As famine forces Jacob’s sons back to Egypt with Benjamin, God advances His work through Judah’s costly responsibility and Joseph’s hidden mercy, testing whether the brothers can now stand rightly in relation to the favored son.
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Genesis 43
Judah Sureties for Benjamin, the Brothers Return to Egypt, and Joseph Shows Hidden Mercy at the Table
As famine forces Jacob’s sons back to Egypt with Benjamin, God advances His work through Judah’s costly responsibility and Joseph’s hidden mercy, testing whether the brothers can now stand rightly in relation to the favored son.
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Chapter Summary
As famine forces Jacob’s sons back to Egypt with Benjamin, God advances His work through Judah’s costly responsibility and Joseph’s hidden mercy, testing whether the brothers can now stand rightly in relation to the favored son.
Overview
Genesis 43 teaches that God’s providence often presses His people into hard obedience, while quietly weaving mercy, responsibility, and transformation beneath their fear. The chapter opens with famine still severe, which means delay is no longer possible. The household must act. Judah’s speech is central, because it shows real growth in the brother who once proposed selling Joseph.
He now offers Himself as guarantor for Benjamin, not with reckless bravado but with personal accountability. This emerging substitutionary posture is one of the chapter’s most important theological developments and foreshadows Judah’s fuller transformation later in the narrative. Jacob’s response is marked by both wisdom and lingering sorrow. He prepares gifts and double money, but above all He entrusts the situation to God Almighty.
His words show a man still haunted by bereavement, yet compelled to place what He most fears losing into the hands of God. Once the brothers arrive in Egypt, the atmosphere is shaped by fear. Being brought into Joseph’s house is interpreted not as favor but as threat. This reveals how guilt distorts perception. Yet the steward’s reassurance and Simeon’s release signal that mercy is already operating before the brothers can understand it.
The climactic meal scene deepens this tension. Joseph remains hidden, but His heart is increasingly disclosed to the reader. He sees Benjamin and is moved to compassion. His withdrawal to weep shows that this is not cold manipulation. At the same time, the ordered seating and Benjamin’s multiplied portion function as a test. The brothers are again placed in a setting where one son is visibly singled out.
The chapter does not yet provide the final answer, but it prepares the reader to ask whether envy, resentment, and violence still govern them. Thus Genesis 43 argues that God uses necessity to move His people forward, fosters real growth in those He intends to use, and mingles hidden mercy with testing in order to expose whether the heart has changed.
Genesis 43 continues the famine narrative and the first cycle of Joseph’s testing of His brothers. Genesis 42 ended with unresolved fear, Simeon still detained in Egypt, and Jacob refusing to send Benjamin. But the famine in Canaan intensifies, forcing the household to confront what it had hoped to delay. Within the larger Joseph narrative, this chapter is decisive because it brings Benjamin into the story before Joseph and deepens the process by which the brothers are exposed, humbled, and drawn toward truth.
It also marks an important shift in Judah’s role. Reuben’s earlier pledge in Genesis 42 was ineffective and emotionally clumsy, but Judah now steps forward with sober responsibility and personal surety. Historically in the narrative, Genesis 43 explains the second journey to Egypt and the brothers’ first meal in Joseph’s presence. Theologically, the chapter is shaped by providential pressure, paternal grief, brotherly responsibility, hidden mercy, and the testing of whether the brothers’ relationship to the favored son has changed.
Joseph remains concealed from them, yet His actions increasingly blend severity with tenderness. This chapter therefore stands at a crucial midpoint, where fear is still active, but grace is already quietly at work.
Structural Flow
The famine remains severe in the land. When the grain from Egypt is consumed, Jacob tells His sons to return and buy more food. Judah reminds Him that the man in Egypt had solemnly warned that they would not see His face unless Benjamin came with them. Judah offers Himself as surety for Benjamin, declaring that the blame will rest on Him forever if He does not bring Him back.
Jacob reluctantly agrees, telling them to take gifts from the best produce of the land, double money, and the returned money from the previous journey, and He entrusts Benjamin to them. He commends them to God Almighty, asking that the man show mercy and release Simeon and Benjamin, while expressing His grief if He must be bereaved. The men go down to Egypt and stand before Joseph.
When Joseph sees Benjamin with them, He instructs His steward to bring the men into His house, slaughter an animal, and prepare a meal for noon. The brothers are afraid because they are brought to Joseph’s house and suspect it is because of the returned money, imagining seizure, slavery, and loss of their donkeys. They explain the returned money to Joseph’s steward, who reassures them that their God and the God of their father had put treasure in their sacks.
Simeon is brought out to them. They are given water, wash their feet, and their donkeys are fed while they prepare the present for Joseph.
Joseph comes home, and the brothers bring Him the gift and bow to the ground before Him. He asks about their welfare and their father’s welfare. Seeing Benjamin, His own mother’s son, Joseph blesses Him and is overcome with compassion, withdrawing to weep in private. After washing His face, He returns and orders the meal served. Joseph eats separately, the Egyptians separately, and the brothers by themselves, seated in birth order to their astonishment.
Portions are served to them from Joseph’s table, but Benjamin’s portion is five times larger than the others’. They drink and are merry with Him.
Chapter Outline
- 43:1–10: The famine remains severe in the land. When the grain from Egypt is consumed, Jacob tells His sons to return and buy more food. Judah reminds Him that the man in Egypt had solemnly warned that they would not see His face unless Benjamin came with them. Judah offers Himself as surety for Benjamin, declaring that the blame will rest on Him forever if He does not bring Him back.
- 43:11–15: Jacob reluctantly agrees, telling them to take gifts from the best produce of the land, double money, and the returned money from the previous journey, and He entrusts Benjamin to them. He commends them to God Almighty, asking that the man show mercy and release Simeon and Benjamin, while expressing His grief if He must be bereaved. The men go down to Egypt and stand before Joseph.
- 43:16–25: When Joseph sees Benjamin with them, He instructs His steward to bring the men into His house, slaughter an animal, and prepare a meal for noon. The brothers are afraid because they are brought to Joseph’s house and suspect it is because of the returned money, imagining seizure, slavery, and loss of their donkeys. They explain the returned money to Joseph’s steward, who reassures them that their God and the God of their father had put treasure in their sacks. Simeon is brought out to them. They are given water, wash their feet, and their donkeys are fed while they prepare the present for Joseph.
- 43:26–34: Joseph comes home, and the brothers bring Him the gift and bow to the ground before Him. He asks about their welfare and their father’s welfare. Seeing Benjamin, His own mother’s son, Joseph blesses Him and is overcome with compassion, withdrawing to weep in private. After washing His face, He returns and orders the meal served. Joseph eats separately, the Egyptians separately, and the brothers by themselves, seated in birth order to their astonishment. Portions are served to them from Joseph’s table, but Benjamin’s portion is five times larger than the others’. They drink and are merry with Him.
Theological Focus
- Providence
- Responsibility and Surety
- Hidden Mercy
- Compassion
- Testing of the Heart
- Fear under Guilt
- God Almighty
- Brotherly Transformation
- Covenant Preservation
- Sanctification through Testing
- Brotherly Responsibility
- Biblical Theology
- Christology Preparation
Covenant Significance
Genesis 43 is covenantally significant because it moves Benjamin, Simeon, and the rest of Jacob’s sons back into Joseph’s presence and thus advances the providential process by which the covenant household will be preserved in Egypt. The chapter also highlights Judah’s emergence as a responsible representative within the family, an important development given His later prominence in both the immediate story and the royal trajectory of Genesis 49.
Jacob’s appeal to God Almighty also ties this dangerous family movement back to the wider covenant promises. Material preservation, family reckoning, and covenant future are increasingly converging in Joseph’s house.
Canonical Connections
Genesis 43 is covenantally significant because it moves Benjamin, Simeon, and the rest of Jacob’s sons back into Joseph’s presence and thus advances the providential process by which the covenant household will be preserved in Egypt. The chapter also highlights Judah’s emergence as a responsible representative within the family, an important development given His later prominence in both the immediate story and the royal trajectory of Genesis 49.
Jacob’s appeal to God Almighty also ties this dangerous family movement back to the wider covenant promises. Material preservation, family reckoning, and covenant future are increasingly converging in Joseph’s house.
Genesis 37:3-4
Genesis 42:1-38
Genesis 44:32-34
Genesis 49:8-10
Psalm 105:16-22
Genesis 37:3-4
Genesis 42:1-38
Genesis 44:14-34
Luke 24:30-31
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.
“See now that I myself am he. There is no god with me. I kill and I make alive. I wound and I heal. There is no one who can deliver out of my hand.
Shows Old Testament grounding that frames or supports this passage.
“Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies. Your father’s sons will bow down before you. Judah is a lion’s cub. From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down, he crouched as a lion, as a...
Shows Old Testament grounding that frames or supports this passage.
Now therefore don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your little ones.” He comforted them, and spoke kindly to them.
Shows Old Testament grounding that frames or supports this passage.
Trust in Yahweh forever; for in Yah, Yahweh, is an everlasting Rock.
