Exodus 15:1-23:26

English Standard Version

The Song of Moses

15 Then Moses and the people of Israel ^(A)sang this song to the Lord, saying,

^(B)“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
    the horse and his rider^[a] he has thrown into the sea.
²^(C)The Lord is my strength and my ^(D)song,
    and he has become ^(E)my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
    ^(F)my father's God, and ^(G)I will exalt him.
³The Lord is ^(H)a man of war;
    ^(I)the Lord is his name.

⁴^(J)“Pharaoh's chariots and his host he cast into the sea,
    and his chosen ^(K)officers were sunk in the Red Sea.
⁵The ^(L)floods covered them;
    they ^(M)went down into the depths like a stone.
⁶^(N)Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power,
    your right hand, O Lord, ^(O)shatters the enemy.
⁷In the ^(P)greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries;
    you send out your fury; it ^(Q)consumes them like stubble.
⁸At the ^(R)blast of your nostrils the waters piled up;
    the ^(S)floods stood up in a heap;
    the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.
⁹The enemy said, ^(T)‘I will pursue, I will overtake,
    I ^(U)will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.
    I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.’
¹⁰You ^(V)blew with your wind; the ^(W)sea covered them;
    they sank like lead in the mighty waters.

¹¹^(X)“Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?
    Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
    awesome in ^(Y)glorious deeds, ^(Z)doing wonders?
¹²You stretched out ^(AA)your right hand;
    the earth swallowed them.

¹³“You have ^(AB)led in your steadfast love the people whom ^(AC)you have redeemed;
    you have ^(AD)guided them by your strength to your holy abode.
¹⁴^(AE)The peoples have heard; they tremble;
    pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia.
¹⁵Now are the chiefs of Edom ^(AF)dismayed;
    trembling seizes the leaders of ^(AG)Moab;
    ^(AH)all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.
¹⁶Terror and ^(AI)dread fall upon them;
    because of the greatness of your arm, they are still ^(AJ)as a stone,
till your people, O Lord, pass by,
    till the people pass by whom ^(AK)you have purchased.
¹⁷You will bring them in and ^(AL)plant them on your own mountain,
    the place, O Lord, which you have made for your abode,
    ^(AM)the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.
¹⁸^(AN)The Lord will reign forever and ever.”

¹⁹For when ^(AO)the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, ^(AP)the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea. ²⁰Then ^(AQ)Miriam ^(AR)the prophetess, the ^(AS)sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and ^(AT)all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. ²¹And Miriam sang to them:

^(AU)“Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”

Bitter Water Made Sweet

²²Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of ^(AV)Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. ²³When they came to ^(AW)Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah.^[b] ²⁴And the people ^(AX)grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” ²⁵And he ^(AY)cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log,^[c] and he ^(AZ)threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.

There the Lord^[d] made for them a statute and a rule, and there he ^(BA)tested them, ²⁶saying, ^(BB)“If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the ^(BC)diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, ^(BD)your healer.”

²⁷Then ^(BE)they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the water.

Bread from Heaven

16 They ^(BF)set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. ²And the whole congregation of the people of Israel ^(BG)grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, ³and the people of Israel said to them, ^(BH)“Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, ^(BI)when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

⁴Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain ^(BJ)bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may ^(BK)test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. ⁵On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, ^(BL)it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” ⁶So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, ^(BM)“At evening ^(BN)you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, ⁷and in the morning you shall see the ^(BO)glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. For ^(BP)what are we, that you grumble against us?” ⁸And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the Lord has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him—^(BQ)what are we? Your grumbling is not ^(BR)against us but against the Lord.”

⁹Then Moses ^(BS)said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, ^(BT)‘Come near before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’” ¹⁰And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the ^(BU)glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. ¹¹And the Lord said to Moses, ¹²“I ^(BV)have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At ^(BW)twilight you shall eat meat, and ^(BX)in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”

¹³In the evening ^(BY)quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning ^(BZ)dew lay around the camp. ¹⁴And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. ¹⁵When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, ^(CA)“What is it?”^[e] For they ^(CB)did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, ^(CC)“It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. ¹⁶This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an ^(CD)omer,^[f] according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’” ¹⁷And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. ¹⁸But when they measured it with an omer, ^(CE)whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. ¹⁹And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.” ²⁰But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and ^(CF)it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. ²¹Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.

²²On ^(CG)the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, ²³he said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of ^(CH)solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.’” ²⁴So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and ^(CI)it did not stink, and there were no worms in it. ²⁵Moses said, “Eat it today, for ^(CJ)today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. ²⁶Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.”

²⁷On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. ²⁸And the Lord said to Moses, ^(CK)“How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? ²⁹See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.” ³⁰So the people ^(CL)rested on the seventh day.

³¹Now the house of Israel called its name ^(CM)manna. It was ^(CN)like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. ³²Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” ³³And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a ^(CO)jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the Lord to be kept throughout your generations.” ³⁴As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before ^(CP)the testimony to be kept. ³⁵The people of Israel ^(CQ)ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till ^(CR)they came to the border of the land of Canaan. ³⁶(An omer is ^(CS)the tenth part of an ephah.)^[g]

Water from the Rock

17 ^(CT)All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. ²^(CU)Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you ^(CV)test the Lord?” ³But the people thirsted there for water, and ^(CW)the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” ⁴So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready ^(CX)to stone me.” ⁵And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with ^(CY)which you struck the Nile, and go. ⁶^(CZ)Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. ⁷And he called the name of the place ^(DA)Massah^[h] and ^(DB)Meribah,^[i] because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Israel Defeats Amalek

⁸^(DC)Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. ⁹So Moses said to ^(DD)Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with ^(DE)the staff of God in my hand.” ¹⁰So ^(DF)Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and ^(DG)Hur went up to the top of the hill. ¹¹Whenever Moses ^(DH)held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. ¹²But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and ^(DI)Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. ¹³And ^(DJ)Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.

¹⁴Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of ^(DK)Joshua, that ^(DL)I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” ¹⁵And Moses ^(DM)built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, ¹⁶saying, “A hand upon the throne^[j] of the Lord! ^(DN)The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

Jethro's Advice

18 ^(DO)Jethro, ^(DP)the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. ²Now Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, had taken Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her home, ³along with her ^(DQ)two sons. The name of the one was Gershom (^(DR)for he said, ^(DS)“I have been a sojourner^[k] in a foreign land”), ⁴and the name of the other, Eliezer^[l] (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”). ⁵Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the ^(DT)mountain of God. ⁶And when he sent word to Moses, “I,^[m] your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her,” ⁷Moses ^(DU)went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and ^(DV)kissed him. And they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent. ⁸Then Moses told his father-in-law ^(DW)all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the Lord had delivered them. ⁹And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the Lord had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.

¹⁰Jethro said, ^(DX)“Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. ¹¹Now I know that ^(DY)the Lord is greater than all gods, because in this affair they ^(DZ)dealt arrogantly with the people.”^[n] ¹²And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law ^(EA)before God.

¹³The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. ¹⁴When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?” ¹⁵And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because ^(EB)the people come to me to inquire of God; ¹⁶^(EC)when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I ^(ED)make them know the statutes of God and his laws.” ¹⁷Moses' father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. ¹⁸You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. ^(EE)You are not able to do it alone. ¹⁹Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall ^(EF)represent the people before God and ^(EG)bring their cases to God, ²⁰and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know ^(EH)the way in which they must walk and ^(EI)what they must do. ²¹Moreover, look for ^(EJ)able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. ²²And ^(EK)let them judge the people at all times. ^(EL)Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will ^(EM)bear the burden with you. ²³If you do this, God will direct you, you will be ^(EN)able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.”

²⁴So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. ²⁵^(EO)Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. ²⁶And ^(EP)they judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves. ²⁷Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and ^(EQ)he went away to his own country.

Israel at Mount Sinai

19 On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they ^(ER)came into the wilderness of Sinai. ²They set out from ^(ES)Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before ^(ET)the mountain, ³while ^(EU)Moses went up to God. ^(EV)The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: ⁴^(EW)‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how ^(EX)I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. ⁵Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be ^(EY)my treasured possession among all peoples, for ^(EZ)all the earth is mine; ⁶and you shall be to me a ^(FA)kingdom of priests and ^(FB)a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”

⁷So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. ⁸^(FC)All the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord. ⁹And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you ^(FD)in a thick cloud, that ^(FE)the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also ^(FF)believe you forever.”

When Moses told the words of the people to the Lord, ¹⁰the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and ^(FG)consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them ^(FH)wash their garments ¹¹and be ready for the third day. For on the third day ^(FI)the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. ¹²And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. ^(FJ)Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. ¹³No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot;^[o] whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When ^(FK)the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.” ¹⁴So Moses ^(FL)went down from the mountain to the people and ^(FM)consecrated the people; ^(FN)and they washed their garments. ¹⁵And he said to the people, “Be ready for the ^(FO)third day; ^(FP)do not go near a woman.”

¹⁶On the morning of the ^(FQ)third day there were ^(FR)thunders and lightnings and ^(FS)a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud ^(FT)trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp ^(FU)trembled. ¹⁷Then ^(FV)Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸Now ^(FW)Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and ^(FX)the whole mountain trembled greatly. ¹⁹And as the ^(FY)sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and ^(FZ)God answered him in thunder. ²⁰The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

²¹And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the Lord ^(GA)to look and many of them perish. ²²Also let the priests who come near to the Lord ^(GB)consecrate themselves, lest the Lord ^(GC)break out against them.” ²³And Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us, saying, ^(GD)‘Set limits around the mountain and consecrate it.’” ²⁴And the Lord said to him, “Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people ^(GE)break through to come up to the Lord, lest he break out against them.” ²⁵So Moses went down to the people and told them.

The Ten Commandments

20 ^(GF)And ^(GG)God spoke all these words, saying,

²^(GH)“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

³^(GI)“You shall have no other gods before^[p] me.

⁴^(GJ)“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. ⁵^(GK)You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am ^(GL)a jealous God, ^(GM)visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, ⁶but showing steadfast love to thousands^[q] of those who love me and keep my commandments.

⁷^(GN)“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

⁸^(GO)“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹^(GP)Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, ¹⁰but the ^(GQ)seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the ^(GR)sojourner who is within your gates. ¹¹For ^(GS)in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

¹²^(GT)“Honor your father and your mother, ^(GU)that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

¹³^(GV)“You shall not murder.^[r]

¹⁴^(GW)“You shall not commit adultery.

¹⁵^(GX)“You shall not steal.

¹⁶^(GY)“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

¹⁷^(GZ)“You shall not covet ^(HA)your neighbor's house; ^(HB)you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.”

¹⁸Now when all the people saw ^(HC)the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid^[s] and trembled, and they stood far off ¹⁹and said to Moses, ^(HD)“You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” ²⁰^(HE)Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to ^(HF)test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” ²¹The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the ^(HG)thick darkness where God was.

Laws About Altars

²²And the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the people of Israel: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have ^(HH)talked with you from heaven. ²³^(HI)You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold. ²⁴An altar of earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. ^(HJ)In every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and ^(HK)bless you. ²⁵^(HL)If you make me an altar of stone, ^(HM)you shall not build it of hewn stones, for if you wield your tool on it you profane it. ²⁶And you shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness be not exposed on it.’

Laws About Slaves

21 “Now these are the ^(HN)rules that you shall set before them. ²^(HO)When you buy a Hebrew slave,^[t] he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. ³If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. ⁴If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out alone. ⁵But ^(HP)if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ ⁶then his master shall bring him to ^(HQ)God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.

⁷“When a man ^(HR)sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. ⁸If she does not please her master, who has designated her^[u] for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has broken faith with her. ⁹If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter. ¹⁰If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or ^(HS)her marital rights. ¹¹And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.

¹²^(HT)“Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death. ¹³^(HU)But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then ^(HV)I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee. ¹⁴But if a man willfully attacks another to kill him by cunning, ^(HW)you shall take him from my altar, that he may die.

¹⁵“Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death.

¹⁶^(HX)“Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found ^(HY)in possession of him, shall be put to death.

¹⁷^(HZ)“Whoever curses^[v] his father or his mother shall be put to death.

¹⁸“When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist and the man does not die but takes to his bed, ¹⁹then if the man rises again and walks outdoors with his staff, he who struck him shall be clear; only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall have him thoroughly healed.

²⁰“When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged. ²¹But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the ^(IA)slave is his money.

²²“When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman's husband shall impose on him, and ^(IB)he shall pay as the ^(IC)judges determine. ²³But if there is harm,^[w] then you shall pay ^(ID)life for life, ²⁴^(IE)eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

²⁶“When a man strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and destroys it, he shall let the slave go free because of his eye. ²⁷If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he shall let the slave go free because of his tooth.

²⁸“When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ^(IF)ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall not be liable. ²⁹But if the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has been warned but has not kept it in, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death. ³⁰If ^(IG)a ransom is imposed on him, then ^(IH)he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is imposed on him. ³¹If it gores a man's son or daughter, he shall be dealt with according to this same rule. ³²If the ox gores a slave, male or female, the owner shall give to their master ^(II)thirty shekels^[x] of silver, and ^(IJ)the ox shall be stoned.

Laws About Restitution

³³“When a man opens a pit, or when a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, ³⁴the owner of the pit shall make restoration. He shall give money to its owner, and the dead beast shall be his.

³⁵“When one man's ox butts another's, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and share its price, and the dead beast also they shall share. ³⁶Or if it is known that the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has not kept it in, he shall repay ox for ox, and the dead beast shall be his.

22 ^[y] “If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall repay five oxen for an ox, and ^(IK)four sheep for a sheep. ²^[z] If a thief is found ^(IL)breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him, ³but if the sun has risen on him, there shall be bloodguilt for him. He^[aa] shall surely pay. If he has nothing, then ^(IM)he shall be sold for his theft. ⁴If the stolen beast ^(IN)is found alive in his possession, whether it is an ox or a donkey or a sheep, ^(IO)he shall pay double.

⁵“If a man causes a field or vineyard to be grazed over, or lets his beast loose and it feeds in another man's field, he shall make restitution from the best in his own field and in his own vineyard.

⁶“If fire breaks out and catches in thorns so that the stacked grain or the standing grain or the field is consumed, he who started the fire shall make full restitution.

⁷“If a man gives to his neighbor money or goods to keep safe, and it is stolen from the man's house, then, if the thief is found, ^(IP)he shall pay double. ⁸If the thief is not found, the owner of the house shall come near to God to show whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor's property. ⁹For every breach of trust, whether it is for an ox, for a donkey, for a sheep, for a cloak, or for any kind of lost thing, of which one says, ‘This is it,’ the case of both parties shall come before God. The one whom God condemns shall pay double to his neighbor.

¹⁰“If a man gives to his neighbor a donkey or an ox or a sheep or any beast to keep safe, and it dies or is injured or is driven away, without anyone seeing it, ¹¹^(IQ)an oath by the Lord shall be between them both to see whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor's property. The owner shall accept the oath, and he shall not make restitution. ¹²But if ^(IR)it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner. ¹³If it is torn by beasts, let him bring it as evidence. He shall not make restitution for what has been torn.

¹⁴“If a man borrows anything of his neighbor, and it is injured or dies, the owner not being with it, he shall make full restitution. ¹⁵If the owner was with it, he shall not make restitution; if it was hired, it came for its hiring fee.^[ab]

Laws About Social Justice

¹⁶^(IS)“If a man seduces a virgin^[ac] who is not betrothed and lies with her, he shall give the bride-price^[ad] for her and make her his wife. ¹⁷If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, ^(IT)he shall pay money equal to the ^(IU)bride-price for virgins.

¹⁸^(IV)“You shall not permit a sorceress to live.

¹⁹^(IW)“Whoever lies with an animal shall be put to death.

²⁰^(IX)“Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than the Lord alone, shall be devoted to destruction.^[ae]

²¹^(IY)“You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. ²²^(IZ)You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. ²³If you do mistreat them, and they ^(JA)cry out to me, I will surely ^(JB)hear their cry, ²⁴and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and ^(JC)your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.

²⁵^(JD)“If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him. ²⁶^(JE)If ever you take your neighbor's cloak in pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down, ²⁷for that is his only covering, and it is his cloak for his body; in what else shall he sleep? And if he ^(JF)cries to me, I will hear, for I am ^(JG)compassionate.

²⁸^(JH)“You shall not revile God, nor ^(JI)curse a ruler of your people.

²⁹“You shall not delay to offer from the fullness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. ^(JJ)The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me. ³⁰^(JK)You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep: ^(JL)seven days it shall be with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to me.

³¹^(JM)“You shall be consecrated to me. Therefore ^(JN)you shall not eat any flesh that is torn by beasts in the field; ^(JO)you shall throw it to the dogs.

23 ^(JP)“You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a ^(JQ)malicious witness. ²You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice, ³^(JR)nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit.

⁴^(JS)“If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. ⁵If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.

⁶^(JT)“You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit. ⁷^(JU)Keep far from a false charge, and ^(JV)do not kill the innocent and righteous, for ^(JW)I will not acquit the wicked. ⁸^(JX)And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.

⁹^(JY)“You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

Laws About the Sabbath and Festivals

¹⁰^(JZ)“For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield, ¹¹but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the beasts of the field may eat. You shall do likewise with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard.

¹²^(KA)“Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant woman, and the alien, may be refreshed.

¹³^(KB)“Pay attention to all that I have said to you, and make no mention of the names of other gods, nor let it be heard on your lips.

¹⁴^(KC)“Three times in the year you shall keep a feast to me. ¹⁵^(KD)You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of ^(KE)Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. ^(KF)None shall appear before me empty-handed. ¹⁶You shall keep ^(KG)the Feast of Harvest, of the firstfruits of your labor, of what you sow in the field. You shall keep the ^(KH)Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor. ¹⁷^(KI)Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord God.

¹⁸^(KJ)“You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened, or let the fat of my feast remain until the morning.

¹⁹“The best of the ^(KK)firstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God.

^(KL)“You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.

Conquest of Canaan Promised

²⁰^(KM)“Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. ²¹Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; ^(KN)do not rebel against him, ^(KO)for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him.

²²“But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then ^(KP)I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.

²³^(KQ)“When my angel goes before you and brings you ^(KR)to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out, ²⁴you shall ^(KS)not bow down to their gods nor serve them, ^(KT)nor do as they do, but ^(KU)you shall utterly overthrow them and break their ^(KV)pillars in pieces. ²⁵You ^(KW)shall serve the Lord your God, and ^(KX)he^[af] will bless your bread and your water, and ^(KY)I will take sickness away from among you. ²⁶^(KZ)None shall miscarry or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the ^(LA)number of your days.

Footnotes

Exodus 15:1 Or its chariot; also verse 21
Exodus 15:23 Marah means bitterness
Exodus 15:25 Or tree
Exodus 15:25 Hebrew he
Exodus 16:15 Or “It is manna”; Hebrew man hu
Exodus 16:16 An omer was about 2 quarts or 2 liters
Exodus 16:36 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters
Exodus 17:7 Massah means testing
Exodus 17:7 Meribah means quarreling
Exodus 17:16 A slight change would yield upon the banner
Exodus 18:3 Gershom sounds like the Hebrew for sojourner
Exodus 18:4 Eliezer means My God is help
Exodus 18:6 Hebrew; Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac behold
Exodus 18:11 Hebrew with them
Exodus 19:13 That is, shot with an arrow
Exodus 20:3 Or besides
Exodus 20:6 Or to the thousandth generation
Exodus 20:13 The Hebrew word also covers causing human death through carelessness or negligence
Exodus 20:18 Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Masoretic Text the people saw
Exodus 21:2 Or servant; the Hebrew term ‘ebed designates a range of social and economic roles; also verses 5, 6, 7, 20, 21, 26, 27, 32 (see Preface)
Exodus 21:8 Or so that he has not designated her
Exodus 21:17 Or dishonors; Septuagint reviles
Exodus 21:23 Or so that her children come out and it is clear who was to blame, he shall be fined as the woman's husband shall impose on him, and he alone shall pay. ²³If it is unclear who was to blame…
Exodus 21:32 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
Exodus 22:1 Ch 21:37 in Hebrew
Exodus 22:2 Ch 22:1 in Hebrew
Exodus 22:3 That is, the thief
Exodus 22:15 Or it is reckoned in (Hebrew comes into) its hiring fee
Exodus 22:16 Or a girl of marriageable age; also verse 17
Exodus 22:16 Or engagement present; also verse 17
Exodus 22:20 That is, set apart (devoted) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)
Exodus 23:25 Septuagint, Vulgate I

Exodus 15:1-23:26

New International Version

The Song of Moses and Miriam

15 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song^(A) to the Lord:

“I will sing^(B) to the Lord,
for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver^(C)
he has hurled into the sea.^(D)

²“The Lord is my strength^(E) and my defense^[a];
    he has become my salvation.^(F)
He is my God,^(G) and I will praise him,
    my father’s God, and I will exalt^(H) him.
³The Lord is a warrior;^(I)
    the Lord is his name.^(J)
⁴Pharaoh’s chariots and his army^(K)
    he has hurled into the sea.
The best of Pharaoh’s officers
    are drowned in the Red Sea.^[b]
⁵The deep waters^(L) have covered them;
    they sank to the depths like a stone.^(M)
⁶Your right hand,^(N) Lord,
    was majestic in power.
Your right hand,^(O) Lord,
    shattered^(P) the enemy.

⁷“In the greatness of your majesty^(Q)
    you threw down those who opposed you.
You unleashed your burning anger;^(R)
    it consumed^(S) them like stubble.
⁸By the blast of your nostrils^(T)
    the waters piled up.^(U)
The surging waters stood up like a wall;^(V)
    the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.^(W)
⁹The enemy boasted,
    ‘I will pursue,^(X) I will overtake them.
I will divide the spoils;^(Y)
    I will gorge myself on them.
I will draw my sword
    and my hand will destroy them.’
¹⁰But you blew with your breath,^(Z)
    and the sea covered them.
They sank like lead
    in the mighty waters.^(AA)
¹¹Who among the gods
    is like you,^(AB) Lord?
Who is like you—
    majestic in holiness,^(AC)
awesome in glory,^(AD)
    working wonders?^(AE)

¹²“You stretch out^(AF) your right hand,
    and the earth swallows your enemies.^(AG)
¹³In your unfailing love you will lead^(AH)
    the people you have redeemed.^(AI)
In your strength you will guide them
    to your holy dwelling.^(AJ)
¹⁴The nations will hear and tremble;^(AK)
    anguish^(AL) will grip the people of Philistia.^(AM)
¹⁵The chiefs^(AN) of Edom^(AO) will be terrified,
    the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling,^(AP)
the people^[c] of Canaan will melt^(AQ) away;
¹⁶    terror^(AR) and dread will fall on them.
By the power of your arm
    they will be as still as a stone^(AS)—
until your people pass by, Lord,
    until the people you bought^[d]^(AT) pass by.^(AU)
¹⁷You will bring^(AV) them in and plant^(AW) them
    on the mountain^(AX) of your inheritance—
the place, Lord, you made for your dwelling,^(AY)
    the sanctuary,^(AZ) Lord, your hands established.

¹⁸“The Lord reigns
for ever and ever.”^(BA)

¹⁹When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemen^[e] went into the sea,^(BB) the Lord brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.^(BC) ²⁰Then Miriam^(BD) the prophet,^(BE) Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her, with timbrels^(BF) and dancing.^(BG) ²¹Miriam sang^(BH) to them:

“Sing to the Lord,
for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver^(BI)
he has hurled into the sea.”^(BJ)

The Waters of Marah and Elim

²²Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert^(BK) of Shur.^(BL) For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water.^(BM) ²³When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.^[f]^(BN)) ²⁴So the people grumbled^(BO) against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”^(BP)

²⁵Then Moses cried out^(BQ) to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw^(BR) it into the water, and the water became fit to drink.

There the Lord issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test.^(BS) ²⁶He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep^(BT) all his decrees,^(BU) I will not bring on you any of the diseases^(BV) I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals^(BW) you.”

²⁷Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped^(BX) there near the water.

Manna and Quail

16 The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin,^(BY) which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt.^(BZ) ²In the desert the whole community grumbled^(CA) against Moses and Aaron. ³The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt!^(CB) There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food^(CC) we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”^(CD)

⁴Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven^(CE) for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test^(CF) them and see whether they will follow my instructions. ⁵On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice^(CG) as much as they gather on the other days.”

⁶So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt,^(CH) ⁷and in the morning you will see the glory^(CI) of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling^(CJ) against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?”^(CK) ⁸Moses also said, “You will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling^(CL) against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.”^(CM)

⁹Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’”

¹⁰While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory^(CN) of the Lord appearing in the cloud.^(CO)

¹¹The Lord said to Moses, ¹²“I have heard the grumbling^(CP) of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”^(CQ)

¹³That evening quail^(CR) came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew^(CS) around the camp. ¹⁴When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost^(CT) on the ground appeared on the desert floor. ¹⁵When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know^(CU) what it was.

Moses said to them, “It is the bread^(CV) the Lord has given you to eat. ¹⁶This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer^[g]^(CW) for each person you have in your tent.’”

¹⁷The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. ¹⁸And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.^(CX) Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.

¹⁹Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”^(CY)

²⁰However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell.^(CZ) So Moses was angry^(DA) with them.

²¹Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. ²²On the sixth day, they gathered twice^(DB) as much—two omers^[h] for each person—and the leaders of the community^(DC) came and reported this to Moses. ²³He said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath^(DD) to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’”

²⁴So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. ²⁵“Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today. ²⁶Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath,^(DE) there will not be any.”

²⁷Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. ²⁸Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you^[i] refuse to keep my commands^(DF) and my instructions? ²⁹Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” ³⁰So the people rested on the seventh day.

³¹The people of Israel called the bread manna.^[j]^(DG) It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. ³²Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.’”

³³So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omer of manna^(DH) in it. Then place it before the Lord to be kept for the generations to come.”

³⁴As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law,^(DI) so that it might be preserved. ³⁵The Israelites ate manna^(DJ) forty years,^(DK) until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.^(DL)

³⁶(An omer^(DM) is one-tenth of an ephah.)^(DN)

Water From the Rock

17 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin,^(DO) traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim,^(DP) but there was no water^(DQ) for the people to drink. ²So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water^(DR) to drink.”^(DS)

Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?”^(DT)

³But the people were thirsty^(DU) for water there, and they grumbled^(DV) against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die^(DW) of thirst?”

⁴Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone^(DX) me.”

⁵The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff^(DY) with which you struck the Nile,^(DZ) and go. ⁶I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb.^(EA) Strike^(EB) the rock, and water^(EC) will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. ⁷And he called the place Massah^[k]^(ED) and Meribah^[l]^(EE) because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

The Amalekites Defeated

⁸The Amalekites^(EF) came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.^(EG) ⁹Moses said to Joshua,^(EH) “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff^(EI) of God in my hands.”

¹⁰So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur^(EJ) went to the top of the hill. ¹¹As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning,^(EK) but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. ¹²When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset.^(EL) ¹³So Joshua overcame the Amalekite^(EM) army with the sword.

¹⁴Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write^(EN) this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out^(EO) the name of Amalek^(EP) from under heaven.”

¹⁵Moses built an altar^(EQ) and called^(ER) it The Lord is my Banner. ¹⁶He said, “Because hands were lifted up against^[m] the throne of the Lord,^[n] the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites^(ES) from generation to generation.”^(ET)

Jethro Visits Moses

18 Now Jethro,^(EU) the priest of Midian^(EV) and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.^(EW)

²After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah,^(EX) his father-in-law Jethro received her ³and her two sons.^(EY) One son was named Gershom,^[o] for Moses said, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land”;^(EZ) ⁴and the other was named Eliezer,^[p]^(FA) for he said, “My father’s God was my helper;^(FB) he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.”

⁵Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’ sons and wife, came to him in the wilderness, where he was camped near the mountain^(FC) of God. ⁶Jethro had sent word to him, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”

⁷So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down^(FD) and kissed^(FE) him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent. ⁸Moses told his father-in-law about everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships^(FF) they had met along the way and how the Lord had saved^(FG) them.

⁹Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things^(FH) the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. ¹⁰He said, “Praise be to the Lord,^(FI) who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. ¹¹Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods,^(FJ) for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.”^(FK) ¹²Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law,^(FL) brought a burnt offering^(FM) and other sacrifices^(FN) to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal^(FO) with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence^(FP) of God.

¹³The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. ¹⁴When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”

¹⁵Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will.^(FQ) ¹⁶Whenever they have a dispute,^(FR) it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.”^(FS)

¹⁷Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. ¹⁸You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.^(FT) ¹⁹Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you.^(FU) You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes^(FV) to him. ²⁰Teach them his decrees and instructions,^(FW) and show them the way they are to live^(FX) and how they are to behave.^(FY) ²¹But select capable men^(FZ) from all the people—men who fear^(GA) God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain^(GB)—and appoint them as officials^(GC) over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. ²²Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case^(GD) to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share^(GE) it with you. ²³If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”

²⁴Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. ²⁵He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders^(GF) of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.^(GG) ²⁶They served as judges^(GH) for the people at all times. The difficult cases^(GI) they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.^(GJ)

²⁷Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country.^(GK)

At Mount Sinai

19 On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt^(GL)—on that very day—they came to the Desert of Sinai.^(GM) ²After they set out from Rephidim,^(GN) they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.^(GO)

³Then Moses went up to God,^(GP) and the Lord called^(GQ) to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: ⁴‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt,^(GR) and how I carried you on eagles’ wings^(GS) and brought you to myself.^(GT) ⁵Now if you obey me fully^(GU) and keep my covenant,^(GV) then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.^(GW) Although the whole earth^(GX) is mine, ⁶you^[q] will be for me a kingdom of priests^(GY) and a holy nation.’^(GZ) These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

⁷So Moses went back and summoned the elders^(HA) of the people and set before them all the words the Lord had commanded him to speak.^(HB) ⁸The people all responded together, “We will do everything the Lord has said.”^(HC) So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.

⁹The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud,^(HD) so that the people will hear me speaking^(HE) with you and will always put their trust^(HF) in you.” Then Moses told the Lord what the people had said.

¹⁰And the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate^(HG) them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes^(HH) ¹¹and be ready by the third day,^(HI) because on that day the Lord will come down^(HJ) on Mount Sinai^(HK) in the sight of all the people. ¹²Put limits^(HL) for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not approach the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain is to be put to death. ¹³They are to be stoned^(HM) or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on them. No person or animal shall be permitted to live.’ Only when the ram’s horn^(HN) sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.”^(HO)

¹⁴After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes.^(HP) ¹⁵Then he said to the people, “Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain^(HQ) from sexual relations.”

¹⁶On the morning of the third day there was thunder^(HR) and lightning, with a thick cloud^(HS) over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast.^(HT) Everyone in the camp trembled.^(HU) ¹⁷Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.^(HV) ¹⁸Mount Sinai was covered with smoke,^(HW) because the Lord descended on it in fire.^(HX) The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace,^(HY) and the whole mountain^[r] trembled^(HZ) violently. ¹⁹As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and the voice^(IA) of God answered^(IB) him.^[s]

²⁰The Lord descended to the top of Mount Sinai^(IC) and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up ²¹and the Lord said to him, “Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see^(ID) the Lord and many of them perish.^(IE) ²²Even the priests, who approach^(IF) the Lord, must consecrate^(IG) themselves, or the Lord will break out against them.”^(IH)

²³Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai,^(II) because you yourself warned us, ‘Put limits^(IJ) around the mountain and set it apart as holy.’”

²⁴The Lord replied, “Go down and bring Aaron^(IK) up with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through to come up to the Lord, or he will break out against them.”^(IL)

²⁵So Moses went down to the people and told them.

The Ten Commandments^(IM)

20 And God spoke^(IN) all these words:^(IO)

²“I am the Lord your God,^(IP) who brought you out^(IQ) of Egypt,^(IR) out of the land of slavery.^(IS)

³“You shall have no other gods before^[t] me.^(IT)

⁴“You shall not make for yourself an image^(IU) in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. ⁵You shall not bow down to them or worship^(IV) them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God,^(IW) punishing the children for the sin of the parents^(IX) to the third and fourth generation^(IY) of those who hate me, ⁶but showing love to a thousand^(IZ) generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

⁷“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.^(JA)

⁸“Remember the Sabbath^(JB) day by keeping it holy. ⁹Six days you shall labor and do all your work,^(JC) ¹⁰but the seventh day is a sabbath^(JD) to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. ¹¹For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth,^(JE) the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested^(JF) on the seventh day.^(JG) Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

¹²“Honor your father and your mother,^(JH) so that you may live long^(JI) in the land^(JJ) the Lord your God is giving you.

¹³“You shall not murder.^(JK)

¹⁴“You shall not commit adultery.^(JL)

¹⁵“You shall not steal.^(JM)

¹⁶“You shall not give false testimony^(JN) against your neighbor.^(JO)

¹⁷“You shall not covet^(JP) your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

¹⁸When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet^(JQ) and saw the mountain in smoke,^(JR) they trembled with fear.^(JS) They stayed at a distance ¹⁹and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak^(JT) to us or we will die.”^(JU)

²⁰Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid.^(JV) God has come to test^(JW) you, so that the fear^(JX) of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”^(JY)

²¹The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness^(JZ) where God was.

Idols and Altars

²²Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites this: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven:^(KA) ²³Do not make any gods to be alongside me;^(KB) do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.^(KC)

²⁴“‘Make an altar^(KD) of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings^(KE) and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name^(KF) to be honored, I will come to you and bless^(KG) you. ²⁵If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool^(KH) on it. ²⁶And do not go up to my altar on steps, or your private parts^(KI) may be exposed.’

21 “These are the laws^(KJ) you are to set before them:

Hebrew Servants^(KK)^(KL)

²“If you buy a Hebrew servant,^(KM) he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free,^(KN) without paying anything. ³If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him. ⁴If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.

⁵“But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’^(KO) ⁶then his master must take him before the judges.^[u]^(KP) He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce^(KQ) his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.^(KR)

⁷“If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as male servants do. ⁸If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself,^[v] he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her. ⁹If he selects her for his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter. ¹⁰If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights.^(KS) ¹¹If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money.

Personal Injuries

¹²“Anyone who strikes a person with a fatal blow is to be put to death.^(KT) ¹³However, if it is not done intentionally, but God lets it happen, they are to flee to a place^(KU) I will designate. ¹⁴But if anyone schemes and kills someone deliberately,^(KV) that person is to be taken from my altar and put to death.^(KW)

¹⁵“Anyone who attacks^[w] their father or mother is to be put to death.

¹⁶“Anyone who kidnaps someone is to be put to death,^(KX) whether the victim has been sold^(KY) or is still in the kidnapper’s possession.

¹⁷“Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.^(KZ)

¹⁸“If people quarrel and one person hits another with a stone or with their fist^[x] and the victim does not die but is confined to bed, ¹⁹the one who struck the blow will not be held liable if the other can get up and walk around outside with a staff; however, the guilty party must pay the injured person for any loss of time and see that the victim is completely healed.

²⁰“Anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave dies as a direct result, ²¹but they are not to be punished if the slave recovers after a day or two, since the slave is their property.^(LA)

²²“If people are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely^[y] but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands^(LB) and the court allows. ²³But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life,^(LC) ²⁴eye for eye, tooth for tooth,^(LD) hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

²⁶“An owner who hits a male or female slave in the eye and destroys it must let the slave go free to compensate for the eye. ²⁷And an owner who knocks out the tooth of a male or female slave must let the slave go free to compensate for the tooth.

²⁸“If a bull gores a man or woman to death, the bull is to be stoned to death,^(LE) and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the bull will not be held responsible. ²⁹If, however, the bull has had the habit of goring and the owner has been warned but has not kept it penned up^(LF) and it kills a man or woman, the bull is to be stoned and its owner also is to be put to death. ³⁰However, if payment is demanded, the owner may redeem his life by the payment of whatever is demanded.^(LG) ³¹This law also applies if the bull gores a son or daughter. ³²If the bull gores a male or female slave, the owner must pay thirty shekels^[z]^(LH) of silver to the master of the slave, and the bull is to be stoned to death.

³³“If anyone uncovers a pit^(LI) or digs one and fails to cover it and an ox or a donkey falls into it, ³⁴the one who opened the pit must pay the owner for the loss and take the dead animal in exchange.

³⁵“If anyone’s bull injures someone else’s bull and it dies, the two parties are to sell the live one and divide both the money and the dead animal equally. ³⁶However, if it was known that the bull had the habit of goring, yet the owner did not keep it penned up,^(LJ) the owner must pay, animal for animal, and take the dead animal in exchange.

Protection of Property

22 ^[aa]“Whoever steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it must pay back^(LK) five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep.

²“If a thief is caught breaking in^(LL) at night and is struck a fatal blow, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed;^(LM) ³but if it happens after sunrise, the defender is guilty of bloodshed.

“Anyone who steals must certainly make restitution,^(LN) but if they have nothing, they must be sold^(LO) to pay for their theft. ⁴If the stolen animal is found alive in their possession^(LP)—whether ox or donkey or sheep—they must pay back double.^(LQ)

⁵“If anyone grazes their livestock in a field or vineyard and lets them stray and they graze in someone else’s field, the offender must make restitution^(LR) from the best of their own field or vineyard.

⁶“If a fire breaks out and spreads into thornbushes so that it burns shocks^(LS) of grain or standing grain or the whole field, the one who started the fire must make restitution.^(LT)

⁷“If anyone gives a neighbor silver or goods for safekeeping^(LU) and they are stolen from the neighbor’s house, the thief, if caught, must pay back double.^(LV) ⁸But if the thief is not found, the owner of the house must appear before the judges,^(LW) and they must^[ab] determine whether the owner of the house has laid hands on the other person’s property. ⁹In all cases of illegal possession of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any other lost property about which somebody says, ‘This is mine,’ both parties are to bring their cases before the judges.^[ac]^(LX) The one whom the judges declare^[ad] guilty must pay back double to the other.

¹⁰“If anyone gives a donkey, an ox, a sheep or any other animal to their neighbor for safekeeping^(LY) and it dies or is injured or is taken away while no one is looking, ¹¹the issue between them will be settled by the taking of an oath^(LZ) before the Lord that the neighbor did not lay hands on the other person’s property. The owner is to accept this, and no restitution is required. ¹²But if the animal was stolen from the neighbor, restitution^(MA) must be made to the owner. ¹³If it was torn to pieces by a wild animal, the neighbor shall bring in the remains as evidence and shall not be required to pay for the torn animal.^(MB)

¹⁴“If anyone borrows an animal from their neighbor and it is injured or dies while the owner is not present, they must make restitution.^(MC) ¹⁵But if the owner is with the animal, the borrower will not have to pay. If the animal was hired, the money paid for the hire covers the loss.^(MD)

Social Responsibility

¹⁶“If a man seduces a virgin^(ME) who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price,^(MF) and she shall be his wife. ¹⁷If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins.

¹⁸“Do not allow a sorceress^(MG) to live.

¹⁹“Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal^(MH) is to be put to death.

²⁰“Whoever sacrifices to any god^(MI) other than the Lord must be destroyed.^[ae]^(MJ)

²¹“Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner,^(MK) for you were foreigners^(ML) in Egypt.

²²“Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless.^(MM) ²³If you do and they cry out^(MN) to me, I will certainly hear their cry.^(MO) ²⁴My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.^(MP)

²⁵“If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest.^(MQ) ²⁶If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge,^(MR) return it by sunset, ²⁷because that cloak is the only covering your neighbor has. What else can they sleep in?^(MS) When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.^(MT)

²⁸“Do not blaspheme God^[af]^(MU) or curse^(MV) the ruler of your people.^(MW)

²⁹“Do not hold back offerings^(MX) from your granaries or your vats.^[ag]

“You must give me the firstborn of your sons.^(MY) ³⁰Do the same with your cattle and your sheep.^(MZ) Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but give them to me on the eighth day.^(NA)

³¹“You are to be my holy people.^(NB) So do not eat the meat of an animal torn by wild beasts;^(NC) throw it to the dogs.

Laws of Justice and Mercy

23 “Do not spread false reports.^(ND) Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness.^(NE)

²“Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice^(NF) by siding with the crowd,^(NG) ³and do not show favoritism^(NH) to a poor person in a lawsuit.

⁴“If you come across your enemy’s^(NI) ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it.^(NJ) ⁵If you see the donkey^(NK) of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it.

⁶“Do not deny justice^(NL) to your poor people in their lawsuits. ⁷Have nothing to do with a false charge^(NM) and do not put an innocent^(NN) or honest person to death,^(NO) for I will not acquit the guilty.^(NP)

⁸“Do not accept a bribe,^(NQ) for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent.

⁹“Do not oppress a foreigner;^(NR) you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.

Sabbath Laws

¹⁰“For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, ¹¹but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused.^(NS) Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what is left. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.

¹²“Six days do your work,^(NT) but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in your household and the foreigner living among you may be refreshed.^(NU)

¹³“Be careful^(NV) to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods;^(NW) do not let them be heard on your lips.^(NX)

The Three Annual Festivals

¹⁴“Three times^(NY) a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.

¹⁵“Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread;^(NZ) for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv,^(OA) for in that month you came out of Egypt.

“No one is to appear before me empty-handed.^(OB)

¹⁶“Celebrate the Festival of Harvest^(OC) with the firstfruits^(OD) of the crops you sow in your field.

“Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering^(OE) at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.^(OF)

¹⁷“Three times^(OG) a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord.

¹⁸“Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast.^(OH)

“The fat of my festival offerings must not be kept until morning.^(OI)

¹⁹“Bring the best of the firstfruits^(OJ) of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.

“Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.^(OK)

God’s Angel to Prepare the Way

²⁰“See, I am sending an angel^(OL) ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.^(OM) ²¹Pay attention to him and listen^(ON) to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive^(OO) your rebellion,^(OP) since my Name^(OQ) is in him. ²²If you listen carefully to what he says and do^(OR) all that I say, I will be an enemy^(OS) to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. ²³My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites,^(OT) and I will wipe them out. ²⁴Do not bow down before their gods or worship^(OU) them or follow their practices.^(OV) You must demolish^(OW) them and break their sacred stones^(OX) to pieces. ²⁵Worship the Lord your God,^(OY) and his blessing^(OZ) will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness^(PA) from among you, ²⁶and none will miscarry or be barren^(PB) in your land. I will give you a full life span.^(PC)

Footnotes

Exodus 15:2 Or song
Exodus 15:4 Or the Sea of Reeds; also in verse 22
Exodus 15:15 Or rulers
Exodus 15:16 Or created
Exodus 15:19 Or charioteers
Exodus 15:23 Marah means bitter.
Exodus 16:16 That is, possibly about 3 pounds or about 1.4 kilograms; also in verses 18, 32, 33 and 36
Exodus 16:22 That is, possibly about 6 pounds or about 2.8 kilograms
Exodus 16:28 The Hebrew is plural.
Exodus 16:31 Manna sounds like the Hebrew for What is it? (see verse 15).
Exodus 17:7 Massah means testing.
Exodus 17:7 Meribah means quarreling.
Exodus 17:16 Or to
Exodus 17:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
Exodus 18:3 Gershom sounds like the Hebrew for a foreigner there.
Exodus 18:4 Eliezer means my God is helper.
Exodus 19:6 Or possession, for the whole earth is mine. ⁶You
Exodus 19:18 Most Hebrew manuscripts; a few Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint and all the people
Exodus 19:19 Or and God answered him with thunder
Exodus 20:3 Or besides
Exodus 21:6 Or before God
Exodus 21:8 Or master so that he does not choose her
Exodus 21:15 Or kills
Exodus 21:18 Or with a tool
Exodus 21:22 Or she has a miscarriage
Exodus 21:32 That is, about 12 ounces or about 345 grams
Exodus 22:1 In Hebrew texts 22:1 is numbered 21:37, and 22:2-31 is numbered 22:1-30.
Exodus 22:8 Or before God, and he will
Exodus 22:9 Or before God
Exodus 22:9 Or whom God declares
Exodus 22:20 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
Exodus 22:28 Or Do not revile the judges
Exodus 22:29 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.

