Discovery BoxExodus 9:26
Context9:26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived, was there no hail.
Exodus 19:2
Context19:2 After they journeyed 1 from Rephidim, they came to the Desert of Sinai, and they camped in the desert; Israel camped there in front of the mountain. 2
Exodus 20:21
Context20:21 The people kept 3 their distance, but Moses drew near the thick darkness 4 where God was. 5
Exodus 21:13
Context21:13 But if he does not do it with premeditation, 6 but it happens by accident, 7 then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee.
Exodus 34:5
Context34:5 The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the Lord by name. 8
Exodus 40:3
Context40:3 You are to place the ark of the testimony in it and shield the ark with the special curtain.
Exodus 40:7
Context40:7 You are to put the large basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it. 9
Exodus 40:30
Context40:30 Then he put the large basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it 10 for washing.
[19:2] 1 tn The form is a preterite with vav (ו) consecutive, “and they journeyed.” It is here subordinated to the next clause as a temporal clause. But since the action of this temporal clause preceded the actions recorded in v. 1, a translation of “after” will keep the sequence in order. Verse 2 adds details to the summary in v. 1.
[19:2] 2 sn The mountain is Mount Sinai, the mountain of God, the place where God had met and called Moses and had promised that they would be here to worship him. If this mountain is Jebel Musa, the traditional site of Sinai, then the plain in front of it would be Er-Rahah, about a mile and a half long by half a mile wide, fronting the mountain on the NW side (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 169). The plain itself is about 5000 feet above sea level. A mountain on the west side of the Arabian Peninsula has also been suggested as a possible site.
[20:21] 1 tn Heb “and they stood”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[20:21] 2 sn The word עֲרָפֶל (’arafel) is used in poetry in Ps 18:9 and 1 Kgs 8:12; and it is used in Deut 4:11, 5:22 [19].
[20:21] 3 sn It will not be hard to expound the passage on the Ten Commandments once their place in scripture has been determined. They, for the most part, are reiterated in the NT, in one way or another, usually with a much higher standard that requires attention to the spirit of the laws. Thus, these laws reveal God’s standard of righteousness by revealing sin. No wonder the Israelites were afraid when they saw the manifestation of God and heard his laws. When the whole covenant is considered, preamble and all, then it becomes clear that the motivation for obeying the commands is the person and the work of the covenant God – the one who redeemed his people. Obedience then becomes a response of devotion and adoration to the Redeemer who set them free. It becomes loyal service, not enslavement to laws. The point could be worded this way: God requires that his covenant people, whom he has redeemed, and to whom he has revealed himself, give their absolute allegiance and obedience to him. This means they will worship and serve him and safeguard the well-being of each other.
[21:13] 1 tn Heb “if he does not lie in wait” (NASB similar).
[21:13] 2 tn Heb “and God brought into his hand.” The death is unintended, its circumstances outside human control.
[34:5] 1 tn Some commentaries wish to make Moses the subject of the second and the third verbs, the first because he was told to stand there and this verb suggests he did it, and the last because it sounds like he was worshiping Yahweh (cf. NASB). But it is clear from v. 6 that Yahweh was the subject of the last clause of v. 5 – v. 6 tells how he did it. So if Yahweh is the subject of the first and last clauses of v. 5, it seems simpler that he also be the subject of the second. Moses took his stand there, but God stood by him (B. Jacob, Exodus, 981; U. Cassuto, Exodus, 439). There is no reason to make Moses the subject in any of the verbs of v. 5.
