Exodus 12:35

12:35 Now the Israelites had done ¹  as Moses told them – they had requested from the Egyptians ²  silver and gold items and clothing.

Exodus 11:2

11:2 Instruct ³  the people that each man and each woman is to request ⁴  from his or her neighbor ⁵  items of silver and gold.” ⁶ 

Exodus 18:7

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

[12:35]  ¹ tn The verbs “had done” and then “had asked” were accomplished prior to the present narrative (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 99). The verse begins with disjunctive word order to introduce the reminder of earlier background information.

[12:35]  ² tn Heb “from Egypt.” Here the Hebrew text uses the name of the country to represent the inhabitants (a figure known as metonymy).

[11:2]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn “each man is to request from his neighbor and each woman from her neighbor.”

[11:2]  ⁶ 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).