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 

Exodus 18:16

18:16 When they have a dispute, ⁴  it comes to me and I decide ⁵  between a man and his neighbor, and I make known the decrees of God and his laws.” ⁶ 

Exodus 30:18

30:18 “You are also to make a large bronze ⁷  basin with a bronze stand ⁸  for washing. You are to put it between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it, ⁹ 

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.”

⁴ tn Or “thing,” “matter,” “issue.”

⁵ tn The verb שָׁפַט (shafat) means “to judge”; more specifically, it means to make a decision as an arbiter or umpire. When people brought issues to him, Moses decided between them. In the section of laws in Exodus after the Ten Commandments come the decisions, the מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishppatim).

⁶ tn The “decrees” or “statutes” were definite rules, stereotyped and permanent; the “laws” were directives or pronouncements given when situations arose. S. R. Driver suggests this is another reason why this event might have taken place after Yahweh had given laws on the mountain (Exodus, 165).

⁷ sn The metal for this object was obtained from the women from their mirrors (see Exod 38:8).

⁸ tn Heb “and its stand bronze.”

⁹ tn The form is the adverb “there” with the directive qamets-he ( ָה).