108. Jewelry at Religious Feasts

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Exodus 3:2222But every woman shall borrow of her neighbor, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians. (Exodus 3:22). Every woman shall borrow of her neighbor, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.
With the controversy that has arisen among commentators in reference to the meaning of the borrowing, the lending, and the spoiling, spoken of in this text and in Exodus 11:1-3; 12:35-361And the Lord said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether. 2Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold. 3And the Lord 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. (Exodus 11:1‑3)
35And 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: 36And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians. (Exodus 12:35‑36), we have nothing to do in this work. (Those who desire to see an exhaustive presentation of the various views of commentators on this subject may find it in Kurtz's History of the Old Covenant, (Clark’s Foreign Theological Library,) vol. 2, pp. 319-334. Kurtz's conclusion is, “that the articles were not obtained by borrowing and purloining, but were spoils which came to the Israelites in the shape of presents, though they were forced from the Egyptians by moral constraint.”)
We notice the text only as it has reference to Eastern customs. It must be remembered that the Israelites were about to go into the wilderness to sacrifice to Jehovah. Roberts says: “When the Orientals go to their sacred festivals they always put on their best jewels. Not to appear before the gods in such a way they consider would be disgraceful to themselves and displeasing to the deities. A person whose clothes or jewels are indifferent will borrow of his richer neighbors; and nothing is more common than to see poor people standing before the temples, or engaged in sacred ceremonies, well adorned with jewels.” Oriental Illustrations, p. 70.
If this custom obtained among the ancient Egyptians, the transaction recorded in the text would be perfectly natural.