translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: EXO

label: NET translator note

text: Heb “and Yahweh said.”


text: The verb is שִׁתִי ( shiti , “I have put”); it is used here as a synonym for the verb שִׂים ( sim ). Yahweh placed the signs in his midst, where they will be obvious.


text: Heb “in his midst.”


text: The expression is unusual: תְּסַפֵּר בְּאָזְנֵי ( tÿsapper bÿ ’ ozne , “[that] you may declare in the ears of”). The clause explains an additional reason for God’s hardening the heart of Pharaoh, namely, so that the Israelites can tell their children of God’s great wonders. The expression is highly poetic and intense – like Ps 44:1 , which says, “we have heard with our ears.” The emphasis would be on the clear teaching, orally, from one generation to another.


text: The verb הִתְעַלַּלְתִּי ( hit ’ allalti ) is a bold anthropomorphism. The word means to occupy oneself at another’s expense, to toy with someone, which may be paraphrased with “mock.” The whole point is that God is shaming and disgracing Egypt, making them look foolish in their arrogance and stubbornness (W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:366-67). Some prefer to translate it as “I have dealt ruthlessly” with Egypt (see U. Cassuto, Exodus , 123).


text: Heb “of Egypt.” The place is put by metonymy for the inhabitants.


text: The word “about” is supplied to clarify this as another object of the verb “declare.”


text: Heb “put” or “placed.”


text: The form is the perfect tense with vav consecutive, וִידַעְתֶּם ( vida ’ tem , “and that you might know”). This provides another purpose for God’s dealings with Egypt in the way that he was doing. The form is equal to the imperfect tense with vav ( ו ) prefixed ; it thus parallels the imperfect that began v. 2 – “that you might tell.”


text: The verb is מֵאַנְתָּ ( me ’ anta ), a Piel perfect. After “how long,” the form may be classified as present perfect (“how long have you refused), for it describes actions begun previously but with the effects continuing. (See GKC 311 §106. g-h ). The use of a verb describing a state or condition may also call for a present translation (“how long do you refuse”) that includes past, present, and potentially future, in keeping with the question “how long.”


text: The clause is built on the use of the infinitive construct to express the direct object of the verb – it answers the question of what Pharaoh was refusing to do. The Niphal infinitive construct (note the elision of the ה [ hey ] prefix after the preposition [see GKC 139 §51. l ]) is from the verb עָנָה (’ anah ). The verb in this stem would mean “humble oneself.” The question is somewhat rhetorical, since God was not yet through humbling Pharaoh, who would not humble himself. The issue between Yahweh and Pharaoh is deeper than simply whether or not Pharaoh will let the Israelites leave Egypt.


text: הִנְנִי ( hinni ) before the active participle מֵבִיא ( mevi ’) is the imminent future construction: “I am about to bring” or “I am going to bring” – precisely, “here I am bringing.”


text: One of the words for “locusts” in the Bible is אַרְבֶּה (’ arbeh ), which comes from רָבָה ( ravah , “to be much, many”). It was used for locusts because of their immense numbers.


text: Heb “within your border.”


text: The verbs describing the locusts are singular because it is a swarm or plague of locusts. This verb ( וְכִסָּה , vÿkhissah , “cover”) is a Piel perfect with a vav consecutive; it carries the same future nuance as the participle before it.


text: Heb “eye,” an unusual expression (see v. 15 ; Num 22:5, 11 ).


text: The text has לִרְאֹת וְלֹא יוּכַל ( vÿlo ’ yukhal lir ’ ot , “and he will not be able to see”). The verb has no expressed subjects. The clause might, therefore, be given a passive translation: “so that [it] cannot be seen.” The whole clause is the result of the previous statement.


text: הַנִּשְׁאֶרֶת ( hannish ’ eret ) parallels (by apposition) and adds further emphasis to the preceding two words; it is the Niphal participle, meaning “that which is left over.”


text: The relative pronoun אֲשֶׁר (’ asher ) is occasionally used as a comparative conjunction (see GKC 499 §161. b ).


text: Heb “which your fathers have not seen, nor your fathers’ fathers.”


