As famine drives Joseph’s brothers to Egypt, God begins to expose their long-hidden guilt through providential pressure, bringing them under conviction before the brother they once rejected.
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Genesis 42
Joseph’s Brothers Go Down to Egypt, Are Confronted by Their Guilt, and Begin to Feel the Weight of God’s Hand
As famine drives Joseph’s brothers to Egypt, God begins to expose their long-hidden guilt through providential pressure, bringing them under conviction before the brother they once rejected.
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Chapter Summary
As famine drives Joseph’s brothers to Egypt, God begins to expose their long-hidden guilt through providential pressure, bringing them under conviction before the brother they once rejected.
Overview
Genesis 42 teaches that God may use severe providence to awaken conscience, expose buried sin, and begin the painful work of bringing guilty people toward truth and reconciliation. The chapter begins with famine, not as random hardship, but as the very instrument through which God moves Jacob’s sons toward Egypt and toward Joseph. The brothers’ journey is therefore already shaped by the providence announced in Genesis 41.
When they arrive, Joseph recognizes them immediately, but they do not recognize Him. This asymmetry is crucial. Joseph stands in the place of knowledge and authority, while the brothers stand in ignorance and vulnerability. Their bowing fulfills Joseph’s earlier dreams, showing that what they once sought to destroy has now come upon them inescapably. Joseph’s harsh speech and accusation of espionage are not simple cruelty.
Within the narrative they function as instruments of testing, pressure, and revelation. He places them in a position where they must speak truth about themselves and their family, and in that pressure their conscience begins to surface. Their confession to one another is one of the most significant moments in the chapter. They do not yet know Joseph understands them, yet they interpret their present distress as connected to their past sin against Him.
Reuben’s words deepen this by reminding them of direct moral responsibility. The language of Joseph’s distress when He pleaded with them also reveals new detail about the cruelty of their earlier act. Joseph’s tears show that this is not cold vengeance. He is moved deeply even while maintaining the testing process. The returned money intensifies the fear. The brothers do not interpret the surprising event as luck or fortune, but ask what God has done to them.
This is a major theological awakening. The chapter closes not with resolution but with deepened fear, especially in Jacob, whose grief remains dominated by the loss of Joseph and the danger to Benjamin. Thus Genesis 42 argues that divine providence can become the means of moral awakening, that guilt does not remain buried forever, and that reconciliation often begins not in ease but in distress that forces truth to the surface.
Genesis 42 begins the first direct reunion movement between Joseph and His brothers, though they do not yet recognize Him. The famine announced in Genesis 41 has now spread into Canaan, and Jacob’s household is forced to seek grain in Egypt. Within the larger Joseph narrative, this chapter marks the moment when the hidden providence of God begins to expose, test, and awaken the consciences of the brothers who once sold Joseph.
The chapter therefore stands at a crucial intersection of famine, memory, guilt, and providential reversal. The brothers who cast Joseph down now bow before Him. The very dreams that once intensified their hatred begin to be fulfilled in history, though they do not yet understand what is happening. Historically in the narrative, the chapter explains the first journey of Jacob’s sons to Egypt and the beginning of the process that will eventually bring the whole household there.
Theologically, it is a chapter about God’s severe mercy. He does not immediately reveal Joseph or instantly reconcile the family. Instead, He uses famine, accusation, fear, imprisonment, and loss to bring long-buried sin to the surface. Genesis 42 is therefore a chapter of providential pressure, awakening conscience, and the first tremors of repentance.
Structural Flow
Jacob hears that there is grain in Egypt and rebukes His sons for looking at one another in helplessness. He sends ten of Joseph’s brothers down to buy grain but keeps Benjamin back, fearing harm may come to Him. The sons of Israel come among the others traveling to buy grain because the famine is in the land of Canaan.
Joseph, governor over the land and seller of grain, sees His brothers, recognizes them, and remembers the dreams, but they do not recognize Him. They bow before Him with their faces to the ground. Joseph speaks harshly, accuses them of being spies, and questions them about their family. Though they insist they are honest men, Joseph places them in custody for three days.
On the third day Joseph tells them He fears God and offers a test: one brother is to remain bound while the others take grain home for their starving households and then return with Benjamin. The brothers begin to speak to one another about their guilt concerning Joseph, saying that they saw the distress of His soul when He pleaded with them and they did not listen.
Reuben reminds them that He had warned them not to sin against the boy. Joseph turns away and weeps, then returns, takes Simeon, and binds Him before their eyes.
Joseph orders their bags to be filled with grain, their money to be returned secretly, and provisions to be given them for the journey. At the lodging place one brother opens His sack and sees His money at the mouth of the bag. Their hearts fail them, and trembling they say to one another, 'What is this that God has done to us?' 42:29–38 — They return to Jacob in Canaan and recount all that happened, including the accusation, the imprisonment, the requirement to bring Benjamin, and Simeon’s detention.
As they empty their sacks, each man finds His bundle of money, and they and their father are afraid. Jacob laments that Joseph is gone, Simeon is gone, and Benjamin is now demanded. Reuben offers His two sons as pledge if He does not bring Benjamin back, but Jacob refuses to let Benjamin go, convinced that if harm comes to Him, His gray head will go down in sorrow to Sheol.
Chapter Outline
- 42:1–5: Jacob hears that there is grain in Egypt and rebukes His sons for looking at one another in helplessness. He sends ten of Joseph’s brothers down to buy grain but keeps Benjamin back, fearing harm may come to Him. The sons of Israel come among the others traveling to buy grain because the famine is in the land of Canaan.
- 42:6–17: Joseph, governor over the land and seller of grain, sees His brothers, recognizes them, and remembers the dreams, but they do not recognize Him. They bow before Him with their faces to the ground. Joseph speaks harshly, accuses them of being spies, and questions them about their family. Though they insist they are honest men, Joseph places them in custody for three days.
- 42:18–24: On the third day Joseph tells them He fears God and offers a test: one brother is to remain bound while the others take grain home for their starving households and then return with Benjamin. The brothers begin to speak to one another about their guilt concerning Joseph, saying that they saw the distress of His soul when He pleaded with them and they did not listen. Reuben reminds them that He had warned them not to sin against the boy. Joseph turns away and weeps, then returns, takes Simeon, and binds Him before their eyes.
- 42:25–28: Joseph orders their bags to be filled with grain, their money to be returned secretly, and provisions to be given them for the journey. At the lodging place one brother opens His sack and sees His money at the mouth of the bag. Their hearts fail them, and trembling they say to one another, 'What is this that God has done to us?' 42:29–38 — They return to Jacob in Canaan and recount all that happened, including the accusation, the imprisonment, the requirement to bring Benjamin, and Simeon’s detention. As they empty their sacks, each man finds His bundle of money, and they and their father are afraid. Jacob laments that Joseph is gone, Simeon is gone, and Benjamin is now demanded. Reuben offers His two sons as pledge if He does not bring Benjamin back, but Jacob refuses to let Benjamin go, convinced that if harm comes to Him, His gray head will go down in sorrow to Sheol.
Theological Focus
- Providence
- Conscience
- Guilt and Awakening
- Dream Fulfillment
- Severe Mercy
- Testing
- Fear of God
- Hidden Recognition
- Hamartiology
- Conscience and Conviction
- Covenant Preservation
- Suffering and Awakening
- Biblical Theology
- Christology Preparation
Covenant Significance
Genesis 42 is covenantally significant because it initiates the movement by which Jacob’s household will be brought to Egypt for preservation during famine. The covenant family is still in Canaan, but the famine is now driving them toward the place God has already prepared through Joseph’s exaltation. The chapter also shows that the internal moral condition of the covenant household must be addressed as part of its preservation.
God is not merely moving bodies from one land to another. He is exposing guilt, confronting brothers with their sin, and beginning the process of family reckoning. This chapter therefore advances the covenant line through both material preservation and moral exposure.
Canonical Connections
Genesis 42 is covenantally significant because it initiates the movement by which Jacob’s household will be brought to Egypt for preservation during famine. The covenant family is still in Canaan, but the famine is now driving them toward the place God has already prepared through Joseph’s exaltation. The chapter also shows that the internal moral condition of the covenant household must be addressed as part of its preservation.
God is not merely moving bodies from one land to another. He is exposing guilt, confronting brothers with their sin, and beginning the process of family reckoning. This chapter therefore advances the covenant line through both material preservation and moral exposure.
Genesis 37:5-11
Genesis 41:53-57
Genesis 43:1-14
Psalm 32:3-5
Genesis 50:20
Genesis 37:5-11
Genesis 41:53-57
Genesis 43:1-14
Acts 2:36-37
Cross References
Clarifies how the passage points to the gospel of Christ.
Clarifies how the passage points to the gospel of Christ.
Clarifies how the passage points to the gospel of Christ.
Clarifies how the passage points to the gospel of Christ.
Clarifies how the passage points to the gospel of Christ.
Clarifies how the passage points to the gospel of Christ.
Shows Old Testament grounding that frames or supports this passage.
You shall remember all the way which Yahweh your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, to test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.
Shows Old Testament grounding that frames or supports this passage.
You shall consider in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so Yahweh your God disciplines you.
Shows Old Testament grounding that frames or supports this passage.
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to save many people alive, as is happening today.
Shows Old Testament grounding that frames or supports this passage.
He who conceals his sins doesn’t prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
Shows Old Testament grounding that frames or supports this passage.
Shows Old Testament grounding that frames or supports this passage.
Shows Old Testament grounding that frames or supports this passage.
Shows Old Testament grounding that frames or supports this passage.
Develops the same theological theme in another location.
Develops the same theological theme in another location.
Develops the same theological theme in another location.
Develops the same theological theme in another location.
Develops the same theological theme in another location.
Gospel Clarity
Genesis 42 deepens the gospel trajectory by showing guilty brothers standing needy before the one they had rejected, not yet reconciled but already under the pressure of truth. Joseph’s authority does not immediately become comfort. First it becomes exposure. This prepares the reader to understand that true peace does not come by bypassing guilt, but by bringing sin into the light.