Exodus 15-27

Tree of Life Version

Song of Moses and Miriam

15 Then Moses and Bnei-Yisrael sang this song to Adonai:^[a]

I will sing to Adonai, for He is highly exalted!
The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea.
²Adonai is my strength and song,
and He has become my salvation.^[b]
This is my God, and I will glorify Him,
    my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
³Adonai is a warrior—Adonai is His Name!
⁴Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
    He has hurled into the sea,
    and his chosen captains have sunk
        into the Sea of Reeds.
⁵The deeps cover them.
    They sank to the depths like a stone.
⁶Your right hand, Adonai, is glorious in power.
    Your right hand, Adonai, dashes the enemy to pieces.
⁷In the greatness of Your excellency
    You overthrow those who resist You.
    You send forth Your wrath—
    it consumes them as stubble.
⁸With the blast of Your nostrils the waters piled up.
    The floods stood upright as a heap.
    The deeps became firm ground in the heart of the sea.
⁹The enemy said, “I will pursue,
    I will overtake, I will divide the spoil.
    My lust shall gorge on them!
    I will draw my sword—my hand will destroy them.”
¹⁰You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them.
They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
¹¹Who is like You, Adonai, among the gods?
Who is like You,
    glorious in holiness,
    awesome in praises,
    doing wonders?^[c]
¹²You stretched out Your right hand,
the earth swallowed them.
¹³You in Your lovingkindness
led the people You have redeemed.
You guided them in Your strength to Your holy habitation.
¹⁴When the peoples hear, they will tremble—
    anguish will seize
    the inhabitants of Philistia.
¹⁵Then the chiefs of Edom are terrified.
Trembling grips Moab’s mighty men.
All of Canaan’s inhabitants will melt away.
¹⁶Terror and dread will fall on them.
By the greatness of Your arm they become still as a stone,
till Your people cross over, Adonai,
till the people whom You purchased cross over.
¹⁷You bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance,
    the place, Adonai, that You have made
        for Yourself to dwell in—
    the Sanctuary, Adonai,
        which Your hands have prepared.
¹⁸Adonai will reign forever and ever!

¹⁹For Pharaoh’s horses with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, but Adonai brought the waters of the sea back over them. Yet Bnei-Yisrael walked in the midst of the sea on dry ground. ²⁰Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing, ²¹as Miriam sang to them:

Sing to Adonai, for He is highly exalted!
The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!

Bitter Waters Made Sweet

²²Then Moses led Israel onward from the Sea of Reeds. They went out into the wilderness of Shur. But they travelled three days in the wilderness and found no water. ²³When they came to Marah, they could not drink from the waters because they were bitter. On account of this it was called Marah. ²⁴So the people complained to Moses saying, “What are we going to drink?”

²⁵So he cried out to Adonai, and Adonai showed him a tree. When he threw it into the waters, they were made sweet.

There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them. ²⁶He said, “If you diligently listen to the voice of Adonai your God, do what is right in His eyes, pay attention to His mitzvot, and keep all His decrees, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians. For I am Adonai who heals you.”

²⁷Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees. So they camped there by the waters.

Manna From Heaven

16 They journeyed on from Elim, and the entire community of Bnei-Yisrael came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after leaving the land of Egypt. ²But the whole congregation of Bnei-Yisrael murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. ³Bnei-Yisrael said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of Adonai in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat, when we ate bread until we were full. But you have brought us into the wilderness, to kill this entire congregation with hunger.”

⁴Then Adonai said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you.^[d] The people will go out and gather a day’s portion every day, so that I can test them to find out whether they will walk according to My Torah or not. ⁵So on the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather day by day.”

⁶So Moses and Aaron said to all Bnei-Yisrael, “In the evening you will know that Adonai has brought you out from the land of Egypt, ⁷and in the morning, then you will see the glory of Adonai. For He heard your complaining against Him. What are we? You complain against us?” ⁸Then Moses said, “Adonai will give you meat to eat in the evening and enough bread to fill you in the morning, since Adonai hears your complaints that you mutter against Him, what are we? Your complaining is not against us, but against Adonai!”

⁹Moses said to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of Bnei-Yisrael, ‘Come near before Adonai, because He has heard your complaining.’”

¹⁰Then, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of Bnei-Yisrael, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of Adonai appeared in the cloud. ¹¹Adonai spoke to Moses saying, ¹²“I have heard the complaining of Bnei-Yisrael. Speak to them saying, ‘At dusk you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am Adonai your God.’”

¹³So when evening fell, quails came up and covered the camp. Moreover, in the morning there was a layer of dew all around the camp. ¹⁴When the layer of dew was gone, on the surface of the desert was a thin, flake-like frost, as fine as the frost on the ground. ¹⁵When Bnei-Yisrael saw it, they said one to another, “What is it?”^[e] For they did not know what it was. Then Moses said to them, “It is the bread that Adonai has given you to eat. ¹⁶This is the word that Adonai has commanded. Every man is to gather according to his needs, an omer^[f] per person, according to the number of people per household. Each man is to take it for those who are in his tent.”

¹⁷Bnei-Yisrael did so, and some gathered more, some less. ¹⁸When they measured it with an omer, those who gathered more had nothing left over, and those that gathered less did not lack at all. Every man gathered according to his appetite.

¹⁹Also Moses said to them, “Let no one save any of it until the morning.”

²⁰However, they did not listen to Moses. Some of them preserved it until the morning—but it bred worms and rotted. So Moses was angry with them.

²¹So they gathered it morning by morning, each man according to his needs, and as the sun became hot it melted. ²²On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each individual. So all the leaders of the community came and informed Moses. ²³But he said to them, “This is what Adonai has said. Tomorrow is a Shabbat rest, a holy Shabbat to Adonai. Bake whatever you would bake, and boil what you would boil. Store up for yourselves everything that remains, to be kept until the morning.”

²⁴So they set it aside until the morning, just as Moses instructed, and it did not rot nor were there any worms. ²⁵Then Moses said, “Eat that today, because today is a Shabbat to Adonai. Today you will not find it in the field. ²⁶You are to gather it for six days, but the seventh day is the Shabbat, and there will be none.”

²⁷Yet on the seventh day, some of the people went out to gather and they found none. ²⁸Adonai said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep My mitzvot and My Torah? ²⁹See, Adonai has given you the Shabbat, so on the sixth day He gives you the bread of two days. Let every man stay in his place, and let no man go out on the seventh day.” ³⁰So the people rested on the seventh day.

³¹The house of Israel named it manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. ³²Then Moses said, “This is what Adonai has commanded. Let a full omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out from the land of Egypt.”

³³Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put a full omer of manna inside. Store it up before Adonai, to be kept throughout your generations.”

³⁴Just as Adonai commanded Moses, Aaron stored it up in front of the Testimony, to be preserved. ³⁵Bnei-Yisrael ate the manna for 40 years. They ate the manna until they came to an inhabited land, when they came to the borders of the land of Canaan. ³⁶Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.^[g]

Test and Quarreling

17 All the congregation of Bnei-Yisrael journeyed from the wilderness of Sin in stages, according to the command of Adonai, and camped in Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. ²So the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test Adonai?”

³But the people thirsted for water there, and they complained against Moses and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt? To kill us with thirst, along with our children and cattle?”

⁴So Moses cried out to Adonai saying, “What am I to do for these people? They are about ready to stone me.”

⁵Adonai said to Moses, “Walk before the people, and take of the elders of Israel with you, along with your staff with which you struck the river. Take it in your hand and go. ⁶Behold, I will stand before you, there upon the rock in Horeb. You are to strike the rock, and water will come out of it so that the people can drink.” Then Moses did just so in the eyes of the elders of Israel. ⁷The name of the place was called Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of Bnei-Yisrael, and because they tested Adonai saying, “Is Adonai among us, or not?”

War Against Amalek

⁸Then the Amalekites came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. ⁹Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men, go out, and fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”

¹⁰So Joshua did as Moses said, and fought the Amalekites, while Moses, Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill. ¹¹When Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed. But when he let down his hand, the Amalekites prevailed. ¹²Moses’ hands grew heavy, so they took a stone, put it under him, and he sat down. Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on each side. So his hands were steady until the sun went down. ¹³So Joshua overpowered the Amalekites and his army with the edge of the sword.

¹⁴Adonai said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial in the book, and rehearse it in the hearing of Joshua, for I will utterly blot out the memory of the Amalekites from under heaven.”

¹⁵Then Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Adonai-Nissi. ^[h] ¹⁶Then he said, “By the hand upon the throne of Adonai, Adonai will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

Parashat Yitro

Jethro’s Advice

18 Now Jethro, the priest of Midian and Moses’ father-in-law, heard about everything God had done for Moses and for His people Israel, and how Adonai had brought Israel out of Egypt. (²Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, had taken in Moses’ wife Zipporah, after he had sent her away ³with her two sons. One was named Gershom^[i] because he said, “I have been an outsider in a foreign land,” ⁴and the name of the other was Eliezer because he said, “For my father’s God is my help^[j], and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.”)

⁵So Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses into the wilderness where he was encamped at the mountain of God. ⁶He had told Moses, “I, Jethro your father-in-law, am coming to you, along with your wife and her two sons.” ⁷So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, then bowed down and kissed him. They asked each other about their welfare, and went into the tent. ⁸Moses told his father-in-law all that Adonai had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, as well as all the travail that had come upon them along the way, and how Adonai delivered them.

⁹Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness that Adonai had shown to Israel, since He had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians. ¹⁰Jethro said, “Blessed be Adonai, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh, and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. ¹¹Now I know that Adonai is greater than all gods, since they had acted arrogantly against them.” ¹²Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, presented a burnt offering and sacrifices to God. Aaron also came along with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.

¹³The next day, Moses sat to judge the people, and they stood around Moses from morning till evening. ¹⁴When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, “What’s this you’re doing to the people? Why sit by yourself, alone, with all the people standing around from morning until evening?”

¹⁵Moses answered his father-in-law, “It’s because the people come to me to inquire of God. ¹⁶When they have an issue, it comes to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor, so I make them understand God’s statutes and His laws.”

¹⁷But Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you’re doing is no good. ¹⁸You will surely wear yourself out, as well as these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you. You cannot do it alone, by yourself. ¹⁹Now listen to my voice—I will give you advice, and may God be with you! You, represent the people before God, and bring their cases to God. ²⁰Enlighten them as to the statutes and the laws, and show them the way by which they must walk and the work they must do. ²¹But you should seek out capable men out of all the people—men who fear God, men of truth, who hate bribery. Appoint them to be rulers over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. ²²Let them judge the people all the time. Then let every major case be brought to you, but every minor case they can judge for themselves. Make it easier for yourself, as they bear the burden with you. ²³If you do this thing as God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people will go to their places in shalom.”

²⁴So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. ²⁵Moses chose capable men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. ²⁶They judged the people all the time. The hard cases they brought to Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.

²⁷Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went on his way to his own land.

Theophany at Sinai

19 In the third month after Bnei-Yisrael had gone out of the land of Egypt, that same day they arrived at the wilderness of Sinai. ²They travelled from Rephidim, came into to the wilderness of Sinai, and set up camp in the wilderness. Israel camped there, right in front of the mountain.

³Moses went up to God, and Adonai called to him from the mountain saying, “Say this to the house of Jacob, and tell Bnei-Yisrael, ⁴‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagle’s wings and brought you to Myself. ⁵Now then, if you listen closely to My voice, and keep My covenant, then you will be My own treasure from among all people, for all the earth is Mine. ⁶So as for you, you will be to Me a kingdom of kohanim and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you are to speak to Bnei-Yisrael.”

⁷So Moses went, called for the elders of the people, and put before them all these words that Adonai had commanded him. ⁸All the people answered together and said, “Everything that Adonai has spoken, we will do.” Then Moses reported the words of the people to Adonai.

⁹Adonai said to Moses, “I am about to come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.” Then Moses told the words of the people to Adonai.

¹⁰Adonai said to Moses, “Go to the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow. Let them wash their clothing. ¹¹Be ready for the third day. For on the third day Adonai will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. ¹²You are to set boundaries for the people all around, saying, ‘Be very careful not to go up onto the mountain, or touch the border of it. Whoever touches the mountain will surely be put to death. ¹³Not a hand is to touch it, but he will surely be stoned or shot through. Whether it is an animal or a man, it will not live.’ When the shofar sounds, they may come up to the mountain.”

¹⁴Then Moses went down from the mountain to the people, consecrated them, and then, they washed their clothing. ¹⁵He said to the people, “Be ready for the third day. Do not draw near your wives.”

¹⁶In the morning of the third day, there was thundering^[k] and lightning, a thick cloud on the mountain, and the blast of an exceedingly loud shofar. All the people in the camp trembled. ¹⁷Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the lowest part of the mountain. ¹⁸Now the entire Mount Sinai was in smoke, because Adonai had descended upon it in fire. The smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace. The whole mountain quaked greatly. ¹⁹When the sound of the shofar grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him with a thunderous sound.

²⁰Then Adonai came down onto Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. Adonai called Moses to the top of the mountain, so Moses went up. ²¹Then Adonai said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to see Adonai, and many of them die. ²²Even the kohanim who come near to Adonai must consecrate themselves, so that Adonai does not break out against them.”

²³Moses said to Adonai, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for You are the One who warned us, saying, ‘Set boundaries around the mountain, and consecrate it.’”

²⁴Then Adonai said to him, “Go down. You are to come back up, you and Aaron with you. But do not let the kohanim and the people break through to come up to Adonai, or He will break out against them.” ²⁵So Moses went down to the people and told them.

The Ten Words

20 Then God spoke all these words saying,

²“I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

³“You shall have no other gods before Me. ⁴Do not make for yourself a graven image^[l], or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or on the earth below or in the water under the earth. ⁵Do not bow down to them, do not let anyone make you serve them. For I, Adonai your God, am a jealous God, bringing the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, ⁶but showing lovingkindness to the thousands of generations of those who love Me and keep My mitzvot.

⁷“You must not take the Name of Adonai your God in vain, for Adonai will not hold him guiltless that takes His Name in vain.

⁸“Remember Yom Shabbat, to keep it holy. ⁹You are to work six days, and do all your work, ¹⁰but the seventh day is a Shabbat to Adonai your God. In it you shall not do any work—not you, nor your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, your cattle, nor the outsider that is within your gates. ¹¹For in six days Adonai made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Thus Adonai blessed Yom Shabbat, and made it holy.

¹²“Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long upon the land which Adonai your God is giving you.

¹³“Do not murder.

¹⁴“Do not commit adultery.

¹⁵“Do not steal.

¹⁶“Do not bear false witness against your neighbor.

¹⁷“Do not covet your neighbor’s house, your neighbor’s wife, his manservant, his maidservant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

¹⁸All the people witnessed the thundering and the lightning, and the sound of the shofar, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled and stood far off. ¹⁹So they said to Moses, “You, speak to us, and we will listen, but do not let God speak to us, or we will die.”

²⁰So Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid, for God has come to test you, so that His fear may be in you, so that you do not sin.” ²¹The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.

²²Then Adonai said to Moses, “Say this to Bnei-Yisrael: You yourselves have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven. ²³Do not make gods of silver alongside Me, and do not make gods of gold for yourselves. ²⁴You are to make an altar of earth for Me, and there you will sacrifice your burnt offerings, your fellowship offerings—your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I cause My name to be mentioned I will come to you and bless you. ²⁵When you make for Me an altar of stones, do not build it from cut stone, for if you use a tool on it, you will have profaned it. ²⁶Nor are you to go up to My altar on steps, so that your nakedness would not be uncovered while on it.”

Parashat Mishpatim

Ordinances for the Covenant

21 “Now these are the ordinances which you will set before them.

²“If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve for six years, and in the seventh he is to go free, without payment. ³If he comes in by himself, he is to go out by himself. If he was married, then his wife will go out with him. ⁴If his master gave him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children will be her master’s, and he will go free by himself.

⁵“But if the servant plainly states, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children, and I will not go out free,’ ⁶then his master is to bring him to God,^[m] then take him to a door or to a doorpost. His master is to pierce his ear through with an awl, and he will serve him forever.

⁷“If a man sells his daughter to be a maidservant, she is not to go free as the male servants do. ⁸If she does not please her master who has selected her for himself, then he is to allow her to be redeemed. He will have no power to sell her to a foreign people, seeing as he has dealt deceitfully toward her. ⁹If he betroths her to his son, he must give her the rights of a daughter. ¹⁰If he takes another wife, he is not to diminish her food, her clothing, or her marriage rights. ¹¹If he does not provide these three to her, then she is to go free without payment.

¹²“Whoever strikes a man so that he dies must surely be put to death. ¹³But if he did not hunt him down, yet God caused it to happen, then I will appoint for you a place where he may run. ¹⁴If a man presumes to kill his neighbor with craftiness, you are to take him from My altar and put him to death.

¹⁵“Anyone who strikes his father or his mother must surely be put to death.

¹⁶“Anyone who steals a person and sells him, or is found with him under his hand, must surely be put to death.

¹⁷“Whoever curses his father or his mother must surely be put to death.

¹⁸“If people quarrel, and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and the other does not die but lies in bed, ¹⁹if he rises again and walks around on his staff, then the one that struck him he will be cleared. But he must pay for the loss of his time and help him to be thoroughly healed.

²⁰“If a man strikes his male or female servant with a staff, who dies by his hand, he must surely be punished. ²¹Notwithstanding, if the servant gets up in a day or two he will not be punished, for he is his property.^[n]

²²“If men fight, and hit a pregnant woman so that her child is born early, yet no harm follows, the one who hit her is to be strictly fined, according to what the woman’s husband demands of him. He must pay as the judges determine. ²³But if any harm follows,^[o] then you are to penalize life for life, ²⁴eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵burn for burn, wound for wound, blow for blow.

²⁶“If a man strikes the eye of his male or female slave and destroys it, he must let him go free for the sake of his eyesight. ²⁷If he strikes out his slave’s tooth, he must let him go free for the sake of his tooth.

²⁸“If an ox gores a man or a woman so that they die, the ox must surely be stoned, and its meat is not to be eaten, but the owner of the ox will be cleared. ²⁹If the ox was given to goring in times past, and a warning has been given to its owner, yet he has not kept it pent up, and it has killed a man or a woman, then the ox must be stoned and its owner must also be put to death. ³⁰If instead a ransom is placed on him, then he is to pay for the redemption of his life whatever is demanded. ³¹Whether it has gored a son or daughter, this rule is to be applied to him. ³²If the ox gores a male or female slave, he is to pay 30 shekels of silver to their master, and the ox is to be stoned.

³³“If one uncovers a pit or digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls in, ³⁴the owner of the pit must pay compensation. He is to give money to the owner, and the dead animal will be his.

³⁵“If one man’s ox hurts another’s ox so that it dies, they are to sell the live ox and divide the price. They are also to divide the dead one. ³⁶Or if it becomes known that the ox was given to violence in times past, and its owner has not kept it pent up, he must surely pay ox for ox, and the dead animal will be his own. ³⁷^[p] If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he is to pay five oxen for one ox or four sheep for one sheep.

22 “If a thief found breaking in is struck so that he dies, there is no bloodguilt for him. ²But if the sun has risen, there is bloodguilt, and he is to make full restitution. If he has nothing, then he must be sold for his theft. ³If the item is found in his hand alive—whether ox, donkey or sheep—he is to pay double.

⁴“If a man causes a field or vineyard to be eaten by letting his animal loose, and it feeds in another man’s field, then he is to make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard.

⁵“If fire breaks out and spreads among thorns, so that stalks of grain, standing grain or the fields themselves are consumed, then the one who lit the fire must make full restitution.

⁶“If a man entrusts his neighbor with money or items for safekeeping, and it is stolen out of the man’s house, when the thief is found, he must pay double. ⁷If the thief is not found, then the master of the house is to present himself to God, to see whether he has laid his hand on his neighbor’s goods. ⁸For any transgression—whether ox, donkey, sheep, clothing, or anything else lost—when someone says, ‘This is mine!’ the case of both parties is to be brought before God. The one whom God convicts is to pay double to his neighbor.

⁹“If a man entrusts his neighbor with a donkey, ox, sheep or any animal to care for, and it dies, is hurt or taken away with no one seeing, ¹⁰then there must be an oath before Adonai between the two of them, to determine whether or not he has laid his hand on his neighbor’s goods. The owner is to accept it with no restitution. ¹¹But if indeed it was stolen from him, he is to make restitution to the owner. ¹²If it is torn in pieces, let him bring it as evidence. He is not required to pay for what has been torn to pieces.

¹³“If a man borrows anything belonging to his neighbor, and it is harmed or dies in the absence of the owner, he must make full restitution. ¹⁴But if the owner is present, he is not required to pay restitution. If it was rented, it is covered by the rental fee.

¹⁵“If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged, and lies with her, he must pay a dowry for her to be his wife. ¹⁶But if her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he must weigh out silver equal to the dowry for virgins.

¹⁷“You must not permit a sorceress to live.

¹⁸“Anyone who lies with an animal must surely be put to death.

¹⁹“Anyone who sacrifices to the gods, except to Adonai alone, is to be put under a ban of destruction.

²⁰“You must not exploit or oppress an outsider, for you were outsiders in the land of Egypt.

²¹“You must not mistreat any widow or orphan. ²²If you mistreat them in any way, and they cry out to Me, I will surely hear their cry. ²³My wrath will burn hot, and I will kill you with the sword. So your wives will become widows and your children will become orphans.

²⁴“If you lend money to any of My people, to the poor among you, you are not to act like a debt collector with him, and you are not to charge him interest. ²⁵If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, you are to return it to him before the sun goes down, ²⁶for that is his only covering, his cloak for his skin. What will he sleep in? When he cries out to Me I will hear, because I am gracious.

²⁷“Do not despise God, or curse a ruler of your people.

²⁸“Do not hold back the fullness of your crops or your vintage. You are to present the firstborn of your sons to Me. ²⁹“Do the same with your cattle and with your sheep. For seven days it is to be with its mother, and on the eighth day you are to give it to Me.

³⁰“You are to be a holy people for Me. You must not eat any flesh torn by beasts in the field. You may throw it out to the dogs.

23 “Do not to spread a false report. Do not join hands with the wicked by becoming a malicious witness. ²“Do not follow a crowd to do evil. Nor are you to testify in a case, to follow a crowd and pervert justice. ³On the other hand, nor should you takes sides with a poor man in his case.

⁴“If you find your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you must surely bring it back to him again. ⁵If you see the donkey of the one that hates you lying down under its burden, do not leave it. Rather, you are to release it with him.

⁶“You are not to pervert justice to your poor in his dispute. ⁷Stay far away from a false charge. Do not kill the innocent and the righteous, for I will not justify the guilty. ⁸Take no bribe, for a bribe blinds those who have sight, and perverts the words of the righteous.

⁹“Do not oppress an outsider, for you know the heart of an outsider, since you were outsiders in the land of Egypt.

¹⁰“For six years you are to sow your land and gather the increase. ¹¹But during the seventh year you are to let it rest and lie fallow, so that the poor among your people may eat. Whatever they leave behind, the animals of the field may eat. You are to deal with your vineyard and your olive grove in the same way.

¹²“You are to do your work for six days, but on the seventh day you will rest, so that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and also the son of your handmaid and the outsider may be refreshed.

¹³“With all the things that I have said to you, take heed. Make no mention of the names of other gods, and do not let them be heard in your mouth.

Three Harvest Festivals

¹⁴“Three times in the year you are to ce-lebrate a festival for Me. ¹⁵You are to observe the Feast of Matzot.^[q] For seven days you will eat matzot as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Aviv, for that is when you came out from Egypt. No one is to appear before Me empty-handed. ¹⁶Also you are to observe the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors that you sow in the field, as well as the Feast of the Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather your crops from the field. ¹⁷Three times in the year all your men are to appear before Adonai Elohim.

¹⁸“Do not offer the blood of My sacrifice with hametz. Nor is the fat of My feast to remain out all night until the morning. ¹⁹Bring the choicest firstfruits of your land into the House of Adonai your God.

“Do not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.

²⁰“Behold, I am sending an angel before you, to guard you on the way and to bring you into the place that I have prepared. ²¹Watch for Him and listen to His voice. Do not rebel against Him because He will not pardon your transgression, for My Name is in Him. ²²But if you listen closely to His voice, and do everything I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. ²³For My angel will go before you, and bring you to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and the Jebusites, and I will cut them off. ²⁴You are not to bow down to their gods or serve them, or do what they do. Rather, you are to utterly overthrow them, and break their pillars in pieces. ²⁵You are to serve Adonai your God, and He will bless your food and your water. Moreover I will take sickness away from your midst. ²⁶None will miscarry nor be barren in your land, and I will fill up the number of your days.

²⁷“I will send My terror before you and throw all the people to whom you will come into panic, and make all your enemies turn their backs to you. ²⁸I will send the hornet before you, which will drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites and the Hittites, from before you. ²⁹I will not drive them out from before you in a single year. Otherwise the land would become desolate, and the animals of the field will multiply against you. ³⁰But little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you are fruitful. Then you will possess the land.

³¹“I will set your border from the Sea of Reeds to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates River. For I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you are to drive them out before you. ³²Make no covenant with them or with their gods. ³³They must not dwell in your land and cause you to sin against Me, for if you worship their gods, they will be a snare to you.”

Cutting the Covenant at Sinai

24 Then to Moses He said, “Come up to Adonai, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel, and worship from afar. ²Moses alone is to approach Adonai, but the others may not draw near, nor are the people to go up with him.”

³So Moses came and told the people all the words of Adonai as well as all the ordinances. All the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which Adonai has spoken, we will do.”

⁴So Moses wrote down all the words of Adonai, then rose up early in the morning, and built an altar below the mountain, along with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. ⁵He then sent out young men of Bnei-Yisrael, who sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings of oxen to Adonai. ⁶Then Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins and the other half he poured out against the altar. ⁷He took the Scroll of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. Again they said, “All that Adonai has spoken, we will do and obey.”

⁸Then Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which Adonai has cut with you, in agreement with all these words.”^[r]

⁹Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up. ¹⁰They saw the God of Israel, and under His feet was something like a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the very heavens. ^[s] ¹¹Yet He did not raise His hand against the nobles of Bnei-Yisrael. So they beheld God, and ate and drank.

¹²Then Adonai said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and stay there, and I will give you the tablets of stone with the Torah and the mitzvot, which I have written so that you may instruct them.”

¹³So Moses rose up along with his attendant Joshua, and Moses went up onto the mountain of God. ¹⁴To the elders he said, “Wait for us here until we come back to you. See, Aaron and Hur are with you—whoever has a dispute should go to them.”

¹⁵When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it. ¹⁶The glory of Adonai settled upon Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. Then on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. ¹⁷The appearance of the glory of Adonai was like a consuming fire^[t] on the top of the mountain in the sight of Bnei-Yisrael. ¹⁸So Moses entered into the midst of the cloud and went up onto the mountain. Moses was on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights.

Parashat Terumah

Tabernacle: Ark, Table, Menorah

25 Adonai spoke to Moses saying, ²“Tell Bnei-Yisrael to take up an offering for Me. From anyone whose heart compels him you are to take My offering. ³These are the contributions which you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze; ⁴blue, purple and scarlet cloth; fine linen and goat hair; ⁵ram skins dyed red, sealskins, acacia wood; ⁶oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense; ⁷onyx stones and setting stones for the ephod and for the breastplate.

⁸“Have them make a Sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them. ⁹You are to make it all precisely according to everything that I show you—the pattern of the Tabernacle and the pattern of all the furnishings within—just so you must make it.

¹⁰“Now they are to make an Ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits in length, one and a half cubits wide, and a cubit and a half high. ¹¹You are to overlay it with pure gold, inside and out, and make a crown of gold around it. ¹²You are to cast four rings of gold for it, and place them in its four feet. Two rings will be on one side, and two rings on the other side. ¹³Also make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ¹⁴You are to put the poles into the rings on the sides of the Ark, in order to carry the Ark. ¹⁵The poles are to remain in the rings of the Ark, and not be taken from it. ¹⁶You are to put the Testimony, which I will give you, into the Ark.

¹⁷“Then you are to make an atonement cover^[u] of pure gold, two and a half cubits long, one cubit and a half wide. ¹⁸Also make two cheruvim of gold, from hammered work, at the two ends of the atonement cover. ¹⁹Make one cheruv at one end and one cheruv at the other end. Of one piece with the atonement cover you are to make the cheruvim at its two ends. ²⁰The cheruvim are to spread out their wings above, shielding the atonement cover with their wings, each facing its companion. The faces of the cheruvim are to be turned toward the atonement cover. ²¹You are to put the atonement cover on top of the Ark, and inside the Ark you will put the Testimony that I will give you.

²²“I will meet with you there. I will speak with you from above the atonement cover—from between the two cheruvim that are on the Ark of the Testimony—about all that I will command you, for Bnei-Yisrael.

²³“You will make a table of acacia wood, two cubits long, one cubit wide, and a cubit and a half high. ²⁴You are to overlay it with pure gold, and make a crown of gold around it. ²⁵Make a border a single handwidth wide around it and a golden crown for the border all around. ²⁶Also make four gold rings for it, and put the rings in the four corners that are on its four feet. ²⁷The rings are to be close to the borders, as holders for the poles to carry the table. ²⁸You are to make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, so that the table may be carried with them. ²⁹You are also to make the dishes, pans, jars and bowls to pour drink offerings, from pure gold. ³⁰Always set the bread of the Presence^[v] on the table before Me.

³¹“You are to make a menorah of pure gold, by hammered work. Its base, stem, cups, bulbs and flowers are to be one piece. ³²There are to be six branches coming out of the sides, three branches of the menorah out of one side, and three branches out of the other. ³³There are to be three cups shaped like almond blossoms in one branch, each with a bulb and flower, then three cups made like almond blossoms in the next branch, each with a bulb and flower, and so forth for the six branches coming out of the menorah. ³⁴Within the menorah will be four cups made like almond blossoms, with bulbs and flowers. ³⁵There is to be a bulb under two branches of the first piece, a bulb under two branches of the second piece, and a bulb under two branches of the third piece, for the six branches coming out of the menorah. ³⁶Their bulbs and their branches are to be one piece—all of it a single hammered work of pure gold. ³⁷“You are also to make the seven lamps for it, and set the lamps up to shed light over the space before it.

³⁸“The tongs and the censers are to be of pure gold. ³⁹It is to be made from a talent of pure gold, with all these pieces. ⁴⁰See that you make them according to their pattern being shown to you on the mountain.

Curtains

26 “Moreover you are to make the Tabernacle with ten curtains of fine woven linen, of blue^[w], purple and scarlet, with cheruvim made by the work of a skillful craftsman. ²The length of each curtain is to be 28 cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits. All the curtains are to have the same measure. ³Five curtains are to be coupled together one to another, and the other five curtains are also to be coupled one to another. ⁴Also make loops of violet on the edge of the one curtain that is outermost in the first set, and do likewise within the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second set. ⁵You are to make 50 loops in the first curtain and 50 loops on the edge of the curtain that is in the second set. The loops are to be opposite one another. ⁶Then make 50 clasps of gold, and couple the curtains one to another with the clasps, so that the Tabernacle may be one piece.

⁷“You are to make curtains of goat hair for a tent over the Tabernacle, 11 curtains in all. ⁸The length of each curtain is to be 30 cubits and the width of each curtain four cubits. The eleven curtains are to have the same measurement. ⁹You are to couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves, and double over the sixth curtain in the forefront of the tent. ¹⁰Then make 50 loops on the edge of the one curtain that is outermost in the first set, along with 50 loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second set. ¹¹Make 50 bronze clasps, put them into the loops, and couple the tent together, so that it may be one. ¹²As for the overhanging part that remains of the tent curtains, the half curtain that remains is to hang over the back of the Tabernacle. ¹³The extra cubit on one side, as well as the cubit on the other side, which remains in the length of the curtains of the tent, is to hang over the sides of the Tabernacle on each side, to cover it. ¹⁴You are to make a covering for the tent of ram skins, dyed red, and a covering of sealskins above.

¹⁵“You are to make the framework of boards for the Tabernacle from acacia wood, standing upright. ¹⁶The length of each board is to be 10 cubits by one and a half cubits wide. ¹⁷There are to be two supports in each board, joined one to another. Do this for all the boards of the Tabernacle. ¹⁸You are to make the 20 boards for the south side of the Tabernacle, ¹⁹and 40 silver bases underneath the 20 boards. Two bases go underneath one board for its supports and two bases under another board for its supports. ²⁰Likewise, for the second side of the Tabernacle, on the north side, there are to be 20 boards, ²¹with their 40 bases of silver. Two bases go under one board and two bases under the next board. ²²For the back part of the Tabernacle, westward, you are to make six boards. ²³Make two boards for the corners of the Tabernacle on the back side. ²⁴They are also to be doubled at the bottom, and in the same way joined at the top by the first ring. It is to be this way for them both, and they will provide for the two corners. ²⁵So there will be eight boards, with 16 silver bases, two bases under each board.

²⁶“Also make crossbeams of acacia wood, five for the boards on one side of the Tabernacle, ²⁷five for the boards on the other side of the Tabernacle, and five for the boards on the back part of the Tabernacle to the west. ²⁸The middle crossbeam in the center of the boards will pass through from end to end. ²⁹Then overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings from gold as holders for the crossbeams, and overlay the crossbeams with gold.

³⁰“You are to raise up the Tabernacle according to the plan which you were shown on the mountain.

³¹“Make a fine woven linen curtain^[x] of blue, purple and scarlet, with cheruvim. It is to be the work of a skillful craftsman. ³²You are to hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, their hooks being made of gold, atop four bases of silver. ³³You are to hang the curtain under the clasps, and bring the Ark within the curtain of the Testimony. The parokhet will divide for you between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies.

³⁴“Then you are to put the atonement cover on the Ark of the Testimony in the Holy of Holies. ³⁵You shall set the table outside the curtain, and the menorah opposite the table on the side of the Tabernacle toward the south. You are to put the table on the north side.^[y]

³⁶“For the entrance of the tent, also make a screen of blue, purple and scarlet, finely twisted linen, the work of a color weaver. ³⁷You are also to make for the screen five pillars of acacia, and overlay them with gold. Their hooks are to be made of gold, and you are to cast five bases of bronze for them.

Altar, Courtyard, Oil

27 “Make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide. The altar will be square and its height is to be three cubits. ²Make horns on the four corners—of one piece. Overlay it with bronze. ³You are to make pots for it to take away ashes, along with shovels, basins, forks and fire pans—make all the utensils of bronze. ⁴Also make a bronze grating net for it, and on the net you are to make four bronze rings on the four corners. ⁵You are to place it under the ledge around the altar beneath, so that the net may reach halfway up the altar. ⁶Make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze. ⁷Its poles are to be put into the rings, on the two sides of the altar, for carrying it. ⁸You are to make it with planks so that it is hollow. As it has been shown to you in the mountain, they are to make it just so.

⁹“You are also to make a courtyard for the Tabernacle. For the south side there are to be hangings for the courtyard of finely twisted linen, 100 cubits long. ¹⁰There are to be 20 pillars with 20 bronze bases, and the hooks on the pillars along with their bands are to be made of silver. ¹¹Likewise for the north side, in length there are to be 100 cubit long hangings, 20 pillars and 20 bronze bases. The hooks of the pillars and their clasps are to be made of silver.

¹²“Now for the width of the courtyard on the west side there are to be 50 cubits of hangings, ten pillars and ten bases. ¹³The width of the courtyard on the east side is to be 50 cubits. ¹⁴The hangings on one side of the gate are to be 15 cubits, with three pillars and three bases. ¹⁵For the other side there is also to be 15 cubits of hangings, with three pillars and three bases.

¹⁶“For the gate of the courtyard there is to be a 20 cubit curtain of blue, purple, scarlet and finely twisted linen, the work of a color weaver, along with their four pillars and their four bases. ¹⁷The pillars of the courtyard are to be banded with silver, their hooks of silver, and their bases of bronze all around. ¹⁸The length of the courtyard is to be 100 cubits, and the width 50 throughout. The height is to be five cubits, with hangings of finely twisted linen, with their bronze bases. ¹⁹All the articles of the Tabernacle for all the services there, along with all the pegs, including all the pegs of the courtyard, are to be bronze.

Parashat Tetzaveh

²⁰“Also you are to command Bnei-Yisrael, that they are to bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually. ²¹In the Tent of Meeting, outside the curtain which is before the Testimony, Aaron and his sons will set it in order, to burn from evening to morning before Adonai. It will be a statute forever throughout their generations, on behalf of Bnei-Yisrael.

Footnotes

Exodus 15:1 cf. Rev. 15:3.
Exodus 15:2 cf. Rev. 12:10.
Exodus 15:11 cf. Acts 4:30; 7:36; Heb. 2:4.
Exodus 16:4 cf. John 6:31.
Exodus 16:15 Heb. Mah-hu, lit. “What’s that?”
Exodus 16:16 About two quarts.
Exodus 16:36 An omer=about 2 dry quarts; an ephah=20.
Exodus 17:16 Meaning “God is my standard” or “God is my banner”.
Exodus 18:3 Heb. Ger (an outsider) sham (there).
Exodus 18:4 Heb. Eli (my God) etzer (help).
Exodus 19:16 Heb. Kol, lit. sounds or voices; cf. Heb. 12:18-19.
Exodus 20:4 Heb. Pe-sel, lit. “crafted idol”.
Exodus 21:6 Heb. Elohim, lit. “God, gods, princes or judges.”
Exodus 21:21 Lit. money.
Exodus 21:23 i.e., a miscarriage.
Exodus 21:37 Traditional Christian texts number Ex. 21:37-22:30 as Ex. 22:1-31.
Exodus 23:15 cf. Luke 22:15.
Exodus 24:8 cf. Heb. 9:18-20; Luke 22:20.
Exodus 24:11 cf. Rev. 4:3; John 1:18.
Exodus 24:17 cf. Heb. 12:18, 29.
Exodus 25:17 Heb. kapporet; or mercy seat; cf. Heb. 9:5.
Exodus 25:30 Heb. “le-kem pa-nim le-pa-nay” lit. “bread faces my face” [showbread].
Exodus 26:1 Or violet.
Exodus 26:31 Heb. parokhet; cf. Heb. 9:3.
Exodus 26:35 cf. Heb. 9:2-5.

Exodus 15-27

New English Translation

The Song of Triumph

15 ^[a] Then Moses and the Israelites sang^[b] this song to the Lord. They said,^[c]

“I will sing^[d] to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously,^[e]
the horse and its rider^[f] he has thrown into the sea.
²The Lord^[g] is my strength and my song,^[h]
and he has become my salvation.
This is my God, and I will praise him,^[i]
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
³The Lord is a warrior^[j]—
the Lord is his name.^[k]
⁴The chariots of Pharaoh^[l] and his army he has thrown into the sea,
and his chosen^[m] officers were drowned^[n] in the Red Sea.
⁵The depths have covered them;^[o]
they went down to the bottom^[p] like a stone.
⁶Your right hand, O Lord, was majestic^[q] in power;
your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy.
⁷In the abundance of your majesty^[r] you have overthrown^[s]
those who rise up against you.^[t]
You sent forth^[u] your wrath;^[v]
it consumed them^[w] like stubble.
⁸By the blast of your nostrils^[x] the waters were piled up,
the flowing water stood upright like a heap,^[y]
and the deep waters were solidified in the heart of the sea.
⁹The enemy said, ‘I will chase,^[z] I will overtake,
I will divide the spoil;
my desire^[aa] will be satisfied on them.
I will draw^[ab] my sword, my hand will destroy them.’^[ac]
¹⁰But^[ad] you blew with your breath, and^[ae] the sea covered them.
They sank^[af] like lead in the mighty waters.
¹¹Who is like you,^[ag] O Lord, among the gods?^[ah]
Who is like you—majestic in holiness, fearful in praises,^[ai] working wonders?
¹²You stretched out your right hand,
the earth swallowed them.^[aj]
¹³By your loyal love you will lead^[ak] the people whom^[al] you have redeemed;
you will guide^[am] them by your strength to your holy dwelling place.
¹⁴The nations will hear^[an] and tremble;
anguish^[ao] will seize^[ap] the inhabitants of Philistia.
¹⁵Then the chiefs of Edom will be terrified,^[aq]
trembling will seize^[ar] the leaders of Moab,
and the inhabitants of Canaan will shake.
¹⁶Fear and dread^[as] will fall^[at] on them;
by the greatness^[au] of your arm they will be as still as stone^[av]
until^[aw] your people pass by, O Lord,
until the people whom you have bought^[ax] pass by.
¹⁷You will bring them in^[ay] and plant them in the mountain^[az] of your inheritance,
in the place you made^[ba] for your residence, O Lord,
the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established.
¹⁸The Lord will reign forever and ever!
¹⁹For the horses of Pharaoh came with his chariots and his footmen into the sea,
and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea on them,
but the Israelites walked on dry land in the middle of the sea.”

²⁰Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a hand drum in her hand, and all the women went out after her with hand drums and with dances.^[bb] ²¹Miriam sang in response^[bc] to them,

“Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea.”^[bd]

The Bitter Water

²²^[be] Then Moses led Israel to journey away^[bf] from the Red Sea. They went out to the wilderness of Shur, walked for three days^[bg] into the wilderness, and found no water. ²³Then they came to Marah,^[bh] but they were not able to drink^[bi] the waters of Marah, because^[bj] they were bitter.^[bk] (That is^[bl] why its name was^[bm] Marah.)

²⁴So the people murmured^[bn] against Moses, saying, “What can^[bo] we drink?” ²⁵He cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him^[bp] a tree.^[bq] When Moses^[br] threw it into the water, the water became safe to drink. There the Lord^[bs] made for them^[bt] a binding ordinance,^[bu] and there he tested^[bv] them. ²⁶He said, “If you will diligently obey^[bw] the Lord your God, and do what is right^[bx] in his sight, and pay attention^[by] to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, then all^[bz] the diseases^[ca] that I brought on the Egyptians I will not bring on you, for I, the Lord, am your healer.”^[cb]

²⁷Then they came to Elim,^[cc] where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there by the water.

The Provision of Manna

16 ^[cd] When^[ce] they journeyed from Elim, the entire company^[cf] of Israelites came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their exodus^[cg] from the land of Egypt. ²The entire company^[ch] of Israelites murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. ³The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died^[ci] by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by^[cj] the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full,^[ck] for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill^[cl] this whole assembly with hunger!”

⁴Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain^[cm] bread from heaven for you, and the people will go out^[cn] and gather the amount for each day, so that I may test them.^[co] Will they walk in my law^[cp] or not? ⁵On the sixth day^[cq] they will prepare what they bring in, and it will be twice as much as they gather every other day.”^[cr]

⁶Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening^[cs] you will know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt, ⁷and in the morning you will see^[ct] the glory of the Lord, because he has heard^[cu] your murmurings against the Lord. As for us, what are we,^[cv] that you should murmur against us?”

⁸Moses said, “You will know this^[cw] when the Lord gives you^[cx] meat to eat in the evening and bread in the morning to satisfy you, because the Lord has heard your murmurings that you are murmuring against him. As for us, what are we?^[cy] Your murmurings are not against us,^[cz] but against the Lord.”

⁹Then Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole community^[da] of the Israelites, ‘Come^[db] before the Lord, because he has heard your murmurings.’”

¹⁰As Aaron spoke^[dc] to the whole community of the Israelites and they looked toward the wilderness, there the glory of the Lord^[dd] appeared^[de] in the cloud, ¹¹and the Lord spoke to Moses, ¹²“I have heard the murmurings of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘During the evening^[df] you will eat meat,^[dg] and in the morning you will be satisfied^[dh] with bread, so that you may know^[di] that I am the Lord your God.’”^[dj]

¹³In the evening the quail^[dk] came up and covered the camp, and in the morning a layer of dew was all around the camp. ¹⁴When^[dl] the layer of dew had evaporated,^[dm] there on the surface of the wilderness was a thin flaky substance,^[dn] thin like frost on the earth. ¹⁵When^[do] the Israelites saw it, they said to one another,^[dp] “What is it?” because they did not know what it was.^[dq] Moses said to them, “It is the bread^[dr] that the Lord has given you for food.^[ds]

¹⁶“This is what^[dt] the Lord has commanded:^[du] ‘Each person is to gather^[dv] from it what he can eat, an omer^[dw] per person^[dx] according to the number^[dy] of your people;^[dz] each one will pick it up^[ea] for whoever lives^[eb] in his tent.’” ¹⁷The Israelites did so, and they gathered—some more, some less. ¹⁸When^[ec] they measured with an omer, the one who gathered much had nothing left over, and the one who gathered little lacked nothing; each one had gathered what he could eat.

