Draining Egypt of Its Wealth? Honest, Dishonest, or God's Plan?

 Parshat Bo

by Rabbi Avi Billet

Many years ago I read an article (perhaps Ynet? Perhaps Times of Israel?) that had me wondering if it was satire or real. While I can’t find it online, the headline said something like “Egyptian politician claims Israel owes Egypt money for what the Israelites stole from Egypt at the time of the Exodus.” 

Many things are ludicrous about this claim, particularly in light of a number of anti-Semitic tropes which include:

  • The people of modern Israel aren’t “real Jews.” They are descendants of Khazars.

 • The people of modern Israel aren’t “real Jews” indigenous to this land, as they are European colonialists

  • The Bible is a myth. None of its stories ever happened. 

 Leaving aside the irony of people claiming the Exodus never happened then claiming that those who participated in it (but I thought it never happened!?) owe reparations for money they never took because it didn’t happen…. no one could claim that the citizens of modern Egypt are descendants of ancient Egypt. Ancient Egypt and its imprint on history is only that… history… and the Arabs who are now the stewards of that land have ZERO connection to events of 3,000+ years ago. 

The Talmud Sanhedrin 91a presents Egyptians coming before Alexander the Great to demand reparations for what the Israelites took with them upon leaving Egypt. Gaviha ben Pasisa defended the Israelites saying “If you bring proof from the Torah, so will I. The Torah says the Israelites left Egypt after 430 years. Return the wages of the 600,000 males you enslaved for that length of time.” Unsurprisingly, they had no response to this. This just goes to show that modern calls for “reparations” are meaningless, since they inevitably ignore the fact that these conversations and resolutions likely took place a long time ago. 

 All this being the case, a reasonable question can be asked regarding the wealth Israel carried with them when they left. Did they steal from the Egyptians? Did they mislead the Egyptians into giving over their precious items? 

שמות פרק יב (לה) וּבְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֥ל עָשׂ֖וּ כִּדְבַ֣ר מֹשֶׁ֑ה וַֽיִּשְׁאֲלוּ֙ מִמִּצְרַ֔יִם כְּלֵי־כֶ֛סֶף וּכְלֵ֥י זָהָ֖ב וּשְׂמָלֹֽת: (לו) וַֽיקֹוָ֞ק נָתַ֨ן אֶת־חֵ֥ן הָעָ֛ם בְּעֵינֵ֥י מִצְרַ֖יִם וַיַּשְׁאִל֑וּם וַֽיְנַצְּל֖וּ אֶת־מִצְרָֽיִם: פ	שמות פרק יא (ב) דַּבֶּר־נָ֖א בְּאָזְנֵ֣י הָעָ֑ם וְיִשְׁאֲל֞וּ אִ֣ישׁ׀ מֵאֵ֣ת רֵעֵ֗הוּ וְאִשָּׁה֙ מֵאֵ֣ת רְעוּתָ֔הּ כְּלֵי־כֶ֖סֶף וּכְלֵ֥י זָהָֽב: (ג) וַיִּתֵּ֧ן יְקֹוָ֛ק אֶת־חֵ֥ן הָעָ֖ם בְּעֵינֵ֣י מִצְרָ֑יִם גַּ֣ם׀ הָאִ֣ישׁ מֹשֶׁ֗ה גָּד֤וֹל מְאֹד֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם בְּעֵינֵ֥י עַבְדֵֽי־פַרְעֹ֖ה וּבְעֵינֵ֥י הָעָֽם	שמות פרק ג (כא) וְנָתַתִּ֛י אֶת־חֵ֥ן הָֽעָם־הַזֶּ֖ה בְּעֵינֵ֣י מִצְרָ֑יִם וְהָיָה֙ כִּ֣י תֵֽלֵכ֔וּן לֹ֥א תֵלְכ֖וּ רֵיקָֽם: (כב) וְשָׁאֲלָ֨ה אִשָּׁ֤ה מִשְּׁכֶנְתָּהּ֙ וּמִגָּרַ֣ת בֵּיתָ֔הּ כְּלֵי־כֶ֛סֶף וּכְלֵ֥י זָהָ֖ב וּשְׂמָלֹ֑ת וְשַׂמְתֶּ֗ם עַל־בְּנֵיכֶם֙ וְעַל־בְּנֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם וְנִצַּלְתֶּ֖ם אֶת־מִצְרָֽיִם:	בראשית פרק טו (יד) וְגַ֧ם אֶת־הַגּ֛וֹי אֲשֶׁ֥ר יַעֲבֹ֖דוּ דָּ֣ן אָנֹ֑כִי וְאַחֲרֵי־כֵ֥ן יֵצְא֖וּ בִּרְכֻ֥שׁ גָּדֽוֹל:
Shemos 12:35-36 And the children of Israel did as Moshe spoke, and they asked of Egypt for silver vessels, gold vessels, and clothing. And God placed the charm of the nation in the eyes of Egypt and they [fulfilled the] request. They thus drained Egypt (of its wealth).	Shemos 11:2-3 Speak, please (or now) to the ears of the nation, and they shall ask, each man of his neighbor and each woman of her neighbor, for silver vessels and gold vessels. And God then put the charm of the nation in the eyes of Egypt. Also, the man Moshe was very great in the Land of Egypt, in the eyes of Pharaoh’s servants and in the eyes of the nation	Shemos 3:21-22 I will place the charm of this nation in the eyes of Egypt, and it will be that when you go, you will not go emptyhanded. Each woman will ask of her neighbor and those living in her house for silver vessels, gold vessels, and clothing, and you shall place them on your sons and daughters, and you will thus drain Egypt (of its wealth)	Bereshis 15:14 And the nation they will serve I will judge, and afterwards they’ll leave with great property