In the fullness of Scripture, the rejected and exalted Christ is the one before whom sinners must finally stand, and reconciliation comes not through denial but through confessed guilt met by merciful provision.
Gospel Cross References
Primary Emphasis
Genesis 42 contributes to Christology by continuing the Joseph pattern of the rejected brother now standing in authority over those who rejected Him. The brothers come in need and bow before the one they once cast down. Yet Joseph does not reveal Himself immediately. Instead, He tests, exposes, and moves them toward truth before reconciliation comes. This anticipates broader biblical patterns in which the rejected one becomes the ruler before whom others must eventually stand.
The chapter also contributes to the theology of conviction before reconciliation, a pattern that finds fuller clarity in the gospel, where sin must be brought to light before peace is fully known.
Chapter Contribution
Genesis 42 teaches that God may use severe providence to awaken conscience, expose buried sin, and begin the painful work of bringing guilty people toward truth and reconciliation. The chapter begins with famine, not as random hardship, but as the very instrument through which God moves Jacob’s sons toward Egypt and toward Joseph. The brothers’ journey is therefore already shaped by the providence announced in Genesis 41.
When they arrive, Joseph recognizes them immediately, but they do not recognize Him. This asymmetry is crucial. Joseph stands in the place of knowledge and authority, while the brothers stand in ignorance and vulnerability. Their bowing fulfills Joseph’s earlier dreams, showing that what they once sought to destroy has now come upon them inescapably. Joseph’s harsh speech and accusation of espionage are not simple cruelty.
Within the narrative they function as instruments of testing, pressure, and revelation. He places them in a position where they must speak truth about themselves and their family, and in that pressure their conscience begins to surface. Their confession to one another is one of the most significant moments in the chapter. They do not yet know Joseph understands them, yet they interpret their present distress as connected to their past sin against Him.
Reuben’s words deepen this by reminding them of direct moral responsibility. The language of Joseph’s distress when He pleaded with them also reveals new detail about the cruelty of their earlier act. Joseph’s tears show that this is not cold vengeance. He is moved deeply even while maintaining the testing process. The returned money intensifies the fear. The brothers do not interpret the surprising event as luck or fortune, but ask what God has done to them.
This is a major theological awakening. The chapter closes not with resolution but with deepened fear, especially in Jacob, whose grief remains dominated by the loss of Joseph and the danger to Benjamin. Thus Genesis 42 argues that divine providence can become the means of moral awakening, that guilt does not remain buried forever, and that reconciliation often begins not in ease but in distress that forces truth to the surface.
Doctrines in This Chapter
God brings past sin to remembrance, awakening the conscience.
God allows testing to reveal the true condition of the heart.
Guilt and fear can distort perception and resist God’s work.
God’s previously revealed purposes come to pass exactly as declared.
Repentance often unfolds progressively rather than instantaneously.
God’s kindness operates even within testing, though it may not be immediately recognized.
God uses famine and circumstances to move His people into His purposes.
God begins the process of repentance by bringing sin to awareness.
Reading Lenses
6 Imperatives
- Go down and buy grain for us
- Bring Your youngest brother to me
- Take grain for Your households and go
- Do this and live
- The chapter’s weight presses toward obedience under testing and truth under pressure
Key Hebrew Terms
Sense buy grain, procure grain
Definition buy grain, procure grain
Why it matters The famine-driven need to buy grain is the practical means by which God moves the brothers toward Joseph and begins the next phase of His providential design.
Sense famine
Definition famine
Why it matters The famine is the covenant-shaping pressure God uses to bring Jacob’s household to Egypt and to Joseph.
Sense bow down, prostrate oneself
Definition bow down, prostrate oneself
Why it matters The brothers’ bowing before Joseph marks the concrete fulfillment of the dreams they once despised and resisted.
Cross-language bridge 1 link · View in lexicon
Individual words זָכַר עֲוֹנָם zakhar avonam · יְהוָה הָיָה אֶת־יוֹסֵף YHWH hayah et-Yosef · וַיִּזְכֹּר יוֹסֵף אֵת הַחֲלֹמוֹת vayyizkor Yosef et ha-chalomot
Sense Joseph remembered the dreams
Definition Joseph remembered the dreams
Why it matters Joseph’s remembrance interprets the moment theologically, linking present events directly to God’s earlier revelatory word.
Sense spies
Definition spies
Why it matters Joseph’s accusation of espionage functions as a pressure point in His testing of the brothers and forces them into fuller disclosure.
Sense we are honest men
Definition we are honest men
Why it matters The brothers’ claim to honesty is deeply ironic in light of their history with Joseph and becomes part of the chapter’s exposure of conscience.
Sense guilty
Definition guilty
Why it matters The brothers’ confession that they are truly guilty concerning Joseph is the chapter’s key moment of awakened conscience and moral recognition.
Sense distress of his soul
Definition distress of his soul
Why it matters The brothers’ recollection of Joseph’s distress reveals the emotional cruelty of their earlier sin and deepens the weight of their guilt.
Sense his blood is being required
Definition his blood is being required
Why it matters Reuben’s words reveal that the brothers interpret their present distress in categories of divine moral reckoning.
Individual words רוֹצֶה יְהוָה אֶת־יְרֵאָיו rotseh YHWH et-yere'av · וְעָבַדְתָּ שָּׁם אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים ve'avadta sham elohim acherim
Sense fear God
Definition fear God
Why it matters Joseph’s declaration that He fears God distinguishes His testing from arbitrary cruelty and frames His authority under divine accountability.
Sense he wept
Definition he wept
Why it matters Joseph’s weeping shows that His testing is not heartless vengeance but emotionally costly engagement with His brothers’ awakening.
Sense tremble, be afraid
Definition tremble, be afraid
Why it matters The brothers’ trembling response to the returned money reveals how providential disturbance becomes the occasion for God-conscious fear.
Sense What is this that God has done to us?
Definition What is this that God has done to us?
Why it matters This question marks a major spiritual turn, as the brothers begin reading their circumstances through the lens of God’s hand rather than mere bad luck.
Sense Sheol, the grave, the realm of the dead
Definition Sheol, the grave, the realm of the dead
Why it matters Jacob’s repeated fear of going down in sorrow to Sheol shows how unresolved grief continues to shape His perception of Benjamin and the family’s future.
Lexicon data: MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML (CC0) · Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (CC BY 4.0) · Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon (CC BY 4.0) · STEPBible Data (CC BY 4.0) · Full details
Commentary (Keil & Delitzsch)
C.F. Keil & F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–91) — public domain
Warnings and Misreadings
- Genesis 42 warns that long-buried sin is not gone, and that God may use distress, fear, and loss to bring guilty people face to face with what they have tried to bury.
- Treating Joseph’s harshness as simple revenge rather than seeing it as part of a testing process that awakens conscience and moves the brothers toward truth.
- Reading the brothers’ distress as merely fear of Egyptian power without recognizing the clear emergence of moral guilt over Joseph.
- Ignoring the theological force of the returned money, which the brothers interpret as something God has done rather than a mere strange circumstance.
- Reducing the fulfillment of Joseph’s dreams to narrative irony alone instead of seeing it as evidence that God’s revealed purpose has quietly come to pass.
- Assuming Joseph’s tears contradict His firmness, when the chapter actually holds together deep compassion and deliberate testing.
- Missing that Jacob’s refusal to send Benjamin is shaped by unresolved grief and the still-living shadow of favoritism and fear within the family.
Discipleship Questions
- What past sin or unresolved guilt has God been pressing back into Your awareness through present difficulty?
- How do You usually respond when providence becomes uncomfortable, with self-protection, denial, or honest reflection before God?
- What does the brothers’ confession teach You about the way conscience can lie dormant for years and then awaken suddenly?
- How does Joseph’s combination of firmness and tears challenge Your understanding of truth-telling and reconciliation?
- Where are You asking, 'What has God done to us?' and how might that question become the beginning of spiritual awakening rather than mere panic?
Pastoral Applications
- Preach Genesis 42 as a chapter of severe mercy, showing that God may use distress not to destroy but to awaken and expose what must be dealt with.
- Use the brothers’ confession to teach that suppressed guilt does not disappear · it often waits until God arranges the moment when it must be faced.
- Help believers interpret painful providence with theological seriousness, asking not only what is happening, but what God may be bringing to light.
- Encourage those involved in reconciliation work that compassion and firmness are not opposites · Joseph weeps and still tests.
- Warn against assuming that years of silence mean sin has no further consequences, because God may revisit the matter in a way no one can control.
- Show that the fear of God can begin to reenter a person’s thinking through bewildering hardship, as seen in the returned money and the brothers’ trembling.
- Offer pastoral insight into Jacob’s grief and fear, showing how unresolved loss can distort judgment and make obedience feel unbearable.
Pastoral Trajectories
Genesis 42 deepens the gospel trajectory by showing guilty brothers standing needy before the one they had rejected, not yet reconciled but already under the pressure of truth. Joseph’s authority does not immediately become comfort. First it becomes exposure. This prepares the reader to understand that true peace does not come by bypassing guilt, but by bringing sin into the light.
In the fullness of Scripture, the rejected and exalted Christ is the one before whom sinners must finally stand, and reconciliation comes not through denial but through confessed guilt met by merciful provision.
Genesis 42 deepens the gospel trajectory by showing guilty brothers standing needy before the one they had rejected, not yet reconciled but already under the pressure of truth. Joseph’s authority does not immediately become comfort. First it becomes exposure. This prepares the reader to understand that true peace does not come by bypassing guilt, but by bringing sin into the light.
In the fullness of Scripture, the rejected and exalted Christ is the one before whom sinners must finally stand, and reconciliation comes not through denial but through confessed guilt met by merciful provision.
Genesis 42 deepens the gospel trajectory by showing guilty brothers standing needy before the one they had rejected, not yet reconciled but already under the pressure of truth. Joseph’s authority does not immediately become comfort. First it becomes exposure. This prepares the reader to understand that true peace does not come by bypassing guilt, but by bringing sin into the light.
