Genesis 37:4

37:4 When Joseph’s ¹  brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, ²  they hated Joseph ³  and were not able to speak to him kindly. ⁴ 

Exodus 2:14

2:14 The man ⁵  replied, “Who made you a ruler ⁶  and a judge over us? Are you planning ⁷  to kill me like you killed that ⁸  Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, thinking, ⁹  “Surely what I did ¹⁰  has become known.”

Exodus 2:1

The Birth of the Deliverer

2:1 ¹¹ A man from the household ¹²  of Levi married ¹³  a woman who was a descendant of Levi. ¹⁴ 

Exodus 10:27

10:27 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to release them.

Exodus 17:1

Water at Massa and Meribah

17:1 ¹⁵ The whole community ¹⁶  of the Israelites traveled on their journey ¹⁷  from the Desert of Sin according to the Lord’s instruction, and they pitched camp in Rephidim. ¹⁸  Now ¹⁹  there was no water for the people to drink. ²⁰ 

Psalms 2:3-6

2:3 They say, ²¹  “Let’s tear off the shackles they’ve put on us! ²² 

Let’s free ourselves from ²³  their ropes!”

2:4 The one enthroned ²⁴  in heaven laughs in disgust; ²⁵ 

the Lord taunts ²⁶  them.

2:5 Then he angrily speaks to them

and terrifies them in his rage, ²⁷  saying, ²⁸ 

2:6 “I myself ²⁹  have installed ³⁰  my king

on Zion, my holy hill.”

Psalms 118:22

118:22 The stone which the builders discarded ³¹ 

has become the cornerstone. ³² 

Luke 19:14

19:14 But his citizens ³³  hated ³⁴  him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man ³⁵  to be king ³⁶  over us!’

Luke 20:17

20:17 But Jesus ³⁷  looked straight at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? ³⁸ 

Acts 4:27-28

4:27 “For indeed both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together in this city against ³⁹  your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, ⁴⁰  4:28 to do as much as your power ⁴¹  and your plan ⁴²  had decided beforehand ⁴³  would happen.

Acts 7:35

7:35 This same ⁴⁴  Moses they had rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge?’ ⁴⁵  God sent as both ruler and deliverer ⁴⁶  through the hand of the angel ⁴⁷  who appeared to him in the bush.

Hebrews 10:29

10:29 How much greater punishment do you think that person deserves who has contempt for ⁴⁸  the Son of God, and profanes ⁴⁹  the blood of the covenant that made him holy, ⁵⁰  and insults the Spirit of grace?

[37:4]  ¹ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:4]  ² tn Heb “of his brothers.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun “them.”

[37:4]  ³ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “speak to him for peace.”

[2:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “And he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “Who placed you for a man, a ruler and a judge over us?” The pleonasm does not need to be translated. For similar constructions see Lev 21:9; Judg 6:8; 2 Sam 1:13; Esth 7:6.

[2:14]  ⁷ tn The line reads “[is it] to kill me you are planning?” The form אֹמֵר (’omer) is the active participle used verbally; it would literally be “[are you] saying,” but in this context it conveys the meaning of “thinking, planning.” The Qal infinitive then serves as the object of this verbal form – are you planning to kill me?

[2:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “the Egyptian.” Here the Hebrew article functions in an anaphoric sense, referring back to the individual Moses killed.

[2:14]  ⁹ tn The verb form is “and he said.” But the intent of the form is that he said this within himself, and so it means “he thought, realized, said to himself.” The form, having the vav consecutive, is subordinated to the main idea of the verse, that he was afraid.

[2:14]  ¹⁰ tn The term הַדָּבָר (haddavar, “the word [thing, matter, incident]”) functions here like a pronoun to refer in brief to what Moses had done. For clarity this has been specified in the translation with the phrase “what I did.”

[2:1]  ¹¹ sn The chapter records the exceptional survival of Moses under the decree of death by Pharaoh (vv. 1-10), the flight of Moses from Pharaoh after killing the Egyptian (vv. 11-15), the marriage of Moses (vv. 16-22), and finally a note about the Lord’s hearing the sighing of the people in bondage (vv. 23-25). The first part is the birth. The Bible has several stories about miraculous or special births and deliverances of those destined to lead Israel. Their impact is essentially to authenticate the individual’s ministry. If the person’s beginning was providentially provided and protected by the Lord, then the mission must be of divine origin too. In this chapter the plot works around the decree for the death of the children – a decree undone by the women. The second part of the chapter records Moses’ flight and marriage. Having introduced the deliverer Moses in such an auspicious way, the chapter then records how this deliverer acted presumptuously and had to flee for his life. Any deliverance God desired had to be supernatural, as the chapter’s final note about answering prayer shows.

[2:1]  ¹² tn Heb “house.” In other words, the tribe of Levi.

[2:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “went and took”; NASB “went and married.”

[2:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “a daughter of Levi.” The word “daughter” is used in the sense of “descendant” and connects the new account with Pharaoh’s command in 1:22. The words “a woman who was” are added for clarity in English.

[17:1]  ¹⁵ sn This is the famous story telling how the people rebelled against Yahweh when they thirsted, saying that Moses had brought them out into the wilderness to kill them by thirst, and how Moses with the staff brought water from the rock. As a result of this the name was called Massa and Meribah because of the testing and the striving. It was a challenge to Moses’ leadership as well as a test of Yahweh’s presence. The narrative in its present form serves an important point in the argument of the book. The story turns on the gracious provision of God who can give his people water when there is none available. The narrative is structured to show how the people strove. Thus, the story intertwines God’s free flowing grace with the sad memory of Israel’s sins. The passage can be divided into three parts: the situation and the complaint (1-3), the cry and the miracle (4-6), and the commemoration by naming (7).