Shows Old Testament grounding that frames or supports this passage.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways,” says Yahweh. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Shows Old Testament grounding that frames or supports this passage.
If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat. If he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for you will heap coals of fire on his head, and Yahweh will reward you.
Shows Old Testament grounding that frames or supports this passage.
Trust in Yahweh with all your heart, and don’t lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
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.
Develops the same theological theme in another location.
Gospel Clarity
Genesis 43 deepens the gospel trajectory by showing brothers in need brought again before the hidden ruler who possesses life-giving provision. They are afraid, yet mercy is already working. Judah’s surety for Benjamin also begins to sharpen the pattern of one taking responsibility for another. These features prepare the reader to understand more fully the gospel pattern of provision through the exalted yet not-yet-recognized savior, and of representation through one who steps forward on behalf of another.
In the fullness of Scripture, these realities find their clearest fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
Gospel Cross References
Primary Emphasis
Genesis 43 contributes to Christology especially through Judah’s role and Joseph’s hidden mercy. Judah offers Himself as surety for Benjamin, taking responsibility for another’s safe return. This deepens a pattern that will become more explicit later and contributes to Judah’s typological significance in relation to substitution and representation. Joseph, meanwhile, stands as the hidden exalted brother who possesses the resources of life and receives His brothers while they still do not understand Him.
These patterns prepare the way for fuller biblical realities fulfilled in Christ, in whom representation, provision, hidden glory, and eventual self-disclosure come together perfectly.
Chapter Contribution
Genesis 43 teaches that God’s providence often presses His people into hard obedience, while quietly weaving mercy, responsibility, and transformation beneath their fear. The chapter opens with famine still severe, which means delay is no longer possible. The household must act. Judah’s speech is central, because it shows real growth in the brother who once proposed selling Joseph.
He now offers Himself as guarantor for Benjamin, not with reckless bravado but with personal accountability. This emerging substitutionary posture is one of the chapter’s most important theological developments and foreshadows Judah’s fuller transformation later in the narrative. Jacob’s response is marked by both wisdom and lingering sorrow. He prepares gifts and double money, but above all He entrusts the situation to God Almighty.
His words show a man still haunted by bereavement, yet compelled to place what He most fears losing into the hands of God. Once the brothers arrive in Egypt, the atmosphere is shaped by fear. Being brought into Joseph’s house is interpreted not as favor but as threat. This reveals how guilt distorts perception. Yet the steward’s reassurance and Simeon’s release signal that mercy is already operating before the brothers can understand it.
The climactic meal scene deepens this tension. Joseph remains hidden, but His heart is increasingly disclosed to the reader. He sees Benjamin and is moved to compassion. His withdrawal to weep shows that this is not cold manipulation. At the same time, the ordered seating and Benjamin’s multiplied portion function as a test. The brothers are again placed in a setting where one son is visibly singled out.
The chapter does not yet provide the final answer, but it prepares the reader to ask whether envy, resentment, and violence still govern them. Thus Genesis 43 argues that God uses necessity to move His people forward, fosters real growth in those He intends to use, and mingles hidden mercy with testing in order to expose whether the heart has changed.
Doctrines in This Chapter
God uses kindness and provision as instruments to reveal the heart.
God’s people depend on His mercy in uncertain and risky situations.
Guilt can distort perception, causing fear even in the presence of grace.
God’s compassion may be present even when not immediately visible or understood.
God raises individuals to take responsibility and lead in critical moments.
God uses circumstances, including hardship, to direct His people toward His purposes.
God gradually changes the hearts of His people through testing and grace.
Faith often involves surrendering outcomes to God’s sovereign will.
Reading Lenses
7 Imperatives
- Go again, buy us a little food
- Send the boy with me
- Take gifts and double money
- Arise, return to the man
- The chapter’s force presses toward costly obedience, responsible action, and trusting God in fearful necessity
Key Hebrew Terms
Sense be surety, pledge oneself
Definition be surety, pledge oneself
Why it matters Judah’s offer to be surety for Benjamin is a major moral and theological development in the chapter, revealing emerging representative responsibility.
Sense God Almighty
Definition God Almighty
Why it matters Jacob’s appeal to God Almighty ties the dangerous return to Egypt to the larger covenant God who governs mercy, loss, and preservation.
Sense mercy, compassion
Definition mercy, compassion
Why it matters Jacob asks God to grant mercy before the man in Egypt, and the entire chapter unfolds under that quiet theme of hidden compassion.
Sense fear, be afraid
Definition fear, be afraid
Why it matters The brothers’ fear at being brought into Joseph’s house reveals how guilt distorts their reading of events and intensifies providential testing.
