Exodus 11:7

Summary

The verse states that among the Israelites not even a dog will move its tongue against a person or an animal, so that they may know that Yehovah distinguishes between Egypt and Israel. It closes Moses's warning about the plague of the firstborn, contrasting the coming devastation in Egypt with the safety of Israel.

Key words

• yecherats ("it will sharpen", H2782) — qal imperfect of a root meaning "to cut/sharpen," here used idiomatically of a dog moving its tongue (i.e., growling or snarling); the imperfect gives it future/ongoing sense, "will not growl."
• kelev ("a dog", H3611) — masculine singular noun, the subject of the negated verb; a common image in ancient Near Eastern texts for hostile or threatening presence.
• lemaan ("so that", H4616) — subordinating particle introducing the purpose clause that follows, linking the sign (silence of the dogs) to the intended result (knowledge).
• tede'un ("you may know", H3045) — qal form with paragoging nun (H9013), an emphatic ending intensifying the second-person plural address, "you shall surely know."
• yafleh ("he separates", H6395) — hiphil imperfect of a root meaning "to be distinct/separate," causative form indicating that Yehovah actively makes the distinction, not that it merely occurs.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence divides into two parts joined by lemaan ("so that", H4616): a description of what will not happen (v.7a) and the purpose behind it (v.7b). The first clause, "to all the sons of Israel a dog will not sharpen its tongue," uses lo ("not", H3808) with the imperfect yecherats to negate a future action with idiomatic force — a dog's tongue "sharpening" conveys growling or menacing behavior, extended "from a man and unto a beast" (me'ish... ad-behemah, H0376G/H0929) to cover the full range of living creatures under Israelite care.

The purpose clause pivots on yafleh (H6395), a hiphil form of a root denoting separation or distinction. The causative stem marks this as an action performed by Yehovah (Yehovah, H3068G) himself, not a passive circumstance. The construction bein... u-bein ("between... and between," H0996G) frames Egypt and Israel as two poles of this deliberate separation. The verb tede'un (H3045) carries the paragogic nun (H9013), a grammatical feature adding rhetorical weight to the address "you [plural] shall know."

Differences between versions

The LXX renders yecherats-kelev leshono ("a dog will sharpen its tongue") as οὐ γρύξει κύων ("a dog will not growl/mutter"), using a verb of vocal sound rather than the Hebrew's tongue-sharpening idiom. The Vulgate similarly uses mutiet ("will mutter/whimper"), diverging from the literal Hebrew image of the tongue. The LXX also renders yafleh ("he separates", H6395) as παραδοξάζει ("he does wonders/makes marvelous"), shifting the sense from separation/distinction toward marvelous action, while the Vulgate's dividat ("may divide") stays closer to the Hebrew notion of division.