Discovery BoxExodus 13:22 
Context13:22 He did not remove the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night from before the people. 1
Exodus 14:24
Context14:24 In the morning watch 2 the Lord looked down 3 on the Egyptian army 4 through the pillar of fire and cloud, and he threw the Egyptian army 5 into a panic. 6
Exodus 16:10
Context16:10 As Aaron spoke 7 to the whole community of the Israelites and they looked toward the desert, there the glory of the Lord 8 appeared 9 in the cloud,
Exodus 24:18
Context24:18 Moses went into the cloud when he went up 10 the mountain, and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights. 11
Exodus 33:9
Context33:9 And 12 whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord 13 would speak with Moses. 14
Exodus 40:35
Context40:35 Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
Exodus 40:37
Context40:37 but if the cloud was not lifted up, then they would not journey further until the day it was lifted up. 15
1 sn See T. W. Mann, “The Pillar of Cloud in the Reed Sea Narrative,” JBL 90 (1971): 15-30.
2 tn The night was divided into three watches of about four hours each, making the morning watch about 2:00-6:00 a.m. The text has this as “the watch of the morning,” the genitive qualifying which of the night watches was meant.
3 tn This particular verb, שָׁקַף (shaqaf) is a bold anthropomorphism: Yahweh looked down. But its usage is always with some demonstration of mercy or wrath. S. R. Driver (Exodus, 120) suggests that the look might be with fiery flashes to startle the Egyptians, throwing them into a panic. Ps 77:17-19 pictures torrents of rain with lightning and thunder.
4 tn Heb “camp.” The same Hebrew word is used in Exod 14:20. Unlike the English word “camp,” it can be used of a body of people at rest (encamped) or on the move.
5 tn Heb “camp.”
6 tn The verb הָמַם (hamam) means “throw into confusion.” It is used in the Bible for the panic and disarray of an army before a superior force (Josh 10:10; Judg 4:15).
7 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.”
8 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.
9 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.”
10 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.
11 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.
12 tn Heb “and it was when.”
13 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the
14 tn Both verbs, “stand” and “speak,” are perfect tenses with vav (ו) consecutive.
15 tn The clause uses the Niphal infinitive construct in the temporal clause: “until the day of its being taken up.”
