7 and they say unto him, `Why doth my lord speak according to these words? far be it from thy servants to do according to this word;
And it cometh to pass, on the third day, in their being pained, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, take each his sword, and come in against the city confidently, and slay every male; and Hamor, and Shechem his son, they have slain by the mouth of the sword, and they take Dinah out of Shechem's house, and go out. Jacob's sons have come in upon the wounded, and they spoil the city, because they had defiled their sister; their flock and their herd, and their asses, and that which `is' in the city, and that which `is' in the field, have they taken; and all their wealth, and all their infants, and their wives they have taken captive, and they spoil also all that `is' in the house. And Jacob saith unto Simeon and unto Levi, `Ye have troubled me, by causing me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanite, and among the Perizzite: and I `am' few in number, and they have been gathered against me, and have smitten me, and I have been destroyed, I and my house.' And they say, `As a harlot doth he make our sister?'
And they see him from afar, even before he draweth near unto them, and they conspire against him to put him to death. And they say one unto another, `Lo, this man of the dreams cometh; and now, come, and we slay him, and cast him into one of the pits, and have said, An evil beast hath devoured him; and we see what his dreams are.' And Reuben heareth, and delivereth him out of their hand, and saith, `Let us not smite the life;' and Reuben saith unto them, `Shed no blood; cast him into this pit which `is' in the wilderness, and put not forth a hand upon him,' -- in order to deliver him out of their hand, to bring him back unto his father. And it cometh to pass, when Joseph hath come unto his brethren, that they strip Joseph of his coat, the long coat which `is' upon him, and take him and cast him into the pit, and the pit `is' empty, there is no water in it. And they sit down to eat bread, and they lift up their eyes, and look, and lo, a company of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, and their camels bearing spices, and balm, and myrrh, going to take `them' down to Egypt. And Judah saith unto his brethren, `What gain when we slay our brother, and have concealed his blood? Come, and we sell him to the Ishmaelites, and our hands are not on him, for he `is' our brother -- our flesh;' and his brethren hearken. And Midianite merchantmen pass by and they draw out and bring up Joseph out of the pit, and sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty silverlings, and they bring Joseph into Egypt. And Reuben returneth unto the pit, and lo, Joseph is not in the pit, and he rendeth his garments, and he returneth unto his brethren, and saith, `The lad is not, and I -- whither am I going?' And they take the coat of Joseph, and slaughter a kid of the goats, and dip the coat in the blood, and send the long coat, and they bring `it' in unto their father, and say, `This have we found; discern, we pray thee, whether it `is' thy son's coat or not?'
and he turneth aside unto her by the way, and saith, `Come, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee,' (for he hath not known that she `is' his daughter-in-law); and she saith, `What dost thou give to me, that thou mayest come in unto me?' and he saith, `I -- I send a kid of the goats from the flock.' And she saith, `Dost thou give a pledge till thou send `it'?' and he saith, `What `is' the pledge that I give to thee?' and she saith, `Thy seal, and thy ribbon, and thy staff which `is' in thy hand;' and he giveth to her, and goeth in unto her, and she conceiveth to him;
`The God of gods -- Jehovah, the God of gods -- Jehovah, He is knowing, and Israel, he doth know, if in rebellion, and if in trespass against Jehovah (Thou dost not save us this day!) `we are' building for ourselves an altar to turn back from after Jehovah, and if to cause to go up on it burnt-offering and present, and if to make on it peace-offerings -- Jehovah Himself doth require `it'. `And if not, from fear of `this' thing we have done it, saying, Hereafter your sons do speak to ours sons, saying, What to you and to Jehovah God of Israel? for a border hath Jehovah put between us and you, O sons of Reuben, and sons of Gad -- Jordan; ye have no portion in Jehovah -- and your sons have caused our sons to cease, not to fear Jehovah. `And we say, Pray let us prepare for ourselves to build the altar -- not for burnt-offering nor for sacrifice -- but a witness it `is' between us and you, and between our generations after us, to do the service of Jehovah before Him with our burnt-offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace-offerings, and your sons do not say hereafter to our sons, Ye have no portion in Jehovah. `And we say, And it hath been, when they say `so' unto us, and unto our generations hereafter, that we have said, See the pattern of the altar of Jehovah, which our fathers made -- not for burnt-offering nor for sacrifice -- but a witness it `is' between us and you. `Far be it from us to rebel against Jehovah, and to turn back to-day from after Jehovah, to build an altar for burnt-offering, for present, and for sacrifice, apart from the altar of Jehovah our God, which `is' before His tabernacle.'
