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 4:3

4:3 The Lord ⁴  said, “Throw it to the ground.” So he threw it to the ground, and it became a snake, ⁵  and Moses ran from it.

Exodus 4:27

4:27 The Lord said ⁶  to Aaron, “Go to the wilderness to meet Moses. So he went and met him at the mountain of God ⁷  and greeted him with a kiss. ⁸ 

Exodus 8:18

8:18 When ⁹  the magicians attempted ¹⁰  to bring forth gnats by their secret arts, they could not. So there were gnats on people and on animals.

Exodus 18:23

18:23 If you do this thing, and God so commands you, ¹¹  then you will be able ¹²  to endure, ¹³  and all these people ¹⁴  will be able to go ¹⁵  home ¹⁶  satisfied.” ¹⁷ 

[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.

[4:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:3]  ⁵ sn The details of the verse are designed to show that there was a staff that became a snake. The question is used to affirm that there truly was a staff, and then the report of Moses running from it shows it was a genuine snake. Using the serpent as a sign would have had an impact on the religious ideas of Egypt, for the sacred cobra was one of their symbols.

[4:27]  ⁷ tn Heb “And Yahweh said.”

[4:27]  ⁸ tn S. R. Driver considers that this verse is a continuation of vv. 17 and 18 and that Aaron met Moses before Moses started back to Egypt (Exodus, 33). The first verb, then, might have the nuance of a past perfect: Yahweh had said.

[4:27]  ⁹ tn Heb “and kissed him.”

[8:18]  ¹⁰ tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated to the main clause as a temporal clause.

[8:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and the magicians did so.”

[18:23]  ¹³ tn The form is a Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive; it carries the same nuance as the preceding imperfect in the conditional clause.

[18:23]  ¹⁴ tn The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive now appears in the apodosis of the conditional sentence – “if you do this…then you will be able.”

[18:23]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “to stand.” B. Jacob (Exodus, 501) suggests that there might be a humorous side to this: “you could even do this standing up.”

[18:23]  ¹⁶ tn Literally “this people.”

[18:23]  ¹⁷ tn The verb is the simple imperfect, “will go,” but given the sense of the passage a potential nuance seems in order.

[18:23]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “his place.”

[18:23]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “in peace.”