Text: Ezra 1:4
OT Text Referred to: Exodus 12:36
Subject: contributions from neighbors
Source: Keil and Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament (1866)
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): Typology
Anchor Text: Exod 12 — The Passover
Significance: Exodus 12:36 records that the LORD gave Israel favor (חֵן, chen) in the sight of the Egyptians so they "plundered" (נָצַל, natsal) Egypt, receiving silver, gold, and clothing. Ezra 1:4 echoes this when Cyrus decrees that surrounding peoples supply the returning exiles with silver, gold, goods, and livestock. Both texts describe God moving pagan hearts to enrich His departing people—in Exodus through divine favor granted to slaves, in Ezra through a royal decree from a Persian king. The parallel signals that the return from Babylon recapitulates the exodus pattern: deliverance accompanied by the wealth of the nations flowing to the covenant community.