Exodus 4:19
Context4:19 The Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back 1 to Egypt, because all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” 2
Exodus 30:15
Context30:15 The rich are not to increase it, 3 and the poor are not to pay less than the half shekel when giving 4 the offering of the Lord, to make atonement 5 for your lives.
1 tn The text has two imperatives, “Go, return”; if these are interpreted as a hendiadys (as in the translation), then the second is adverbial.
2 sn The text clearly stated that Pharaoh sought to kill Moses; so this seems to be a reference to Pharaoh’s death shortly before Moses’ return. Moses was forty years in Midian. In the 18th dynasty, only Pharaoh Thutmose III had a reign of the right length (1504-1450
3 tn Or “pay more.”
4 tn The form is לָתֵת (latet), the Qal infinitive construct with the lamed preposition. The infinitive here is explaining the preceding verbs. They are not to increase or diminish the amount “in paying the offering.” The construction approximates a temporal clause.
5 tn This infinitive construct (לְכַפֵּר, lÿkhapper) provides the purpose of the giving the offering – to atone.