A passage from Berakhot 9b (including Steinsaltz’s interpolations) reads as follows:
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“And the Lord gave the nation grace in the eyes of Egypt, and they gave them what they requested, and they emptied Egypt” (Exodus 12:36), Rabbi Ami said, “This teaches that the Egyptians gave them what they requested against their will.” There is a dispute with regard to the question: Against whose will? Some say it was given against the will of the Egyptians, and some say it was given against the will of Israel. The proponent of each position cites support for his opinion.
The one who said that it was given against the will of the Egyptians cites the verse describing Israel’s exit from Egypt, as it is written: “And she who tarries at home divides the spoils” (Psalms 68:13). That which the woman in the verse requested from her counterpart was actually spoils taken against the will of an enemy. The one who said that it was given against the will of Israel claims that they did not want the vessels because of the burden of carrying a heavy load on a long journey.
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In Berachot 9b, the Sages discuss this verse:
“וְאַחֲרֵי כֵן יֵצְאוּ בִּרְכֻשׁ גָּדוֹל” “And afterward they shall leave with great possessions.” (Genesis 15:14)
The people complain that although the prophecy of slavery was fulfilled, the promise of “great possessions” was not fulfilled in the way they expected.
The brief but intricate discussion in Berakhot 9b about the spoils taken from Egypt turns on a deceptively simple question: when Exodus 12:36 says that the Israelites “emptied Egypt,” whose will was overridden in the process? The Torah states that the Egyptians “gave them what they requested,” but the rabbis detect an ambiguity beneath the surface. Did the Egyptians give their valuables unwillingly, compelled by divine pressure? Or did the Israelites themselves accept the items unwillingly, burdened by the prospect of carrying heavy objects into the desert? To resolve this tension, the Talmud turns to a surprising source: Psalm 68.
The verse cited—“And she who tarries at home divides the spoils” (Psalm 68:13)—is read midrashically as a description of Israel’s departure from Egypt. In its biblical context, the psalm celebrates God’s triumph over enemies and the distribution of spoils after battle. The Talmud seizes on this imagery: spoils, by definition, are taken from an enemy who does not willingly relinquish them. By invoking this verse, the rabbis align the Exodus narrative with the imagery of military victory. The Israelites are not passive recipients of Egyptian generosity; they are victors receiving spoils from a defeated foe. Thus, Psalm 68 becomes a proof‑text for the view that the valuables were given against the will of the Egyptians.
This interpretive move is characteristic of rabbinic hermeneutics. Rather than reading Exodus in isolation, the rabbis weave together disparate biblical texts to illuminate theological meaning. Psalm 68, a poem of divine triumph, becomes a lens through which the Exodus is reframed as an act of divine conquest. The Egyptians’ “giving” is not generosity but capitulation. The Israelites’ “request” is not a polite petition but a formal claim to spoils owed to them by right of liberation.
At the same time, the Talmud acknowledges an alternative reading: perhaps the valuables were taken against the will of Israel. This view imagines the Israelites reluctant to burden themselves with heavy objects on the eve of a long journey. The dispute is not merely historical; it reflects two different ways of imagining the Exodus. One emphasizes divine victory and Israel’s elevation; the other emphasizes Israel’s vulnerability and the practical hardships of redemption.
Psalm 68 tips the balance toward the first interpretation. By invoking the imagery of spoils divided after battle, the rabbis underscore that the Exodus is not simply an escape but a triumph. The Israelites leave Egypt not as fugitives but as victors, bearing the material signs of God’s power. The psalm thus functions as a theological anchor: it situates the Exodus within a broader biblical pattern in which God defeats enemies and grants Israel the spoils of victory.
In this way, the use of Psalm 68 in Berakhot 9b is not incidental. It transforms a narrative detail into a statement about divine justice, power, and the meaning of liberation. The spoils of Egypt are not merely objects; they are symbols of a world overturned, of oppressors humbled, and of a people raised up by the hand of God.