Exodus 7:18

7:18 Fish ¹  in the Nile will die, the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable ²  to drink water from the Nile.”’”

Exodus 14:22

14:22 So the Israelites went through the middle of the sea on dry ground, the water forming a wall ³  for them on their right and on their left.

Exodus 14:29

14:29 But the Israelites walked on dry ground in the middle of the sea, the water forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.

Exodus 15:8

15:8 By the blast of your nostrils ⁴  the waters were piled up,

the flowing water stood upright like a heap, ⁵ 

and the deep waters were solidified in the heart of the sea.

Exodus 23:25

23:25 You must serve ⁶  the Lord your God, and he ⁷  will bless your bread and your water, ⁸  and I will remove sickness from your midst.

Exodus 29:4

29:4 “You are to present ⁹  Aaron and his sons at the entrance of the tent of meeting. You are to wash ¹⁰  them with water

Exodus 40:7

40:7 You are to put the large basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it. ¹¹ 

Exodus 40:12

40:12 “You are to bring ¹²  Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and wash them with water.

Exodus 40:30

40:30 Then he put the large basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it ¹³  for washing.

[7:18]  ¹ tn The definite article here has the generic use, indicating the class – “fish” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 19, §92).

[7:18]  ² tn The verb לָאָה (la’a), here in the Niphal perfect with a vav consecutive, means “be weary, impatient.” The Niphal meaning is “make oneself weary” in doing something, or “weary (strenuously exert) oneself.” It seems always to indicate exhausted patience (see BDB 521 s.v.). The term seems to imply that the Egyptians were not able to drink the red, contaminated water, and so would expend all their energy looking for water to drink – in frustration of course.

[14:22]  ³ tn The clause literally reads, “and the waters [were] for them a wall.” The word order in Hebrew is disjunctive, with the vav (ו) on the noun introducing a circumstantial clause.

[15:8]  ⁵ sn The phrase “the blast of your nostrils” is a bold anthropomorphic expression for the wind that came in and dried up the water.

[15:8]  ⁶ tn The word “heap” describes the walls of water. The waters, which are naturally fluid, stood up as though they were a heap, a mound of earth. Likewise, the flowing waters deep in the ocean solidified – as though they were turned to ice (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 175).

[23:25]  ⁷ tn The perfect tense, masculine plural, with vav (ו) consecutive is in sequence with the preceding: do not bow down to them, but serve Yahweh. It is then the equivalent of an imperfect of instruction or injunction.

[23:25]  ⁸ tn The LXX reads “and I will bless” to make the verb conform with the speaker, Yahweh.

[23:25]  ⁹ sn On this unusual clause B. Jacob says that it is the reversal of the curse in Genesis, because the “bread and water” represent the field work and ground suitability for abundant blessing of provisions (Exodus, 734).

[29:4]  ⁹ tn Here too the verb is Hiphil (now imperfect) meaning “bring near” the altar. The choice of this verb indicates that they were not merely being brought near, but that they were being formally presented to Yahweh as the offerings were.

[29:4]  ¹⁰ sn This is the washing referred to in Lev 8:6. This is a complete washing, not just of the hands and feet that would follow in the course of service. It had to serve as a symbolic ritual cleansing or purifying as the initial stage in the consecration. The imagery of washing will be used in the NT for regeneration (Titus 3:5).

[40:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “there.”

[40:12]  ¹³ tn The verb is “bring near,” or “present,” to Yahweh.

[40:30]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “there.”