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Genesis 44
Commentary on Genesis 44 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 44
Ge 44:1-34. Policy to Stay His Brethren.
1. And Joseph commanded the steward—The design of putting the cup into the sack of Benjamin was obviously to bring that young man into a situation of difficulty or danger, in order thereby to discover how far the brotherly feelings of the rest would be roused to sympathize with his distress and stimulate their exertions in procuring his deliverance. But for what purpose was the money restored? It was done, in the first instance, from kindly feelings to his father; but another and further design seems to have been the prevention of any injurious impressions as to the character of Benjamin. The discovery of the cup in his possession, if there had been nothing else to judge by, might have fastened a painful suspicion of guilt on the youngest brother; but the sight of the money in each man's sack would lead all to the same conclusion, that Benjamin was just as innocent as themselves, although the additional circumstance of the cup being found in his sack would bring him into greater trouble and danger.
2. put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth—It was a large goblet, as the original denotes, highly valued by its owner, on account of its costly material or its elegant finish and which had probably graced his table at the sumptuous entertainment of the previous day.
3. As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away—They commenced their homeward journey at early dawn (see on Ge 18:2); and it may be readily supposed in high spirits, after so happy an issue from all their troubles and anxieties.
4. When they were gone out of the city … Joseph said unto his steward—They were brought to a sudden halt by the stunning intelligence that an article of rare value was missing from the governor's house. It was a silver cup; so strong suspicions were entertained against them that a special messenger was despatched to search them.
5. Is not this it in which my lord drinketh—not only kept for the governor's personal use, but whereby he divines. Divination by cups, to ascertain the course of futurity, was one of the prevalent superstitions of ancient Egypt, as it is of Eastern countries still. It is not likely that Joseph, a pious believer in the true God, would have addicted himself to this superstitious practice. But he might have availed himself of that popular notion to carry out the successful execution of his stratagem for the last decisive trial of his brethren.
6, 7. he overtook them, and he spake … these words—The steward's words must have come upon them like a thunderbolt, and one of their most predominant feelings must have been the humiliating and galling sense of being made so often objects of suspicion. Protesting their innocence, they invited a search. The challenge was accepted [Ge 44:10, 11]. Beginning with the eldest, every sack was examined, and the cup being found in Benjamin's [Ge 44:12], they all returned in an indescribable agony of mind to the house of the governor [Ge 44:13], throwing themselves at his feet [Ge 44:14], with the remarkable confession, "God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants" [Ge 44:16].
16-34. Judah said, What shall we say?—This address needs no comment—consisting at first of short, broken sentences, as if, under the overwhelming force of the speaker's emotions, his utterance were choked, it becomes more free and copious by the effort of speaking, as he proceeds. Every word finds its way to the heart; and it may well be imagined that Benjamin, who stood there speechless like a victim about to be laid on the altar, when he heard the magnanimous offer of Judah to submit to slavery for his ransom, would be bound by a lifelong gratitude to his generous brother, a tie that seems to have become hereditary in his tribe. Joseph's behavior must not be viewed from any single point, or in separate parts, but as a whole—a well-thought, deep-laid, closely connected plan; and though some features of it do certainly exhibit an appearance of harshness, yet the pervading principle of his conduct was real, genuine, brotherly kindness. Read in this light, the narrative of the proceedings describes the continuous, though secret, pursuit of one end; and Joseph exhibits, in his management of the scheme, a very high order of intellect, a warm and susceptible heart, united to a judgment that exerted a complete control over his feelings—a happy invention in devising means towards the attainment of his ends and an inflexible adherence to the course, however painful, which prudence required.