1 And he commanded him who was over his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry; and put every man's money in the mouth of his sack.
2 And put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his grain-money. And he did according to the word of Joseph which he had spoken.
3 In the morning, when it was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses.
4 They were gone out of the city, [and] not [yet] far off, when Joseph said to him who was over his house, Up! follow after the men; and when thou overtakest them, thou shalt say to them, Why have ye rewarded evil for good?
5 Is not this [it] in which my lord drinks, and in which indeed he divines? Ye have done evil [in] what ye have done.
6 And he overtook them, and he spoke to them these words.
7 And they said to him, Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from thy servants to do such a thing!
8 Behold, the money that we found in our sacks' mouths we have brought again to thee from the land of Canaan; and how should we steal out of thy lord's house silver or gold?
9 With whomsoever of thy servants it is found, let him die; and we also will be my lord's bondmen.
10 And he said, Now also [let] it [be] according to your words: let him with whom it is found be my bondman, but ye shall be blameless.
11 And they hasted and laid down every man his sack on the ground, and opened every man his sack.
12 And he searched carefully: he began at the eldest, and ended at the youngest; and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.
13 Then they rent their clothes, and loaded every man his ass, and they returned to the city.
14 And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house; and he was still there; and they fell down before him to the ground.
15 And Joseph said to them, What deed is this which ye have done? Did ye not know that such a man as I can certainly divine?
16 And Judah said, What shall we say to my lord? what shall we speak, and how justify ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of thy servants; behold, we are my lord's bondmen, both we, and he in whose hand the cup has been found.
17 And he said, Far be it from me to do so! The man in whose hand the cup has been found, he shall be my bondman; but as for you, go up in peace to your father.
18 Then Judah came near to him, and said, Ah! my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant; for thou art even as Pharaoh.
19 My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother?
20 And we said to my lord, We have an aged father, and a child born to him in his old age, [yet] young; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother; and his father loves him.
21 And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down to me, that I may set mine eye on him.
22 And we said to my lord, The youth cannot leave his father: if he should leave his father, [his father] would die.
23 And thou saidst to thy servants, Unless your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more.
24 And it came to pass when we came up to thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.
25 And our father said, Go again, buy us a little food.
26 But we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down; for we cannot see the man's face unless our youngest brother is with us.
27 And thy servant my father said to us, Ye know that my wife bore me two [sons];
28 and the one went out from me, and I said, He must certainly have been torn in pieces; and I have not seen him [again] hitherto.
29 And if ye take this one also from me, and mischief should befall him, ye will bring down my grey hairs with misery to Sheol.
30 And now, when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad is not with us, -- seeing that his life is bound up with his life,
31 it will come to pass when he sees that the lad is not [there], that he will die; and thy servants will bring down the grey hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to Sheol.
32 For thy servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying, If I bring him not to thee, then I shall be guilty toward my father all my days.
33 And now, let thy servant stay, I pray thee, instead of the lad a bondman to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brethren;
34 for how should I go up to my father if the lad were not with me? -- lest I see the evil that would come on my father.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Genesis 44
Commentary on Genesis 44 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
The Test. - After the dinner Joseph had his brothers' sacks filled by his steward with corn, as much as they could hold, and every one's money placed inside; and in addition to that, had his own silver goblet put into Benjamin's sack.
Then as soon as it was light ( אור , 3rd pers. perf. in o: Ges. §72, 1), they were sent away with their asses. But they were hardly outside the town, “not far off,” when he directed his steward to follow the men, and as soon as he overtook them, to say, “ Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good? Is it not this from which my lord drinketh, and he is accustomed to prophesy from it? Ye have done an evil deed! ” By these words they were accused of theft; the thing was taken for granted as well known to them all, and the goblet purloined was simply described as a very valuable possession of Joseph's. נחשׁ : lit., to whisper, to mumble out formularies, incantations, then to prophesy, divinare . According to this, the Egyptians at that time practised λεκανοσκοπίη or λεκανομαντεία and ὑδρομαντεία , the plate and water incantations, of which Jamblichus speaks ( de myst . iii. 14), and which consisted in pouring clean water into a goblet, and then looking into the water for representations of future events; or in pouring water into a goblet or dish, dropping in pieces of gold and silver, also precious stones, and then observing and interpreting the appearances in the water (cf. Varro apud August. civ. Dei 7, 35; Plin. h. n. 37, 73; Strabo , xvi. p. 762). Traces of this have been continued even to our own day (see Norden's Journey through Egypt and Nubia). But we cannot infer with certainty from this, that Joseph actually adopted this superstitious practice. The intention of the statement may simply have been to represent the goblet as a sacred vessel, and Joseph as acquainted with the most secret things (Genesis 44:15).