¹⁹Moses said to them, “No one^[ed] is to keep any of it^[ee] until morning.” ²⁰But they did not listen to Moses; some^[ef] kept part of it until morning, and it was full^[eg] of worms and began to stink, and Moses was angry with them. ²¹So they gathered it each morning,^[eh] each person according to what he could eat, and when the sun got hot, it would melt.^[ei] ²²And^[ej] on the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, two omers^[ek] per person;^[el] and all the leaders^[em] of the community^[en] came and told^[eo] Moses. ²³He said to them, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a time of cessation from work,^[ep] a holy Sabbath^[eq] to the Lord. Whatever you want to^[er] bake, bake today;^[es] whatever you want to boil, boil today; whatever is left put aside for yourselves to be kept until morning.’”

²⁴So they put it aside until the morning, just as Moses had commanded, and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it. ²⁵Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the area.^[et] ²⁶Six days you will gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.”

²⁷On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather it, but they found nothing. ²⁸So the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuse^[eu] to obey my commandments and my instructions? ²⁹See, because the Lord has given you the Sabbath, that is why^[ev] he is giving you food for two days on the sixth day. Each of you stay where you are;^[ew] let no one^[ex] go out of his place on the seventh day.” ³⁰So the people rested on the seventh day.

³¹The house of Israel^[ey] called its name “manna.”^[ez] It was like coriander seed and was white, and it tasted^[fa] like wafers with honey.

³²Moses said, “This is what^[fb] the Lord has commanded: ‘Fill an omer with it to be kept^[fc] for generations to come,^[fd] so that they may see^[fe] the food I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out from the land of Egypt.’” ³³Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put in it an omer full of manna, and place it before the Lord to be kept for generations to come.” ³⁴Just as the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the ark of the testimony^[ff] for safekeeping.^[fg]

³⁵Now the Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was inhabited; they ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. ³⁶(Now an omer is one-tenth of an ephah.)^[fh]

Water at Massah and Meribah

17 ^[fi] The whole community^[fj] of the Israelites traveled on their journey^[fk] from the wilderness of Sin according to the Lord’s instruction, and they pitched camp in Rephidim.^[fl] Now^[fm] there was no water for the people to drink.^[fn] ²So the people contended^[fo] with Moses, and they said, “Give us water to drink!”^[fp] Moses said to them, “Why do you contend^[fq] with me? Why do you test^[fr] the Lord?” ³But the people were very thirsty^[fs] there for water, and they murmured against Moses and said, “Why in the world^[ft] did you bring us up from Egypt—to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?”^[fu]

⁴Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What will I do with^[fv] this people?—a little more^[fw] and they will stone me!”^[fx] ⁵The Lord said to Moses, “Go over before the people;^[fy] take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile and go. ⁶I will be standing^[fz] before you there on^[ga] the rock in Horeb, and you will strike^[gb] the rock, and water will come out of it so that the people may drink.”^[gc] And Moses did so in plain view^[gd] of the elders of Israel.

⁷He called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contending of the Israelites and because of their testing the Lord,^[ge] saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Victory over the Amalekites

⁸^[gf] Amalek came^[gg] and attacked^[gh] Israel in Rephidim. ⁹So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our^[gi] men and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”

¹⁰So Joshua fought against Amalek just as Moses had instructed him,^[gj] and Moses and Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill. ¹¹Whenever Moses would raise his hands,^[gk] then Israel prevailed, but whenever he would rest^[gl] his hands, then Amalek prevailed. ¹²When^[gm] the hands of Moses became heavy,^[gn] they took a stone and put it under him, and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and one on the other,^[go] and so his hands were steady^[gp] until the sun went down. ¹³So Joshua destroyed^[gq] Amalek and his army^[gr] with the sword.^[gs]

¹⁴The Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in the^[gt] book, and rehearse^[gu] it in Joshua’s hearing;^[gv] for I will surely wipe out^[gw] the remembrance^[gx] of Amalek from under heaven.” ¹⁵Moses built an altar, and he called it “The Lord is my Banner,”^[gy] ¹⁶for he said, “For a hand was lifted up to the throne of the Lord^[gz]—that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”^[ha]

The Advice of Jethro

18 ^[hb] Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard about all that God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, that^[hc] the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.^[hd]

²Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Moses’ wife Zipporah after he had sent her back, ³and her two sons, one of whom was named Gershom^[he] (for Moses^[hf] had said, “I have been a foreigner^[hg] in a foreign land”) ⁴and the other Eliezer (for Moses had said,^[hh] “The God of my father has been my help^[hi] and delivered^[hj] me from the sword of Pharaoh”).

⁵Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’^[hk] sons and his wife, came to Moses in the wilderness where he was camping by^[hl] the mountain of God.^[hm] ⁶He said^[hn] to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you, along with your wife and her two sons with her.” ⁷Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him;^[ho] they each asked about the other’s welfare, and then they went into the tent. ⁸Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to Egypt for Israel’s sake, and all the hardship^[hp] that had come on them^[hq] along the way, and how^[hr] the Lord had delivered them.

⁹Jethro rejoiced^[hs] because of all the good that the Lord had done for Israel, whom he had delivered from the hand of Egypt. ¹⁰Jethro said, “Blessed^[ht] be the Lord who has delivered you from the hand of Egypt, and from the hand of Pharaoh, who has delivered the people from the Egyptians’ control!^[hu] ¹¹Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods, for in the thing in which they dealt proudly against them he has destroyed them.”^[hv] ¹²Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought^[hw] a burnt offering and sacrifices for God,^[hx] and Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to eat food^[hy] with the father-in-law of Moses before God.

¹³On the next day^[hz] Moses sat to judge^[ia] the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning until evening. ¹⁴When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this^[ib] that you are doing for the people?^[ic] Why are you sitting by yourself, and all the people stand around you from morning until evening?”

¹⁵Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire^[id] of God. ¹⁶When they have a dispute,^[ie] it comes to me and I decide^[if] between a man and his neighbor, and I make known the decrees of God and his laws.”^[ig]

¹⁷Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What^[ih] you are doing is not good! ¹⁸You will surely wear out,^[ii] both you and these people who are with you, for this is too^[ij] heavy a burden^[ik] for you; you are not able to do it by yourself. ¹⁹Now listen to me,^[il] I will give you advice, and may God be with you. You be a representative for the people to God,^[im] and you bring^[in] their disputes^[io] to God; ²⁰warn^[ip] them of the statutes and the laws, and make known to them the way in which they must walk^[iq] and the work they must do.^[ir] ²¹But you choose^[is] from the people capable men,^[it] God-fearing men,^[iu] men of truth,^[iv] those who hate bribes,^[iw] and put them over the people^[ix] as rulers^[iy] of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. ²²They will judge^[iz] the people under normal circumstances,^[ja] and every difficult case^[jb] they will bring to you, but every small case^[jc] they themselves will judge, so that^[jd] you may make it easier for yourself,^[je] and they will bear the burden^[jf] with you. ²³If you do this thing, and God so commands you,^[jg] then you will be able^[jh] to endure,^[ji] and all these people^[jj] will be able to go^[jk] home^[jl] satisfied.”^[jm]

²⁴Moses listened to^[jn] his father-in-law and did everything he had said. ²⁵Moses chose capable men from all Israel, and he made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. ²⁶They judged the people under normal circumstances; the difficult cases they would bring^[jo] to Moses, but every small case they would judge themselves.

²⁷Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way,^[jp] and so Jethro^[jq] went^[jr] to his own land.^[js]

Israel at Sinai

19 ^[jt] In the third month after the Israelites went out^[ju] from the land of Egypt, on the very day,^[jv] they came to the desert of Sinai. ²After they journeyed^[jw] from Rephidim, they came to the desert of Sinai, and they camped in the desert; Israel camped there in front of the mountain.^[jx]

³Moses^[jy] went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, “Thus you will tell the house of Jacob, and declare to the people^[jz] of Israel: ⁴‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I lifted you on eagles’ wings^[ka] and brought you to myself.^[kb] ⁵And now, if you will diligently listen to me^[kc] and keep^[kd] my covenant, then you will be my^[ke] special possession^[kf] out of all the nations, for all the earth is mine, ⁶and you will be to me^[kg] a kingdom of priests^[kh] and a holy nation.’^[ki] These are the words that you will speak to the Israelites.”

⁷So Moses came and summoned the elders of Israel. He set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him, ⁸and all the people answered together, “All that the Lord has commanded we will do!”^[kj] So Moses brought the words of the people back to the Lord.

⁹The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come^[kk] to you in a dense cloud,^[kl] so that the people may hear when I speak with you and so that they will always believe in you.”^[km] And Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.

¹⁰The Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and sanctify them^[kn] today and tomorrow, and make them wash^[ko] their clothes ¹¹and be ready for the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. ¹²You must set boundaries^[kp] for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed^[kq] to yourselves not to go up on the mountain nor touch its edge. Whoever touches the mountain will surely be put to death! ¹³No hand will touch him^[kr]—but he will surely be stoned or shot through, whether a beast or a human being;^[ks] he must not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast they may^[kt] go up on the mountain.”

¹⁴Then Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. ¹⁵He said to the people, “Be ready for the third day. Do not approach your wives for marital relations.”^[ku]

¹⁶On^[kv] the third day in the morning there was thunder and lightning and a dense^[kw] cloud on the mountain, and the sound of a very loud^[kx] horn;^[ky] all the people who were in the camp trembled. ¹⁷Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their place at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸Now 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,^[kz] and the whole mountain shook^[la] violently. ¹⁹When the sound of the horn grew louder and louder,^[lb] Moses was speaking^[lc] and God was answering him with a voice.^[ld]

²⁰The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain, and the Lord summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. ²¹The Lord said to Moses, “Go down and solemnly warn^[le] the people, lest they force their way through to the Lord to look, and many of them perish.^[lf] ²²Let the priests also, who approach the Lord, sanctify themselves, lest the Lord break through^[lg] against them.”

²³Moses said to the Lord, “The people are not able to come up to Mount Sinai, because you solemnly warned us,^[lh] ‘Set boundaries for the mountain and set it apart.’”^[li] ²⁴The Lord said to him, “Go, get down, and then come up, and Aaron with you, but do not let the priests and the people force their way through to come up to the Lord, lest he break through against them.” ²⁵So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.^[lj]

The Decalogue

20 ^[lk] God spoke all these words:^[ll]

²“I,^[lm] the Lord, am your God,^[ln] who brought you^[lo] from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery.^[lp]

³“You shall have no^[lq] other gods before me.^[lr]

⁴“You shall not make for yourself a carved image^[ls] or any likeness^[lt] of anything^[lu] that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water below.^[lv] ⁵You shall not bow down to them or serve them,^[lw] for I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous^[lx] God, responding to^[ly] the transgression of fathers by dealing with children to the third and fourth generations^[lz] of those who reject me,^[ma] ⁶and showing covenant faithfulness^[mb] to a thousand generations^[mc] of those who love me and keep my commandments.

⁷“You shall not take^[md] the name of the Lord your God in vain,^[me] for the Lord will not hold guiltless^[mf] anyone who takes his name in vain.

⁸“Remember^[mg] the Sabbath^[mh] day to set it apart as holy.^[mi] ⁹For six days^[mj] you may labor^[mk] and do all your work,^[ml] ¹⁰but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; on it^[mm] you shall not do any work, you,^[mn] or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or the resident foreigner who is in your gates.^[mo] ¹¹For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, and he rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.

¹²“Honor^[mp] your father and your mother, that you may live a long time^[mq] in the land^[mr] the Lord your God is giving to you.

¹³“You shall not murder.^[ms]

¹⁴“You shall not commit adultery.^[mt]

¹⁵“You shall not steal.^[mu]

¹⁶“You shall not give^[mv] false testimony^[mw] against your neighbor.

¹⁷“You shall not covet^[mx] your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that belongs to your neighbor.”^[my]

¹⁸All the people were seeing^[mz] the thundering and the lightning, and heard^[na] the sound of the horn, and saw^[nb] the mountain smoking—and when^[nc] the people saw it they trembled with fear^[nd] and kept their distance.^[ne] ¹⁹They said to Moses, “You speak^[nf] to us and we will listen, but do not let God speak with us, lest we die.” ²⁰Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you,^[ng] that the fear of him^[nh] may be before you so that you do not^[ni] sin.” ²¹The people kept^[nj] their distance, but Moses drew near the thick darkness^[nk] where God was.^[nl]

The Altar

²²^[nm] The Lord said^[nn] to Moses, “Thus you will tell the Israelites: ‘You yourselves have seen that I have spoken with you from heaven. ²³You must not make gods of silver alongside me,^[no] nor make gods of gold for yourselves.^[np]

²⁴“‘You must make for me an altar made of earth,^[nq] and you will sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings,^[nr] your sheep and your cattle. In every place^[ns] where I cause my name to be honored^[nt] I will come to you and I will bless you. ²⁵If you make me an altar of stone, you must not build it^[nu] of stones shaped with tools,^[nv] for if you use your tool on it you have defiled it.^[nw] ²⁶And you must not go up by steps to my altar, so that your nakedness is not exposed.’^[nx]

The Ordinances

21 ^[ny] “These are the ordinances that you will set before them:

Hebrew Servants

²^[nz] “If you buy^[oa] a Hebrew servant,^[ob] he is to serve you for six years, but in the seventh year he will go out free^[oc] without paying anything.^[od] ³If he came in^[oe] by himself^[of] he will go out by himself; if he had^[og] a wife when he came in, then his wife will go out with him. ⁴If his master gave^[oh] him a wife, and she bore sons or daughters, the wife and the children will belong to her master, and he will go out by himself. ⁵But if the servant should declare,^[oi] ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out^[oj] free,’ ⁶then his master must bring him to the judges,^[ok] and he will bring him to the door or the doorpost, and his master will pierce his ear with an awl, and he shall serve him forever.^[ol]

⁷“If a man sells his daughter^[om] as a female servant,^[on] she will not go out as the male servants do. ⁸If she does not please^[oo] her master, who has designated her^[op] for himself, then he must let her be redeemed.^[oq] He has no right^[or] to sell her to a foreign nation, because he has dealt deceitfully^[os] with her. ⁹If he designated her for his son, then he will deal with her according to the customary rights^[ot] of daughters. ¹⁰If he takes another wife,^[ou] he must not diminish the first one’s food,^[ov] her clothing, or her marital rights.^[ow] ¹¹If he does not provide her with these three things, then she will go out free, without paying money.^[ox]

Personal Injuries

¹²^[oy] “Whoever strikes someone^[oz] so that he dies^[pa] must surely be put to death.^[pb] ¹³But if he does not do it with premeditation,^[pc] but it happens by accident,^[pd] then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee. ¹⁴But if a man willfully attacks his neighbor to kill him cunningly,^[pe] you will take him even from my altar that he may die.

¹⁵“Whoever strikes^[pf] his father or his mother must surely be put to death.

¹⁶“Whoever kidnaps someone^[pg] and sells him,^[ph] or is caught still holding him,^[pi] must surely be put to death.

¹⁷“Whoever treats his father or his mother disgracefully^[pj] must surely be put to death.

¹⁸“If men fight, and one strikes his neighbor with a stone or with his fist and he does not die, but must remain in bed,^[pk] ¹⁹and then^[pl] if he gets up and walks about^[pm] outside on his staff, then the one who struck him is innocent, except he must pay^[pn] for the injured person’s^[po] loss of time^[pp] and see to it that he is fully healed.

²⁰“If a man strikes his male servant or his female servant with a staff so that he or she^[pq] dies as a result of the blow,^[pr] he will surely be punished.^[ps] ²¹However, if the injured servant^[pt] survives one or two days, the owner^[pu] will not be punished, for he has suffered the loss.^[pv]

²²“If men fight and hit a pregnant woman and her child is born prematurely,^[pw] but there is no serious injury, the one who hit her^[px] will surely be punished in accordance with what the woman’s husband demands of him, and he will pay what the court decides.^[py] ²³But if there is serious injury, then you will give a life for a life, ²⁴eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.^[pz]

²⁶“If a man strikes the eye of his male servant or his female servant so that he destroys it,^[qa] he will let the servant^[qb] go free^[qc] as compensation for the eye. ²⁷If he knocks out the tooth of his male servant or his female servant, he will let the servant^[qd] go free as compensation for the tooth.

Laws about Animals

²⁸^[qe] “If an ox^[qf] gores a man or a woman so that either dies,^[qg] then the ox must surely^[qh] be stoned and its flesh must not be eaten, but the owner of the ox will be acquitted. ²⁹But if the ox had the habit of goring, and its owner was warned^[qi] but he did not take the necessary precautions,^[qj] and then it killed a man or a woman, the ox must be stoned and the man must be put to death. ³⁰If a ransom is set for him,^[qk] then he must pay the redemption for his life according to whatever amount was set for him. ³¹If the ox^[ql] gores a son or a daughter, the owner^[qm] will be dealt with according to this rule.^[qn] ³²If the ox gores a male servant or a female servant, the owner^[qo] must pay thirty shekels of silver,^[qp] and the ox must be stoned.^[qq]

³³“If a man opens a pit or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it and an ox or a donkey falls into it, ³⁴the owner of the pit must repay the loss.^[qr] He must give money^[qs] to its owner, and the dead animal^[qt] will become his. ³⁵If the ox of one man injures the ox of his neighbor so that it dies, then they will sell the live ox and divide its proceeds,^[qu] and they will also divide the dead ox.^[qv] ³⁶Or if it is known that the ox had the habit of goring, and its owner did not take the necessary precautions, he must surely pay^[qw] ox for ox, and the dead animal will become his.^[qx]

Laws about Property

22 ^[qy] (21:37)^[qz] “If a man steals an ox or a sheep and kills it or sells it, he must pay back^[ra] five head of cattle for the ox, and four sheep for the one sheep.^[rb]

²“If a thief is caught^[rc] breaking in^[rd] and is struck so that he dies, there will be no blood guilt for him.^[re] ³If the sun has risen on him, then there is blood guilt for him. A thief^[rf] must surely make full restitution; if he has nothing, then he will be sold for his theft. ⁴If the stolen item should in fact be found^[rg] alive in his possession,^[rh] whether it be an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he must pay back double.^[ri]

⁵“If a man grazes^[rj] his livestock^[rk] in a field or a vineyard and he lets the livestock loose and they graze in the field of another man, he must make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard.

⁶“If a fire breaks out and spreads to^[rl] thorn bushes,^[rm] so that stacked grain or standing grain or the whole field is consumed, the one who started^[rn] the fire must surely make restitution.

⁷“If a man gives his neighbor money or articles^[ro] for safekeeping^[rp] and it is stolen from the man’s house, if the thief is caught,^[rq] he must repay double. ⁸If the thief is not caught,^[rr] then the owner of the house will be brought before the judges^[rs] to see^[rt] whether he has laid^[ru] his hand on his neighbor’s goods. ⁹In all cases of illegal possessions,^[rv] whether for an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any kind of lost item, about which someone says ‘This belongs to me,’^[rw] the matter of the two of them will come before the judges,^[rx] and the one whom^[ry] the judges declare guilty^[rz] must repay double to his neighbor. ¹⁰If a man gives his neighbor a donkey or an ox or a sheep or any beast to keep, and it dies or is injured^[sa] or is carried away^[sb] without anyone seeing it,^[sc] ¹¹then there will be an oath to the Lord^[sd] between the two of them, that he has not laid his hand on his neighbor’s goods, and its owner will accept this, and he will not have to pay. ¹²But if it was stolen^[se] from him,^[sf] he will pay its owner. ¹³If it is torn in pieces, then he will bring it for evidence,^[sg] and he will not have to pay for what was torn.

¹⁴“If a man borrows an animal^[sh] from his neighbor and it is hurt or dies when its owner was not with it, the man who borrowed it^[si] will surely pay. ¹⁵If its owner was with it, he will not have to pay; if it was hired, what was paid for the hire covers it.^[sj]

Moral and Ceremonial Laws

¹⁶^[sk] “If a man seduces a virgin^[sl] who is not engaged^[sm] and goes to bed^[sn] with her, he must surely pay the marriage price^[so] for her to be his wife. ¹⁷If her father refuses to give her to him, he must pay money for the bride price of virgins.

¹⁸“You must not allow a sorceress to live.^[sp]

¹⁹“Whoever has sexual relations^[sq] with a beast must surely be put to death.

²⁰“Whoever sacrifices to a god other than the Lord^[sr] alone must be utterly destroyed.^[ss]

²¹“You must not wrong^[st] a resident foreigner^[su] nor oppress him, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

²²“You must not afflict^[sv] any widow or orphan. ²³If you afflict them^[sw] in any way^[sx] and they cry to me, I will surely hear^[sy] their cry, ²⁴and my anger will burn and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives will be widows and your children will be fatherless.^[sz]

²⁵“If you lend money to any of^[ta] my people who are needy among you, do not be like a moneylender^[tb] to him; do not charge^[tc] him interest.^[td] ²⁶If you do take^[te] the garment of your neighbor in pledge, you must return it to him by the time the sun goes down,^[tf] ²⁷for it is his only covering—it is his garment for his body.^[tg] What else can he sleep in?^[th] And^[ti] when he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am gracious.

²⁸“You must not blaspheme^[tj] God^[tk] or curse the ruler of your people.

²⁹“Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats.^[tl] You must give me the firstborn of your sons. ³⁰You must also do this for your oxen and for your sheep; seven days they may remain with their mothers, but give them to me on the eighth day.

³¹“You will be holy^[tm] people to me; you must not eat any meat torn by animals in the field.^[tn] You must throw it to the dogs.

Justice

23 ^[to] “You must not give^[tp] a false report.^[tq] Do not make common cause^[tr] with the wicked^[ts] to be a malicious^[tt] witness.

²“You must not follow a crowd^[tu] in doing evil things;^[tv] in a lawsuit you must not offer testimony that agrees with a crowd so as to pervert justice,^[tw] ³and you must not show partiality^[tx] to a poor man in his lawsuit.

⁴“If you encounter^[ty] your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, you must by all means return^[tz] it to him. ⁵If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen under its load, you must not ignore him,^[ua] but be sure to help^[ub] him with it.^[uc]

⁶“You must not turn away justice for your poor people in their lawsuits. ⁷Keep your distance^[ud] from a false charge^[ue]—do not kill the innocent and the righteous,^[uf] for I will not justify the wicked.^[ug]

⁸“You must not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see^[uh] and subverts the words of the righteous.

⁹“You must not oppress^[ui] a resident foreigner, since you know the life^[uj] of a foreigner, for you were foreigners^[uk] in the land of Egypt.

Sabbaths and Feasts

¹⁰^[ul] “For six years^[um] you are to sow your land and gather in its produce. ¹¹But in the seventh year^[un] you must let it lie fallow and leave it alone so that the poor of your people may eat, and what they leave any animal in the field^[uo] may eat; you must do likewise with your vineyard and your olive grove. ¹²For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must cease, in order that your ox and your donkey may rest and that your female servant’s son and the resident foreigner^[up] may refresh themselves.^[uq]

¹³“Pay attention to do^[ur] everything I have told you, and do not even mention^[us] the names of other gods—do not let them be heard on your lips.^[ut]

¹⁴“Three times^[uu] in the year you must make a pilgrim feast^[uv] to me. ¹⁵You are to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; seven days^[uw] you must eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you, at the appointed time of the month of Abib, for at that time^[ux] you came out of Egypt. No one may appear before^[uy] me empty-handed.

¹⁶“You are also to observe^[uz] the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors that you have sown in the field, and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year^[va] when you have gathered in^[vb] your harvest^[vc] out of the field. ¹⁷At^[vd] three times in the year all your males will appear before the Sovereign Lord.^[ve]

¹⁸“You must not offer^[vf] the blood of my sacrifice with bread containing yeast; the fat of my festal sacrifice must not remain until morning.^[vg] ¹⁹The first of the firstfruits of your soil you must bring to the house of the Lord your God.

“You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.^[vh]

The Angel of the Presence

²⁰^[vi] “I am going to send^[vj] an angel^[vk] before you to protect you as you journey^[vl] and to bring you into the place that I have prepared.^[vm] ²¹Take heed because of him, and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgressions, for my Name^[vn] is in him. ²²But if you diligently obey him^[vo] and do all that I command, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will be an adversary to your adversaries. ²³For my angel will go before you and bring you to the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I will destroy them completely.^[vp]

²⁴“You must not bow down to their gods; you must not serve them or do according to their practices. Instead you must completely overthrow them and smash their standing stones^[vq] to pieces.^[vr] ²⁵You must serve^[vs] the Lord your God, and he^[vt] will bless your bread and your water,^[vu] and I will remove sickness from your midst. ²⁶No woman will miscarry her young^[vv] or be barren in your land. I will fulfill^[vw] the number of your days.

²⁷“I will send my terror^[vx] before you, and I will alarm^[vy] all the people whom you encounter; I will make all your enemies turn their backs^[vz] to you. ²⁸I will send^[wa] hornets before you that will drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite before you. ²⁹I will not drive them out before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild animals^[wb] multiply against you. ³⁰Little by little^[wc] I will drive them out before you, until you become fruitful and inherit the land. ³¹I will set^[wd] your boundaries from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River,^[we] for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will drive them out before you.

³²“You must make no covenant with them or with their gods. ³³They must not live in your land, lest they make you sin against me, for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare^[wf] to you.”

The Lord Ratifies the Covenant

24 ^[wg] But to Moses the Lord^[wh] said, “Come up^[wi] to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from a distance.^[wj] ²Moses alone may come near^[wk] the Lord, but the others^[wl] must not come near,^[wm] nor may the people go up with him.”

³Moses came^[wn] and told the people all the Lord’s words^[wo] and all the decisions. All the people answered together,^[wp] “We are willing to do^[wq] all the words that the Lord has said,” ⁴and Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Early in the morning he built^[wr] an altar at the foot^[ws] of the mountain and arranged^[wt] twelve standing stones^[wu]—according to the twelve tribes of Israel. ⁵He sent young Israelite men,^[wv] and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls for peace offerings^[ww] to the Lord. ⁶Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and half of the blood he splashed on the altar.^[wx] ⁷He took the Book of the Covenant^[wy] and read it aloud^[wz] to the people, and they said, “We are willing to do and obey^[xa] all that the Lord has spoken.” ⁸So Moses took the blood and splashed it on^[xb] the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant^[xc] that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

⁹Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up,^[xd] ¹⁰and they saw^[xe] the God of Israel. Under his feet^[xf] there was something like a pavement^[xg] made of sapphire, clear like the sky itself.^[xh] ¹¹But he did not lay a hand^[xi] on the leaders of the Israelites, so they saw God,^[xj] and they ate and they drank.^[xk]

¹²^[xl] The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets^[xm] with^[xn] the law and the commandments that I have written, so that you may teach them.”^[xo] ¹³So Moses set out^[xp] with^[xq] Joshua his attendant, and Moses went up the mountain of God. ¹⁴He told the elders, “Wait for us in this place until we return to you. Here are^[xr] Aaron and Hur with you. Whoever has any matters of dispute^[xs] can approach^[xt] them.”

¹⁵Moses went up the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. ¹⁶The glory of the Lord resided^[xu] on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days.^[xv] On the seventh day he called to Moses from within the cloud. ¹⁷Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in plain view^[xw] of the people. ¹⁸Moses went into the cloud when he went up^[xx] the mountain, and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.^[xy]

The Materials for the Tabernacle

25 ^[xz] The Lord spoke to Moses, ²“Tell the Israelites to take^[ya] an offering^[yb] for me; from every person motivated by a willing^[yc] heart you^[yd] are to receive my offering. ³This is the offering you^[ye] are to accept from them: gold, silver, bronze, ⁴blue,^[yf] purple,^[yg] scarlet,^[yh] fine linen,^[yi] goats’ hair,^[yj] ⁵ram skins dyed red,^[yk] fine leather,^[yl] acacia^[ym] wood, ⁶oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for fragrant incense, ⁷onyx stones, and other gems to be set in the ephod and in the breastpiece. ⁸Let them make^[yn] for me a sanctuary,^[yo] so that I may live among them. ⁹According to all that I am showing you^[yp]—the pattern of the tabernacle^[yq] and the pattern of all its furnishings—you^[yr] must make it exactly so.^[ys]

The Ark of the Testimony

¹⁰^[yt] “They are to make an ark^[yu] of acacia wood—its length is to be 45 inches, its width 27 inches, and its height 27 inches.^[yv] ¹¹You are to overlay^[yw] it with pure gold—both inside and outside you must overlay it,^[yx] and you are to make a surrounding border^[yy] of gold over it. ¹²You are to cast four gold rings for it and put them on its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other side. ¹³You are to make poles of acacia wood, overlay them with gold, ¹⁴and put the poles into the rings at the sides of the ark in order to carry the ark with them. ¹⁵The poles must remain in the rings of the ark; they must not be removed from it. ¹⁶You are to put into the ark the testimony^[yz] that I will give to you.

¹⁷“You are to make an atonement lid^[za] of pure gold;^[zb] its length is to be 45 inches, and its width is to be 27 inches. ¹⁸You are to make two cherubim^[zc] of gold; you are to make them of hammered metal on the two ends of the atonement lid. ¹⁹Make^[zd] one cherub on one end^[ze] and one cherub on the other end; from the atonement lid^[zf] you are to make the cherubim on the two ends. ²⁰The cherubim are to be spreading their wings upward, overshadowing^[zg] the atonement lid with their wings, and the cherubim are to face each other,^[zh] looking^[zi] toward the atonement lid. ²¹You are to put the atonement lid on top of the ark, and in the ark you are to put the testimony I am giving you. ²²I will meet with you there,^[zj] and^[zk] from above the atonement lid, from between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will command you for the Israelites.

The Table for the Bread of the Presence

²³^[zl] “You are to make a table of acacia wood; its length is to be 36 inches, its width 18 inches, and its height 27 inches. ²⁴You are to overlay it with^[zm] pure gold, and you are to make a surrounding border of gold for it. ²⁵You are to make a surrounding frame^[zn] for it about three inches broad, and you are to make a surrounding border of gold for its frame. ²⁶You are to make four rings of gold for it and attach^[zo] the rings at the four corners where its four legs are.^[zp] ²⁷The rings are to be close to the frame to provide places^[zq] for the poles to carry the table. ²⁸You are to make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, so that the table may be carried with them.^[zr] ²⁹You are to make its plates,^[zs] its ladles,^[zt] its pitchers, and its bowls, to be used in pouring out offerings;^[zu] you are to make them of pure gold. ³⁰You are to set the Bread of the Presence^[zv] on the table before me continually.

The Lampstand

³¹^[zw] “You are to make a lampstand^[zx] of pure gold. The lampstand is to be made of hammered metal; its base and its shaft, its cups,^[zy] its buds, and its blossoms are to be from the same piece.^[zz] ³²Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand,^[aaa] three branches of the lampstand from one side of it and three branches of the lampstand from the other side of it.^[aab] ³³Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on one branch, and three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on the next^[aac] branch, and the same^[aad] for the six branches extending from the lampstand. ³⁴On the lampstand there are to be four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms, ³⁵with a bud under the first^[aae] two branches from it, and a bud under the next^[aaf] two branches from it, and a bud under the third^[aag] two branches from it, according to the six branches that extend from the lampstand. ³⁶Their buds and their branches will be one piece,^[aah] all of it one hammered piece of pure gold.

³⁷“You are to make its seven lamps^[aai] and then set^[aaj] its lamps up on it, so that it will give light^[aak] to the area in front of it. ³⁸Its trimmers and its trays^[aal] are to be^[aam] of pure gold. ³⁹About seventy-five pounds^[aan] of pure gold is to be used for it^[aao] and for all these utensils. ⁴⁰Now be sure to make^[aap] them according to the pattern you were shown^[aaq] on the mountain.^[aar]

The Tabernacle

26 ^[aas] “The tabernacle itself^[aat] you are to make with^[aau] ten curtains of fine twisted linen and blue and purple and scarlet;^[aav] you are to make them with^[aaw] cherubim that are the work of an artistic designer. ²The length of each^[aax] curtain is to be 42 feet, and the width of each curtain is to be 6 feet^[aay]—the same size for each of the curtains. ³Five curtains are to be joined,^[aaz] one to another,^[aba] and the other^[abb] five curtains are to be joined, one to another. ⁴You are to make loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in one set, and in the same way you are to make loops^[abc] in the outer edge of the end curtain in the second set. ⁵You are to make fifty loops on the one curtain, and you are to make fifty loops on the end curtain which is on the second set, so that the loops are opposite one to another.^[abd] ⁶You are to make fifty gold clasps and join the curtains together with the clasps, so that the tabernacle is a unit.^[abe]

⁷“You are to make curtains of goats’ hair^[abf] for a tent over the tabernacle;^[abg] you are to make^[abh] eleven curtains. ⁸The length of each^[abi] curtain is to be 45 feet, and the width of each curtain is to be 6 feet—the same size for the eleven curtains. ⁹You are to join five curtains by themselves and six curtains by themselves. You are to double over^[abj] the sixth curtain at the front of the tent. ¹⁰You are to make fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in one set and fifty loops along the edge of the curtain that joins the second set. ¹¹You are to make fifty bronze clasps and put the clasps into the loops and join the tent together so that it is a unit.^[abk] ¹²Now the part that remains of the curtains of the tent—the half curtain that remains will hang over at the back of the tabernacle.^[abl] ¹³The foot and a half^[abm] on the one side and the foot and a half on the other side of what remains in the length of the curtains of the tent will hang over the sides of the tabernacle, on one side and the other side, to cover it.^[abn]

¹⁴“You are to make a covering^[abo] for the tent out of ram skins dyed red and over that a covering of fine leather.^[abp]

¹⁵“You are to make the frames^[abq] for the tabernacle out of^[abr] acacia wood as uprights.^[abs] ¹⁶Each^[abt] frame is to be 15 feet long, and each frame is to be 27 inches wide, ¹⁷with two projections^[abu] per frame parallel one to another.^[abv] You are to make all the frames of the tabernacle in this way. ¹⁸So you are to make the frames for the tabernacle: twenty frames for the south side,^[abw] ¹⁹and you are to make forty silver bases to go under the twenty frames—two bases under the first frame for its two projections, and likewise^[abx] two bases under the next frame for its two projections; ²⁰and for the second side of the tabernacle, the north side, twenty frames, ²¹and their forty silver bases, two bases under the first frame, and two bases under the next frame. ²²And for the back of the tabernacle on the west^[aby] you will make six frames. ²³You are to make two frames for the corners^[abz] of the tabernacle on the back. ²⁴At the two corners^[aca] they must be doubled at the lower end and finished together at the top in one ring. So it will be for both. ²⁵So there are to be eight frames and their silver bases, sixteen bases, two bases under the first frame, and two bases under the next frame.

²⁶“You are to make bars of acacia wood, five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle, ²⁷and five bars for the frames on the second side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the frames on the back of the tabernacle on the west. ²⁸The middle bar in the center of the frames will reach from end to end.^[acb] ²⁹You are to overlay the frames with gold and make their rings of gold to provide places for the bars, and you are to overlay the bars with gold. ³⁰You are to set up the tabernacle according to the plan^[acc] that you were shown on the mountain.

³¹“You are to make a special curtain^[acd] of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen; it is to be made^[ace] with cherubim, the work of an artistic designer. ³²You are to hang it^[acf] with gold hooks^[acg] on four posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold, set in^[ach] four silver bases. ³³You are to hang this curtain under the clasps and bring the ark of the testimony in there behind the curtain.^[aci] The curtain will make a division for you between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place.^[acj] ³⁴You are to put the atonement lid on the ark of the testimony in the Most Holy Place. ³⁵You are to put the table outside the curtain and the lampstand on the south side of the tabernacle, opposite the table, and you are to place the table on the north side.

³⁶“You are to make a hanging^[ack] for the entrance of the tent of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen, the work of an embroiderer.^[acl] ³⁷You are to make for the hanging five posts of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, and their hooks will be^[acm] gold, and you are to cast five bronze bases for them.^[acn]

The Altar

27 “You are to make the^[aco] altar of acacia wood, 7½ feet long,^[acp] and 7½ feet wide; the altar is to be square,^[acq] and its height is to be 4½ feet^[acr] . ²You are to make its four horns^[acs] on its four corners; its horns will be part of it,^[act] and you are to overlay it with bronze. ³You are to make its pots for the ashes,^[acu] its shovels, its tossing bowls,^[acv] its meat hooks, and its fire pans—you are to make all^[acw] its utensils of bronze. ⁴You are to make a grating^[acx] for it, a network of bronze, and you are to make on the network four bronze rings on its four corners. ⁵You are to put it under the ledge of the altar below, so that the network will come^[acy] halfway up the altar.^[acz] ⁶You are to make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and you are to overlay them with bronze. ⁷The poles are to be put^[ada] into the rings so that the poles will be on two sides of the altar when carrying it.^[adb] ⁸You are to make the altar hollow, out of boards. Just as it was shown you^[adc] on the mountain, so they must make it.^[add]

The Courtyard

⁹“You are to make the courtyard^[ade] of the tabernacle. For the south side^[adf] there are to be hangings^[adg] for the courtyard of fine twisted linen, 150 feet long for one side,^[adh] ¹⁰with^[adi] twenty posts and their twenty bronze bases, with the hooks of the posts and their bands of silver. ¹¹Likewise^[adj] for its length on the north side, there are to be^[adk] hangings for 150 feet, with twenty posts and their twenty bronze bases, with silver hooks and bands^[adl] on the posts. ¹²The width of the court on the west side is to be 75 feet with hangings, with their ten posts and their ten bases. ¹³The width of the court on the east side, toward the sunrise, is to be 75 feet. ¹⁴The hangings on one side^[adm] of the gate are to be^[adn] 22½ feet long, with their three posts and their three bases. ¹⁵On the second side^[ado] there are to be^[adp] hangings 22½ feet long, with their three posts and their three bases. ¹⁶For the gate of the courtyard there is to be a curtain of 30 feet, of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen, the work of an embroiderer, with four posts and their four bases. ¹⁷All the posts around the courtyard are to have silver bands;^[adq] their hooks are to be^[adr] silver, and their bases bronze. ¹⁸The length of the courtyard is to be 150 feet^[ads] and the width 75 feet,^[adt] and the height of the fine twisted linen hangings^[adu] is to be^[adv] 7½ feet, with their bronze bases. ¹⁹All^[adw] the utensils of the tabernacle used^[adx] in all its service, all its tent pegs, and all the tent pegs of the courtyard are to be made of bronze.^[ady]

Offering the Oil

²⁰“You are to command the Israelites that they bring^[adz] to you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, so that the lamps^[aea] will burn^[aeb] regularly.^[aec] ²¹In the tent of meeting^[aed] outside the curtain that is before the testimony,^[aee] Aaron and his sons are to arrange it from evening^[aef] to morning before the Lord. This is to be a lasting ordinance among the Israelites for generations to come.^[aeg]

Footnotes

Exodus 15:1 sn This chapter is a song of praise sung by Moses and the people right after the deliverance from the Sea. The song itself is vv. 1b-18; it falls into three sections—praise to God (1b-3), the cause for the praise (4-13), and the conclusion (14-18). The point of the first section is that God’s saving acts inspire praise from his people; the second is that God’s powerful acts deliver his people from the forces of evil; and the third section is that God’s demonstrations of his sovereignty inspire confidence in him by his people. So the Victory Song is very much like the other declarative praise psalms—the resolve to praise, the power of God, the victory over the enemies, the incomparability of God in his redemption, and the fear of the people. See also C. Cohen, “Studies in Early Israelite Poetry I: An Unrecognized Case of Three Line Staircase Parallelism in the Song of the Sea,” JANESCU 7 (1975): 13-17; D. N. Freedman, “Strophe and Meter in Exodus 15, ” A Light unto My Path, 163-203; E. Levine, “Neofiti I: A Study of Exodus 15, ” Bib 54 (1973): 301-30; T. C. Butler, “‘The Song of the Sea’: Exodus 15:1-18: A Study in the Exegesis of Hebrew Poetry,” DissAb 32 (1971): 2782-A.
Exodus 15:1 tn The verb is יָשִׁיר (yashir), a normal imperfect tense form. But after the adverb “then” this form is to be treated as a preterite (see GKC 314-15 §107.c).
Exodus 15:1 tn Heb “and they said, saying.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
Exodus 15:1 tn The form is the singular cohortative, expressing the resolution of Moses to sing the song of praise (“I will” being stronger than “I shall”).
Exodus 15:1 tn This causal clause gives the reason for and summary of the praise. The Hebrew expression has כִּי־גָּאֹה גָּאָה (ki gaʾoh gaʾah). The basic idea of the verb is “rise up loftily” or “proudly.” But derivatives of the root carry the nuance of majesty or pride (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 132). So the idea of the perfect tense with its infinitive absolute may mean “he is highly exalted” or “he has done majestically” or “he is gloriously glorious.”
Exodus 15:1 sn The common understanding is that Egypt did not have people riding horses at this time, and so the phrase the horse and its rider is either viewed as an anachronism or is interpreted to mean charioteers. The word “to ride” can mean on a horse or in a chariot. Some have suggested changing “rider” to “chariot” (re-vocalization) to read “the horse and its chariot.”
Exodus 15:2 tn Heb “Yah.” Moses’ poem here uses a short form of the name Yahweh, traditionally rendered in English by “the LORD.”
Exodus 15:2 tn The word וְזִמְרָת (v^ezimrat) is problematic. It probably had a suffix yod (י) that was accidentally dropped because of the yod (י) on the divine name following. Most scholars posit another meaning for the word. A meaning of “power” fits the line fairly well, forming a hendiadys with strength—“strength and power” becoming “strong power.” Similar lines are in Isa 12:2 and Ps 118:14. Others suggest “protection” or “glory.” However, there is nothing substantially wrong with “my song” in the line—only that it would be a nicer match if it had something to do with strength.
Exodus 15:2 tn The word נָוָה (navah) occurs only here. It may mean “beautify, adorn” with praises (see BDB 627 s.v.). See also M. Dahood, “Exodus 15:2: ‘anwehu and Ugaritic snwt,” Bib 59 (1979): 260-61; and M. Klein, “The Targumic Tosefta to Exodus 15:2, ” JJS 26 (1975): 61-67; and S. B. Parker, “Exodus 15:2 Again,” VT 21 (1971): 373-79.
Exodus 15:3 tn Heb “man of war” (so KJV, ASV). “Warrior” is now the preferred translation since “man of war” is more commonly known today as a warship. The expression indicates that Yahweh is one who understands how to fight and defeat the enemy. The word “war” modifies “man” to reveal that Yahweh is a warrior. Other passages use similar descriptions: Isa 42:13 has “man of wars”; Ps 24:8 has “mighty man of battle.” See F. Cross, “The Divine Warrior in Israel’s Early Cult,” Biblical Motifs, 11-30.
Exodus 15:3 tn Heb “Yahweh is his name.” As throughout, the name “Yahweh” is rendered as “the Lord” in the translation, as is typically done in English translations.
Exodus 15:4 tn Gesenius notes that the sign of the accusative, often omitted in poetry, is not found in this entire song (GKC 363 §117.b).
Exodus 15:4 tn The word is a substantive, “choice, selection”; it is here used in the construct state to convey an attribute before a partitive genitive—“the choice of his officers” means his “choice officers” (see GKC 417 §128.r).
Exodus 15:4 tn The form is a Qal passive rather than a Pual, for there is not Piel form or meaning.
Exodus 15:5 tn The verb form is יְכַסְיֻמוּ (y^ekhas^eyumu) is the Piel preterite. Normally a vav (ו) consecutive is used with the preterite, but in some ancient poems the form without the vav appears, as is the case frequently in this poem. That such an archaic form is used should come as no surprise, because the word also uses the yod (י) of the root (GKC 214 §75.dd), and the archaic suffix form (GKC 258 §91.l). These all indicate the antiquity of the poem.
Exodus 15:5 tn The parasynonyms here are תְּהֹמֹת (t^ehomot, “deep, ocean depths, deep waters”) and מְצוֹלֹת (m^etsolot, “the depths”); S. R. Driver says properly the “gurgling places” (Exodus, 134).
Exodus 15:6 tn The form נֶאְדָּרִי (neʾdari) may be an archaic infinitive with the old ending i, used in place of the verb and meaning “awesome.” Gesenius says that the vowel ending may be an old case ending, especially when a preposition is inserted between the word and its genitive (GKC 253 §90.l), but he suggests a reconstruction of the form.
Exodus 15:7 sn This expression is cognate with words in v. 1. Here that same greatness or majesty is extolled as in abundance.
Exodus 15:7 tn Here, and throughout the song, these verbs are the prefixed conjugation that may look like the imperfect but are actually historic preterites. This verb is to “overthrow” or “throw down”—like a wall, leaving it in shattered pieces.
Exodus 15:7 tn The form קָמֶיךָ (qamekha) is the active participle with a pronominal suffix. The participle is accusative, the object of the verb, but the suffix is the genitive of nearer definition (see GKC 358 §116.i).
Exodus 15:7 sn The verb is the Piel of שָׁלַח (shalakh), the same verb used throughout for the demand on Pharaoh to release Israel. Here, in some irony, God released his wrath on them.
Exodus 15:7 sn The word wrath is a metonymy of cause; the effect—the judgment—is what is meant.
Exodus 15:7 tn The verb is the prefixed conjugation, the preterite, without the consecutive vav (ו).
Exodus 15:8 sn The phrase “the blast of your nostrils” is a bold anthropomorphic expression for the wind that came in and dried up the water.
Exodus 15:8 tn The word “heap” describes the walls of water. The waters, which are naturally fluid, stood up as though they were a heap, a mound of earth. Likewise, the flowing waters deep in the ocean solidified—as though they were turned to ice (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 175).
Exodus 15:9 sn W. C. Kaiser observes the staccato phrases that almost imitate the heavy, breathless heaving of the Egyptians as, with what reserve of strength they have left, they vow, “I will…, I will…, I will…” (“Exodus,” EBC 2:395).
Exodus 15:9 tn The form is נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”). But this word refers to the whole person, the body and the soul, or better, a bundle of appetites in a body. It therefore can figuratively refer to the desires or appetites (Deut 12:15; 14:26; 23:24). Here, with the verb “to be full” means “to be satisfied”; the whole expression might indicate “I will be sated with them” or “I will gorge myself.” The greedy appetite was to destroy.
Exodus 15:9 tn The verb רִיק (riq) means “to be empty” in the Qal, and in the Hiphil “to empty.” Here the idea is to unsheathe a sword.
Exodus 15:9 tn The verb is יָרַשׁ (yarash), which in the Hiphil means “to dispossess” or “root out.” The meaning “destroy” is a general interpretation.
Exodus 15:10 tn “But” has been supplied here.
Exodus 15:10 tn Here “and” has been supplied.
Exodus 15:10 tn The verb may have the idea of sinking with a gurgling sound, like water going into a whirlpool (R. A. Cole, Exodus [TOTC], 124; S. R. Driver, Exodus, 136). See F. M. Cross and D. N. Freedman, “The Song of Miriam,” JNES 14 (1955): 243-47.
Exodus 15:11 tn The question is of course rhetorical; it is a way of affirming that no one is comparable to God. See C. J. Labuschagne, The Incomparability of Yahweh in the Old Testament, 22, 66-67, and 94-97.
Exodus 15:11 sn Verses 11-17 will now focus on Yahweh as the incomparable one who was able to save Israel from their foes and afterward lead them to the promised land.
Exodus 15:11 tn S. R. Driver suggests “praiseworthy acts” as the translation (Exodus, 137).
Exodus 15:12 tn The verb is the prefixed conjugation, the preterite without the vav consecutive. The subject, the “earth,” must be inclusive of the sea, or it may indicate the grave or Sheol; the sea drowned them. Some scholars wish to see this as a reference to Dathan and Abiram, and therefore evidence of a later addition or compilation. It fits this passage well, however.
Exodus 15:13 tn The verbs in the next two verses are perfect tenses, but can be interpreted as a prophetic perfect, looking to the future.
Exodus 15:13 tn The particle זוּ (zu) is a relative pronoun, subordinating the next verb to the preceding.
Exodus 15:13 tn This verb seems to mean “to guide to a watering-place” (See Ps 23:2).
Exodus 15:14 tn This verb is a prophetic perfect, assuming that the text means what it said and this song was sung at the Sea. So all these countries were yet to hear of the victory.
Exodus 15:14 tn The word properly refers to “pangs” of childbirth. When the nations hear, they will be terrified.
Exodus 15:14 tn The verb is again a prophetic perfect.
Exodus 15:15 tn This is a prophetic perfect.
Exodus 15:15 tn This verb is imperfect tense.
Exodus 15:16 tn The two words can form a nominal hendiadys, “a dreadful fear,” though most English versions retain the two separate terms.
Exodus 15:16 tn The form is an imperfect.
Exodus 15:16 tn The adjective is in construct form and governs the noun “arm” (“arm” being the anthropomorphic expression for what God did). See GKC 428 §132.c.
Exodus 15:16 sn For a study of the words for fear, see N. Waldman, “A Comparative Note on Exodus 15:14-16, ” JQR 66 (1976): 189-92.
Exodus 15:16 tn Clauses beginning with עַד (ʿad) express a limit that is not absolute, but only relative, beyond which the action continues (GKC 446-47 §138.g).
Exodus 15:16 tn The verb קָנָה (qanah) here is the verb “acquire, purchase,” and probably not the homonym “to create, make” (see Gen 4:1; Deut 32:6; Prov 8:22).
Exodus 15:17 tn The verb is imperfect.
Exodus 15:17 sn The “mountain” and the “place” would be wherever Yahweh met with his people. It here refers to Canaan, the land promised to the patriarchs.
Exodus 15:17 tn The verb is perfect tense, referring to Yahweh’s previous choice of the holy place.
Exodus 15:20 sn See J. N. Eaton, “Dancing in the Old Testament,” ExpTim 86 (1975): 136-40.
Exodus 15:21 tn The verb עָנָה (ʿanah) normally means “to answer,” but it can be used more technically to describe antiphonal singing in Hebrew and in Ugaritic.
Exodus 15:21 sn This song of the sea is, then, a great song of praise for Yahweh’s deliverance of Israel at the Sea, and his preparation to lead them to the promised land, much to the (anticipated) dread of the nations. The principle here, and elsewhere in Scripture, is that the people of God naturally respond to God in praise for his great acts of deliverance. Few will match the powerful acts that were exhibited in Egypt, but these nonetheless set the tone. The song is certainly typological of the song of the saints in heaven who praise God for delivering them from the bondage of this world by judging the world. The focus of the praise, though, still is on the person (attributes) and works of God.
Exodus 15:22 sn The first event of the Israelites’ desert experience is a failure, for they murmur against Yahweh and are given a stern warning—and the provision of sweet water. The event teaches that God is able to turn bitter water into sweet water for his people, and he promises to do such things if they obey. He can provide for them in the desert—he did not bring them into the desert to let them die. But there is a deeper level to this story—the healing of the water is incidental to the healing of the people, their lack of trust. The passage is arranged in a neat chiasm, starting with a journey (A), ending with the culmination of the journey (A'); developing to bitter water (B), resolving to sweet water (B'); complaints by the people (C), leading to the instructions for the people (C'); and the central turning point is the wonder miracle (D).
Exodus 15:22 tn The verb form is unusual; the normal expression is with the Qal, which expresses that they journeyed. But here the Hiphil is used to underscore that Moses caused them to journey—and he is following God. So the point is that God was leading Israel to the bitter water.
Exodus 15:22 sn The mention that they travelled for three days into the desert is deliberately intended to recall Moses’ demand that they go three days into the wilderness to worship. Here, three days in, they find bitter water and complain—not worship.
Exodus 15:23 sn The Hebrew word “Marah” means “bitter.” This motif will be repeated four times in this passage to mark the central problem. Earlier in the book the word had been used for the “bitter herbs” in the Passover, recalling the bitter labor in bondage. So there may be a double reference here—to the bitter waters and to Egypt itself—God can deliver from either.
Exodus 15:23 tn The infinitive construct here provides the direct object for the verb “to be able,” answering the question of what they were not able to do.
Exodus 15:23 tn The causal clause here provides the reason for their being unable to drink the water, as well as a clear motivation for the name.
Exodus 15:23 sn Many scholars have attempted to explain these things with natural phenomena. Here Marah is identified with Ain Hawarah. It is said that the waters of this well are notoriously salty and brackish; Robinson said it was six to eight feet in diameter and the water about two feet deep; the water is unpleasant, salty, and somewhat bitter. As a result the Arabs say it is the worst tasting water in the area (W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:398). But that would not be a sufficient amount of water for the number of Israelites in the first place, and in the second, they could not drink it at all. But third, how did Moses change it?
Exodus 15:23 tn The עַל־כֵּן (ʿal ken) formula in the Pentateuch serves to explain to the reader the reason for the way things were. It does not necessarily mean here that Israel named the place—but they certainly could have.
Exodus 15:23 tn Heb “one called its name,” the expression can be translated as a passive verb if the subject is not expressed.
Exodus 15:24 tn The verb וַיִּלֹּנוּ (vayyillonu) from לוּן (lun) is a much stronger word than “to grumble” or “to complain.” It is used almost exclusively in the wilderness wandering stories, to describe the rebellion of the Israelites against God (see also Ps 59:14-15). They were not merely complaining—they were questioning God’s abilities and motives. The action is something like a parliamentary vote of no confidence.
Exodus 15:24 tn The imperfect tense here should be given a potential nuance: “What can we drink?” since the previous verse reports that they were not able to drink the water.sn It is likely that Moses used words very much like this when he prayed. The difference seems to lie in the prepositions—he cried “to” Yahweh, but the people murmured “against” Moses.
Exodus 15:25 tn The verb is וַיּוֹרֵהוּ (vayyorehu, “and he showed him”). It is the Hiphil preterite from יָרָה (yarah), which has a basic meaning of “to point, show, direct.” It then came to mean “to teach”; it is the verb behind the noun “Law” (תּוֹרָה, torah).sn U. Cassuto notes that here is the clue to the direction of the narrative: Israel needed God’s instruction, the Law, if they were going to enjoy his provisions (Exodus, 184).
Exodus 15:25 tn Or “a [piece of] wood” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, TEV, CEV); NLT “a branch.”sn S. R. Driver (Exodus, 143) follows some local legends in identifying this tree as one that is supposed to have—even to this day—the properties necessary for making bitter water sweet. B. Jacob (Exodus, 436) reports that no such tree has ever been found, but then he adds that this does not mean there was not such a bush in the earlier days. He believes that here God used a natural means (“showed, instructed”) to sweeten the water. He quotes Ben Sira as saying God had created these things with healing properties in them.
Exodus 15:25 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Exodus 15:25 tn Heb “there he”; the referent (the Lord) is supplied for clarity.
Exodus 15:25 tn Heb “for him” (referring to Israel as a whole).
Exodus 15:25 tn This translation interprets the two nouns as a hendiadys: “a statute and an ordinance” becomes “a binding ordinance.”
Exodus 15:25 tn The verb נִסָּהוּ (nissahu, “and he tested him [them]”) is from the root נָסָה (nasah). The use of this word in the Bible indicates that there is question, doubt, or uncertainty about the object being tested.sn The whole episode was a test from God. He led them there through Moses and let them go hungry and thirsty. He wanted to see how great their faith was.
Exodus 15:26 tn The construction uses the infinitive absolute and the imperfect tense of שָׁמַע (shamaʿ). The meaning of the verb is idiomatic here because it is followed by “to the voice of Yahweh your God.” When this is present, the verb is translated “obey.” The construction is in a causal clause. It reads, “If you will diligently obey.” Gesenius points out that the infinitive absolute in a conditional clause also emphasizes the importance of the condition on which the consequence depends (GKC 342-43 §113.o).
Exodus 15:26 tn The word order is reversed in the text: “and the right in his eyes you do,” or, “[if] you do what is right in his eyes.” The conditional idea in the first clause is continued in this clause.
Exodus 15:26 tn Heb “give ear.” This verb and the next are both perfect tenses with the vav (ו) consecutive; they continue the sequence of the original conditional clause.
Exodus 15:26 tn The substantive כָּל (kol, “all of”) in a negative clause can be translated “none of.”
Exodus 15:26 sn The reference is no doubt to the plagues that Yahweh has just put on them. These will not come on God’s true people. But the interesting thing about a conditional clause like this is that the opposite is also true—“if you do not obey, then I will bring these diseases.”
Exodus 15:26 tn The form is רֹפְאֶךָ (rof^eʾekha), a participle with a pronominal suffix. The word is the predicate after the pronoun “I”: “I [am] your healer.” The suffix is an objective genitive—the Lord heals them.sn The name I Yahweh am your healer comes as a bit of a surprise. One might expect, “I am Yahweh who heals your water,” but it was the people he came to heal because their faith was weak. God lets Israel know here that he can control the elements of nature to bring about a spiritual response in Israel (see Deut 8).
Exodus 15:27 sn Judging from the way the story is told they were not far from the oasis. But God had other plans for them, to see if they would trust him wholeheartedly and obey. They did not do very well this first time, and they will have to learn how to obey. The lesson is clear: God uses adversity to test his people’s loyalty. The response to adversity must be prayer to God, for he can turn the bitter into the sweet, the bad into the good, and the prospect of death into life.
Exodus 16:1 sn Exod 16 plays an important part in the development of the book’s theme. It is part of the wider section that is the prologue leading up to the covenant at Sinai, a part of which was the obligation of obedience and loyalty (P. W. Ferris, Jr., “The Manna Narrative of Exodus 16:1-10, ” JETS 18 [1975]: 191-99). The record of the wanderings in the wilderness is selective and not exhaustive. It may have been arranged somewhat topically for instructional reasons. U. Cassuto describes this section of the book as a didactic anthology arranged according to association of both context and language (Exodus, 187). Its themes are: lack of vital necessities, murmuring, proving, and providing. All the wilderness stories reiterate the same motifs. So, later, when Israel arrived in Canaan, they would look back and be reminded that it was Yahweh who brought them all the way, in spite of their rebellions. Because he is their Savior and their Provider, he will demand loyalty from them. In the Manna Narrative there is murmuring over the lack of bread (1-3), the disputation with Moses (4-8), the appearance of the glory and the promise of bread (9-12), the provision (13-22), the instructions for the Sabbath (23-30), and the memorial manna (31-36).
Exodus 16:1 tn The sentence begins with a preterite and vav (ו) consecutive, which can be subordinated to the next clause with the preterite and vav consecutive. Here it has been treated as a temporal clause.
Exodus 16:1 tn The word is often rendered “congregation” (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV), but the modern perception of a congregation is not exactly what is in mind in the desert. Another possible rendering is “community” (NAB, NIV, NCV, TEV) or “assembly.” The Hebrew word is used of both good and bad groups (Judg 14:8; Pss 1:5; 106:17-18).
Exodus 16:1 tn The form in the text is לְצֵאתָם (l^etseʾtam, “after their going out”). It clearly refers to their deliverance from Egypt, and so it may be vividly translated.
Exodus 16:2 tn Or “community” or “assembly.”
Exodus 16:3 tn The text reads: מִי־יִתֵּן מוּתֵנוּ (mi yitten mutenu, “who will give our dying”) meaning “If only we had died.” מוּתֵנוּ is the Qal infinitive construct with the suffix. This is one way that Hebrew expresses the optative with an infinitive construct. See R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 91-92, §547.
Exodus 16:3 tn The form is a Qal infinitive construct used in a temporal clause, and the verb “when we ate” has the same structure.
Exodus 16:3 sn That the complaint leading up to the manna is unjustified can be seen from the record itself. They left Egypt with flocks and herds and very much cattle, and about 45 days later they are complaining that they are without food. Moses reminded them later that they lacked nothing (Deut 3:7; for the whole sermon on this passage, see 8:1-20). Moreover, the complaint is absurd because the food of work gangs was far more meager than they recall. The complaint was really against Moses. They crave the eating of meat and of bread and so God will meet that need; he will send bread from heaven and quail as well.
Exodus 16:3 tn לְהָמִית (l^ehamit) is the Hiphil infinitive construct showing purpose. The people do not trust the intentions or the plan of their leaders and charge Moses with bringing everyone out to kill them.
Exodus 16:4 tn The particle הִנְנִי (hin^eni) before the active participle indicates the imminent future action: “I am about to rain.”
Exodus 16:4 tn This verb and the next are the Qal perfect tenses with vav (ו) consecutives; they follow the sequence of the participle, and so are future in orientation. The force here is instruction—“they will go out” or “they are to go out.”
Exodus 16:4 tn The verb in the purpose/result clause is the Piel imperfect of נָסָה (nasah), אֲנַסֶּנוּ (ʾanassenu)—“in order that I may prove them [him].” The giving of the manna will be a test of their obedience to the detailed instructions of God as well as being a test of their faith in him (if they believe him they will not gather too much). In chap. 17 the people will test God, showing that they do not trust him.
Exodus 16:4 sn The word “law” here properly means “direction” at this point (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 146), but their obedience here would indicate also whether or not they would be willing to obey when the Law was given at Sinai.
Exodus 16:5 tn Heb “and it will be on the sixth day.”
Exodus 16:5 sn There is a question here concerning the legislation—the people were not told why to gather twice as much on the sixth day. In other words, this instruction seems to presume that they knew about the Sabbath law. That law will be included in this chapter in a number of ways, suggesting to some scholars that this chapter is out of chronological order, placed here for a purpose. Some argue that the manna episode comes after the revelation at Sinai. But it is not necessary to take such a view. God had established the Sabbath in the creation, and if Moses has been expounding the Genesis traditions in his teachings then they would have known about that.
Exodus 16:6 tn The text simply has “evening, and you will know.” Gesenius notes that the perfect tense with the vav consecutive occurs as the apodosis to temporal clauses or their equivalents. Here the first word implies the idea “[when it becomes] evening” or simply “[in the] evening” (GKC 337-38 §112.oo).sn Moses is very careful to make sure that they know it is Yahweh who has brought them out, and it will be Yahweh who will feed them. They are going to be convinced of this now.
Exodus 16:7 tn Heb “morning, and you will see.”
Exodus 16:7 tn The form is a Qal infinitive construct with a preposition and a suffix. It forms an adverbial clause, usually of time, but here a causal clause.
Exodus 16:7 tn The words “as for us” attempt to convey the force of the Hebrew word order, which puts emphasis on the pronoun: “and we—what?” The implied answer to the question is that Moses and Aaron are nothing, merely the messengers. The next verse repeats the question to further press the seriousness of what the Israelites are doing.
Exodus 16:8 tn “You will know this” has been added to make the line smooth. Because of the abruptness of the lines in the verse, and the repetition with v. 7, B. S. Childs (Exodus [OTL], 273) thinks that v. 8 is merely a repetition by scribal error—even though the versions render it as the MT has it. But B. Jacob (Exodus, 447) suggests that the contrast with vv. 6 and 7 is important for another reason—there Moses and Aaron speak, and it is smooth and effective, but here only Moses speaks, and it is labored and clumsy. “We should realize that Moses had properly claimed to be no public speaker.”
Exodus 16:8 tn Here again is an infinitive construct with the preposition forming a temporal clause.
Exodus 16:8 tn The words “as for us” attempt to convey the force of the Hebrew word order, which puts emphasis on the pronoun: “and we—what?” The implied answer to the question is that Moses and Aaron are nothing, merely the messengers.
Exodus 16:8 tn The word order is “not against us [are] your murmurings.”
Exodus 16:9 tn Or “congregation” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV); the same word occurs in v. 10.
Exodus 16:9 tn The verb means “approach, draw near.” It is used in the Torah of drawing near for religious purposes. It is possible that some sacrifice was involved here, but no mention is made of that.
Exodus 16:10 tn Heb “and it was as Aaron spoke.” The construction uses the temporal indicator and then the Piel infinitive construct followed by the subjective genitive “Aaron.”
Exodus 16:10 sn S. R. Driver says, “A brilliant glow of fire…symbolizing Jehovah’s presence, gleamed through the cloud, resting…on the Tent of Meeting. The cloud shrouds the full brilliancy of the glory, which human eye could not behold” (Exodus, 147-48; see also Ezek 1:28; 3:12, 23; 8:4; 9:3, et al.). A Hebrew word often translated “behold” or “lo” introduces the surprising sight.
Exodus 16:10 tn The verb is the Niphal perfect of the verb “to see”—“it was seen.” But the standard way of translating this form is from the perspective of Yahweh as subject—“he appeared.”
Exodus 16:12 tn Heb “during the evenings”; see Exod 12:6.
Exodus 16:12 sn One of the major interpretive difficulties is the comparison between Exod 16 and Num 11. In Numbers we find that the giving of the manna was about 24 months after the Exod 16 time (assuming there was a distinct time for this chapter), that it was after the erection of the tabernacle, that Taberah (the Burning) preceded it (not in Exod 16), that the people were tired of the manna (not that there was no bread to eat) and so God would send the quail, and that there was a severe tragedy over it. In Exod 16 both the manna and the quail are given on the same day, with no mention of quail on the following days. Contemporary scholarship generally assigns the accounts to two different sources because complete reconciliation seems impossible. Even if we argue that Exodus has a thematic arrangement and “telescopes” some things to make a point, there will still be difficulties in harmonization. Two considerations must be kept in mind: 1) First, they could be separate events entirely. If this is true, then they should be treated separately as valid accounts of things that appeared or occurred during the period of the wanderings. Similar things need not be the same thing. 2) Secondly, strict chronological order is not always maintained in the Bible narratives, especially if it is a didactic section. Perhaps Exod 16 describes the initiation of the giving of manna as God’s provision of bread, and therefore placed in the prologue of the covenant, and Num 11 is an account of a mood which developed over a period of time in response to the manna. Num 11 would then be looking back from a different perspective.
Exodus 16:12 tn The verb means “to be sated, satisfied”; in this context it indicates that they would have sufficient bread to eat—they would be full.
Exodus 16:12 tn The form is a Qal perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; it is in sequence with the imperfect tenses before it, and so this is equal to an imperfect nuance. But, from the meanings of the words, it is clear that this will be the outcome of their eating the food, a divinely intended outcome.
Exodus 16:12 sn This verse supports the view taken in chap. 6 concerning the verb “to know.” Surely the Israelites by now knew that Yahweh was their God. Yes, they did. But they had not experienced what that meant; they had not received the fulfillment of the promises.
Exodus 16:13 sn These are migratory birds, said to come up in the spring from Arabia flying north and west, and in the fall returning. They fly with the wind, and so generally alight in the evening, covering the ground. If this is part of the explanation, the divine provision would have had to alter their flight paths to bring them to the Israelites, and bring them in vast numbers.
Exodus 16:14 tn Heb “and [the dew…] went up.”
Exodus 16:14 tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated as a temporal clause to the main clause; since that clause calls special attention to what was there after the dew evaporated.
Exodus 16:14 sn Translations usually refer to the manna as “bread.” In fact it appears to be more like grain, because it could be ground in hand-mills and made into cakes. The word involved says it is thin, flakelike (if an Arabic etymological connection is correct). What is known about it from the Bible in Exodus is that it was a very small flakelike substance, it would melt when the sun got hot, if left over it bred worms and became foul, it could be ground, baked, and boiled, it was abundant enough for the Israelites to gather an omer a day per person, and they gathered it day by day throughout the wilderness sojourn. Num 11 says it was like coriander seed with the appearance of bdellium, it tasted like fresh oil, and it fell with the dew. Deut 8:3 says it was unknown to Israel or her ancestors; Psalm 78:24 parallels it with grain. Some scholars compare ancient references to honeydew that came from the heavens. F. S. Bodenheimer (“The Manna of Sinai,” BA 10 [1947]: 2) says that it was a sudden surprise for the nomadic Israelites because it provided what they desired—sweetness. He says that it was a product that came from two insects, making the manna a honeydew excretion from plant lice and scale insects. The excretion hardens and drops to the ground as a sticky solid. He notes that some cicadas are called man in Arabic. This view accounts for some of the things in these passages: the right place, the right time, the right description, and a similar taste. But there are major difficulties: Exodus requires a far greater amount, it could breed worms, it could melt away, it could be baked into bread, it could decay and stink. The suggestion is in no way convincing. Bodenheimer argues that “worms” could mean “ants” that carried them away, but that is contrived—the text could have said ants. The fact that the Bible calls it “bread” creates no problem. לֶחֶם (lekhem) is used in a wide range of meanings from bread to all kinds of food including goats (Judg 13:15-16) and honey (1 Sam 14:24-28). Scripture does not say that manna was the only thing that they ate for the duration. But they did eat it throughout the forty years. It simply must refer to some supernatural provision for them in their diet. Modern suggestions may invite comparison and analysis, but they do not satisfy or explain the text.
Exodus 16:15 tn The preterite with vav consecutive is here subordinated to the next verb as a temporal clause. The main point of the verse is what they said.
Exodus 16:15 tn Heb “a man to his brother.”
Exodus 16:15 tn The text has: מָן הוּא כִּי לאֹ יָדְעוּ מַה־הוּא (man huʾ ki loʾ yad^eʿu mah hu’). From this statement the name “manna” was given to the substance. מָן for “what” is not found in Hebrew, but appears in Syriac as a contraction of ma den, “what then?” In Aramaic and Arabic man is “what?” The word is used here apparently for the sake of etymology. B. S. Childs (Exodus [OTL], 274) follows the approach that any connections to words that actually meant “what?” are unnecessary, for it is a play on the name (whatever it may have been) and therefore related only by sound to the term being explained. This, however, presumes that a substance was known prior to this account—a point that Deuteronomy does not seem to allow. S. R. Driver says that it is not known how early the contraction came into use, but that this verse seems to reflect it (Exodus, 149). Probably one must simply accept that in the early Israelite period man meant “what?” There seems to be sufficient evidence to support this. See EA 286,5; UT 435; DNWSI 1:157.
Exodus 16:15 sn B. Jacob (Exodus, 454-55) suggests that Moses was saying to them, “It is not manna. It is the food Yahweh has given you.” He comes to this conclusion based on the strange popular etymology from the interrogative word, noting that people do not call things “what?”
Exodus 16:15 sn For other views see G. Vermès, “‘He Is the Bread’ Targum Neofiti Ex. 16:15, ” SJLA 8 (1975): 139-46; and G. J. Cowling, “Targum Neofiti Ex. 16:15, ” AJBA (1974-75): 93-105.
Exodus 16:16 tn Heb “the thing that.”
Exodus 16:16 tn The perfect tense could be taken as a definite past with Moses now reporting it. In this case a very recent past. But in declaring the word from Yahweh it could be instantaneous, and receive a present tense translation—“here and now he commands you.”
Exodus 16:16 tn The form is the plural imperative: “Gather [you] each man according to his eating.”
Exodus 16:16 sn The omer is an amount mentioned only in this chapter, and its size is unknown, except by comparison with the ephah (v. 36). A number of recent English versions approximate the omer as “two quarts” (cf. NCV, CEV, NLT); TEV “two litres.”
Exodus 16:16 tn Heb “for a head.”
Exodus 16:16 tn The word “number” is an accusative that defines more precisely how much was to be gathered (see GKC 374 §118.h).
Exodus 16:16 tn Traditionally “souls.”
Exodus 16:16 tn Heb “will take.”
Exodus 16:16 tn “lives” has been supplied.
Exodus 16:18 tn The preterite with the vav (ו) consecutive is subordinated here as a temporal clause.
Exodus 16:19 tn The address now is for “man” (אִישׁ, ʾish), “each one”; here the instruction seems to be focused on the individual heads of the households.
Exodus 16:19 tn Or “some of it,” “from it.”
Exodus 16:20 tn Heb “men”; this usage is designed to mean “some” (see GKC 447 §138.h, n. 1).
Exodus 16:20 tn The verb וַיָּרֻם (vayyarum) is equivalent to a passive—“it was changed”—to which “worms” is added as an accusative of result (GKC 388-89 §121.d, n. 2).
Exodus 16:21 tn Heb “morning by morning.” This is an example of the repetition of words to express the distributive sense; here the meaning is “every morning” (see GKC 388 §121.c).
Exodus 16:21 tn The perfect tenses here with vav (ו) consecutives have the frequentative sense; they function in a protasis-apodosis relationship (GKC 494 §159.g).
Exodus 16:22 tn Heb “and it happened/was.”
Exodus 16:22 tn This construction is an exception to the normal rule for the numbers 2 through 10 taking the object numbered in the plural. Here it is “two of the omer” or “the double of the omer” (see GKC 433 §134.e).
Exodus 16:22 tn Heb “for one.”
Exodus 16:22 tn The word suggests “the ones lifted up” above others, and therefore the rulers or the chiefs of the people.
Exodus 16:22 tn Or “congregation” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).
Exodus 16:22 sn The meaning here is probably that these leaders, the natural heads of the families in the clans, saw that people were gathering twice as much and they reported this to Moses, perhaps afraid it would stink again (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 197).
Exodus 16:23 tn The noun שַׁבָּתוֹן (shabbaton) has the abstract ending on it: “resting, ceasing.” The root word means “cease” from something, more than “to rest.” The Law would make it clear that they were to cease from their normal occupations and do no common work.
Exodus 16:23 tn The technical expression is now used: שַׁבַּת־קֹדֶשׁ (shabbat qodesh, “a holy Sabbath”) meaning a “cessation of/for holiness” for Yahweh. The rest was to be characterized by holiness.
Exodus 16:23 tn The two verbs in these objective noun clauses are desiderative imperfects—“bake whatever you want to bake.”
Exodus 16:23 tn The word “today” is implied from the context.
Exodus 16:25 tn Heb “in the field” (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NCV, NRSV); NAB, NIV, NLT “on the ground.”
Exodus 16:28 tn The verb is plural, and so it is addressed to the nation and not to Moses. The perfect tense in this sentence is the characteristic perfect, denoting action characteristic, or typical, of the past and the present.
Exodus 16:29 sn Noting the rabbinic teaching that the giving of the Sabbath was a sign of God’s love—it was accomplished through the double portion on the sixth day—B. Jacob says, “God made no request unless He provided the means for its execution” (Exodus, 461).
Exodus 16:29 tn Heb “remain, a man where he is.”
Exodus 16:29 tn Or “Let not anyone go” (see GKC 445 §138.d).
Exodus 16:31 sn The name “house of Israel” is unusual in this context.
Exodus 16:31 tn Hebrew מָן (man).
Exodus 16:31 tn Heb “like seed of coriander, white, its taste was.”
Exodus 16:32 tn Heb “This is the thing that.”
Exodus 16:32 tn Heb “for keeping.”
Exodus 16:32 tn Heb “according to your generations” (see Exod 12:14).
Exodus 16:32 tn In this construction after the particle expressing purpose or result, the imperfect tense has the nuance of final imperfect, equal to a subjunctive in the classical languages.
Exodus 16:34 sn The “ark of the testimony” (Heb “the testimony”) is a reference to the Ark of the Covenant; so the pot of manna would be placed before Yahweh in the tabernacle. W. C. Kaiser says that this later instruction came from a time after the tabernacle had been built (see Exod 25:10-22; W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:405). This is not a problem since the final part of this chapter had to have been included at the end of the forty years in the desert.
Exodus 16:34 tn Heb “for keeping.”
Exodus 16:36 tn The words “omer” and “ephah” are transliterated Hebrew words. The omer is mentioned only in this passage. (It is different from a “homer” [cf. Ezek 45:11-14].) An ephah was a dry measure whose capacity is uncertain: “Quotations given for the ephah vary from ca. 45 to 20 liters” (C. Houtman, Exodus, 2:340-41).sn The point of this chapter, with all its instructions and reports included, is God’s miraculous provision of food for his people. This is a display of sovereign power that differs from the display of military power. Once again the story calls for faith, but here it is faith in Yahweh to provide for his people. The provision is also a test to see if they will obey the instructions of God. Deut 8 explains this. The point, then, is that God provides for the needs of his people that they may demonstrate their dependence on him by obeying him. The exposition of this passage must also correlate to John 6. God’s providing manna from heaven to meet the needs of his people takes on new significance in the application that Jesus makes of the subject to himself. There the requirement is the same—will they believe and obey? But at the end of the event John explains that they murmured about Jesus.
Exodus 17:1 sn This is the famous story telling how the people rebelled against Yahweh when they thirsted, saying that Moses had brought them out into the wilderness to kill them by thirst, and how Moses with the staff brought water from the rock. As a result of this the name was called Massa and Meribah because of the testing and the striving. It was a challenge to Moses’ leadership as well as a test of Yahweh’s presence. The narrative in its present form serves an important point in the argument of the book. The story turns on the gracious provision of God who can give his people water when there is none available. The narrative is structured to show how the people strove. Thus, the story intertwines God’s free flowing grace with the sad memory of Israel’s sins. The passage can be divided into three parts: the situation and the complaint (1-3), the cry and the miracle (4-6), and the commemoration by naming (7).
Exodus 17:1 tn Or “congregation” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).
Exodus 17:1 tn The text says that they journeyed “according to their journeyings.” Since the verb form (and therefore the derived noun) essentially means to pull up the tent pegs and move along, this verse would be saying that they traveled by stages, or, from place to place.
Exodus 17:1 sn The location is a bit of a problem. Exod 19:1-2 suggests that it is near Sinai, whereas it is normally located near Kadesh in the north. Without any details provided, M. Noth concludes that two versions came together (Exodus [OTL], 138). S. R. Driver says that the writer wrote not knowing that they were 24 miles apart (Exodus, 157). Critics have long been bothered by this passage because of the two names given at the same place. If two sources had been brought together, it is not possible now to identify them. But Noth insisted that if there were two names there were two different locations. The names Massah and Meribah occur alone in Scripture (Deut 9:22, and Num 20:1 for examples), but together in Ps 95 and in Deut 33:8. But none of these passages is a clarification of the difficulty. Most critics would argue that Massah was a secondary element that was introduced into this account, because Exod 17 focuses on Meribah. From that starting point they can diverge greatly on the interpretation, usually having something to do with a water test. But although Num 20 is parallel in several ways, there are major differences: 1) it takes place 40 years later than this, 2) the name Kadesh is joined to the name Meribah there, and 3) Moses is punished there. One must conclude that if an event could occur twice in similar ways (complaint about water would be a good candidate for such), then there is no reason a similar name could not be given.
Exodus 17:1 tn The disjunctive vav introduces a parenthetical clause that is essential for this passage—there was no water.
Exodus 17:1 tn Here the construction uses a genitive after the infinitive construct for the subject: “there was no water for the drinking of the people” (GKC 353-54 §115.c).
Exodus 17:2 tn The verb וַיָּרֶב (vayyarev) is from the root רִיב (riv); it forms the basis of the name “Meribah.” The word means “strive, quarrel, be in contention” and even “litigation.” A translation “quarrel” does not appear to capture the magnitude of what is being done here. The people have a legal dispute—they are contending with Moses as if bringing a lawsuit.
Exodus 17:2 tn The imperfect tense with the vav (ו) follows the imperative, and so it carries the nuance of the logical sequence, showing purpose or result. This may be expressed in English as “give us water so that we may drink,” but more simply with the English infinitive, “give us water to drink.”sn One wonders if the people thought that Moses and Aaron had water and were withholding it from the people, or whether Moses was able to get it on demand. The people should have come to Moses to ask him to pray to God for water, but their action led Moses to say that they had challenged God (B. Jacob, Exodus, 476).
Exodus 17:2 tn In this case and in the next clause the imperfect tenses are to be taken as progressive imperfects—the action is in progress.
Exodus 17:2 tn The verb נָסָה (nasah) means “to test, tempt, try, prove.” It can be used of people simply trying to do something that they are not sure of (such as David trying on Saul’s armor), or of God testing people to see if they will obey (as in testing Abraham, Gen 22:1), or of people challenging others (as in the Queen of Sheba coming to test Solomon), and of the people in the desert in rebellion putting God to the test. By doubting that God was truly in their midst, and demanding that he demonstrate his presence, they tested him to see if he would act. There are times when “proving” God is correct and required, but that is done by faith (as with Gideon); when it is done out of unbelief, then it is an act of disloyalty.
Exodus 17:3 tn The verbs and the pronouns in this verse are in the singular because “the people” is singular in form.
Exodus 17:3 tn The demonstrative pronoun is used as the enclitic form for special emphasis in the question; it literally says, “why is this you have brought us up?” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).
Exodus 17:3 sn Their words deny God the credit for bringing them out of Egypt, impugn the integrity of Moses and God by accusing them of bringing the people out here to die, and show a lack of faith in God’s ability to provide for them.
Exodus 17:4 tn The preposition ל (lamed) is here specification, meaning “with respect to” (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 49, §273).
Exodus 17:4 tn Or “they are almost ready to stone me.”
Exodus 17:4 tn The perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive almost develops an independent force; this is true in sentences where it follows an expression of time, as here (see GKC 334 §112.x).
Exodus 17:5 tn “Pass over before” indicates that Moses is the leader who goes first, and the people follow him. In other words, לִפְנֵי (lifne) indicates time and not place here (B. Jacob, Exodus, 477-78).
Exodus 17:6 tn The construction uses הִנְנִי עֹמֵד (hin^eni ʿomed) to express the futur instans or imminent future of the verb: “I am going to be standing.”sn The reader has many questions when studying this passage—why water from a rock, why Horeb, why strike the rock when later only speak to it, why recall the Nile miracles, etc. B. Jacob (Exodus, 479-80) says that all these are answered when it is recalled that they were putting God to the test. So water from the rock, the most impossible thing, cleared up the question of his power. Doing it at Horeb was significant because there Moses was called and told he would bring them to this place. Since they had doubted God was in their midst, he would not do this miracle in the camp, but would have Moses lead the elders out to Horeb. If people doubt God is in their midst, then he will choose not to be in their midst. And striking the rock recalled striking the Nile; there it brought death to Egypt, but here it brought life to Israel. There could be little further doubting that God was with them and able to provide for them.
Exodus 17:6 tn Or “by” (NIV, NLT).
Exodus 17:6 tn The form is a Hiphil perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; it follows the future nuance of the participle and so is equivalent to an imperfect tense nuance of instruction.
Exodus 17:6 tn These two verbs are also perfect tenses with vav (ו) consecutive: “and [water] will go out…and [the people] will drink.” But the second verb is clearly the intent or the result of the water gushing from the rock, and so it may be subordinated.sn The presence of Yahweh at this rock enabled Paul to develop a midrashic lesson, an analogical application: Christ was present with Israel to provide water for them in the wilderness. So this was a Christophany. But Paul takes it a step further to equate the rock with Christ, for just as it was struck to produce water, so Christ would be struck to produce rivers of living water. The provision of bread to eat and water to drink provided for Paul a ready analogy to the provisions of Christ in the gospel (1 Cor 10:4).
Exodus 17:6 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
Exodus 17:7 sn The name Massah (מַסָּה, massah) means “Proving”; it is derived from the verb “test, prove, try.” And the name Meribah (מְרִיבָה, m^erivah) means “Strife”; it is related to the verb “to strive, quarrel, contend.” The choice of these names for the place would serve to remind Israel for all time of this failure with God. God wanted this and all subsequent generations to know how unbelief challenges God. And yet, he gave them water. So in spite of their failure, he remained faithful to his promises. The incident became proverbial, for it is the warning in Ps 95:7-8, which is quoted in Heb 3:15: “Oh, that today you would listen as he speaks! Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness. There your fathers tested me and tried me, and they saw my works for forty years.” The lesson is clear enough: to persist in this kind of unbelief could only result in the loss of divine blessing. Or, to put it another way, if they refused to believe in the power of God, they would wander powerless in the wilderness. They had every reason to believe, but they did not. (Note that this does not mean they are unbelievers, only that they would not take God at his word.)
Exodus 17:8 sn This short passage gives the first account of Israel’s holy wars. The war effort and Moses’ holding up his hands go side by side until the victory is won and commemorated. Many have used this as an example of intercessory prayer—but the passage makes no such mention. In Exodus so far the staff of God is the token of the power of God; when Moses used it, God demonstrated his power. To use the staff of God was to say that God did it; to fight without the staff was to face defeat. Using the staff of God was a way of submitting to and depending on the power of God in all areas of life. The first part of the story reports the attack and the preparation for the battle (8, 9). The second part describes the battle and its outcome (10-13). The final section is the preservation of this event in the memory of Israel (14-16).
Exodus 17:8 tn Heb “and Amalek came”; NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV “the Amalekites.”
Exodus 17:8 tn Or “fought with.”
Exodus 17:9 tn This could be rendered literally “choose men for us.” But the preposition ל (lamed) probably indicates possession, “our men,” and the fact that Joshua was to choose from Israel, as well as the fact that there is no article on “men,” indicates he was to select some to fight.
Exodus 17:10 tn The line in Hebrew reads literally: And Joshua did as Moses had said to him, to fight with Amalek. The infinitive construct is epexegetical, explaining what Joshua did that was in compliance with Moses’ words.
Exodus 17:11 tn The two verbs in the temporal clauses are by וְהָיָה כַּאֲשֶׁר (v^ehayah kaʾasher, “as long as” or, “and it was that whenever”). This indicates that the two imperfect tenses should be given a frequentative translation, probably a customary imperfect.
