Exodus 9:3

9:3 then the hand of the Lord will surely bring ¹  a very terrible plague ²  on your livestock in the field, on the horses, the donkeys, the camels, ³  the herds, and the flocks.

Exodus 9:18

9:18 I am going to cause very severe hail to rain down ⁴  about this time tomorrow, such hail as has never occurred ⁵  in Egypt from the day it was founded ⁶  until now.

Exodus 9:24

9:24 Hail fell ⁷  and fire mingled ⁸  with the hail; the hail was so severe ⁹  that there had not been any like it ¹⁰  in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation.

Exodus 14:10

14:10 When ¹¹  Pharaoh got closer, ¹²  the Israelites looked up, ¹³  and there were the Egyptians marching after them, ¹⁴  and they were terrified. ¹⁵  The Israelites cried out to the Lord, ¹⁶ 

Exodus 19:18

19:18 Now Mount Sinai was completely covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire, and its smoke went up like the smoke of a great furnace, ¹⁷  and the whole mountain shook ¹⁸  violently.

[9:3]  ¹ tn The form used here is הוֹיָה (hoyah), the Qal active participle, feminine singular, from the verb “to be.” This is the only place in the OT that this form occurs. Ogden shows that this form is appropriate with the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) to stress impending divine action, and that it conforms to the pattern in these narratives where five times the participle is used in the threat to Pharaoh (7:17; 8:2; 9:3, 14; 10:4). See G. S. Ogden, “Notes on the Use of הויה in Exodus IX. 3,” VT 17 (1967): 483-84.

[9:3]  ² tn The word דֶּבֶר (dever) is usually translated “pestilence” when it applies to diseases for humans. It is used only here and in Ps 78:50 for animals.

[9:3]  ³ sn The older view that camels were not domesticated at this time (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 70; W. F. Albright, Archaeology and the Religion of Israel, 96; et. al.) has been corrected by more recently uncovered information (see K. A. Kitchen, NBD³ 160-61).

[9:18]  ⁴ tn הִנְנִי מַמְטִיר (hinÿni mamtir) is the futur instans construction, giving an imminent future translation: “Here – I am about to cause it to rain.”

[9:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “which not was like it in Egypt.” The pronoun suffix serves as the resumptive pronoun for the relative particle: “which…like it” becomes “the like of which has not been.” The word “hail” is added in the translation to make clear the referent of the relative particle.

[9:18]  ⁶ tn The form הִוָּסְדָה (hivvasdah) is perhaps a rare Niphal perfect and not an infinitive (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 117).

[9:24]  ⁷ tn The verb is the common preterite וַיְהִי (vayÿhi), which is normally translated “and there was” if it is translated at all. The verb הָיָה (hayah), however, can mean “be, become, befall, fall, fall out, happen.” Here it could be simply translated “there was hail,” but the active “hail fell” fits the point of the sequence better.

[9:24]  ⁸ tn The form מִתְלַקַּחַת (mitlaqqakhat) is a Hitpael participle; the clause reads, “and fire taking hold of itself in the midst of the hail.” This probably refers to lightning flashing back and forth. See also Ezek 1:4. God created a great storm with flashing fire connected to it.

[9:24]  ⁹ tn Heb “very heavy” or “very severe.” The subject “the hail” is implied.

[9:24]  ¹⁰ tn A literal reading of the clause would be “which there was not like it in all the land of Egypt.” The relative pronoun must be joined to the resumptive pronoun: “which like it (like which) there had not been.”

[14:10]  ¹⁰ tn The disjunctive vav introduces a circumstantial clause here.

[14:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “drew near.”

[14:10]  ¹² tn Heb “lifted up their eyes,” an expression that indicates an intentional and careful looking – they looked up and fixed their sights on the distance.

[14:10]  ¹³ tn The construction uses הִנֵּה (hinneh) with the participle, traditionally rendered “and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them.” The deictic particle calls attention in a dramatic way to what was being seen. It captures the surprise and the sudden realization of the people.

[14:10]  ¹⁴ tn The verb “feared” is intensified by the adverb מְאֹד (mÿ’od): “they feared greatly” or “were terrified.” In one look their defiant boldness seems to have evaporated.

[14:10]  ¹⁵ sn Their cry to the Lord was proper and necessary. But their words to Moses were a rebuke and disloyal, showing a lack of faith and understanding. Their arrogance failed them in the crisis because it was built on the arm of flesh. Moses would have to get used to this murmuring, but here he takes it in stride and gives them the proper instructions. They had cried to the Lord, and now the Lord would deliver.

[19:18]  ¹³ sn The image is that of a large kiln, as in Gen 19:28.

[19:18]  ¹⁴ tn This is the same word translated “trembled” above (v. 16).