorphism. It describes the power of God. The Egyptians will later admit that the plagues were by the hand of God (Exod 8:19).

[3:20]  ² tn The word נִפְלְאֹתַי (niflÿ’otay) does not specify what the intervention will be. As the text unfolds it will be clear that the plagues are intended. Signs and portents could refer to things people might do, but “wonders” only God could do. The root refers to that which is extraordinary, surpassing, amazing, difficult to comprehend. See Isa 9:6; Gen 18:14; Ps 139:6.

[3:20]  ³ sn The two uses of the root שָׁלָח (shalakh) in this verse contribute to its force. When the Lord “sends” (Qal) his hand, Pharaoh will “send” (Piel) the Israelites out of Egypt.

[23:21]  ⁴ sn This means “the manifestation of my being” is in him (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 247). Driver quotes McNeile as saying, “The ‘angel’ is Jehovah Himself ‘in a temporary descent to visibility for a special purpose.’” Others take the “name” to represent Yahweh’s “power” (NCV) or “authority” (NAB, CEV).

[10:1]  ⁷ sn The Egyptians dreaded locusts like every other ancient civilization. They had particular gods to whom they looked for help in such catastrophes. The locust-scaring deities of Greece and Asia were probably looked to in Egypt as well (especially in view of the origins in Egypt of so many of those religious ideas). The announcement of the plague falls into the now-familiar pattern. God tells Moses to go and speak to Pharaoh but reminds Moses that he has hardened his heart. Yahweh explains that he has done this so that he might show his power, so that in turn they might declare his name from generation to generation. This point is stressed so often that it must not be minimized. God was laying the foundation of the faith for Israel – the sovereignty of Yahweh.

[10:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “and Yahweh said.”

[10:1]  ⁹ tn The verb is שִׁתִי (shiti, “I have put”); it is used here as a synonym for the verb שִׂים (sim). Yahweh placed the signs in his midst, where they will be obvious.

[10:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in his midst.”

[34:10]  ¹⁰ tn Here again is a use of the futur instans participle; the deictic particle plus the pronoun precedes the participle, showing what is about to happen.

[34:10]  ¹¹ tn The verb here is בָּרָא (bara’, “to create”). The choice of this verb is to stress that these wonders would be supernaturally performed, for the verb is used only with God as the subject.

[34:10]  ¹² sn The idea is that God will be doing awesome things in dealing with them, i.e., to fulfill his program.