Exodus 8:9

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?”

Exodus 15:26

15:26 He said, “If you will diligently obey ⁵  the Lord your God, and do what is right ⁶  in his sight, and pay attention ⁷  to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, then all ⁸  the diseases ⁹  that I brought on the Egyptians I will not bring on you, for I, the Lord, am your healer.” ¹⁰ 

Exodus 32:8

32:8 They have quickly turned aside ¹¹  from the way that I commanded them – they have made for themselves a molten calf and have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt.’”

Exodus 32:13

32:13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel your servants, to whom you swore by yourself and told them, ‘I will multiply your descendants ¹²  like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken about ¹³  I will give to your descendants, ¹⁴  and they will inherit it forever.’”

[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.”

[15:26]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn The substantive כָּל־ (kol, “all of”) in a negative clause can be translated “none of.”

[15:26]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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.

[32:8]  ⁹ tn The verb is a perfect tense, reflecting the present perfect nuance: “they have turned aside” and are still disobedient. But the verb is modified with the adverb “quickly” (actually a Piel infinitive absolute). It has been only a matter of weeks since they heard the voice of God prohibiting this.

[32:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “your seed.”

[32:13]  ¹⁴ tn “about” has been supplied.

[32:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “seed.”