In September 2003 an Egyptian lawyer announced his intention to sue the world's Jews for the theft of gold during the exodus from Egypt. According to the bible, when the Israelites left Egypt "they had asked the Egyptians for jewellery of silver and gold, and for clothing ... And so they plundered the Egyptians." (Exodus 12.35-36).
The challenge has come from Nabil Hilmi, Dean of the Faculty of Law at Egypt's al-Zaqaziq University, who claims a debt may be owed. He claimed that scholars in both Egypt and Europe are seeking to establish whether the biblical record can be taken as historical fact and thus form the basis for a case.
But will the world's Jewish population counter-sure? "Hilmi's assertion that the Hebrew Bible is fact has given Israel and Jews the world over a reason to rejoice. He has opened the door for all Jews to sue Egypt for over 400 years of slavery," writer Beth Goodman told Reuters news service.
However, the case is most likely doomed. Tareq Zaghoul, a lawyer at the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights in Cairo, said it would be difficult to prove to the court that the biblical accounts could be taken as established fact.
Source: reported on The Sydney Morning Herald website September 11, 2003
Applications: exodus, bible historicity, bible reliability