Exodus 5:2

5:2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord ¹  that ²  I should obey him ³  by releasing ⁴  Israel? I do not know the Lord, ⁵  and I will not release Israel!”

Exodus 10:14

10:14 The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and settled down in all the territory ⁶  of Egypt. It was very severe; ⁷  there had been no locusts like them before, nor will there be such ever again. ⁸ 

Exodus 10:26

10:26 Our livestock must ⁹  also go with us! Not a hoof is to be left behind! For we must take ¹⁰  these animals ¹¹  to serve the Lord our God. Until we arrive there, we do not know what we must use to serve the Lord.” ¹² 

Exodus 12:39

12:39 They baked cakes of bread without yeast using the dough they had brought from Egypt, for it was made without yeast – because they were thrust out ¹³  of Egypt and were not able to delay, they ¹⁴  could not prepare ¹⁵  food for themselves either.

Exodus 19:13

19:13 No hand will touch him ¹⁶  – but he will surely be stoned or shot through, whether a beast or a human being; ¹⁷  he must not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast they may ¹⁸  go up on the mountain.”

Exodus 34:28

34:28 So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; ¹⁹  he did not eat bread, and he did not drink water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. ²⁰ 

[5:2]  ¹ tn Heb “Yahweh.” This is a rhetorical question, expressing doubt or indignation or simply a negative thought that Yahweh is nothing (see erotesis in E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 944-45). Pharaoh is not asking for information (cf. 1 Sam 25:5-10).

[5:2]  ² tn The relative pronoun introduces the consecutive clause that depends on the interrogative clause (see GKC 318-19 §107.u).

[5:2]  ³ tn The imperfect tense here receives the classification of obligatory imperfect. The verb שָׁמַע (shama’) followed by “in the voice of” is idiomatic; rather than referring to simple audition – “that I should hear his voice” – it conveys the thought of listening that issues in action – “that I should obey him.”

[5:2]  ⁴ tn The Piel infinitive construct here has the epexegetical usage with lamed (ל); it explains the verb “obey.”

[5:2]  ⁵ sn This absolute statement of Pharaoh is part of a motif that will develop throughout the conflict. For Pharaoh, the Lord (Yahweh) did not exist. So he said “I do not know the Lord [i.e., Yahweh].” The point of the plagues and the exodus will be “that he might know.” Pharaoh will come to know this Yahweh, but not in any pleasant way.

[10:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “border.”

[10:14]  ⁷ tn This is an interpretive translation. The clause simply has כָּבֵד מְאֹד (kaved mÿ’od), the stative verb with the adverb – “it was very heavy.” The description prepares for the following statement about the uniqueness of this locust infestation.

[10:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “after them.”

[10:26]  ¹¹ tn This is the obligatory imperfect nuance. They were obliged to take the animals if they were going to sacrifice, but more than that, since they were not coming back, they had to take everything.

[10:26]  ¹² tn The same modal nuance applies to this verb.

[10:26]  ¹³ tn Heb “from it,” referring collectively to the livestock.

[10:26]  ¹⁴ sn Moses gives an angry but firm reply to Pharaoh’s attempt to control Israel; he makes it clear that he has no intention of leaving any pledge with Pharaoh. When they leave, they will take everything that belongs to them.

[12:39]  ¹⁶ sn For the use of this word in developing the motif, see Exod 2:17, 22; 6:1; and 11:1.

[12:39]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and also.”

[12:39]  ¹⁸ tn The verb is עָשׂוּ (’asu, “they made”); here, with a potential nuance, it is rendered “they could [not] prepare.”

[19:13]  ²¹ sn There is some ambiguity here. The clause either means that no man will touch the mountain, so that if there is someone who is to be put to death he must be stoned or shot since they could not go into the mountain region to get him, or, it may mean no one is to touch the culprit who went in to the region of the mountain.

[19:13]  ²² tn Heb “a man.”

[19:13]  ²³ tn The nuance here is permissive imperfect, “they may go up.” The ram’s horn would sound the blast to announce that the revelation period was over and it was permitted then to ascend the mountain.

[34:28]  ²⁶ tn These too are adverbial in relation to the main clause, telling how long Moses was with Yahweh on the mountain.

[34:28]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the ten words,” though “commandments” is traditional.