Exodus 11:2

11:2 Instruct ¹  the people that each man and each woman is to request ²  from his or her neighbor ³  items of silver and gold.” ⁴ 

Exodus 18:7

18:7 Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him; ⁵  they each asked about the other’s welfare, and then they went into the tent.

[11:2]  ¹ tn Heb “Speak now in the ears of the people.” The expression is emphatic; it seeks to ensure that the Israelites hear the instruction.

[11:2]  ² tn The verb translated “request” is וְיִשְׁאֲלוּ (vÿyish’alu), the Qal jussive: “let them ask.” This is the point introduced in Exod 3:22. The meaning of the verb might be stronger than simply “ask”; it might have something of the idea of “implore” (see also its use in the naming of Samuel, who was “asked” from Yahweh [1 Sam 1:20]).

[11:2]  ³ tn “each man is to request from his neighbor and each woman from her neighbor.”

[11:2]  ⁴ sn See D. Skinner, “Some Major Themes of Exodus,” Mid-America Theological Journal 1 (1977): 31-42.

[18:7]  ⁵ sn This is more than polite oriental custom. Jethro was Moses’ benefactor, father-in-law, and a priest. He paid much respect to him. Now he could invite Jethro into his home (see B. Jacob, Exodus, 496).