Exodus 3:5

3:5 God ¹  said, “Do not approach any closer! ²  Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ³  ground.” ⁴ 

Exodus 4:25

4:25 But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off the foreskin of her son and touched it to Moses’ feet, ⁵  and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood ⁶  to me.”

Exodus 7:2

7:2 You are to speak ⁷  everything I command you, ⁸  and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh that he must release ⁹  the Israelites from his land.

Exodus 10:11

10:11 No! ¹⁰  Go, you men ¹¹  only, and serve the Lord, for that ¹²  is what you want.” ¹³  Then Moses and Aaron ¹⁴  were driven ¹⁵  out of Pharaoh’s presence.

Exodus 18:18

18:18 You will surely wear out, ¹⁶  both you and these people who are with you, for this is too ¹⁷  heavy a burden ¹⁸  for you; you are not able to do it by yourself.

Exodus 20:10

20:10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; on it ¹⁹  you shall not do any work, you, ²⁰  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. ²¹ 

Exodus 20:19

20:19 They said to Moses, “You speak ²²  to us and we will listen, but do not let God speak with us, lest we die.”

Exodus 24:1

The Lord Ratifies the Covenant

24:1 ²³ But to Moses the Lord ²⁴  said, “Come up ²⁵  to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from a distance. ²⁶ 

Exodus 26:31-32

26:31 “You are to make a special curtain ²⁷  of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen; it is to be made ²⁸  with cherubim, the work of an artistic designer. 26:32 You are to hang it ²⁹  with gold hooks ³⁰  on four posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold, set in ³¹  four silver bases.

Exodus 32:22

32:22 Aaron said, “Do not let your anger burn hot, my lord; ³²  you know these people, that they tend to evil. ³³ 

Exodus 33:3

33:3 Go up ³⁴  to a land flowing with milk and honey. But ³⁵  I will not go up among you, for you are a stiff-necked people, and I might destroy you ³⁶  on the way.”

Exodus 34:12

34:12 Be careful not to make ³⁷  a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it become a snare ³⁸  among you.

Exodus 36:5

36:5 and told Moses, “The people are bringing much more than ³⁹  is needed for the completion ⁴⁰  of the work which the Lord commanded us to do!” ⁴¹ 

Exodus 36:35

36:35 He made the special curtain of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen; he made ⁴²  it with cherubim, the work of an artistic designer.

Exodus 39:43

39:43 Moses inspected ⁴³  all the work – and ⁴⁴  they had done it just as the Lord had commanded – they had done it exactly – and Moses blessed them. ⁴⁵ 

[3:5]  ¹ tn Heb “And he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:5]  ² sn Even though the Lord was drawing near to Moses, Moses could not casually approach him. There still was a barrier between God and human, and God had to remind Moses of this with instructions. The removal of sandals was, and still is in the East, a sign of humility and reverence in the presence of the Holy One. It was a way of excluding the dust and dirt of the world. But it also took away personal comfort and convenience and brought the person more closely in contact with the earth.

[3:5]  ³ sn The word קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh, “holy”) indicates “set apart, distinct, unique.” What made a mountain or other place holy was the fact that God chose that place to reveal himself or to reside among his people. Because God was in this place, the ground was different – it was holy.

[3:5]  ⁴ tn The causal clause includes within it a typical relative clause, which is made up of the relative pronoun, then the independent personal pronoun with the participle, and then the preposition with the resumptive pronoun. It would literally be “which you are standing on it,” but the relative pronoun and the resumptive pronoun are combined and rendered, “on which you are standing.”

[4:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “to his feet.” The referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The LXX has “and she fell at his feet” and then “the blood of the circumcision of my son stood.” But it is clear that she caused the foreskin to touch Moses’ feet, as if the one were a substitution for the other, taking the place of the other (see U. Cassuto, Exodus, 60).

[4:25]  ⁶ sn U. Cassuto explains that she was saying, “I have delivered you from death, and your return to life makes you my bridegroom a second time, this time my blood bridegroom, a bridegroom acquired through blood” (Exodus, 60-61).

[7:2]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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”).

[10:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “not thus.”

[10:11]  ¹⁴ tn The word is הַגְּבָרִים (haggÿvarim, “the strong men”), a word different from the more general one that Pharaoh’s servants used (v. 7). Pharaoh appears to be conceding, but he is holding hostages. The word “only” has been supplied in the translation to indicate this.

[10:11]  ¹⁵ tn The suffix on the sign of the accusative refers in a general sense to the idea contained in the preceding clause (see GKC 440-41 §135.p).

[10:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “you are seeking.”

[10:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “they”; the referent (Moses and Aaron) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:11]  ¹⁸ tn The verb is the Piel preterite, third person masculine singular, meaning “and he drove them out.” But “Pharaoh” cannot be the subject of the sentence, for “Pharaoh” is the object of the preposition. The subject is not specified, and so the verb can be treated as passive.

[18:18]  ¹⁷ tn The verb means “to fall and fade” as a leaf (Ps 1:3). In Ps 18:45 it is used figuratively of foes fading away, failing in strength and courage (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 166). Here the infinitive absolute construction heightens the meaning.

