Genesis 25:22

25:22 But the children struggled ¹  inside her, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, I’m not so sure I want to be pregnant!” ²  So she asked the Lord, ³ 

Exodus 33:14-16

33:14 And the Lord ⁴  said, “My presence ⁵  will go with you, ⁶  and I will give you rest.” ⁷ 

33:15 And Moses ⁸  said to him, “If your presence does not go ⁹  with us, ¹⁰  do not take us up from here. ¹¹  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?” ¹² 

Numbers 14:14-15

14:14 then they will tell it to the inhabitants ¹³  of this land. They have heard that you, Lord, are among this people, that you, Lord, are seen face to face, ¹⁴  that your cloud stands over them, and that you go before them by day in a pillar of cloud and in a pillar of fire by night. 14:15 If you kill ¹⁵  this entire people at once, ¹⁶  then the nations that have heard of your fame will say,

Romans 8:31

8:31 What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

[25:22]  ¹ tn The Hebrew word used here suggests a violent struggle that was out of the ordinary.

[25:22]  ² tn Heb “If [it is] so, why [am] I this [way]?” Rebekah wanted to know what was happening to her, but the question itself reflects a growing despair over the struggle of the unborn children.

[25:22]  ³ sn Asked the Lord. In other passages (e.g., 1 Sam 9:9) this expression refers to inquiring of a prophet, but no details are provided here.

[33:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:14]  ⁵ sn Heb “my face.” This represents the presence of Yahweh going with the people (see 2 Sam 17:11 for an illustration). The “presence” probably refers to the angel of the presence or some similar manifestation of God’s leading and caring for his people.

[33:14]  ⁶ tn The phrase “with you” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

[33:14]  ⁷ sn The expression certainly refers to the peace of mind and security of knowing that God was with them. But the expression came to mean “settle them in the land of promise” and give them rest and peace from their enemies. U. Cassuto (Exodus, 434) observes how in 32:10 God had told Moses, “Leave me alone” (“give me rest”), but now he promises to give them rest. The parallelism underscores the great transition through intercession.

[33:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:15]  ⁹ tn The construction uses the active participle to stress the continual going of the presence: if there is not your face going.

[33:15]  ¹⁰ tn “with us” has been supplied.

[33:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “from this.”

[33:16]  ¹² 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.

[14:14]  ¹³ tn The singular participle is to be taken here as a collective, representing all the inhabitants of the land.

[14:14]  ¹⁴ tn “Face to face” is literally “eye to eye.” It only occurs elsewhere in Isa 52:8. This expresses the closest communication possible.

[14:15]  ¹⁵ tn The verb is the Hiphil perfect of מוּת (mut), וְהֵמַתָּה (vÿhemattah). The vav (ו) consecutive makes this also a future time sequence verb, but again in a conditional clause.

[14:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “as one man.”