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 12:38

12:38 A mixed multitude ⁴  also went up with them, and flocks and herds – a very large number of cattle. ⁵ 

Exodus 9:6

9:6 And the Lord did this ⁶  on the next day; ⁷  all ⁸  the livestock of the Egyptians ⁹  died, but of the Israelites’ livestock not one died.

[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.”

[12:38]  ⁴ tn The “mixed multitude” (עֵרֶב רַב, ’erev rav) refers to a great “swarm” (see a possible cognate in 8:21[17]) of folk who joined the Israelites, people who were impressed by the defeat of Egypt, who came to faith, or who just wanted to escape Egypt (maybe slaves or descendants of the Hyksos). The expression prepares for later references to riffraff who came along.

[12:38]  ⁵ tn Heb “and very much cattle.”

[9:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “this thing.”

[9:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “on the morrow.”

[9:6]  ⁹ tn The word “all” clearly does not mean “all” in the exclusive sense, because subsequent plagues involve cattle. The word must denote such a large number that whatever was left was insignificant for the economy. It could also be taken to mean “all [kinds of] livestock died.”

[9:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “of Egypt.” The place is put by metonymy for the inhabitants.