Exodus 7:2

7:2 You are to speak ¹  everything I command you, ²  and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh that he must release ³  the Israelites from his land.

Exodus 16:22

16:22 And ⁴  on the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, two omers ⁵  per person; ⁶  and all the leaders ⁷  of the community ⁸  came and told ⁹  Moses.

Exodus 18:19

18:19 Now listen to me, ¹⁰  I will give you advice, and may God be with you: You be a representative for the people to God, ¹¹  and you bring ¹²  their disputes ¹³  to God;

Exodus 19:3

19:3 Moses ¹⁴  went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, “Thus you will tell the house of Jacob, and declare to the people ¹⁵  of Israel:

Exodus 22:16

Moral and Ceremonial Laws

22:16 ¹⁶ “If a man seduces a virgin ¹⁷  who is not engaged ¹⁸  and has sexual relations with her, he must surely endow ¹⁹  her to be his wife.

[7:2]  ¹ tn The imperfect tense here should have the nuance of instruction or injunction: “you are to speak.” The subject is singular (Moses) and made emphatic by the presence of the personal pronoun “you.”

[7:2]  ² tn The phrase translated “everything I command you” is a noun clause serving as the direct object of the verb “speak.” The verb in the clause (אֲצַוֶּךָ, ’atsavvekha) is the Piel imperfect. It could be classified as a future: “everything that I will command you.” A nuance of progressive imperfect also fits well: “everything that I am commanding you.”

[7:2]  ³ tn The form is וְשִׁלַּח (vÿshillakh), a Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive. Following the imperfects of injunction or instruction, this verb continues the sequence. It could be taken as equal to an imperfect expressing future (“and he will release”) or subordinate to express purpose (“to release” = “in order that he may release”).

[16:22]  ⁴ tn Heb “and it happened/was.”

[16:22]  ⁵ tn This construction is an exception to the normal rule for the numbers 2 through 10 taking the object numbered in the plural. Here it is “two of the omer” or “the double of the omer” (see GKC 433 §134.e).

[16:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “for one.”

[16:22]  ⁷ tn The word suggests “the ones lifted up” above others, and therefore the rulers or the chiefs of the people.

[16:22]  ⁸ tn Or “congregation” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[16:22]  ⁹ sn The meaning here is probably that these leaders, the natural heads of the families in the clans, saw that people were gathering twice as much and they reported this to Moses, perhaps afraid it would stink again (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 197).

[18:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “hear my voice.”

[18:19]  ⁸ tn The line reads “Be you to the people before God.” He is to be their representative before God. This is introducing the aspect of the work that only Moses could do, what he has been doing. He is to be before God for the people, to pray for them, to appeal on their behalf. Jethro is essentially saying, I understand that you cannot delegate this to anyone else, so continue doing it (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 219-20).

[18:19]  ⁹ tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; following the imperative it will be instruction as well. Since the imperative preceding this had the idea of “continue to be” as you are, this too has that force.

[18:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “words”; KJV, ASV “the causes”; NRSV “cases”; NLT “questions.”

[19:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and Moses went up.”

[19:3]  ¹¹ tn This expression is normally translated as “Israelites” in this translation, but because in this place it is parallel to “the house of Jacob” it seemed better to offer a fuller rendering.

[22:16]  ¹³ sn The second half of the chapter records various laws of purity and justice. Any of them could be treated in an expository way, but in the present array they offer a survey of God’s righteous standards: Maintain the sanctity of marriage (16-17); maintain the purity of religious institutions (18-20), maintain the rights of human beings (21-28), maintain the rights of Yahweh (29-31).

[22:16]  ¹⁴ tn This is the word בְּתוּלָה (bÿtulah); it describes a young woman who is not married or a young woman engaged to be married; in any case, she is presumed to be a virgin.

[22:16]  ¹⁵ tn Or “pledged” for marriage.

[22:16]  ¹⁶ tn The verb מָהַר (mahar) means “pay the marriage price,” and the related noun is the bride price. B. Jacob says this was a proposal gift and not a purchase price (Exodus, 700). This is the price paid to her parents, which allowed for provision should there be a divorce. The amount was usually agreed on by the two families, but the price was higher for a pure bride from a noble family. Here, the one who seduces her must pay it, regardless of whether he marries her or not.