Exodus 17:11 tn Or “lower.”
Exodus 17:12 tn Literally “now the hands of Moses,” the disjunctive vav (ו) introduces a circumstantial clause here—of time.
Exodus 17:12 tn The term used here is the adjective כְּבֵדִים (k^evedim). It means “heavy,” but in this context the idea is more that of being tired. This is the important word that was used in the plague stories: when the heart of Pharaoh was hard, then the Israelites did not gain their freedom or victory. Likewise here, when the staff was lowered because Moses’ hands were “heavy,” Israel started to lose.
Exodus 17:12 tn Heb “from this, one, and from this, one.”
Exodus 17:12 tn The word “steady” is אֱמוּנָה (ʾemunah) from the root אָמַן (ʾaman). The word usually means “faithfulness.” Here is a good illustration of the basic idea of the word—firm, steady, reliable, dependable. There may be a double entendre here; on the one hand it simply says that his hands were stayed so that Israel might win, but on the other hand it is portraying Moses as steady, firm, reliable, faithful. The point is that whatever God commissioned as the means or agency of power—to Moses a staff, to the Christians the Spirit—the people of God had to know that the victory came from God alone.
Exodus 17:13 tn The verb means “disabled, weakened, prostrated.” It is used a couple of times in the Bible to describe how man dies and is powerless (see Job 14:10; Isa 14:12).
Exodus 17:13 tn Or “people.”
Exodus 17:13 tn Heb “mouth of the sword.” It means as the sword devours—without quarter (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 159).
Exodus 17:14 tn The presence of the article does not mean that he was to write this in a book that was existing now, but in one dedicated to this purpose (book, meaning scroll). See GKC 408 §126.s.
Exodus 17:14 tn The Hebrew word is “place,” meaning that the events were to be impressed on Joshua.
Exodus 17:14 tn Heb “in the ears of Joshua.” The account should be read to Joshua.
Exodus 17:14 tn The construction uses the infinitive absolute and the imperfect tense to stress the resolution of Yahweh to destroy Amalek. The verb מָחָה (makhah) is often translated “blot out”—but that is not a very satisfactory image, since it would not remove completely what is the object. “Efface, erase, scrape off” (as in a palimpsest, a manuscript that is scraped clean so it can be reused) is a more accurate image.
Exodus 17:14 sn This would seem to be defeated by the preceding statement that the events would be written in a book for a memorial. If this war is recorded, then the Amalekites would be remembered. But here God was going to wipe out the memory of them. But the idea of removing the memory of a people is an idiom for destroying them—they will have no posterity and no lasting heritage.
Exodus 17:15 sn Heb “Yahweh-nissi” (so NAB), which means “Yahweh is my banner.” Note that when Israel murmured and failed God, the name commemorated the incident or the outcome of their failure. When they were blessed with success, the naming praised God. Here the holding up of the staff of God was preserved in the name for the altar—God gave them the victory.
Exodus 17:16 tn The line here is very difficult. The Hebrew text has כִּי־יָד עַל־כֵּס יָהּ (ki yad ʾal kes yah, “for a hand on the throne of Yah”). If the word is “throne” (and it is not usually spelled like this), then it would mean Moses’ hand was extended to the throne of God, showing either intercession or source of power. It could not be turned to mean that the hand of Yah was taking an oath to destroy the Amalekites. The LXX took the same letters, but apparently saw the last four (כסיה) as a verbal form; it reads “with a secret hand.” Most scholars have simply assumed that the text is wrong, and כֵּס should be emended to נֵס (nes) to fit the name, for this is the pattern of naming in the OT with popular etymologies—some motif of the name must be found in the sentiment. This would then read, “My hand on the banner of Yah.” It would be an expression signifying that the banner, the staff of God, should ever be ready at hand when the Israelites fight the Amalekites again.
Exodus 17:16 sn The message of this short narrative, then, concerns the power of God to protect his people. The account includes the difficulty, the victory, and the commemoration. The victory must be retained in memory by the commemoration. So the expositional idea could focus on that: The people of God must recognize (both for engaging in warfare and for praise afterward) that victory comes only with the power of God. In the NT the issue is even more urgent, because the warfare is spiritual—believers do not wrestle against flesh and blood. So only God’s power will bring victory.
Exodus 18:1 sn This chapter forms the transition to the Law. There has been the deliverance, the testing passages, the provision in the wilderness, and the warfare. Any God who can do all this for his people deserves their allegiance. In chap. 18 the Lawgiver is giving advice, using laws and rulings, but then he is given advice to organize the elders to assist. Thus, when the Law is fully revealed, a system will be in place to administer it. The point of the passage is that a great leader humbly accepts advice from other godly believers to delegate responsibility. He does not try to do it all himself; God does not want one individual to do it all. The chapter has three parts: vv. 1-12 tell how Jethro heard and came and worshiped and blessed; vv. 13-23 have the advice of Jethro, and then vv. 24-27 tell how Moses implemented the plan and Jethro went home. See further E. J. Runions, “Exodus Motifs in 1 Samuel 7 and 8, ” EvQ 52 (1980): 130-31; and also see for another idea T. C. Butler, “An Anti-Moses Tradition,” JSOT 12 (1979): 9-15.
Exodus 18:1 tn This clause beginning with כִּי (ki) answers the question of what Jethro had heard; it provides a second, explanatory noun clause that is the object of the verb—“he heard (1) all that God had done… (2) that he had brought….” See R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 81, §490.
Exodus 18:1 sn This is an important report that Jethro has heard, for the claim of God that he brought Israel out of bondage in Egypt will be the foundation of the covenant stipulations (Exod 20).
Exodus 18:3 tn The name Gershom is based on גֵּר (ger) plus שָׁם (sham), meaning “foreign [resident] there.” Another possiblility is to relate the name to the root גָּרַשׁ (garash), perhaps meaning “outcast” (from I גרשׁ) or “churning” (from II גרשׁ).
Exodus 18:3 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity (also in the following verse).
Exodus 18:3 tn The Hebrew word גֵּר (ger), a foreign resident, sounds like and may be the first element of the name Gershom. But the word for “foreign” land (נָכְרִיִּה; nokriyyah) is built on a different root.
Exodus 18:4 tn The referent (Moses) and the verb have been specified in the translation for clarity.
Exodus 18:4 tn Now is given the etymological explanation of the name of Moses’ other son, Eliezer (אֱלִיעֶזֶר, ʾeliʿezer), which means “my God is a help.” The sentiment that explains this name is אֱלֹהֵי אָבִי בְּעֶזְרִי (ʾelohe ʾavi b^eʿezri, “the God of my father is my help”). The preposition in the sentiment is the bet (ב) essentiae (giving the essence—see GKC 379 §119.i). Not mentioned earlier, the name has become even more appropriate now that God has delivered Moses from Pharaoh again. The word for “help” is a common word in the Bible, first introduced as a description of the woman in the Garden. It means to do for someone what he or she cannot do for himself or herself. Samuel raised the “stone of help” (Ebenezer) when Yahweh helped Israel win the battle (1 Sam 7:12).
Exodus 18:4 sn The verb “delivered” is an important motif in this chapter (see its use in vv. 8, 9, and 10 with reference to Pharaoh).
Exodus 18:5 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Exodus 18:5 tn This is an adverbial accusative that defines the place (see GKC 373-74 §118.g).
Exodus 18:5 sn The mountain of God is Horeb, and so the desert here must be the Sinai desert by it. But chap. 19 suggests that they left Rephidim to go the 24 miles to Sinai. It may be that this chapter fits in chronologically after the move to Sinai, but was placed here thematically. W. C. Kaiser defends the present location of the story by responding to other reasons for the change given by Lightfoot, but does not deal with the travel locations (W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:411).
Exodus 18:6 sn This verse may seem out of place, since the report has already been given that they came to the desert. It begins to provide details of the event that the previous verse summarizes. The announcement in verse 6 may have come in advance by means of a messenger or at the time of arrival, either of which would fit with the attention to formal greetings in verse 7. This would suit a meeting between two important men; the status of Moses has changed. The LXX solves the problem by taking the pronoun “I” as the particle “behold” and reads it this way: “one said to Moses, ‘Behold, your father-in-law has come….’”
Exodus 18:7 sn This is more than polite oriental custom. Jethro was Moses’ benefactor, father-in-law, and a priest. He paid much respect to him. Now he could invite Jethro into his home (see B. Jacob, Exodus, 496).
Exodus 18:8 tn A rare word, “weariness” of the hardships.
Exodus 18:8 tn Heb “found them.”
Exodus 18:8 tn Here “how” has been supplied.
Exodus 18:9 tn The word חָדָה (khadah) is rare, occurring only in Job 3:6 and Ps 21:6, although it is common in Aramaic. The LXX translated it “he shuddered.” U. Cassuto suggests that that rendering was based on the midrashic interpretation in b. Sanhedrin 94b, “he felt cuts in his body”—a wordplay on the verb (Exodus, 215-16).
Exodus 18:10 tn This is a common form of praise. The verb בָּרוּךְ (barukh) is the Qal passive participle of the verb. Here must be supplied a jussive, making this participle the predicate: “May Yahweh be blessed.” The verb essentially means “to enrich”; in praise it would mean that he would be enriched by the praises of the people.
Exodus 18:10 tn Heb “from under the hand of the Egyptians.”
Exodus 18:11 tn The end of this sentence seems not to have been finished, or it is very elliptical. In the present translation the phrase “he has destroyed them” is supplied. Others take the last prepositional phrase to be the completion and supply only a verb: “[he was] above them.” U. Cassuto (Exodus, 216) takes the word “gods” to be the subject of the verb “act proudly,” giving the sense of “precisely (כִּי, ki) in respect of these things of which the gods of Egypt boasted—He is greater than they (עֲלֵיהֶם, ʿalehem).” He suggests rendering the clause, “excelling them in the very things to which they laid claim.”
Exodus 18:12 tn The verb is “and he took” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB). It must have the sense of getting the animals for the sacrifice. The Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate have “offered.” But Cody argues because of the precise wording in the text Jethro did not offer the sacrifices but received them (A. Cody, “Exodus 18, 12: Jethro Accepts a Covenant with the Israelites,” Bib 49 [1968]: 159-61).
Exodus 18:12 sn Jethro brought offerings as if he were the one who had been delivered. The “burnt offering” is singular, to honor God first. The other sacrifices were intended for the invited guests to eat (a forerunner of the peace offering). See B. Jacob, Exodus, 498.
Exodus 18:12 tn The word לֶחֶם (lekhem) here means the sacrifice and all the foods that were offered with it. The eating before God was part of covenantal ritual, for it signified that they were in communion with the Deity, and with one another.
Exodus 18:13 tn Heb “and it was/happened on the morrow.”
Exodus 18:13 sn This is a simple summary of the function of Moses on this particular day. He did not necessarily do this every day, but it was time now to do it. The people would come to solve their difficulties or to hear instruction from Moses on decisions to be made. The tradition of “sitting in Moses’ seat” is drawn from this passage.
Exodus 18:14 tn Heb “what is this thing.”
Exodus 18:14 sn This question, “what are you doing for the people,” is qualified by the next question. Sitting alone all day and the people standing around all day showed that Moses was exhibiting too much care for the people—he could not do this.
Exodus 18:15 tn The form is לִדְרֹשׁ (lidrosh), the Qal infinitive construct giving the purpose. To inquire of God would be to seek God’s will on a matter, to obtain a legal decision on a matter, or to settle a dispute. As a judge Moses is speaking for God, but as the servant of Yahweh Moses’ words will be God’s words. The psalms would later describe judges as “gods” because they made the right decisions based on God’s Law.
Exodus 18:16 tn Or “thing,” “matter,” “issue.”
Exodus 18:16 tn The verb שָׁפַט (shafat) means “to judge”; more specifically, it means to make a decision as an arbiter or umpire. When people brought issues to him, Moses decided between them. In the section of laws in Exodus after the Ten Commandments come the decisions, the מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim).
Exodus 18:16 tn The “decrees” or “statutes” were definite rules, stereotyped and permanent; the “laws” were directives or pronouncements given when situations arose. S. R. Driver suggests this is another reason why this event might have taken place after Yahweh had given laws on the mountain (Exodus, 165).
Exodus 18:17 tn Heb “the thing.”
Exodus 18:18 tn The verb means “to fall and fade” as a leaf (Ps 1:3). In Ps 18:45 it is used figuratively of foes fading away, failing in strength and courage (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 166). Here the infinitive absolute construction heightens the meaning.
Exodus 18:18 tn Gesenius lists the specialized use of the comparative min (מִן) where with an adjective the thought expressed is that the quality is too difficult for the attainment of a particular aim (GKC 430 §133.c).
Exodus 18:18 tn Here “a burden” has been supplied.
Exodus 18:19 tn Heb “hear my voice.”
Exodus 18:19 tn The line reads “Be you to the people before God.” He is to be their representative before God. This is introducing the aspect of the work that only Moses could do, what he has been doing. He is to be before God for the people, to pray for them, to appeal on their behalf. Jethro is essentially saying, I understand that you cannot delegate this to anyone else, so continue doing it (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 219-20).
Exodus 18:19 tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; following the imperative it will be instruction as well. Since the imperative preceding this had the idea of “continue to be” as you are, this too has that force.
Exodus 18:19 tn Heb “words”; KJV, ASV “the causes”; NRSV “cases”; NLT “questions.”
Exodus 18:20 tn The perfect tense with the vav (ו) continues the sequence of instruction for Moses. He alone was to be the mediator, to guide them in the religious and moral instruction.
Exodus 18:20 tn The verb and its following prepositional phrase form a relative clause, modifying “the way.” The imperfect tense should be given the nuance of obligatory imperfect—it is the way they must walk.
Exodus 18:20 tn This last part is parallel to the preceding: “work” is also a direct object of the verb “make known,” and the relative clause that qualifies it also uses an obligatory imperfect.
Exodus 18:21 tn The construction uses the independent pronoun for emphasis, and then the imperfect tense “see” (חָזָה, khazah)—“and you will see from all….” Both in Hebrew and Ugaritic expressions of “seeing” are used in the sense of choosing (Gen 41:33). See U. Cassuto, Exodus, 220.
Exodus 18:21 tn The expression is אַנְשֵׁי־חַיִל (ʾanshe khayil, “capable men”). The attributive genitive is the word used in expressions like “mighty man of valor.” The word describes these men as respected, influential, powerful people, those looked up to by the community as leaders, and those who will have the needs of the community in mind.
Exodus 18:21 tn The description “fearers of God” uses an objective genitive. It describes them as devout, worshipful, obedient servants of God.
Exodus 18:21 tn The expression “men of truth” (אַנְשֵׁי אֱמֶת, ʾanshe ʾemet) indicates that these men must be seekers of truth, who know that the task of a judge is to give true judgment (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 220). The word “truth” includes the ideas of faithfulness or reliability, as well as factuality itself. It could be understood to mean “truthful men,” men whose word is reliable and true.
Exodus 18:21 tn Heb “haters of bribes.” Here is another objective genitive, one that refers to unjust gain. To hate unjust gain is to reject and refuse it. Their decisions will not be swayed by greed.
Exodus 18:21 tn Heb “over them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Exodus 18:21 sn It is not clear how this structure would work in a judicial setting. The language of “captains of thousands,” etc., is used more for military ranks. There must have been more detailed instruction involved here, for each Israelite would have come under four leaders with this arrangement, and perhaps difficult cases would be sent to the next level. But since the task of these men would also involve instruction and guidance, the breakdown would be very useful. Deut 1:9, 13 suggest that the choice of these people was not simply Moses’ alone.
Exodus 18:22 tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive, making it equivalent to the imperfect of instruction in the preceding verse.
Exodus 18:22 tn Heb “in every time,” meaning “in all normal cases” or “under normal circumstances.” The same phrase occurs in v. 26.
Exodus 18:22 tn Heb “great thing.”
Exodus 18:22 tn Heb “thing.”
Exodus 18:22 tn The vav here shows the result or the purpose of the instructions given.
Exodus 18:22 tn The expression וְהָקֵל מֵעָלֶיךָ (v^ehaqel meʿalekha) means literally “and make it light off yourself.” The word plays against the word for “heavy” used earlier—since it was a heavy or burdensome task, Moses must lighten the load.
Exodus 18:22 tn Here “the burden” has been supplied.
Exodus 18:23 tn The form is a Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive; it carries the same nuance as the preceding imperfect in the conditional clause.
Exodus 18:23 tn The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive now appears in the apodosis of the conditional sentence—“if you do this…then you will be able.”
Exodus 18:23 tn Heb “to stand.” B. Jacob (Exodus, 501) suggests that there might be a humorous side to this: “you could even do this standing up.”
Exodus 18:23 tn Literally “this people.”
Exodus 18:23 tn The verb is the simple imperfect, “will go,” but given the sense of the passage a potential nuance seems in order.
Exodus 18:23 tn Heb “his place.”
Exodus 18:23 tn Heb “in peace.”sn See further T. D. Weinshall, “The Organizational Structure Proposed by Jethro to Moses (Ex. 18:17),” Public Administration in Israel and Abroad 12 (1972): 9-13; and H. Reviv, “The Traditions Concerning the Inception of the Legal System in Israel: Significance and Dating,” ZAW 94 (1982): 566-75.
Exodus 18:24 tn The idiom “listen to the voice of” means “obey, comply with, heed.”
Exodus 18:26 tn This verb and the verb in the next clause are imperfect tenses. In the past tense narrative of the verse they must be customary, describing continuous action in past time.
Exodus 18:27 tn The verb וַיְשַׁלַּח (vay^eshallakh) has the same root and same stem used in the passages calling for Pharaoh to “release” Israel. Here, in a peaceful and righteous relationship, Moses sent Jethro to his home.
Exodus 18:27 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jethro) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Exodus 18:27 tn The prepositional phrase included here Gesenius classifies as a pleonastic dativus ethicus to give special emphasis to the significance of the occurrence in question for a particular subject (GKC 381 §119.s).
Exodus 18:27 sn This chapter makes an excellent message on spiritual leadership of the people of God. Spiritually responsible people are to be selected to help in the work of the ministry (teaching, deciding cases, meeting needs), so that there will be peace, and so that leaders will not be exhausted. Probably capable people are more ready to do that than leaders are ready to relinquish control. But leaders have to be willing to take the risk, to entrust the task to others. Here Moses is the model of humility, receiving correction and counsel from Jethro. And Jethro is the ideal adviser, for he has no intention of remaining there to run the operation.
Exodus 19:1 sn This chapter is essentially about mediation. The people are getting ready to meet with God, receive the Law from him, and enter into a covenant with him. All of this required mediation and preparation. Through it all, Israel will become God’s unique possession, a kingdom of priests on earth—if they comply with his Law. The chapter can be divided as follows: vv. 1-8 tell how God, Israel’s great deliverer, promised to make them a kingdom of priests; this is followed by God’s declaration that Moses would be the mediator (v. 9); vv. 10-22 record instructions for Israel to prepare themselves to worship Yahweh and an account of the manifestation of Yahweh with all the phenomena; and the chapter closes with the mediation of Moses on behalf of the people (vv. 23-25). Having been redeemed from Egypt, the people will now be granted a covenant with God. See also R. E. Bee, “A Statistical Study of the Sinai Pericope,” Journal of the Royal Statistical Society 135 (1972): 406-21.
Exodus 19:1 tn The construction uses the infinitive construct followed by the subjective genitive to form a temporal clause.
Exodus 19:1 tn Heb “on this day.”
Exodus 19:2 tn The form is a preterite with vav (ו) consecutive, “and they journeyed.” It is here subordinated to the next clause as a temporal clause. But since the action of this temporal clause preceded the actions recorded in v. 1, a translation of “after” will keep the sequence in order. Verse 2 adds details to the summary in v. 1.
Exodus 19:2 sn The mountain is Mount Sinai, the mountain of God, the place where God had met and called Moses and had promised that they would be here to worship him. If this mountain is Jebel Musa, the traditional site of Sinai, then the plain in front of it would be Er-Rahah, about a mile and a half long by half a mile wide, fronting the mountain on the NW side (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 169). The plain itself is about 5000 feet above sea level. A mountain on the west side of the Arabian Peninsula has also been suggested as a possible site.
Exodus 19:3 tn Heb “and Moses went up.”
Exodus 19:3 tn This expression is normally translated as “Israelites” in this translation, but because in this place it is parallel to “the house of Jacob” it seemed better to offer a fuller rendering.
Exodus 19:4 tn The figure compares the way a bird would teach its young to fly and leave the nest with the way Yahweh brought Israel out of Egypt. The bird referred to could be one of several species of eagles, but more likely is the griffin-vulture. The image is that of power and love.
Exodus 19:4 sn The language here is the language of a bridegroom bringing the bride to the chamber. This may be a deliberate allusion to another metaphor for the covenant relationship.
Exodus 19:5 tn Heb “listen to my voice.” The construction uses the imperfect tense in the conditional clause, preceded by the infinitive absolute from the same verb. The idiom “listen to the voice of” implies obedience, not just mental awareness of sound.
Exodus 19:5 tn The verb is a perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive; it continues the idea in the protasis of the sentence: “and [if you will] keep.”
Exodus 19:5 tn The lamed preposition expresses possession here: “to me” means “my.”
Exodus 19:5 tn The noun is סְגֻלָּה (s^egullah), which means a special possession. Israel was to be God’s special possession, but the prophets will later narrow it to the faithful remnant. All the nations belong to God, but Israel was to stand in a place of special privilege and enormous responsibility. See Deut 7:6; 14:2; 26:18; Ps 135:4; Mal 3:17. See M. Greenburg, “Hebrew s^egulla: Akkadian sikiltu,” JAOS 71 (1951): 172ff.
Exodus 19:6 tn Or “for me” (NIV, NRSV), or, if the preposition ל (lamed) has a possessive use, “my kingdom” (so NCV).
Exodus 19:6 tn The construction “a kingdom of priests” means that the kingdom is made up of priests. W. C. Kaiser (“Exodus,” EBC 2:417) offers four possible renderings of the expression: 1) apposition, viz., “kings, that is, priests”; 2) as a construct with a genitive of specification, “royal priesthood”; 3) as a construct with the genitive being the attribute, “priestly kingdom”; and 4) reading with an unexpressed “and”—“kings and priests.” He takes the latter view that they were to be kings and priests. (Other references are R. B. Y. Scott, “A Kingdom of Priests (Exodus xix. 6),” OTS 8 [1950]: 213-19; William L. Moran, “A Kingdom of Priests,” The Bible in Current Catholic Thought, 7-20). However, due to the parallelism of the next description which uses an adjective, this is probably a construct relationship. This kingdom of God will be composed of a priestly people. All the Israelites would be living wholly in God’s service and enjoying the right of access to him. And, as priests, they would have the duty of representing God to the nations, following what they perceived to be the duties of priests—proclaiming God’s word, interceding for people, and making provision for people to find God through atonement (see Deut 33:9, 10).
Exodus 19:6 tn They are also to be “a holy nation.” They are to be a nation separate and distinct from the rest of the nations. Here is another aspect of their duty. It was one thing to be God’s special possession, but to be that they had to be priestly and holy. The duties of the covenant will specify what it would mean to be a holy nation. In short, they had to keep themselves free from everything that characterized pagan people (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 171). So it is a bilateral covenant: they received special privileges but they must provide special services by the special discipline. See also H. Kruse, “Exodus 19:5 and the Mission of Israel,” North East Asian Journal of Theology 24/25 (1980): 239-42.
Exodus 19:8 tn The verb is an imperfect. The people are not being presumptuous in stating their compliance—there are several options open for the interpretation of this tense. It may be classified as having a desiderative nuance: “we are willing to do” or, “we will do.”
Exodus 19:9 tn The construction uses the deictic particle and the participle to express the imminent future, what God was about to do. Here is the first announcement of the theophany.
Exodus 19:9 tn Heb “the thickness of the cloud”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT “in a thick cloud.”
Exodus 19:9 tn Since “and also in you” begins the clause, the emphasis must be that the people would also trust Moses. See Exod 4:1-9, 31; 14:31.
Exodus 19:10 tn This verb is a Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive; it continues the force of the imperative preceding it. This sanctification would be accomplished by abstaining from things that would make them defiled or unclean, and then by ritual washings and ablutions.
Exodus 19:10 tn The form is a perfect 3cpl with a vav (ו) consecutive. It is instructional as well, but now in the third person it is like a jussive, “let them wash, make them wash.”
Exodus 19:12 tn The verb is a Hiphil perfect (“make borders”) with vav (ו) consecutive, following the sequence of instructions.
Exodus 19:12 tn The Niphal imperative (“guard yourselves, take heed to yourselves”) is followed by two infinitives construct that provide the description of what is to be avoided—going up or touching the mountain.
Exodus 19:13 sn There is some ambiguity here. The clause either means that no man will touch the mountain, so that if there is someone who is to be put to death he must be stoned or shot since they could not go into the mountain region to get him, or, it may mean no one is to touch the culprit who went in to the region of the mountain.
Exodus 19:13 tn Heb “a man.”
Exodus 19:13 tn The nuance here is permissive imperfect, “they may go up.” The ram’s horn would sound the blast to announce that the revelation period was over and it was permitted then to ascend the mountain.
Exodus 19:15 tn Heb “do not approach a woman.” The phrase with נָגַשׁ (nagash, “approach”) is an idiom for sexual relations, which is also true of similar verbs such as בּוֹא אֶל (boʾ ʾel, “come to”) and קָרַב (qarav, “approach”). NIV “Abstain from sexual relations.” NASV “Do not go near a woman.” Temporary abstinence was also part of the prescribed practice for war efforts because the Lord would be in their camp (Deut 23:9-14).sn B. Jacob (Exodus, 537) notes that as the people were to approach him they were not to lose themselves in earthly love. Such separations prepared the people for meeting God. Sinai was like a bride, forbidden to anyone else. Abstinence was the spiritual preparation for coming into the presence of the Holy One.
Exodus 19:16 tn Heb “and it was on.”
Exodus 19:16 tn Heb “heavy” (כָּבֵד, kaved).
Exodus 19:16 tn Literally “strong” (חָזָק, khazaq).
Exodus 19:16 tn The word here is שֹׁפָר (shofar), the normal word for “horn.” This word is used especially to announce something important in a public event (see 1 Kgs 1:34; 2 Sam 6:15). The previous word used in the context (v. 16) was יֹבֵל (yovel, “ram’s horn”).
Exodus 19:18 sn The image is that of a large kiln, as in Gen 19:28.
Exodus 19:18 tn This is the same word translated “trembled” above (v. 16).
Exodus 19:19 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.
Exodus 19:19 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).
Exodus 19:19 tn The text simply has בְּקוֹל (b^eqol); 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.
Exodus 19:21 tn The imperative הָעֵד (haʿed) means “charge” them—put them under oath, or solemnly warn them. God wished to ensure that the people would not force their way past the barriers that had been set out.
Exodus 19:21 tn Heb “and fall”; NAB “be struck down.”
Exodus 19:22 tn The verb יִפְרֹץ (yifrots) is the imperfect tense from פָּרַץ (parats, “to make a breach, to break through”). The image of Yahweh breaking forth on them means “work destruction” (see 2 Sam 6:8; S. R. Driver, Exodus, 174).
Exodus 19:23 tn The construction is emphatic: “because you—you solemnly warned us.” Moses’ response to God is to ask how they would break through when God had already charged them not to. God knew them better than Moses did.
Exodus 19:23 tn Heb “sanctify it.”
Exodus 19:25 sn The passage has many themes and emphases that could be developed in exposition. It could serve for meditation, that is, the theology drawn from the three parts could be subordinated to the theme of holiness: God is holy, therefore adhere to his word for service, approach him through a mediator, and adore him in purity and fearful reverence. A developed outline for the exposition could be organized as follows: I. If the people of God will obey him, they will be privileged to serve in a unique way (vv. 1-8); II. If the people of God are to obey, they must be convinced of the divine source of their commands (v. 9); and finally, III. If the people of God are convinced of the divine approval of their mediator, and the divine source of their instructions, they must sanctify themselves before him (vv. 10-25). In sum, the manifestation of the holiness of Yahweh is the reason for sanctification and worship. The correlation is to be made through 1 Peter 2 to the church. The Church is a kingdom of priests; it is to obey the Word of God. What is the motivation for this? Their mediator is Jesus Christ; he has the approval of the Father and manifests the glory of God to his own; and he declares the purpose of their calling is to display his glory. God’s people are to abstain from sin so that pagans can see their good works and glorify God.
Exodus 20:1 sn This chapter is the heart of the Law of Israel, and as such is well known throughout the world. There is so much literature on it that it is almost impossible to say anything briefly and do justice to the subject. But the exposition of the book must point out that this is the charter of the new nation of Israel. These ten commands (words) form the preamble; they will be followed by the decisions (judgments). And then in chap. 24 the covenant will be inaugurated. So when Israel entered into covenant with God, they entered into a theocracy by expressing their willingness to submit to his authority. The Law was the binding constitution for the nation of Israel under Yahweh their God. It was specifically given to them at a certain time and in a certain place. The Law legislated how Israel was to live in order to be blessed by God and used by him as a kingdom of priests. In the process of legislating their conduct and their ritual for worship, the Law revealed God. It revealed the holiness of Yahweh as the standard for all worship and service, and in revealing that it revealed or uncovered sin. But what the Law condemned, the Law (Leviticus) also made provision for in the laws of the sacrifice and the feasts intended for atonement. The NT teaches that the Law was good, and perfect, and holy. But it also teaches that Christ was the end (goal) of the Law, that it ultimately led to him. It was a pedagogue, Paul said, to bring people to Christ. And when the fulfillment of the promise came in him, believers were not to go back under the Law. What this means for Christians is that what the Law of Israel revealed about God and his will is timeless and still authoritative over faith and conduct, but what the Law regulated for Israel in their existence as the people of God has been done away with in Christ. The Ten Commandments reveal the essence of the Law; the ten for the most part are reiterated in the NT because they reflect the holy and righteous nature of God. The NT often raises them to a higher standard, to guard the spirit of the Law as well as the letter.
Exodus 20:1 sn The Bible makes it clear that the Law was the revelation of God at Mount Sinai. And yet study has shown that the law code’s form follows the literary pattern of covenant codes in the Late Bronze Age, notably the Hittite codes. The point of such codes is that all the covenant stipulations are appropriate because of the wonderful things that the sovereign has done for the people. God, in using a well-known literary form, was both drawing on the people’s knowledge of such to impress their duties on them, as well as putting new wine into old wineskins. The whole nature of God’s code was on a much higher level. For this general structure, see M. G. Kline, Treaty of the Great King. For the Ten Commandments specifically, see J. J. Stamm and M. E. Andrew, The Ten Commandments in Recent Research (SBT). See also some of the general articles: M. Barrett, “God’s Moral Standard: An Examination of the Decalogue,” BV 12 (1978): 34-40; C. J. H. Wright, “The Israelite Household and the Decalogue: The Social Background and Significance of Some Commandments,” TynBul 30 (1979): 101-24; J. D. Levenson, “The Theologies of Commandment in Biblical Israel,” HTR 73 (1980): 17-33; M. B. Cohen and D. B. Friedman, “The Dual Accentuation of the Ten Commandments,” Masoretic Studies 1 (1974): 7-190; D. Skinner, “Some Major Themes of Exodus,” Mid-America Theological Journal 1 (1977): 31-42; M. Tate, “The Legal Traditions of the Book of Exodus,” RevExp 74 (1977): 483-509; E. C. Smith, “The Ten Commandments in Today’s Permissive Society: A Principleist Approach,” SwJT 20 (1977): 42-58; and D. W. Buck, “Exodus 20:1-17, ” Lutheran Theological Journal 16 (1982): 65-75.
Exodus 20:2 sn The revelation of Yahweh here begins with the personal pronoun. “I”—a person, a living personality, not an object or a mere thought. This enabled him to address “you”—Israel, and all his people, making the binding stipulations for them to conform to his will (B. Jacob, Exodus, 544).
Exodus 20:2 tn Most English translations have “I am Yahweh your God.” But the preceding chapters have again and again demonstrated how he made himself known to them. Now, the emphasis is on “I am your God”—and what that would mean in their lives.
Exodus 20:2 tn The suffix on the verb is second masculine singular. It is this person that will be used throughout the commandments for the whole nation. God addresses them all as his people, but he addresses them individually for their obedience. The masculine form is not, thereby, intended to exclude women.
Exodus 20:2 tn Heb “the house of slaves” meaning “the land of slavery.”sn By this announcement Yahweh declared what he had done for Israel by freeing them from slavery. Now they are free to serve him. He has a claim on them for gratitude and obedience. But this will not be a covenant of cruel slavery and oppression; it is a covenant of love, as God is saying “I am yours, and you are mine.” This was the sovereign Lord of creation and of history speaking, declaring that he was their savior.
Exodus 20:3 tn The possession is expressed here by the use of the preposition ל (lamed) and the verb “to be”: לֹא־יִהְיֶה לְךָ (loʾ yihyeh l^ekha, “there will not be to you”). The negative with the imperfect expresses the emphatic prohibition; it is best reflected with “you will not” and has the strongest expectation of obedience (see GKC 317 §107.o). As an additional way of looking at this line, U. Cassuto suggests that the verb is in the singular in order to say that they could not have even one other god, and the word “gods” is plural to include any gods (Exodus, 241).
Exodus 20:3 tn The expression עַל־פָּנָי (ʿal panay) has several possible interpretations. S. R. Driver suggests “in front of me,” meaning obliging me to behold them, and also giving a prominence above me (Exodus, 193-94). W. F. Albright rendered it “You shall not prefer other gods to me” (From the Stone Age to Christianity, 297, n. 29). B. Jacob (Exodus, 546) illustrates it with marriage: the wife could belong to only one man while every other man was “another man.” They continued to exist but were not available to her. The point is clear from the Law, regardless of the specific way the prepositional phrase is rendered. God demands absolute allegiance, to the exclusion of all other deities. The preposition may imply some antagonism, for false gods would be opposed to Yahweh. U. Cassuto adds that God was in effect saying that anytime Israel turned to a false god they had to know that the Lord was there—it is always in his presence, or before him (Exodus, 241).
Exodus 20:4 tn A פֶּסֶל (pesel) is an image that was carved out of wood or stone. The Law was concerned with a statue that would be made for the purpose of worship, an idol to be venerated, and not any ordinary statue.
Exodus 20:4 tn The word תְּמוּנָה (t^emunah) refers to the mental pattern from which the פֶּסֶל (pesel) is constructed; it is a real or imagined resemblance. If this is to stand as a second object to the verb, then the verb itself takes a slightly different nuance here. It would convey “you shall not make an image, neither shall you conceive a form” for worship (B. Jacob, Exodus, 547). Some simply make the second word qualify the first: “you shall not make an idol in the form of…” (NIV).
Exodus 20:4 tn Here the phrase “of anything” has been supplied.
Exodus 20:4 tn Heb “under the earth” (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).
Exodus 20:5 tn The combination of these two verbs customarily refers to the worship of pagan deities (e.g., Deut 17:3: 30:17; Jer 8:2; see J. J. Stamm and M. E. Andrew, The Ten Commandments in Recent Research [SBT], 86). The first verb is לאֹ־תִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה (loʾ tishtakhaveh), now to be classified as a Hishtaphel imperfect from חָוָה (khavah; BDB 1005 s.v. שׁחה), “to make oneself to be low to the ground.” It is used of the true worship of God as well. The second verb is וְלֹא תָעָבְדֵם (v^eloʾ toʿovdem). The two could be taken as a hendiadys: “you will not prostrate yourself to serve them.” In an interesting side comment U. Cassuto (Exodus, 242) suggests that the second verb was spelled with the qamets khatuf vowel to show contempt for pagan worship, as if their conduct does not even warrant a correct spelling of the word “serve.” Gesenius says that forms like this are anomalous, but he wonders if it was pointed as a Hophal with the meaning “you shall not allow yourself to be brought to worship them” (GKC 161 §60.b).
Exodus 20:5 sn The word “jealous” is the same word often translated “zeal” or “zealous.” The word describes a passionate intensity to protect or defend something that is jeopardized. The word can also have the sense of “envy,” but in that case the object is out of bounds. God’s zeal or jealousy is to protect his people or his institutions or his honor. Yahweh’s honor is bound up with the life of his people.
Exodus 20:5 tn Verses 5 and 6 are very concise, and the word פָּקַד (paqad) is difficult to translate. Often rendered “visiting,” it might here be rendered “dealing with” in a negative sense or “punishing,” but it describes positive attention in 13:19. When used of God, it essentially means that God intervenes in the lives of people for blessing or for cursing. Some would simply translate the participle here as “punishing” the children for the sins of the fathers (cf. Lev 18:25; Isa 26:21; Jer 29:32; 36:31; Hos 1:4; Amos 3:2). That is workable, but may not say enough. The verse may indicate that those who hate Yahweh and do not keep his commandments will repeat the sins their fathers committed and suffer for them. Deut 24:16 says that individuals will die for their own sins and not their father’s sins (see also Deut 7:10 and Ezek 18). It may have more to do with patterns of sin being repeated from generation to generation; if the sin and the guilt were not fully developed in the one generation, then left unchecked they would develop and continue in the next. But it may also indicate that the effects of the sins of the fathers will be experienced in the following generations, especially in the case of Israel as a national entity (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 243). God is showing here that his ethical character is displayed in how he deals with sin and righteousness, all of which he describes as giving strong motivation for loyalty to him and for avoiding idolatry. There is a justice at work in the dealings of God that is not present in the pagan world.
Exodus 20:5 tn The Hebrew word for “generations” is not found in v. 5 or 6. The numbers are short for a longer expression, which is understood as part of the description of the children already mentioned (see Deut 7:9, where “generation” [דּוֹר, dor] is present and more necessary, since “children” have not been mentioned).
Exodus 20:5 tn This is an important qualification to the principle. The word rendered “reject” is often translated “hate” and carries with it the idea of defiantly rejecting and opposing God and his word. Such people are doomed to carry on the sins of their ancestors and bear guilt with them.
Exodus 20:6 tn Literally “doing loyal love” (עֹשֶׂה חֶסֶד, ʿoseh khesed). The noun refers to God’s covenant loyalty, his faithful love to those who belong to him. These are members of the covenant, recipients of grace, the people of God, whom God will preserve and protect from evil and its effects.
Exodus 20:6 tn Heb “to thousands” or “to thousandth.” After “tenth,” Hebrew uses cardinal numbers for ordinals also. This statement is the antithesis of the preceding line. The “thousands” or “thousandth [generation]” are those who love Yahweh and keep his commands. These are descendants from the righteous, and even associates with them, who benefit from the mercy that God extends to his people. S. R. Driver (Exodus, 195) says that this passage teaches that God’s mercy transcends his wrath; in his providence the beneficial consequences of a life of goodness extend indefinitely further than the retribution that is the penalty for persisting in sin. To say that God’s loyal love extends to thousands of generations or the thousandth generation is parallel to saying that it endures forever (Ps 118). See also Exod 34:7; Deut 5:10; 7:9; Ps 18:50; Jer 32:18.
Exodus 20:7 tn Or “use” (NCV, TEV); NIV, CEV, NLT “misuse”; NRSV “make wrongful use of.”
Exodus 20:7 tn שָׁוְא (shavʾ, “vain”) describes “unreality.” The command prohibits use of the name for any idle, frivolous, or insincere purpose (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 196). This would include perjury, pagan incantations, or idle talk. The name is to be treated with reverence and respect because it is the name of the holy God.
Exodus 20:7 tn Or “leave unpunished.”
Exodus 20:8 tn The text uses the infinitive absolute זָכוֹר (zakhor) for the commandment for the Sabbath day, which is the sign of the Sinaitic Covenant. The infinitive absolute functions in place of the emphatic imperative here (see GKC 346 §113.bb); the absolute stresses the basic verbal idea of the root—remembering. The verb includes the mental activity of recalling and pondering as well as the consequent actions for such remembering.
Exodus 20:8 tn The word “Sabbath” is clearly connected to the verb שָׁבַת (shavat, “to cease, desist, rest”). There are all kinds of theories as to the origin of the day, most notably in the Babylonian world, but the differences are striking in so far as the pagan world had these days filled with magic. Nevertheless, the pagan world does bear witness to a tradition of a regular day set aside for special sacrifices. See, for example, H. W. Wolff, “The Day of Rest in the Old Testament,” LTQ 7 (1972): 65-76; H. Routtenberg, “The Laws of Sabbath: Biblical Sources,” Dor le Dor 6 (1977): 41-43, 99-101, 153-55, 204-6; G. Robinson, “The Idea of Rest in the OT and the Search for the Basic Character of Sabbath,” ZAW 92 (1980): 32-42; and M. Tsevat, “The Basic Meaning of the Biblical Sabbath,” ZAW 84 (1972): 447-59.
Exodus 20:8 tn The Piel infinitive construct provides the purpose of remembering the Sabbath day—to set it apart, to make it distinct from the other days. Verses 9 and 10 explain in part how this was to be done. To set this day apart as holy taught Israel the difference between the holy and the profane, that there was something higher than daily life. If an Israelite bent down to the ground laboring all week, the Sabbath called his attention to the heavens, to pattern life after the Creator (B. Jacob, Exodus, 569-70).
Exodus 20:9 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).
Exodus 20:9 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.
Exodus 20:9 tn This is the occupation, or business of the work week.
Exodus 20:10 tn The phrase “on it” has been supplied for clarity.
Exodus 20:10 sn The wife is omitted in the list, not that she was considered unimportant, nor that she was excluded from the rest, but rather in reflecting her high status. She was not man’s servant, not lesser than the man, but included with the man as an equal before God. The “you” of the commandments is addressed to the Israelites individually, male and female, just as God in the Garden of Eden held both the man and the woman responsible for their individual sins (see B. Jacob, Exodus, 567-68).
Exodus 20:10 sn The Sabbath day was the sign of the Sinaitic Covenant. It required Israel to cease from ordinary labors and devote the day to God. It required Israel to enter into the life of God, to share his Sabbath. It gave them a chance to recall the work of the Creator. But in the NT the apostolic teaching for the Church does not make one day holier than another, but calls for the entire life to be sanctified to God. This teaching is an application of the meaning of entering into the Sabbath of God. The book of Hebrews declares that those who believe in Christ cease from their works and enter into his Sabbath rest. For a Christian keeping Saturday holy is not a requirement from the NT; it may be a good and valuable thing to have a day of rest and refreshment, but it is not a binding law for the Church. The principle of setting aside time to worship and serve the Lord has been carried forward, but the strict regulations have not.
Exodus 20:12 tn The verb כַּבֵּד (kabbed) is a Piel imperative; it calls for people to give their parents the respect and honor that is appropriate for them. It could be paraphrased to say, give them the weight of authority that they deserve. Next to God, parents were to be highly valued, cared for, and respected.
Exodus 20:12 tn Heb “that your days may be long.”
Exodus 20:12 sn The promise here is national rather than individual, although it is certainly true that the blessing of life was promised for anyone who was obedient to God’s commands (Deut 4:1; 8:1, etc.). But as W. C. Kaiser (“Exodus,” EBC 2:424) summarizes, the land that was promised was the land of Canaan, and the duration of Israel in the land was to be based on morality and the fear of God as expressed in the home (Deut 4:26, 33, 40; 32:46-47). The captivity was in part caused by a breakdown in this area (Ezek 22:7, 15). Malachi would announce at the end of his book that Elijah would come at the end of the age to turn the hearts of the children and the parents toward each other again.
Exodus 20:13 tn The verb רָצַח (ratsakh) refers to the premeditated or accidental taking of the life of another human being; it includes any unauthorized killing (it is used for the punishment of a murderer, but that would not be included in the prohibition). This commandment teaches the sanctity of all human life. See J. H. Yoder, “Exodus 20, 13: ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill’,” Int 34 (1980): 394-99; and A. Phillips, “Another Look at Murder,” JJS 28 (1977): 105-26.
Exodus 20:14 sn This is a sin against the marriage of a fellow citizen—it destroys the home. The Law distinguished between adultery (which had a death penalty) and sexual contact with a young woman (which carried a monetary fine and usually marriage if the father was willing). So it distinguished fornication and adultery. Both were sins, but the significance of each was different. In the ancient world this sin is often referred to as “the great sin.”
Exodus 20:15 sn This law protected the property of the Israelite citizen. See D. Little, “Exodus 20:15: ‘Thou Shalt Not Steal’,” Int 34 (1980): 399-405.
Exodus 20:16 tn Heb “answer” as in a court of law.
Exodus 20:16 tn The expression עֵד שָׁקֶר (ʿed shaqer) means “a lying witness” (B. S. Childs, Exodus [OTL], 388). In this verse the noun is an adverbial accusative, “you will not answer as a lying witness.” The prohibition is against perjury. While the precise reference would be to legal proceedings, the law probably had a broader application to lying about other people in general (see Lev 5:1; Hos 4:2).
Exodus 20:17 tn The verb חָמַד (khamad) focuses not on an external act but on an internal mental activity behind the act, the motivation for it. The word can be used in a very good sense (Pss 19:10; 68:16), but it has a bad connotation in contexts where the object desired is off limits. This command is aimed at curtailing the greedy desire for something belonging to a neighbor, a desire that leads to the taking of it or the attempt to take it. It was used in the story of the Garden of Eden for the tree that was desired.
Exodus 20:17 sn See further G. Wittenburg, “The Tenth Commandment in the Old Testament,” Journal for Theology in South Africa 21 (1978): 3-17: and E. W. Nicholson, “The Decalogue as the Direct Address of God,” VT 27 (1977): 422-33.
Exodus 20:18 tn The participle is used here for durative action in the past time (GKC 359 §116.o).
Exodus 20:18 tn The verb “to see” (רָאָה, raʾah) refers to seeing with all the senses, or perceiving. W. C. Kaiser suggests that this is an example of the figure of speech called zeugma because the verb “saw” yokes together two objects, one that suits the verb and the other that does not. So, the verb “heard” is inserted here to clarify (“Exodus,” EBC 2:427).
Exodus 20:18 tn The verb “saw” is supplied here because it is expected in English (see the previous note on “heard”).
