Exodus 9:21

Summary

The verse describes the contrasting response of those who "did not set their heart" to the word of Yehovah: unlike those who heeded the warning, these individuals left their servants and livestock exposed in the open field, implying they suffered the consequences of the coming plague described in the surrounding narrative.

Key words

• sam ("he set", H7760H) — qal perfect of the verb "to set/place," here forming the idiom sam libbo ("he set his heart"), meaning to pay attention or take something to heart.
• libbo ("his heart", H3820A) — construct noun with pronominal suffix; combined with sam and the preposition 'el ("to", H0413), it produces the idiomatic phrase "he did not set his heart to the word of Yehovah," i.e., he disregarded it.
• devar ("word of", H1697G) — construct form linking directly to YHWH (H3068G), producing "the word of Yehovah" as the object of attention.
• ya'azov ("he left", H5800A) — qal verb in the narrative (vav-consecutive) form, continuing the storyline: "and then he left/abandoned."
• 'avadav ("his servants", H5650) — masculine plural construct noun with suffix, marked by the direct object particle 'et (H0853), naming the first thing abandoned.

What the text says

The verse opens with the relative particle 'asher ("who", H0834A) introducing a clause that characterizes a group of people by their prior action: they are those who "did not set their heart to the word of Yehovah" (lo-sam libbo 'el-devar YHWH). This is a fixed Hebrew idiom expressing inattention or disregard, built from the verb sam ("to set", H7760H) governing the noun libbo ("his heart", H3820A) and directed 'el ("to", H0413) the object of attention, here devar YHWH ("the word of Yehovah", H1697G + H3068G).

The narrative then shifts to the vav-consecutive verb ya'azov ("and he left", H5800A), marking the next event in sequence. The object of abandonment is expressed twice, each introduced by the direct object marker 'et (H0853): first 'avadav ("his servants", H5650) and then miqnehu ("his livestock", H4735), both construct nouns bearing third-person singular suffixes. The final phrase ba-sadeh ("in the field", H7704G) locates the abandonment, using the preposition-plus-article form ba (H9003).

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the object of abandonment only as τὰ κτήνη ("the cattle/livestock"), omitting any equivalent for 'avadav ("his servants", H5650) found in the Hebrew. The Vulgate, by contrast, includes both elements — servos suos et jumenta ("his servants and cattle") — matching the Hebrew's double object structure with 'avadav and miqnehu.