Cross-language bridge 1 link · View in lexicon
Sense peace to you
Definition peace to you
Why it matters The steward’s words of peace stand in contrast to the brothers’ fear and signal that mercy is already present where they expect only danger.
Cross-language bridge 1 link · View in lexicon
Individual words וְעָבַדְתָּ שָּׁם אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים ve'avadta sham elohim acherim · רָאשֵׁי הָאָבוֹת rāʾšê hāʾāvôt
Sense your God and the God of your father
Definition your God and the God of your father
Why it matters The steward interprets the returned money theologically, attributing it to the God of the brothers and their father, deepening the providential tone of the chapter.
Sense be gracious, show favor
Definition be gracious, show favor
Why it matters Joseph’s blessing over Benjamin recognizes divine graciousness in the younger son’s presence and reinforces that all family preservation is finally rooted in grace.
Sense his compassion grew warm, his mercy was stirred
Definition his compassion grew warm, his mercy was stirred
Why it matters Joseph’s compassion toward Benjamin shows that His testing is joined to deep brotherly tenderness rather than detached severity.
Sense weep
Definition weep
Why it matters Joseph’s private weeping reveals the emotional cost of the testing process and the depth of His hidden mercy toward His brothers.
Sense portion, serving, gift portion
Definition portion, serving, gift portion
Why it matters Benjamin’s enlarged portion serves as a living test of the brothers’ hearts in the very arena where envy once ruled them.
Sense five times as much, five portions
Definition five times as much, five portions
Why it matters The fivefold portion given to Benjamin heightens the testing motif, as the brothers must now respond to visible favoritism without immediate protest.
Individual words שֹׁתֵי שֵׁכָר shotei shekar · וַיִּשְׁתּוּ וַיִּשְׁכְּרוּ עִמּוֹ vayyishtu vayyishkeru immo
Sense they drank and were merry with him
Definition they drank and were merry with him
Why it matters The meal closes the chapter with a moment of unexpected fellowship under hidden identity, signaling mercy before full revelation.
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 43 warns that guilt can make mercy look like threat, and it shows that hearts must be tested in the very area where they once sinned, especially when one brother is favored again before their eyes.
- Treating Judah’s offer as merely practical logistics instead of recognizing it as a significant moral and relational development in His character.
- Reading the brothers’ fear as irrational only, when the narrative shows that guilt from earlier sin strongly shapes how they interpret events.
- Assuming Joseph’s emotional restraint proves emotional detachment, when the chapter repeatedly shows His deep compassion through private weeping and careful provision.
- Missing the significance of Benjamin’s larger portion, which functions as a test connected to the brothers’ earlier envy over Joseph’s favored status.
- Reducing Jacob’s prayer to generic piety instead of seeing it as a costly entrustment of what He most dreads losing.
- Treating the steward’s reassurance as incidental rather than as an early sign that hidden mercy is already working within the test.
Discipleship Questions
- Where is God using pressure or necessity in Your life to move You into obedience You would rather postpone?
- What does Judah’s willingness to bear responsibility for Benjamin teach You about mature love and accountable leadership?
- How often does guilt or fear cause You to interpret acts of providence as threats instead of possible mercy?
- What happens in Your heart when someone else is visibly favored, honored, or given more than You?
- How does Jacob’s entrusting of Benjamin to God challenge You to surrender what You most fear losing?
Pastoral Applications
- Preach Genesis 43 as a chapter showing that God may use necessity, even painful necessity, to move His people toward the very place where mercy awaits them.
- Use Judah’s speech to teach responsible leadership, especially the kind that is willing to bear personal cost for the good of another.
- Help believers see how unresolved guilt can distort their interpretation of God’s providence, causing them to fear judgment even where mercy is beginning to appear.
- Point to Joseph’s tears and hidden care as a reminder that God’s dealings with His people may be firmer and more tender at once than they can immediately perceive.
- Use Benjamin’s enlarged portion to help the church examine envy, comparison, and whether past heart-sins have truly been mortified.
- Encourage grieving saints through Jacob’s prayerful surrender, showing that faith often means entrusting the most precious thing to God with trembling hands.
- Prepare the congregation to see that true reconciliation often involves repeated testing in the very places where sin once ruled.
Pastoral Trajectories
Genesis 43 deepens the gospel trajectory by showing brothers in need brought again before the hidden ruler who possesses life-giving provision. They are afraid, yet mercy is already working. Judah’s surety for Benjamin also begins to sharpen the pattern of one taking responsibility for another. These features prepare the reader to understand more fully the gospel pattern of provision through the exalted yet not-yet-recognized savior, and of representation through one who steps forward on behalf of another.