Exodus 20:18 tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated as a temporal clause to the following clause, which receives the prominence.
Exodus 20:18 tn The meaning of נוּעַ (nuaʿ) is “to shake, sway to and fro” in fear. Cf. Isa 7:2 “and his heart shook…as the trees of the forest shake with the wind.”
Exodus 20:18 tn Heb “and they stood from/at a distance.”
Exodus 20:19 tn The verb is a Piel imperative. In this context it has more of the sense of a request than a command. The independent personal pronoun “you” emphasizes the subject and forms the contrast with God’s speaking.
Exodus 20:20 tn נַסּוֹת (nassot) is the Piel infinitive construct; it forms the purpose of God’s coming with all the accompanying phenomena. The verb can mean “to try, test, prove.” The sense of “prove” fits this context best because the terrifying phenomena were intended to put the fear of God in their hearts so that they would obey. In other words, God was inspiring them to obey, not simply testing to see if they would.
Exodus 20:20 tn The suffix on the noun is an objective genitive, referring to the fear that the people would have of God (GKC 439 §135.m).
Exodus 20:20 tn The negative form לְבִלְתִּי (l^evilti) is used here with the imperfect tense (see for other examples GKC 483 §152.x). This gives the imperfect the nuance of a final imperfect: that you might not sin. Others: to keep you from sin.
Exodus 20:21 tn Heb “and they stood”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Exodus 20:21 sn The word עֲרָפֶל (ʿarafel) is used in poetry in Ps 18:9 and 1 Kgs 8:12; and it is used in Deut 4:11; 5:22 [19].
Exodus 20:21 sn It will not be hard to expound the passage on the Ten Commandments once their place in scripture has been determined. They, for the most part, are reiterated in the NT, in one way or another, usually with a much higher standard that requires attention to the spirit of the laws. Thus, these laws reveal God’s standard of righteousness by revealing sin. No wonder the Israelites were afraid when they saw the manifestation of God and heard his laws. When the whole covenant is considered, preamble and all, then it becomes clear that the motivation for obeying the commands is the person and the work of the covenant God—the one who redeemed his people. Obedience then becomes a response of devotion and adoration to the Redeemer who set them free. It becomes loyal service, not enslavement to laws. The point could be worded this way: God requires that his covenant people, whom he has redeemed, and to whom he has revealed himself, give their absolute allegiance and obedience to him. This means they will worship and serve him and safeguard the well-being of each other.
Exodus 20:22 sn Based on the revelation of the holy sovereign God, this pericope instructs Israel on the form of proper worship of such a God. It focuses on the altar, the centerpiece of worship. The point of the section is this: those who worship this holy God must preserve holiness in the way they worship—they worship where he permits, in the manner he prescribes, and with the blessings he promises. This paragraph is said to open the Book of the Covenant, which specifically rules on matters of life and worship.
Exodus 20:22 tn Heb “and Yahweh said.”
Exodus 20:23 tn The direct object of the verb must be “gods of silver.” The prepositional phrase modifies the whole verse to say that these gods would then be alongside the one true God.
Exodus 20:23 tn Heb “neither will you make for you gods of gold.”sn U. Cassuto explains that by the understanding of parallelism each of the halves apply to the whole verse, so that “with me” and “for you” concern gods of silver or gods of gold (Exodus, 255).
Exodus 20:24 sn The instructions here call for the altar to be made of natural things, not things manufactured or shaped by man. The altar was either to be made of clumps of earth or natural, unhewn rocks.
Exodus 20:24 sn The “burnt offering” is the offering prescribed in Lev 1. Everything of this animal went up in smoke as a sweet aroma to God. It signified complete surrender by the worshiper who brought the animal, and complete acceptance by God, thereby making atonement. The “peace offering” is legislated in Lev 3 and 7. This was a communal meal offering to celebrate being at peace with God. It was made usually for thanksgiving, for payment of vows, or as a freewill offering.
Exodus 20:24 tn Gesenius lists this as one of the few places where the noun in construct seems to be indefinite in spite of the fact that the genitive has the article. He says בְּכָל־הַמָּקוֹם (b^ekhol hammaqom) means “in all the place, sc. of the sanctuary,” and is a dogmatic correction of “in every place” (כָּל־מָקוֹם, kol maqom). See GKC 412 §127.e.
Exodus 20:24 tn The verb is זָכַר (zakhar, “to remember”), but in the Hiphil especially it can mean more than remember or cause to remember (remind)—it has the sense of praise or honor. B. S. Childs says it has a denominative meaning, “to proclaim” (Exodus [OTL], 447). The point of the verse is that God will give Israel reason for praising and honoring him, and in every place that occurs he will make his presence known by blessing them.
Exodus 20:25 tn Heb “them” referring to the stones.
Exodus 20:25 tn Heb “of hewn stones.” Gesenius classifies this as an adverbial accusative—“you shall not build them (the stones of the altar) as hewn stones.” The remoter accusative is in apposition to the nearer (GKC 372 §117.kk).
Exodus 20:25 tn The verb is a preterite with vav (ו) consecutive. It forms the apodosis in a conditional clause: “if you lift up your tool on it…you have defiled it.”
Exodus 20:26 tn Heb “uncovered” (so ASV, NAB).
Exodus 21:1 sn There follows now a series of rulings called “the decisions” or “the judgments” (הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים, hammishpatim). A precept is stated, and then various cases in which the law is applicable are examined. These rulings are all in harmony with the Decalogue that has just been given and can be grouped into three categories: civil or criminal laws, religious or cultic laws, and moral or humanitarian laws. The civil and criminal laws make up most of chap. 21; the next two chapters mix the other kinds of laws. Among the many studies of this section of the book are F. C. Fensham, “The Role of the Lord in the Legal Sections of the Covenant Code,” VT 26 (1976): 262-74; S. Paul, “Unrecognized Biblical Legal Idioms in Light of Comparative Akkadian Expressions,” RB 86 (1979): 231-39; M. Galston, “The Purpose of the Law According to Maimonides,” JQR 69 (1978): 27-51.
Exodus 21:2 sn See H. L. Elleson, “The Hebrew Slave: A Study in Early Israelite Society,” EvQ 45 (1973): 30-35; N. P. Lemche, “The Manumission of Slaves—The Fallow Year—The Sabbatical Year—The Jobel Year,” VT 26 (1976): 38-59, and “The ‘Hebrew Slave,’ Comments on the Slave Law—Ex. 21:2-11, ” VT 25 (1975): 129-44.
Exodus 21:2 tn The verbs in both the conditional clause and the following ruling are imperfect tense: “If you buy…then he will serve.” The second imperfect tense (the ruling) could be taken either as a specific future or an obligatory imperfect. Gesenius explains how the verb works in the conditional clauses here (see GKC 497 §159.bb).
Exodus 21:2 sn The interpretation of “Hebrew” in this verse is uncertain: (1) a gentilic ending, (2) a fellow Israelite, (3) or a class of mercenaries of the population (see W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:431). It seems likely that the term describes someone born a Hebrew, as opposed to a foreigner (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 210). The literature on this includes: M. P. Gray, “The Habiru-Hebrew Problem,” HUCA 29 (1958): 135-202.
Exodus 21:2 sn The word חָפְשִׁי (khofshi) means “free.” It is possible that there is some connection between this word and a technical term used in other cultures for a social class of emancipated slaves who were freemen again (see I. Mendelsohn, “New Light on the Hupsu,” BASOR 139 [1955]: 9-11).
Exodus 21:2 tn The adverb חִנָּם (hinnam) means “gratis, free”; it is related to the verb “to be gracious, show favor” and the noun “grace.”
Exodus 21:3 tn The tense is imperfect, but in the conditional clause it clearly refers to action that is anterior to the action in the next clause. Heb “if he comes in single, he goes out single,” that is, “if he came in single, he will go out single.”
Exodus 21:3 tn Heb “with his back” meaning “alone.”
Exodus 21:3 tn The phrase says, “if he was the possessor of a wife”; the noun בַּעַל (baʿal) can mean “possessor” or “husband.” If there was a wife, she shared his fortunes or his servitude; if he entered with her, she would accompany him when he left.
Exodus 21:4 sn The slave would not have the right or the means to acquire a wife. Thus, the idea of the master’s “giving” him a wife is clear—the master would have to pay the bride price and make the provision. In this case, the wife and the children are actually the possession of the master unless the slave were to pay the bride price—but he is a slave because he got into debt. The law assumes that the master was better able to provide for this woman than the freed slave and that it was most important to keep the children with the mother.
Exodus 21:5 tn The imperfect with the infinitive absolute means that the declaration is unambiguous, that the servant will clearly affirm that he wants to stay with the master. Gesenius says that in a case like this the infinitive emphasizes the importance of the condition on which some consequence depends (GKC 342-43 §113.o).
Exodus 21:5 tn Or taken as a desiderative imperfect, it would say, “I do not want to go out free.”
Exodus 21:6 tn The word is הָאֱלֹהִים (haʾelohim). S. R. Driver (Exodus, 211) says the phrase means “to God,” namely the nearest sanctuary in order that the oath and the ritual might be made solemn, although he does say that it would be done by human judges. That the reference is to Yahweh God is the view also of F. C. Fensham, “New Light on Exodus 21:7 and 22:7 from the Laws of Eshnunna,” JBL 78 (1959): 160-61. Cf. also ASV, NAB, NASB, NCV, NRSV, NLT. Others have made a stronger case that it refers to judges who acted on behalf of God; see C. Gordon, “אלהים in its Reputed Meaning of Rulers, Judges,” JBL 54 (1935): 134-44; and A. E. Draffkorn, “Ilani/Elohim,” JBL 76 (1957): 216-24; cf. KJV, NIV.
Exodus 21:6 tn Or “till his life’s end” (as in the idiom: “serve him for good”).
Exodus 21:7 sn This paragraph is troubling to modern readers, but given the way that marriages were contracted and the way people lived in the ancient world, it was a good provision for people who might want to find a better life for their daughter. On the subject in general for this chapter, see W. M. Swartley, Slavery, Sabbath, War, and Women, 31-64.
Exodus 21:7 tn The word אָמָה (ʾamah) refers to a female servant who would eventually become a concubine or wife; the sale price included the amount for the service as well as the bride price (see B. Jacob, Exodus, 621). The arrangement recognized her honor as an Israelite woman, one who could be a wife, even though she entered the household in service. The marriage was not automatic, as the conditions show, but her treatment was safeguarded come what may. The law was a way, then, for a poor man to provide a better life for a daughter.
Exodus 21:8 tn Heb “and if unpleasant (רָעָה, raʿah) in the eyes of her master.”
Exodus 21:8 tn The verb יָעַד (yaʿad) does not mean “betroth, espouse” as some of the earlier translations had it, but “to designate.” When he bought the girl, he designated her for himself, giving her and her family certain expectations.
Exodus 21:8 tn The verb is a Hiphil perfect with vav (ו) consecutive from פָּדָה (padah, “to redeem”). Here in the apodosis the form is equivalent to an imperfect: “let someone redeem her”—perhaps her father if he can, or another. U. Cassuto says it can also mean she can redeem herself and dissolve the relationship (Exodus, 268).
Exodus 21:8 tn Heb “he has no authority/power,” for the verb means “rule, have dominion.”
Exodus 21:8 sn The deceit is in not making her his wife or concubine as the arrangement had stipulated.
Exodus 21:9 tn Or “after the manner of” (KJV, ASV); NRSV “shall deal with her as with a daughter.”
Exodus 21:10 tn “wife” has been supplied.
Exodus 21:10 tn The translation of “food” does not quite do justice to the Hebrew word. It is “flesh.” The issue here is that the family she was to marry into is wealthy, they ate meat. She was not just to be given the basic food the ordinary people ate, but the fine foods that this family ate.
Exodus 21:10 sn Traditional Rabbinic interpretation, affirmed in spirit by the Apostle Paul in 1 Cor 7:5, understands the term עֹנָה (ʿonah) to refer to rights to sexual relations within marriage. The term only occurs in this verse and its precise nuance is unclear. An alternate opinion is proposed by S. Paul, “Exodus 21:10, A Threefold Maintenance Clause,” JNES 28 (1969): 48-53. He suggests that the third element listed is not marital rights, but ointments, since Sumerian and Akkadian texts list food, clothing, and oil as the necessities of life. But none of the three are cognates to the words in the Hebrew list (a cognate term for “clothing” was not used) and the sequence is different than the Akkadian, so it is unlikely that it represents a shared standard legal formulation. The point is that the husband cannot play favorites and functionally demote his first wife.
Exodus 21:11 sn The lessons of slavery and service are designed to bring justice to existing customs in antiquity. The message is: Those in slavery for one reason or another should have the hope of freedom and the choice of service (vv. 2-6). For the rulings on the daughter, the message could be: Women, who were often at the mercy of their husbands or masters, must not be trapped in an unfortunate situation, but be treated well by their masters or husbands (vv. 7-11). God is preventing people who have power over others from abusing it.
Exodus 21:12 sn The underlying point of this section remains vital today: The people of God must treat all human life as sacred.
Exodus 21:12 tn The construction uses a Hiphil participle in construct with the noun for “man” (or person as is understood in a law for the nation): “the one striking [of] a man.” This is a casus pendens (independent nominative absolute); it indicates the condition or action that involves further consequence (GKC 361 §116.w).
Exodus 21:12 tn The Hebrew word וָמֵת (vamet) is a Qal perfect with vav consecutive; it means “and he dies” and not “and killed him” (which requires another stem). Gesenius notes that this form after a participle is the equivalent of a sentence representing a contingent action (GKC 333 §112.n). The word shows the result of the action in the opening participle. It is therefore a case of murder or manslaughter.
Exodus 21:12 sn See A. Phillips, “Another Look at Murder,” JJS 28 (1977): 105-26.
Exodus 21:13 tn Heb “if he does not lie in wait” (NASB similar).
Exodus 21:13 tn Heb “and God brought into his hand.” The death is unintended, its circumstances outside human control.
Exodus 21:14 tn The word עָרְמָה (ʿormah) is problematic. It could mean with prior intent, which would be connected with the word in Prov 8:5, 12 which means “understanding” (or “prudence”—fully aware of the way things are). It could be connected also to an Arabic word for “enemy” which would indicate this was done with malice or evil intentions (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 270). The use here seems parallel to the one in Josh 9:4, an instance involving intentionality and clever deception.
Exodus 21:15 sn This is the same construction that was used in v. 12, but here there is no mention of the parents’ death. This attack, then, does not lead to their death—if he killed one of them then v. 12 would be the law. S. R. Driver says that the severity of the penalty was in accord with the high view of parents (Exodus, 216).
Exodus 21:16 tn Heb “a stealer of a man,” thus “anyone stealing a man.”
Exodus 21:16 sn The implication is that it would be an Israelite citizen who was kidnapped and sold to a foreign tribe or country (like Joseph). There was always a market for slaves. The crime would be in forcibly taking the individual away from his home and religion and putting him into bondage or death.
Exodus 21:16 tn Literally “and he is found in his hand” (KJV and ASV both similar), being not yet sold.
Exodus 21:17 tn The form is a Piel participle from קָלַל (qalal), meaning in Qal “be light,” in Piel “treat lightly, curse, revile, declare contemptible, treat shamefully.” (See its use in Lev 19:14; Josh 24:9; Judg 9:26-28; 1 Sam 3:13; 17:43; 2 Sam 16:5-13; Prov 30:10-11; Eccl 7:21-22; 10:20.) It is opposite of “honor” (כָּבֵד, kaved; Qal “be heavy”; Piel “honor,” as in 20:12) and of “bless.” This verse then could refer to any act contrary to the commandment to honor the parents. B. Jacob (Exodus, 640) cites parallels in Sumerian where people were severely punished for publicly disowning their parents. “21:15, 17 taken together evoke the picture of parents who, physically and verbally, are forcibly turned out of the house (cf. Prov. 19:26)” (C. Houtman, Exodus, 3:148).
Exodus 21:18 tn Heb “falls to bed.”
Exodus 21:19 tn “and then” has been supplied.
Exodus 21:19 tn The verb is a Hitpael perfect with vav (ו) consecutive; it follows the sequence of the imperfect before it—“if he gets up and walks about.” This is proof of recovery.
Exodus 21:19 tn The imperfect tense carries a nuance of obligatory imperfect because this is binding on the one who hit him.
Exodus 21:19 tn Heb “his”; the referent (the injured person) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Exodus 21:19 tn The word appears to be the infinitive from the verb “to sit” with a meaning of “his sitting down”; some suggest it is from the verb “to rest” with a meaning “cease.” In either case the point in the context must mean compensation is due for the time he was down.
Exodus 21:20 tn Heb “so that he”; the words “or she” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
Exodus 21:20 tn Heb “under his hand.”
Exodus 21:20 tn Heb “will be avenged” (how is not specified).
Exodus 21:21 tn Heb “if he”; the referent (the servant struck and injured in the previous verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Exodus 21:21 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the owner of the injured servant) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
Exodus 21:21 tn This last clause is a free paraphrase of the Hebrew, “for he is his money” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “his property.” It seems that if the slave survives a couple of days, it is probable that the master was punishing him and not intending to kill him. If he then dies, there is no penalty other than that the owner loses the slave who is his property—he suffers the loss.
Exodus 21:22 tn This line has occasioned a good deal of discussion. It may indicate that the child was killed, as in a miscarriage; or it may mean that there was a premature birth. The latter view is taken here because of the way the whole section is written: (1) “her children come out” reflects a birth and not the loss of children, (2) there is no serious damage, and (3) payment is to be set for any remuneration. The word אָסוֹן (ʾason) is translated “serious damage.” The word was taken in Mekilta to mean “death.” U. Cassuto says the point of the phrase is that neither the woman or the children that are born die (Exodus, 275). But see among the literature on this: M. G. Kline, “Lex Talionis and the Human Fetus,” JETS 20 (1977): 193-201; W. House, “Miscarriage or Premature Birth: Additional Thoughts on Exodus 21:22-25, ” WTJ 41 (1978): 108-23; S. E. Loewenstamm, “Exodus XXI 22-25, ” VT 27 (1977): 352-60.
Exodus 21:22 tn Heb “he will surely.”
Exodus 21:22 tn The word בִּפְלִלִים (biflilim) means “with arbitrators.” The point then seems to be that the amount of remuneration for damages that was fixed by the husband had to be approved by the courts. S. R. Driver mentions an alternative to this unusual reading presented by Budde, reading בנפלים as “untimely birth” (Exodus, 219). See also E. A. Speiser, “The Stem PLL in Hebrew,” JBL 82 (1963): 301-6.
Exodus 21:25 sn The text now introduces the Lex Talionis with cases that were not likely to have applied to the situation of the pregnant woman. See K. Luke, “Eye for Eye, Tooth for Tooth,” Indian Theological Studies 16 (1979): 326-43.
Exodus 21:26 tn The form וְשִׁחֲתָהּ (v^eshikhatah) is the Piel perfect with the vav (ל) consecutive, rendered “and destroys it.” The verb is a strong one, meaning “to ruin, completely destroy.”
Exodus 21:26 tn Heb “him”; the referent (the male or female servant) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Exodus 21:26 sn Interestingly, the verb used here for “let him go” is the same verb throughout the first part of the book for “release” of the Israelites from slavery. Here, an Israelite will have to release the injured slave.
Exodus 21:27 tn Heb “him”; the referent (the male or female servant) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Exodus 21:28 sn The point that this section of the laws makes is that one must ensure the safety of others by controlling the circumstances.
Exodus 21:28 tn Traditionally “ox,” but “bull” would also be suitable. The term may refer to one of any variety of large cattle.
Exodus 21:28 tn Heb “and he dies”; KJV “that they die”; NAB, NASB “to death.”
Exodus 21:28 tn The text uses סָקוֹל יִסָּקֵל (saqol yissaqel), a Qal infinitive absolute with a Niphal imperfect. The infinitive intensifies the imperfect, which here has an obligatory nuance or is a future of instruction.
Exodus 21:29 tn The Hophal perfect has the idea of “attested, testified against.”
Exodus 21:29 tn Heb “he was not keeping it” or perhaps guarding or watching it (referring to the ox).
Exodus 21:30 sn The family of the victim would set the amount for the ransom of the man guilty of criminal neglect. This practice was common in the ancient world, rare in Israel. If the family allowed the substitute price, then the man would be able to redeem his life.
Exodus 21:31 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the ox) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Exodus 21:31 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the owner) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Exodus 21:31 tn Heb “according to this judgment it shall be done to him.”
Exodus 21:32 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the owner) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Exodus 21:32 sn A shekel was a unit for measure by means of a scale. Both the weight and the value of a shekel of silver are hard to determine. “Though there is no certainty, the shekel is said to weigh about 11,5 grams” (C. Houtman, Exodus, 3:181). Over 400 years earlier, Joseph was sold into Egypt for 20 shekels. The free Israelite citizen was worth about 50 shekels (Lev 27:3f.).
Exodus 21:32 sn See further B. S. Jackson, “The Goring Ox Again [Ex. 21, 28-36],” JJP 18 (1974): 55-94.
Exodus 21:34 tn The verb is a Piel imperfect from שָׁלַם (shalam); it has the idea of making payment in full, making recompense, repaying. These imperfects could be given a future tense translation as imperfects of instruction, but in the property cases an obligatory imperfect fits better—this is what he is bound or obliged to do—what he must do.
Exodus 21:34 tn Heb “silver.”
Exodus 21:34 tn Here the term “animal” has been supplied.
Exodus 21:35 tn Literally “its silver” or “silver for it.”
Exodus 21:35 tn Heb “divide the dead.” The noun “ox” has been supplied.
Exodus 21:36 tn The construction now uses the same Piel imperfect (v. 34) but adds the infinitive absolute to it for emphasis.
Exodus 21:36 sn The point of this section (21:28-36) seems to be that one must ensure the safety of others by controlling one’s property and possessions. This section pertained to neglect with animals, but the message would have applied to similar situations. The people of God were to take heed to ensure the well-being of others, and if there was a problem, it had to be made right.
Exodus 22:1 sn The next section of laws concerns property rights. These laws protected property from thieves and oppressors, but also set limits to retribution. The message could be: God’s laws demand that the guilty make restitution for their crimes against property and that the innocent be exonerated.
Exodus 22:1 sn Beginning with 22:1, the verse numbers through 22:31 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 22:1 ET = 21:37 HT, 22:2 ET = 22:1 HT, etc., through 22:31 ET = 22:30 HT. Thus in the English Bible ch. 22 has 31 verses, while in the Hebrew Bible it has 30 verses, with the one extra verse attached to ch. 21 in the Hebrew Bible.
Exodus 22:1 tn The imperfect tense here has the nuance of obligatory imperfect—he must pay back.
Exodus 22:1 tn בָּקַר (baqar) and צֹאן (tsoʾn) are the categories to which the ox and the sheep belonged, so that the criminal had some latitude in paying back animals.
Exodus 22:2 tn Heb “found” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV).
Exodus 22:2 tn The word בַּמַּחְתֶּרֶת (bammakhteret) means “digging through” the walls of a house (usually made of mud bricks). The verb is used only a few times and has the meaning of dig in (as into houses) or row hard (as in Jonah 1:13).
Exodus 22:2 tn The text has “there is not to him bloods.” When the word “blood” is put in the plural, it refers to bloodshed, or the price of blood that is shed, i.e., blood guiltiness.sn This law focuses on what is reasonable defense against burglary. If someone killed a thief who was breaking in during the night, he was not charged because he would not have known it was just a thief, but if it happened during the day, he was guilty of a crime, on the assumption that in daylight the thief posed no threat to the homeowner’s life and could be stopped and made to pay restitution.
Exodus 22:3 tn The words “a thief” have been added for clarification. S. R. Driver (Exodus, 224) thinks that these lines are out of order, since some of them deal with killing the thief and then others with the thief making restitution, but rearranging the clauses is not a necessary way to bring clarity to the paragraph. The idea here would be that any thief caught alive would pay restitution.
Exodus 22:4 tn The construction uses a Niphal infinitive absolute and a Niphal imperfect: if it should indeed be found. Gesenius says that in such conditional clauses the infinitive absolute has less emphasis, but instead emphasizes the condition on which some consequence depends (see GKC 342-43 §113.o).
Exodus 22:4 tn Heb “in his hand.”
Exodus 22:4 sn He must pay back one for what he took, and then one for the penalty—his loss as he was inflicting a loss on someone else.
Exodus 22:5 tn The verb בָּעַר (baʿar, “graze”) as a denominative from the word “livestock” is not well attested. So some have suggested that with slight changes this verse could be read: “If a man cause a field or a vineyard to be burnt, and let the burning spread, and it burnt in another man’s field” (see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 225).
Exodus 22:5 tn The phrase “his livestock” is supplied from the next clause.
Exodus 22:6 tn Heb “if a fire goes out and finds”; NLT “if a fire gets out of control.”
Exodus 22:6 sn Thorn bushes were used for hedges between fields, but thorn bushes also burned easily, making the fire spread rapidly.
Exodus 22:6 tn This is a Hiphil participle of the verb “to burn, kindle” used substantivally. This is the one who caused the fire, whether by accident or not.
Exodus 22:7 tn The word usually means “vessels” but can have the sense of household goods and articles. It could be anything from jewels and ornaments to weapons or pottery.
Exodus 22:7 tn Heb “to keep.” Here “safekeeping,” that is, to keep something secure on behalf of a third party, is intended.
Exodus 22:7 tn Heb “found.”
Exodus 22:8 tn Heb “found.”
Exodus 22:8 tn Here again the word used is “the gods,” meaning the judges who made the assessments and decisions. In addition to other works, see J. R. Vannoy, “The Use of the Word ha’elohim in Exodus 21:6 and 22:7, 8, ” The Law and the Prophets, 225-41.
Exodus 22:8 tn The phrase “to see” has been supplied.
Exodus 22:8 tn The line says “if he has not stretched out his hand.” This could be the oath formula, but the construction here would be unusual, or it could be taken as “whether” (see W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:438). U. Cassuto (Exodus, 286) does not think the wording can possibly fit an oath; nevertheless, an oath would be involved before God (as he takes it instead of “judges”)—if the man swore, his word would be accepted, but if he would not swear, he would be guilty.
Exodus 22:9 tn Heb “concerning every kind [thing] of trespass.”
Exodus 22:9 tn The text simply has “this is it” (הוּא זֶה, huʾ zeh).
Exodus 22:9 tn Again, or “God.”
Exodus 22:9 tn This kind of clause Gesenius calls an independent relative clause—it does not depend on a governing substantive but itself expresses a substantival idea (GKC 445-46 §138.e).
Exodus 22:9 tn The verb means “to be guilty” in Qal; in Hiphil it would have a declarative sense, because a causative sense would not possibly fit.
Exodus 22:10 tn The form is a Niphal participle of שָׁבַר (shavar, “to break”) which means injured, maimed, harmed, or crippled.
Exodus 22:10 tn This verb is frequently used with the meaning “to take captive.” The idea here then is that raiders or robbers have carried off the animal.
Exodus 22:10 tn Heb “there is no one seeing.”
Exodus 22:11 tn The construct relationship שְׁבֻעַת יְהוָה (sh^evuʿat y^ehvah, “the oath of Yahweh”) would require a genitive of indirect object, “an oath [to] Yahweh.” U. Cassuto suggests that it means “an oath by Yahweh” (Exodus, 287). The person to whom the animal was entrusted would take a solemn oath to Yahweh that he did not appropriate the animal for himself, and then his word would be accepted.
Exodus 22:12 tn Both with this verb “stolen” and in the next clauses with “torn in pieces,” the text uses the infinitive absolute construction with less than normal emphasis; as Gesenius says, in conditional clauses, an infinitive absolute stresses the importance of the condition on which some consequence depends (GKC 342-43 §113.o).
Exodus 22:12 sn The point is that the man should have taken better care of the animal.
Exodus 22:13 tn The word עֵד (ʿed) actually means “witness,” but the dead animal that is returned is a silent witness, i.e., evidence. The word is an adverbial accusative.
Exodus 22:14 tn Heb “if a man asks [an animal] from his neighbor” (see also Exod 12:36). The ruling here implies an animal is borrowed, and if harm comes to it when the owner is not with it, the borrower is liable. The word “animal” is supplied in the translation for clarity.
Exodus 22:14 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man who borrowed the animal) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Exodus 22:15 tn Literally “it came with/for its hire,” this expression implies that the owner who hired it out and was present was prepared to take the risk, so there would be no compensation.
Exodus 22:16 sn The second half of the chapter records various laws of purity and justice. Any of them could be treated in an expository way, but in the present array they offer a survey of God’s righteous standards: Maintain the sanctity of marriage (16-17); maintain the purity of religious institutions (18-20), maintain the rights of human beings (21-28), maintain the rights of Yahweh (29-31).
Exodus 22:16 tn This is the word בְּתוּלָה (b^etulah); it describes a young woman who is not married or a young woman engaged to be married; in any case, she is presumed to be a virgin.
Exodus 22:16 tn Or “pledged” for marriage.
Exodus 22:16 tn Heb “lied down with.” The verb שָׁכַב (shakav) “to lie down” can imply going to bed to sleep or be a euphemism for sexual relations.
Exodus 22:16 tn The verb מָהַר (mahar) means “pay the marriage price,” and the related noun is the bride price. B. Jacob says this was a proposal gift and not a purchase price (Exodus, 700). This is the price paid to her parents, which allowed for provision should there be a divorce. The amount was usually agreed on by the two families, but the price was higher for a pure bride from a noble family. Here, the one who seduces her must pay it, regardless of whether he marries her or not.
Exodus 22:18 sn There still were many who wished to follow pagan beliefs and consort with the dead (see Deut 18:10-11). The sorceress was someone who dealt with drugs or herbs for occult purposes.
Exodus 22:19 tn Heb “lies down with.” The verb שָׁכַב (shakhav) “to lie down” can imply going to bed to sleep or be a euphemism for sexual relations.
Exodus 22:20 tn Heb “not to Yahweh.”
Exodus 22:20 tn The verb חָרַם (kharam) means “to be devoted” to God or “to be banned.” The idea is that it would be God’s to do with as he liked. What was put under the ban was for God alone, either for his service or for his judgment. But it was out of human control. Here the verb is saying that the person will be utterly destroyed.
Exodus 22:21 tn Or “oppress.”
Exodus 22:21 tn Or “alien,” both here and in 23:9. On the Hebrew גֵּר (ger) “resident foreigner” see notes at Exod 12:19 and Deut 29:11.sn In Mosaic Law the foreign resident, גֵּר (ger), was essentially a naturalized citizen and convert to worshiping the God of Israel (see 12:19, 48; Deut 29:10-13). Besides not oppressing the ger, Israel was told to love the ger (Lev 19:33-34). Several passages emphasize equal standing under Mosaic Law (Exod 12:49; 20:10; Lev 24:22; Num 9:14; 15:15, 16, 29). This equality is significant against the background of the ancient near east. The Code of Hammurapi, for example, distinguished different applications of law depending on social status.
Exodus 22:22 tn The verb “afflict” is a Piel imperfect from עָנָה (ʿanah); it has a wide range of meanings: “afflict, oppress, humiliate, rape.” These victims are at the mercy of the judges, businessmen, or villains. The righteous king and the righteous people will not mistreat them (see Isa 1:17; Job 31:16, 17, 21).
Exodus 22:23 tn The accusative here is the masculine singular pronoun, which leads S. R. Driver to conclude that this line is out of place, even though the masculine singular can be used in places like this (Exodus, 232). U. Cassuto says its use is to refer to certain classes (Exodus, 292).
Exodus 22:23 tn Here again and with “cry” the infinitive absolute functions with a diminished emphasis (GKC 342-43 §113.o).
Exodus 22:23 tn Here is the normal use of the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense to emphasize the verb: “I will surely hear,” implying, “I will surely respond.”
Exodus 22:24 sn The punishment will follow the form of talionic justice, an eye for an eye, in which the punishment matches the crime. God will use invading armies (“sword” is a metonymy of adjunct here) to destroy them, making their wives widows and their children orphans.
Exodus 22:25 tn “any of” has been supplied.
Exodus 22:25 sn The moneylender will be demanding and exacting. In Ps 109:11 and 2 Kgs 4:1 the word is rendered as “extortioner.”
Exodus 22:25 tn Heb “set.”
Exodus 22:25 sn In ancient times money was lent primarily for poverty and not for commercial ventures (H. Gamoran, “The Biblical Law against Loans on Interest,” JNES 30 [1971]: 127-34). The lending to the poor was essentially a charity, and so not to be an opportunity to make money from another person’s misfortune. The word נֶשֶׁךְ (neshekh) may be derived from a verb that means “to bite,” and so the idea of usury or interest was that of putting out one’s money with a bite in it (See S. Stein, “The Laws on Interest in the Old Testament,” JTS 4 [1953]: 161-70; and E. Neufeld, “The Prohibition against Loans at Interest in the Old Testament,” HUCA 26 [1955]: 355-412).
Exodus 22:26 tn The construction again uses the infinitive absolute with the verb in the conditional clause to stress the condition.
Exodus 22:26 tn The clause uses the preposition, the infinitive construct, and the noun that is the subjective genitive—“at the going in of the sun.”
Exodus 22:27 tn Heb “his skin.”
Exodus 22:27 tn Literally the text reads, “In what can he lie down?” The cloak would be used for a covering at night to use when sleeping. The garment, then, was the property that could not be taken and not given back—it was the last possession. The modern idiom of “the shirt off his back” gets at the point being made here.
Exodus 22:27 tn Heb “and it will be.”
Exodus 22:28 tn The two verbs in this verse are synonyms: קָלַל (qalal) means “to treat lightly, curse,” and אָרַר (ʾarar) means “to curse.”
Exodus 22:28 tn The word אֱלֹהִים (ʾelohim) is “gods” or “God.” If taken as the simple plural, it could refer to the human judges, as it has in the section of laws; this would match the parallelism in the verse. If it was taken to refer to God, then the idea of cursing God would be more along the line of blasphemy. B. Jacob says that the word refers to functioning judges, and that would indirectly mean God, for they represented the religious authority, and the prince the civil authority (Exodus, 708).
Exodus 22:29 tn The expressions are unusual. U. Cassuto renders them: “from the fullness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses” (Exodus, 294). He adds the Hittite parallel material to show that the people were to bring the offerings on time and not let them overlap, because the firstfruits had to be eaten first by the priest.
Exodus 22:31 sn The use of this word here has to do with the laws of the sanctuary and not some advanced view of holiness. The ritual holiness at the sanctuary would prohibit eating anything torn to pieces.
Exodus 22:31 tn Or “by wild animals.”
Exodus 23:1 sn People who claim to worship and serve the righteous judge of the universe must preserve equity and justice in their dealings with others. These verses teach that God’s people must be honest witnesses (1-3); God’s people must be righteous even with enemies (4-5); and God’s people must be fair in dispensing justice (6-9).
Exodus 23:1 tn Heb “take up, lift, carry” (נָשָׂא, nasaʾ). This verb was also used in the prohibition against taking “the name of Yahweh in vain.” Sometimes the object of this verb is physical, as in Jonah 1:12 and 15. Used in this prohibition involving speech, it covers both originating and repeating a lie.
Exodus 23:1 tn Or “a groundless report” (see Exod 20:7 for the word שָׁוְא, shavʾ).
Exodus 23:1 tn Heb “do not put your hand” (cf. KJV, ASV); NASB “join your hand.”
Exodus 23:1 tn The word “wicked” (רָשָׁע, rashaʿ) refers to the guilty criminal, the person who is doing something wrong. In the religious setting it describes the person who is not a member of the covenant and may be involved in all kinds of sin, even though there is the appearance of moral and spiritual stability.
Exodus 23:1 tn The word חָמָס (khamas) often means “violence” in the sense of social injustices done to other people, usually the poor and needy. A “malicious” witness would do great harm to others. See J. W. McKay, “Exodus 23:1-3, 6-8: A Decalogue for Administration of Justice in the City Gate,” VT 21 (1971): 311-25.
Exodus 23:2 tn The word רָבִּים (rabbim), here rendered “crowd,” is also used infrequently to refer to the “mighty,” people of importance in society (Job 35:9; cf. Lev 19:15).
Exodus 23:2 tn For any individual to join a group that is bent on acting wickedly would be a violation of the Law and would incur personal responsibility.
Exodus 23:2 tn Heb “you will not answer in a lawsuit to turn after the crowd to turn.” The form translated “agrees with” (Heb “to turn after”) is a Qal infinitive construct from נָטָה (natah); the same root is used at the end of the verse but as a Hiphil infinitive construct, “to pervert [justice].”
Exodus 23:3 tn The point here is one of false sympathy and honor, the bad sense of the word הָדַר (hadar; see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 237).
Exodus 23:4 tn Heb “meet” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).
Exodus 23:4 tn The construction uses the imperfect tense (taken here as an obligatory imperfect) and the infinitive absolute for emphasis.
Exodus 23:5 tn The line reads “you will cease to forsake him”—refrain from leaving your enemy without help.
Exodus 23:5 tn The law is emphatic here as well, using the infinitive absolute and the imperfect of instruction (or possibly obligation). There is also a wordplay here: two words עָזַב (ʿazav) are used, one meaning “forsake” and the other possibly meaning “arrange” based on Arabic and Ugaritic evidence (see U. Cassuto, Exodus, 297-98).
Exodus 23:5 sn See H. B. Huffmon, “Exodus 23:4-5: A Comparative Study,” A Light Unto My Path, 271-78.
Exodus 23:7 tn Or “stay away from,” or “have nothing to do with.”
Exodus 23:7 tn Heb “a false matter,” this expression in this context would have to be a case in law that was false or that could only be won by falsehood.
Exodus 23:7 tn The two clauses probably should be related: the getting involved in the false charge could lead to the death of an innocent person (so, e.g., Naboth in 1 Kgs 21:10-13).
Exodus 23:7 sn God will not declare right the one who is in the wrong. Society should also be consistent, but it cannot see the intents and motives, as God can.
Exodus 23:8 tn Heb “blinds the open-eyed.”
Exodus 23:9 tn The verb means “to crush.” S. R. Driver notes that in this context this would probably mean with an unfair judgment in the courts (Exodus, 239).sn In Mosaic Law the foreign resident, גֵּר (ger), was essentially a naturalized citizen who joined the covenant community (see Exod 12:19, 48; Deut 29:10-13). Besides not oppressing the ger (Exod 22:21), Israel was told to love the ger (Lev 19:33-34). Several passages emphasize equal standing under Mosaic Law (Exod 12:49; 20:10; Lev 24:22; Num 9:14; 15:15, 16, 29).
Exodus 23:9 tn Heb “soul, life, feelings.” The term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) refers here to the soul “as the centre and transmitter of feelings and perceptions” (HALOT 713 s.v.). The Israelites should be motivated by knowing what it feels like to be oppressed.
Exodus 23:9 sn The same term גֵּר (ger) is used for the resident foreigner living in Israel and of the Israelite who lived in Israel, despite the very different social conditions of each. A foreign resident has differing status in different countries. The Israelites were slaves in Egypt, but the resident foreigner in Israel was under the same laws (civil and religious) as the Israelite and could worship the Lord as part of the covenant community. Several passages emphasize equal standing under Mosaic Law (Exod 12:49; Lev 24:22; Num 9:14; 15:15, 16, 26, 29; 19:10; 35:15; Deut 1:16 or similar obligations Exod 20:10; 23:12; Lev 16:29; 17:10, 12, 13; 18:26; 24:16; Num 15:14.
Exodus 23:10 sn This section concerns religious duties of the people of God as they worship by giving thanks to God for their blessings. The principles here are: God requires his people to allow the poor to share in their bounty (10-11); God requires his people to provide times of rest and refreshment for those who labor for them (12); God requires allegiance to himself (13); God requires his people to come before him in gratitude and share their bounty (14-17); God requires that his people safeguard proper worship forms (18-19).
Exodus 23:10 tn Heb “and six years”; this is an adverbial accusative telling how long they can work their land. The following references to years and days in vv. 10-12 function similarly.
Exodus 23:11 tn Heb “and the seventh year”; an adverbial accusative with a disjunctive vav (ו).
Exodus 23:11 tn Heb “living thing/creature/beast of the field.” A general term for animals, usually wild animals, including predators (cf. v. 29; Gen 2:19-20; Lev 26:22; Deut 7:22; 1 Sam 17:46; Job 5:22-23; Ezek 29:5; 34:5).
Exodus 23:12 tn Or “alien.” Several passages emphasize equal standing under Mosaic Law (Exod 12:49; 20:10; Lev 24:22; Num 9:14; 15:15, 16, 29) for the resident foreigner (גֵּר; ger) and the native born Israelite. The foreigners (גֵּר; ger, but not other types of non-Israelites) in Mosaic Law have joined the covenant (Deut 29:10-13) and worship the Lord. Israel was not to make these foreigners do the work which they themselves were not permitted to do on the Sabbath.
Exodus 23:12 tn The verb is וְיִנָּפֵשׁ (v^eyinnafesh); it is related to the word usually translated “soul” or “life.”
Exodus 23:13 tn The phrase “to do” is added; in Hebrew word order the line says, “In all that I have said to you you will watch yourselves.” The verb for paying attention is a Niphal imperfect with an imperatival force.
Exodus 23:13 tn Or “honor,” Hiphil of זָכַר (zakhar). See also Exod 20:25; Josh 23:7; Isa 26:13.
Exodus 23:13 tn Heb “mouth.”sn See also Ps 16:4, where David affirms his loyalty to God with this expression.
Exodus 23:14 tn Heb “three feet” or “three foot-beats.” This adverbial accusative expression also occurs in Num 22:28, 32, 33.
Exodus 23:14 tn This is the word תָּחֹג (takhog) from the root חָגַג (khagag); it describes a feast that was accompanied by a pilgrimage. It was first used by Moses in his appeal that Israel go three days into the desert to hold such a feast.
Exodus 23:15 tn This is an adverbial accusative of time.
Exodus 23:15 tn Heb “in it.”
Exodus 23:15 tn The verb is a Niphal imperfect; the nuance of permission works well here—no one is permitted to appear before God empty (Heb “and they will not appear before me empty”).
Exodus 23:16 tn The words “you are also to observe” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
Exodus 23:16 tn An infinitive construct with a preposition and a pronominal suffix is used to make a temporal clause: “in the going in of the year.” The word “year” is the subjective genitive, the subject of the clause.
Exodus 23:16 tn An infinitive construct with a preposition and a pronominal suffix is used to make a temporal clause: “in the ingathering of you.”
Exodus 23:16 tn Heb “gathered in your labors.” This is a metonymy of cause put for the effect. “Labors” are not gathered in, but what the labors produced—the harvest.
Exodus 23:17 tn Adverbial accusative of time: “three times” becomes “at three times.”
Exodus 23:17 tn Here the divine Name reads in Hebrew הָאָדֹן יְהוָה (haʾadon y^ehvah), which if rendered according to the traditional scheme of “Lord” for “Yahweh” would result in “Lord Lord.” A number of English versions therefore render this phrase “Lord God.”
Exodus 23:18 tn The verb is תִּזְבַּח (tizbakh), an imperfect tense from the same root as the genitive that qualifies the accusative “blood”: “you will not sacrifice the blood of my sacrifice.” The verb means “to slaughter”; since one cannot slaughter blood, a more general translation is required here. But if the genitive is explained as “my blood-sacrifice” (a genitive of specification; like “the evil of your doings” in Isa 1:16), then a translation of sacrifice would work (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 304).
Exodus 23:18 sn See N. Snaith, “Exodus 23:18 and 34:25, ” JTS 20 (1969): 533-34; see also M. Haran, “The Passover Sacrifice,” Studies in the Religion of Ancient Israel (VTSup), 86-116.
Exodus 23:19 sn On this verse, see C. M. Carmichael, “On Separating Life and Death: An Explanation of Some Biblical Laws,” HTR 69 (1976): 1-7; J. Milgrom, “You Shall Not Boil a Kid in Its Mother’s Milk,” BRev 1 (1985): 48-55; R. J. Ratner and B. Zuckerman, “In Rereading the ‘Kid in Milk’ Inscriptions,” BRev 1 (1985): 56-58; and M. Haran, “Seething a Kid in Its Mother’s Milk,” JJS 30 (1979): 23-35. Here and at 34:26, where this command is repeated, it ends a series of instructions about procedures for worship.
Exodus 23:20 sn This passage has some of the most interesting and perplexing expressions and constructions in the book. It is largely promise, but it is part of the Law and so demands compliance by faith. Its points are: God promises to send his angel to prepare the way before his obedient servants (20-23); God promises blessing for his loyal servants (24-33). So in the section one learns that God promises his protection (victory) and blessing (through his angel) for his obedient and loyal worshipers.
Exodus 23:20 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with the active participle indicates imminent future, something God is about to do.
Exodus 23:20 sn The word is מַלְאָךְ (malʾakh, “messenger, angel”). This angel is to be treated with the same fear and respect as Yahweh, for Yahweh will be speaking in him. U. Cassuto (Exodus, 305-6) says that the words of the first clause do not imply a being distinct from God, for in the ancient world the line of demarcation between the sender and the sent is liable easily to be blurred. He then shows how the “Angel of Yahweh” in Genesis is Yahweh. He concludes that the words here mean “I will guide you.” Christian commentators tend to identify the Angel of Yahweh as the second person of the Trinity (W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:446). However, in addition to being a preincarnate appearance, the word could refer to Yahweh—some manifestation of Yahweh himself.
Exodus 23:20 tn Heb “protect you in the way.”
Exodus 23:20 tn The form is the Hiphil perfect of the verb כּוּן (kun, “to establish, prepare”).
Exodus 23:21 sn This means “the manifestation of my being” is in him (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 247). Driver quotes McNeile as saying, “The ‘angel’ is Jehovah Himself ‘in a temporary descent to visibility for a special purpose.’” Others take the “name” to represent Yahweh’s “power” (NCV) or “authority” (NAB, CEV).
Exodus 23:22 tn The infinitive absolute here does not add as great an emphasis as normal, but emphasizes the condition that is being set forth (see GKC 342-43 §113.o).
Exodus 23:23 tn Heb “will cut them off” (so KJV, ASV).
Exodus 23:24 tn The Hebrew is מַצֵּבֹתֵיהֶם (matsevotehem, “their standing stones”); these long stones were erected to represent the abode of the numen or deity. They were usually set up near the altar or the high place. To destroy these would be to destroy the centers of Canaanite worship in the land.
Exodus 23:24 tn Both verbs are joined with their infinitive absolutes to provide the strongest sense to these instructions. The images of the false gods in Canaan were to be completely and utterly destroyed. This could not be said any more strongly.
Exodus 23:25 tn The perfect tense, masculine plural, with vav (ו) consecutive is in sequence with the preceding: do not bow down to them, but serve Yahweh. It is then the equivalent of an imperfect of instruction or injunction.
Exodus 23:25 tn The LXX reads “and I will bless” to make the verb conform with the speaker, Yahweh.
Exodus 23:25 sn On this unusual clause B. Jacob says that it is the reversal of the curse in Genesis, because the “bread and water” represent the field work and ground suitability for abundant blessing of provisions (Exodus, 734).
Exodus 23:26 tn Or “abort”; Heb “cast.”
Exodus 23:26 sn No one will die prematurely; this applies to the individual or the nation. The plan of God to bless was extensive, if only the people would obey.
Exodus 23:27 tn The word for “terror” is אֵימָתִי (ʾemati); the word has the thought of “panic” or “dread.” God would make the nations panic as they heard of the exploits and knew the Israelites were drawing near. U. Cassuto thinks the reference to “hornets” in v. 28 may be a reference to this fear, an unreasoning dread, rather than to another insect invasion (Exodus, 308). Others suggest it is symbolic of an invading army or a country like Egypt or literal insects (see E. Neufeld, “Insects as Warfare Agents in the Ancient Near East,” Or 49 [1980]: 30-57).
Exodus 23:27 tn Heb “discomfit” or “bring into confusion.”
Exodus 23:27 tn The text has “and I will give all your enemies to you [as] a back.” The verb of making takes two accusatives, the second being the adverbial accusative of product (see GKC 371-72 §117.ii, n. 1).
Exodus 23:28 tn Heb “and I will send.”
Exodus 23:29 tn Heb “the beast of the field.”
Exodus 23:30 tn The repetition expresses an exceptional or super-fine quality (see GKC 396 §123.e).
Exodus 23:31 tn The form is a perfect tense with vav consecutive.
Exodus 23:31 tn In the Hebrew Bible “the River” usually refers to the Euphrates (cf. NASB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT). There is some thought that it refers to a river Nahr el Kebir between Lebanon and Syria. See further W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:447; and G. W. Buchanan, The Consequences of the Covenant (NovTSup), 91-100.