text: The Hebrew construction מִיּוֹם הֱיוֹתָם ( miyyom heyotam , “from the day of their being”). The statement essentially says that no one, even the elderly, could remember seeing a plague of locusts like this. In addition, see B. Childs, “A Study of the Formula, ‘Until This Day,’” JBL 82 (1963).


text: Heb “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


text: Heb “snare” ( מוֹקֵשׁ , moqesh ), a word used for a trap for catching birds. Here it is a figure for the cause of Egypt’s destruction.


text: With the adverb טֶרֶם ( terem ), the imperfect tense receives a present sense: “Do you not know?” (See GKC 481 §152. r ).


text: The question is literally “who and who are the ones going?” ( מִי וָמִי הַהֹלְכִים , mi vami haholÿkhim ). Pharaoh’s answer to Moses includes this rude question, which was intended to say that Pharaoh would control who went. The participle in this clause, then, refers to the future journey.


text: Heb “we have a pilgrim feast ( חַג , khag ) to Yahweh.”


text: The context of Moses’ list of young and old, sons and daughters, and the contrast with the word for strong “men” in v. 11 indicates that טַפְּכֶם ( tappÿkhem ), often translated “little ones” or “children,” refers to dependent people, noncombatants in general.


text: Heb “see.”


text: Heb “before your face.” sn The “trouble” or “evil” that is before them could refer to the evil that they are devising – the attempt to escape from Egypt. But that does not make much sense in the sentence – why would he tell them to take heed or look out about that? U. Cassuto ( Exodus , 126) makes a better suggestion. He argues that Pharaoh is saying, “Don’t push me too far.” The evil, then, would be what Pharaoh was going to do if these men kept making demands on him. This fits the fact that he had them driven out of his court immediately. There could also be here an allusion to Pharaoh’s god Re’ , the sun-deity and head of the pantheon; he would be saying that the power of his god would confront them.


text: Heb “not thus.”


text: The word is הַגְּבָרִים ( haggÿvarim , “the strong men”), a word different from the more general one that Pharaoh’s servants used (v. 7 ). Pharaoh appears to be conceding, but he is holding hostages. The word “only” has been supplied in the translation to indicate this.


text: The suffix on the sign of the accusative refers in a general sense to the idea contained in the preceding clause (see GKC 440-41 §135. p ).


text: Heb “you are seeking.”


text: Heb “they”; the referent (Moses and Aaron) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


text: The verb is the Piel preterite, third person masculine singular, meaning “and he drove them out.” But “Pharaoh” cannot be the subject of the sentence, for “Pharaoh” is the object of the preposition. The subject is not specified, and so the verb can be treated as passive.


text: The preposition בְּ ( bet ) is unexpected here. BDB 91 s.v. (the note at the end of the entry) says that in this case it can only be read as “with the locusts,” meaning that the locusts were thought to be implicit in Moses’ lifting up of his hand. However, BDB prefers to change the preposition to לְ ( lamed ).


text: The noun עֵשֶּׂב (’ esev ) normally would indicate cultivated grains, but in this context seems to indicate plants in general.


text: The clause begins וַיהוָה ( va ’ adonay [ vayhvah ], “Now Yahweh….”). In contrast to a normal sequence, this beginning focuses attention on Yahweh as the subject of the verb.


text: The verb נָהַג ( nahag ) means “drive, conduct.” It is elsewhere used for driving sheep, leading armies, or leading in processions.


text: Heb “and all the night.”


text: The text does not here use ordinary circumstantial clause constructions; rather, Heb “the morning was, and the east wind carried the locusts.” It clearly means “when it was morning,” but the style chosen gives a more abrupt beginning to the plague, as if the reader is in the experience – and at morning, the locusts are there!


text: The verb here is a past perfect, indicting that the locusts had arrived before the day came.


text: Heb “border.”


text: This is an interpretive translation. The clause simply has כָּבֵד מְאֹד ( kaved mÿ ’ od ), the stative verb with the adverb – “it was very heavy.” The description prepares for the following statement about the uniqueness of this locust infestation.


text: Heb “after them.”


text: Heb “and they covered.”


text: Heb “eye,” an unusual expression (see v. 5 ; Num 22:5, 11 ).


text: The verb is וַתֶּחְשַׁךְ ( vattekhshakh , “and it became dark”). The idea is that the ground had the color of the swarms of locusts that covered it.


text: The Piel preterite וַיְמַהֵר ( vaymaher ) could be translated “and he hastened,” but here it is joined with the following infinitive construct to form the hendiadys. “He hurried to summon” means “He summoned quickly.”


text: Heb “and he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


text: Heb “and he went out.”


text: Or perhaps “sea wind,” i.e., a wind off the Mediterranean.


text: The Hebrew name here is יַם־סוּף ( Yam Suf ), sometimes rendered “Reed Sea” or “Sea of Reeds.” The word סוּף is a collective noun that may have derived from an Egyptian name for papyrus reeds. Many English versions have used “Red Sea,” which translates the name that ancient Greeks used: ejruqrav qalavssa ( eruqra qalassa ). sn The name Red Sea is currently applied to the sea west of the Arabian Peninsula. The northern fingers of this body of water extend along the west and east sides of the Sinai Peninsula and are presently called the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba or the Gulf of Eilat. In ancient times the name applied to a much larger body of water, including the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf (C. Houtman, Exodus , 1:109-10). See also Num 14:25; 21:4 ; Deut 1:40; 2:1 ; Judg 11:16 ; 1 Kgs 9:26 ; Jer 49:21 . The sea was deep enough to drown the entire Egyptian army later (and thus no shallow swamp land). God drives the locusts to their death in the water. He will have the same power over Egyptian soldiers, for he raised up this powerful empire for a purpose and soon will drown them in the sea. The message for the Israelites is that God will humble all who refuse to submit.


text: Or “the sky” (also in the following verse). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם ( shamayim ) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.


text: The Hebrew term מוּשׁ ( mush ) means “to feel.” The literal rendering would be “so that one may feel darkness.” The image portrays an oppressive darkness; it was sufficiently thick to possess the appearance of substance, although it was just air (B. Jacob, Exodus , 286).


text: The construction is a variation of the superlative genitive: a substantive in the construct state is connected to a noun with the same meaning (see GKC 431 §133. i ).


text: Heb “a man…his brother.”


text: The perfect tense in this context requires the somewhat rare classification of a potential perfect.


text: Or “dependents.” The term is often translated “your little ones,” but as mentioned before ( 10:10 ), this expression in these passages takes in women and children and other dependents. Pharaoh will now let all the people go, but he intends to detain the cattle to secure their return.


text: B. Jacob ( Exodus , 287) shows that the intent of Moses in using גַּם ( gam ) is to make an emphatic rhetorical question. He cites other samples of the usage in Num 22:33 ; 1 Sam 17:36 ; 2 Sam 12:14 , and others. The point is that if Pharaoh told them to go and serve Yahweh, they had to have animals to sacrifice. If Pharaoh was holding the animals back, he would have to make some provision.


text: Heb “give into our hand.”


text: The form here is וְעָשִּׂינוּ ( vÿ ’ asinu ), the Qal perfect with a vav ( ו ) consecutive – “and we will do.” But the verb means “do” in the sacrificial sense – prepare them, offer them. The verb form is to be subordinated here to form a purpose or result clause.


text: This is the obligatory imperfect nuance. They were obliged to take the animals if they were going to sacrifice, but more than that, since they were not coming back, they had to take everything.


text: The same modal nuance applies to this verb.


text: Heb “from it,” referring collectively to the livestock.


text: The expression is לֵךְ מֵעָלָי ( lekh me ’ alay , “go from on me”) with the adversative use of the preposition, meaning from being a trouble or a burden to me (S. R. Driver, Exodus , 84; R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax , 51, §288).


text: Heb “add to see my face.” The construction uses a verbal hendiadys: “do not add to see” ( אַל־תֹּסֶף רְאוֹת , ’ al-toseph rÿ ’ ot ), meaning “do not see again.” The phrase “see my face” means “come before me” or “appear before me.”


text: The construction is בְּיוֹם רְאֹתְךָ ( bÿyom rÿ ’ otÿkha ), an adverbial clause of time made up of the prepositional phrase, the infinitive construct, and the suffixed subjective genitive. “In the day of your seeing” is “when you see.”


text: Heb “Thus you have spoken.”


text: This is a verbal hendiadys construction: “I will not add again [to] see.”