Exodus 32:18

32:18 Moses ¹  said, “It is not the sound of those who shout for victory, ²  nor is it the sound of those who cry because they are overcome, ³  but the sound of singing ⁴  I hear.” ⁵ 

Exodus 32:17

32:17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, ⁶  he said to Moses, “It is the sound of war in the camp!”

Exodus 19:19

19:19 When the sound of the horn grew louder and louder, ⁷  Moses was speaking ⁸  and God was answering him with a voice. ⁹ 

Exodus 20:18

20:18 All the people were seeing ¹⁰  the thundering and the lightning, and heard ¹¹  the sound of the horn, and saw ¹²  the mountain smoking – and when ¹³  the people saw it they trembled with fear ¹⁴  and kept their distance. ¹⁵ 

Exodus 36:6

36:6 Moses instructed them to take ¹⁶  his message ¹⁷  throughout the camp, saying, “Let no man or woman do any more work for the offering for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing any more. ¹⁸ 

Exodus 24:3

24:3 Moses came ¹⁹  and told the people all the Lord’s words ²⁰  and all the decisions. All the people answered together, ²¹  “We are willing to do ²²  all the words that the Lord has said,”

[32:18]  ¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:18]  ² tn Heb “the sound of the answering of might,” meaning it is not the sound of shouting in victory (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 418).

[32:18]  ³ tn Heb “the sound of the answering of weakness,” meaning the cry of the defeated (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 415).

[32:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “answering in song” (a play on the twofold meaning of the word).

[32:18]  ⁵ sn See A. Newman, “Compositional Analysis and Functional Ambiguity Equivalence: Translating Exodus 32, 17-18,” Babel 21 (1975): 29-35.

[32:17]  ⁶ sn See F. C. Fensham, “New Light from Ugaritica V on Ex, 32:17 (br’h),” JNSL 2 (1972): 86-7.

[19:19]  ¹¹ tn The active participle הוֹלֵךְ (holekh) is used to add the idea of “continually” to the action of the sentence; here the trumpet became very loud – continually. See GKC 344 §113.u.

[19:19]  ¹² tn The two verbs here (“spoke” and “answered”) are imperfect tenses; they emphasize repeated action but in past time. The customary imperfect usually is translated “would” or “used to” do the action, but here continuous action in past time is meant. S. R. Driver translates it “kept speaking” and “kept answering” (Exodus, 172).

[19:19]  ¹³ tn The text simply has בְּקוֹל (bÿqol); it could mean “with a voice” or it could mean “in thunder” since “voice” was used in v. 16 for thunder. In this context it would be natural to say that the repeated thunderings were the voice of God – but how is that an answer? Deut 4:12 says that the people heard the sound of words. U. Cassuto (Exodus, 232-33) rightly comments, “He was answering him with a loud voice so that it was possible for Moses to hear His words clearly in the midst of the storm.” He then draws a parallel from Ugaritic where it tells that one of the gods was speaking in a loud voice.

[20:18]  ¹⁶ tn The participle is used here for durative action in the past time (GKC 359 §116.o).

[20:18]  ¹⁷ tn The verb “to see” (רָאָה, ra’ah) refers to seeing with all the senses, or perceiving. W. C. Kaiser suggests that this is an example of the figure of speech called zeugma because the verb “saw” yokes together two objects, one that suits the verb and the other that does not. So, the verb “heard” is inserted here to clarify (“Exodus,” EBC 2:427).

[20:18]  ¹⁸ tn The verb “saw” is supplied here because it is expected in English (see the previous note on “heard”).

[20:18]  ¹⁹ tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated as a temporal clause to the following clause, which receives the prominence.

[20:18]  ²⁰ tn The meaning of נוּעַ (nua’) is “to shake, sway to and fro” in fear. Compare Isa 7:2 – “and his heart shook…as the trees of the forest shake with the wind.”

[20:18]  ²¹ tn Heb “and they stood from/at a distance.”

[36:6]  ²¹ tn The verse simply reads, “and Moses commanded and they caused [a voice] to cross over in the camp.” The second preterite with the vav may be subordinated to the first clause, giving the intent (purpose or result).

[36:6]  ²² tn Heb “voice.”

[36:6]  ²³ tn The verse ends with the infinitive serving as the object of the preposition: “from bringing.”

[24:3]  ²⁶ sn The general consensus among commentators is that this refers to Moses’ coming from the mountain after he made the ascent in 20:21. Here he came and told them the laws (written in 20:22-23:33), and of the call to come up to Yahweh.

[24:3]  ²⁷ sn The Decalogue may not be included here because the people had heard those commands themselves earlier.

[24:3]  ²⁸ tn The text simply has “one voice” (קוֹל אֶחָד, qol ’ekhad); this is an adverbial accusative of manner, telling how the people answered – “in one voice,” or unanimously (see GKC 375 §118.q).

[24:3]  ²⁹ tn The verb is the imperfect tense (נַעֲשֶׂה, na’aseh), although the form could be classified as a cohortative. If the latter, they would be saying that they are resolved to do what God said. If it is an imperfect, then the desiderative would make the most sense: “we are willing to do.” They are not presumptuously saying they are going to do all these things.