Exodus 8:26

8:26 But Moses said, “That would not be the right thing to do, ¹  for the sacrifices we make ²  to the Lord our God would be an abomination ³  to the Egyptians. ⁴  If we make sacrifices that are an abomination to the Egyptians right before their eyes, ⁵  will they not stone us? ⁶ 

Exodus 10:5

10:5 They will cover ⁷  the surface ⁸  of the earth, so that you ⁹  will be unable to see the ground. They will eat the remainder of what escaped ¹⁰  – what is left over ¹¹  for you – from the hail, and they will eat every tree that grows for you from the field.

Exodus 10:15

10:15 They covered ¹²  the surface ¹³  of all the ground, so that the ground became dark with them, ¹⁴  and they ate all the vegetation of the ground and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green remained on the trees or on anything that grew in the fields throughout the whole land of Egypt.

Exodus 13:9

13:9 ¹⁵  It ¹⁶  will be a sign ¹⁷  for you on your hand and a memorial ¹⁸  on your forehead, ¹⁹  so that the law of the Lord may be ²⁰  in your mouth, ²¹  for ²²  with a mighty hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt.

Exodus 15:26

15:26 He said, “If you will diligently obey ²³  the Lord your God, and do what is right ²⁴  in his sight, and pay attention ²⁵  to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, then all ²⁶  the diseases ²⁷  that I brought on the Egyptians I will not bring on you, for I, the Lord, am your healer.” ²⁸ 

Exodus 17:6

17:6 I will be standing ²⁹  before you there on ³⁰  the rock in Horeb, and you will strike ³¹  the rock, and water will come out of it so that the people may drink.” ³²  And Moses did so in plain view ³³  of the elders of Israel.

Exodus 33:12

33:12 Moses said to the Lord, “See, you have been saying to me, ‘Bring this people up,’ ³⁴  but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. But you said, ‘I know you by name, ³⁵  and also you have found favor in my sight.’

Exodus 33:16

33:16 For how will it be known then that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not by your going with us, so that we will be distinguished, I and your people, from all the people who are on the face of the earth?” ³⁶ 

Exodus 34:9

34:9 and said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, let my Lord ³⁷  go among us, for we ³⁸  are a stiff-necked people; pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”

[8:26]  ¹ tn The clause is a little unusual in its formation. The form נָכוֹן (nakhon) is the Niphal participle from כּוּן (kun), which usually means “firm, fixed, steadfast,” but here it has a rare meaning of “right, fitting, appropriate.” It functions in the sentence as the predicate adjective, because the infinitive לַעֲשּׂוֹת (la’asot) is the subject – “to do so is not right.”

[8:26]  ² tn This translation has been smoothed out to capture the sense. The text literally says, “for the abomination of Egypt we will sacrifice to Yahweh our God.” In other words, the animals that Israel would sacrifice were sacred to Egypt, and sacrificing them would have been abhorrent to the Egyptians.

[8:26]  ³ tn An “abomination” is something that is off-limits, something that is tabu. It could be translated “detestable” or “loathsome.”

[8:26]  ⁴ sn U. Cassuto (Exodus, 109) says there are two ways to understand “the abomination of the Egyptians.” One is that the sacrifice of the sacred animals would appear an abominable thing in the eyes of the Egyptians, and the other is that the word “abomination” could be a derogatory term for idols – we sacrifice what is an Egyptian idol. So that is why he says if they did this the Egyptians would stone them.

[8:26]  ⁵ tn Heb “if we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians [or “of Egypt”] before their eyes.”

[8:26]  ⁶ tn The interrogative clause has no particle to indicate it is a question, but it is connected with the conjunction to the preceding clause, and the meaning of these clauses indicate it is a question (GKC 473 §150.a).

[10:5]  ⁷ tn The verbs describing the locusts are singular because it is a swarm or plague of locusts. This verb (וְכִסָּה, vÿkhissah, “cover”) is a Piel perfect with a vav consecutive; it carries the same future nuance as the participle before it.

[10:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “eye,” an unusual expression (see v. 15; Num 22:5, 11).

[10:5]  ⁹ tn The text has לִרְאֹת וְלֹא יוּכַל (vÿlo’ yukhal lir’ot, “and he will not be able to see”). The verb has no expressed subjects. The clause might, therefore, be given a passive translation: “so that [it] cannot be seen.” The whole clause is the result of the previous statement.

[10:5]  ¹⁰ sn As the next phrase explains “what escaped” refers to what the previous plague did not destroy. The locusts will devour everything, because there will not be much left from the other plagues for them to eat.

