Exodus 4:10

4:10 Then Moses said to the Lord, ¹  “O ²  my Lord, ³  I am not an eloquent man, ⁴  neither in the past ⁵  nor since you have spoken to your servant, for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” ⁶ 

Exodus 6:13

6:13 The Lord spoke ⁷  to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge ⁸  for the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

Exodus 7:9

7:9 “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Do ⁹  a miracle,’ and you say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down ¹⁰  before Pharaoh,’ it will become ¹¹  a snake.”

Exodus 12:31

12:31 Pharaoh ¹²  summoned Moses and Aaron in the night and said, “Get up, get out ¹³  from among my people, both you and the Israelites! Go, serve the Lord as you have requested! ¹⁴ 

Exodus 14:2

14:2 “Tell the Israelites that they must turn and camp ¹⁵  before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you are to camp by the sea before Baal Zephon opposite it. ¹⁶ 

Exodus 14:12

14:12 Isn’t this what we told you ¹⁷  in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone so that we can serve the Egyptians, ¹⁸  because it is better for us to serve ¹⁹  the Egyptians than to die in the desert!’” ²⁰ 

Exodus 16:12

16:12 “I have heard the murmurings of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘During the evening ²¹  you will eat meat, ²²  and in the morning you will be satisfied ²³  with bread, so that you may know ²⁴  that I am the Lord your God.’” ²⁵ 

Exodus 16:23

16:23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a time of cessation from work, ²⁶  a holy Sabbath ²⁷  to the Lord. Whatever you want to ²⁸  bake, bake today; ²⁹  whatever you want to boil, boil today; whatever is left put aside for yourselves to be kept until morning.’”

Exodus 19:9

19:9 The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come ³⁰  to you in a dense cloud, ³¹  so that the people may hear when I speak with you and so that they will always believe in you.” ³²  And Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.

Exodus 24:3

24:3 Moses came ³³  and told the people all the Lord’s words ³⁴  and all the decisions. All the people answered together, ³⁵  “We are willing to do ³⁶  all the words that the Lord has said,”

Exodus 25:22

25:22 I will meet with you there, ³⁷  and ³⁸  from above the atonement lid, from between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will command you for the Israelites.

Exodus 31:13

31:13 “Tell the Israelites, ‘Surely you must keep my Sabbaths, ³⁹  for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. ⁴⁰ 

Exodus 32:13

32:13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel your servants, to whom you swore by yourself and told them, ‘I will multiply your descendants ⁴¹  like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken about ⁴²  I will give to your descendants, ⁴³  and they will inherit it forever.’”

Exodus 33:1

33:1 The Lord said to Moses, “Go up ⁴⁴  from here, you and the people whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land I promised on oath ⁴⁵  to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ ⁴⁶ 

Exodus 34:29

The Radiant Face of Moses

34:29 ⁴⁷ Now when Moses came down ⁴⁸  from Mount Sinai with ⁴⁹  the two tablets of the testimony in his hand ⁵⁰  – when he came down ⁵¹  from the mountain, Moses ⁵²  did not know that the skin of his face shone ⁵³  while he talked with him.

Exodus 34:35

34:35 When the Israelites would see ⁵⁴  the face of Moses, that ⁵⁵  the skin of Moses’ face shone, Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with the Lord. ⁵⁶ 

[4:10]  ¹ sn Now Moses took up another line of argumentation, the issue of his inability to speak fluently (vv. 10-17). The point here is that God’s servants must yield themselves as instruments to God, the Creator. It makes no difference what character traits they have or what weaknesses they think they have (Moses manages to speak very well) if God is present. If the sovereign God has chosen them, then they have everything that God intended them to have.

[4:10]  ² tn The word בִּי (bi) is a particle of entreaty; it seeks permission to speak and is always followed by “my lord” or “my Lord.” Often rendered “please,” it is “employed in petitions, complaints and excuses” (W. H. C. Propp, Exodus 1–18 [AB], 213).

[4:10]  ³ tn The designation in Moses’ address is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay), a term of respect and deference such as “lord, master, sir” but pointed as it would be when it represents the tetragrammaton. B. Jacob says since this is the first time Moses spoke directly to Yahweh, he did so hesitatingly (Exodus, 87).