The above passages are how the Torah describes the promise to Avraham, the instruction to Moshe at the Burning Bush, the instruction Moshe gives the people shortly before the final plague, and their implementing his instruction in real time. When exactly they “asked” for the items in question – before or after the deaths of the firstborn (the passage in chapter 12) – is an interesting question that is (in my opinion) left vague by the text, because it could be describing what had already happened. 

 One question that stands at the crux of the matter is whether the word וישאלו means “and they shall ask” or “and they shall borrow,” as the word שאל can mean either one, and what the Egyptians intentions were, based on how they understood what the Israelites were doing, where they were going, and whether they would be returning.

Nechama Leibowitz’ second essay in Parshat Bo in her “New Studies” gives an extensive analysis of this conundrum, which is well worth the read (it’s took long to summarize here). 

Ibn Ezra notes in Shemos 2:3 that the Egyptians lived amongst the Israelites (or vice versa) in the lands called Ramses, which indicates that they were neighbors with Israelites. This is of no shock to us, as we are familiar with the way the Plague of the Firstborn included the “destructive force” going through Egypt and passing over the homes of the Israelites. This demographic and infrastructure setup indicates several possibilities about the relationships of Everyman Egyptian with Everyman Israelite, and their general status in society.

 1. They were all slaves to Pharaoh, it was just a question of degree

 2. Everyone owned property and had a home, but their workday just looked different

 3. In some of the plagues there is a clear distinction between damage to Egyptian animals and property versus no damage to Israelite animals and property, suggesting that even as slaves, the Israelites had ownership over things of value

 4. We have no idea how Yosef set things up in Egyptian society and law to protect his family even as their status descended into being slaves. Our tradition has it that the tribe of Levi were exempt from slavery – how could that be? Was this a feature of the “Rules of the Kohanim” that we read of at the end of Vayigash? (See Bereshis 47:22)

 5. By extension, we don’t know anything of Pharaoh confiscating property. Did they have any wealth carried through the generations since the time of Yosef, even though they were enslaved? 

Commentaries differ, and provide an entire range of interpretations as to whether the Israelites were requesting or “borrowing,” seeking compensation or a severance package, taking booty from their defeated enemies, accepting a peace offering for the God who defeated Egypt, or even giving cause to be chased after for the final pounding in the Red Sea.

Perhaps more creatively, some of the commentaries (ie. Malbim, Chizkuni) suggest that the Egyptians were being asked to pay for the immovable property the Israelites were leaving behind, such as land and houses. Malbim adds that Moshe’s instruction before the final plague garnered even more tangible items under the rubric of a loan, but the final plague convinced the Egyptians that Israel had to leave ASAP, and they willingly turned the “loan” into a “gift” just to make it that the Israelites would not feel the need to return. A third point Malbim raises is based on the word “רעהו” which usually references “your Jewish neighbor,” that the Israelites first openly borrowed from one another, thus convincing the Egyptians that whatever they were using would be utilized for a religious experience, and was therefore necessary – further convincing the Egyptians to willingly provide their personal items. 

Did the Israelites leave with their own wealth? I imagine that is a contributing factor to the fulfillment of the promise made to Avraham (and perhaps also the promise to Yaakov in Bereshis 46:3-4). 

But the idea that Egypt is paying wages for years of slavery, and that this has to come from them – even though God is orchestrating it to happen – is a notion that is supported by Kli Yakar and other commentaries. God could ostensibly give Israel the wealth He promised. But Egypt needed to see that they had gone overboard in the degree of how they enslaved Israel, and that the compensation was earned over the centuries. The request – whether for a gift, for a loan, to borrow, etc. – was because God instructed so, but the payment – no matter how the Egyptians viewed it – was not theft, because God has his plan for how Israel will leave with riches. Their carrying out God’s plan through following the instruction given to Moshe is how they demonstrate their fealty to God, who rewards those deserving of reward and punishes those deserving of negative consequences.