In the fullness of Scripture, the rejected and exalted Christ is the one before whom sinners must finally stand, and reconciliation comes not through denial but through confessed guilt met by merciful provision.
Genesis 42 deepens the gospel trajectory by showing guilty brothers standing needy before the one they had rejected, not yet reconciled but already under the pressure of truth. Joseph’s authority does not immediately become comfort. First it becomes exposure. This prepares the reader to understand that true peace does not come by bypassing guilt, but by bringing sin into the light.
In the fullness of Scripture, the rejected and exalted Christ is the one before whom sinners must finally stand, and reconciliation comes not through denial but through confessed guilt met by merciful provision.
Genesis 42 deepens the gospel trajectory by showing guilty brothers standing needy before the one they had rejected, not yet reconciled but already under the pressure of truth. Joseph’s authority does not immediately become comfort. First it becomes exposure. This prepares the reader to understand that true peace does not come by bypassing guilt, but by bringing sin into the light.
In the fullness of Scripture, the rejected and exalted Christ is the one before whom sinners must finally stand, and reconciliation comes not through denial but through confessed guilt met by merciful provision.
Imperatives
6
High
Imperative Themes
- Go down and buy grain for us
- Bring Your youngest brother to me
- Take grain for Your households and go
- Do this and live
- The chapter’s weight presses toward obedience under testing and truth under pressure
Motifs in This Chapter
The Biblical World
Chapter At A Glance
Genesis 42 is covenantally significant because it initiates the movement by which Jacob’s household will be brought to Egypt for preservation during famine. The covenant family is still in Canaan, but the famine is now driving them toward the place God has already prepared through Joseph’s exaltation. The chapter also shows that the internal moral condition of the covenant household must be addressed as part of its preservation.
God is not merely moving bodies from one land to another. He is exposing guilt, confronting brothers with their sin, and beginning the process of family reckoning. This chapter therefore advances the covenant line through both material preservation and moral exposure.
Genesis 42 deepens the gospel trajectory by showing guilty brothers standing needy before the one they had rejected, not yet reconciled but already under the pressure of truth. Joseph’s authority does not immediately become comfort. First it becomes exposure. This prepares the reader to understand that true peace does not come by bypassing guilt, but by bringing sin into the light.
In the fullness of Scripture, the rejected and exalted Christ is the one before whom sinners must finally stand, and reconciliation comes not through denial but through confessed guilt met by merciful provision.
Focus Points
- Providence
- Conscience
- Guilt and Awakening
- Dream Fulfillment
- Severe Mercy
- Testing
- Fear of God
- Hidden Recognition
- Hamartiology
- Conscience and Conviction
- Covenant Preservation
- Suffering and Awakening
- Biblical Theology
- Christology Preparation
Cross References
Joseph dreamed a dream, and He told it to His brothers, and they hated Him all the more. He said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and behold, Your sheaves came around, and bowed down to my sheaf.”
Old Testament foundation
The seven years of plenty, that were in the land of Egypt, came to an end. The seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread, and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph. What He...
Old Testament foundation
The famine was severe in the land. When they had eaten up the grain which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again, buy us a little more food.” Judah spoke to Him, saying, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face, unless Your brother is with You.’
Old Testament foundation
When I kept silence, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy on me. My strength was sapped in the heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to You. I didn’t hide my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to Yahweh, and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
Old Testament foundation
As for You, You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to save many people alive, as is happening today.
Old Testament foundation
“Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom You crucified.” Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
Gospel resolution
Or do You despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and patience, not knowing that the goodness of God leads You to repentance?
Gospel resolution
For godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation, which brings no regret. But the sorrow of the world produces death.
Gospel resolution
There is no creature that is hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account.
Gospel resolution
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will not be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
Gospel resolution
Joseph dreamed a dream, and He told it to His brothers, and they hated Him all the more. He said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and behold, Your sheaves came around, and bowed down to my sheaf.”
Thematic parallel
The seven years of plenty, that were in the land of Egypt, came to an end. The seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread, and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph. What He...
Thematic parallel
The famine was severe in the land. When they had eaten up the grain which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again, buy us a little more food.” Judah spoke to Him, saying, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face, unless Your brother is with You.’
Thematic parallel
“Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom You crucified.” Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
Thematic parallel
Passages
Chapter opening: Genesis 42:1-17
Gen 42:1-6 With the words “ Why do ye look at one another! ” viz. , in such a helpless and undecided manner. Jacob exhorted his sons to fetch corn from Egypt, to preserve his family from starvation. Joseph’s ten brothers went, as their aged father would not allow his youngest son Benjamin to go with them, for fear that some calamity might befall him (קרא = קרה, Gen 44:29 as in Gen 42:38 and Gen 49:1); and they came “ in the midst of the comers, ” i.
e. , among others who came from the same necessity, and bowed down before Joseph with their faces to the earth. For he was “the ruler over the land,” and had the supreme control of the sale of the corn, so that they were obliged to apply to him. השּׁלּיט seems to have been the standing title which the Shemites gave to Joseph as ruler in Egypt; and from this the later legend of Σάλατις the first king of the Hyksos arose (Josephus c.
Ap. i. 14). The only other passages in which the word occurs in the Old Testament are in writings of the captivity or a still later date, and there it is taken from the Chaldee; it belongs, however, not merely to the Aramaean thesaurus, but to the Arabic also, from which it was introduced into the passage before us.
Gen 42:1-6 With the words “ Why do ye look at one another! ” viz. , in such a helpless and undecided manner. Jacob exhorted his sons to fetch corn from Egypt, to preserve his family from starvation. Joseph’s ten brothers went, as their aged father would not allow his youngest son Benjamin to go with them, for fear that some calamity might befall him (קרא = קרה, Gen 44:29 as in Gen 42:38 and Gen 49:1); and they came “ in the midst of the comers, ” i.
e. , among others who came from the same necessity, and bowed down before Joseph with their faces to the earth. For he was “the ruler over the land,” and had the supreme control of the sale of the corn, so that they were obliged to apply to him. השּׁלּיט seems to have been the standing title which the Shemites gave to Joseph as ruler in Egypt; and from this the later legend of Σάλατις the first king of the Hyksos arose (Josephus c.
Ap. i. 14). The only other passages in which the word occurs in the Old Testament are in writings of the captivity or a still later date, and there it is taken from the Chaldee; it belongs, however, not merely to the Aramaean thesaurus, but to the Arabic also, from which it was introduced into the passage before us.
Gen 42:1-6 With the words “ Why do ye look at one another! ” viz. , in such a helpless and undecided manner. Jacob exhorted his sons to fetch corn from Egypt, to preserve his family from starvation. Joseph’s ten brothers went, as their aged father would not allow his youngest son Benjamin to go with them, for fear that some calamity might befall him (קרא = קרה, Gen 44:29 as in Gen 42:38 and Gen 49:1); and they came “ in the midst of the comers, ” i.
e. , among others who came from the same necessity, and bowed down before Joseph with their faces to the earth. For he was “the ruler over the land,” and had the supreme control of the sale of the corn, so that they were obliged to apply to him. השּׁלּיט seems to have been the standing title which the Shemites gave to Joseph as ruler in Egypt; and from this the later legend of Σάλατις the first king of the Hyksos arose (Josephus c.
Ap. i. 14). The only other passages in which the word occurs in the Old Testament are in writings of the captivity or a still later date, and there it is taken from the Chaldee; it belongs, however, not merely to the Aramaean thesaurus, but to the Arabic also, from which it was introduced into the passage before us.
Gen 42:1-6 With the words “ Why do ye look at one another! ” viz. , in such a helpless and undecided manner. Jacob exhorted his sons to fetch corn from Egypt, to preserve his family from starvation. Joseph’s ten brothers went, as their aged father would not allow his youngest son Benjamin to go with them, for fear that some calamity might befall him (קרא = קרה, Gen 44:29 as in Gen 42:38 and Gen 49:1); and they came “ in the midst of the comers, ” i.
e. , among others who came from the same necessity, and bowed down before Joseph with their faces to the earth. For he was “the ruler over the land,” and had the supreme control of the sale of the corn, so that they were obliged to apply to him. השּׁלּיט seems to have been the standing title which the Shemites gave to Joseph as ruler in Egypt; and from this the later legend of Σάλατις the first king of the Hyksos arose (Josephus c.
Ap. i. 14). The only other passages in which the word occurs in the Old Testament are in writings of the captivity or a still later date, and there it is taken from the Chaldee; it belongs, however, not merely to the Aramaean thesaurus, but to the Arabic also, from which it was introduced into the passage before us.
Gen 42:1-6 With the words “ Why do ye look at one another! ” viz. , in such a helpless and undecided manner. Jacob exhorted his sons to fetch corn from Egypt, to preserve his family from starvation. Joseph’s ten brothers went, as their aged father would not allow his youngest son Benjamin to go with them, for fear that some calamity might befall him (קרא = קרה, Gen 44:29 as in Gen 42:38 and Gen 49:1); and they came “ in the midst of the comers, ” i.
e. , among others who came from the same necessity, and bowed down before Joseph with their faces to the earth. For he was “the ruler over the land,” and had the supreme control of the sale of the corn, so that they were obliged to apply to him. השּׁלּיט seems to have been the standing title which the Shemites gave to Joseph as ruler in Egypt; and from this the later legend of Σάλατις the first king of the Hyksos arose (Josephus c.
Ap. i. 14). The only other passages in which the word occurs in the Old Testament are in writings of the captivity or a still later date, and there it is taken from the Chaldee; it belongs, however, not merely to the Aramaean thesaurus, but to the Arabic also, from which it was introduced into the passage before us.
