Exodus 9:3

Jerome's Latin Vulgate

ecce manus mea erit super agros tuos, et super equos, et asinos, et camelos, et boves, et oves, pestis valde gravis.

Parallel Translations

Clementine Latin Vulgate (1592)
Et omne, quod movetur et vivit, erit vobis in cibum : quasi olera virentia tradidi vobis omnia.

Nova Vulgata (1979)
ecce manus Domini erit super possessionem tuam in agris, super equos et asinos et camelos et boves et oves, pestis valde gravis;

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the hand: Exodus 7:4, Exodus 8:19, 1 Samuel 5:6-11, 1 Samuel 6:9, Acts 13:11

murrain: We may observe a particular scope and meaning in this calamity, if we consider it in regard to the Egyptians, which would not have existed in respect to any other people. They held in idolatrous reverence almost every animal, but some they held in particular veneration; as the ox, cow, and ram. Among these, Apis and Mnevis are well known; the former being a sacred bull, worshipped at Memphis, as the latter was at Heliopolis. A cow or heifer had the like honours at Momemphis; and the same practice seems to have been adopted in most of the Egyptian nomes. By the infliction of this judgment, the Egyptian deities sank before the God of the Hebrews. See Bryant, pp. 87-93. Exodus 5:3

Reciprocal: Genesis 47:6 - cattle Genesis 47:17 - for horses Exodus 8:26 - the abomination Exodus 9:15 - stretch Psalms 78:50 - life over to the pestilence Psalms 107:38 - suffereth Jeremiah 50:33 - they refused Amos 4:10 - pestilence

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Behold, the hand of the Lord,.... Which was stronger than his, with which he held the Israelites:

is upon thy cattle which is in the field: this takes in all in general, of which the particulars follow, though limited to such as were in the field, and so did not take in what were at home in their out houses and stables:

upon the horses: of which there was great plenty in Egypt, as appears from various places of Scripture:

upon the asses; used for carrying burdens from place to place:

and upon the camels; used the like purposes, and to ride upon, and particularly to travel with through desert places for commerce, being able to proceed on without water for a considerable time:

upon the oxen, and upon the sheep; oxen were for labour to plough with, and sheep for their wool, and all of them to trade with: there shall be

a very grievous murrain: or "pestilence" y, a very noisome one, and which would carry off great numbers; the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan render it a "death", as the Jews commonly call a pestilence, whether on man or beast, because it generally sweeps away large numbers.

y דבר "pestis", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Piscator; "pestilentia", Drusius; so Tigurine version.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A very grievous murrain - Or “pestilence;” but the word “murrain,” i. e. “a great mortality,” exactly expresses the meaning. This terrible visitation struck far more severely than the preceding, which had caused distress and suffering; it attacked the resources of the nation.

The camels - These animals are only twice mentioned, here and Genesis 12:16, in connection with Egypt. Though camels are never represented on the monuments, they were known to the Egyptians, and were probably used on the frontier.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

The FIFTH plague - the MURRAIN

Verse Exodus 9:3. The hand of the Lord — The power of God manifested in judgment.

Upon the horses — סוסים susim. This is the first place the horse is mentioned; a creature for which Egypt and Arabia were always famous. sus is supposed to have the same meaning with שש sas, which signifies to be active, brisk, or lively, all which are proper appellatives of the horse, especially in Arabia and Egypt. Because of their activity and swiftness they were sacrificed and dedicated to the sun, and perhaps it was principally on this account that God prohibited the use of them among the Israelites.

A very grievous murrain. — The murrain is a very contagious disease among cattle, the symptoms of which are a hanging down and swelling of the head, abundance of gum in the eyes, rattling in the throat, difficulty of breathing, palpitation of the heart, staggering, a hot breath, and a shining tongue; which symptoms prove that a general inflammation has taken place. The original word דבר deber is variously translated. The Septuagint have θανατος, death; the Vulgate has pestis, a plague or pestilence; the old Saxon version, [Anglo-Saxon], from [Anglo-Saxon], to die, any fatal disease. Our English word murrain comes either from the French mourir, to die, or from the Greek μαραινω maraino, to grow lean, waste away. The term mortality would be the nearest in sense to the original, as no particular disorder is specified by the Hebrew word.