Exodus 10 — Hebrew and Greek compared
← Exodus 9 compared · Reading text of Exodus 10 · Exodus: all chapters · Exodus 11 compared →
Same 1 Similar 12 Different 11 Divergent 4 Disparate 1
Disparate in this chapter: 10:13
Each verse is rendered independently from the Hebrew (Rabbinic reading tradition) and from the Greek (Saints reading tradition). The badge classifies the relationship between the two readings; the note beneath records the source document’s comparison and attributed interpretation. Each column retains its own verse references where numbering differs.
The Eighth Plague: Locusts
10:1 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
10:1 YHWH said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have made his heart and his servants’ hearts heavy, so that I may place these signs of Mine among them,
Greek · Saints priority
10:1 The Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and his attendants’ hearts, so that these signs may come upon them in succession,
Hebrew retains heavy; Greek has hardened and in succession [H10; G10]. Both explicitly name God as agent.
10:2 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
10:2 “and so that you may tell your son and your son’s son how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I performed among them, and you may know that I am YHWH.”
Greek · Saints priority
10:2 “and so that you may tell your children and your children’s children how I mocked the Egyptians and what signs I performed among them, and you may know that I am the Lord.”
Hebrew begins with singular you and ends with plural you; Greek uses plural you throughout [H10; G10]. The force of the treatment is preserved without adding an explanation of its motive.
10:3 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
10:3 Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says YHWH, the God of the Hebrews: How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go so that they may serve Me.
Greek · Saints priority
10:3 Moses and Aaron went before Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: How long will you refuse to show Me reverence? Let My people go so that they may serve Me.
Humble yourself and show reverence express the demand with different emphasis [G10].
10:4 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
10:4 “If you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory.
Greek · Saints priority
10:4 “If you refuse to let My people go, behold, at this hour tomorrow I will bring many locusts into all your territory.
Greek adds this hour, many, and all [G10].
10:5 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
10:5 “They will cover the surface of the land so that no one can see the land. They will eat what escaped, what the hail left you, and eat every tree growing for you in the field.
Greek · Saints priority
10:5 “They will cover the surface of the land, and you will not be able to see the land. They will devour all the remaining vegetation of the land that the hail left you, and devour every tree growing for you in the land.
Greek addresses you directly and specifies vegetation [H10; G10].
10:6 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
10:6 “They will fill your houses, all your servants’ houses, and all the Egyptians’ houses, as neither your fathers nor your fathers’ fathers have seen from the day they came upon the earth until this day.” Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh.
Greek · Saints priority
10:6 “Your houses, your attendants’ houses, and all the houses throughout the land of Egypt will be filled, as neither your fathers nor their forefathers have seen from the day they came upon the earth until this day.” Moses turned and went out from Pharaoh.
Greek names Moses in the closing sentence [G10].
10:7 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
10:7 Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the men go so that they may serve YHWH their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is ruined?”
Greek · Saints priority
10:7 Pharaoh’s attendants said to him, “How long will this be a hindrance to us? Send the men away so that they may serve their God. Do you wish to know that Egypt is ruined?”
Snare/hindrance and the final question differ; Greek lacks Lord in this verse [H10; G10]. The Greek question is retained without inventing a further condition.
10:8 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
10:8 Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. He said to them, “Go, serve YHWH your God. But who exactly will go?”
Greek · Saints priority
10:8 Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. He said to them, “Go, serve your God. But who are those who will go?”
Greek again has your God without Lord [G10].
10:9 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
10:9 Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds, for we must hold a feast to YHWH.”
Greek · Saints priority
10:9 Moses said, “We will go with our young men and our elders, with our sons and our daughters, and with our sheep and our cattle, for it is a feast of the Lord our God.”
Greek names a feast of the Lord our God; Hebrew names a feast of YHWH. The departing groups agree.
10:10 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
10:10 He said to them, “May YHWH be with you as surely as I let you and your little ones go! Look, evil is before you.
Greek · Saints priority
10:10 He said to them, “Let it be so—the Lord with you! As I send you away, shall I also send your household? See, evil lies before you.
Pharaoh’s words are sarcastic in context. Greek aposkeuē is rendered household here; the collective can include dependents and baggage. It should not be restricted to property against the family context of verses 9, 11, and 24 [G10].
10:11 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
10:11 “No! Let the men go and serve YHWH, for that is what you were seeking.” They were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.
Greek · Saints priority
10:11 “No! Let the men go and serve God, for that is what you are seeking.” They drove them out from Pharaoh’s presence.
Greek has God and an active plural they drove them out; Hebrew has the passive [H10; G10].
10:12 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
10:12 YHWH said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come upon the land of Egypt and eat all the vegetation of the land, everything the hail has left.”
Greek · Saints priority
10:12 The Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt, and let locusts come upon the land and devour all the vegetation of the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail has left.”
Greek explicitly adds the fruit of the trees [G10].
10:13 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
10:13 Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and YHWH drove an east wind over the land all that day and all that night. When morning came, the east wind had carried the locusts.
Greek · Saints priority
10:13 Moses raised his staff toward heaven, and the Lord brought a south wind upon the land all that day and all that night. When morning came, the south wind carried up the locusts.
Hebrew names an east wind; RH names a south wind. The direction in which Moses stretches his staff also differs. RH explicitly names the Lord as the wind’s agent.
10:14 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
10:14 The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled throughout Egypt’s territory in immense numbers. There had never been such locusts before, nor would there be afterward.