Gen 42:1-6 With the words “ Why do ye look at one another! ” viz. , in such a helpless and undecided manner. Jacob exhorted his sons to fetch corn from Egypt, to preserve his family from starvation. Joseph’s ten brothers went, as their aged father would not allow his youngest son Benjamin to go with them, for fear that some calamity might befall him (קרא = קרה, Gen 44:29 as in Gen 42:38 and Gen 49:1); and they came “ in the midst of the comers, ” i.
e. , among others who came from the same necessity, and bowed down before Joseph with their faces to the earth. For he was “the ruler over the land,” and had the supreme control of the sale of the corn, so that they were obliged to apply to him. השּׁלּיט seems to have been the standing title which the Shemites gave to Joseph as ruler in Egypt; and from this the later legend of Σάλατις the first king of the Hyksos arose (Josephus c.
Ap. i. 14). The only other passages in which the word occurs in the Old Testament are in writings of the captivity or a still later date, and there it is taken from the Chaldee; it belongs, however, not merely to the Aramaean thesaurus, but to the Arabic also, from which it was introduced into the passage before us.
Gen 42:7-8 Joseph recognised his brothers at once; but they could not recognise a brother who had not been seen for 20 years, and who, moreover, had not only become thoroughly Egyptianized, but had risen to be a great lord. And he acted as a foreigner (יתנכּר) towards them, speaking harshly, and asking them whence they had come. In Gen 42:7, according to a truly Semitic style of narrative, we have a condensation of what is more circumstantially related in Gen 42:8-17.
Gen 42:7-8 Joseph recognised his brothers at once; but they could not recognise a brother who had not been seen for 20 years, and who, moreover, had not only become thoroughly Egyptianized, but had risen to be a great lord. And he acted as a foreigner (יתנכּר) towards them, speaking harshly, and asking them whence they had come. In Gen 42:7, according to a truly Semitic style of narrative, we have a condensation of what is more circumstantially related in Gen 42:8-17.
Gen 42:9-17 As the sight of his brethren bowing before him with the deepest reverence reminded Joseph of his early dreams of the sheaves and stars, which had so increased the hatred of his brethren towards him as to lead to a proposal to kill him, and an actual sale, he said to them, “ Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land (i. e. , the unfortified parts of the kingdom which would be easily accessible to a foe) ye are come; ” and persisted in this charge notwithstanding their reply, “ nay, my lord, but (ו see Ges.
§155, 1 b ) to buy food are thy servants come. We are all one man’s sons (נחנוּ for אנחנוּ, only in Exo 16:7-8; Num 32:32; 2Sa 17:12; Lam 3:42): honest (כּנים) are we; thy servants are no spies . ” Cum exploratio sit delictum capitale, non est verisimile; quod pater tot filios uno tempore vitae periculo expositurus sit ( J. Gerhard ). But as their assertion failed to make any impression upon the Egyptian lord, they told him still more particularly about their family (Gen 42:13.)
: “ Twelve are thy servants, brothers are we, sons of a man in the land of Canaan; and behold the youngest is now with our father, and one is no more (אימנּוּ as in Gen 5:24). Joseph then replied, “ That is it (הוּא neut. like Gen 20:16) that I spake unto you, saying ye are spies. By this shall ye be proved: By the life of Pharaoh! ye shall not (אם, like Gen 14:23) go hence, unless your youngest brother come hither.
Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother; but he shall be in bonds, and your words shall be proved, whether there be truth in you or not. By the life of Pharaoh! ye are truly spies! ” He then had them put into custody for three days. By the coming of the youngest brother, Joseph wanted to test their assertion, not because he thought it possible that he might not be living with them, and they might have treated him as they did Joseph ( Kn .)
, but because he wished to discover their feelings towards Benjamin, and see what affection they had for this son of Rachel, who had taken Joseph’s place as his father’s favourite. And with his harsh mode of addressing them, Joseph had no intention whatever to administer to his brethren “a just punishment for their wickedness towards him,” for his heart could not have stooped to such mean revenge; but he wanted to probe thoroughly the feelings of their hearts, “whether they felt that they deserved the punishment of God for the sin they had committed,” and how they felt towards their aged father and their youngest brother.
Even in the fact that he did not send the one away directly to fetch Benjamin, and merely detain the rest, but put the whole ten in prison, and afterwards modified his threat (Gen 42:18.) , there was no indecision as to the manner in which he should behave towards them - no “wavering between thoughts of wrath and revenge on the one hand, and forgiving love and meekness on the other;” but he hoped by imprisoning them to make his brethren feel the earnestness of his words, and to give them time for reflection, as the curt “is no more” with which they had alluded to Joseph’s removal was a sufficient proof that they had not yet truly repented of the deed.
Gen 42:9-17 As the sight of his brethren bowing before him with the deepest reverence reminded Joseph of his early dreams of the sheaves and stars, which had so increased the hatred of his brethren towards him as to lead to a proposal to kill him, and an actual sale, he said to them, “ Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land (i. e. , the unfortified parts of the kingdom which would be easily accessible to a foe) ye are come; ” and persisted in this charge notwithstanding their reply, “ nay, my lord, but (ו see Ges.
§155, 1 b ) to buy food are thy servants come. We are all one man’s sons (נחנוּ for אנחנוּ, only in Exo 16:7-8; Num 32:32; 2Sa 17:12; Lam 3:42): honest (כּנים) are we; thy servants are no spies . ” Cum exploratio sit delictum capitale, non est verisimile; quod pater tot filios uno tempore vitae periculo expositurus sit ( J. Gerhard ). But as their assertion failed to make any impression upon the Egyptian lord, they told him still more particularly about their family (Gen 42:13.)
: “ Twelve are thy servants, brothers are we, sons of a man in the land of Canaan; and behold the youngest is now with our father, and one is no more (אימנּוּ as in Gen 5:24). Joseph then replied, “ That is it (הוּא neut. like Gen 20:16) that I spake unto you, saying ye are spies. By this shall ye be proved: By the life of Pharaoh! ye shall not (אם, like Gen 14:23) go hence, unless your youngest brother come hither.
Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother; but he shall be in bonds, and your words shall be proved, whether there be truth in you or not. By the life of Pharaoh! ye are truly spies! ” He then had them put into custody for three days. By the coming of the youngest brother, Joseph wanted to test their assertion, not because he thought it possible that he might not be living with them, and they might have treated him as they did Joseph ( Kn .)
, but because he wished to discover their feelings towards Benjamin, and see what affection they had for this son of Rachel, who had taken Joseph’s place as his father’s favourite. And with his harsh mode of addressing them, Joseph had no intention whatever to administer to his brethren “a just punishment for their wickedness towards him,” for his heart could not have stooped to such mean revenge; but he wanted to probe thoroughly the feelings of their hearts, “whether they felt that they deserved the punishment of God for the sin they had committed,” and how they felt towards their aged father and their youngest brother.
Even in the fact that he did not send the one away directly to fetch Benjamin, and merely detain the rest, but put the whole ten in prison, and afterwards modified his threat (Gen 42:18.) , there was no indecision as to the manner in which he should behave towards them - no “wavering between thoughts of wrath and revenge on the one hand, and forgiving love and meekness on the other;” but he hoped by imprisoning them to make his brethren feel the earnestness of his words, and to give them time for reflection, as the curt “is no more” with which they had alluded to Joseph’s removal was a sufficient proof that they had not yet truly repented of the deed.
Gen 42:9-17 As the sight of his brethren bowing before him with the deepest reverence reminded Joseph of his early dreams of the sheaves and stars, which had so increased the hatred of his brethren towards him as to lead to a proposal to kill him, and an actual sale, he said to them, “ Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land (i. e. , the unfortified parts of the kingdom which would be easily accessible to a foe) ye are come; ” and persisted in this charge notwithstanding their reply, “ nay, my lord, but (ו see Ges.
§155, 1 b ) to buy food are thy servants come. We are all one man’s sons (נחנוּ for אנחנוּ, only in Exo 16:7-8; Num 32:32; 2Sa 17:12; Lam 3:42): honest (כּנים) are we; thy servants are no spies . ” Cum exploratio sit delictum capitale, non est verisimile; quod pater tot filios uno tempore vitae periculo expositurus sit ( J. Gerhard ). But as their assertion failed to make any impression upon the Egyptian lord, they told him still more particularly about their family (Gen 42:13.)
: “ Twelve are thy servants, brothers are we, sons of a man in the land of Canaan; and behold the youngest is now with our father, and one is no more (אימנּוּ as in Gen 5:24). Joseph then replied, “ That is it (הוּא neut. like Gen 20:16) that I spake unto you, saying ye are spies. By this shall ye be proved: By the life of Pharaoh! ye shall not (אם, like Gen 14:23) go hence, unless your youngest brother come hither.
Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother; but he shall be in bonds, and your words shall be proved, whether there be truth in you or not. By the life of Pharaoh! ye are truly spies! ” He then had them put into custody for three days. By the coming of the youngest brother, Joseph wanted to test their assertion, not because he thought it possible that he might not be living with them, and they might have treated him as they did Joseph ( Kn .)
, but because he wished to discover their feelings towards Benjamin, and see what affection they had for this son of Rachel, who had taken Joseph’s place as his father’s favourite. And with his harsh mode of addressing them, Joseph had no intention whatever to administer to his brethren “a just punishment for their wickedness towards him,” for his heart could not have stooped to such mean revenge; but he wanted to probe thoroughly the feelings of their hearts, “whether they felt that they deserved the punishment of God for the sin they had committed,” and how they felt towards their aged father and their youngest brother.
Even in the fact that he did not send the one away directly to fetch Benjamin, and merely detain the rest, but put the whole ten in prison, and afterwards modified his threat (Gen 42:18.) , there was no indecision as to the manner in which he should behave towards them - no “wavering between thoughts of wrath and revenge on the one hand, and forgiving love and meekness on the other;” but he hoped by imprisoning them to make his brethren feel the earnestness of his words, and to give them time for reflection, as the curt “is no more” with which they had alluded to Joseph’s removal was a sufficient proof that they had not yet truly repented of the deed.
Gen 42:9-17 As the sight of his brethren bowing before him with the deepest reverence reminded Joseph of his early dreams of the sheaves and stars, which had so increased the hatred of his brethren towards him as to lead to a proposal to kill him, and an actual sale, he said to them, “ Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land (i. e. , the unfortified parts of the kingdom which would be easily accessible to a foe) ye are come; ” and persisted in this charge notwithstanding their reply, “ nay, my lord, but (ו see Ges.