[10:5]  ¹¹ tn הַנִּשְׁאֶרֶת (hannish’eret) parallels (by apposition) and adds further emphasis to the preceding two words; it is the Niphal participle, meaning “that which is left over.”

[10:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “and they covered.”

[10:15]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “eye,” an unusual expression (see v. 5; Num 22:5, 11).

[10:15]  ¹⁵ tn The verb is וַתֶּחְשַׁךְ (vattekhshakh, “and it became dark”). The idea is that the ground had the color of the swarms of locusts that covered it.

[13:9]  ¹⁹ sn This passage has, of course, been taken literally by many devout Jews, and portions of the text have been encased in phylacteries and bound on the arm and forehead. B. Jacob (Exodus, 368), weighing the pros and cons of the literal or the figurative meaning, says that those who took it literally should not be looked down on for their symbolic work. In many cases, he continues, it is the spirit that kills and the letter makes alive – because people who argue against a literal usage do so to excuse lack of action. This is a rather interesting twist in the discussion. The point of the teaching was obviously meant to keep the Law of Yahweh in the minds of the people, to remind them of their duties.

[13:9]  ²⁰ tn That is, this ceremony.

[13:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “for a sign.”

[13:9]  ²² tn Heb “for a memorial.”

[13:9]  ²³ tn Heb “between your eyes” (KJV and ASV both similar); the same expression occurs in v. 16.

[13:9]  ²⁴ tn The purpose of using this ceremony as a sign and a memorial is that the Law might be in their mouth. The imperfect tense, then, receives the classification of final imperfect in the purpose clause.

[13:9]  ²⁵ sn “Mouth” is a metonymy of cause; the point is that they should be ever talking about the Law as their guide as they go about their duties (see Deut 6:7; 11:19; Josh 1:8).

[13:9]  ²⁶ tn This causal clause gives the reason for what has just been instructed. Because Yahweh delivered them from bondage, he has the strongest claims on their life.

[15:26]  ²⁵ tn The construction uses the infinitive absolute and the imperfect tense of שָׁמַע (shama’). The meaning of the verb is idiomatic here because it is followed by “to the voice of Yahweh your God.” When this is present, the verb is translated “obey.” The construction is in a causal clause. It reads, “If you will diligently obey.” Gesenius points out that the infinitive absolute in a conditional clause also emphasizes the importance of the condition on which the consequence depends (GKC 342-43 §113.o).

[15:26]  ²⁶ tn The word order is reversed in the text: “and the right in his eyes you do,” or, “[if] you do what is right in his eyes.” The conditional idea in the first clause is continued in this clause.

[15:26]  ²⁷ tn Heb “give ear.” This verb and the next are both perfect tenses with the vav (ו) consecutive; they continue the sequence of the original conditional clause.

[15:26]  ²⁸ tn The substantive כָּל־ (kol, “all of”) in a negative clause can be translated “none of.”

[15:26]  ²⁹ sn The reference is no doubt to the plagues that Yahweh has just put on them. These will not come on God’s true people. But the interesting thing about a conditional clause like this is that the opposite is also true – “if you do not obey, then I will bring these diseases.”

[15:26]  ³⁰ tn The form is רֹפְאֶךָ (rofÿ’ekha), a participle with a pronominal suffix. The word is the predicate after the pronoun “I”: “I [am] your healer.” The suffix is an objective genitive – the Lord heals them.

[17:6]  ³¹ tn The construction uses הִנְנִי עֹמֵד (hinni ’omed) to express the futur instans or imminent future of the verb: “I am going to be standing.”

[17:6]  ³² tn Or “by” (NIV, NLT).

[17:6]  ³³ tn The form is a Hiphil perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; it follows the future nuance of the participle and so is equivalent to an imperfect tense nuance of instruction.

[17:6]  ³⁴ tn These two verbs are also perfect tenses with vav (ו) consecutive: “and [water] will go out…and [the people] will drink.” But the second verb is clearly the intent or the result of the water gushing from the rock, and so it may be subordinated.

[17:6]  ³⁵ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[33:12]  ³⁷ tn The Hiphil imperative is from the same verb that has been used before for bringing the people up from Egypt and leading them to Canaan.

[33:12]  ³⁸ tn That is, “chosen you.”

[33:16]  ⁴³ sn See W. Brueggemann, “The Crisis and Promise of Presence in Israel,” HBT 1 (1979): 47-86; and N. M. Waldman, “God’s Ways – A Comparative Note,” JQR 70 (1979): 67-70.

[34:9]  ⁴⁹ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” two times here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[34:9]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “it is.” Hebrew uses the third person masculine singular pronoun here in agreement with the noun “people.”