Exodus 23:33 tn The idea of the “snare” is to lure them to judgment; God is apparently warning about contact with the Canaanites, either in worship or in business. They were very syncretistic, and so it would be dangerous to settle among them.
Exodus 24:1 sn Exod 24 is the high point of the book in many ways, but most importantly, here Yahweh makes a covenant with the people—the Sinaitic Covenant. The unit not only serves to record the event in Israel’s becoming a nation, but it provides a paradigm of the worship of God’s covenant people—entering into the presence of the glory of Yahweh. See additionally W. A. Maier, “The Analysis of Exodus 24 According to Modern Literary, Form, and Redaction Critical Methodology,” Springfielder 37 (1973): 35-52. The passage may be divided into four parts for exposition: vv. 1-2, the call for worship; vv. 3-8, the consecration of the worshipers; vv. 9-11, the confirmation of the covenant; and vv. 12-18, the communication with Yahweh.
Exodus 24:1 tn Heb “And he;” the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Exodus 24:1 sn They were to come up to the Lord after they had made the preparations that are found in vv. 3-8.
Exodus 24:1 sn These seventy-four people were to go up the mountain to a certain point. Then they were to prostrate themselves and worship Yahweh as Moses went farther up into the presence of Yahweh. Moses occupies the lofty position of mediator (as Christ in the NT), for he alone ascends “to Yahweh” while everyone waits for his return. The emphasis of “bowing down” and that from “far off” stresses again the ominous presence that was on the mountain. This was the holy God—only the designated mediator could draw near to him.
Exodus 24:2 tn The verb is a perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive; it and the preceding perfect tense follow the imperative, and so have either a force of instruction, or, as taken here, are the equivalent of an imperfect tense (of permission).
Exodus 24:2 tn Heb “they.”
Exodus 24:2 tn Now the imperfect tense negated is used; here the prohibition would fit (“they will not come near”), or the obligatory (“they must not”) in which the subjects are obliged to act—or not act in this case.
Exodus 24:3 sn The general consensus among commentators is that this refers to Moses’ coming from the mountain after he made the ascent in 20:21. Here he came and told them the laws (written in 20:22-23:33), and of the call to come up to Yahweh.
Exodus 24:3 sn The Decalogue may not be included here because the people had heard those commands themselves earlier.
Exodus 24:3 tn The text simply has “one voice” (קוֹל אֶחָד, qol ʾekhad); this is an adverbial accusative of manner, telling how the people answered—“in one voice,” or unanimously (see GKC 375 §118.q).
Exodus 24:3 tn The verb is the imperfect tense (נַעֲשֶׂה, naʿaseh), although the form could be classified as a cohortative. If the latter, they would be saying that they are resolved to do what God said. If it is an imperfect, then the desiderative would make the most sense: “we are willing to do.” They are not presumptuously saying they are going to do all these things.
Exodus 24:4 tn The two preterites quite likely form a verbal hendiadys (the verb “to get up early” is frequently in such constructions). Literally it says, “and he got up early [in the morning] and he built”; this means “early [in the morning] he built.” The first verb becomes the adverb.
Exodus 24:4 tn “under.”
Exodus 24:4 tn The verb “arranged” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied to clarify exactly what Moses did with the twelve stones.
Exodus 24:4 tn The thing numbered is found in the singular when the number is plural—“twelve standing-stone.” See GKC 433 §134.f. The “standing-stone” could be a small piece about a foot high, or a huge column higher than men. They served to commemorate treaties (Gen 32), or visions (Gen 28) or boundaries, or graves. Here it will function with the altar as a place of worship.
Exodus 24:5 tn The construct has “young men of the Israelites,” and so “Israelite” is a genitive that describes them.
Exodus 24:5 tn The verbs and their respective accusatives are cognates. First, they offered up burnt offerings (see Lev 1), which is וַיַּעֲלוּ עֹלֹת (vayyaʿalu ʿolot); then they sacrificed young bulls as peace sacrifices (Lev 3), which is in Hebrew וַיִּזְבְּחוּ זְבָחִים (vayyizb^ekhu z^evakhim). In the first case the cognate accusative is the direct object; in the second it is an adverbial accusative of product. See on this covenant ritual H. M. Kamsler, “The Blood Covenant in the Bible,” Dor le Dor 6 (1977): 94-98; E. W. Nicholson, “The Covenant Ritual in Exodus 24:3-8, ” VT 32 (1982): 74-86.
Exodus 24:6 sn The people and Yahweh through this will be united by blood, for half was spattered on the altar and the other half spattered on/toward the people (v. 8).
Exodus 24:7 tn The noun “book” would be the scroll just written containing the laws of chaps. 20-23. On the basis of this scroll the covenant would be concluded here. The reading of this book would assure the people that it was the same that they had agreed to earlier. But now their statement of willingness to obey would be more binding, because their promise would be confirmed by a covenant of blood.
Exodus 24:7 tn Heb “read it in the ears of.”
Exodus 24:7 tn A second verb is now added to the people’s response, and it is clearly an imperfect and not a cohortative, lending support for the choice of desiderative imperfect in these commitments—“we want to obey.” This was their compliance with the covenant.
Exodus 24:8 tn Given the size of the congregation, the preposition might be rendered here “toward the people” rather than on them (all).
Exodus 24:8 sn The construct relationship “the blood of the covenant” means “the blood by which the covenant is ratified” (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 254). The parallel with the inauguration of the new covenant in the blood of Christ is striking (see, e.g., Matt 26:28, 1 Cor 11:25). When Jesus was inaugurating the new covenant, he was bringing to an end the old.
Exodus 24:9 tn The verse begins with “and Moses went up, and Aaron….” This verse may supply the sequel to vv. 1-2. At any rate, God was now accepting them into his presence.sn This next section is extremely interesting, but difficult to interpret. For some of the literature, see: E. W. Nicholson, “The Interpretation of Exodus 24:9-11, ” VT 24 (1974): 77-97; “The Antiquity of the Tradition in Exodus 24:9-11, ” VT 26 (1976): 148-60; and T. C. Vriezen, “The Exegesis of Exodus 24:9-11, ” OTS 17 (1967): 24-53.
Exodus 24:10 sn S. R. Driver (Exodus, 254) wishes to safeguard the traditional idea that God could not be seen by reading “they saw the place where the God of Israel stood” so as not to say they saw God. But according to U. Cassuto there is not a great deal of difference between “and they saw the God” and “the Lord God appeared” (Exodus, 314). He thinks that the word “God” is used instead of “Yahweh” to say that a divine phenomenon was seen. It is in the LXX that they add “the place where he stood.” In v. 11b the LXX has “and they appeared in the place of God.” See James Barr, “Theophany and Anthropomorphism in the Old Testament,” VTSup 7 (1959): 31-33. There is no detailed description here of what they saw (cf. Isa 6; Ezek 1). What is described amounts to what a person could see when prostrate.
Exodus 24:10 sn S. R. Driver suggests that they saw the divine Glory, not directly, but as they looked up from below, through what appeared to be a transparent blue sapphire pavement (Exodus, 254).
Exodus 24:10 tn Or “tiles.”
Exodus 24:10 tn Heb “and like the body of heaven for clearness.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven” or “sky” depending on the context; here, where sapphire is mentioned (a blue stone) “sky” seems more appropriate, since the transparent blueness of the sapphire would appear like the blueness of the cloudless sky.
Exodus 24:11 tn Heb “he did not stretch out his hand,” i.e., to destroy them.
Exodus 24:11 tn The verb is חָזָה (khazah); it can mean “to see, perceive” or “see a vision” as the prophets did. The LXX safeguarded this by saying, “appeared in the place of God.” B. Jacob says they beheld—prophetically, religiously (Exodus, 746)—but the meaning of that is unclear. The fact that God did not lay a hand on them—to kill them—shows that they saw something that they never expected to see and live. Some Christian interpreters have taken this to refer to a glorious appearance of the preincarnate Christ, the second person of the Trinity. They saw the brilliance of this manifestation—but not the detail. Later, Moses will still ask to see God’s glory—the real presence behind the phenomena.
Exodus 24:11 sn This is the covenant meal, the peace offering, that they are eating there on the mountain. To eat from the sacrifice meant that they were at peace with God, in covenant with him. Likewise, in the new covenant believers draw near to God on the basis of sacrifice, and eat of the sacrifice because they are at peace with him, and in Christ they see the Godhead revealed.
Exodus 24:12 sn Now the last part is recorded in which Moses ascends to Yahweh to receive the tablets of stone. As Moses disappears into the clouds, the people are given a vision of the glory of Yahweh.
Exodus 24:12 sn These are the stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments would be written. This is the first time they are mentioned. The commandments were apparently proclaimed by God first and then proclaimed to the people by Moses. Now that they have been formally agreed on and ratified, they will be written by God on stone for a perpetual covenant.
Exodus 24:12 tn Or “namely”; or “that is to say.” The vav (ו) on the noun does not mean that this is in addition to the tablets of stone; the vav is explanatory. Gesenius has “to wit”; see GKC 484-85 §154.a, n. 1(b).
Exodus 24:12 tn The last word of the verse is לְהוֹרֹתָם (l^ehorotam), the Hiphil infinitive construct of יָרָה (yarah). It serves as a purpose clause, “to teach them,” meaning “I am giving you this Law and these commands in order that you may teach them.” This duty to teach the Law will be passed especially to parents (Deut 6:6-9, 20-25) and to the tribe of Levi as a whole (Deut 33:9-10; Mal 2:1-9).
Exodus 24:13 tn Heb “and he arose” meaning “started to go.”
Exodus 24:13 tn Heb “and.”
Exodus 24:14 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh) calls attention to the presence of Aaron and Hur to answer the difficult cases that might come up.
Exodus 24:14 tn Or “issues to resolve.” The term is simply דְּבָרִים (d^evarim, “words, things, matters”).
Exodus 24:14 tn The imperfect tense here has the nuance of potential imperfect. In the absence of Moses and Joshua, Aaron and Hur will be available.sn Attention to the preparation for Moses’ departure contributes to the weight of the guilt of the faithless Israelites (chap. 32) and of Aaron, to whom Moses had delegated an important duty.
Exodus 24:16 sn The verb is וַיִּשְׁכֹּן (vayyishkon, “and dwelt, abode”). From this is derived the epithet “the Shekinah Glory,” the dwelling or abiding glory. The “glory of Yahweh” was a display visible at a distance, clearly in view of the Israelites. To them it was like a consuming fire in the midst of the cloud that covered the mountain. That fire indicated that Yahweh wished to accept their sacrifice, as if it were a pleasant aroma to him, as Leviticus would say. This “appearance” indicated that the phenomena represented a shimmer of the likeness of his glory (B. Jacob, Exodus, 749). The verb, according to U. Cassuto (Exodus, 316), also gives an inkling of the next section of the book, the building of the “tabernacle,” the dwelling place, the מִשְׁכָּן (mishkan). The vision of the glory of Yahweh confirmed the authority of the revelation of the Law given to Israel. This chapter is the climax of God’s bringing people into covenant with himself, the completion of his revelation to them, a completion that is authenticated with the miraculous. It ends with the mediator going up in the clouds to be with God, and the people down below eagerly awaiting his return. The message of the whole chapter could be worded this way: Those whom God sanctifies by the blood of the covenant and instructs by the book of the covenant may enjoy fellowship with him and anticipate a far more glorious fellowship. So too in the NT the commandments and teachings of Jesus are confirmed by his miraculous deeds and by his glorious manifestation on the Mount of the Transfiguration, where a few who represented the disciples would see his glory and be able to teach others. The people of the new covenant have been brought into fellowship with God through the blood of the covenant; they wait eagerly for his return from heaven in the clouds.
Exodus 24:16 tn This is an adverbial accusative of time.
Exodus 24:17 tn Heb “to the eyes of” which could mean in their opinion.
Exodus 24:18 tn The verb is a preterite with vav (ו) consecutive; here, the second clause, is subordinated to the first preterite, because it seems that the entering into the cloud is the dominant point in this section of the chapter.
Exodus 24:18 sn B. Jacob (Exodus, 750) offers this description of some of the mystery involved in Moses’ ascending into the cloud: Moses ascended into the presence of God, but remained on earth. He did not rise to heaven—the ground remained firmly under his feet. But he clearly was brought into God’s presence; he was like a heavenly servant before God’s throne, like the angels, and he consumed neither bread nor water. The purpose of his being there was to become familiar with all God’s demands and purposes. He would receive the tablets of stone and all the instructions for the tabernacle that was to be built (beginning in chap. 25). He would not descend until the sin of the golden calf.
Exodus 25:1 sn Now begin the detailed instructions for constructing the tabernacle of Yahweh, with all its furnishings. The first paragraph introduces the issue of the heavenly pattern for the construction, calls for the people to make willing offerings (vv. 2-7), and explains the purpose for these offerings (vv. 8-9). The message here is that God calls his people to offer of their substance willingly so that his sanctuary may be made.
Exodus 25:2 tn The verb is וְיִקְחוּ (v^eyiq^ekhu), the Qal imperfect or jussive with vav; after the imperative “speak” this verb indicates the purpose or result: “speak…that they may take” and continues with the force of a command.
Exodus 25:2 tn The “offering” (תְּרוּמָה, t^erumah) is perhaps better understood as a contribution since it was a freewill offering. There is some question about the etymology of the word. The traditional meaning of “heave-offering” derives from the idea of “elevation,” a root meaning “to be high” lying behind the word. B. Jacob says it is something sorted out of a mass of material and designated for a higher purpose (Exodus, 765). S. R. Driver (Exodus, 263) corrects the idea of “heave-offering” by relating the root to the Hiphil form of that root, herim, “to lift” or “take off.” He suggests the noun means “what is taken off” from a larger mass and so designated for sacred purposes. The LXX has “something taken off.”
Exodus 25:2 tn The verb יִדְּבֶנּוּ (yidd^evennu) is related to the word for the “freewill offering” (נְדָבָה, n^edavah). The verb is used of volunteering for military campaigns (Judg 5:2, 9) and the willing offerings for both the first and second temples (see 1 Chr 29:5, 6, 9, 14, 17).
Exodus 25:2 tn The pronoun is plural.
Exodus 25:3 tn The pronoun is plural.
Exodus 25:4 sn The blue refers to dye made from shellfish. It has a dark blue or purple-blue, almost violet color. No significance for the color is attached.
Exodus 25:4 sn Likewise this color dye was imported from Phoenicia, where it was harvested from the shellfish or snail. It is a deep purple-red color.
Exodus 25:4 sn This color is made from the eggs and bodies of the worm coccus ilicus, which is found with the holly plant—so Heb “worm of brilliance.” The powder made from the dried maggots produces a bright red-yellow color (W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:452). B. Jacob takes the view that these are not simply colors that are being introduced here, but fabrics dyed with these colors (Exodus, 765). At any rate, the sequence would then be metals, fabrics, and leathers (v. 5).
Exodus 25:4 sn This is generally viewed as a fine Egyptian linen that had many more delicate strands than ordinary linen.
Exodus 25:4 sn Goat’s hair was spun into yarn (35:26) and used to make the material for the first tent over the dwelling. It is ideal for tenting, since it is loosely woven and allows breezes to pass through, but with rain the fibers expand and prevent water from seeping through.
Exodus 25:5 sn W. C. Kaiser compares this to morocco leather (“Exodus,” EBC 2:453); it was skin that had all the wool removed and then was prepared as leather and dyed red. N. M. Sarna, on the other hand, comments, “The technique of leather production is never described [in ancient Hebrew texts]. Hence, it is unclear whether Hebrew מְאָדָּמִים (meʾoddamim) literally ‘made red,’ refers to the tanning or dyeing process” (Exodus [JPSTC], 157).
Exodus 25:5 tn The meaning of the word תְּחָשִׁים (t^ekhashim) is debated. The Arabic tuhas or duhas is a dolphin, and so some think a sea animal is meant—something like a dolphin or porpoise (cf. NASB; ASV “sealskins”; NIV “hides of sea cows”). Porpoises are common in the Red Sea; their skins are used for clothing by the bedouin. The word has also been connected to an Egyptian word for “leather” (ths); see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 265. Some variation of this is followed by NRSV (“fine leather”) and NLT (“fine goatskin leather”). Another suggestion connects this word to an Akkadian one that describes a precious stone that is yellow or orange and also leather dyed with the color of this stone (N. M. Sarna, Exodus [JPSTC], 157-58).
Exodus 25:5 sn The wood of the acacia is darker and harder than oak, and so very durable.
Exodus 25:8 tn The verb is a perfect with vav (ו) consecutive; it follows in the sequence initiated by the imperative in v. 2 and continues with the force of a command.
Exodus 25:8 tn The word here is מִקְדּשׁ (miqdash), “a sanctuary” or “holy place”; cf. NLT “sacred residence.” The purpose of building it is to enable Yahweh to reside (וְשָׁכַנְתִּי, v^eshakhanti) in their midst. U. Cassuto reminds the reader that God did not need a place to dwell, but the Israelites needed a dwelling place for him, so that they would look to it and be reminded that he was in their midst (Exodus, 327).
Exodus 25:9 tn The pronoun is singular.
Exodus 25:9 sn The expression “the pattern of the tabernacle” (תַּבְנִית הַמִּשְׁכָּן, tavnit hammishkan) has been the source of much inquiry. The word rendered “pattern” is related to the verb “to build”; it suggests a model. S. R. Driver notes that in ancient literature there is the account of Gudea receiving in a dream a complete model of a temple he was to erect (Exodus, 267). In this passage Moses is being shown something on the mountain that should be the pattern of the earthly sanctuary. The most plausible explanation of what he was shown comes from a correlation with comments in the Letter to the Hebrews and the book of Revelation, which describe the heavenly sanctuary as the true sanctuary, and the earthly as the copy or shadow. One could say that Moses was allowed to see what John saw on the island of Patmos, a vision of the heavenly sanctuary. That still might not explain what it was, but it would mean he saw a revelation of the true tent, and that would imply that he learned of the spiritual and eternal significance of all of it. The fact that Israel’s sanctuary resembled those of other cultures does not nullify this act of revelation; rather, it raises the question of where the other nations got their ideas if it was not made known early in human history. One can conclude that in the beginning there was much more revealed to the parents in the garden than Scripture tells about (Cain and Abel did know how to make sacrifices before Leviticus legislated it). Likewise, one cannot but guess at the influence of the fallen Satan and his angels in the world of pagan religion. Whatever the source, at Sinai God shows the true, and instructs that it all be done without the pagan corruptions and additions. U. Cassuto notes that the existence of these ancient parallels shows that the section on the tabernacle need not be dated in the second temple period, but fits the earlier period well (Exodus, 324).
Exodus 25:9 tn The pronoun is plural.
Exodus 25:9 sn Among the many helpful studies on the tabernacle, include S. M. Fish, “And They Shall Build Me a Sanctuary,” Gratz College of Jewish Studies 2 (1973): 43-59; I. Hart, “Preaching on the Account of the Tabernacle,” EvQ 54 (1982): 111-16; D. Skinner, “Some Major Themes of Exodus,” Mid-America Theological Journal 1 (1977): 31-42; S. McEvenue, “The Style of Building Instructions,” Sem 4 (1974): 1-9; M. Ben-Uri, “The Mosaic Building Code,” Creation Research Society Quarterly 19 (1982): 36-39.
Exodus 25:10 sn This section begins with the ark, the most sacred and important object of Israel’s worship. Verses 10-15 provide the instructions for it, v. 16 has the placement of the Law in it, vv. 17-21 cover the mercy lid, and v. 22 the meeting above it. The point of this item in the tabernacle is to underscore the focus: the covenant people must always have God’s holy standard before them as they draw near to worship. A study of this would focus on God’s nature (he is a God of order, precision, and perfection), on the usefulness of this item for worship, and on the typology intended.
Exodus 25:10 tn The word “ark” has long been used by English translations to render אָרוֹן (ʾaron), the word used for the wooden “box,” or “chest,” made by Noah in which to escape the flood and by the Israelites to furnish the tabernacle.
Exodus 25:10 tn The size is two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. The size is estimated on the assumption that the cubit is 18 inches (see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 267).
Exodus 25:11 tn The verbs throughout here are perfect tenses with the vav (ו) consecutives. They are equal to the imperfect tense of instruction and/or injunction.
Exodus 25:11 tn Here the verb is an imperfect tense; for the perfect sequence to work the verb would have to be at the front of the clause.
Exodus 25:11 tn The word זֵר (zer) is used only in Exodus and seems to describe something on the order of a crown molding, an ornamental border running at the top of the chest on all four sides. There is no indication of its appearance or function.
Exodus 25:16 sn The “testimony” is the Decalogue (Exod 24:12; 31:18; Deut 4:13; 9:9; 1 Kgs 8:9); the word identifies it as the witness or affirmation of God’s commandments belonging to his covenant with Israel. It expressed God’s will and man’s duty. In other cultures important documents were put at the feet of the gods in the temples.
Exodus 25:17 tn The noun is כַּפֹּרֶת (kapporet), translated “atonement lid” or “atonement plate.” The traditional translation “mercy-seat” (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV) came from Tyndale in 1530 and was also used by Luther in 1523. The noun is formed from the word “to make atonement.” The item that the Israelites should make would be more than just a lid for the ark. It would be the place where atonement was signified. The translation of “covering” is probably incorrect, for it derives from a rare use of the verb, if the same verb at all (the evidence shows “cover” is from another root with the same letters as this). The value of this place was that Yahweh sat enthroned above it, and so the ark essentially was the “footstool.” Blood was applied to the lid of the box, for that was the place of atonement (see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 269-270).
Exodus 25:17 tn After verbs of making or producing, the accusative (like “gold” here) may be used to express the material from which something is made (see GKC 371 §117.hh).
Exodus 25:18 tn The evidence suggests that the cherubim were composite angelic creatures that always indicated the nearness of God. So here images of them were to be crafted and put on each end of the ark of the covenant to signify that they were there. Ezekiel 1 describes four cherubim as each having human faces, four wings, and parts of different animals for their bodies. Traditions of them appear in the other cultures as well. They serve to guard the holy places and to bear the throne of God. Here they were to be beaten out as part of the lid.
Exodus 25:19 tn The text now shifts to use an imperative with the vav (ו) conjunction.
Exodus 25:19 tn The use of זֶה (zeh) repeated here expresses the reciprocal ideas of “the one” and “the other” (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 26, §132).
Exodus 25:19 sn The angels were to form one piece with the lid and not be separated. This could be translated “of one piece with” the lid, but it is likely the angels were simply fastened to it permanently.
Exodus 25:20 tn The verb means “overshadowing, screening” in the sense of guarding (see 1 Kgs 8:7; 1 Chr 28:18; see also the account in Gen 3:24). The cherubim then signify two things here: by their outstretched wings they form the throne of God who sits above the ark (with the Law under his feet), and by their overshadowing and guarding they signify this as the place of atonement where people must find propitiation to commune with God. Until then they are barred from his presence. See U. Cassuto, Exodus, 330-35.
Exodus 25:20 tn Heb “their faces a man to his brother.”
Exodus 25:20 tn Heb “the faces of the cherubim will be” (“the cherubim” was moved to the preceding clause for smoother English).
Exodus 25:22 sn Here then is the main point of the ark of the covenant, and the main point of all worship—meeting with God through atonement. The text makes it clear that here God would meet with Moses (“you” is singular) and then he would speak to the people—he is the mediator of the covenant. S. R. Driver (Exodus, 272) makes the point that the verb here is not the word that means “to meet by chance” (as in Exod 3:18), but “to meet” by appointment for a purpose (וְנוֹעַדְתִּי, v^enoʿadti). The parallel in the NT is Jesus Christ and his work. The theology is that the Law condemns people as guilty of sin, but the sacrifice of Christ makes atonement. So he is the “place of propitiation” (Rom 3:25) who gains communion with the Father for sinners. A major point that could be made from this section is this: At the center of worship must be the atoning work of Christ—a perpetual reminder of God’s righteous standard (the testimony in the ark) and God’s gracious provision (the atonement lid).
Exodus 25:22 tn The verb is placed here in the text: “and I will speak”; it has been moved in this translation to be closer to the direct object clause.
Exodus 25:23 sn The Table of the Bread of the Presence (Tyndale’s translation, “Shewbread,” was used in KJV and influenced ASV, NAB) was to be a standing acknowledgment that Yahweh was the giver of daily bread. It was called the “presence-bread” because it was set out in his presence. The theology of this is that God provides, and the practice of this is that the people must provide for constant thanks. So if the ark speaks of communion through atonement, the table speaks of dedicatory gratitude.
Exodus 25:24 tn “Gold” is an adverbial accusative of material.
Exodus 25:25 sn There is some debate as to the meaning of מִסְגֶּרֶת (misgeret). This does not seem to be a natural part of the table and its legs. The drawing on the Arch of Titus shows two cross-stays in the space between the legs, about halfway up. It might have been nearer the top, but the drawing of the table of presence-bread from the arch shows it half-way up. This frame was then decorated with the molding as well.
Exodus 25:26 tn Heb “give.”
Exodus 25:26 tn Heb “which [are] to four of its feet.”
Exodus 25:27 tn Heb “houses”; NAB, NASB “holders.”
Exodus 25:28 tn The verb is a Niphal perfect with vav consecutive, showing here the intended result: “so that [the table] might be lifted up [by them].” The noun “the table” is introduced by what looks like the sign of the accusative, but here it serves to introduce or emphasize the nominative (see GKC 365 §117.i).
Exodus 25:29 tn Or “a deep gold dish.” The four nouns in this list are items associated with the table and its use.
Exodus 25:29 tn Or “cups” (NAB, TEV).
Exodus 25:29 tn The expression “for pouring out offerings” represents Hebrew אֲשֶׁר יֻסַּךְ בָּהֵן (ʾasher yussakh bahen). This literally says, “which it may be poured out with them,” or “with which [libations] may be poured out.”
Exodus 25:30 sn The name basically means that the bread is to be set out in the presence of Yahweh. The custom of presenting bread on a table as a thank offering is common in other cultures as well. The bread here would be placed on the table as a symbol of the divine provision for the twelve tribes—continually, because they were to express their thanksgiving continually. Priests could eat the bread after certain times. Fresh bread would be put there regularly.
Exodus 25:31 sn Clearly the point here is to provide light in the tent for access to God. He provided for his worshipers a light for the way to God, but he also wanted them to provide oil for the lamp to ensure that the light would not go out. Verses 31-36 describe the piece. It was essentially one central shaft, with three branches on either side turned out and upward. The stem and the branches were ornamented every so often with gold that was formed into the shape of the calyx and corolla of the almond flower. On top of the central shaft and the six branches were the lamps.
Exodus 25:31 tn The word is מְנֹרָה (m^enorah)—here in construct to a following genitive of material. The main piece was one lampstand, but there were seven lamps on the shaft and its branches. See E. Goodenough, “The Menorah among the Jews of the Roman World,” HUCA 23 (1950/51): 449-92.
Exodus 25:31 sn U. Cassuto (Exodus, 342-44) says that the description “the cups, knobs and flowers” is explained in vv. 32-36 as three decorations in the form of a cup, shaped like an almond blossom, to be made on one branch. Every cup will have two parts, (a) a knob, that is, the receptacle at the base of the blossom, and (b) a flower, which is called the corolla, so that each lamp rests on top of a flower.
Exodus 25:31 tn Heb “will be from/of it”; the referent (“the same piece” of wrought metal) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Exodus 25:32 tn Heb “from the sides of it.”
Exodus 25:32 tn Heb “from the second side.”
Exodus 25:33 tn The text uses “one” again; “the one…the one” means “the one…and the next” in the distributive sense.
Exodus 25:33 tn Heb “thus.”
Exodus 25:35 tn For clarity the phrase “the first” has been supplied.
Exodus 25:35 tn For clarity the phrase “the next” has been supplied.
Exodus 25:35 tn For clarity the phrase “the third” has been supplied.
Exodus 25:36 tn Heb “will be from it.”
Exodus 25:37 tn The word for “lamps” is from the same root as the lampstand, of course. The word is נֵרוֹת (nerot). This probably refers to the small saucer-like pottery lamps that are made very simply with the rim pinched over to form a place to lay the wick. The bowl is then filled with olive oil as fuel.
Exodus 25:37 tn The translation “set up on” is from the Hebrew verb “bring up.” The construction is impersonal, “and he will bring up,” meaning “one will bring up.” It may mean that people were to fix the lamps on to the shaft and the branches, rather than cause the light to go up (see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 277).
Exodus 25:37 tn This is a Hiphil perfect with vav consecutive, from אוֹר (ʾor, “light”), and in the causative, “to light, give light.”
Exodus 25:38 sn The first word refers to something like small tongs or tweezers used to pull up and trim the wicks; the second word refers to fire-pans or censers.
Exodus 25:38 tn “are to be” has been supplied.
Exodus 25:39 tn Heb “a talent.”
Exodus 25:39 tn The text has “he will make it” or “one will make it.” With no expressed subject it is given a passive translation.
Exodus 25:40 tn The text uses two imperatives: “see and make.” This can be interpreted as a verbal hendiadys, calling for Moses and Israel to see to it that they make these things correctly.
Exodus 25:40 tn The participle is passive, “caused to see,” or, “shown.”
Exodus 25:40 sn The message of this section surely concerns access to God. To expound this correctly, though, since it is an instruction section for building the lampstand, the message would be: God requires that his people ensure that light will guide the way of access to God. The breakdown for exposition could be the instructions for preparation for light (one lamp, several branches), then instructions for the purpose and maintenance of the lamps, and then the last verse telling the divine source for the instructions. Naturally, the metaphorical value of light will come up in the study, especially from the NT. So in the NT there is the warning that if churches are unfaithful God will remove their lampstand, their ministry (Rev 2-3).
Exodus 26:1 sn This chapter is given over to the details of the structure itself, the curtains, coverings, boards and walls and veil. The passage can be studied on one level for its function both practically and symbolically for Israel’s worship. On another level it can be studied for its typology, for the tabernacle and many of its parts speak of Christ. For this one should see the commentaries.
Exodus 26:1 tn The word order in Hebrew thrusts the direct object to the front for particular emphasis. After the first couple of pieces of furniture are treated (chap. 25), attention turns to the tabernacle itself.
Exodus 26:1 tn This is for the adverbial accusative explaining how the dwelling place is to be made.
Exodus 26:1 sn S. R. Driver suggests that the curtains were made with threads dyed with these colors (Exodus, 280). Perhaps the colored threads were used for embroidering the cherubim in the curtains.
Exodus 26:1 tn The construction is difficult in this line because of the word order. “Cherubim” is an adverbial accusative explaining how they were to make the curtains. And מַעֲשֵׂה חֹשֵׁב (maʿaseh khoshev) means literally “work of a designer”; it is in apposition to “cherubim.” The Hebrew participle means “designer” or “deviser” so that one could render this “of artistic designs in weaving” (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 280-81). B. Jacob says that it refers to “artistic weavers” (Exodus, 789).
Exodus 26:2 tn Heb “one” (so KJV).
Exodus 26:2 tn Heb “28 cubits” long and “4 cubits” wide.
Exodus 26:3 tn This is the active participle, not the passive. It would normally be rendered “joining together.” The Bible uses the active because it has the result of the sewing in mind, namely, that every curtain accompanies another (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 348).
Exodus 26:3 tn Heb “a woman to her sister,” this form of using nouns to express “one to another” is selected because “curtains” is a feminine noun (see GKC 448 §139.e).
Exodus 26:3 tn The phrase “the other” has been supplied.
Exodus 26:4 tn Here “loops” has been supplied.
Exodus 26:5 tn Heb “a woman to her sister.”
Exodus 26:6 tn Heb “one”; KJV “it shall be one tabernacle”; NRSV “that the tabernacle may be one whole”; NLT “a single unit.”
Exodus 26:7 sn This chapter will show that there were two sets of curtains and two sets of coverings that went over the wood building to make the tabernacle or dwelling place. The curtains of fine linen described above could be seen only by the priests from inside. Above that was the curtain of goats’ hair. Then over that were the coverings, an inner covering of rams’ skins dyed red and an outer covering of hides of fine leather. The movement is from the inside to the outside because it is God’s dwelling place; the approach of the worshiper would be the opposite. The pure linen represented the righteousness of God, guarded by the embroidered cherubim; the curtain of goats’ hair was a reminder of sin through the daily sin offering of a goat; the covering of rams’ skins dyed red was a reminder of the sacrifice and the priestly ministry set apart by blood, and the outer covering marked the separation between God and the world. These are the interpretations set forth by Kaiser; others vary, but not greatly (see W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:459).
Exodus 26:7 sn This curtain will serve “for a tent over the tabernacle,” as a dwelling place.
Exodus 26:7 tn Heb “you will make them”
Exodus 26:8 tn Heb “one”
Exodus 26:9 sn The text seems to describe this part as being in front of the tabernacle, hanging down to form a valence at the entrance (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 284).
Exodus 26:11 tn Heb “one”
Exodus 26:12 sn U. Cassuto (Exodus, 353) cites b. Shabbat 98b which says, “What did the tabernacle resemble? A woman walking on the street with her train trailing behind her.” In the expression “the half of the curtain that remains,” the verb agrees in gender with the genitive near it.
Exodus 26:13 tn Literally “cubit.”
Exodus 26:13 sn U. Cassuto states the following: “To the north and to the south, since the tent curtains were 30 cubits long, there were 10 cubits left over on each side; these covered the 9 cubits of the curtains of the tabernacle and also the bottom cubit of the boards, which the tabernacle curtains did not suffice to cover. It is to this that v. 13 refers” (Exodus, 353).
Exodus 26:14 sn Two outer coverings made of stronger materials will be put over the tent and the curtain, the two inner layers.
Exodus 26:14 tn See the note on this phrase in Exod 25:5.
Exodus 26:15 tn There is debate whether the word הַקְּרָשִׁים (haqq^erashim) means “boards” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB) or “frames” (NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV) or “planks” (see Ezek 27:6) or “beams,” given the size of them. The literature on this includes M. Haran, “The Priestly Image of the Tabernacle,” HUCA 36 (1965): 192; B. A. Levine, “The Description of the Tabernacle Texts of the Pentateuch,” JAOS 85 (1965): 307-18; J. Morgenstern, “The Ark, the Ephod, and the Tent,” HUCA 17 (1942/43): 153-265; 18 (1943/44): 1-52.
Exodus 26:15 tn “Wood” is an adverbial accusative.
Exodus 26:15 tn The plural participle “standing” refers to how these items will be situated; they will be vertical rather than horizontal (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 354).
Exodus 26:16 tn Heb “the frame.”
Exodus 26:17 sn Heb “hands,” the reference is probably to projections that served as stays or supports. They may have been tenons, or pegs, projecting from the bottom of the frames to hold the frames in their sockets (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 286).
Exodus 26:17 tn Or “being joined each to the other.”
Exodus 26:18 tn Heb “on the south side southward.”
Exodus 26:19 tn The clause is repeated to show the distributive sense; it literally says, “and two bases under the one frame for its two projections.”
Exodus 26:22 tn Or “westward” (toward the sea).
Exodus 26:23 sn The term rendered “corners” is “an architectural term for some kind of special corner structure. Here it seems to involve two extra supports, one at each corner of the western wall” (N. M. Sarna, Exodus [JPSTC], 170).
Exodus 26:24 tn Heb “they will be for the two corners.” This is the last clause of the verse, moved forward for clarity.
Exodus 26:28 sn These bars served as reinforcements to hold the upright frames together. The Hebrew term for these bars is also used of crossbars on gates (Judg 16:3; Neh 3:3).
Exodus 26:30 tn The noun is מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat), often translated “judgment” or “decision” in other contexts. In those settings it may reflect its basic idea of custom, which here would be reflected with a rendering of “prescribed norm” or “plan.”
Exodus 26:31 tn Although translated “curtain” (traditionally “veil,” so ASV, NAB, NASB) this is a different word from the one used earlier of the tent curtains, so “special curtain” is used. The word פָּרֹכֶת (parokhet) seems to be connected with a verb that means “to shut off” and was used with a shrine. This curtain would form a barrier in the approach to God (see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 289).
Exodus 26:31 tn The verb is the third masculine singular form, but no subject is expressed. It could be translated “one will make” or as a passive. The verb means “to make,” but probably has the sense of embroidering both here and in v. 1.
Exodus 26:32 tn Heb “put it.”
Exodus 26:32 tn This clause simply says “and their hooks gold,” but is taken as a circumstantial clause telling how the veil will be hung.
Exodus 26:32 tn Heb “on four silver bases.”
Exodus 26:33 tn The traditional expression is “within the veil,” literally “into the house (or area) of the (special) curtain.”
Exodus 26:33 tn Or “the Holy of Holies.”
Exodus 26:36 sn This was another curtain, serving as a screen in the entrance way. Since it was far away from the special curtain screening the Most Holy Place, it was less elaborate. It was not the work of the master designer, but of the “embroiderer,” and it did not have the cherubim on it.
Exodus 26:36 tn The word רֹקֵם (roqem) refers to someone who made cloth with colors. It is not certain, however, whether the colors were woven into the fabric on the loom or applied with a needle; so “embroiderer” should be understood as an approximation (cf. HALOT 1290-91 s.v. רקם).
Exodus 26:37 tn “will be” has been supplied.
Exodus 26:37 sn In all the details of this chapter the expositor should pay attention to the overall message rather than engage in speculation concerning the symbolism of the details. It is, after all, the divine instruction for the preparation of the dwelling place for Yahweh. The point could be said this way: The dwelling place of Yahweh must be prepared in accordance with, and by the power of, his divine word. If God was to fellowship with his people, then the center of worship had to be made to his specifications, which were in harmony with his nature. Everything was functional for the approach to God through the ritual by divine provisions. But everything also reflected the nature of God, the symmetry, the order, the pure wood, the gold overlay, or (closer to God) the solid gold. And the symbolism of the light, the table, the veil, the cherubim—all of it was revelatory. All of it reflected the reality in heaven. Churches today do not retain the pattern and furnishings of the old tabernacle. However, they would do well to learn what God was requiring of Israel, so that their structures are planned in accordance with the theology of worship and the theology of access to God. Function is a big part, but symbolism and revelation instruct the planning of everything to be used. Christians live in the light of the fulfillment of Christ, and so they know the realities that the old foreshadowed. While a building is not necessary for worship (just as Israel worshiped in places other than the sanctuary), it is practical, and if there is going to be one, then the most should be made of it in the teaching and worshiping of the assembly. This chapter, then, provides an inspiration for believers on preparing a functional, symbolical, ordered place of worship that is in harmony with the word of God. And there is much to be said for making it as beautiful and uplifting as is possible—as a gift of freewill offering to God. Of course, the most important part of preparing a place of worship is the preparing of the heart. Worship, to be acceptable to God, must be in Christ. He said that when the temple was destroyed he would raise it up in three days. While he referred to his own body, he also alluded to the temple by the figure. When they put Jesus to death, they were destroying the temple; at his resurrection he would indeed begin a new form of worship. He is the tent, the curtain, the atonement, that the sanctuary foreshadowed. And then, believers also (when they receive Christ) become the temple of the Lord. So the NT will take the imagery and teaching of this chapter in a number of useful ways that call for more study. This does not, however, involve allegorization of the individual tabernacle parts.
Exodus 27:1 tn The article on this word identifies this as the altar, meaning the main high altar on which the sacrifices would be made.
Exodus 27:1 tn The dimensions are 5 cubits by 5 cubits by 3 cubits high.
Exodus 27:1 tn Heb “four”; this refers to four sides. S. R. Driver says this is an archaism that means there were four equal sides (Exodus, 291).
Exodus 27:1 tn Heb “and 3 cubits its height.”
Exodus 27:2 sn The horns of the altar were indispensable—they were the most sacred part. Blood was put on them; fugitives could cling to them, and the priests would grab the horns of the little altar when making intercessory prayer. They signified power, as horns on an animal did in the wild (and so the word was used for kings as well). The horns may also represent the sacrificial animals killed on the altar.
Exodus 27:2 sn The text, as before, uses the prepositional phrase “from it” or “part of it” to say that the horns will be part of the altar—of the same piece as the altar. They were not to be made separately and then attached, but made at the end of the boards used to build the altar (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 363).
Exodus 27:3 sn The word is literally “its fat,” but sometimes it describes “fatty ashes” (TEV “the greasy ashes”). The fat would run down and mix with the ashes, and this had to be collected and removed.
Exodus 27:3 sn This was the larger bowl used in tossing the blood at the side of the altar.
Exodus 27:3 tn The text has “to all its vessels.” This is the lamed (ל) of inclusion according to Gesenius, meaning “all its utensils” (GKC 458 §143.e).
Exodus 27:4 tn The noun מִכְבָּר (mikhbar) means “a grating”; it is related to the word that means a “sieve.” This formed a vertical support for the ledge, resting on the ground and supporting its outer edge (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 292).
Exodus 27:5 tn The verb is the verb “to be,” here the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive. It is “and it will be” or “that it may be,” or here “that it may come” halfway up.
Exodus 27:5 tn Heb “to the half of the altar.”
Exodus 27:7 tn The verb is a Hophal perfect with vav consecutive: וְהוּבָא (v^ehuvaʾ, “and it will be brought”). The particle אֶת (ʾet) here introduces the subject of the passive verb (see a similar use in 21:28, “and its flesh will not be eaten”).
Exodus 27:7 tn The construction is the infinitive construct with the preposition ב (bet): “in carrying it.” Here the meaning must be that the poles are not left in the rings, but only put into the rings when they carried it.
Exodus 27:8 tn The verb is used impersonally; it reads “just as he showed you.” This form then can be made a passive in the translation.
Exodus 27:8 tn Heb “thus they will make.” Here too it could be given a passive translation since the subject is not expressed. But “they” would normally refer to the people who will be making this and so can be retained in the translation.sn Nothing is said about the top of the altar. Some commentators suggest, in view of the previous instruction for making an altar out of earth and stone, that when this one was to be used it would be filled up with dirt clods and the animal burnt on the top of that. If the animal was burnt inside it, the wood would quickly burn. A number of recent scholars think this was simply an imagined plan to make a portable altar after the pattern of Solomon’s—but that is an unsatisfactory suggestion. This construction must simply represent a portable frame for the altar in the courtyard, an improvement over the field altar. The purpose and function of the altar are not in question. Here worshipers would make their sacrifices to God in order to find forgiveness and atonement, and in order to celebrate in worship with him. No one could worship God apart from this; no one could approach God apart from this. So too the truths that this altar communicated form the basis and center of all Christian worship. One could word an applicable lesson this way: Believers must ensure that the foundation and center of their worship is the altar, i.e., the sacrificial atonement.
Exodus 27:9 tn Or “enclosure” (TEV).
Exodus 27:9 tn Heb “south side southward.”
Exodus 27:9 tn Or “curtains.”
Exodus 27:9 sn The entire courtyard of 150 feet by 75 feet was to be enclosed by a curtain wall held up with posts in bases. All these hangings were kept in place by a cord and tent pegs.
Exodus 27:10 tn Heb “and.”
Exodus 27:11 tn Heb “and thus.”
Exodus 27:11 tn Here the phrase “there will be” has been supplied.
Exodus 27:11 sn These bands have been thought by some to refer to connecting rods joining the tops of the posts. But it is more likely that they are bands or bind rings surrounding the posts at the base of the capitals (see 38:17).
Exodus 27:14 tn The word literally means “shoulder.” The next words, “of the gate,” have been supplied here and in v. 15. The east end would contain the courtyard’s entry with a wall of curtains on each side of the entry (see v. 16).
Exodus 27:14 tn Here “will be” has been supplied.
Exodus 27:15 tn Heb “shoulder.”
Exodus 27:15 tn Here the phrase “there will be” has been supplied.
Exodus 27:17 tn The text uses the passive participle here: they are to “be filleted with silver” or “bound round” with silver.
Exodus 27:17 tn Here the phrase “are to be” has been supplied.
Exodus 27:18 tn Heb “100 cubits.”
Exodus 27:18 tn Heb “fifty.” The text has “and the width 50 [cubits] with 50.” This means that it is 50 cubits wide on the western end and 50 cubits wide on the eastern end.
Exodus 27:18 tn Here “hangings” has been supplied.
Exodus 27:18 tn Here the phrase “is to be” has been supplied.
Exodus 27:19 tn Heb “to all”; for use of the preposition ל (lamed) to show inclusion (“all belonging to”) see GKC 458 §143.e.
Exodus 27:19 tn Here “used” has been supplied.
Exodus 27:19 sn The tabernacle is an important aspect of OT theology. The writer’s pattern so far has been: ark, table, lamp, and then their container (the tabernacle); then the altar and its container (the courtyard). The courtyard is the place of worship where the people could gather—they entered God’s courts. Though the courtyard may not seem of much interest to current readers, it did interest the Israelites. Here the sacrifices were made, the choirs sang, the believers offered their praises, they had their sins forgiven, they came to pray, they appeared on the holy days, and they heard from God. It was sacred because God met them there; they left the “world” (figuratively speaking) and came into the very presence of God.
Exodus 27:20 tn The form is the imperfect tense with the vav showing a sequence with the first verb: “you will command…that they take.” The verb “take, receive” is used here as before for receiving an offering and bringing it to the sanctuary.
Exodus 27:20 tn Heb “lamp,” which must be a collective singular here.
Exodus 27:20 tn The verb is unusual; it is the Hiphil infinitive construct of עָלָה (ʿalah), with the sense here of “to set up” to burn, or “to fix on” as in Exod 25:37, or “to kindle” (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 370).
Exodus 27:20 sn The word can mean “continually,” but in this context, as well as in the passages on the sacrifices, “regularly” is better, since each morning things were cleaned and restored.
Exodus 27:21 tn The LXX has mistakenly rendered this name “the tent of the testimony.”
Exodus 27:21 tn Or “covenant,” or “treaty.”
Exodus 27:21 sn The lamps were to be removed in the morning so that the wicks could be trimmed and the oil replenished (30:7) and then lit every evening to burn through the night.
Exodus 27:21 sn This is the first of several sections of priestly duties. The point is a simple one here: those who lead the worship use the offerings of the people to ensure that access to God is illumined regularly. The NT will make much of the symbolism of light.

