Exodus 6:8

6:8 I will bring you to the land I swore to give ¹  to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob – and I will give it to you ²  as a possession. I am the Lord!’”

Exodus 10:13

10:13 So Moses extended his staff over the land of Egypt, and then the Lord ³  brought ⁴  an east wind on the land all that day and all night. ⁵  The morning came, ⁶  and the east wind had brought up ⁷  the locusts!

Exodus 10:19

10:19 and the Lord turned a very strong west wind, ⁸  and it picked up the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. ⁹  Not one locust remained in all the territory of Egypt.

Exodus 18:22

18:22 They will judge ¹⁰  the people under normal circumstances, ¹¹  and every difficult case ¹²  they will bring to you, but every small case ¹³  they themselves will judge, so that ¹⁴  you may make it easier for yourself, ¹⁵  and they will bear the burden ¹⁶  with you.

Exodus 28:12

28:12 You are to put the two stones on the shoulders of the ephod, stones of memorial for the sons of Israel, and Aaron will bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders for a memorial. ¹⁷ 

Exodus 28:30

28:30 “You are to put the Urim and the Thummim ¹⁸  into the breastpiece of decision; and they are to be over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the Lord. Aaron is to bear the decisions ¹⁹  of the Israelites over his heart before the Lord continually.

Exodus 28:38

28:38 It will be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron will bear the iniquity of the holy things, ²⁰  which the Israelites are to sanctify by all their holy gifts; ²¹  it will always be on his forehead, for their acceptance ²²  before the Lord.

Exodus 28:43

28:43 These must be on Aaron and his sons when they enter ²³  to the tent of meeting, or when they approach ²⁴  the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they bear no iniquity and die. ²⁵  It is to be a perpetual ordinance for him and for his descendants ²⁶  after him. ²⁷ 

Exodus 30:4

30:4 You are to make two gold rings for it under its border, on its two flanks; you are to make them on its two sides. ²⁸  The rings ²⁹  will be places ³⁰  for poles to carry it with.

Exodus 30:12

30:12 “When you take a census ³¹  of the Israelites according to their number, ³²  then each man is to pay a ransom ³³  for his life to the Lord when you number them, ³⁴  so that there will be no plague among them when you number them.

Exodus 34:7

34:7 keeping loyal love for thousands, ³⁵  forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression ³⁶  of fathers by dealing with children and children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.”

Exodus 35:21

35:21 Everyone ³⁷  whose heart stirred him to action ³⁸  and everyone whose spirit was willing ³⁹  came and brought the offering for the Lord for the work of the tent of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments. ⁴⁰ 

Exodus 36:2

36:2 Moses summoned ⁴¹  Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person in whom ⁴²  the Lord had put skill – everyone whose heart stirred him ⁴³  to volunteer ⁴⁴  to do the work,

[6:8]  ¹ tn Heb “which I raised my hand to give it.” The relative clause specifies which land is their goal. The bold anthropomorphism mentions part of an oath-taking ceremony to refer to the whole event and reminds the reader that God swore that he would give the land to them. The reference to taking an oath would have made the promise of God sure in the mind of the Israelite.

[6:8]  ² sn Here is the twofold aspect again clearly depicted: God swore the promise to the patriarchs, but he is about to give what he promised to this generation. This generation will know more about him as a result.

[10:13]  ³ tn The clause begins וַיהוָה (va’adonay [vayhvah], “Now Yahweh….”). In contrast to a normal sequence, this beginning focuses attention on Yahweh as the subject of the verb.

[10:13]  ⁴ tn The verb נָהַג (nahag) means “drive, conduct.” It is elsewhere used for driving sheep, leading armies, or leading in processions.

[10:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “and all the night.”

[10:13]  ⁶ tn The text does not here use ordinary circumstantial clause constructions; rather, Heb “the morning was, and the east wind carried the locusts.” It clearly means “when it was morning,” but the style chosen gives a more abrupt beginning to the plague, as if the reader is in the experience – and at morning, the locusts are there!

[10:13]  ⁷ tn The verb here is a past perfect, indicting that the locusts had arrived before the day came.

