Genesis 29:32-33

29:32 So Leah became pregnant ¹  and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, ²  for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. ³  Surely my husband will love me now.”

29:33 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Because the Lord heard that I was unloved, ⁴  he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. ⁵ 

Exodus 2:23-24

The Call of the Deliverer

2:23 ⁶ During ⁷  that long period of time ⁸  the king of Egypt died, and the Israelites ⁹  groaned because of the slave labor. They cried out, and their desperate cry ¹⁰  because of their slave labor went up to God. 2:24 God heard their groaning, ¹¹  God remembered ¹²  his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob,

Exodus 3:7

3:7 The Lord said, “I have surely seen ¹³  the affliction of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. ¹⁴ 

Job 38:41

38:41 Who prepares prey for the raven,

when its young cry out to God

and wander about ¹⁵  for lack of food?

Psalms 22:24

22:24 For he did not despise or detest the suffering ¹⁶  of the oppressed; ¹⁷ 

he did not ignore him; ¹⁸ 

when he cried out to him, he responded. ¹⁹ 

[29:32]  ¹ tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).

[29:32]  ² sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, rÿ’uven) means “look, a son.”

[29:32]  ³ tn Heb “looked on my affliction.”

[29:33]  ⁴ tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.

[29:33]  ⁵ sn The name Simeon (שִׁמְעוֹן, shim’on) is derived from the verbal root שָׁמַע (shama’) and means “hearing.” The name is appropriate since it is reminder that the Lord “heard” about Leah’s unloved condition and responded with pity.

[2:23]  ⁶ sn The next section of the book is often referred to as the “Call of Moses,” and that is certainly true. But it is much more than that. It is the divine preparation of the servant of God, a servant who already knew what his destiny was. In this section Moses is shown how his destiny will be accomplished. It will be accomplished because the divine presence will guarantee the power, and the promise of that presence comes with the important “I AM” revelation. The message that comes through in this, and other “I will be with you” passages, is that when the promise of God’s presence is correctly appropriated by faith, the servant of God can begin to build confidence for the task that lies ahead. It will no longer be, “Who am I that I should go?” but “I AM with you” that matters. The first little section, 2:23-25, serves as a transition and introduction, for it records the Lord’s response to Israel in her affliction. The second part is the revelation to Moses at the burning bush (3:1-10), which is one of the most significant theological sections in the Torah. Finally, the record of Moses’ response to the call with his objections (3:11-22), makes up the third part, and in a way, is a transition to the next section, where God supplies proof of his power.

[2:23]  ⁷ tn The verse begins with the temporal indicator “And it was” (cf. KJV, ASV “And it came to pass”). This has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.

[2:23]  ⁸ tn Heb “in those many days.”

[2:23]  ⁹ tn Heb “the sons of Israel.”

[2:23]  ¹⁰ tn “They cried out” is from זָעַק (za’aq), and “desperate cry” is from שַׁוְעָה (shava’h).

[2:24]  ¹¹ sn The word for this painfully intense “groaning” appears elsewhere to describe a response to having two broken arms (Ezek 30:24).

[2:24]  ¹² sn The two verbs “heard” and “remembered,” both preterites, say far more than they seem to say. The verb שָׁמַע (shama’, “to hear”) ordinarily includes responding to what is heard. It can even be found in idiomatic constructions meaning “to obey.” To say God heard their complaint means that God responded to it. Likewise, the verb זָכַר (zakhar, “to remember”) means to begin to act on the basis of what is remembered. A prayer to God that says, “Remember me,” is asking for more than mere recollection (see B. S. Childs, Memory and Tradition in Israel [SBT], 1-8). The structure of this section at the end of the chapter is powerful. There are four descriptions of the Israelites, with a fourfold reaction from God. On the Israelites’ side, they groaned (אָנַח [’anakh], נְאָקָה [nÿ’aqah]) and cried out (זָעַק [za’aq], שַׁוְעָה [shav’ah]) to God. On the divine side God heard (שָׁמָע, shama’) their groaning, remembered (זָכַר, zakhar) his covenant, looked (רָאָה, ra’ah) at the Israelites, and took notice (יָדַע, yada’) of them. These verbs emphasize God’s sympathy and compassion for the people. God is near to those in need; in fact, the deliverer had already been chosen. It is important to note at this point the repetition of the word “God.” The text is waiting to introduce the name “Yahweh” in a special way. Meanwhile, the fourfold repetition of “God” in vv. 24-25 is unusual and draws attention to the statements about his attention to Israel’s plight.

[3:7]  ¹³ tn The use of the infinitive absolute with the perfect tense intensifies the statement: I have surely seen – there is no doubt that I have seen and will do something about it.

[3:7]  ¹⁴ sn Two new words are introduced now to the report of suffering: “affliction” and “pain/suffering.” These add to the dimension of the oppression of God’s people.

[38:41]  ¹⁵ tn The verse is difficult, making some suspect that a line has dropped out. The little birds in the nest hardly go wandering about looking for food. Dhorme suggest “and stagger for lack of food.”

[22:24]  ¹⁶ tn Or “affliction”; or “need.”

[22:24]  ¹⁷ sn In this verse the psalmist refers to himself in the third person and characterizes himself as oppressed.

[22:24]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “he did not hide his face from him.” For other uses of the idiom “hide the face” meaning “ignore,” see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9. Sometimes the idiom carries the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 27:9; 88:14).

[22:24]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “heard.”