Bat Kol International, Weekly Torah Nuggets

Parashat Bo. Exodus 10:1-13:16

When the Israelites finally leave Egypt, they do not leave empty-handed.

The Israelites…had asked the Egyptians for jewellery of silver and gold, and for clothing, and the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have whatever they asked. And so they plundered the Egyptians. (Exodus 12:35-36)

Many theologians, biblical scholars, and literary writers have wrestled deeply with the image of a seemingly vengeful God. They fail, for in doing so, they often preserve the violence under a different name: “purification,” “judgment,” or “re-creation.”

Why does the dispossession of the Egyptians receive divine approval? Why would the Lord support what might appear to be an enraged oppressed people taking revenge on their oppressors?

Benno Jacob (German Jewish scholar, d. 1955) resolves the question by presenting the scene in a very different light. Drawing on Deut. 23:7, “You shall not abhor any of the Egyptians”, he concludes that “asking” the Egyptians for their goods was actually a gesture of conciliation. Instead of departing enemies, both peoples, at the Israelites’ initiative, agreed to part as friends, with the Egyptians providing gifts as a sign of goodwill.

According to this interpretative path, the text speaks not of a private action of revenge or greed but of a divinely-ordained plan that ultimately benefits both peoples.

Reflection:

Can we recognise the graced acts of conciliation and peace-building to be found even when the wider picture seems to be one of human conflict and enmity?

                 Prepared by Teresa Pirola

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