Keluaran 4:6

4:6 The Lord also said to him, “Put your hand into your robe.” ¹  So he put his hand into his robe, and when he brought it out – there was his hand, ²  leprous like snow! ³ 

Keluaran 9:3

9:3 then the hand of the Lord will surely bring ⁴  a very terrible plague ⁵  on your livestock in the field, on the horses, the donkeys, the camels, ⁶  the herds, and the flocks.

Keluaran 9:6

9:6 And the Lord did this ⁷  on the next day; ⁸  all ⁹  the livestock of the Egyptians ¹⁰  died, but of the Israelites’ livestock not one died.

[4:6]  ¹ tn The word חֵיק (kheq), often rendered “bosom,” refers to the front of the chest and a fold in the garment there where an item could be placed for carrying (see Prov 6:27; 16:33; 21:14). So “into your robe” should be understood loosely here and in v. 7 as referring to the inside of the top front of Moses’ garment. The inside chest pocket of a jacket is a rough modern equivalent.

[4:6]  ² tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) points out the startling or amazing sight as if the reader were catching first glimpse of it with Moses.

[4:6]  ³ sn This sudden skin disease indicated that God was able to bring such diseases on Egypt in the plagues and that only he could remove them. The whitening was the first stage of death for the diseased (Num 12:10; 2 Kgs 5:27). The Hebrew words traditionally rendered “leprous” or “leprosy,” as they are used in Lev 13 and 14, encompass a variety of conditions, not limited to the disease called leprosy and identified as Hansen’s disease in modern times.

[9:3]  ⁴ tn The form used here is הוֹיָה (hoyah), the Qal active participle, feminine singular, from the verb “to be.” This is the only place in the OT that this form occurs. Ogden shows that this form is appropriate with the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) to stress impending divine action, and that it conforms to the pattern in these narratives where five times the participle is used in the threat to Pharaoh (7:17; 8:2; 9:3, 14; 10:4). See G. S. Ogden, “Notes on the Use of הויה in Exodus IX. 3,” VT 17 (1967): 483-84.

[9:3]  ⁵ tn The word דֶּבֶר (dever) is usually translated “pestilence” when it applies to diseases for humans. It is used only here and in Ps 78:50 for animals.

[9:3]  ⁶ sn The older view that camels were not domesticated at this time (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 70; W. F. Albright, Archaeology and the Religion of Israel, 96; et. al.) has been corrected by more recently uncovered information (see K. A. Kitchen, NBD³ 160-61).

[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.