Keluaran 7:18

7:18 Fish ¹  in the Nile will die, the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable ²  to drink water from the Nile.”’”

Keluaran 39:23

39:23 There was an opening in the center of the robe, like the opening of a collar, with an edge all around the opening so that it could not be torn.

[7:18]  ¹ tn The definite article here has the generic use, indicating the class – “fish” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 19, §92).

[7:18]  ² tn The verb לָאָה (la’a), here in the Niphal perfect with a vav consecutive, means “be weary, impatient.” The Niphal meaning is “make oneself weary” in doing something, or “weary (strenuously exert) oneself.” It seems always to indicate exhausted patience (see BDB 521 s.v.). The term seems to imply that the Egyptians were not able to drink the red, contaminated water, and so would expend all their energy looking for water to drink – in frustration of course.