Exodus 12:36

Hebrew Bible

34 So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, with their kneading troughs bound up in their clothing on their shoulders. 35 Now the Israelites had done as Moses told them—they had requested from the Egyptians silver and gold items and clothing. 36 The Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, and they gave them whatever they wanted, and so they plundered Egypt. 37 The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Sukkoth. There were about 600,000 men on foot, plus their dependents. 38 A mixed multitude also went up with them, and flocks and herds—a very large number of cattle.

Judith 15:6

Deuterocanon

4 Uzziah sent men to Betomasthaim and Choba and Kola, and to all the frontiers of Israel, to tell what had taken place and to urge all to rush out upon the enemy to destroy them. 5 When the Israelites heard it, with one accord they fell upon the enemy, and cut them down as far as Choba. Those in Jerusalem and all the hill country also came, for they were told what had happened in the camp of the enemy. The men in Gilead and in Galilee outflanked them with great slaughter, even beyond Damascus and its borders. 6 The rest of the people of Bethulia fell upon the Assyrian camp and plundered it, acquiring great riches. 7 And the Israelites, when they returned from the slaughter, took possession of what remained. Even the villages and towns in the hill country and in the plain got a great amount of booty, since there was a vast quantity of it. 8 Then the high priest Joakim and the elders of the Israelites who lived in Jerusalem came to witness the good things that the Lord had done for Israel, and to see Judith and to wish her well.

 Notes and References

"... Judith 15 ... As the Assyrian troops flee, the Israelite soldiers attack them. But now they are not alone. All the Israelites from Galilee in the north to Jerusalem in the south and Gilead to the east come to join the battle. They drive the Assyrians even as far north as Damascus. All this military force has apparently been waiting to see the fate of Bethulia before they took action. The report of plundering the Assyrians is equally exaggerated. The people of Bethulia first plunder the camp, then all the soldiers who returned from the slaughter. Towns and villages all around take their share. They spend thirty days gathering up the plunder. It seems the whole country is enriched with the goods in the Assyrian camp. Judith too gets her share of the goods, everything of value that was in Holofernes’s tent. Ever resourceful, she hitches up her mule cart and takes the bounty home. She is now even more wealthy than before. The description is amazing. Why was all this wealth in the camp of a besieging army? Did they leave nothing behind for Nebuchadnezzar? The point seems to be that the Assyrians are totally defeated and the Israelites now totally secure. The celebration is not only about riches, however. The officials from Jerusalem come to see what has happened and to congratulate Judith. They sing another blessing over her and all the people respond with their Amen ... in the tradition of holy war, the women perform the victory dance. The tradition begins with Miriam, who leads all the women in celebrating God’s deliverance of the people at the Reed Sea (Exodus 15). A more tragic example is that of Jephthah’s daughter, who, not knowing that her father had promised to give thanks by sacrificing the first living thing that came out of his house, rushes out with song and dance to celebrate his victory over the Ammonites (Judges 11:34). There is no thought of tragedy in Judith’s victory dance, however. All the women crown themselves with olive leaves, while even the men join in the singing. The words of Judith’s song follow in the next chapter ..."

Durken, Daniel The New Collegeville Bible Commentary: In One Volume (pp. 768-769) Liturgical Press, 2017

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