During the past few years one of the "hot" topics of discussion in the African-American community has been the possibility of the federal government paying reparations to the descendants of slaves.

It is, of course, ridiculous to demand payment from people who never owned slaves to people who were never slaves themselves. But this creative legal "thought" spreads around the world.

A group of Egyptians is planning a lawsuit against "all the Jews of the world," for theft of gold, jewelry and other valuable items when the Jews fled Pharoah's Egypt several thousand years ago.

The Egyptian "lawyers" are attempting to calculate exactly how much was "stolen."

"If we assume that the weight of what was stolen was one ton, [its worth] doubled every 20 years, even if the annual interest is only 5%. In one ton of gold is 700 kg of pure gold – and we must remember that what was stolen was jewelry, that is, alloyed with copper. Hence, after 1,000 years, it would be worth 1,125,898,240 million tons, which equals 1,125,898 billion tons for 1,000 years. In other words, 1,125 trillion tons of gold, that is, a million multiplied by a million tons of gold. This is for one stolen ton. The stolen gold is estimated at 300 tons, and it was not stolen for 1,000 years, but for 5,758 years, by the Jewish reckoning. Therefore, the debt is very large…

"The value must be calculated precisely in accordance with the information collected, and afterward a lawsuit must be filed against all the Jews of the world, and against the Jews of Israel in particular, so they will repay the Egyptians the debt that appears in the Torah."

The legal "scholars" also refer to Exodus 35 as the list of things "stolen" from Pharoah. Of course, the same verse would appear to exonerate the Jews, because it lists items given to God.

4Then Moses said to all the people, “This is what the Lord has commanded: 5-9All of you who wish to, all those with generous hearts, may bring these offerings to Jehovah:

Gold, silver, and bronze;
Blue, purple, and scarlet cloth, made of fine-twined linen or of goats’ hair;
Tanned rams’ skins and specially treated goatskins;
Acacia wood;
Olive oil for the lamps;
Spices for the anointing oil and for the incense;
Onyx stones and stones to be used for the ephod and chestpiece.

10-19“Come, all of you who are skilled craftsmen having special talents, and construct what God has commanded us:

The Tabernacle-tent, and its coverings, clasps, frames, bars, pillars, and bases;
The Ark and its poles;
The place of mercy;
The curtain to enclose the Holy Place;
The table, its carrying poles, and all of its utensils;
The Bread of the Presence;
Lamp holders, with lamps and oil;
The incense altar and its carrying poles;
The anointing oil and sweet incense;
The curtain for the door of the Tabernacle;
The altar for the burnt offerings;
The bronze grating of the altar, and its carrying poles and utensils;
The basin with its pedestal;
The drapes for the walls of the court;
The pillars and their bases;
Drapes for the entrance to the court;
The posts of the Tabernacle court, and their cords;
The beautiful clothing for the priests, to be used when ministering in the Holy Place;
The holy garments for Aaron the priest, and for his sons.”
The Living Bible, (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1997.

Of course, the Egyptians would also have to ignore the following verse: Exodus 12:35-36

And the people of Israel did as Moses said and asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. And the Lord gave the Israelis favor with the Egyptians, so that they gave them whatever they wanted. And the Egyptians were practically stripped of everything they owned!

The Living Bible, (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1997.

So, really the Egyptians have only God and themselves to blame.

However, if the lawsuit ever actually goes forward, the Jews could always claim the valuables as reparations for their generations of slavery.