Judges 6:31

6:31 But Joash said to all those who confronted him, ¹  “Must you fight Baal’s battles? ²  Must you rescue him? Whoever takes up his cause ³  will die by morning! ⁴  If he really is a god, let him fight his own battles! ⁵  After all, it was his altar that was pulled down.” ⁶ 

Judges 17:4-5

17:4 When he gave the silver back to his mother, she ⁷  took two hundred pieces of silver ⁸  to a silversmith, who made them into a carved image and a metal image. She then put them in Micah’s house. ⁹  17:5 Now this man Micah owned a shrine. ¹⁰  He made an ephod ¹¹  and some personal idols and hired one of his sons to serve as a priest. ¹² 

Exodus 32:20

32:20 He took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire, ground it ¹³  to powder, poured it out on the water, and made the Israelites drink it. ¹⁴ 

Exodus 32:1

The Sin of the Golden Calf

32:1 ¹⁵ When the people saw that Moses delayed ¹⁶  in coming down ¹⁷  from the mountain, they ¹⁸  gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Get up, ¹⁹  make us gods ²⁰  that will go before us. As for this fellow Moses, ²¹  the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what ²²  has become of him!”

Exodus 4:11

4:11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave ²³  a mouth to man, or who makes a person mute or deaf or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? ²⁴ 

Exodus 6:2-9

6:2 God spoke ²⁵  to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord. ²⁶  6:3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as ²⁷  God Almighty, ²⁸  but by ²⁹  my name ‘the Lord’ ³⁰  I was not known to them. ³¹  6:4 I also established my covenant with them ³²  to give them the land of Canaan, where they were living as resident foreigners. ³³  6:5 I ³⁴  have also heard ³⁵  the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, ³⁶  and I have remembered my covenant. ³⁷  6:6 Therefore, tell the Israelites, ‘I am the Lord. I will bring you out ³⁸  from your enslavement to ³⁹  the Egyptians, I will rescue you from the hard labor they impose, ⁴⁰  and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. 6:7 I will take you to myself for a people, and I will be your God. ⁴¹  Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from your enslavement to ⁴²  the Egyptians. 6:8 I will bring you to the land I swore to give ⁴³  to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob – and I will give it to you ⁴⁴  as a possession. I am the Lord!’”

6:9 ⁴⁵ Moses told this ⁴⁶  to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him ⁴⁷  because of their discouragement ⁴⁸  and hard labor.

Exodus 6:2

6:2 God spoke ⁴⁹  to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord. ⁵⁰ 

Exodus 19:18-19

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, ⁵¹  and the whole mountain shook ⁵²  violently. 19:19 When the sound of the horn grew louder and louder, ⁵³  Moses was speaking ⁵⁴  and God was answering him with a voice. ⁵⁵ 

Isaiah 46:1-2

The Lord Carries His People

46:1 Bel ⁵⁶  kneels down,

Nebo ⁵⁷  bends low.

Their images weigh down animals and beasts. ⁵⁸ 

Your heavy images are burdensome to tired animals. ⁵⁹ 

46:2 Together they bend low and kneel down;

they are unable to rescue the images; ⁶⁰ 

they themselves ⁶¹  head off into captivity. ⁶² 

Isaiah 46:7

46:7 They put it on their shoulder and carry it;

they put it in its place and it just stands there;

it does not ⁶³  move from its place.

Even when someone cries out to it, it does not reply;

it does not deliver him from his distress.

[6:31]  ¹ tn Heb “to all who stood against him.”

[6:31]  ² tn Heb “Do you fight for Baal?”

[6:31]  ³ tn Heb “fights for him.”

[6:31]  ⁴ sn Whoever takes up his cause will die by morning. This may be a warning to the crowd that Joash intends to defend his son and to kill anyone who tries to execute Gideon. Then again, it may be a sarcastic statement about Baal’s apparent inability to defend his own honor. Anyone who takes up Baal’s cause may end up dead, perhaps by the same hand that pulled down the pagan god’s altar.

[6:31]  ⁵ tn Heb “fight for himself.”

[6:31]  ⁶ tn Heb “for he pulled down his altar.” The subject of the verb, if not Gideon, is indefinite (in which case a passive translation is permissible).

[17:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “his mother.” The pronoun (“she”) has been substituted for the noun (“mother”) in the translation because of English style.

