"During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said,
'Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites!
Go, worship the LORD as you have requested.
Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me.'
The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country.
'For otherwise,' they said, 'we will all die!'
So the people took their dough before the yeast was added,
and carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs wrapped in clothing.
The Israelites did as Moses instructed
and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing.
The LORD had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people,
and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians."
Exodus 12:31-36 (NIV)
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Pharaoh has finally gotten the message. He realizes that if he continues to rebel, he and his nation will be destroyed. He urges Moses and the Israelites to leave immediately, along with their flocks and herds.
Oddly, Pharaoh also asks Moses and Aaron for a blessing. He may not understand everything which is going on, but he seems to have at least realized that the LORD is powerful, holding the authority over life and death, and that Moses and Aaron are His spokesmen.
The other Egyptians also urge the Israelites to hurry and get out of their country. They, too, fear for their lives. They are so anxious that the Israelites have to leave before they have even finished preparing their daily bread. They have not yet added yeast, so the dough is wrapped up in clothing and carried with them as they depart.
The Israelites also follow Moses' instructions and request gifts of silver and gold and clothing from the Egyptians, who are more than eager to comply as long as they leave immediately. In this way they plunder the Egyptians, although this is more than fair, since they had been enslaved by (and had labored for) the nation for over 400 years.