§155, 1 b ) to buy food are thy servants come. We are all one man’s sons (נחנוּ for אנחנוּ, only in Exo 16:7-8; Num 32:32; 2Sa 17:12; Lam 3:42): honest (כּנים) are we; thy servants are no spies . ” Cum exploratio sit delictum capitale, non est verisimile; quod pater tot filios uno tempore vitae periculo expositurus sit ( J. Gerhard ). But as their assertion failed to make any impression upon the Egyptian lord, they told him still more particularly about their family (Gen 42:13.)
: “ Twelve are thy servants, brothers are we, sons of a man in the land of Canaan; and behold the youngest is now with our father, and one is no more (אימנּוּ as in Gen 5:24). Joseph then replied, “ That is it (הוּא neut. like Gen 20:16) that I spake unto you, saying ye are spies. By this shall ye be proved: By the life of Pharaoh! ye shall not (אם, like Gen 14:23) go hence, unless your youngest brother come hither.
Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother; but he shall be in bonds, and your words shall be proved, whether there be truth in you or not. By the life of Pharaoh! ye are truly spies! ” He then had them put into custody for three days. By the coming of the youngest brother, Joseph wanted to test their assertion, not because he thought it possible that he might not be living with them, and they might have treated him as they did Joseph ( Kn .)
, but because he wished to discover their feelings towards Benjamin, and see what affection they had for this son of Rachel, who had taken Joseph’s place as his father’s favourite. And with his harsh mode of addressing them, Joseph had no intention whatever to administer to his brethren “a just punishment for their wickedness towards him,” for his heart could not have stooped to such mean revenge; but he wanted to probe thoroughly the feelings of their hearts, “whether they felt that they deserved the punishment of God for the sin they had committed,” and how they felt towards their aged father and their youngest brother.
Even in the fact that he did not send the one away directly to fetch Benjamin, and merely detain the rest, but put the whole ten in prison, and afterwards modified his threat (Gen 42:18.) , there was no indecision as to the manner in which he should behave towards them - no “wavering between thoughts of wrath and revenge on the one hand, and forgiving love and meekness on the other;” but he hoped by imprisoning them to make his brethren feel the earnestness of his words, and to give them time for reflection, as the curt “is no more” with which they had alluded to Joseph’s removal was a sufficient proof that they had not yet truly repented of the deed.
Gen 42:9-17 As the sight of his brethren bowing before him with the deepest reverence reminded Joseph of his early dreams of the sheaves and stars, which had so increased the hatred of his brethren towards him as to lead to a proposal to kill him, and an actual sale, he said to them, “ Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land (i. e. , the unfortified parts of the kingdom which would be easily accessible to a foe) ye are come; ” and persisted in this charge notwithstanding their reply, “ nay, my lord, but (ו see Ges.
§155, 1 b ) to buy food are thy servants come. We are all one man’s sons (נחנוּ for אנחנוּ, only in Exo 16:7-8; Num 32:32; 2Sa 17:12; Lam 3:42): honest (כּנים) are we; thy servants are no spies . ” Cum exploratio sit delictum capitale, non est verisimile; quod pater tot filios uno tempore vitae periculo expositurus sit ( J. Gerhard ). But as their assertion failed to make any impression upon the Egyptian lord, they told him still more particularly about their family (Gen 42:13.)
: “ Twelve are thy servants, brothers are we, sons of a man in the land of Canaan; and behold the youngest is now with our father, and one is no more (אימנּוּ as in Gen 5:24). Joseph then replied, “ That is it (הוּא neut. like Gen 20:16) that I spake unto you, saying ye are spies. By this shall ye be proved: By the life of Pharaoh! ye shall not (אם, like Gen 14:23) go hence, unless your youngest brother come hither.
Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother; but he shall be in bonds, and your words shall be proved, whether there be truth in you or not. By the life of Pharaoh! ye are truly spies! ” He then had them put into custody for three days. By the coming of the youngest brother, Joseph wanted to test their assertion, not because he thought it possible that he might not be living with them, and they might have treated him as they did Joseph ( Kn .)
, but because he wished to discover their feelings towards Benjamin, and see what affection they had for this son of Rachel, who had taken Joseph’s place as his father’s favourite. And with his harsh mode of addressing them, Joseph had no intention whatever to administer to his brethren “a just punishment for their wickedness towards him,” for his heart could not have stooped to such mean revenge; but he wanted to probe thoroughly the feelings of their hearts, “whether they felt that they deserved the punishment of God for the sin they had committed,” and how they felt towards their aged father and their youngest brother.
Even in the fact that he did not send the one away directly to fetch Benjamin, and merely detain the rest, but put the whole ten in prison, and afterwards modified his threat (Gen 42:18.) , there was no indecision as to the manner in which he should behave towards them - no “wavering between thoughts of wrath and revenge on the one hand, and forgiving love and meekness on the other;” but he hoped by imprisoning them to make his brethren feel the earnestness of his words, and to give them time for reflection, as the curt “is no more” with which they had alluded to Joseph’s removal was a sufficient proof that they had not yet truly repented of the deed.
Gen 42:9-17 As the sight of his brethren bowing before him with the deepest reverence reminded Joseph of his early dreams of the sheaves and stars, which had so increased the hatred of his brethren towards him as to lead to a proposal to kill him, and an actual sale, he said to them, “ Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land (i. e. , the unfortified parts of the kingdom which would be easily accessible to a foe) ye are come; ” and persisted in this charge notwithstanding their reply, “ nay, my lord, but (ו see Ges.
§155, 1 b ) to buy food are thy servants come. We are all one man’s sons (נחנוּ for אנחנוּ, only in Exo 16:7-8; Num 32:32; 2Sa 17:12; Lam 3:42): honest (כּנים) are we; thy servants are no spies . ” Cum exploratio sit delictum capitale, non est verisimile; quod pater tot filios uno tempore vitae periculo expositurus sit ( J. Gerhard ). But as their assertion failed to make any impression upon the Egyptian lord, they told him still more particularly about their family (Gen 42:13.)
: “ Twelve are thy servants, brothers are we, sons of a man in the land of Canaan; and behold the youngest is now with our father, and one is no more (אימנּוּ as in Gen 5:24). Joseph then replied, “ That is it (הוּא neut. like Gen 20:16) that I spake unto you, saying ye are spies. By this shall ye be proved: By the life of Pharaoh! ye shall not (אם, like Gen 14:23) go hence, unless your youngest brother come hither.
Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother; but he shall be in bonds, and your words shall be proved, whether there be truth in you or not. By the life of Pharaoh! ye are truly spies! ” He then had them put into custody for three days. By the coming of the youngest brother, Joseph wanted to test their assertion, not because he thought it possible that he might not be living with them, and they might have treated him as they did Joseph ( Kn .)
, but because he wished to discover their feelings towards Benjamin, and see what affection they had for this son of Rachel, who had taken Joseph’s place as his father’s favourite. And with his harsh mode of addressing them, Joseph had no intention whatever to administer to his brethren “a just punishment for their wickedness towards him,” for his heart could not have stooped to such mean revenge; but he wanted to probe thoroughly the feelings of their hearts, “whether they felt that they deserved the punishment of God for the sin they had committed,” and how they felt towards their aged father and their youngest brother.
Even in the fact that he did not send the one away directly to fetch Benjamin, and merely detain the rest, but put the whole ten in prison, and afterwards modified his threat (Gen 42:18.) , there was no indecision as to the manner in which he should behave towards them - no “wavering between thoughts of wrath and revenge on the one hand, and forgiving love and meekness on the other;” but he hoped by imprisoning them to make his brethren feel the earnestness of his words, and to give them time for reflection, as the curt “is no more” with which they had alluded to Joseph’s removal was a sufficient proof that they had not yet truly repented of the deed.
Gen 42:9-17 As the sight of his brethren bowing before him with the deepest reverence reminded Joseph of his early dreams of the sheaves and stars, which had so increased the hatred of his brethren towards him as to lead to a proposal to kill him, and an actual sale, he said to them, “ Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land (i. e. , the unfortified parts of the kingdom which would be easily accessible to a foe) ye are come; ” and persisted in this charge notwithstanding their reply, “ nay, my lord, but (ו see Ges.
§155, 1 b ) to buy food are thy servants come. We are all one man’s sons (נחנוּ for אנחנוּ, only in Exo 16:7-8; Num 32:32; 2Sa 17:12; Lam 3:42): honest (כּנים) are we; thy servants are no spies . ” Cum exploratio sit delictum capitale, non est verisimile; quod pater tot filios uno tempore vitae periculo expositurus sit ( J. Gerhard ). But as their assertion failed to make any impression upon the Egyptian lord, they told him still more particularly about their family (Gen 42:13.)
: “ Twelve are thy servants, brothers are we, sons of a man in the land of Canaan; and behold the youngest is now with our father, and one is no more (אימנּוּ as in Gen 5:24). Joseph then replied, “ That is it (הוּא neut. like Gen 20:16) that I spake unto you, saying ye are spies. By this shall ye be proved: By the life of Pharaoh! ye shall not (אם, like Gen 14:23) go hence, unless your youngest brother come hither.
Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother; but he shall be in bonds, and your words shall be proved, whether there be truth in you or not. By the life of Pharaoh! ye are truly spies! ” He then had them put into custody for three days. By the coming of the youngest brother, Joseph wanted to test their assertion, not because he thought it possible that he might not be living with them, and they might have treated him as they did Joseph ( Kn .)
, but because he wished to discover their feelings towards Benjamin, and see what affection they had for this son of Rachel, who had taken Joseph’s place as his father’s favourite. And with his harsh mode of addressing them, Joseph had no intention whatever to administer to his brethren “a just punishment for their wickedness towards him,” for his heart could not have stooped to such mean revenge; but he wanted to probe thoroughly the feelings of their hearts, “whether they felt that they deserved the punishment of God for the sin they had committed,” and how they felt towards their aged father and their youngest brother.
