Exodus 11:2
in Exodus 11Now announce to the people that men and women alike should ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Speak now in the ears of the people, and let them ask every man of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.
KJV
Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.
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This verse in Exodus 11
Commentary
5 notes on this verseWhat say you? Thus it has pleased him that you should come forth out of Egypt, the iron furnace; that you should leave behind the idolatry of that country and be led by Moses and his lawgiving and martial rule. I give you a piece of advice which is not my own, or rather which is very much my own, if you consider the matter spiritually. Borrow from the Egyptians vessels of gold and silver. With these take your journey. Supply yourself for the road with the goods of strangers, or rather with your own.
This site's exposition
ask their neighbors for articles
on Exodus 11:2-3
The instruction repeats the promise of 3:21 and 3:22 that the people would not leave empty-handed, and 12:35 reports it done. Adam Clarke argues that the King James borrow misrepresents the Hebrew shaal, the ordinary verb for asking.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Speak now in the ears of the people,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Let every man borrow - For a proper correction of the strange mistranslation of the word שאל shaal in this verse, see Clarke’s note on Exo 3:22.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Every man - In Exo 3:22 only women were named; the command is more explicit when the time has come for its execution. Borrow - “ask.” See Exo 3:22 note.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
YET ONE PLAGUE MORE WILL I BRING UPON PHARAOH. “This [prophecy] was spoken to him while he was still standing before Pharaoh, for after he left him he did not see his face again.” Thus the language of Rashi. Our Rabbis have similarly said: 75 Shemoth Rabbah:1.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The purport thereof is that the Egyptians did not hate them because of the plagues. Instead, they conceived affection for them, and the Israelites found favor in their eyes, the Egyptians acknowledging, “we are the wicked ones.
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.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| דַּבֶּר־ | daber- | speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| נָ֖א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| בְּאָזְנֵ֣י | beazenei | in [the] ears of | H241 → | 187 times |
| הָעָ֑ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וְיִשְׁאֲל֞וּ | veyishalu | so they may ask | H7592 → | 171 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ׀ | ʾish | everyone [masc] | H376 → | 1663 times |
| מֵאֵ֣ת | meet | from with | H854 → | 929 times |
| רֵעֵ֗הוּ | reehu | neighbor [masc] his | H7453 → | 188 times |
| וְאִשָּׁה֙ | veishah | and everyone [fem] | H802 → | 781 times |
| מֵאֵ֣ת | meet | from with | H854 → | 929 times |
| רְעוּתָ֔הּ | reutah | neighbor [fem] her | H7468 → | |
| כְּלֵי־ | kelei- | articles of | H3627 → | 325 times |
| כֶ֖סֶף | khesef | silver | H3701 → | 403 times |
| וּכְלֵ֥י | ukhelei | and articles of | H3627 → | 325 times |
| זָהָֽב׃ | zahav | gold | H2091 → | 389 times |
דַּבֶּר־speak
daber-H1696 →1141 times
נָ֖אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
בְּאָזְנֵ֣יin [the] ears of
beazeneiH241 →187 times
הָעָ֑םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
וְיִשְׁאֲל֞וּso they may ask
veyishaluH7592 →171 times
אִ֣ישׁ׀everyone [masc]
ʾishH376 →1663 times
מֵאֵ֣תfrom with
meetH854 →929 times
רֵעֵ֗הוּneighbor [masc] his
reehuH7453 →188 times
וְאִשָּׁה֙and everyone [fem]
veishahH802 →781 times
מֵאֵ֣תfrom with
meetH854 →929 times
רְעוּתָ֔הּneighbor [fem] her
reutahH7468 →
כְּלֵי־articles of
kelei-H3627 →325 times
כֶ֖סֶףsilver
khesefH3701 →403 times
וּכְלֵ֥יand articles of
ukheleiH3627 →325 times
זָהָֽב׃gold
zahavH2091 →389 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 24:1The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and all who dwell therein.
it leads to
- Psalms 89:11
The heavens are Yours, and also the earth. The earth and its fullness You founded.
- 1 Corinthians 10:26
for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.”
- 1 Chronicles 29:11
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in heaven and on earth belongs to You. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom,…
- Job 41:11
Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Everything under heaven is Mine.
- Deuteronomy 10:14
Behold, to the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, and the earth and everything in it.
- Psalms 89:11
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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 15:14
But I will judge the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will depart with many possessions.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 12:35–36
Through
Matthew 20:15Do I not have the right to do as I please with what is mine? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
it leads to
- Romans 9:15–24
For He says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
- Romans 9:15–24
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
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); Gregory of Nazianzus, ORATION 45.20; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch.