Exodus 4:17

4:17 You will also take in your hand this staff, with which you will do the signs.” ¹ 

Exodus 5:6

5:6 That same day Pharaoh commanded ²  the slave masters and foremen ³  who were ⁴  over the people: ⁵ 

Exodus 28:2

28:2 You must make holy garments ⁶  for your brother Aaron, for glory and for beauty. ⁷ 

Exodus 29:35

29:35 “Thus you are to do for Aaron and for his sons, according to all that I have commanded you; you are to consecrate them ⁸  for ⁹  seven days.

Exodus 30:30

30:30 “You are to anoint Aaron and his sons and ¹⁰  sanctify them, so that they may minister as my priests.

Exodus 35:31

35:31 He has filled him with the Spirit of God – with skill, with understanding, with knowledge, and in all kinds of work,

[4:17]  ¹ sn Mention of the staff makes an appropriate ending to the section, for God’s power (represented by the staff) will work through Moses. The applicable point that this whole section is making could be worded this way: The servants of God who sense their inadequacy must demonstrate the power of God as their sufficiency.

[5:6]  ² tn Heb “and Pharaoh commanded on that day.”

[5:6]  ³ tn The Greek has “scribes” for this word, perhaps thinking of those lesser officials as keeping records of the slaves and the bricks.

[5:6]  ⁴ tn The phrase “who were” is supplied for clarity.

[5:6]  ⁵ sn In vv. 6-14 the second section of the chapter describes the severe measures by the king to increase the labor by decreasing the material. The emphasis in this section must be on the harsh treatment of the people and Pharaoh’s reason for it – he accuses them of idleness because they want to go and worship. The real reason, of course, is that he wants to discredit Moses (v. 9) and keep the people as slaves.

[28:2]  ³ sn The genitive “holiness” is the attribute for “garments” – “garments of holiness.” The point of the word “holy” is that these garments would be distinctive from ordinary garments, for they set Aaron apart to sanctuary service and ministry.

[28:2]  ⁴ tn The expression is לְכָבוֹד וּלְתִפְארֶת (lÿkhavod ulÿtif’aret, “for glory and for beauty”). W. C. Kaiser (“Exodus,” EBC 2:465), quoting the NIV’s “to give him dignity and honor,” says that these clothes were to exalt the office of the high priest as well as beautify the worship of God (which explains more of what the text has than the NIV rendering). The meaning of the word “glory” has much to do with the importance of the office, to be sure, but in Exodus the word has been used also for the brilliance of the presence of Yahweh, and so the magnificence of these garments might indeed strike the worshiper with the sense of the exaltation of the service.

[29:35]  ⁴ tn Heb “you will fill their hand.”

[29:35]  ⁵ tn The “seven days” is the adverbial accusative explaining that the ritual of the filling should continue daily for a week. Leviticus makes it clear that they are not to leave the sanctuary.

[30:30]  ⁵ tn The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive follows the imperfect of instruction; it may be equal to the instruction, but more likely shows the purpose or result of the act.