Even in the fact that he did not send the one away directly to fetch Benjamin, and merely detain the rest, but put the whole ten in prison, and afterwards modified his threat (Gen 42:18.) , there was no indecision as to the manner in which he should behave towards them - no “wavering between thoughts of wrath and revenge on the one hand, and forgiving love and meekness on the other;” but he hoped by imprisoning them to make his brethren feel the earnestness of his words, and to give them time for reflection, as the curt “is no more” with which they had alluded to Joseph’s removal was a sufficient proof that they had not yet truly repented of the deed.
Gen 42:9-17 As the sight of his brethren bowing before him with the deepest reverence reminded Joseph of his early dreams of the sheaves and stars, which had so increased the hatred of his brethren towards him as to lead to a proposal to kill him, and an actual sale, he said to them, “ Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land (i. e. , the unfortified parts of the kingdom which would be easily accessible to a foe) ye are come; ” and persisted in this charge notwithstanding their reply, “ nay, my lord, but (ו see Ges.
§155, 1 b ) to buy food are thy servants come. We are all one man’s sons (נחנוּ for אנחנוּ, only in Exo 16:7-8; Num 32:32; 2Sa 17:12; Lam 3:42): honest (כּנים) are we; thy servants are no spies . ” Cum exploratio sit delictum capitale, non est verisimile; quod pater tot filios uno tempore vitae periculo expositurus sit ( J. Gerhard ). But as their assertion failed to make any impression upon the Egyptian lord, they told him still more particularly about their family (Gen 42:13.)
: “ Twelve are thy servants, brothers are we, sons of a man in the land of Canaan; and behold the youngest is now with our father, and one is no more (אימנּוּ as in Gen 5:24). Joseph then replied, “ That is it (הוּא neut. like Gen 20:16) that I spake unto you, saying ye are spies. By this shall ye be proved: By the life of Pharaoh! ye shall not (אם, like Gen 14:23) go hence, unless your youngest brother come hither.
Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother; but he shall be in bonds, and your words shall be proved, whether there be truth in you or not. By the life of Pharaoh! ye are truly spies! ” He then had them put into custody for three days. By the coming of the youngest brother, Joseph wanted to test their assertion, not because he thought it possible that he might not be living with them, and they might have treated him as they did Joseph ( Kn .)
, but because he wished to discover their feelings towards Benjamin, and see what affection they had for this son of Rachel, who had taken Joseph’s place as his father’s favourite. And with his harsh mode of addressing them, Joseph had no intention whatever to administer to his brethren “a just punishment for their wickedness towards him,” for his heart could not have stooped to such mean revenge; but he wanted to probe thoroughly the feelings of their hearts, “whether they felt that they deserved the punishment of God for the sin they had committed,” and how they felt towards their aged father and their youngest brother.
Even in the fact that he did not send the one away directly to fetch Benjamin, and merely detain the rest, but put the whole ten in prison, and afterwards modified his threat (Gen 42:18.) , there was no indecision as to the manner in which he should behave towards them - no “wavering between thoughts of wrath and revenge on the one hand, and forgiving love and meekness on the other;” but he hoped by imprisoning them to make his brethren feel the earnestness of his words, and to give them time for reflection, as the curt “is no more” with which they had alluded to Joseph’s removal was a sufficient proof that they had not yet truly repented of the deed.
Gen 42:9-17 As the sight of his brethren bowing before him with the deepest reverence reminded Joseph of his early dreams of the sheaves and stars, which had so increased the hatred of his brethren towards him as to lead to a proposal to kill him, and an actual sale, he said to them, “ Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land (i. e. , the unfortified parts of the kingdom which would be easily accessible to a foe) ye are come; ” and persisted in this charge notwithstanding their reply, “ nay, my lord, but (ו see Ges.
§155, 1 b ) to buy food are thy servants come. We are all one man’s sons (נחנוּ for אנחנוּ, only in Exo 16:7-8; Num 32:32; 2Sa 17:12; Lam 3:42): honest (כּנים) are we; thy servants are no spies . ” Cum exploratio sit delictum capitale, non est verisimile; quod pater tot filios uno tempore vitae periculo expositurus sit ( J. Gerhard ). But as their assertion failed to make any impression upon the Egyptian lord, they told him still more particularly about their family (Gen 42:13.)
: “ Twelve are thy servants, brothers are we, sons of a man in the land of Canaan; and behold the youngest is now with our father, and one is no more (אימנּוּ as in Gen 5:24). Joseph then replied, “ That is it (הוּא neut. like Gen 20:16) that I spake unto you, saying ye are spies. By this shall ye be proved: By the life of Pharaoh! ye shall not (אם, like Gen 14:23) go hence, unless your youngest brother come hither.
Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother; but he shall be in bonds, and your words shall be proved, whether there be truth in you or not. By the life of Pharaoh! ye are truly spies! ” He then had them put into custody for three days. By the coming of the youngest brother, Joseph wanted to test their assertion, not because he thought it possible that he might not be living with them, and they might have treated him as they did Joseph ( Kn .)
, but because he wished to discover their feelings towards Benjamin, and see what affection they had for this son of Rachel, who had taken Joseph’s place as his father’s favourite. And with his harsh mode of addressing them, Joseph had no intention whatever to administer to his brethren “a just punishment for their wickedness towards him,” for his heart could not have stooped to such mean revenge; but he wanted to probe thoroughly the feelings of their hearts, “whether they felt that they deserved the punishment of God for the sin they had committed,” and how they felt towards their aged father and their youngest brother.
Even in the fact that he did not send the one away directly to fetch Benjamin, and merely detain the rest, but put the whole ten in prison, and afterwards modified his threat (Gen 42:18.) , there was no indecision as to the manner in which he should behave towards them - no “wavering between thoughts of wrath and revenge on the one hand, and forgiving love and meekness on the other;” but he hoped by imprisoning them to make his brethren feel the earnestness of his words, and to give them time for reflection, as the curt “is no more” with which they had alluded to Joseph’s removal was a sufficient proof that they had not yet truly repented of the deed.
Gen 42:18-25 On the third day Joseph modified his severity. “ This do and live, ” i. e. , then ye shall live: “ I fear God . ” One shall remain in prison, but let the rest of you take home “corn for the famine of your families,” and fetch your youngest brother, that your words may be verified, and ye may not die, i. e. , may not suffer the death that spies deserve.
That he might not present the appearance of despotic caprice and tyranny by too great severity, and so render his brethren obdurate, Joseph stated as the reason for his new decision, that he feared God. From the fear of God, he, the lord of Egypt, would not punish or slay these strangers upon mere suspicion, but would judge them justly. How differently had they acted towards their brother!
The ruler of all Egypt had compassion on their families who were in Canaan suffering from hunger; but they had intended to leave their brother in the pit to starve! These and similar thoughts could hardly fail to pass involuntarily through their minds at Joseph’s words, and to lead them to a penitential acknowledgement of their sin and unrighteousness. The notion that Joseph altered his first intention merely from regard to his much afflicted father, appears improbable, for the simple reason, that he can only have given utterance to the threat that he should keep them all in prison till one of them had gone and fetched Benjamin, for the purpose of giving the greater force to his accusation, that they were spies.
But as he was not serious in making this charge, he could not for a moment have thought of actually carrying out the threat. “ And they did so: ” in these words the writer anticipates the result of the colloquy which ensued, and which is more fully narrated afterwards. Joseph’s intention was fulfilled. The brothers now saw in what had happened to them a divine retribution: “ Surely we atone because of our brother, whose anguish of soul we saw, when he entreated us and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us .
” And Reuben reminded them how he had warned them to no purpose, not to sin against the boy - “ and even his blood... behold it is required ” (cf. Gen 9:5); i. e. , not merely the sin of casting him into the pit and then selling him, but his death also, of which we have been guilty through that sale. Thus they accused themselves in Joseph’s presence, not knowing that he could understand; “ for the interpreter was between them .
” Joseph had conversed with them through an interpreter, as an Egyptian who was ignorant of their language. “ The interpreter,” viz. , the one appointed for that purpose; בּינות like Gen 26:28. But Joseph understood their words, and “ turned away and wept ” (Gen 42:24), with inward emotion at the wonderful leadings of divine grace, and at the change in his brothers’ feelings.
He then turned to them again, and, continuing the conversation with them, had Simeon bound before their eyes, to be detained as a hostage (not Reuben, who had dissuaded them from killing Joseph, and had taken no part in the sale, but Simeon, the next in age). He then ordered his men to fill their sacks with corn, to give every one (אישׁ as in Gen 15:10) his money back in his sack, and to provide them with food for the journey.
Gen 42:18-25 On the third day Joseph modified his severity. “ This do and live, ” i. e. , then ye shall live: “ I fear God . ” One shall remain in prison, but let the rest of you take home “corn for the famine of your families,” and fetch your youngest brother, that your words may be verified, and ye may not die, i. e. , may not suffer the death that spies deserve.
That he might not present the appearance of despotic caprice and tyranny by too great severity, and so render his brethren obdurate, Joseph stated as the reason for his new decision, that he feared God. From the fear of God, he, the lord of Egypt, would not punish or slay these strangers upon mere suspicion, but would judge them justly. How differently had they acted towards their brother!
The ruler of all Egypt had compassion on their families who were in Canaan suffering from hunger; but they had intended to leave their brother in the pit to starve! These and similar thoughts could hardly fail to pass involuntarily through their minds at Joseph’s words, and to lead them to a penitential acknowledgement of their sin and unrighteousness. The notion that Joseph altered his first intention merely from regard to his much afflicted father, appears improbable, for the simple reason, that he can only have given utterance to the threat that he should keep them all in prison till one of them had gone and fetched Benjamin, for the purpose of giving the greater force to his accusation, that they were spies.
But as he was not serious in making this charge, he could not for a moment have thought of actually carrying out the threat. “ And they did so: ” in these words the writer anticipates the result of the colloquy which ensued, and which is more fully narrated afterwards. Joseph’s intention was fulfilled. The brothers now saw in what had happened to them a divine retribution: “ Surely we atone because of our brother, whose anguish of soul we saw, when he entreated us and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us .
