Exodus 4:11

4:11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave ¹  a mouth to man, or who makes a person mute or deaf or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? ² 

Exodus 8:17

8:17 They did so; Aaron extended his hand with his staff, he struck the dust of the ground, and it became gnats on people ³  and on animals. All the dust of the ground became gnats throughout all the land of Egypt.

Exodus 9:19

9:19 So now, send instructions ⁴  to gather ⁵  your livestock and all your possessions in the fields to a safe place. Every person ⁶  or animal caught ⁷  in the field and not brought into the house – the hail will come down on them, and they will die!”’”

Exodus 9:22

9:22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Extend your hand toward the sky ⁸  that there may be ⁹  hail in all the land of Egypt, on people and on animals, ¹⁰  and on everything that grows ¹¹  in the field in the land of Egypt.”

Exodus 9:25

9:25 The hail struck everything in the open fields, both ¹²  people and animals, throughout all the land of Egypt. The hail struck everything that grows ¹³  in the field, and it broke all the trees of the field to pieces.

Exodus 12:12

12:12 I will pass through ¹⁴  the land of Egypt in the same ¹⁵  night, and I will attack ¹⁶  all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of humans and of animals, ¹⁷  and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. ¹⁸  I am the Lord.

Exodus 13:15

13:15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused ¹⁹  to release us, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of people to the firstborn of animals. ²⁰  That is why I am sacrificing ²¹  to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb, but all my firstborn sons I redeem.’

[4:11]  ¹ tn The verb שִׂים (sim) means “to place, put, set”; the sentence here more precisely says, “Who put a mouth into a man?”

[4:11]  ² sn The final question obviously demands a positive answer. But the clause is worded in such a way as to return to the theme of “I AM.” Isaiah 45:5-7 developed this same idea of God’s control over life. Moses protests that he is not an eloquent speaker, and the Lord replies with reminders about himself and promises, “I will be with your mouth,” an assertion that repeats the verb he used four times in 3:12 and 14 and in promises to Isaac and Jacob (Gen 26:3; 31:3).

[8:17]  ³ tn Heb “man,” but in the generic sense of “humans” or “people” (also in v. 18).

[9:19]  ⁵ tn The object “instructions” is implied in the context.

[9:19]  ⁶ tn הָעֵז (ha’ez) is the Hiphil imperative from עוּז (’uz, “to bring into safety” or “to secure”). Although there is no vav (ו) linking the two imperatives, the second could be subordinated by virtue of the meanings. “Send to bring to safety.”

[9:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “man, human.”

[9:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “[who] may be found.” The verb can be the imperfect of possibility.

[9:22]  ⁷ tn Or “the heavens” (also in the following verse). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[9:22]  ⁸ tn The jussive with the conjunction (וִיהִי, vihi) coming after the imperative provides the purpose or result.

[9:22]  ⁹ tn Heb “on man and on beast.”

[9:22]  ¹⁰ tn The noun refers primarily to cultivated grains. But here it seems to be the general heading for anything that grows from the ground, all vegetation and plant life, as opposed to what grows on trees.

[9:25]  ⁹ tn The exact expression is “from man even to beast.” R. J. Williams lists this as an example of the inclusive use of the preposition מִן (min) to be rendered “both…and” (Hebrew Syntax, 57, §327).

[9:25]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “all the cultivated grain of.”

[12:12]  ¹¹ tn The verb וְעָבַרְתִּי (vÿ’avarti) is a Qal perfect with vav (ו) consecutive, announcing the future action of God in bringing judgment on the land. The word means “pass over, across, through.” This verb provides a contextual motive for the name “Passover.”

[12:12]  ¹² tn Heb “this night.”

[12:12]  ¹³ tn The verb נָכָה (nakhah) means “to strike, smite, attack”; it does not always mean “to kill,” but that is obviously its outcome in this context. This is also its use in 2:12, describing how Moses killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand.

[12:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “from man and to beast.”

[12:12]  ¹⁵ tn The phrase אֶעֱשֶׂה שְׁפָטִים (’e’eseh shÿfatim) is “I will do judgments.” The statement clearly includes what had begun in Exod 6:1. But the statement that God would judge the gods of Egypt is appropriately introduced here (see also Num 33:4) because with the judgment on Pharaoh and the deliverance from bondage, Yahweh would truly show himself to be the one true God. Thus, “I am Yahweh” is fitting here (see B. Jacob, Exodus, 312).

[13:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “dealt hardly in letting us go” or “made it hard to let us go” (see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 110). The verb is the simple Hiphil perfect הִקְשָׁה (hiqshah, “he made hard”); the infinitive construct לְשַׁלְּחֵנוּ (lÿshallÿkhenu, “to release us”) could be taken epexegetically, meaning “he made releasing us hard.” But the infinitive more likely gives the purpose or the result after the verb “hardened himself.” The verb is figurative for “be stubborn” or “stubbornly refuse.”

[13:15]  ¹⁴ tn The text uses “man” and “beast.”

[13:15]  ¹⁵ tn The form is the active participle.