Exodus 15-27

Common English Bible

Moses’ victory song

15 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:

I will sing to the Lord, for an overflowing victory!
    Horse and rider he threw into the sea!
²The Lord is my strength and my power;^[a]
    he has become my salvation.
This is my God, whom I will praise,
    the God of my ancestors, whom I will acclaim.
³The Lord is a warrior;
    the Lord is his name.

⁴Pharaoh’s chariots and his army he hurled into the sea;
    his elite captains were sunk in the Reed Sea.^[b]
⁵The deep sea covered them;
    they sank into the deep waters like a stone.
⁶Your strong hand, Lord, is dominant in power;
    your strong hand, Lord, shatters the enemy!
⁷With your great surge you overthrow your opponents;
    you send out your hot anger; it burns them up like straw.
⁸    With the breath of your nostrils the waters swelled up,
        the floods surged up in a great wave;
        the deep waters foamed in the depths of the sea.
⁹The enemy said, “I’ll pursue, I’ll overtake,
    I’ll divide the spoils of war.
    I’ll be overfilled with them.
    I’ll draw my sword; my hand will destroy them.”
¹⁰You blew with your wind; the sea covered over them.
    They sank like lead in the towering waters.
¹¹Who is like you among the gods, Lord?
    Who is like you, foremost in holiness,
    worthy of highest praise, doing awesome deeds?
¹²You raised your strong hand;
    earth swallowed them up.
¹³With your great loyalty you led the people you rescued;
    with your power you guided them to your sanctuary.
¹⁴The peoples heard, they shook in terror;
    horror grabbed hold of Philistia’s inhabitants.
¹⁵Then Edom’s tribal chiefs were terrified;
    panic grabbed hold of Moab’s rulers;
    all of Canaan’s inhabitants melted in fear.
¹⁶Terror and fear came over them;
    because of your great power,
    they were as still as a stone
        until your people, Lord, passed by,
        until the people you made your own passed by.
¹⁷You brought them in and planted them on your own mountain,
    the place, Lord, that you made your home,
        the sanctuary, Lord, that your hand created.
¹⁸The Lord will rule forever and always.

¹⁹When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and cavalry went into the sea, the Lord brought back the waters of the sea over them. But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.

Miriam’s victory song

²⁰Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand. All the women followed her playing tambourines and dancing. ²¹Miriam sang the refrain back to them:

Sing to the Lord, for an overflowing victory!
Horse and rider he threw into the sea!

Turning bitter water sweet

²²Then Moses had Israel leave the Reed Sea^[c] and go out into the Shur desert. They traveled for three days in the desert and found no water. ²³When they came to Marah, they couldn’t drink Marah’s water because it was bitter. That’s why it was called Marah.^[d] ²⁴The people complained against Moses, “What will we drink?” ²⁵Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord pointed out a tree to him. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.

The Lord made a regulation and a ruling there, and there he tested them. ²⁶The Lord said, “If you are careful to obey the Lord your God, do what God thinks is right, pay attention to his commandments, and keep all of his regulations, then I won’t bring on you any of the diseases that I brought on the Egyptians. I am the Lord who heals you.”

²⁷Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees. They camped there by the water.

Wilderness food: manna and quail

16 The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Sin desert, which is located between Elim and Sinai. They set out on the fifteenth day of the second month^[e] after they had left the land of Egypt. ²The whole Israelite community complained against Moses and Aaron in the desert. ³The Israelites said to them, “Oh, how we wish that the Lord had just put us to death while we were still in the land of Egypt. There we could sit by the pots cooking meat and eat our fill of bread. Instead, you’ve brought us out into this desert to starve this whole assembly to death.”

⁴Then the Lord said to Moses, “I’m going to make bread rain down from the sky for you. The people will go out each day and gather just enough for that day. In this way, I’ll test them to see whether or not they follow my Instruction. ⁵On the sixth day, when they measure out what they have collected, it will be twice as much as they collected on other days.” ⁶So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “This evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt. ⁷And in the morning you will see the Lord’s glorious presence, because your complaints against the Lord have been heard. Who are we? Why blame us?” ⁸Moses continued, “The Lord will give you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning because the Lord heard the complaints you made against him. Who are we? Your complaints aren’t against us but against the Lord.”

⁹Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole Israelite community, ‘Come near to the Lord, because he’s heard your complaints.’” ¹⁰As Aaron spoke to the whole Israelite community, they turned to look toward the desert, and just then the glorious presence of the Lord appeared in the cloud.

¹¹The Lord spoke to Moses, ¹²“I’ve heard the complaints of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat. And in the morning you will have your fill of bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”

¹³In the evening a flock of quail flew down and covered the camp. And in the morning there was a layer of dew all around the camp. ¹⁴When the layer of dew lifted, there on the desert surface were thin flakes, as thin as frost on the ground. ¹⁵When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What^[f] is it?” They didn’t know what it was.

Moses said to them, “This is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. ¹⁶This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Collect as much of it as each of you can eat, one omer^[g] per person. You may collect for the number of people in your household.’” ¹⁷The Israelites did as Moses said, some collecting more, some less. ¹⁸But when they measured it out by the omer, the ones who had collected more had nothing left over, and the ones who had collected less had no shortage. Everyone collected just as much as they could eat. ¹⁹Moses said to them, “Don’t keep any of it until morning.” ²⁰But they didn’t listen to Moses. Some kept part of it until morning, but it became infested with worms and stank. Moses got angry with them. ²¹Every morning they gathered it, as much as each person could eat. But when the sun grew hot, it melted away.

²²On the sixth day the people collected twice as much food as usual, two omers per person. All the chiefs of the community came and told Moses. ²³He said to them, “This is what the Lord has said, ‘Tomorrow is a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. But you can set aside and keep all the leftovers until the next morning.’” ²⁴So they set the leftovers aside until morning, as Moses had commanded. They didn’t stink or become infested with worms. ²⁵The next day Moses said, “Eat it today, because today is a Sabbath to the Lord. Today you won’t find it out in the field. ²⁶Six days you will gather it. But on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be nothing to gather.”

²⁷On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather bread, but they found nothing. ²⁸The Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to obey my commandments and instructions? ²⁹Look! The Lord has given you the Sabbath. Therefore, on the sixth day he gives you enough food for two days. Each of you should stay where you are and not leave your place on the seventh day.” ³⁰So the people rested on the seventh day.

³¹The Israelite people called it manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and tasted like honey wafers. ³²Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Let an omer of it be kept safe for future generations so that they can see the food that I used to feed you in the desert when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”

³³Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar, and put one full omer of manna in it. Then set it in the Lord’s presence, where it should be kept safe for future generations.” ³⁴Aaron did as the Lord commanded Moses, and he put it in front of the covenant document for safekeeping. ³⁵The Israelites ate manna for forty years, until they came to a livable land. They ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. (³⁶An omer^[h] is one-tenth of an ephah.)

Water from a rock

17 The whole Israelite community broke camp and set out from the Sin desert to continue their journey, as the Lord commanded. They set up their camp at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. ²The people argued with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”

Moses said to them, “Why are you arguing with me? Why are you testing the Lord?”

³But the people were very thirsty for water there, and they complained to Moses, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?”

⁴So Moses cried out to the Lord, “What should I do with this people? They are getting ready to stone me.”

⁵The Lord said to Moses, “Go on ahead of the people, and take some of Israel’s elders with you. Take in your hand the shepherd’s rod that you used to strike the Nile River, and go. ⁶I’ll be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Hit the rock. Water will come out of it, and the people will be able to drink.” Moses did so while Israel’s elders watched. ⁷He called the place Massah^[i] and Meribah,^[j] because the Israelites argued with and tested the Lord, asking, “Is the Lord really with us or not?”

Israel defeats Amalek

⁸Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. ⁹Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some men for us and go fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I’ll stand on top of the hill with the shepherd’s rod of God in my hand.” ¹⁰So Joshua did as Moses told him. He fought with Amalek while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. ¹¹Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel would start winning the battle. Whenever Moses lowered his hand, Amalek would start winning. ¹²But Moses’ hands grew tired. So they took a stone and put it under Moses so he could sit down on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on each side of him so that his hands remained steady until sunset. ¹³So Joshua defeated Amalek and his army with the sword.

¹⁴Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a reminder on a scroll and read it to Joshua: I will completely wipe out the memory of Amalek under the sky.”

¹⁵Moses built an altar there and called it, “The Lord is my banner.” ¹⁶He said, “The power of the Lord’s banner!^[k] The Lord is at war with Amalek in every generation.”

Sharing the burden of leadership

18 Jethro, Midian’s priest and Moses’ father-in-law, heard about everything that God had done for Moses and for God’s people Israel, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. ²Moses’ father-in-law Jethro took with him Zipporah, Moses’ wife whom he had sent away, ³along with her two sons. One was named Gershom because he said, “I have been an immigrant^[l] living in a foreign land.” ⁴The other was named Eliezer^[m] because he said, “The God of my ancestors was my helper who rescued me from Pharaoh’s sword.” ⁵Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought Moses’ sons and wife back to him in the desert where he had set up camp at God’s mountain. ⁶He sent word to Moses: “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you along with your wife and her two sons.” ⁷Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and he bowed down and kissed him. They asked each other how they were doing, and then they went into the tent. ⁸Moses then told his father-in-law everything that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians on Israel’s behalf, all the difficulty they had on their journey, and how the Lord had rescued them. ⁹Jethro was glad about all the good things that the Lord had done for Israel in saving them from the Egyptians’ power.

¹⁰Jethro said, “Bless the Lord who rescued you from the Egyptians’ power and from Pharaoh’s power, who rescued the people from Egypt’s oppressive power. ¹¹Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods, because of what happened when the Egyptians plotted against them.” ¹²Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought an entirely burned offering and sacrifices to God. Aaron came with all of Israel’s elders to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in God’s presence.

¹³The next day Moses sat as a judge for the people, while the people stood around Moses from morning until evening. ¹⁴When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What’s this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, while all the people are standing around you from morning until evening?”

¹⁵Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. ¹⁶When a conflict arises between them, they come to me and I judge between the two of them. I also teach them God’s regulations and instructions.”

¹⁷Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing isn’t good. ¹⁸You will end up totally wearing yourself out, both you and these people who are with you. The work is too difficult for you. You can’t do it alone. ¹⁹Now listen to me and let me give you some advice. And may God be with you! Your role should be to represent the people before God. You should bring their disputes before God yourself. ²⁰Explain the regulations and instructions to them. Let them know the way they are supposed to go and the things they are supposed to do. ²¹But you should also look among all the people for capable persons who respect God. They should be trustworthy and not corrupt. Set these persons over the people as officers of groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. ²²Let them sit as judges for the people at all times. They should bring every major dispute to you, but they should decide all of the minor cases themselves. This will be much easier for you, and they will share your load. ²³If you do this and God directs you, then you will be able to endure. And all these people will be able to go back to their homes much happier.”

²⁴Moses listened to his father-in-law’s suggestions and did everything that he had said. ²⁵Moses chose capable persons from all Israel and set them as leaders over the people, as officers over groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. ²⁶They acted as judges for the people at all times. They would refer the hard cases to Moses, but all of the minor cases they decided themselves. ²⁷Then Moses said good-bye to his father-in-law, and Jethro went back to his own country.

Arrival at Mount Sinai

19 On exactly the third-month anniversary of the Israelites’ leaving the land of Egypt, they came into the Sinai desert. ²They traveled from Rephidim, came into the Sinai desert, and set up camp there. Israel camped there in front of the mountain ³while Moses went up to God. The Lord called to him from the mountain, “This is what you should say to Jacob’s household and declare to the Israelites: ⁴You saw what I did to the Egyptians, and how I lifted you up on eagles’ wings and brought you to me. ⁵So now, if you faithfully obey me and stay true to my covenant, you will be my most precious possession out of all the peoples, since the whole earth belongs to me. ⁶You will be a kingdom of priests for me and a holy nation. These are the words you should say to the Israelites.”

⁷So Moses came down, called together the people’s elders, and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. ⁸The people all responded with one voice: “Everything that the Lord has said we will do.” Moses reported to the Lord what the people said.

Preparing for a divine encounter

⁹Then the Lord said to Moses, “I’m about to come to you in a thick cloud in order that the people will hear me talking with you so that they will always trust you.”

Moses told the Lord what the people said, ¹⁰and the Lord said to Moses: “Go to the people and take today and tomorrow to make them holy. Have them wash their clothes. ¹¹Be ready for the third day, because on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai for all the people to see. ¹²Set up a fence for the people all around and tell them, ‘Be careful not to go up the mountain or to touch any part of it.’ Anyone who even touches the mountain must be put to death. ¹³No one should touch anyone who has touched it, or they must be either stoned to death or shot with arrows. Whether an animal or a human being, they must not be allowed to live. Only when the ram’s horn sounds may they go up on the mountain.”

¹⁴So Moses went down the mountain to the people. He made sure the people were holy and that they washed their clothes. ¹⁵He told the men, “Prepare yourselves for three days. Don’t go near a woman.”

¹⁶When morning dawned on the third day, there was thunder, lightning, and a thick cloud on the mountain, and a very loud blast of a horn. All the people in the camp shook with fear. ¹⁷Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their place at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the Lord had come down on it with lightning. The smoke went up like the smoke of a hot furnace, while the whole mountain shook violently. ¹⁹The blasts of the horn grew louder and louder. Moses would speak, and God would answer him with thunder. ²⁰The Lord came down on Mount Sinai to the top of the mountain. The Lord called Moses to come up to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. ²¹The Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people not to break through to try to see the Lord, or many of them will fall dead. ²²Even the priests who come near to the Lord must keep themselves holy, or the Lord will break loose against them.”

²³Moses said to the Lord, “The people aren’t allowed to come up on Mount Sinai because you warned us and said, ‘Set up a fence around the mountain to keep it holy.’”

²⁴The Lord said to him, “Go down, and bring Aaron back up with you. But the priests and the people must not break through and come up to the Lord. Otherwise, the Lord will break loose against them.” ²⁵So Moses went down to the people and told them.

The Ten Commandments

20 Then God spoke all these words:

²I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

³You must have no other gods before^[n] me.

⁴Do not make an idol for yourself—no form whatsoever—of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. ⁵Do not bow down to them or worship them, because I, the Lord your God, am a passionate God. I punish children for their parents’ sins even to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me. ⁶But I am loyal and gracious to the thousandth generation^[o] of those who love me and keep my commandments.

⁷Do not use the Lord your God’s name as if it were of no significance; the Lord won’t forgive anyone who uses his name that way.

⁸Remember the Sabbath day and treat it as holy. ⁹Six days you may work and do all your tasks, ¹⁰but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. Do not do any work on it—not you, your sons or daughters, your male or female servants, your animals, or the immigrant who is living with you. ¹¹Because the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them in six days, but rested on the seventh day. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

¹²Honor your father and your mother so that your life will be long on the fertile land that the Lord your God is giving you.

¹³Do not kill.^[p]

¹⁴Do not commit adultery.

¹⁵Do not steal.

¹⁶Do not testify falsely against your neighbor.

¹⁷Do not desire and try to take your neighbor’s house. Do not desire and try to take your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox, donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.

¹⁸When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the horn, and the mountain smoking, the people shook with fear and stood at a distance. ¹⁹They said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we’ll listen. But don’t let God speak to us, or we’ll die.”

²⁰Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid, because God has come only to test you and to make sure you are always in awe of God so that you don’t sin.” ²¹The people stood at a distance while Moses approached the thick darkness in which God was present.

Instructions about worship

²²The Lord said to Moses: “Say this to the Israelites: You saw for yourselves how I spoke with you from heaven. ²³Don’t make alongside me gods of silver or gold for yourselves. ²⁴Make for me an altar from fertile soil on which to sacrifice your entirely burned offerings, your well-being sacrifices, your sheep, and your oxen. I will come to you and bless you in every place where I make sure my name is remembered. ²⁵But if you do make for me an altar from stones, don’t build it with chiseled stone since using your chisel on the stone will make it impure. ²⁶Don’t climb onto my altar using steps: then your genitals won’t be exposed by doing so.”

Instructions about slaves

21 These are the case laws that you should set before them:

²When you buy a male Hebrew slave, he will serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he will go free without any payment. ³If he came in single, he will leave single. If he came in married, then his wife will leave with him. ⁴If his master gave him a wife and she bore him sons or daughters, the wife and her children will belong to her master. He will leave single. ⁵However, if the slave clearly states, “I love my master, my wife, and my children, and I don’t want to go free,” ⁶then his master will bring him before God. He will bring him to the door or the doorpost. There his master will pierce his ear with a pointed tool, and he will serve him as his slave for life.

⁷When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shouldn’t be set free in the same way as male slaves are set free. ⁸If she doesn’t please her master who chose her for himself, then her master must let her be bought back by her family. He has no right to sell her to a foreign people since he has treated her unfairly. ⁹If he assigns her to his son, he must give her the rights of a daughter. ¹⁰If he takes another woman for himself, he may not reduce her food, clothing, or marital rights. ¹¹If he doesn’t do these three things for her, she will go free without any payment, for no money.

Instructions about human violence

¹²Anyone who hits and kills someone should be put to death. ¹³If the killing wasn’t on purpose but an accident allowed by God, then I will designate a place to which the killer can run away. ¹⁴But if someone plots and kills another person on purpose, you should remove the killer from my altar and put him to death.

¹⁵Anyone who violently hits their father or mother should be put to death.

¹⁶Anyone who kidnaps a person, whether they have been sold or are still being held, should be put to death.

¹⁷Anyone who curses their father or mother should be put to death.

¹⁸When two people are fighting and one hits the other with a stone or with his fist so that he is in bed for a while but doesn’t die— ¹⁹if he recovers and is able to walk around outside with a cane, then the one who hit him shouldn’t be punished, except to pay for the loss of time from work and to pay for his full recovery.

²⁰When a slave owner hits a male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies immediately, the owner should be punished. ²¹But if the slave gets up after a day or two, the slave owner shouldn’t be punished because the slave is the owner’s property.

²²When people who are fighting injure a pregnant woman so that she has a miscarriage but no other injury occurs, then the guilty party will be fined what the woman’s husband demands, as negotiated with the judges. ²³If there is further injury, then you will give a life for a life, ²⁴an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, ²⁵a burn for a burn, a bruise for a bruise, a wound for a wound.

²⁶When a slave owner hits and blinds the eye of a male or female slave, he should let the slave go free on account of the eye. ²⁷If he knocks out a tooth of a male or female slave, he should let the slave go free on account of the tooth.

Instructions about animals and property

²⁸When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox should be stoned to death, and the meat of the ox shouldn’t be eaten. But the owner of the ox shouldn’t be punished. ²⁹However, if the ox had gored people in the past and its owner had been warned but didn’t watch out for it, and the ox ends up killing a man or a woman, then the ox should be stoned to death, and its owner should also be put to death. ³⁰If the owner has to pay compensation instead, he must pay the agreed amount to save his life. ³¹If the ox gores a boy or a girl, this same case law applies to the owner. ³²If the ox gores a male or female slave, the owner will pay thirty silver shekels to the slave’s owner, and the ox will be stoned to death.

³³When someone leaves a pit open or digs a pit and doesn’t cover it and an ox or a donkey falls into the pit, ³⁴the owner of the pit must make good on the loss. He should pay money to the ox’s owner, but he may keep the dead animal.

³⁵When someone’s ox hurts someone else’s ox and it dies, then they should sell the live ox and divide its price. They should also divide the dead animal between them. ³⁶But if the ox was known for goring in the past and its owner hadn’t watched out for it, the owner must make good the loss, an ox for an ox, but may keep the dead animal.

22 ^[q] When someone steals an ox or a sheep and then slaughters or sells it, the thief must pay back five oxen for the one ox or four sheep for the one sheep.

²^[r] If the thief is caught breaking in and is beaten and dies, the one who killed him won’t be guilty of bloodshed. ³However, if this happens in broad daylight, then the one who killed him is guilty of bloodshed. For his part, the thief must make good on what he stole. If he has nothing, he must be sold to pay for his theft. ⁴If an animal (whether ox, donkey, or sheep) is found alive in the thief’s possession, he must pay back double.

⁵When someone lets an animal loose to eat in another person’s field and causes the field or vineyard to be stripped of its crop, the owner must pay them back with the best from his own field or vineyard.

⁶When someone starts a fire and it catches in thorns and then spreads to someone else’s stacked grain, standing grain, or a whole field, the one who started the fire must fully repay the loss.

⁷When someone entrusts money or other items to another person to keep safe and they are stolen from the other person’s house and the thief is caught, the thief must pay back double. ⁸If the thief isn’t caught, the owner of the house should be brought before God to determine whether or not the owner stole the other’s property.

⁹When any dispute of ownership over an ox, donkey, sheep, piece of clothing, or any other loss arises in which someone claims, “This is mine,” the cases of both parties should come before God. The one whom God finds at fault must pay double to the other.

¹⁰When someone gives a donkey, ox, sheep, or any other animal to another person to keep safe, and the animal dies or is injured or taken and no one saw what happened, ¹¹the person should swear a solemn pledge before the Lord in the presence of the owner that he didn’t touch the other’s property. The owner must accept that, and no payment needs to be made. ¹²But if the animal was stolen, the person must make full payment to its owner. ¹³If the animal was attacked and ripped apart and its torn body is brought as evidence, no payment needs to be made.

¹⁴When someone borrows an animal from another and it is injured or dies while the owner isn’t present, full payment must be made. ¹⁵If the owner was present, no payment needs to be made. If the animal was hired, only the fee for hiring the animal is due.

Instructions about social and religious matters

¹⁶When a man seduces a young woman who isn’t engaged to be married yet and he sleeps with her, he must marry her and pay the bride-price for her. ¹⁷But if her father absolutely refuses to let them marry, he must still pay the same amount as the bride-price for young women.

¹⁸Don’t allow a female sorcerer to live.

¹⁹Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal should be put to death.

²⁰Anyone who offers sacrifices to any god, other than the Lord alone, should be destroyed.

²¹Don’t mistreat or oppress an immigrant, because you were once immigrants in the land of Egypt. ²²Don’t treat any widow or orphan badly. ²³If you do treat them badly and they cry out to me, you can be sure that I’ll hear their cry. ²⁴I’ll be furious, and I’ll kill you with the sword. Then your wives will be widows, and your children will be orphans.

²⁵If you lend money to my people who are poor among you, don’t be a creditor and charge them interest. ²⁶If you take a piece of clothing from someone as a security deposit, you should return it before the sun goes down. ²⁷His clothing may well be his only blanket to cover himself. What else will that person have to sleep in? And if he cries out to me, I’ll listen, because I’m compassionate.

²⁸Don’t say a curse against God, and don’t curse your people’s chief.

²⁹Don’t delay offering the produce of your vineyards and winepresses. Give me your oldest son. ³⁰Do the same with your oxen and with your sheep. They should stay with their mother for seven days. On the eighth day, you should give them to me.

³¹You are holy people to me. Don’t eat any meat killed by wild animals out in the field. Throw it to the dogs instead.

23 Don’t spread false rumors. Don’t plot with evil people to act as a lying witness. ²Don’t take sides with important people to do wrong. When you act as a witness, don’t stretch the truth to favor important people. ³But don’t privilege unimportant people in their lawsuits either.

⁴When you happen to come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey that has wandered off, you should bring it back to them.

⁵When you see a donkey that belongs to someone who hates you and it’s lying down under its load and you are inclined not to help set it free, you must help set it free.

⁶Don’t undermine the justice that your poor deserve in their lawsuits. ⁷Stay away from making a false charge. Don’t put an innocent person who is in the right to death, because I will not consider innocent those who do such evil. ⁸Don’t take a bribe, because a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.

⁹Don’t oppress an immigrant. You know what it’s like to be an immigrant, because you were immigrants in the land of Egypt.

Sabbaths and festivals

¹⁰For six years you should plant crops on your land and gather in its produce. ¹¹But in the seventh year you should leave it alone and undisturbed so that the poor among your people may eat. What they leave behind, the wild animals may eat. You should do the same with your vineyard and your olive trees.

¹²Do your work in six days. But on the seventh day you should rest so that your ox and donkey may rest, and even the child of your female slave and the immigrant may be refreshed.

¹³Be careful to obey everything that I have said to you. Don’t call on the names of other gods. Don’t even mention them.

¹⁴You should observe a festival for me three times a year. ¹⁵Observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread, as I commanded you. Eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib,^[s] because it was in that month that you came out of Egypt.

No one should appear before me empty-handed. ¹⁶Observe the Harvest Festival for the early produce of your crops that you planted in the field, and the Gathering Festival at the end of the year, when you gather your crop of fruit from the field. ¹⁷All your males should appear three times a year before the Lord God.

¹⁸Don’t offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened. Don’t let the fat of my festival offering be left over until the morning.

¹⁹Bring the best of your land’s early produce to the Lord your God’s temple.

Don’t boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

God’s promise: messenger and land

²⁰I’m about to send a messenger in front of you to guard you on your way and to bring you to the place that I’ve made ready. ²¹Pay attention to him and do as he says. Don’t rebel against him. He won’t forgive the things you do wrong because I^[t] am with him. ²²But if you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, then I’ll be an enemy to your enemies and fight those fighting you.

²³When my messenger goes in front of you and brings you to the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I wipe them out, ²⁴don’t bow down to their gods, worship them, or do what they do. Instead, you should completely destroy them and smash their sacred stone pillars to bits. ²⁵If you worship the Lord your God, the Lord will bless your bread and your water. I’ll take sickness away from you, ²⁶and no woman will miscarry or be infertile in your land. I’ll let you live a full, long life. ²⁷My terrifying reputation will precede you, and I’ll throw all the people that you meet into a panic. I’ll make all your enemies turn their backs to you. ²⁸I’ll send insect swarms in front of you and drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites before you. ²⁹I won’t drive them out before you in a single year so the land won’t be abandoned and the wild animals won’t multiply around you. ³⁰I’ll drive them out before you little by little, until your numbers grow and you eventually possess the land. ³¹I’ll set your borders from the Reed Sea^[u] to the Philistine Sea and from the desert to the River. I’ll hand the inhabitants of the land over to you, and you will drive them out before you. ³²Don’t make any covenants with them or their gods. ³³Don’t allow them to live in your land, or else they will lead you to sin against me. If you worship their gods, it will become a dangerous trap for you.

Covenant at Sinai

24 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders, and worship from a distance. ²Only Moses may come near to the Lord. The others shouldn’t come near, while the people shouldn’t come up with him at all.”

³Moses came and told the people all the Lord’s words and all the case laws. All the people answered in unison, “Everything that the Lord has said we will do.” ⁴Moses then wrote down all the Lord’s words. He got up early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain. He set up twelve sacred stone pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. ⁵He appointed certain young Israelite men to offer entirely burned offerings and slaughter oxen as well-being sacrifices to the Lord. ⁶Moses took half of the blood and put it in large bowls. The other half of the blood he threw against the altar. ⁷Then he took the covenant scroll and read it out loud for the people to hear. They responded, “Everything that the Lord has said we will do, and we will obey.”

⁸Moses then took the blood and threw it over the people. Moses said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord now makes with you on the basis of all these words.”

Covenant meal with God

⁹Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy elders of Israel went up, ¹⁰and they saw Israel’s God. Under God’s feet there was what looked like a floor of lapis-lazuli tiles, dazzlingly pure like the sky. ¹¹God didn’t harm the Israelite leaders, though they looked at God, and they ate and drank.

¹²The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and wait there. I’ll give you the stone tablets with the instructions and the commandments that I’ve written in order to teach them.”

¹³So Moses and his assistant Joshua got up, and Moses went up God’s mountain. ¹⁴Moses had said to the elders, “Wait for us here until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur will be here with you. Whoever has a legal dispute may go to them.”

¹⁵Then Moses went up the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. ¹⁶The Lord’s glorious presence settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from the cloud. ¹⁷To the Israelites, the Lord’s glorious presence looked like a blazing fire on top of the mountain. ¹⁸Moses entered the cloud and went up the mountain. Moses stayed on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.

Gifts offered for the dwelling

25 The Lord said to Moses: ²Tell the Israelites to collect gift offerings for me. Receive my gift offerings from everyone who freely wants to give. ³These are the gift offerings that you should receive from them: gold, silver, and copper; ⁴blue, purple, and deep red yarns; fine linen; goats’ hair; ⁵rams’ skins dyed red; beaded leather;^[v] acacia wood; ⁶oil for the lamps; spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet-smelling incense; ⁷gemstones; and gems for setting in the priest’s vest^[w] and chest piece. ⁸They should make me a sanctuary so I can be present among them. ⁹You should follow the blueprints that I will show you for the dwelling and for all its equipment.

Instructions for building the chest containing the covenant

¹⁰Have them make an acacia-wood chest. It should be forty-five inches long, twenty-seven inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high. ¹¹Cover it with pure gold, inside and out, and make a gold molding all around it. ¹²Cast four gold rings for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on one side and two rings on the other. ¹³Make acacia-wood poles and cover them with gold. ¹⁴Then put the poles into the rings on the chest’s sides and use them to carry the chest. ¹⁵The poles should stay in the chest’s rings. They shouldn’t be taken out of them. ¹⁶Put the covenant document that I will give you into the chest.

¹⁷Then make a cover of pure gold, forty-five inches long and twenty-seven inches wide. ¹⁸Make two winged heavenly creatures of hammered gold, one for each end of the cover. ¹⁹Put one winged heavenly creature at one end and one winged heavenly creature at the other. Place the winged heavenly creatures at the cover’s two ends. ²⁰The heavenly creatures should have their wings spread out above, shielding the cover with their wings. The winged heavenly creatures should face each other toward the cover’s center. ²¹Put the gold cover on top of the chest and put the covenant document that I will give you inside the chest. ²²There I will meet with you. From there above the cover, from between the two winged heavenly creatures that are on top of the chest containing the covenant, I will deliver to you all that I command you concerning the Israelites.

Instructions for the table

²³Make an acacia-wood table, three feet long, eighteen inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high. ²⁴Cover it with pure gold and make a gold molding all around it. ²⁵Make a frame around it that is four inches wide and a gold molding around the frame. ²⁶Make four gold rings for the table. Fasten the rings to the four corners at its four legs. ²⁷The rings that house the poles used for carrying the table should be close to the frame. ²⁸Make the poles from acacia wood and cover them with gold. The table should be carried with these poles. ²⁹Make its plates, dishes, jars, and bowls for pouring drink offerings. Make them of pure gold. ³⁰Set the bread of the presence on the table so it is always in front of me.

Instructions for the lampstand

³¹Make a lampstand of pure hammered gold. The lampstand’s base, branches, cups, flowers, and petals should all be attached to it. ³²It should have six branches growing out from its sides, three branches on one side of the lampstand and three branches on the other side of the lampstand. ³³One branch will have three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a flower and petals, and the next branch will also have three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a flower and petals. So it will be for the six branches that grow out of the lampstand. ³⁴In addition, on the lampstand itself there will be four cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with its flower and petals. ³⁵There will be a flower attached under the first pair of branches, a flower attached under the next pair of branches, and a flower attached under the last pair of branches. So it will be for the six branches that grow out of the lampstand. ³⁶Their flowers and their branches will be permanently attached to it. The whole lampstand should be one piece of pure hammered gold. ³⁷Make its seven lamps and set up its lamps so that they direct their light in front of the lampstand. ³⁸You should also make its tongs and fire pans out of pure gold. ³⁹All these items should be made from pure gold weighing one kikkar. ⁴⁰See to it that you make them according to the blueprint for them that you were shown on the mountain.

Instructions for building the dwelling

26 Make the dwelling with ten curtains of fine twisted linen and blue, purple, and deep red yarns. Work figures of winged heavenly creatures into their design. ²Each curtain should be forty-two feet long and each curtain six feet wide. All the curtains should be the same size. ³Five curtains will be joined to each other as one set, while the other five curtains will be joined together as a second set. ⁴Make loops of blue thread on the edge of the outer curtain in the first set. Do the same on the edge of the outer curtain in the second set. ⁵Make fifty loops on the one curtain in the first set and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is in the second set. The loops should be opposite each other. ⁶Then make fifty gold clasps. Join the curtains to each other with the clasps so that the dwelling becomes one whole structure.

⁷You should also make curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the dwelling. Make eleven curtains. ⁸Each curtain should be forty-five feet long and each curtain six feet wide. The eleven curtains should all be the same size. ⁹Join five of the curtains together, and join the six other curtains together. Double over the sixth curtain at the front of the tent. ¹⁰Make fifty loops on the edge of the outer curtain in one set and fifty loops on the edge of the outer curtain in the second set.

¹¹Make fifty copper clasps. Put the clasps into the loops and join the tent together so that it becomes one whole structure. ¹²The extra cloth that is left over from the tent curtains, that is, the half curtain that remains, should hang over the back of the dwelling. ¹³Eighteen inches on one side and eighteen inches on the other side of the leftover length of the tent’s curtains will hang over the two sides of the dwelling to cover it. ¹⁴Then for the tent, make a covering of rams’ skins dyed red and an outer covering of beaded leather.^[x]

¹⁵Make acacia-wood boards to stand upright as a frame for the dwelling. ¹⁶Each board will be fifteen feet long and twenty-seven inches wide. ¹⁷Put two pegs on each board for joining them to each other. Do this for all the dwelling’s boards. ¹⁸Make twenty boards for the dwelling’s southern side. ¹⁹Then make forty silver bases to go under the twenty boards. There will be two bases under the first board for its two pegs, two bases under the next board for its two pegs, and so on. ²⁰For the dwelling’s other side on the north, make twenty boards ²¹and their forty silver bases, two bases under the first board, two bases under the next board, and so on. ²²For the back of the dwelling on the west, make six boards. ²³Make two additional boards for the dwelling’s rear corners. ²⁴They should be spread out at the bottom but joined together at the top with one ring. In this way, these two boards will form the two corners. ²⁵And so there will be eight boards with their sixteen silver bases, two bases under the first board, two bases under the next board, and so on.

²⁶You should also make acacia-wood bars: five for the boards on one side of the dwelling, ²⁷five bars for the boards on the other side of the dwelling, and five bars for the boards on the back wall of the dwelling on the west. ²⁸The middle bar, halfway up the boards, should run from one end to the other. ²⁹Cover the boards with gold. Make gold rings to house the bars. Cover the bars with gold. ³⁰Then set up the dwelling according to the plan for it that you were shown on the mountain.

³¹Make a veil of blue, purple, and deep red yarns and of fine twisted linen. Work figures of winged heavenly creatures into its design. ³²Hang it on four acacia-wood posts covered in gold. They should have gold hooks and stand on four silver bases. ³³Hang the veil under the clasps, and put the chest containing the covenant there behind the veil. The veil will separate for you the holy from the holiest space. ³⁴Place the gold cover on the chest containing the covenant in the holiest space. ³⁵Place the table outside the veil, and set the lampstand opposite the table by the south wall of the dwelling. Place the table by the north wall.

³⁶Make a screen for the tent’s entrance of blue, purple, and deep red yarns and of fine twisted linen, decorated with needlework. ³⁷Make five acacia-wood posts for the screen. Cover the posts with gold. Their hooks should be gold. Cast five copper bases for the posts.

Instructions for the altar

27 Make an acacia-wood altar. The altar should be square, seven and a half feet long and seven and a half feet wide. It should be four and a half feet high. ²Make horns for the altar and attach them to it, one horn on each of its four corners. Cover it with copper. ³Make pails for removing its ashes and its shovels, bowls, meat forks, and trays. Make all its equipment out of copper. ⁴Make for the altar a grate made of copper mesh. Make four copper rings for each of the four corners of the mesh. ⁵Slide the mesh underneath the bottom edge of the altar and then extend the mesh halfway up to the middle of the altar. ⁶Make acacia-wood poles for the altar and cover them with copper. ⁷Put the poles through the rings so that the poles will be on the two sides of the altar when it is carried. ⁸Make the altar with planks but hollow inside. All these should be made just as you were shown on the mountain.

Instructions for the dwelling’s courtyard

⁹You should also set up the dwelling’s courtyard. The courtyard’s south side should have drapes of fine twisted linen stretching one hundred fifty feet on that side, ¹⁰with twenty posts, twenty copper bases, and silver hooks and bands for the posts. ¹¹Likewise along the north side the drapes should stretch one hundred fifty feet, with twenty posts, twenty copper bases, and silver hooks and bands for the posts. ¹²The courtyard’s width on the west side should consist of seventy-five feet of drapes with their ten posts and their ten bases. ¹³The courtyard’s width on the front, facing east, should be seventy-five feet. ¹⁴There should be twenty-two and a half feet of drapes on one side with three posts and three bases for them. ¹⁵There should be twenty-two and a half feet of drapes on the other side with three posts and three bases for them. ¹⁶For the gate into the courtyard there will be a screen thirty feet long, made of blue, purple, and deep red yarns and of fine twisted linen, decorated with needlework. It will have four posts with their four bases. ¹⁷All the posts around the courtyard will have silver bands, silver hooks, and copper bases. ¹⁸The courtyard will be one hundred fifty feet long and seventy-five feet wide. Its walls’ height will be seven and a half feet of fine twisted linen and its copper bases. ¹⁹All the dwelling’s equipment for any use and all its tent pegs and all the courtyard’s tent pegs will be made of copper.

Olive oil for the lampstand

²⁰You must require the Israelites to bring you pure oil of crushed olives for the light so that the lamp may be set up to burn continually. ²¹In the meeting tent, outside the veil that hangs in front of the covenant document, Aaron and his sons will tend the lamp from evening to morning in the Lord’s presence. It will be a permanent regulation for the Israelites in every generation.

Footnotes

Exodus 15:2 Or song
Exodus 15:4 Or Red Sea
Exodus 15:22 Or Red Sea
Exodus 15:23 Or bitter
Exodus 16:1 April–May, Iyar
Exodus 16:15 Heb man (= What?); cf Exod 16:31
Exodus 16:16 Two quarts
Exodus 16:36 Two quarts
Exodus 17:7 Or test
Exodus 17:7 Or argument
Exodus 17:16 Heb uncertain
Exodus 18:3 Heb ger sounds like Gershom.
Exodus 18:4 Or my God is a helper.
Exodus 20:3 Or besides
Exodus 20:6 Or to thousands
Exodus 20:13 Or murder
Exodus 22:1 21:37 in Heb
Exodus 22:2 22:1 in Heb
Exodus 23:15 March–April, named Nisan after the exile
Exodus 23:21 Or my name
Exodus 23:31 Or Red Sea
Exodus 25:5 Or dolphin skins
Exodus 25:7 Heb ephod
Exodus 26:14 Or dolphin skin

English Standard Version (ESV)

New International Version (NIV)

Exodus 15:1-23:26 English Standard Version

The Song of Moses

Bitter Water Made Sweet

Bread from Heaven

Water from the Rock

Israel Defeats Amalek

Jethro's Advice

Israel at Mount Sinai

The Ten Commandments

Laws About Altars

Laws About Slaves

Laws About Restitution

Laws About Social Justice

Laws About the Sabbath and Festivals

Conquest of Canaan Promised

Footnotes

Cross references

Exodus 15:1-23:26 New International Version

The Song of Moses and Miriam

The Waters of Marah and Elim

Manna and Quail

Water From the Rock

The Amalekites Defeated

Jethro Visits Moses

At Mount Sinai

The Ten Commandments(IM)

Idols and Altars

Hebrew Servants(KK)(KL)

Personal Injuries

Protection of Property

Social Responsibility

Laws of Justice and Mercy

Sabbath Laws

The Three Annual Festivals

God’s Angel to Prepare the Way

Footnotes

Cross references

Exodus 15-27 Tree of Life Version

Song of Moses and Miriam

Bitter Waters Made Sweet

Manna From Heaven

Test and Quarreling

War Against Amalek

Parashat Yitro

Jethro’s Advice

Theophany at Sinai

The Ten Words

Parashat Mishpatim

Ordinances for the Covenant

Three Harvest Festivals

Cutting the Covenant at Sinai

Parashat Terumah

Tabernacle: Ark, Table, Menorah

Curtains

Altar, Courtyard, Oil

Parashat Tetzaveh

Footnotes

Exodus 15-27 New English Translation

The Song of Triumph

The Bitter Water

The Provision of Manna

Water at Massah and Meribah

Victory over the Amalekites

The Advice of Jethro

Israel at Sinai

The Decalogue

The Altar

The Ordinances

Hebrew Servants

Personal Injuries

Laws about Animals

Laws about Property

Moral and Ceremonial Laws

Justice

Sabbaths and Feasts

The Angel of the Presence

The Lord Ratifies the Covenant

The Materials for the Tabernacle

The Ark of the Testimony

The Table for the Bread of the Presence

Exodus 15:1-23:26

English Standard Version

Exodus 15:1-23:26

New International Version

The Ten Commandments^(IM)

Hebrew Servants^(KK)^(KL)

Exodus 15-27

Tree of Life Version

Exodus 15-27

New English Translation

Exodus 15-27

Common English Bible