In the consciousness of their innocence the brethren repelled this charge with indignation, and appealed to the fact that they brought back the gold which was found in their sacks, and therefore could not possibly have stolen gold or silver; and declared that whoever should be found in possession of the goblet, should be put to death, and the rest become slaves.
The man replied, “ Now let it be even ( גּם placed first for the sake of emphasis) according to your words: with whom it is found, he shall be my slave, and ye (the rest) shall remain blameless .” Thus he modified the sentence, to assume the appearance of justice.
They then took down their sacks as quickly as possible; and he examined them, beginning with the eldest and finishing with the youngest; and the goblet was found in Benjamin's sack. With anguish and alarm at this new calamity they rent their clothes (vid., Genesis 37:34), loaded their asses again, and returned to the city. It would now be seen how they felt in their inmost hearts towards their father's favourite, who had been so distinguished by the great man of Egypt: whether now as formerly they were capable of giving up their brother, and bringing their aged father with sorrow to the grave; or whether they were ready, with unenvying, self-sacrificing love, to give up their own liberty and lives for him. And they stood this test.
Result of the Test. - Genesis 44:14-17. With Judah leading the way, they came into the house to Joseph, and fell down before him begging for mercy. Joseph spoke to them harshly: “ What kind of deed is this that ye have done? Did ye not know that such a man as I (a man initiated into the most secret things) would certainly divine this? ” נחשׁ augurari . Judah made no attempt at a defence. “ What shall we say to my lord? how speak, how clear ourselves? God ( Ha-Elohim , the personal God) has found out the wickedness of thy servants (i.e., He is now punishing the crime committed against our brother, cf. Genesis 42:21). Behold, we are my lord's slaves, both we, and he in whose hand the cup was found .” But Joseph would punish mildly and justly. The guilty one alone should be his slave; the others might go in peace, i.e., uninjured, to their father.
But that the brothers could not do. Judah, who had pledged himself to his father for Benjamin, ventured in the anguish of his heart to approach Joseph, and implore him to liberate his brother. “I would give very much,” says Luther , “to be able to pray to our Lord God as well as Judah prays to Joseph here; for it is a perfect specimen of prayer, the true feeling that there ought to be in prayer.” Beginning with the request for a gracious hearing, as he was speaking to the ears of one who was equal to Pharaoh (who could condemn or pardon like the king), Judah depicted in natural, affecting, powerful, and irresistible words the love of their aged father to this son of his old age, and his grief when they told him that they were not to come into the presence of the lord of Egypt again without Benjamin; the intense anxiety with which, after a severe struggle, their father had allowed him to come, after he (Judah) had offered to be answerable for his life; and the grievous fact, that if they returned without the youth, they must bring down the grey hairs of their father with sorrow to the grave.
To “ set eyes upon him ” signifies, with a gracious intention, to show him good-will (as in Jeremiah 39:12; Jeremiah 40:4).
“ That my wife bore to me two (sons):” Jacob regards Rachel alone as his actual wife (cf. Genesis 46:19).
ואמר , preceded by a preterite, is to be rendered “ and I was obliged to say, Only (nothing but) torn in pieces has he become .”
“ His soul is bound to his soul: ” equivalent to, “he clings to him with all his soul.”
Judah closed his appeal with the entreaty, “ Now let thy servant (me) remain instead of the lad as slave to my lord, but let the lad go up with his brethren; for how could I go to my father without the lad being with me! (I cannot,) that I may not see the calamity which will befall my father! ”