[4:10]  ⁴ tn When a noun clause is negated with לֹא (lo’), rather than אֵין (’en), there is a special emphasis, since the force of the negative falls on a specific word (GKC 479 §152.d). The expression “eloquent man” is אִישׁ דְּבָרִים (’ish dÿvarim, “a man of words”). The genitive may indicate a man characterized by words or a man who is able to command or control words. Moses apparently is resigned to the fact that he can do the signs, but he knows the signs have to be explained.

[4:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “also from yesterday also from three days ago” or “neither since yesterday nor since before that” is idiomatic for “previously” or “in the past.”

[4:10]  ⁶ tn The two expressions are כְבַד־פֶּה (khÿvad peh, “heavy of mouth”), and then כְבַד לָשׁוֹן (khÿvad lashon, “heavy of tongue”). Both use genitives of specification, the mouth and the tongue being what are heavy – slow. “Mouth” and “tongue” are metonymies of cause. Moses is saying that he has a problem speaking well. Perhaps he had been too long at the other side of the desert, or perhaps he was being a little dishonest. At any rate, he has still not captured the meaning of God’s presence. See among other works, J. H. Tigay, “‘Heavy of Mouth’ and ‘Heavy of Tongue’: On Moses’ Speech Difficulty,” BASOR 231 (1978): 57-67.

[6:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “And Yahweh spoke.”

[6:13]  ⁸ tn The term וַיְצַוֵּם (vayÿtsavvem) is a Piel preterite with a pronominal suffix on it. The verb צָוָה (tsavah) means “to command” but can also have a much wider range of meanings. In this short summary statement, the idea of giving Moses and Aaron a commission to Israel and to Pharaoh indicates that come what may they have their duty to perform.

[7:9]  ¹³ tn The verb is תְּנוּ (tÿnu), literally “give.” The imperative is followed by an ethical dative that strengthens the subject of the imperative: “you give a miracle.”

[7:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and throw it.” The direct object, “it,” is implied.

[7:9]  ¹⁵ tn The form is the jussive יְהִי ( yÿhi). Gesenius notes that frequently in a conditional clause, a sentence with a protasis and apodosis, the jussive will be used. Here it is in the apodosis (GKC 323 §109.h).

[12:31]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Pharaoh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:31]  ²⁰ tn The urgency in Pharaoh’s words is caught by the abrupt use of the imperatives – “get up, go” (קוּמוּ צְּאוּ, qumu tsÿ’u), and “go, serve” (וּלְכוּ עִבְדוּ, ulÿkhu ’ivdu) and “take” and “leave/go” (וָלֵכוּ…קְחוּ, qÿkhu...valekhu).

[12:31]  ²¹ tn Heb “as you have said.” The same phrase also occurs in the following verse.

[14:2]  ²⁵ tn The two imperfects follow the imperative and therefore express purpose. The point in the verses is that Yahweh was giving the orders for the direction of the march and the encampment by the sea.

[14:2]  ²⁶ sn The places have been tentatively identified. W. C. Kaiser summarizes the suggestions that Pi-Hahiroth as an Egyptian word may mean “temple of the [Syrian god] Hrt” or “The Hir waters of the canal” or “The Dwelling of Hator” (“Exodus,” EBC 2:387; see the literature on these names, including C. DeWit, The Date and Route of the Exodus, 17).

[14:12]  ³¹ tn Heb “Is not this the word that we spoke to you.”

[14:12]  ³² sn U. Cassuto (Exodus, 164) explains this statement by the people as follows: “The question appears surprising at first, for we have not read previously that such words were spoken to Moses. Nor is the purport of the protest of the Israelite foremen (v 21 [5:21]) identical with that of the words uttered now. However, from a psychological standpoint the matter can be easily explained. In the hour of peril the children of Israel remember that remonstrance, and now it seems to them that it was of a sharper character and flowed from their foresight, and that the present situation justifies it, for death awaits them at this moment in the desert.” This declaration that “we told you so,” born of fright, need not have been strictly accurate or logical.

[14:12]  ³³ tn Heb “better for us to serve.”

