Exodus 3:4

3:4 When the Lord ¹  saw that ²  he had turned aside to look, God called to him from within the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” ³  And Moses ⁴  said, “Here I am.”

Exodus 13:12

13:12 then you must give over ⁵  to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. ⁶  Every firstling ⁷  of a beast that you have ⁸  – the males will be the Lord’s. ⁹ 

Exodus 14:26

14:26 The Lord said to Moses, “Extend your hand toward the sea, so that the waters may flow ¹⁰  back on the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen!”

Exodus 40:20

40:20 He took the testimony and put it in the ark, attached the poles to the ark, and then put the atonement lid on the ark.

[3:4]  ¹ tn The preterite with the vav (ו) is subordinated as a temporal clause to the main point of the verse, that God called to him. The language is anthropomorphic, as if God’s actions were based on his observing what Moses did.

[3:4]  ² tn The particle כִּי (ki, “that”) introduces the noun clause that functions as the direct object of the verb “saw” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 81, §490).

[3:4]  ³ sn The repetition of the name in God’s call is emphatic, making the appeal direct and immediate (see also Gen 22:11; 46:2). The use of the personal name shows how specifically God directed the call and that he knew this person. The repetition may have stressed even more that it was indeed he whom the Lord wanted. It would have been an encouragement to Moses that this was in fact the Lord who was meeting him.

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

[13:12]  ⁵ tn The unusual choice of words in this passage reflects the connection with the deliverance of the firstborn in the exodus when the Lord passed over the Israelites (12:12, 23). Here the Law said, “you will cause to pass over (וְהַעֲבַרְתָּ, vÿha’avarta) to Yahweh.” The Hiphil perfect with the vav (ו) provides the main clause after the temporal clauses. Yahweh here claimed the firstborn as his own. The remarkable thing about this is that Yahweh did not keep the firstborn that was dedicated to him, but allowed the child to be redeemed by his father. It was an acknowledgment that the life of the child belonged to God as the one redeemed from death, and that the child represented the family. Thus, the observance referred to the dedication of all the redeemed to God.

[13:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “every opener of a womb,” that is, the firstborn from every womb.

[13:12]  ⁷ tn The descriptive noun שֶׁגֶר (sheger) is related to the verb “drop, cast”; it refers to a newly born animal that is dropped or cast from the womb. The expression then reads, “and all that first open [the womb], the casting of a beast.”

[13:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “that is to you.” The preposition expresses possession.

[13:12]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew text simply has “the males to Yahweh.” It indicates that the Lord must have them, or they belong to the Lord.

[14:26]  ⁹ tn The verb, “and they will return,” is here subordinated to the imperative preceding it, showing the purpose of that act.