Discovery BoxExodus 1:17 
Context1:17 But 1 the midwives feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live. 2
Exodus 4:28
Context4:28 Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord who had 3 sent him and all the signs that he had commanded him.
Exodus 5:16
Context5:16 No straw is given to your servants, but we are told, 4 ‘Make bricks!’ Your servants are even 5 being beaten, but the fault 6 is with your people.”
Exodus 5:19
Context5:19 The Israelite foremen saw 7 that they 8 were in trouble when they were told, 9 “You must not reduce the daily quota of your bricks.”
Exodus 12:35
Context12:35 Now the Israelites had done 10 as Moses told them – they had requested from the Egyptians 11 silver and gold items and clothing.
Exodus 16:22
Context16:22 And 12 on the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, two omers 13 per person; 14 and all the leaders 15 of the community 16 came and told 17 Moses.
Exodus 23:13
Context23:13 “Pay attention to do 18 everything I have told you, and do not even mention 19 the names of other gods – do not let them be heard on your lips. 20
Exodus 36:5
Context36:5 and told Moses, “The people are bringing much more than 21 is needed for the completion 22 of the work which the Lord commanded us to do!” 23
1 tn Heb “and they [fem. pl.] feared”; the referent (the midwives) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn The verb is the Piel preterite of חָיָה (khaya, “to live”). The Piel often indicates a factitive nuance with stative verbs, showing the cause of the action. Here it means “let live, cause to live.” The verb is the exact opposite of Pharaoh’s command for them to kill the boys.
3 tn This verb and the last one in the verse are rendered with the past perfect nuance because they refer to what the
4 tn Heb “[they] are saying to us,” the line can be rendered as a passive since there is no expressed subject for the participle.
5 tn הִנֵּה (hinneh) draws attention to the action reflected in the passive participle מֻכִּים (mukkim): “look, your servants are being beaten.”
6 tn The word rendered “fault” is the basic OT verb for “sin” – וְחָטָאת (vÿkhata’t). The problem is that it is pointed as a perfect tense, feminine singular verb. Some other form of the verb would be expected, or a noun. But the basic word-group means “to err, sin, miss the mark, way, goal.” The word in this context seems to indicate that the people of Pharaoh – the slave masters – have failed to provide the straw. Hence: “fault” or “they failed.” But, as indicated, the line has difficult grammar, for it would literally translate: “and you [fem.] sin your people.” Many commentators (so GKC 206 §74.g) wish to emend the text to read with the Greek and the Syriac, thus: “you sin against your own people” (meaning the Israelites are his loyal subjects).
7 tn The common Hebrew verb translated “saw,” like the common English verb for seeing, is also used to refer to mental perception and understanding, as in the question “See what I mean?” The foremen understood how difficult things would be under this ruling.
8 tn The text has the sign of the accusative with a suffix and then a prepositional phrase: אֹתָם בְּרָע (’otam bÿra’), meaning something like “[they saw] them in trouble” or “themselves in trouble.” Gesenius shows a few examples where the accusative of the reflexive pronoun is represented by the sign of the accusative with a suffix, and these with marked emphasis (GKC 439 §135.k).
9 tn The clause “when they were told” translates לֵאמֹר (le’mor), which usually simply means “saying.” The thing that was said was clearly the decree that was given to them.
10 tn The verbs “had done” and then “had asked” were accomplished prior to the present narrative (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 99). The verse begins with disjunctive word order to introduce the reminder of earlier background information.
11 tn Heb “from Egypt.” Here the Hebrew text uses the name of the country to represent the inhabitants (a figure known as metonymy).
12 tn Heb “and it happened/was.”
13 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).
14 tn Heb “for one.”
15 tn The word suggests “the ones lifted up” above others, and therefore the rulers or the chiefs of the people.
16 tn Or “congregation” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).
17 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).
18 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.
19 tn Or “honor,” Hiphil of זָכַר (zakhar). See also Exod 20:25; Josh 23:7; Isa 26:13.
20 tn Heb “mouth.”
sn See also Ps 16:4, where David affirms his loyalty to God with this expression.
21 tn The construction uses the verbal hendiadys: מַרְבִּים לְהָבִיא (marbim lÿhavi’) is the Hiphil participle followed (after the subject) by the Hiphil infinitive construct. It would read, “they multiply…to bring,” meaning, “they bring more” than is needed.
22 tn Heb “for the service” (so KJV, ASV).
23 tn The last clause is merely the infinitive with an object – “to do it.” It clearly means the skilled workers are to do it.