” And Reuben reminded them how he had warned them to no purpose, not to sin against the boy - “ and even his blood... behold it is required ” (cf. Gen 9:5); i. e. , not merely the sin of casting him into the pit and then selling him, but his death also, of which we have been guilty through that sale. Thus they accused themselves in Joseph’s presence, not knowing that he could understand; “ for the interpreter was between them .
” Joseph had conversed with them through an interpreter, as an Egyptian who was ignorant of their language. “ The interpreter,” viz. , the one appointed for that purpose; בּינות like Gen 26:28. But Joseph understood their words, and “ turned away and wept ” (Gen 42:24), with inward emotion at the wonderful leadings of divine grace, and at the change in his brothers’ feelings.
He then turned to them again, and, continuing the conversation with them, had Simeon bound before their eyes, to be detained as a hostage (not Reuben, who had dissuaded them from killing Joseph, and had taken no part in the sale, but Simeon, the next in age). He then ordered his men to fill their sacks with corn, to give every one (אישׁ as in Gen 15:10) his money back in his sack, and to provide them with food for the journey.
Gen 42:18-25 On the third day Joseph modified his severity. “ This do and live, ” i. e. , then ye shall live: “ I fear God . ” One shall remain in prison, but let the rest of you take home “corn for the famine of your families,” and fetch your youngest brother, that your words may be verified, and ye may not die, i. e. , may not suffer the death that spies deserve.
That he might not present the appearance of despotic caprice and tyranny by too great severity, and so render his brethren obdurate, Joseph stated as the reason for his new decision, that he feared God. From the fear of God, he, the lord of Egypt, would not punish or slay these strangers upon mere suspicion, but would judge them justly. How differently had they acted towards their brother!
The ruler of all Egypt had compassion on their families who were in Canaan suffering from hunger; but they had intended to leave their brother in the pit to starve! These and similar thoughts could hardly fail to pass involuntarily through their minds at Joseph’s words, and to lead them to a penitential acknowledgement of their sin and unrighteousness. The notion that Joseph altered his first intention merely from regard to his much afflicted father, appears improbable, for the simple reason, that he can only have given utterance to the threat that he should keep them all in prison till one of them had gone and fetched Benjamin, for the purpose of giving the greater force to his accusation, that they were spies.
But as he was not serious in making this charge, he could not for a moment have thought of actually carrying out the threat. “ And they did so: ” in these words the writer anticipates the result of the colloquy which ensued, and which is more fully narrated afterwards. Joseph’s intention was fulfilled. The brothers now saw in what had happened to them a divine retribution: “ Surely we atone because of our brother, whose anguish of soul we saw, when he entreated us and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us .
” And Reuben reminded them how he had warned them to no purpose, not to sin against the boy - “ and even his blood... behold it is required ” (cf. Gen 9:5); i. e. , not merely the sin of casting him into the pit and then selling him, but his death also, of which we have been guilty through that sale. Thus they accused themselves in Joseph’s presence, not knowing that he could understand; “ for the interpreter was between them .
” Joseph had conversed with them through an interpreter, as an Egyptian who was ignorant of their language. “ The interpreter,” viz. , the one appointed for that purpose; בּינות like Gen 26:28. But Joseph understood their words, and “ turned away and wept ” (Gen 42:24), with inward emotion at the wonderful leadings of divine grace, and at the change in his brothers’ feelings.
He then turned to them again, and, continuing the conversation with them, had Simeon bound before their eyes, to be detained as a hostage (not Reuben, who had dissuaded them from killing Joseph, and had taken no part in the sale, but Simeon, the next in age). He then ordered his men to fill their sacks with corn, to give every one (אישׁ as in Gen 15:10) his money back in his sack, and to provide them with food for the journey.
Gen 42:18-25 On the third day Joseph modified his severity. “ This do and live, ” i. e. , then ye shall live: “ I fear God . ” One shall remain in prison, but let the rest of you take home “corn for the famine of your families,” and fetch your youngest brother, that your words may be verified, and ye may not die, i. e. , may not suffer the death that spies deserve.
That he might not present the appearance of despotic caprice and tyranny by too great severity, and so render his brethren obdurate, Joseph stated as the reason for his new decision, that he feared God. From the fear of God, he, the lord of Egypt, would not punish or slay these strangers upon mere suspicion, but would judge them justly. How differently had they acted towards their brother!
The ruler of all Egypt had compassion on their families who were in Canaan suffering from hunger; but they had intended to leave their brother in the pit to starve! These and similar thoughts could hardly fail to pass involuntarily through their minds at Joseph’s words, and to lead them to a penitential acknowledgement of their sin and unrighteousness. The notion that Joseph altered his first intention merely from regard to his much afflicted father, appears improbable, for the simple reason, that he can only have given utterance to the threat that he should keep them all in prison till one of them had gone and fetched Benjamin, for the purpose of giving the greater force to his accusation, that they were spies.
But as he was not serious in making this charge, he could not for a moment have thought of actually carrying out the threat. “ And they did so: ” in these words the writer anticipates the result of the colloquy which ensued, and which is more fully narrated afterwards. Joseph’s intention was fulfilled. The brothers now saw in what had happened to them a divine retribution: “ Surely we atone because of our brother, whose anguish of soul we saw, when he entreated us and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us .
” And Reuben reminded them how he had warned them to no purpose, not to sin against the boy - “ and even his blood... behold it is required ” (cf. Gen 9:5); i. e. , not merely the sin of casting him into the pit and then selling him, but his death also, of which we have been guilty through that sale. Thus they accused themselves in Joseph’s presence, not knowing that he could understand; “ for the interpreter was between them .
” Joseph had conversed with them through an interpreter, as an Egyptian who was ignorant of their language. “ The interpreter,” viz. , the one appointed for that purpose; בּינות like Gen 26:28. But Joseph understood their words, and “ turned away and wept ” (Gen 42:24), with inward emotion at the wonderful leadings of divine grace, and at the change in his brothers’ feelings.
He then turned to them again, and, continuing the conversation with them, had Simeon bound before their eyes, to be detained as a hostage (not Reuben, who had dissuaded them from killing Joseph, and had taken no part in the sale, but Simeon, the next in age). He then ordered his men to fill their sacks with corn, to give every one (אישׁ as in Gen 15:10) his money back in his sack, and to provide them with food for the journey.
Gen 42:18-25 On the third day Joseph modified his severity. “ This do and live, ” i. e. , then ye shall live: “ I fear God . ” One shall remain in prison, but let the rest of you take home “corn for the famine of your families,” and fetch your youngest brother, that your words may be verified, and ye may not die, i. e. , may not suffer the death that spies deserve.
That he might not present the appearance of despotic caprice and tyranny by too great severity, and so render his brethren obdurate, Joseph stated as the reason for his new decision, that he feared God. From the fear of God, he, the lord of Egypt, would not punish or slay these strangers upon mere suspicion, but would judge them justly. How differently had they acted towards their brother!
The ruler of all Egypt had compassion on their families who were in Canaan suffering from hunger; but they had intended to leave their brother in the pit to starve! These and similar thoughts could hardly fail to pass involuntarily through their minds at Joseph’s words, and to lead them to a penitential acknowledgement of their sin and unrighteousness. The notion that Joseph altered his first intention merely from regard to his much afflicted father, appears improbable, for the simple reason, that he can only have given utterance to the threat that he should keep them all in prison till one of them had gone and fetched Benjamin, for the purpose of giving the greater force to his accusation, that they were spies.
But as he was not serious in making this charge, he could not for a moment have thought of actually carrying out the threat. “ And they did so: ” in these words the writer anticipates the result of the colloquy which ensued, and which is more fully narrated afterwards. Joseph’s intention was fulfilled. The brothers now saw in what had happened to them a divine retribution: “ Surely we atone because of our brother, whose anguish of soul we saw, when he entreated us and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us .
” And Reuben reminded them how he had warned them to no purpose, not to sin against the boy - “ and even his blood... behold it is required ” (cf. Gen 9:5); i. e. , not merely the sin of casting him into the pit and then selling him, but his death also, of which we have been guilty through that sale. Thus they accused themselves in Joseph’s presence, not knowing that he could understand; “ for the interpreter was between them .
” Joseph had conversed with them through an interpreter, as an Egyptian who was ignorant of their language. “ The interpreter,” viz. , the one appointed for that purpose; בּינות like Gen 26:28. But Joseph understood their words, and “ turned away and wept ” (Gen 42:24), with inward emotion at the wonderful leadings of divine grace, and at the change in his brothers’ feelings.
He then turned to them again, and, continuing the conversation with them, had Simeon bound before their eyes, to be detained as a hostage (not Reuben, who had dissuaded them from killing Joseph, and had taken no part in the sale, but Simeon, the next in age). He then ordered his men to fill their sacks with corn, to give every one (אישׁ as in Gen 15:10) his money back in his sack, and to provide them with food for the journey.
Gen 42:18-25 On the third day Joseph modified his severity. “ This do and live, ” i. e. , then ye shall live: “ I fear God . ” One shall remain in prison, but let the rest of you take home “corn for the famine of your families,” and fetch your youngest brother, that your words may be verified, and ye may not die, i. e. , may not suffer the death that spies deserve.
That he might not present the appearance of despotic caprice and tyranny by too great severity, and so render his brethren obdurate, Joseph stated as the reason for his new decision, that he feared God. From the fear of God, he, the lord of Egypt, would not punish or slay these strangers upon mere suspicion, but would judge them justly. How differently had they acted towards their brother!
The ruler of all Egypt had compassion on their families who were in Canaan suffering from hunger; but they had intended to leave their brother in the pit to starve! These and similar thoughts could hardly fail to pass involuntarily through their minds at Joseph’s words, and to lead them to a penitential acknowledgement of their sin and unrighteousness. The notion that Joseph altered his first intention merely from regard to his much afflicted father, appears improbable, for the simple reason, that he can only have given utterance to the threat that he should keep them all in prison till one of them had gone and fetched Benjamin, for the purpose of giving the greater force to his accusation, that they were spies.
