Exodus 12:36
in Exodus 12And the LORD gave the people such favor in the sight of the Egyptians that they granted their request. In this way they plundered the Egyptians.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and Jehovah gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. And they despoiled the Egyptians.
KJV
And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.
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This verse in Exodus 12
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Lent - Or gave. The word in the Hebrew means simply “granted their request.” Whether the grant is made as a loan, or as a gift, depends in every instance upon the context. Here the word “spoiled” ought to be regarded as conclusive that the grant was a gift, a moderate remuneration for long service, and a compensation for cruel wrongs.
This site's exposition
they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver
on Exodus 12:35-36
This is the discharge of a promise made to Abram four hundred years earlier, that afterward shall they come out with great substance, at Genesis 15:14. The words borrowed and lent have troubled readers of the English, and the Hebrew verb is the ordinary word for asking, with the transfer described from Egypt's own side as a thing given. The gold carried out here will build the tabernacle in chapter 35 and the calf in chapter 32.
This site's exposition
In this way they plundered the Egyptians
Albert Barnes takes the word plundered as settling that the goods were a gift. He counts them as wages for long service and payment for cruel wrongs. Matthew Henry limits the warrant to God's own order.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
The Egyptians not only had idols and crushing burdens which the people of Israel detested and from which they fled. They also had vessels and ornaments of gold and silver, and clothing, which the Israelites leaving Egypt secretly claimed for themselves as if for a better use. Not on their own authority did they make this appropriation, but by the command of God. Meanwhile, the Egyptians themselves, without realizing it, were supplying the things which they were not using properly. In the same way, all the teachings of the pagans have counterfeit and superstitious notions and oppressive burdens of useless labor. Any one of us, leaving the association of pagans with Christ as our leader, ought to abominate and shun them.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
It was by God's special order and appointment that the Israelites did what they did, which was sufficient to justify them, and bear them out; but what they did will by no means authorize others (who cannot pretend to any such warrant) to do the same.
And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians,....
How the passage was read
On Exodus 12:1-51On Exodus 12:1-51
The night Israel still keeps
This chapter founds Passover, in Hebrew Pesach, the spring feast that remembers the night God struck Egypt's firstborn and passed over the blood-marked houses. Jewish families keep it to this day with a ceremonial meal called the seder (Hebrew for “order”): unleavened flatbread (matzah), bitter herbs, cups of wine, and the retelling of this chapter's story, with the children asking the questions.
Honesty about the timeline helps the reader: in the Bible's own period the center of the feast was the lamb, slain and eaten as this chapter commands. The seder as now practiced took its shape after the Temple fell in AD 70 and the lamb could no longer be offered; its oldest written outline is in the Mishnah, the first code of Jewish oral law (about AD 200), which already includes the four cups and the rule that “in every generation a person must see himself as if he personally came out of Egypt.”
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Pesachim 10 (the seder's oldest outline) · Mishnah Pesachim 10:5 (“in every generation”) · The Feasts of the LORD (this site's study)
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיהוָ֞ה | vayahweh | and Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| נָתַ֨ן | natan | he gave | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| חֵ֥ן | chen | [the] favor of | H2580 → | 69 times |
| הָעָ֛ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| בְּעֵינֵ֥י | beeinei | in [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| מִצְרַ֖יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| וַיַּשְׁאִל֑וּם | vaiyashilum | and they granted [the] request them | H7592 → | 171 times |
| וַֽיְנַצְּל֖וּ | vaynatzelu | and they plundered | H5337 → | 212 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִצְרָֽיִם׃ פ | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
וַֽיהוָ֞הand Yahweh
vayahwehH3068 →6520 times
נָתַ֨ןhe gave
natanH5414 →2011 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
חֵ֥ן[the] favor of
chenH2580 →69 times
הָעָ֛םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
בְּעֵינֵ֥יin [the] eyes of
beeineiH5869 →887 times
מִצְרַ֖יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
וַיַּשְׁאִל֑וּםand they granted [the] request them
vaiyashilumH7592 →171 times
וַֽיְנַצְּל֖וּand they plundered
vaynatzeluH5337 →212 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מִצְרָֽיִם׃ פEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 105:37He brought Israel out with silver and gold, and none among His tribes stumbled.
it leads to
- Exodus 12:35–36
Furthermore, the Israelites acted on Moses’ word and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold, and for clothing.
- Exodus 3:22
Every woman shall ask her neighbor and any woman staying in her house for silver and gold jewelry and clothing, and you will put them on your sons and daughters. So you will plunder…
- Exodus 12:35–36
Through
Acts 7:10and rescued him from all his troubles. He granted Joseph favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household.
it leads to
- Proverbs 3:4
Then you will find favor and high regard in the sight of God and man.
- 2 Timothy 4:18
And the Lord will rescue me from every evil action and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
- Proverbs 2:6
For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
- Genesis 48:16
the angel who has redeemed me from all harm—may He bless these boys. And may they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they grow…
- Psalms 22:24
For He has not despised or detested the torment of the afflicted. He has not hidden His face from him, but has attended to his cry for help.
- Proverbs 3:4
Through
Genesis 15:14But I will judge the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will depart with many possessions.
it leads to
- Nehemiah 9:9–11
You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt; You heard their cry at the Red Sea.
- Nehemiah 9:9–11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Augustine of Hippo, ON CHRISTIAN TEACHING 2.40.60; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.