[14:12]  ³⁴ tn Since Hebrew does not use quotation marks to indicate the boundaries of quotations, there is uncertainty about whether the Israelites’ statement in Egypt includes the end of v. 12 or consists solely of “leave us alone so that we can serve the Egyptians.” In either case, the command to Moses to leave them alone rested on the assumption, spoken or unspoken, that serving Egypt would be less risky than what Moses was proposing. Now with the Egyptian army on the horizon, the Israelites are sure that their worst predictions are about to take place.

[16:12]  ³⁷ tn Heb “during the evenings”; see Exod 12:6.

[16:12]  ³⁸ sn One of the major interpretive difficulties is the comparison between Exod 16 and Num 11. In Numbers we find that the giving of the manna was about 24 months after the Exod 16 time (assuming there was a distinct time for this chapter), that it was after the erection of the tabernacle, that Taberah (the Burning) preceded it (not in Exod 16), that the people were tired of the manna (not that there was no bread to eat) and so God would send the quail, and that there was a severe tragedy over it. In Exod 16 both the manna and the quail are given on the same day, with no mention of quail on the following days. Contemporary scholarship generally assigns the accounts to two different sources because complete reconciliation seems impossible. Even if we argue that Exodus has a thematic arrangement and “telescopes” some things to make a point, there will still be difficulties in harmonization. Two considerations must be kept in mind: 1) First, they could be separate events entirely. If this is true, then they should be treated separately as valid accounts of things that appeared or occurred during the period of the wanderings. Similar things need not be the same thing. 2) Secondly, strict chronological order is not always maintained in the Bible narratives, especially if it is a didactic section. Perhaps Exod 16 describes the initiation of the giving of manna as God’s provision of bread, and therefore placed in the prologue of the covenant, and Num 11 is an account of a mood which developed over a period of time in response to the manna. Num 11 would then be looking back from a different perspective.

[16:12]  ³⁹ tn The verb means “to be sated, satisfied”; in this context it indicates that they would have sufficient bread to eat – they would be full.

[16:12]  ⁴⁰ tn The form is a Qal perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; it is in sequence with the imperfect tenses before it, and so this is equal to an imperfect nuance. But, from the meanings of the words, it is clear that this will be the outcome of their eating the food, a divinely intended outcome.

[16:12]  ⁴¹ sn This verse supports the view taken in chap. 6 concerning the verb “to know.” Surely the Israelites by now knew that Yahweh was their God. Yes, they did. But they had not experienced what that meant; they had not received the fulfillment of the promises.

[16:23]  ⁴³ tn The noun שַׁבָּתוֹן (shabbaton) has the abstract ending on it: “resting, ceasing.” The root word means “cease” from something, more than “to rest.” The Law would make it clear that they were to cease from their normal occupations and do no common work.

[16:23]  ⁴⁴ tn The technical expression is now used: שַׁבַּת־קֹדֶשׁ (shabbat-qodesh, “a holy Sabbath”) meaning a “cessation of/for holiness” for Yahweh. The rest was to be characterized by holiness.

[16:23]  ⁴⁵ tn The two verbs in these objective noun clauses are desiderative imperfects – “bake whatever you want to bake.”

[16:23]  ⁴⁶ tn The word “today” is implied from the context.

[19:9]  ⁴⁹ tn The construction uses the deictic particle and the participle to express the imminent future, what God was about to do. Here is the first announcement of the theophany.

[19:9]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “the thickness of the cloud”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT “in a thick cloud.”

[19:9]  ⁵¹ tn Since “and also in you” begins the clause, the emphasis must be that the people would also trust Moses. See Exod 4:1-9, 31; 14:31.

[24:3]  ⁵⁵ 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]  ⁵⁶ sn The Decalogue may not be included here because the people had heard those commands themselves earlier.

[24:3]  ⁵⁷ 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]  ⁵⁸ 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.

[25:22]  ⁶¹ sn Here then is the main point of the ark of the covenant, and the main point of all worship – meeting with God through atonement. The text makes it clear that here God would meet with Moses (“you” is singular) and then he would speak to the people – he is the mediator of the covenant. S. R. Driver (Exodus, 272) makes the point that the verb here is not the word that means “to meet by chance” (as in Exod 3:18), but “to meet” by appointment for a purpose (וְנוֹעַדְתִּי, vÿno’adti). The parallel in the NT is Jesus Christ and his work. The theology is that the Law condemns people as guilty of sin, but the sacrifice of Christ makes atonement. So he is the “place of propitiation (Rom 3:25) who gains communion with the Father for sinners. A major point that could be made from this section is this: At the center of worship must be the atoning work of Christ – a perpetual reminder of God’s righteous standard (the testimony in the ark) and God’s gracious provision (the atonement lid).