[18:18]  ¹⁸ tn Gesenius lists the specialized use of the comparative min (מ) where with an adjective the thought expressed is that the quality is too difficult for the attainment of a particular aim (GKC 430 §133.c).

[18:18]  ¹⁹ tn Here “a burden” has been supplied.

[20:10]  ²¹ tn The phrase “on it” has been supplied for clarity.

[20:10]  ²² 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]  ²³ 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.

[20:19]  ²⁵ tn The verb is a Piel imperative. In this context it has more of the sense of a request than a command. The independent personal pronoun “you” emphasizes the subject and forms the contrast with God’s speaking.

[24:1]  ²⁹ sn Exod 24 is the high point of the book in many ways, but most importantly, here Yahweh makes a covenant with the people – the Sinaitic Covenant. The unit not only serves to record the event in Israel’s becoming a nation, but it provides a paradigm of the worship of God’s covenant people – entering into the presence of the glory of Yahweh. See additionally W. A. Maier, “The Analysis of Exodus 24 According to Modern Literary, Form, and Redaction Critical Methodology,” Springfielder 37 (1973): 35-52. The passage may be divided into four parts for exposition: vv. 1-2, the call for worship; vv. 3-8, the consecration of the worshipers; vv. 9-11, the confirmation of the covenant; and vv. 12-18, the communication with Yahweh.

[24:1]  ³⁰ tn Heb “And he;” the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:1]  ³¹ sn They were to come up to the Lord after they had made the preparations that are found in vv. 3-8.

[24:1]  ³² sn These seventy-four people were to go up the mountain to a certain point. Then they were to prostrate themselves and worship Yahweh as Moses went further up into the presence of Yahweh. Moses occupies the lofty position of mediator (as Christ in the NT), for he alone ascends “to Yahweh” while everyone waits for his return. The emphasis of “bowing down” and that from “far off” stresses again the ominous presence that was on the mountain. This was the holy God – only the designated mediator could draw near to him.

[26:31]  ³³ tn Although translated “curtain” (traditionally “veil,” so ASV, NAB, NASB) this is a different word from the one used earlier of the tent curtains, so “special curtain” is used. The word פָרֹכֶת (farokhet) seems to be connected with a verb that means “to shut off” and was used with a shrine. This curtain would form a barrier in the approach to God (see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 289).

[26:31]  ³⁴ tn The verb is the third masculine singular form, but no subject is expressed. It could be translated “one will make” or as a passive. The verb means “to make,” but probably has the sense of embroidering both here and in v. 1.

[26:32]  ³⁷ tn Heb “put it.”

[26:32]  ³⁸ tn This clause simply says “and their hooks gold,” but is taken as a circumstantial clause telling how the veil will be hung.

[26:32]  ³⁹ tn Heb “on four silver bases.”

[32:22]  ⁴¹ sn “My lord” refers to Moses.

[32:22]  ⁴² tn Heb “that on evil it is.”

[33:3]  ⁴⁵ tn This verse seems to be a continuation of the command to “go up” since it begins with “to a land….” The intervening clauses are therefore parenthetical or relative. But the translation is made simpler by supplying the verb.

[33:3]  ⁴⁶ tn This is a strong adversative here, “but.”

[33:3]  ⁴⁷ tn The clause is “lest I consume you.” It would go with the decision not to accompany them: “I will not go up with you…lest I consume (destroy) you in the way.” The verse is saying that because of the people’s bent to rebellion, Yahweh would not remain in their midst as he had formerly said he would do. Their lives would be at risk if he did.

[34:12]  ⁴⁹ tn The exact expression is “take heed to yourself lest you make.” It is the second use of this verb in the duties, now in the Niphal stem. To take heed to yourself means to watch yourself, be sure not to do something. Here, if they failed to do this, they would end up making entangling treaties.

[34:12]  ⁵⁰ sn A snare would be a trap, an allurement to ruin. See Exod 23:33.

[36:5]  ⁵³ tn The construction uses the verbal hendiadys: מַרְבִּים לְהָבִיא (marbim lÿhavi’) is the Hiphil participle followed (after the subject) by the Hiphil infinitive construct. It would read, “they multiply…to bring,” meaning, “they bring more” than is needed.

[36:5]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “for the service” (so KJV, ASV).

[36:5]  ⁵⁵ tn The last clause is merely the infinitive with an object – “to do it.” It clearly means the skilled workers are to do it.

[36:35]  ⁵⁷ tn The verb is simply “he made” but as in Exod 26:31 it probably means that the cherubim were worked into the curtain with the yarn, and so embroidered on the curtain.

[39:43]  ⁶¹ tn Or “examined” (NASB, TEV); NCV “looked closely at.”

[39:43]  ⁶² tn The deictic particle draws attention to what he saw in such a way as to give the reader Moses’ point of view and a sense of his pleasure: “and behold, they…”

[39:43]  ⁶³ sn The situation and wording in Exod 39:43 are reminiscent of Gen 1:28 and 31, with the motifs of blessing people and inspecting what has been made.