Exodus 9:17-18

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Exodus 9:17 tn מִסְתּוֹלֵל (mistolel) is a Hitpael participle, from a root that means “raise up, obstruct.” So in the Hitpael it means to “raise oneself up,” “elevate oneself,” or “be an obstructionist.” See W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:363; U. Cassuto, Exodus, 116.
2. Exodus 9:17 tn The infinitive construct with lamed here is epexegetical; it explains how Pharaoh has exalted himself—“by not releasing the people.”
3. Exodus 9:18 tn הִנְנִי מַמְטִיר (hin^eni mamtir) is the futur instans construction, giving an imminent future translation: “Here—I am about to cause it to rain.”
4. Exodus 9:18 tn Heb “which not was like it in Egypt.” The pronoun suffix serves as the resumptive pronoun for the relative particle: “which…like it” becomes “the like of which has not been.” The word “hail” is added in the translation to make clear the referent of the relative particle.
5. Exodus 9:18 tn The form הִוָּסְדָה (hivvas^edah) is perhaps a rare Niphal perfect and not an infinitive (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 117).