And is the conjunction waw, which is usually omitted in translation. The LORD gave the people favor can mean that “Yahweh gave the people prestige” (Jerusalem Bible), but the effect of the action was in the sight of the Egyptians. In other words, “The LORD made the Egyptians respect the Israelites” (Good News Translation). New Jerusalem Bible is an improvement over Jerusalem Bible: “Yahweh made the Egyptians impressed with the people.” It may be unnatural to repeat the phrase in the sight of as the Hebrew does throughout the verse.

Translator’s Old Testament introduces the pluperfect (“the LORD had made”) to suggest that Yahweh had previously “made the Egyptians friendly,” and New International Version sets off the entire verse as a parenthesis. But there is nothing in the text to indicate either when or how the LORD changed the attitude of the Egyptians. It is therefore recommended that translators follow the interpretation of Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation.

Moreover may be understood as “also” or “even,” so either “Moses himself” (New American Bible) or “Moreover, Moses himself” (New Revised Standard Version) is possible. The man Moses is quite literal; so the man Moses was very great is better rendered as “Moses was a very great man” (Revised English Bible), or “Moses was a man of great importance” (New Revised Standard Version), or “an important leader” (Contemporary English Version). In the land of Egypt may be omitted (see Good News Translation), since this is understood by the reference to the Egyptians.

In the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people simply states that “the officials and all the people considered Moses to be a very great man” (Good News Translation). Contemporary English Version includes the king, but the text does not allow for this.

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .