Exodus 12:38Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

St. Eustathius found himself amidst the adversaries of the Church, engaging them in conflict and thereby providing immense protection for the faithful. Through his actions, he infused the genuine faith into all around him. This mirrors the experience of Moses and Aaron, who, like leaven among the Egyptians, inspired many to fervently embrace their devotion. Moses himself corroborates this, affirming that ‘a great multitude of diverse people went out’ alongside the Israelites.

Cook suggests that when the Hebrews departed, they included all the Semitic people who had either come to Egypt under various circumstances or had been previously brought in by the Hyksos, who were expelled by Aames. It is understandable that they would be apprehensive about staying in a land where the Semites were held in such hostility, thus seizing the chance to escape Pharaoh's rule. It is quite possible that many of them chose not to align with Israel, opting instead to join other Semitic groups in the wilderness. As noted earlier, the exodus of a large number of Israelites through the wilderness, especially with children, was unimaginable without livestock; this is why Moses emphasized this necessity so strongly before Pharaoh (10:9 and 26).