[17:1]  ¹⁶ tn Or “congregation” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[17:1]  ¹⁷ tn The text says that they journeyed “according to their journeyings.” Since the verb form (and therefore the derived noun) essentially means to pull up the tent pegs and move along, this verse would be saying that they traveled by stages, or, from place to place.

[17:1]  ¹⁸ sn The location is a bit of a problem. Exod 19:1-2 suggests that it is near Sinai, whereas it is normally located near Kadesh in the north. Without any details provided, M. Noth concludes that two versions came together (Exodus [OTL], 138). S. R. Driver says that the writer wrote not knowing that they were 24 miles apart (Exodus, 157). Critics have long been bothered by this passage because of the two names given at the same place. If two sources had been brought together, it is not possible now to identify them. But Noth insisted that if there were two names there were two different locations. The names Massah and Meribah occur alone in Scripture (Deut 9:22, and Num 20:1 for examples), but together in Ps 95 and in Deut 33:8. But none of these passages is a clarification of the difficulty. Most critics would argue that Massah was a secondary element that was introduced into this account, because Exod 17 focuses on Meribah. From that starting point they can diverge greatly on the interpretation, usually having something to do with a water test. But although Num 20 is parallel in several ways, there are major differences: 1) it takes place 40 years later than this, 2) the name Kadesh is joined to the name Meribah there, and 3) Moses is punished there. One must conclude that if an event could occur twice in similar ways (complaint about water would be a good candidate for such), then there is no reason a similar name could not be given.

[17:1]  ¹⁹ tn The disjunctive vav introduces a parenthetical clause that is essential for this passage – there was no water.

[17:1]  ²⁰ tn Here the construction uses a genitive after the infinitive construct for the subject: “there was no water for the drinking of the people” (GKC 353-54 §115.c).

[2:3]  ²¹ tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The quotation represents the words of the rebellious kings.

[2:3]  ²² tn Heb “their (i.e., the Lord’s and the king’s) shackles.” The kings compare the rule of the Lord and his vice-regent to being imprisoned.

[2:3]  ²³ tn Heb “throw off from us.”

[2:4]  ²⁴ tn Heb “sitting.” The Hebrew verb יָשַׁב (yashav) is here used metonymically of “sitting enthroned” (see Pss 9:7; 29:10; 55:19; 102:12; 123:1).

[2:4]  ²⁵ tn As the next line indicates, this refers to derisive laughter. The Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in vv. 4-5 describe the action from the perspective of an eyewitness who is watching the divine response as it unfolds before his eyes.

[2:4]  ²⁶ tn Or “scoffs at”; “derides”; “mocks.”

[2:5]  ²⁷ sn And terrifies them in his rage. This line focuses on the effect that God’s angry response (see previous line) has on the rebellious kings.

[2:5]  ²⁸ tn The word “saying” is supplied in the translation for clarification to indicate that the speaker is the Lord (cf. RSV, NIV).

[2:6]  ²⁹ tn The first person pronoun appears before the first person verbal form for emphasis, reflected in the translation by “myself.”

[2:6]  ³⁰ tn Or perhaps “consecrated.”

[118:22]  ³¹ tn Or “rejected.”

[118:22]  ³² tn Heb “the head of the corner.”

[19:14]  ³³ tn Or “subjects.” Technically these people were not his subjects yet, but would be upon his return. They were citizens of his country who opposed his appointment as their king; later the newly-appointed king will refer to them as his “enemies” (v. 27).

[19:14]  ³⁴ tn The imperfect is intense in this context, suggesting an ongoing attitude.

[19:14]  ³⁵ tn Grk “this one” (somewhat derogatory in this context).

[19:14]  ³⁶ tn Or “to rule.”

[20:17]  ³⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:17]  ³⁸ tn Or “capstone,” “keystone.” Although these meanings are lexically possible, the imagery in Eph 2:20-22 and 1 Cor 3:11 indicates that the term κεφαλὴ γωνίας (kefalh gwnia") refers to a cornerstone, not a capstone.

[4:27]  ³⁹ sn The application of Ps 2:1-2 is that Jews and Gentiles are opposing Jesus. The surprise of the application is that Jews are now found among the enemies of God’s plan.

[4:27]  ⁴⁰ sn A wordplay on “Christ,” v. 26, which means “one who has been anointed.”

[4:28]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “hand,” here a metaphor for God’s strength or power or authority.

[4:28]  ⁴² tn Or “purpose,” “will.”

[4:28]  ⁴³ tn Or “had predestined.” Since the term “predestine” is something of a technical theological term, not in wide usage in contemporary English, the translation “decide beforehand” was used instead (see L&N 30.84). God’s direction remains as the major theme.

[7:35]  ⁴⁴ sn This same. The reference to “this one” occurs five times in this speech. It is the way the other speeches in Acts refer to Jesus (e.g., Acts 2:23).

[7:35]  ⁴⁵ sn A quotation from Exod 2:14 (see Acts 7:27). God saw Moses very differently than the people of the nation did. The reference to a ruler and a judge suggests that Stephen set up a comparison between Moses and Jesus, but he never finished his speech to make the point. The reader of Acts, however, knowing the other sermons in the book, recognizes that the rejection of Jesus is the counterpoint.

[7:35]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “liberator.” The meaning “liberator” for λυτρωτήν (lutrwthn) is given in L&N 37.129: “a person who liberates or releases others.”

[7:35]  ⁴⁷ tn Or simply “through the angel.” Here the “hand” could be understood as a figure for the person or the power of the angel himself. The remark about the angel appearing fits the first century Jewish view that God appears to no one (John 1:14-18; Gal 3:19; Deut 33:2 LXX).

[10:29]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “tramples under foot.”

[10:29]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “regarded as common.”

[10:29]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “by which he was made holy.”