Psalms 9:10

9:10 Your loyal followers trust in you, ¹ 

for you, Lord, do not abandon those who seek your help. ² 

Psalms 83:18

83:18 Then they will know ³  that you alone are the Lord, ⁴ 

the sovereign king ⁵  over all the earth.

Exodus 34:5-7

34:5 The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the Lord by name. ⁶  34:6 The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: ⁷  “The Lord, the Lord, ⁸  the compassionate and gracious ⁹  God, slow to anger, ¹⁰  and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness, ¹¹  34:7 keeping loyal love for thousands, ¹²  forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression ¹³  of fathers by dealing with children and children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.”

Proverbs 18:10

18:10 The name of the Lord ¹⁴  is like ¹⁵  a strong tower; ¹⁶ 

the righteous person runs ¹⁷  to it and is set safely on high. ¹⁸ 

Isaiah 50:10

50:10 Who among you fears the Lord?

Who obeys ¹⁹  his servant?

Whoever walks in deep darkness, ²⁰ 

without light,

should trust in the name of the Lord

and rely on his God.

[9:10]  ¹ tn Heb “and the ones who know your name trust in you.” The construction vav (ו) conjunctive + imperfect at the beginning of the verse expresses another consequence of the statement made in v. 8. “To know” the Lord’s “name” means to be his follower, recognizing his authority and maintaining loyalty to him. See Ps 91:14, where “knowing” the Lord’s “name” is associated with loving him.

[9:10]  ² tn Heb “the ones who seek you.”

[83:18]  ³ tn After the preceding jussives (v. 17), the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose (“so that they may know”) or result.

[83:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “that you, your name [is] the Lord, you alone.”

[83:18]  ⁵ tn Traditionally “the Most High.”

[34:5]  ⁶ tn Some commentaries wish to make Moses the subject of the second and the third verbs, the first because he was told to stand there and this verb suggests he did it, and the last because it sounds like he was worshiping Yahweh (cf. NASB). But it is clear from v. 6 that Yahweh was the subject of the last clause of v. 5 – v. 6 tells how he did it. So if Yahweh is the subject of the first and last clauses of v. 5, it seems simpler that he also be the subject of the second. Moses took his stand there, but God stood by him (B. Jacob, Exodus, 981; U. Cassuto, Exodus, 439). There is no reason to make Moses the subject in any of the verbs of v. 5.

[34:6]  ⁷ tn Here is one of the clearest examples of what it means “to call on the name of the Lord,” as that clause has been translated traditionally (וַיִּקְרָא בְשֵׁם יְהוָה, vayyiqra’ vÿshem yÿhvah). It seems more likely that it means “to make proclamation of Yahweh by name.” Yahweh came down and made a proclamation – and the next verses give the content of what he said. This cannot be prayer or praise; it is a proclamation of the nature or attributes of God (which is what his “name” means throughout the Bible). Attempts to make Moses the subject of the verb are awkward, for the verb is repeated in v. 6 with Yahweh clearly doing the proclaiming.

[34:6]  ⁸ sn U. Cassuto (Exodus, 439) suggests that these two names be written as a sentence: “Yahweh, He is Yahweh.” In this manner it reflects “I am that I am.” It is impossible to define his name in any other way than to make this affirmation and then show what it means.

[34:6]  ⁹ tn See Exod 33:19.

[34:6]  ¹⁰ sn This is literally “long of anger.” His anger prolongs itself, allowing for people to repent before punishment is inflicted.

[34:6]  ¹¹ sn These two words (“loyal love” and “truth”) are often found together, occasionally in a hendiadys construction. If that is the interpretation here, then it means “faithful covenant love.” Even if they are left separate, they are dual elements of a single quality. The first word is God’s faithful covenant love; the second word is God’s reliability and faithfulness.

[34:7]  ¹² tn That is, “for thousands of generations.”

[34:7]  ¹³ sn As in the ten commandments (20:5-6), this expression shows that the iniquity and its punishment will continue in the family if left unchecked. This does not go on as long as the outcomes for good (thousands versus third or fourth generations), and it is limited to those who hate God.

[18:10]  ¹⁴ sn The “name of the Lord” is a metonymy of subject. The “name” here signifies not the personal name “Yahweh,” for that would be redundant in the expression “the name of Yahweh,” but the attributes of the Lord (cf. Exod 34:5-7) – here his power to protect.

[18:10]  ¹⁵ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.

[18:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “a tower of strength,” with “strength” regarded as attributive by most English versions. The metaphor “strong tower” indicates that God is a secure refuge. The figure is qualified in the second colon.

[18:10]  ¹⁷ sn The metaphor of “running” to the Lord refers to a whole-hearted and unwavering trust in God’s protection (e.g., Isa 40:31).

[18:10]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “is high” or “is inaccessible.” This military-type expression stresses the effect of the trust – security, being out of danger (see HALOT 1305 s.v. שׂגב). Other scriptures will supply the ways that God actually protects people who trust him.

[50:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “[who] listens to the voice of his servant?” The interrogative is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[50:10]  ²⁰ tn The plural indicates degree. Darkness may refer to exile and/or moral evil.