Exodus 8:9-10

8:9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “You may have the honor over me ¹  – when shall I pray for you, your servants, and your people, for the frogs to be removed ²  from you and your houses, so that ³  they will be left ⁴  only in the Nile?” 8:10 He said, “Tomorrow.” And Moses said, ⁵  “It will be ⁶  as you say, ⁷  so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God.

Exodus 10:23

10:23 No one ⁸  could see ⁹  another person, and no one could rise from his place for three days. But the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.

Exodus 10:2

10:2 and in order that in the hearing of your son and your grandson you may tell ¹⁰  how I made fools ¹¹  of the Egyptians ¹²  and about ¹³  my signs that I displayed ¹⁴  among them, so that you may know ¹⁵  that I am the Lord.”

Exodus 24:13

24:13 So Moses set out ¹⁶  with ¹⁷  Joshua his attendant, and Moses went up the mountain of God.

[8:9]  ¹ tn The expression הִתְפָּאֵר עָלַי (hitpa’er ’alay) is problematic. The verb would be simply translated “honor yourself” or “deck yourself with honor.” It can be used in the bad sense of self-exaltation. But here it seems to mean “have the honor or advantage over me” in choosing when to remove the frogs. The LXX has “appoint for me.” Moses is doing more than extending a courtesy to Pharaoh; he is giving him the upper hand in choosing the time. But it is also a test, for if Pharaoh picked the time it would appear less likely that Moses was manipulating things. As U. Cassuto puts it, Moses is saying “my trust in God is so strong you may have the honor of choosing the time” (Exodus, 103).

[8:9]  ² tn Or “destroyed”; Heb “to cut off the frogs.”

[8:9]  ³ tn The phrase “so that” is implied.

[8:9]  ⁴ tn Or “survive, remain.”

[8:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “And he said”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:10]  ⁶ tn “It will be” has been supplied.

[8:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “according to your word” (so NASB).

[10:23]  ⁸ tn Heb “a man…his brother.”

[10:23]  ⁹ tn The perfect tense in this context requires the somewhat rare classification of a potential perfect.

[10:2]  ¹⁰ tn The expression is unusual: תְּסַפֵּר בְּאָזְנֵי (tÿsapper bÿ’ozne, “[that] you may declare in the ears of”). The clause explains an additional reason for God’s hardening the heart of Pharaoh, namely, so that the Israelites can tell their children of God’s great wonders. The expression is highly poetic and intense – like Ps 44:1, which says, “we have heard with our ears.” The emphasis would be on the clear teaching, orally, from one generation to another.

[10:2]  ¹¹ tn The verb הִתְעַלַּלְתִּי (hit’allalti) is a bold anthropomorphism. The word means to occupy oneself at another’s expense, to toy with someone, which may be paraphrased with “mock.” The whole point is that God is shaming and disgracing Egypt, making them look foolish in their arrogance and stubbornness (W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:366-67). Some prefer to translate it as “I have dealt ruthlessly” with Egypt (see U. Cassuto, Exodus, 123).

[10:2]  ¹² tn Heb “of Egypt.” The place is put by metonymy for the inhabitants.

[10:2]  ¹³ tn The word “about” is supplied to clarify this as another object of the verb “declare.”

[10:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “put” or “placed.”

[10:2]  ¹⁵ tn The form is the perfect tense with vav consecutive, וִידַעְתֶּם (vida’tem, “and that you might know”). This provides another purpose for God’s dealings with Egypt in the way that he was doing. The form is equal to the imperfect tense with vav (ו) prefixed; it thus parallels the imperfect that began v. 2 – “that you might tell.”

[24:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and he arose” meaning “started to go.”

[24:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and.”