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 9:20

9:20 Those ⁴  of Pharaoh’s servants who feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring their ⁵  servants and livestock into the houses,

[9:4]  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.

[9:4]  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.

[9:4]  ³ tn The lamed preposition indicates possession: “all that was to the Israelites” means “all that the Israelites had.”

[9:20]  ⁴ tn The text has “the one fearing.” The singular expression here and throughout vv. 20-21 refers to all who fit the description.

[9:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “his” (singular).