What Does Exodus 12:35 Mean?
And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses, and they asked of the Egyptians vessels of silver and vessels of gold and garments.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment:THE KEY
The Hebrew verb holds the asking inside the departure, making release a transfer of what is requested.
THE MEANING
This passage opens your sense of release beyond mere escape: here, the people leave with silver, gold, and clothing. The Hebrew verb also means “ask,” and the next verse says the Egyptians give them what they ask for.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that leaving oppression means leaving empty-handed: here, the departure includes a transfer of goods.
THE ROOT
וַיִּשְׁאֲלוּ
wayyišʾălû
GROWS FROM
שׁאל
to ask or request; to seek something from another
“asked” in this verse is wayyišʾălû. The English “borrowed” names how the exchange reads in English; the Hebrew verb also keeps the asking in view. The next verse says the Egyptians give what is requested, so the root reveals the transfer as the answer to that request.
ALSO GROWS
sha'al: to ask or request
שָׁאַל
This verb is the root’s basic action, placing the request at the center of the exchange.
she'elah: a request or question
שְׁאֵלָה
This noun makes the root’s asking explicit: the goods move in response to something sought.
Sha'ul: Saul; the asked-for one
שָׁאוּל
The name comes from the same root, carrying the sense of one who is asked for or requested.
THE PATTERN
Release becomes tangible when what is requested moves from another’s hands into the hands of those departing.
But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, and of the one who sojourns in her house, vessels of silver and vessels of gold and garments. And you shall place them upon your sons and upon your daughters, and you shall strip the Egyptians.He brought them out with silver and gold, and among his tribes there was not one stumbling.Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours, do not demand it back.THE THREAD
But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, and of the one who sojourns in her house, vessels of silver and vessels of gold and garments. And you shall place them upon your sons and upon your daughters, and you shall strip the Egyptians.The same Hebrew verb שָׁאַל (sha’al; to ask or request) appears in both verses. Exodus 3:22 places the request in the word already given; Exodus 12:35 shows that request taking shape as the people leave with the goods.
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