[17:4]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew text has “and gave it.” The referent (the pieces of silver) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “and it was in Micah’s house.”

[17:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “house of God.”

[17:5]  ¹¹ sn Here an ephod probably refers to a priestly garment (cf. Exod 28:4-6).

[17:5]  ¹² tn Heb “and he filled the hand of one of his sons and he became his priest.”

[32:20]  ¹³ tn Here “it” has been supplied.

[32:20]  ¹⁴ tn Here “it” has been supplied.

[32:1]  ¹⁵ sn This narrative is an unhappy interlude in the flow of the argument of the book. After the giving of the Law and the instructions for the tabernacle, the people get into idolatry. So this section tells what the people were doing when Moses was on the mountain. Here is an instant violation of the covenant that they had just agreed to uphold. But through it all Moses shines as the great intercessor for the people. So the subject matter is the sin of idolatry, its effects and its remedy. Because of the similarities to Jeroboam’s setting up the calves in Dan and Bethel, modern critics have often said this passage was written at that time. U. Cassuto shows how the language of this chapter would not fit an Iron Age setting in Dan. Rather, he argues, this story was well enough known for Jeroboam to imitate the practice (Exodus, 407-10). This chapter can be divided into four parts for an easier exposition: idolatry (32:1-6), intercession (32:7-14), judgment (32:15-29), intercession again (32:30-33:6). Of course, these sections are far more complex than this, but this gives an overview. Four summary statements for expository points might be: I. Impatience often leads to foolish violations of the faith, II. Violations of the covenant require intercession to escape condemnation, III. Those spared of divine wrath must purge evil from their midst, and IV. Those who purge evil from their midst will find reinstatement through intercession. Several important studies are available for this. See, among others, D. R. Davis, “Rebellion, Presence, and Covenant: A Study in Exodus 32-34,” WTJ 44 (1982): 71-87; M. Greenberg, “Moses’ Intercessory Prayer,” Ecumenical Institute for Advanced Theological Studies (1978): 21-35; R. A. Hamer, “The New Covenant of Moses,” Judaism 27 (1978): 345-50; R. L. Honeycutt, Jr., “Aaron, the Priesthood, and the Golden Calf,” RevExp 74 (1977): 523-35; J. N. Oswalt, “The Golden Calves and the Egyptian Concept of Deity,” EvQ 45 (1973): 13-20.

[32:1]  ¹⁶ tn The meaning of this verb is properly “caused shame,” meaning cause disappointment because he was not coming back (see also Judg 5:28 for the delay of Sisera’s chariots [S. R. Driver, Exodus, 349]).

[32:1]  ¹⁷ tn The infinitive construct with the lamed (ל) preposition is used here epexegetically, explaining the delay of Moses.

[32:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the people.”

[32:1]  ¹⁹ tn The imperative means “arise.” It could be serving here as an interjection, getting Aaron’s attention. But it might also have the force of prompting him to get busy.

[32:1]  ²⁰ tn The plural translation is required here (although the form itself could be singular in meaning) because the verb that follows in the relative clause is a plural verb – that they go before us).

[32:1]  ²¹ tn The text has “this Moses.” But this instance may find the demonstrative used in an earlier deictic sense, especially since there is no article with it.

[32:1]  ²² tn The interrogative is used in an indirect question (see GKC 443-44 §137.c).

[4:11]  ²³ tn The verb שִׂים (sim) means “to place, put, set”; the sentence here more precisely says, “Who put a mouth into a man?”

[4:11]  ²⁴ sn The final question obviously demands a positive answer. But the clause is worded in such a way as to return to the theme of “I AM.” Isaiah 45:5-7 developed this same idea of God’s control over life. Moses protests that he is not an eloquent speaker, and the Lord replies with reminders about himself and promises, “I will be with your mouth,” an assertion that repeats the verb he used four times in 3:12 and 14 and in promises to Isaac and Jacob (Gen 26:3; 31:3).

[6:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “And God spoke.”

[6:2]  ²⁶ sn The announcement “I am the Lord” (Heb “Yahweh”) draws in the preceding revelation in Exod 3:15. In that place God called Moses to this task and explained the significance of the name “Yahweh” by the enigmatic expression “I am that I am.” “I am” (אֶהְיֶה, ’ehyeh) is not a name; “Yahweh” is. But the explanation of the name with this sentence indicates that Yahweh is the one who is always there, and that guarantees the future, for everything he does is consistent with his nature. He is eternal, never changing; he remains. Now, in Exodus 6, the meaning of the name “Yahweh” will be more fully unfolded.

[6:3]  ²⁷ tn The preposition bet (ב) in this construction should be classified as a bet essentiae, a bet of essence (see also GKC 379 §119.i).

[6:3]  ²⁸ tn The traditional rendering of the title as “Almighty” is reflected in LXX and Jerome. But there is still little agreement on the etymology and exact meaning of אֵל־שַׁדַּי (’el-shadday). Suggestions have included the idea of “mountain God,” meaning the high God, as well as “the God with breasts.” But there is very little evidence supporting such conclusions and not much reason to question the ancient versions.

[6:3]  ²⁹ tn The noun שְׁמִי (shÿmi, “my name,” and “Yahweh” in apposition to it), is an adverbial accusative, specifying how the patriarchs “knew” him.

[6:3]  ³⁰ tn Heb “Yahweh,” traditionally rendered in English as “the Lord.” The phrase has been placed in quotation marks in the translation to indicate it represents the tetragrammaton.

[6:3]  ³¹ tn The verb is the Niphal form נוֹדַעְתִּי (noda’ti). If the text had wanted to say, “I did not make myself known,” then a Hiphil form would have been more likely. It is saying, “but by my name Yahweh I was not known to them.”

[6:4]  ³² tn The statement refers to the making of the covenant with Abraham (Gen 15 and following) and confirming it with the other patriarchs. The verb הֲקִמֹתִי (haqimoti) means “set up, establish, give effect to, conclude” a covenant agreement. The covenant promised the patriarchs a great nation, a land – Canaan, and divine blessing. They lived with those promises, but now their descendants were in bondage in Egypt. God’s reference to the covenant here is meant to show the new revelation through redemption will start to fulfill the promises and show what the reality of the name Yahweh is to them.

[6:4]  ³³ tn Heb “the land of their sojournings.” The noun מְגֻרִים (mÿgurim) is a reminder that the patriarchs did not receive the promises. It is also an indication that those living in the age of promise did not experience the full meaning of the name of the covenant God. The “land of their sojournings” is the land of Canaan where the family lived (גּרוּ, garu) as foreigners, without owning property or having the rights of kinship with the surrounding population.

[6:5]  ³⁴ tn The addition of the independent pronoun אֲנִי (’ani, “I”) emphasizes the fact that it was Yahweh himself who heard the cry.

[6:5]  ³⁵ tn Heb “And also I have heard.”

[6:5]  ³⁶ tn The form is the Hiphil participle מַעֲבִדִים (ma’avidim, “causing to serve”). The participle occurs in a relative clause that modifies “the Israelites.” The clause ends with the accusative “them,” which must be combined with the relative pronoun for a smooth English translation. So “who the Egyptians are enslaving them,” results in the translation “whom the Egyptians are enslaving.”

[6:5]  ³⁷ tn As in Exod 2:24, this remembering has the significance of God’s beginning to act to fulfill the covenant promises.

[6:6]  ³⁸ sn The verb וְהוֹצֵאתִי (vÿhotse’ti) is a perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive, and so it receives a future translation – part of God’s promises. The word will be used later to begin the Decalogue and other covenant passages – “I am Yahweh who brought you out….”

[6:6]  ³⁹ tn Heb “from under the burdens of” (so KJV, NASB); NIV “from under the yoke of.”

[6:6]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “from labor of them.” The antecedent of the pronoun is the Egyptians who have imposed slave labor on the Hebrews.

[6:7]  ⁴¹ sn These covenant promises are being reiterated here because they are about to be fulfilled. They are addressed to the nation, not individuals, as the plural suffixes show. Yahweh was their God already, because they had been praying to him and he is acting on their behalf. When they enter into covenant with God at Sinai, then he will be the God of Israel in a new way (19:4-6; cf. Gen 17:7-8; 28:20-22; Lev 26:11-12; Jer 24:7; Ezek 11:17-20).

[6:7]  ⁴² tn Heb “from under the burdens of” (so KJV, NASB); NIV “from under the yoke of.”

