Ezekiel the Tragedian on the Despoliation of Egypt

Abstract

This article argues that, in his Exagoge, Ezekiel the Tragedian answers contemporary anti-Jewish charges publicly in a theater piece on the exodus. Ezekiel shapes the fair wage argument, as it is found in Jub. 48.18 and Wis. 10.16, to depict the plundering of Egypt as relatively inconsequential free-will gifts. Ezekiel uniquely claims that only Israelite and Egyptian women participated in the event taking no more than that which could have been carried by a single person. What happened was not excessive pillaging but a reasonable fair wage under the supervision of Divine Providence.