translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: EXO

label: NET translator note

text: The expression “with a strong hand” ( וּבְיָד חֲזָקָה , uvÿyad khazaqah ) could refer (1) to God’s powerful intervention (“compelled by my strong hand”) or (2) to Pharaoh’s forceful pursuit (“he will forcefully drive them out”). In Exod 3:20 God has summarized what his hand would do in Egypt, and that is probably what is intended here, as he promises that Moses will see what God will do. All Egypt ultimately desired that Israel be released ( 12:33 ), and when they were released Pharaoh pursued them to the sea, and so in a sense drove them out – whether that was his intention or not. But ultimately it was God’s power that was the real force behind it all. U. Cassuto ( Exodus , 74) considers that it is unlikely that the phrase would be used in the same verse twice with the same meaning. So he thinks that the first “strong hand” is God’s, and the second “strong hand” is Pharaoh’s. It is true that if Pharaoh acted forcefully in any way that contributed to Israel leaving Egypt it was because God was acting forcefully in his life. So in an understated way, God is saying that when forced by God’s strong hand, Pharaoh will indeed release God’s people.”


text: Or “and he will forcefully drive them out of his land,” if the second occurrence of “strong hand” refers to Pharaoh’s rather than God’s (see the previous note). sn In Exod 12:33 the Egyptians were eager to send (release) Israel away in haste, because they all thought they were going to die.


text: Heb “And God spoke.”


text: The preposition bet ( ב ) in this construction should be classified as a bet essentiae , a bet of essence (see also GKC 379 §119. i ).


text: 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.


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


text: 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.


text: The statement refers to the making of the covenant with Abraham ( 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.


text: 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.


text: The addition of the independent pronoun אֲנִי (’ ani , “I”) emphasizes the fact that it was Yahweh himself who heard the cry.


text: Heb “And also I have heard.”


text: 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.”


text: As in Exod 2:24 , this remembering has the significance of God’s beginning to act to fulfill the covenant promises.


text: Heb “from under the burdens of” (so KJV, NASB); NIV “from under the yoke of.”


text: Heb “from labor of them.” The antecedent of the pronoun is the Egyptians who have imposed slave labor on the Hebrews.


text: 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.


text: Heb “and Moses spoke thus.”


text: Heb “to Moses.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.


text: 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.


text: The form וִישַׁלַּח ( vishallakh ) is the Piel imperfect or jussive with a sequential vav; following an imperative it gives the imperative’s purpose and intended result. They are to speak to Pharaoh, and (so that as a result) he will release Israel. After the command to speak, however, the second clause also indirectly states the content of the speech (cf. Exod 11:2; 14:2, 15; 25:2 ; Lev 16:2; 22:2 ). As the next verse shows, Moses doubts that what he says will have the intended effect.


text: Heb “And Moses spoke before.”


text: The final clause begins with a disjunctive vav ( ו ), a vav on a nonverb form – here a pronoun. It introduces a circumstantial causal clause.


text: Heb “and [since] I am of uncircumcised lips.” The “lips” represent his speech (metonymy of cause). The term “uncircumcised” makes a comparison between his speech and that which Israel perceived as unacceptable, unprepared, foreign, and of no use to God. The heart is described this way when it is impervious to good impressions ( Lev 26:41 ; Jer 9:26 ) and the ear when it hears imperfectly ( Jer 6:10 ). Moses has here returned to his earlier claim – he does not speak well enough to be doing this.


text: Heb “And Yahweh spoke.”


text: The term וַיְצַוֵּם ( vayÿtsavvem ) is a Piel preterite with a pronominal suffix on it. The verb צָוָה ( tsavah ) means “to command” but can also have a much wider range of meanings. In this short summary statement, the idea of giving Moses and Aaron a commission to Israel and to Pharaoh indicates that come what may they have their duty to perform.


text: The expression is literally “the house of their fathers.” This expression means that the household or family descended from a single ancestor. It usually indicates a subdivision of a tribe, that is, a clan, or the subdivision of a clan, that is, a family. Here it refers to a clan (S. R. Driver, Exodus , 46).


text: Or “descendants.”


text: Or “families,” and so throughout the genealogy.


text: Or “generations.”


text: Heb “took for a wife” (also in vv. 23, 25 ).


text: Heb “heads of the fathers” is taken as an abbreviation for the description of “households” in v. 14 .


text: Or “by their hosts” or “by their armies.” Often translated “hosts” (ASV, NASB) or “armies” (KJV), צְבָאוֹת ( tsÿva ’ ot ) is a military term that portrays the people of God in battle array. In contemporary English, “regiment” is perhaps more easily understood as a force for battle than “company” (cf. NAB, NRSV) or “division” (NIV, NCV, NLT), both of which can have commercial associations. The term also implies an orderly departure.


text: The beginning of this temporal clause does not follow the normal pattern of using the preterite of the main verb after the temporal indicator and prepositional phrase, but instead uses a perfect tense following the noun in construct: וַיְהִי בְּיוֹם דִּבֶּר ( vayÿhi bÿyom dibber ). See GKC 422 §130. d . This verse introduces a summary (vv. 28-30 ) of the conversation that was interrupted when the genealogy began.


text: Heb “and Yahweh spoke to Moses saying.” This has been simplified in the translation as “he said to him” for stylistic reasons.


text: The verb is דַּבֵּר ( dabber ), the Piel imperative. It would normally be translated “speak,” but in English that verb does not sound as natural with a direct object as “tell.”


text: The clause begins with אֵת כָּל־אֲשֶׁר (’ et kol- ’ asher ) indicating that this is a noun clause functioning as the direct object of the imperative and providing the content of the commanded speech.


text: דֹּבֵר ( dover ) is the Qal active participle; it functions here as the predicate in the noun clause: “that I [am] telling you.” This one could be rendered, “that I am speaking to you.”


text: See note on Exod 6:12 .