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 10:26
Context10:26 Our livestock must 5 also go with us! Not a hoof is to be left behind! For we must take 6 these animals 7 to serve the Lord our God. Until we arrive there, we do not know what we must use to serve the Lord.” 8
Exodus 12:12
Context12:12 I will pass through 9 the land of Egypt in the same 10 night, and I will attack 11 all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of humans and of animals, 12 and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. 13 I am the Lord.
Exodus 13:15
Context13:15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused 14 to release us, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of people to the firstborn of animals. 15 That is why I am sacrificing 16 to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb, but all my firstborn sons I redeem.’
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 This is the obligatory imperfect nuance. They were obliged to take the animals if they were going to sacrifice, but more than that, since they were not coming back, they had to take everything.
6 tn The same modal nuance applies to this verb.
7 tn Heb “from it,” referring collectively to the livestock.
8 sn Moses gives an angry but firm reply to Pharaoh’s attempt to control Israel; he makes it clear that he has no intention of leaving any pledge with Pharaoh. When they leave, they will take everything that belongs to them.
9 tn The verb וְעָבַרְתִּי (vÿ’avarti) is a Qal perfect with vav (ו) consecutive, announcing the future action of God in bringing judgment on the land. The word means “pass over, across, through.” This verb provides a contextual motive for the name “Passover.”
10 tn Heb “this night.”
11 tn The verb נָכָה (nakhah) means “to strike, smite, attack”; it does not always mean “to kill,” but that is obviously its outcome in this context. This is also its use in 2:12, describing how Moses killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand.
12 tn Heb “from man and to beast.”
13 tn The phrase אֶעֱשֶׂה שְׁפָטִים (’e’eseh shÿfatim) is “I will do judgments.” The statement clearly includes what had begun in Exod 6:1. But the statement that God would judge the gods of Egypt is appropriately introduced here (see also Num 33:4) because with the judgment on Pharaoh and the deliverance from bondage, Yahweh would truly show himself to be the one true God. Thus, “I am Yahweh” is fitting here (see B. Jacob, Exodus, 312).
14 tn Heb “dealt hardly in letting us go” or “made it hard to let us go” (see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 110). The verb is the simple Hiphil perfect הִקְשָׁה (hiqshah, “he made hard”); the infinitive construct לְשַׁלְּחֵנוּ (lÿshallÿkhenu, “to release us”) could be taken epexegetically, meaning “he made releasing us hard.” But the infinitive more likely gives the purpose or the result after the verb “hardened himself.” The verb is figurative for “be stubborn” or “stubbornly refuse.”
15 tn The text uses “man” and “beast.”
16 tn The form is the active participle.
