Discovery BoxExodus 9:22 
Context9:22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Extend your hand toward the sky 1 that there may be 2 hail in all the land of Egypt, on people and on animals, 3 and on everything that grows 4 in the field in the land of Egypt.”
Exodus 10:12
Context10:12 The Lord said to Moses, “Extend your hand over the land of Egypt for 5 the locusts, that they may come up over the land of Egypt and eat everything that grows 6 in the ground, everything that the hail has left.”
Exodus 13:5
Context13:5 When 7 the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, 8 then you will keep 9 this ceremony 10 in this month.
Exodus 13:14
Context13:14 11 In the future, 12 when your son asks you 13 ‘What is this?’ 14 you are to tell him, ‘With a mighty hand 15 the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the land of slavery. 16
1 tn Or “the heavens” (also in the following verse). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
2 tn The jussive with the conjunction (וִיהִי, vihi) coming after the imperative provides the purpose or result.
3 tn Heb “on man and on beast.”
4 tn The noun refers primarily to cultivated grains. But here it seems to be the general heading for anything that grows from the ground, all vegetation and plant life, as opposed to what grows on trees.
5 tn The preposition בְּ (bet) is unexpected here. BDB 91 s.v. (the note at the end of the entry) says that in this case it can only be read as “with the locusts,” meaning that the locusts were thought to be implicit in Moses’ lifting up of his hand. However, BDB prefers to change the preposition to לְ (lamed).
6 tn The noun עֵשֶּׂב (’esev) normally would indicate cultivated grains, but in this context seems to indicate plants in general.
7 tn Heb “and it will be when.”
9 tn The verb is וְעָבַדְתָּ (vÿ’avadta), the Qal perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive. It is the equivalent of the imperfect tense of instruction or injunction; it forms the main point after the temporal clause – “when Yahweh brings you out…then you will serve.”
10 tn The object is a cognate accusative for emphasis on the meaning of the service – “you will serve this service.” W. C. Kaiser notes how this noun was translated “slavery” and “work” in the book, but “service” or “ceremony” for Yahweh. Israel was saved from slavery to Egypt into service for God as remembered by this ceremony (“Exodus,” EBC 2:383).
11 sn As with v. 8, the Law now requires that the children be instructed on the meaning of this observance. It is a memorial of the deliverance from bondage and the killing of the firstborn in Egypt.
12 tn Heb “tomorrow.”
13 tn Heb “and it will be when your son will ask you.”
14 tn The question is cryptic; it simply says, “What is this?” but certainly refers to the custom just mentioned. It asks, “What does this mean?” or “Why do we do this?”
15 tn The expression is “with strength of hand,” making “hand” the genitive of specification. In translation “strength” becomes the modifier, because “hand” specifies where the strength was. But of course the whole expression is anthropomorphic for the power of God.
16 tn Heb “house of slaves.”