But as he was not serious in making this charge, he could not for a moment have thought of actually carrying out the threat. “ And they did so: ” in these words the writer anticipates the result of the colloquy which ensued, and which is more fully narrated afterwards. Joseph’s intention was fulfilled. The brothers now saw in what had happened to them a divine retribution: “ Surely we atone because of our brother, whose anguish of soul we saw, when he entreated us and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us .
” And Reuben reminded them how he had warned them to no purpose, not to sin against the boy - “ and even his blood... behold it is required ” (cf. Gen 9:5); i. e. , not merely the sin of casting him into the pit and then selling him, but his death also, of which we have been guilty through that sale. Thus they accused themselves in Joseph’s presence, not knowing that he could understand; “ for the interpreter was between them .
” Joseph had conversed with them through an interpreter, as an Egyptian who was ignorant of their language. “ The interpreter,” viz. , the one appointed for that purpose; בּינות like Gen 26:28. But Joseph understood their words, and “ turned away and wept ” (Gen 42:24), with inward emotion at the wonderful leadings of divine grace, and at the change in his brothers’ feelings.
He then turned to them again, and, continuing the conversation with them, had Simeon bound before their eyes, to be detained as a hostage (not Reuben, who had dissuaded them from killing Joseph, and had taken no part in the sale, but Simeon, the next in age). He then ordered his men to fill their sacks with corn, to give every one (אישׁ as in Gen 15:10) his money back in his sack, and to provide them with food for the journey.
Gen 42:18-25 On the third day Joseph modified his severity. “ This do and live, ” i. e. , then ye shall live: “ I fear God . ” One shall remain in prison, but let the rest of you take home “corn for the famine of your families,” and fetch your youngest brother, that your words may be verified, and ye may not die, i. e. , may not suffer the death that spies deserve.
That he might not present the appearance of despotic caprice and tyranny by too great severity, and so render his brethren obdurate, Joseph stated as the reason for his new decision, that he feared God. From the fear of God, he, the lord of Egypt, would not punish or slay these strangers upon mere suspicion, but would judge them justly. How differently had they acted towards their brother!
The ruler of all Egypt had compassion on their families who were in Canaan suffering from hunger; but they had intended to leave their brother in the pit to starve! These and similar thoughts could hardly fail to pass involuntarily through their minds at Joseph’s words, and to lead them to a penitential acknowledgement of their sin and unrighteousness. The notion that Joseph altered his first intention merely from regard to his much afflicted father, appears improbable, for the simple reason, that he can only have given utterance to the threat that he should keep them all in prison till one of them had gone and fetched Benjamin, for the purpose of giving the greater force to his accusation, that they were spies.
But as he was not serious in making this charge, he could not for a moment have thought of actually carrying out the threat. “ And they did so: ” in these words the writer anticipates the result of the colloquy which ensued, and which is more fully narrated afterwards. Joseph’s intention was fulfilled. The brothers now saw in what had happened to them a divine retribution: “ Surely we atone because of our brother, whose anguish of soul we saw, when he entreated us and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us .
” And Reuben reminded them how he had warned them to no purpose, not to sin against the boy - “ and even his blood... behold it is required ” (cf. Gen 9:5); i. e. , not merely the sin of casting him into the pit and then selling him, but his death also, of which we have been guilty through that sale. Thus they accused themselves in Joseph’s presence, not knowing that he could understand; “ for the interpreter was between them .
” Joseph had conversed with them through an interpreter, as an Egyptian who was ignorant of their language. “ The interpreter,” viz. , the one appointed for that purpose; בּינות like Gen 26:28. But Joseph understood their words, and “ turned away and wept ” (Gen 42:24), with inward emotion at the wonderful leadings of divine grace, and at the change in his brothers’ feelings.
He then turned to them again, and, continuing the conversation with them, had Simeon bound before their eyes, to be detained as a hostage (not Reuben, who had dissuaded them from killing Joseph, and had taken no part in the sale, but Simeon, the next in age). He then ordered his men to fill their sacks with corn, to give every one (אישׁ as in Gen 15:10) his money back in his sack, and to provide them with food for the journey.
Gen 42:18-25 On the third day Joseph modified his severity. “ This do and live, ” i. e. , then ye shall live: “ I fear God . ” One shall remain in prison, but let the rest of you take home “corn for the famine of your families,” and fetch your youngest brother, that your words may be verified, and ye may not die, i. e. , may not suffer the death that spies deserve.
That he might not present the appearance of despotic caprice and tyranny by too great severity, and so render his brethren obdurate, Joseph stated as the reason for his new decision, that he feared God. From the fear of God, he, the lord of Egypt, would not punish or slay these strangers upon mere suspicion, but would judge them justly. How differently had they acted towards their brother!
The ruler of all Egypt had compassion on their families who were in Canaan suffering from hunger; but they had intended to leave their brother in the pit to starve! These and similar thoughts could hardly fail to pass involuntarily through their minds at Joseph’s words, and to lead them to a penitential acknowledgement of their sin and unrighteousness. The notion that Joseph altered his first intention merely from regard to his much afflicted father, appears improbable, for the simple reason, that he can only have given utterance to the threat that he should keep them all in prison till one of them had gone and fetched Benjamin, for the purpose of giving the greater force to his accusation, that they were spies.
But as he was not serious in making this charge, he could not for a moment have thought of actually carrying out the threat. “ And they did so: ” in these words the writer anticipates the result of the colloquy which ensued, and which is more fully narrated afterwards. Joseph’s intention was fulfilled. The brothers now saw in what had happened to them a divine retribution: “ Surely we atone because of our brother, whose anguish of soul we saw, when he entreated us and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us .
” And Reuben reminded them how he had warned them to no purpose, not to sin against the boy - “ and even his blood... behold it is required ” (cf. Gen 9:5); i. e. , not merely the sin of casting him into the pit and then selling him, but his death also, of which we have been guilty through that sale. Thus they accused themselves in Joseph’s presence, not knowing that he could understand; “ for the interpreter was between them .
” Joseph had conversed with them through an interpreter, as an Egyptian who was ignorant of their language. “ The interpreter,” viz. , the one appointed for that purpose; בּינות like Gen 26:28. But Joseph understood their words, and “ turned away and wept ” (Gen 42:24), with inward emotion at the wonderful leadings of divine grace, and at the change in his brothers’ feelings.
He then turned to them again, and, continuing the conversation with them, had Simeon bound before their eyes, to be detained as a hostage (not Reuben, who had dissuaded them from killing Joseph, and had taken no part in the sale, but Simeon, the next in age). He then ordered his men to fill their sacks with corn, to give every one (אישׁ as in Gen 15:10) his money back in his sack, and to provide them with food for the journey.
Gen 42:26-27 Thus they started with their asses laden with the corn. On the way, when they had reached their halting-place for the night, one of them opened his sack to feed the ass, and found his money in it. מלון, camping-place for the night, is merely a resting-place, not an inn, both here and in Exo 4:24; for there can hardly have been caravanserais at that time, either in the desert or by the desert road.
אמתחת: an antiquated word for a corn-sack, occurring only in these chapters, and used even here interchangeably with שׂק.
Gen 42:26-27 Thus they started with their asses laden with the corn. On the way, when they had reached their halting-place for the night, one of them opened his sack to feed the ass, and found his money in it. מלון, camping-place for the night, is merely a resting-place, not an inn, both here and in Exo 4:24; for there can hardly have been caravanserais at that time, either in the desert or by the desert road.
אמתחת: an antiquated word for a corn-sack, occurring only in these chapters, and used even here interchangeably with שׂק.
Gen 42:28 When this discovery was made known to the brethren, their hearts sank within them. They turned trembling to one another, and said, “ What is this that God hath done to us! ” Joseph had no doubt had the money returned, “merely because it was against his nature to trade with his father and brethren for bread;” just as he had caused them to be supplied with food for the journey, for no other reason than to give them a proof of his good-will.
And even if he may have thought it possible that the brothers would be alarmed when they found the money, and thrown into a state of much greater anxiety from the fear of being still further accused by the stern lord of Egypt of cheating or of theft, there was no reason why he should spare them this anxiety, since it could only help to break their hard hearts still more. At any rate, this salutary effect was really produced, even if Joseph had no such intention.
The brothers looked upon this incomprehensible affair as a punishment from God, and neglected in their alarm to examine the rest of the sacks.
Gen 42:29-34 On their arrival at home, they told their father all that had occurred.
Gen 42:29-34 On their arrival at home, they told their father all that had occurred.
Gen 42:29-34 On their arrival at home, they told their father all that had occurred.
Gen 42:29-34 On their arrival at home, they told their father all that had occurred.
Gen 42:29-34 On their arrival at home, they told their father all that had occurred.
Gen 42:29-34 On their arrival at home, they told their father all that had occurred.
Gen 42:35-36 But when they emptied their sacks, and, to their own and their father’s terror, found their bundles of money in their separate sacks, Jacob burst out with the complaint, “ Ye are making me childless! Joseph is gone, and Simeon is gone, and will ye take Benjamin! All this falls upon me ” (כּלּנה for כּלּן as in Pro 31:29).
Gen 42:35-36 But when they emptied their sacks, and, to their own and their father’s terror, found their bundles of money in their separate sacks, Jacob burst out with the complaint, “ Ye are making me childless! Joseph is gone, and Simeon is gone, and will ye take Benjamin! All this falls upon me ” (כּלּנה for כּלּן as in Pro 31:29).
Gen 42:37-38 Reuben then offered his two sons to Jacob as pledges for Benjamin, if Jacob would entrust him to his care: Jacob might slay them, if he did not bring Benjamin back-the greatest and dearest offer that a son could make to a father. But Jacob refused to let him go. “ If mischief befell him by the way, he would bring down my grey hairs with sorrow into Sheol ” (cf. Gen 37:35).