Greek · Saints priority
10:14 It brought them up over all the land of Egypt, and they settled throughout Egypt’s territory in immense numbers. There had never been such locusts before, nor would there be afterward.
RH continues the south wind as the grammatical agent bringing up the locusts; Hebrew narrates the locusts’ ascent. Both stress their unprecedented extent.
10:15 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
10:15 They covered the surface of the whole land, and the land grew dark. They ate all the vegetation of the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green remained on tree or field plant throughout the land of Egypt.
Greek · Saints priority
10:15 They covered the surface of the land, and the land was ruined. They devoured all the vegetation of the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green remained on the trees or among the vegetation of the field throughout the land of Egypt.
Hebrew says the land grew dark; Greek says it was ruined [H10; G10]. These are parallel clauses with different images, not a Greek addition.
10:16 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
10:16 Pharaoh hurried to call Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against YHWH your God and against you.
Greek · Saints priority
10:16 Pharaoh hurried to call Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned before the Lord your God and against you.
Before/against differs in the first clause; the confession’s addressees agree [G10].
10:17 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
10:17 “Now forgive my sin just this once, and plead with YHWH your God to remove only this death from me.”
Greek · Saints priority
10:17 “Forgive my sin this once more, and pray to the Lord your God to remove this death from me.”
Forgive expresses the appeal in context; the Greek verb more literally asks them to receive or accept the offense [G10]. It does not by itself specify a sacramental act.
10:18 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
10:18 He went out from Pharaoh and pleaded with YHWH.
Greek · Saints priority
10:18 Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to God.
Greek names Moses and has God, not Lord [G10].
10:19 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
10:19 YHWH turned a very strong wind from the sea. It lifted the locusts and drove them into the Sea of Reeds. Not one locust remained in all Egypt’s territory.
Greek · Saints priority
10:19 The Lord turned a very strong wind from the sea. It lifted the locusts and cast them into the Red Sea. Not one locust remained in all Egypt’s territory.
Hebrew yam-suf is rendered Sea of Reeds; Greek has Red Sea [H10; G10]. The different names do not alone establish different locations. Wind from the sea is retained in both.
10:20 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
10:20 YHWH made Pharaoh’s heart firm, and he did not let the sons of Israel go.
Greek · Saints priority
10:20 The Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the sons of Israel go.
Both name God as agent; firm/hardened preserves the respective wording [H10; G10].
The Ninth Plague: Darkness
10:21 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
10:21 YHWH said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven so that darkness may come over the land of Egypt, darkness that can be felt.”
Greek · Saints priority
10:21 The Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, and let darkness come over the land of Egypt, darkness that can be felt.”
The striking image of tangible darkness is present in both [H10; G10].
10:22 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
10:22 Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness throughout the land of Egypt for three days.
Greek · Saints priority
10:22 Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was darkness, gloom, and a tempest throughout the land of Egypt for three days.
Greek retains a three-part description, including tempest [G10]. No meteorological explanation is inserted.
10:23 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
10:23 They could not see one another, and no one rose from his place for three days. But all the sons of Israel had light where they lived.
Greek · Saints priority
10:23 No one saw his brother for three days, and no one rose from his bed for three days. But all the sons of Israel had light everywhere they lived.
Greek specifies bed and repeats three days [G10]. Brother is the ordinary reciprocal expression here.
10:24 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
10:24 Pharaoh called Moses and said, “Go, serve YHWH. Only let your flocks and your herds remain. Even your little ones may go with you.”
Greek · Saints priority
10:24 Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, serve the Lord your God. Only leave your sheep and your cattle behind. Let your household go with you.”
This entire verse was missing from V1 and is restored from the compared texts [H10; G10]. Greek includes Aaron and your God; household renders aposkeuē in this family context.
10:25 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
10:25 Moses said, “You must also give us sacrifices and burnt offerings so that we may offer them to YHWH our God.
Greek · Saints priority
10:25 Moses said, “You must also give us burnt offerings and sacrifices so that we may offer them to the Lord our God.
The two offerings occur in reverse order [G10].
10:26 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
10:26 “Our livestock must also go with us. Not a hoof shall remain, for we must take some of them to serve YHWH our God. We will not know with what we must serve YHWH until we arrive there.”
Greek · Saints priority
10:26 “Our livestock must also go with us. We will not leave a hoof behind, for we must take some of them to serve the Lord our God. We will not know with what we must serve the Lord our God until we arrive there.”
The passive and active expressions of leaving a hoof differ; the demand and its stated reason agree [G10].
10:27 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
10:27 YHWH made Pharaoh’s heart firm, and he was unwilling to let them go.
Greek · Saints priority
10:27 The Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was unwilling to let them go.
Both distinguish God’s action from Pharaoh’s unwillingness [H10; G10].
10:28 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
10:28 Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me! Take care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.”
Greek · Saints priority
10:28 Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me! Take care not to see my face again, for on the day you appear before me you shall die.”
Greek concludes with appearing before Pharaoh; Hebrew repeats seeing his face [G10].
10:29 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
10:29 Moses said, “You have spoken rightly. I will never see your face again.”
Greek · Saints priority
10:29 Moses said, “You have spoken. I will not appear before your face again.”
Hebrew explicitly affirms rightly; Greek retains the statement without that adverb [H10; G10].
← Exodus 9 compared · Reading text of Exodus 10 · Exodus: all chapters · Exodus 11 compared →
Saints Translation · Companion comparison edition · working draft awaiting specialist review.