Exodus 11:1-3

"And Jehovah said unto Moses, Yet one more plague will I bring upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterward he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether. 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. And Jehovah gave the People favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt in the sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the people."

"And Jehovah said unto Moses ..." This means, "God HAD said unto Moses." "The Hebrew had no form for the pluperfect tense, and is consequently obliged to make up for the grammatical deficiency by using the simple preterite in a pluperfect sense."[3] It is precisely this perception that requires the understanding of these three verses as a parenthesis. Besides that, Exodus 11:4ff are clearly a "response to Pharaoh's threat (Exodus 10:29)."[4] And even beyond this, the necessity for this parenthesis appears in its utility as giving the basis for Moses' confident reply to Pharaoh's threat of death (Exodus 10:29). Moses now knew that victory was Jehovah's, and that the people would soon be delivered. Some scholars have supposed that these three verses record what was revealed to Moses during that last interview, which, of course could be true, but we think the more reasonable explanation that Moses, writing long after the events, included them here as an explanation, not only of his confident reply to Pharaoh, but also of other events such as the willingness of the Egyptians to give their treasures to the Israelites.

"When he shall let you go, he shall thrust you out hence altogether ..." The New English Bible's rendition of this is: "He will send you packing, as a man dismisses a rejected bride ..." Such a corrupted "translation" is an assault upon the Holy Bible. Such is not in the text! In order to get it, the scholars "emend" the Hebrew (meaning that they simply change it).[5] "Another matter - the original does not, of course, represent God as using a colloquialism such as `to send packing."[6] Both Keil and Cook preferred a rendition of this passage which would give this meaning: "When at last he lets you depart (with children flocks, herds, and all your possessions), he will compel you to depart in haste."[7] Keil accomplished the same meaning by transfer of the word altogether, thus: "When he lets you go altogether, he will even drive you away."[8]

"Let them ask every man of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor ..." In Exodus 3:22 only women were mentioned as requesting treasures of the Egyptians, but here the men too are included. "This is not a contradiction, just an enlargement of the command."[9]

"Jewels of silver, and jewels of gold ..." The words and raiment should also be added to the items requested, according to "The Greek (LXX) and Samaritan versions."[10]

"And Jehovah gave the people favor in the eyes of the Egyptians ..." Apparently, Moses offered an explanation of this in the words that followed: "The man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, etc." Aside from the providential nature of the favor here mentioned, we may discern the following reasons why the Egyptians so readily parted with their possessions.

1. Fear must have entered into it. They had already experienced many disasters through their stubborn monarch's refusal to grant Moses' requests.
   
2. Guilt also played a part. Not only had the population exploited shamelessly the Hebrew slaves, but, at one time, they had aided the Pharaoh in a policy of genocide by helping enforce the edict against Hebrew male infants. Both of these reasons were cited by Huey.[11]
   
3. "The circumstances of the times had exalted Moses and made him to be very great, so that there was a general inclination to carry out his wishes."[12]
   

"Ask of his neighbor ... ask of her neighbor ..." The unfortunate rendition of the word "ask" as "borrow" in the King James version has led to a misunderstanding here. There is not the slightest hint anywhere in this passage that any of the articles asked would ever be RETURNED. Neither the Jews nor the Hebrews so understood this "asking." Objections to this on moral grounds are ridiculous. It was the Egyptians, not the Hebrews, whose conduct was reprehensible. The Egyptians were guilty of sin, exploitation, and enslavement. We feel a resentment against those allegations of immorality against the Hebrews found in some writings. Long, long ago, previously, God Himself had promised Abraham that his posterity would come out of their land of privations with "great substance" (Genesis 15:14), and neither genocide nor enslavement could negate the promise of God. What a phenomenal lack of discernment there is in a comment that, "The purpose of asking their neighbors for valuable possessions was to profit at the expense of the Egyptians!"[13]

The critical objection that there is anything improper or unnatural about Moses' words in Exodus 11:3 concerning himself is weak and ineffectual. Did Moses really write this? "Why not? It was the truth. Compare the way Paul wrote of himself (2 Corinthians 10:8-14), and the way Nehemiah wrote of himself (Nehemiah 5:18-19)."[14] There is evident no vain-glory on Moses' part. His mention of his greatness in Egypt and in the sight of the Egyptians was for the purpose of explaining why "the ornaments were so generously given."[15] In addition, "It is highly improbable that any writer other than himself would have so baldly and bluntly designated Moses as the man Moses!"[16]