[10:19]  ⁵ tn Or perhaps “sea wind,” i.e., a wind off the Mediterranean.

[10:19]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew name here is יַם־סוּף (Yam Suf), sometimes rendered “Reed Sea” or “Sea of Reeds.” The word סוּף is a collective noun that may have derived from an Egyptian name for papyrus reeds. Many English versions have used “Red Sea,” which translates the name that ancient Greeks used: ejruqrav qalavssa (eruqra qalassa).

[18:22]  ⁷ tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive, making it equivalent to the imperfect of instruction in the preceding verse.

[18:22]  ⁸ tn Heb “in every time,” meaning “in all normal cases” or “under normal circumstances.” The same phrase occurs in v. 26.

[18:22]  ⁹ tn Heb “great thing.”

[18:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “thing.”

[18:22]  ¹¹ tn The vav here shows the result or the purpose of the instructions given.

[18:22]  ¹² tn The expression וְהָקֵל מֵעָלֶיךָ (vÿhaqel me’aleykha) means literally “and make it light off yourself.” The word plays against the word for “heavy” used earlier – since it was a heavy or burdensome task, Moses must lighten the load.

[18:22]  ¹³ tn Here “the burden” has been supplied.

[28:12]  ⁹ sn This was to be a perpetual reminder that the priest ministers on behalf of the twelve tribes of Israel. Their names would always be borne by the priests.

[28:30]  ¹¹ sn The Urim and the Thummim were two objects intended for determining the divine will. There is no clear evidence of their size or shape or the material of which they were made, but they seem to have been familiar items to Moses and the people. The best example of their use comes from 1 Sam 14:36-42. Some have suggested from the etymologies that they were light and dark objects respectively, perhaps stones or sticks or some other object. They seem to have fallen out of use after the Davidic period when the prophetic oracles became popular. It may be that the title “breastpiece of judgment” indicates that these objects were used for making “decisions” (J. P. Hyatt, Exodus [NCBC], 283-84). U. Cassuto has the most thorough treatment of the subject (Exodus, 378-82); he lists several very clear rules for their uses gathered from their instances in the Bible, including that they were a form of sacred lot, that priests or leaders of the people only could use them, and that they were used for discovering the divine will in areas that were beyond human knowledge.

[28:30]  ¹² tn Or “judgment” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV). The term is מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat), the same word that describes the breastpiece that held the two objects. Here it is translated “decisions” since the Urim and Thummim contained in the breastpiece represented the means by which the Lord made decisions for the Israelites. The high priest bore the responsibility of discerning the divine will on matters of national importance.

[28:38]  ¹³ tn The construction “the iniquity of the holy things” is difficult. “Holy things” is explained in the passage by all the gifts the people bring and consecrate to Yahweh. But there will inevitably be iniquity involved. U. Cassuto explains that Aaron “will atone for all the transgressions committed in connection with the order of the service, the purity of the consecrated things, or the use of the holy gifts, for the declaration engraved on the plate will prove that everything was intended to be holy to the Lord, and if aught was done irregularly, the intention at least was good” (Exodus, 385).

[28:38]  ¹⁴ tn The clause reads: “according to/by all the gifts of their holiness.” The genitive is an attributive genitive, the suffix on it referring to the whole bound construction – “their holy gifts.” The idea of the line is that the people will consecrate as holy things gifts they bring to the sanctuary.

[28:38]  ¹⁵ tn This clause is the infinitive construct with the lamed preposition, followed by the prepositional phrase: “for acceptance for them.” This infinitive provides the purpose or result of the act of wearing the dedicatory frontlet – that they will be acceptable.

[28:43]  ¹⁵ tn The construction for this temporal clause is the infinitive construct with the temporal preposition bet (ב) and the suffixed subjective genitive.

[28:43]  ¹⁶ tn This construction is also the temporal clause with the infinitive construct and the temporal preposition bet (ב) and the suffixed subjective genitive.

[28:43]  ¹⁷ tn The text has וְלאֹ־יִשְׂאוּ עָוֹן וָמֵתוּ (vÿlo’-yis’u ’avon vametu). The imperfect tense here introduces a final clause, yielding a purpose or result translation (“in order that” or “so that”). The last verb is the perfect tense with the vav consecutive, and so it too is equal to a final imperfect – but it would show the result of bearing the iniquity. The idea is that if they approached the holy things with a lack of modesty, perhaps like the pagans who have nakedness and sexuality as part of the religious ritual, they would pollute the holy things, and it would be reckoned to them for iniquity and they would die.

[28:43]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “seed.”

[28:43]  ¹⁹ sn So the priests were to make intercession for the people, give decisions from God’s revealed will, enter his presence in purity, and represent holiness to Yahweh. The clothing of the priests provided for these functions, but in a way that brought honor and dignity. A priest was, therefore, to serve in purity, holiness, and fear (Malachi). There is much that can be derived from this chapter to form principles of spiritual leadership, but the overall point can be worded this way: Those whom God selects to minister to the congregation through intercessory prayer, divine counsel, and sacrificial worship, must always represent the holiness of Yahweh in their activities and demeanor.

[30:4]  ¹⁷ sn Since it was a small altar, it needed only two rings, one on either side, in order to be carried. The second clause clarifies that the rings should be on the sides, the right and the left, as you approach the altar.

[30:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “And it”; this refers to the rings collectively in their placement on the box, and so the word “rings” has been used to clarify the referent for the modern reader.

[30:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “for houses.”

[30:12]  ¹⁹ tn The expression is “when you take [lift up] the sum [head] of the Israelites.”

[30:12]  ²⁰ tn The form is לִפְקֻדֵיהֶם (lifqudehem, “according to those that are numbered of/by them”) from the verb פָּקַד (paqad, “to visit”). But the idea of this word seems more to be that of changing or determining the destiny, and so “appoint” and “number” become clear categories of meaning for the word. Here it simply refers to the census, but when this word is used for a census it often involves mustering an army for a military purpose. Here there is no indication of a war, but it may be laying down the principle that when they should do this, here is the price. B. Jacob (Exodus, 835) uses Num 31 as a good illustration, showing that the warrior was essentially a murderer, if he killed anyone in battle. For this reason his blood was forfeit; if he survived he must pay a כֹּפֶר (kofer) because every human life possesses value and must be atoned for. The payment during the census represented a “presumptive ransom” so that they could not be faulted for what they might do in war.

[30:12]  ²¹ tn The “ransom” is כֹּפֶר (kofer), a word related to words translated “atone” and “atonement.” Here the noun refers to what is paid for the life. The idea is that of delivering or redeeming by a substitute – here the substitute is the money. If they paid the amount, their lives would be safe (W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:473).

[30:12]  ²² tn The temporal clause uses a preposition, an infinitive construct, and then an accusative. The subject is supplied: “in numbering them” means “when [you] number them.” The verb could also be rendered “when you muster them.”

[34:7]  ²¹ tn That is, “for thousands of generations.”

[34:7]  ²² sn As in the ten commandments (20:5-6), this expression shows that the iniquity and its punishment will continue in the family if left unchecked. This does not go on as long as the outcomes for good (thousands versus third or fourth generations), and it is limited to those who hate God.

[35:21]  ²³ tn Heb “man.”

[35:21]  ²⁴ tn The verb means “lift up, bear, carry.” Here the subject is “heart” or will, and so the expression describes one moved within to act.

[35:21]  ²⁵ tn Heb “his spirit made him willing.” The verb is used in Scripture for the freewill offering that people brought (Lev 7).

[35:21]  ²⁶ tn Literally “the garments of holiness,” the genitive is the attributive genitive, marking out what type of garments these were.

[36:2]  ²⁵ tn The verb קָרָא (qara’) plus the preposition “to” – “to call to” someone means “to summon” that person.

[36:2]  ²⁶ tn Here there is a slight change: “in whose heart Yahweh had put skill.”

[36:2]  ²⁷ tn Or “whose heart was willing.”

[36:2]  ²⁸ sn The verb means more than “approach” or “draw near”; קָרַב (qarav) is the word used for drawing near the altar as in bringing an offering. Here they offer themselves, their talents and their time.