The Egyptians brought their case before Alexander of Macedon, and they were confident they would win. Their claim was simple: when the Israelites left Egypt during the Exodus, they carried away enormous spoils of gold, silver, and fine garments. The Egyptians wanted it all back — with interest.
The sages of Israel were alarmed. Who could stand before Alexander the Great and argue against an entire nation? A man named Gabiha ben Pesisa stepped forward. He was no great scholar, but he had sharp wits and an even sharper tongue. "Give me permission to debate them," he said. "If I win, say it was the wisdom of Torah. If I lose, say it was just an ordinary man who failed."
Gabiha stood before the conqueror's throne and faced the Egyptian delegation. "You demand restitution for the spoils of the Exodus?" he asked. "Very well. Then let us first settle an older debt. For four hundred and thirty years, six hundred thousand Israelites labored as your slaves. You never paid them a single coin. Calculate the wages for four centuries of forced labor by an entire nation — and then we will discuss who owes whom."
The Egyptians fell silent. But Gabiha was not finished. "And while we are settling accounts," he continued, "let us also discuss the countless infant boys you drowned in the Nile. What is the price of a child?" Alexander gave the Egyptians three days to prepare a response. They never came back.