14 So they took what their father said for the man, and twice as much money in their hands, and Benjamin, and went on their journey to Egypt, and came before Joseph.
Go, get together all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and go without food for me, taking no food or drink night or day for three days: and I and my women will do the same; and so I will go in to the king, which is against the law: and if death is to be my fate, then let it come.
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord came to him, and said, I am God, Ruler of all; go in my ways and be upright in all things,
When a man's ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his haters be at peace with him.
<VAU> Let your mercies come to me, O Lord, even your salvation, as you have said.
O Lord, let your ear take note of the prayer of your servant, and of the prayers of your servants, who take delight in worshipping your name: give help, O Lord, to your servant this day, and let him have mercy in the eyes of this man. (Now I was the king's wine-servant.)
His mercy is for all generations in whom is the fear of him.
To Titus, my true child in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour.
But for this reason I was given mercy, so that in me, the chief of sinners, Jesus Christ might make clear all his mercy, as an example to those who in the future would have faith in him to eternal life.
And made him free from all his troubles, and gave him wisdom and the approval of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and all his house.
And Abraham gave that place the name Yahweh-yireh: as it is said to this day, In the mountain the Lord is seen.
The king's heart in the hands of the Lord is like the water streams, and by him it is turned in any direction at his pleasure.
The wise sayings of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel.
Put your life in the hands of the Lord; have faith in him and he will do it. And he will make your righteousness be seen like the light, and your cause like the shining of the sun. Take your rest in the Lord, waiting quietly for him; do not be angry because of the man who does well in his evil ways, and gives effect to his bad designs.
Praise be to the Lord, the God of our fathers, who has put such a thing into the heart of the king, to make fair the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem;
And turning away from them, he was overcome with weeping; then he went on talking to them again and took Simeon and put chains on him before their eyes.
But the Lord was with Joseph, and was good to him, and made the keeper of the prison his friend.
Be my saviour from the hand of Esau, my brother: for my fear is that he will make an attack on me, putting to death mother and child. And you said, Truly, I will be good to you, and make your seed like the sand of the sea which may not be numbered. Then he put up his tent there for the night; and from among his goods he took, as an offering for his brother Esau, Two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats, two hundred females and twenty males from the sheep, Thirty camels with their young ones, forty cows, ten oxen, twenty asses, and ten young asses. These he gave to his servants, every herd by itself, and he said to his servants, Go on before me, and let there be a space between one herd and another. And he gave orders to the first, saying, When my brother Esau comes to you and says, Whose servant are you, and where are you going, and whose are these herds? Then say to him, These are your servant Jacob's; they are an offering for my lord, for Esau; and he himself is coming after us. And he gave the same orders to the second and the third and to all those who were with the herds, saying, This is what you are to say to Esau when you see him; And you are to say further, Jacob, your servant, is coming after us. For he said to himself, I will take away his wrath by the offering which I have sent on, and then I will come before him: it may be that I will have grace in his eyes. So the servants with the offerings went on in front, and he himself took his rest that night in the tents with his people. And in the night he got up, and taking with him his two wives and the two servant-women and his eleven children, he went over the river Jabbok. He took them and sent them over the stream with all he had. Then Jacob was by himself; and a man was fighting with him till dawn. But when the man saw that he was not able to overcome Jacob, he gave him a blow in the hollow part of his leg, so that his leg was damaged. And he said to him, Let me go now, for the dawn is near. But Jacob said, I will not let you go till you have given me your blessing. Then he said, What is your name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel: for in your fight with God and with men you have overcome.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Genesis 43
Commentary on Genesis 43 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 43
Ge 43:1-14. Preparations for a Second Journey to Egypt.
2. their father said, … Go again, buy us a little food—It was no easy matter to bring Jacob to agree to the only conditions on which his sons could return to Egypt (Ge 42:15). The necessity of immediately procuring fresh supplies for the maintenance of themselves and their families overcame every other consideration and extorted his consent to Benjamin joining in a journey, which his sons entered on with mingled feelings of hope and anxiety—of hope, because having now complied with the governor's demand to bring down their youngest brother, they flattered themselves that the alleged ground of suspecting them would be removed; and of apprehension that some ill designs were meditated against them.