[25:22]  ⁶² tn The verb is placed here in the text: “and I will speak”; it has been moved in this translation to be closer to the direct object clause.

[31:13]  ⁶⁷ sn The instruction for the Sabbath at this point seems rather abrupt, but it follows logically the extended plans of building the sanctuary. B. Jacob, following some of the earlier treatments, suggests that these are specific rules given for the duration of the building of the sanctuary (Exodus, 844). The Sabbath day is a day of complete cessation; no labor or work could be done. The point here is that God’s covenant people must faithfully keep the sign of the covenant as a living commemoration of the finished work of Yahweh, and as an active part in their sanctification. See also H. Routtenberg, “The Laws of Sabbath: Biblical Sources,” Dor le Dor 6 (1977): 41-43, 99-101, 153-55, 204-6; G. Robinson, “The Idea of Rest in the OT and the Search for the Basic Character of Sabbath,” ZAW 92 (1980): 32-42; M. Tsevat, “The Basic Meaning of the Biblical Sabbath, ZAW 84 (1972): 447-59; M. T. Willshaw, “A Joyous Sign,” ExpTim 89 (1978): 179-80.

[31:13]  ⁶⁸ tn Or “your sanctifier.”

[32:13]  ⁷³ tn Heb “your seed.”

[32:13]  ⁷⁴ tn “about” has been supplied.

[32:13]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “seed.”

[33:1]  ⁷⁹ tn The two imperatives underscore the immediacy of the demand: “go, go up,” meaning “get going up” or “be on your way.”

[33:1]  ⁸⁰ tn Or “the land which I swore.”

[33:1]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “seed.”

[34:29]  ⁸⁵ sn Now, at the culmination of the renewing of the covenant, comes the account of Moses’ shining face. It is important to read this in its context first, holding off on the connection to Paul’s discussion in 2 Corinthians. There is a delicate balance here in Exodus. On the one hand Moses’ shining face served to authenticate the message, but on the other hand Moses prevented the people from seeing more than they could handle. The subject matter in the OT, then, is how to authenticate the message. The section again can be subdivided into three points that develop the whole idea: I. The one who spends time with God reflects his glory (29-30). It will not always be as Moses; rather, the glory of the Lord is reflected differently today, but nonetheless reflected. II. The glory of Yahweh authenticates the message (31-32). III. The authentication of the message must be used cautiously with the weak and immature (33-35).

[34:29]  ⁸⁶ tn The temporal clause is composed of the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), followed by the temporal preposition, infinitive construct, and subjective genitive (“Moses”).

[34:29]  ⁸⁷ tn The second clause begins with “and/now”; it is a circumstantial clause explaining that the tablets were in his hand. It repeats the temporal clause at the end.

[34:29]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “in the hand of Moses.”

[34:29]  ⁸⁹ tn The temporal clause parallels the first temporal clause; it uses the same infinitive construct, but now with a suffix referring to Moses.

[34:29]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “and Moses.”

[34:29]  ⁹¹ tn The word קָרַן (qaran) is derived from the noun קֶרֶן (qeren) in the sense of a “ray of light” (see Hab 3:4). Something of the divine glory remained with Moses. The Greek translation of Aquila and the Latin Vulgate convey the idea that he had horns, the primary meaning of the word from which this word is derived. Some have tried to defend this, saying that the glory appeared like horns or that Moses covered his face with a mask adorned with horns. But in the text the subject of the verb is the skin of Moses’ face (see U. Cassuto, Exodus, 449).

[34:35]  ⁹¹ tn Now the perfect tense with vav consecutive is subordinated to the next clause, “Moses returned the veil….”

[34:35]  ⁹² tn Verbs of seeing often take two accusatives. Here, the second is the noun clause explaining what it was about the face that they saw.

[34:35]  ⁹³ tn Heb “with him”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.