Exodus 9:4

9:4 But the Lord will distinguish ¹  between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, and nothing ²  will die of all that the Israelites have.”’” ³ 

---

¹ tn The verb פָּלָה (palah) in Hiphil means “to set apart, make separate, make distinct.” See also Exod 8:22 (18 HT); 11:7; 33:16.

² tn There is a wordplay in this section. A pestilence – דֶּבֶר (dever) – will fall on Egypt’s cattle, but no thing – דָּבָר (davar) – belonging to Israel would die. It was perhaps for this reason that the verb was changed in v. 1 from “say” to “speak” (דִּבֶּר, dibber). See U. Cassuto, Exodus, 111.

³ tn The lamed preposition indicates possession: “all that was to the Israelites” means “all that the Israelites had.”