Exodus 3:9

3:9 And now indeed ¹  the cry ²  of the Israelites has come to me, and I have also seen how severely the Egyptians oppress them. ³ 

Exodus 16:9

16:9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole community ⁴  of the Israelites, ‘Come ⁵  before the Lord, because he has heard your murmurings.’”

Exodus 19:11

19:11 and 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.

Exodus 27:5

27:5 You are to put it under the ledge of the altar below, so that the network will come ⁶  halfway up the altar. ⁷ 

Exodus 32:26

32:26 So Moses stood at the entrance of the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come ⁸  to me.” ⁹  All the Levites gathered around him,

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¹ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) focuses attention on what is being said as grounds for what follows.

² tn The word is a technical term for the outcry one might make to a judge. God had seen the oppression and so knew that the complaints were accurate, and so he initiated the proceedings against the oppressors (B. Jacob, Exodus, 59).

³ tn Heb “seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.” The word for the oppression is now לַחַץ (lakhats), which has the idea of pressure with the oppression – squeezing, pressuring – which led to its later use in the Semitic languages for torture. The repetition in the Hebrew text of the root in the participle form after this noun serves to stress the idea. This emphasis has been represented in the translation by the expression “seen how severely the Egyptians oppress them.”

⁴ tn Or “congregation” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV); the same word occurs in v. 10.

⁵ 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.

⁶ 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.

⁷ tn Heb “to the half of the altar.”

⁸ tn “come” is not in the text, but has been supplied.

⁹ tn S. R. Driver suggests that the command was tersely put: “Who is for Yahweh? To me!” (Exodus, 354).