Exodus 6:11

6:11 “Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt that he must release ¹  the Israelites from his land.”

Exodus 9:26

9:26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived, was there no hail.

Exodus 10:20

10:20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not release the Israelites.

Exodus 12:28

12:28 and the Israelites went away and did exactly as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. ² 

Exodus 12:40

12:40 Now the length of time the Israelites lived in Egypt was 430 years. ³ 

Exodus 12:50

12:50 So all the Israelites did exactly as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron. ⁴ 

Exodus 16:2

16:2 The entire company ⁵  of Israelites murmured against Moses and Aaron in the desert.

Exodus 16:17

16:17 The Israelites did so, and they gathered – some more, some less.

Exodus 29:45

29:45 I will reside ⁶  among the Israelites, and I will be their God,

Exodus 35:20

35:20 So the whole community of the Israelites went out from the presence of Moses.

Exodus 39:42

39:42 The Israelites did all the work according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses.

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¹ tn The form וִישַׁלַּח (vishallakh) is the Piel imperfect or jussive with a sequential vav; following an imperative it gives the imperative’s purpose and intended result. They are to speak to Pharaoh, and (so that as a result) he will release Israel. After the command to speak, however, the second clause also indirectly states the content of the speech (cf. Exod 11:2; 14:2, 15; 25:2; Lev 16:2; 22:2). As the next verse shows, Moses doubts that what he says will have the intended effect.

² tn Heb “went away and did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.” The final phrase “so they did,” which is somewhat redundant in English, has been represented in the translation by the adverb “exactly.”

³ sn Here as well some scholars work with the number 430 to try to reduce the stay in Egypt for the bondage. Some argue that if the number included the time in Canaan, that would reduce the bondage by half. S. R. Driver (Exodus, 102) notes that P thought Moses was the fourth generation from Jacob (6:16-27), if those genealogies are not selective. Exodus 6 has Levi – Kohath – Amram – Moses. This would require a period of about 100 years, and that is unusual. There is evidence, however, that the list is selective. In 1 Chr 2:3-20 the text has Bezalel (see Exod 31:2-5) a contemporary of Moses and yet the seventh from Judah. Elishama, a leader of the Ephraimites (Num 10:22), was in the ninth generation from Jacob (1 Chr 7:22-26). Joshua, Moses’ assistant, was the eleventh from Jacob (1 Chr 7:27). So the “four generations” leading up to Moses are not necessarily complete. With regard to Exod 6, K. A. Kitchen has argued that the four names do not indicate successive generations, but tribe (Levi), clan (Kohath), family (Amram), and individual (Moses; K. A. Kitchen, Ancient Orient and Old Testament, 54-55). For a detailed discussion of the length of the sojourn, see E. H. Merrill, A Kingdom of Priests, 75-79.

⁴ tn Heb “did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.” The final phrase “so they did,” which is somewhat redundant in English, has been represented in the translation by the adverb “exactly.”

⁵ tn Or “community” or “assembly.”

⁶ tn The verb has the root שָׁכַן (shakan), from which came the word for the dwelling place, or sanctuary, itself (מִשְׁכָּן, mishkan). It is also used for the description of “the Shekinah glory.” God is affirming that he will reside in the midst of his people.