Judges 6:14

6:14 Then the Lord himself ¹  turned to him and said, “You have the strength. ²  Deliver Israel from the power of the Midianites! ³  Have I not sent you?”

Judges 6:17-20

6:17 Gideon ⁴  said to him, “If you really are pleased with me, ⁵  then give me ⁶  a sign as proof that it is really you speaking with me. 6:18 Do not leave this place until I come back ⁷  with a gift ⁸  and present it to you.” The Lord said, “I will stay here until you come back.”

6:19 Gideon went and prepared a young goat, ⁹  along with unleavened bread made from an ephah of flour. He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot. He brought the food ¹⁰  to him under the oak tree and presented it to him. 6:20 God’s messenger said to him, “Put the meat and unleavened bread on this rock, ¹¹  and pour out the broth.” Gideon did as instructed. ¹² 

Exodus 4:1-9

The Source of Sufficiency

4:1 ¹³ Moses answered again, ¹⁴  “And if ¹⁵  they do not believe me or pay attention to me, ¹⁶  but say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you’?” 4:2 The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” ¹⁷  4:3 The Lord ¹⁸  said, “Throw it to the ground.” So he threw it to the ground, and it became a snake, ¹⁹  and Moses ran from it. 4:4 But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and grab it by the tail” – so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand ²⁰  – 4:5 “that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”

4:6 The Lord also said to him, “Put your hand into your robe.” ²¹  So he put his hand into his robe, and when he brought it out – there was his hand, ²²  leprous like snow! ²³  4:7 He said, “Put your hand back into your robe.” So he put his hand back into his robe, and when he brought it out from his robe – there it was, ²⁴  restored ²⁵  like the rest of his skin! ²⁶  4:8 “If ²⁷  they do not believe you or pay attention to ²⁸  the former sign, then they may ²⁹  believe the latter sign. ³⁰  4:9 And if ³¹  they do not believe even these two signs or listen to you, ³²  then take ³³  some water from the Nile and pour it out on the dry ground. The water you take out of the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.” ³⁴ 

Exodus 4:2

4:2 The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” ³⁵ 

Exodus 20:9

20:9 For six days ³⁶  you may labor ³⁷  and do all your work, ³⁸ 

Psalms 103:13-14

103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, ³⁹ 

so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers. ⁴⁰ 

103:14 For he knows what we are made of; ⁴¹ 

he realizes ⁴²  we are made of clay. ⁴³ 

Matthew 16:1

The Demand for a Sign

16:1 Now when the Pharisees ⁴⁴  and Sadducees ⁴⁵  came to test Jesus, ⁴⁶  they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. ⁴⁷ 

[6:14]  ¹ sn Some interpreters equate the Lord and the messenger in this story, but they are more likely distinct. In vv. 22-23 the Lord and Gideon continue to carry on a conversation after the messenger has vanished (v. 21).

[6:14]  ² tn Heb “Go in this strength of yours.”

[6:14]  ³ tn Heb “the hand of Midian.”

[6:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “If I have found favor in your eyes.”

[6:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “perform for me.”

[6:18]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew text adds “to you,” but this has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[6:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “and I will bring out my gift.” The precise nuance of the Hebrew word מִנְחָה (minkhah, “gift”) is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a gift offered as a sign of goodwill or submission. In some cases it is used of a gift offered to appease someone whom the offerer has offended. The word can also carry a sacrificial connotation.

[6:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “a kid from among the goats.”

[6:19]  ¹⁰ tn The words “the food” are not in the Hebrew text (an implied direct object). They are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[6:20]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Take the meat…and put [it] on this rock.”

[6:20]  ¹² tn Heb “and he did so.”

[4:1]  ¹³ sn In chap. 3, the first part of this extensive call, Yahweh promises to deliver his people. At the hesitancy of Moses, God guarantees his presence will be with him, and that assures the success of the mission. But with chap. 4, the second half of the call, the tone changes sharply. Now Moses protests his inadequacies in view of the nature of the task. In many ways, these verses address the question, “Who is sufficient for these things?” There are three basic movements in the passage. The first nine verses tell how God gave Moses signs in case Israel did not believe him (4:1-9). The second section records how God dealt with the speech problem of Moses (4:10-12). And finally, the last section records God’s provision of a helper, someone who could talk well (4:13-17). See also J. E. Hamlin, “The Liberator’s Ordeal: A Study of Exodus 4:1-9,” Rhetorical Criticism [PTMS], 33-42.

[4:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and Moses answered and said.”

[4:1]  ¹⁵ tn Or “What if.” The use of הֵן (hen) is unusual here, introducing a conditional idea in the question without a following consequence clause (see Exod 8:22 HT [8:26 ET]; Jer 2:10; 2 Chr 7:13). The Greek has “if not” but adds the clause “what shall I say to them?”

[4:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “listen to my voice,” so as to respond positively.

[4:2]  ¹⁷ tn Or “rod” (KJV, ASV); NCV, CEV “walking stick”; NLT “shepherd’s staff.”

[4:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:3]  ¹⁹ sn The details of the verse are designed to show that there was a staff that became a snake. The question is used to affirm that there truly was a staff, and then the report of Moses running from it shows it was a genuine snake. Using the serpent as a sign would have had an impact on the religious ideas of Egypt, for the sacred cobra was one of their symbols.

[4:4]  ²⁰ sn The signs authenticated Moses’ ministry as the Lord’s emissary. This sign will show that the Lord had control over Egypt and its stability, over life and death. But first Moses has to be convinced that he can turn it into a dead stick again.

[4:6]  ²¹ tn The word חֵיק (kheq), often rendered “bosom,” refers to the front of the chest and a fold in the garment there where an item could be placed for carrying (see Prov 6:27; 16:33; 21:14). So “into your robe” should be understood loosely here and in v. 7 as referring to the inside of the top front of Moses’ garment. The inside chest pocket of a jacket is a rough modern equivalent.

[4:6]  ²² tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) points out the startling or amazing sight as if the reader were catching first glimpse of it with Moses.

[4:6]  ²³ sn This sudden skin disease indicated that God was able to bring such diseases on Egypt in the plagues and that only he could remove them. The whitening was the first stage of death for the diseased (Num 12:10; 2 Kgs 5:27). The Hebrew words traditionally rendered “leprous” or “leprosy,” as they are used in Lev 13 and 14, encompass a variety of conditions, not limited to the disease called leprosy and identified as Hansen’s disease in modern times.

[4:7]  ²⁴ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) points out the startling or amazing sight as if the reader were catching first glimpse of it with Moses.

[4:7]  ²⁵ tn Heb “it returned.”

[4:7]  ²⁶ tn Heb “like his flesh.”

[4:8]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and it will be if.”

[4:8]  ²⁸ tn Heb “listen to the voice of,” meaning listen so as to respond appropriately.

[4:8]  ²⁹ tn The nuance of this perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive will be equal to the imperfect of possibility – “they may believe.”

[4:8]  ³⁰ tn Heb “believe the voice of the latter sign,” so as to understand and accept the meaning of the event.

[4:9]  ³¹ tn Heb “and it will be if.”

[4:9]  ³² tn Heb “listen to your voice.”

[4:9]  ³³ tn The verb form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; it functions then as the equivalent of the imperfect tense – here as an imperfect of instruction.

[4:9]  ³⁴ sn This is a powerful sign, for the Nile was always known as the source of life in Egypt, but now it will become the evidence of death. So the three signs were alike, each consisting of life and death. They would clearly anticipate the struggle with Egypt through the plagues. The point is clear that in the face of the possibility that people might not believe, the servants of God must offer clear proof of the power of God as they deliver the message of God. The rest is up to God.

[4:2]  ³⁵ tn Or “rod” (KJV, ASV); NCV, CEV “walking stick”; NLT “shepherd’s staff.”

[20:9]  ³⁶ tn The text has simply “six days,” but this is an adverbial accusative of time, answering how long they were to work (GKC 374 §118.k).

[20:9]  ³⁷ tn The imperfect tense has traditionally been rendered as a commandment, “you will labor.” But the point of this commandment is the prohibition of work on the seventh day. The permission nuance of the imperfect works well here.

[20:9]  ³⁸ tn This is the occupation, or business of the work week.

[103:13]  ³⁹ tn Or “sons,” but the Hebrew term sometimes refers to children in general.

[103:13]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “those who fear him.”

[103:14]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “our form.”

[103:14]  ⁴² tn Heb “remembers.”

[103:14]  ⁴³ tn Heb “we [are] clay.”

[16:1]  ⁴⁴ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[16:1]  ⁴⁵ sn See the note on Sadducees in 3:7.

[16:1]  ⁴⁶ tn The object of the participle πειράζοντες (peirazontes) is not given in the Greek text but has been supplied here for clarity.

[16:1]  ⁴⁷ sn What exactly this sign would have been, given what Jesus was already doing, is not clear. But here is where the fence-sitters reside, refusing to commit to him.