The Questions

The implication of this derivation is that the gifts the Jewish people received after leaving Egypt were legally classified as severance gifts. But there are a few important distinctions between the two scenarios.

1. A severance gift must be given by the owner. But in the Jew’s redemption, it was G-d who gifted them with the spoils, not the Egyptian slaveholders.
2. A severance gift must be an item that is “in the realm of blessing,” meaning, things that can regenerate themselves, such as flock. Yet G-d gifted the people utensils which are not valid for severance gifts.
3. Most critically, if this verse refers to the Egyptian spoils as precedent for the command of severance gifts, then why does the verse make no mention of these gifts! “And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and...God, redeemed you; therefore, I am commanding you this thing today.”