11. take of the best fruits … a present—It is an Oriental practice never to approach a man of power without a present, and Jacob might remember how he pacified his brother (Pr 21:14)—balm, spices, and myrrh (see on Ge 37:25),
honey—which some think was dibs, a syrup made from ripe dates [Bochart]; but others, the honey of Hebron, which is still valued as far superior to that of Egypt;
nuts—pistachio nuts, of which Syria grows the best in the world;
almonds—which were most abundant in Palestine.
12. take double money—the first sum to be returned, and another sum for a new supply. The restored money in the sacks' mouth was a perplexing circumstance. But it might have been done inadvertently by one of the servants—so Jacob persuaded himself—and happy it was for his own peace and the encouragement of the travellers that he took this view. Besides the duty of restoring it, honesty in their case was clearly the best, the safest policy.
14. God Almighty give you mercy before the man—Jacob is here committing them all to the care of God and, resigned to what appears a heavy trial, prays that it may be overruled for good.
Ge 43:15-30. Arrival in Egypt.
15. stood before Joseph—We may easily imagine the delight with which, amid the crowd of other applicants, the eye of Joseph would fix on his brethren and Benjamin. But occupied with his public duties, he consigned them to the care of a confidential servant till he should have finished the business of the day.
16. ruler of his house—In the houses of wealthy Egyptians one upper man servant was intrusted with the management of the house (compare Ge 39:5).
slay, and make ready—Hebrew, "kill a killing"—implying preparations for a grand entertainment (compare Ge 31:54; 1Sa 25:11; Pr 9:2; Mt 22:4). The animals have to be killed as well as prepared at home. The heat of the climate requires that the cook should take the joints directly from the hands of the flesher, and the Oriental taste is, from habit, fond of newly killed meat. A great profusion of viands, with an inexhaustible supply of vegetables, was provided for the repasts, to which strangers were invited, the pride of Egyptian people consisting rather in the quantity and variety than in the choice or delicacy of the dishes at their table.
dine … at noon—The hour of dinner was at midday.
18. the men were afraid—Their feelings of awe on entering the stately mansion, unaccustomed as they were to houses at all, their anxiety at the reasons of their being taken there, their solicitude about the restored money, their honest simplicity in communicating their distress to the steward and his assurances of having received their money in "full weight," the offering of their fruit present, which would, as usual, be done with some parade, and the Oriental salutations that passed between their host and them—are all described in a graphic and animated manner.
Ge 43:31-34. The Dinner.
31. Joseph said, Set on bread—equivalent to having dinner served, "bread" being a term inclusive of all victuals. The table was a small stool, most probably the usual round form, "since persons might even then be seated according to their rank or seniority, and the modern Egyptian table is not without its post of honor and a fixed gradation of place" [Wilkinson]. Two or at most three persons were seated at one table. But the host being the highest in rank of the company had a table to himself; while it was so arranged that an Egyptian was not placed nor obliged to eat from the same dish as a Hebrew.
32. Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination—The prejudice probably arose from the detestation in which, from the oppressions of the shepherd-kings, the nation held all of that occupation.
34. took and sent messes … Benjamin's mess was five times—In Egypt, as in other Oriental countries, there were, and are, two modes of paying attention to a guest whom the host wishes to honor—either by giving a choice piece from his own hand, or ordering it to be taken to the stranger. The degree of respect shown consists in the quantity, and while the ordinary rule of distinction is a double mess, it must have appeared a very distinguished mark of favor bestowed on Benjamin to have no less than five times any of his brethren.
they drank, and were merry with him—Hebrew, "drank freely" (same as So 5:1; Joh 2:10). In all these cases the idea of intemperance is excluded. The painful anxieties and cares of Joseph's brethren were dispelled, and they were at ease.