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 14:27
Context14:27 So Moses extended his hand toward the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state 5 when the sun began to rise. 6 Now the Egyptians were fleeing 7 before it, but the Lord overthrew 8 the Egyptians in the middle of the sea.
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 Hebrew term לְאֵיתָנוֹ (lÿ’etano) means “to its place,” or better, “to its perennial state.” The point is that the sea here had a normal level, and now when the Egyptians were in the sea on the dry ground the water would return to that level.
6 tn Heb “at the turning of the morning”; NASB, NIV, TEV, CEV “at daybreak.”
7 tn The clause begins with the disjunctive vav (ו) on the noun, signaling either a circumstantial clause or a new beginning. It could be rendered, “Although the Egyptians…Yahweh…” or “as the Egyptians….”
8 tn The verb means “shake out” or “shaking off.” It has the significance of “throw downward.” See Neh 5:13 or Job 38:13.