[6:8]  ⁴³ tn Heb “which I raised my hand to give it.” The relative clause specifies which land is their goal. The bold anthropomorphism mentions part of an oath-taking ceremony to refer to the whole event and reminds the reader that God swore that he would give the land to them. The reference to taking an oath would have made the promise of God sure in the mind of the Israelite.

[6:8]  ⁴⁴ sn Here is the twofold aspect again clearly depicted: God swore the promise to the patriarchs, but he is about to give what he promised to this generation. This generation will know more about him as a result.

[6:9]  ⁴⁵ sn The final part of this section focuses on instructions for Moses. The commission from God is the same – he is to speak to Pharaoh and he is to lead Israel out. It should have been clear to him that God would do this, for he had just been reminded how God was going to lead out, deliver, redeem, take the people as his people, and give them land. It was God’s work of love from beginning to end. Moses simply had his task to perform.

[6:9]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “and Moses spoke thus.”

[6:9]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “to Moses.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[6:9]  ⁴⁸ tn The Hebrew מִקֹּצֶּר רוּחַ (miqqotser ruakh) means “because of the shortness of spirit.” This means that they were discouraged, dispirited, and weary – although some have also suggested it might mean impatient. The Israelites were now just not in the frame of mind to listen to Moses.

[6:2]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “And God spoke.”

[6:2]  ⁵⁰ sn The announcement “I am the Lord” (Heb “Yahweh”) draws in the preceding revelation in Exod 3:15. In that place God called Moses to this task and explained the significance of the name “Yahweh” by the enigmatic expression “I am that I am.” “I am” (אֶהְיֶה, ’ehyeh) is not a name; “Yahweh” is. But the explanation of the name with this sentence indicates that Yahweh is the one who is always there, and that guarantees the future, for everything he does is consistent with his nature. He is eternal, never changing; he remains. Now, in Exodus 6, the meaning of the name “Yahweh” will be more fully unfolded.

[19:18]  ⁵¹ sn The image is that of a large kiln, as in Gen 19:28.

[19:18]  ⁵² tn This is the same word translated “trembled” above (v. 16).

[19:19]  ⁵³ tn The active participle הוֹלֵךְ (holekh) is used to add the idea of “continually” to the action of the sentence; here the trumpet became very loud – continually. See GKC 344 §113.u.

[19:19]  ⁵⁴ tn The two verbs here (“spoke” and “answered”) are imperfect tenses; they emphasize repeated action but in past time. The customary imperfect usually is translated “would” or “used to” do the action, but here continuous action in past time is meant. S. R. Driver translates it “kept speaking” and “kept answering” (Exodus, 172).

[19:19]  ⁵⁵ tn The text simply has בְּקוֹל (bÿqol); it could mean “with a voice” or it could mean “in thunder” since “voice” was used in v. 16 for thunder. In this context it would be natural to say that the repeated thunderings were the voice of God – but how is that an answer? Deut 4:12 says that the people heard the sound of words. U. Cassuto (Exodus, 232-33) rightly comments, “He was answering him with a loud voice so that it was possible for Moses to hear His words clearly in the midst of the storm.” He then draws a parallel from Ugaritic where it tells that one of the gods was speaking in a loud voice.

[46:1]  ⁵⁶ sn Bel was the name of a Babylonian god. The name was originally associated with Enlil, but later was applied to Marduk. See HALOT 132 s.v. בֵּל.

[46:1]  ⁵⁷ sn Nebo is a variation of the name of the Babylonian god Nabu.

[46:1]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “their images belong to animals and beasts”; NIV “their idols are borne by beasts of burden”; NLT “are being hauled away.”

[46:1]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “your loads are carried [as] a burden by a weary [animal].”

[46:2]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “[the] burden,” i.e., their images, the heavy burden carried by the animals.

[46:2]  ⁶¹ tn נַפְשָׁם (nafsham, “their souls/lives”) is equivalent here to a third masculine plural suffix, but the third feminine singular verb הָלָכָה (halakhah, “they go”) agrees with the feminine noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul, life”).

[46:2]  ⁶² sn The downfall of Babylon is depicted here. The idols are carried off by the victorious enemy; the gods are likened to defeated captives who cower before the enemy and are taken into exile.

[46:7]  ⁶³ tn Or perhaps, “cannot,” here and in the following two lines. The imperfect forms can indicate capability.