3:18 There 1 the prisoners 2 relax 3 together; 4
they do not hear the voice of the oppressor. 5
3:19 Small and great are 6 there,
and the slave is free 7 from his master. 8
1 tn “There” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied from the context.
2 tn The LXX omits the verb and translates the noun not as prisoners but as “old men” or “men of old time.”
3 tn The verb שַׁאֲנָנוּ (sha’ananu) is the Pilpel of שָׁאַן (sha’an) which means “to rest.” It refers to the normal rest or refreshment of individuals; here it is contrasted with the harsh treatment normally put on prisoners.
4 sn See further J. C. de Moor, “Lexical Remarks Concerning yahad and yahdaw,” VT 7 (1957): 350-55.
5 tn Or “taskmaster.” The same Hebrew word is used for the taskmasters in Exod 3:7.
6 tn The versions have taken the pronoun in the sense of the verb “to be.” Others give it the sense of “the same thing,” rendering the verse as “small and great, there is no difference there.” GKC 437 §135.a, n. 1, follows this idea with a meaning of “the same.”
7 tn The LXX renders this as “unafraid,” although the negative has disappeared in some
8 tn The plural “masters” could be taken here as a plural of majesty rather than as referring to numerous masters.