Paid In Full

Israel's exodus from Egypt "with great wealth" is mentioned in three places in the Tanach (Bible).

The first time is in Genesis, when Abraham was told about the future exile of his descendants, as well as their eventual departure from that exile.

"YHVH said to Abraham: Know that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs and they will enslave them and oppress them four hundred years. And I shall judge also the nation that they will serve, and afterwards they will go out with great wealth." Gen 15:13-14

The second is in Exodus, "And the children of Israel went out with great wealth." Ex 14:8

The third time is in the Psalms, "And He smote every firstborn in their land, the beginning of all their strength. And He brought them out with silver and gold, and there was none that faltered among His tribes. Egypt rejoiced at their departure, for their fear had fallen upon them." Ps 105:36-38

What may be learn from these scriptures?

First, we learn that the departure with great wealth was a significant detail of the great event of the exodus. The fact that it was given to Abraham hundreds of years before the event, and was included in the Psalms hundreds of years thereafter, indicates its importance.

Second, it was not a frenzied flight of slaves escaping from their masters, but rather a respectable exodus of a nation that was lawfully leaving its slavery behind, while punishment was meted out to the slave-masters. The departure with silver and gold was a crucial element in the circumstances of the exodus and in achieving true freedom.

"YHVH made the nation favorable, and they lent to them." This 'divine favor' demonstrated the miraculous nature of YHVH's salvation.

"And He smote every firstborn in their land, the beginning of all their strength. And He brought them out with silver and gold, and there was none among His tribes who faltered." Ex 14:8

The 'spoiling of Egypt' was not an act of deception, as some argue, rather, the Israelites had a rights to these gifts: it was their "just reward" appropriated during their time of departure. The command to "borrow (ask for) the vessels" shows YHVH's approval, denying that any deception was involved in the act and thereby no need to justify it either morally or legally. The Hebrew language also supports that. The root "sh-a-l" usually means "to ask or borrow" but it also means, "to ask for a gift." In I Sam 2:20 the same word is used when Samuel was given back to YHVH as a 'gift' - equating 'lending' to 'giving'.

"Let each man ask of his neighbor, and each woman of her neighbor" for a gift, with no obligation of giving anything in return.

Why were these specific objects given?

In all three sources the objects received from the Egyptians were "vessels of silver, vessels of gold, and garments." The "vessels of silver" and "vessels of gold" were understood as referring to jewelry, and the fine "garments" were given to the Israelites for their special celebration in the desert. These objects were part of the negotiations between Moses and Pharaoh. The Israelite slaves were poor. They lacked the means to hold a celebration for YHVH in the appropriate style, and so they asked their Egyptian neighbors for jewelry and fine garments for the purposes of their festival in the wilderness.