1 And the famine `is' severe in the land;
2 and it cometh to pass, when they have finished eating the corn which they brought from Egypt, that their father saith unto them, `Turn back, buy for us a little food.'
3 And Judah speaketh unto him, saying, `The man protesting protested to us, saying, Ye do not see my face without your brother `being' with you;
4 if thou art sending our brother with us, we go down, and buy for thee food,
5 and if thou art not sending -- we do not go down, for the man said unto us, Ye do not see my face without your brother `being' with you.'
6 And Israel saith, `Why did ye evil to me, by declaring to the man that ye had yet a brother?'
7 and they say, `The man asked diligently concerning us, and concerning our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye a brother? and we declare to him according to the tenor of these things; do we certainly know that he will say, Bring down your brother?'
8 And Judah saith unto Israel his father, `Send the youth with me, and we arise, and go, and live, and do not die, both we, and thou, and our infants.
9 I -- I am surety `for' him, from my hand thou dost require him; if I have not brought him in unto thee, and set him before thee -- then I have sinned against thee all the days;
10 for if we had not lingered, surely now we had returned these two times.'
11 And Israel their father saith unto them, `If so, now, this do: take of the praised thing of the land in your vessels, and take down to the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices and myrrh, nuts and almonds;
12 and double money take in your hand, even the money which is brought back in the mouth of your bags, ye take back in your hand, it may be it `is' an oversight.
13 `And take your brother, and rise, turn back unto the man;
14 and God Almighty give to you mercies before the man, so that he hath sent to you your other brother and Benjamin; and I, when I am bereaved -- I am bereaved.'
15 And the men take this present, double money also they have taken in their hand, and Benjamin; and they rise, and go down to Egypt, and stand before Joseph;
16 and Joseph seeth Benjamin with them, and saith to him who `is' over his house, `Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal, and make ready, for with me do the men eat at noon.'
17 And the man doth as Joseph hath said, and the man bringeth in the men into the house of Joseph,
18 and the men are afraid because they have been brought into the house of Joseph, and they say, `For the matter of the money which was put back in our bags at the commencement are we brought in -- to roll himself upon us, and to throw himself on us, and to take us for servants -- our asses also.'
19 And they come nigh unto the man who `is' over the house of Joseph, and speak unto him at the opening of the house,
20 and say, `O, my lord, we really come down at the commencement to buy food;
21 and it cometh to pass, when we have come in unto the lodging-place, and open our bags, that lo, each one's money `is' in the mouth of his bag, our money in its weight, and we bring it back in our hand;
22 and other money have we brought down in our hand to buy food; we have not known who put our money in our bags.'
23 And he saith, `Peace to you, fear not: your God and the God of your father hath given to you hidden treasure in your bags, your money came unto me;' and he bringeth out Simeon unto them.
24 And the man bringeth in the men into Joseph's house, and giveth water, and they wash their feet; and he giveth provender for their asses,
25 and they prepare the present until the coming of Joseph at noon, for they have heard that there they do eat bread.
26 And Joseph cometh into the house, and they bring to him the present which `is' in their hand, into the house, and bow themselves to him, to the earth;
27 and he asketh of them of peace, and saith, `Is your father well? the aged man of whom ye have spoken, is he yet alive?'
28 and they say, `Thy servant our father `is' well, he is yet alive;' and they bow, and do obeisance.
29 And he lifteth up his eyes, and seeth Benjamin his brother, his mother's son, and saith, `Is this your young brother, of whom ye have spoken unto me?' and he saith, `God favour thee, my son.'
30 And Joseph hasteth, for his bowels have been moved for his brother, and he seeketh to weep, and entereth the inner chamber, and weepeth there;
31 and he washeth his face, and goeth out, and refraineth himself, and saith, `Place bread.'
32 And they place for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians who are eating with him by themselves: for the Egyptians are unable to eat bread with the Hebrews, for it `is' an abomination to the Egyptians.
33 And they sit before him, the first-born according to his birthright, and the young one according to his youth, and the men wonder one at another;
34 and he lifteth up gifts from before him unto them, and the gift of Benjamin is five hands more than the gifts of all of them; and they drink, yea, they drink abundantly with him.
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.