In the fullness of Scripture, these realities find their clearest fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
Genesis 43 deepens the gospel trajectory by showing brothers in need brought again before the hidden ruler who possesses life-giving provision. They are afraid, yet mercy is already working. Judah’s surety for Benjamin also begins to sharpen the pattern of one taking responsibility for another. These features prepare the reader to understand more fully the gospel pattern of provision through the exalted yet not-yet-recognized savior, and of representation through one who steps forward on behalf of another.
In the fullness of Scripture, these realities find their clearest fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
Genesis 43 deepens the gospel trajectory by showing brothers in need brought again before the hidden ruler who possesses life-giving provision. They are afraid, yet mercy is already working. Judah’s surety for Benjamin also begins to sharpen the pattern of one taking responsibility for another. These features prepare the reader to understand more fully the gospel pattern of provision through the exalted yet not-yet-recognized savior, and of representation through one who steps forward on behalf of another.
In the fullness of Scripture, these realities find their clearest fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
Genesis 43 deepens the gospel trajectory by showing brothers in need brought again before the hidden ruler who possesses life-giving provision. They are afraid, yet mercy is already working. Judah’s surety for Benjamin also begins to sharpen the pattern of one taking responsibility for another. These features prepare the reader to understand more fully the gospel pattern of provision through the exalted yet not-yet-recognized savior, and of representation through one who steps forward on behalf of another.
In the fullness of Scripture, these realities find their clearest fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
Genesis 43 deepens the gospel trajectory by showing brothers in need brought again before the hidden ruler who possesses life-giving provision. They are afraid, yet mercy is already working. Judah’s surety for Benjamin also begins to sharpen the pattern of one taking responsibility for another. These features prepare the reader to understand more fully the gospel pattern of provision through the exalted yet not-yet-recognized savior, and of representation through one who steps forward on behalf of another.
In the fullness of Scripture, these realities find their clearest fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
Imperatives
7
High
Imperative Themes
- Go again, buy us a little food
- Send the boy with me
- Take gifts and double money
- Arise, return to the man
- The chapter’s force presses toward costly obedience, responsible action, and trusting God in fearful necessity
Motifs in This Chapter
Follow faith, believing response, trust, and persevering allegiance across Scripture.
Trace remnant preservation, covenant continuity, and mercy under judgment across Scripture.
Trace servant identity, obedient mission, and suffering service across Scripture.
The Biblical World
Chapter At A Glance
Genesis 43 is covenantally significant because it moves Benjamin, Simeon, and the rest of Jacob’s sons back into Joseph’s presence and thus advances the providential process by which the covenant household will be preserved in Egypt. The chapter also highlights Judah’s emergence as a responsible representative within the family, an important development given His later prominence in both the immediate story and the royal trajectory of Genesis 49.
Jacob’s appeal to God Almighty also ties this dangerous family movement back to the wider covenant promises. Material preservation, family reckoning, and covenant future are increasingly converging in Joseph’s house.
Genesis 43 deepens the gospel trajectory by showing brothers in need brought again before the hidden ruler who possesses life-giving provision. They are afraid, yet mercy is already working. Judah’s surety for Benjamin also begins to sharpen the pattern of one taking responsibility for another. These features prepare the reader to understand more fully the gospel pattern of provision through the exalted yet not-yet-recognized savior, and of representation through one who steps forward on behalf of another.
In the fullness of Scripture, these realities find their clearest fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
Focus Points
- Providence
- Responsibility and Surety
- Hidden Mercy
- Compassion
- Testing of the Heart
- Fear under Guilt
- God Almighty
- Brotherly Transformation
- Covenant Preservation
- Sanctification through Testing
- Brotherly Responsibility
- Biblical Theology
- Christology Preparation
Cross References
Now Israel loved Joseph more than all His children, because He was the son of His old age, and He made Him a tunic of many colors. His brothers saw that their father loved Him more than all His brothers, and they hated Him, and couldn’t speak peaceably to Him.
Old Testament foundation
Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to His sons, “Why do You look at one another?” He said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there, and buy for us from there, so that we may live, and not die.” Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.
Old Testament foundation
For Your servant became collateral for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I don’t bring Him to You, then I will bear the blame to my father forever.’ Now therefore, please let Your servant stay instead of the boy, my lord’s slave; and let the boy go up with His brothers. For how will I go up to my father, if the boy isn’t with me?—lest I see the evil that...
Old Testament foundation
“Judah, Your brothers will praise You. Your hand will be on the neck of Your enemies. Your father’s sons will bow down before You. Judah is a lion’s cub. From the prey, my son, You have gone up. He stooped down, He crouched as a lion, as a lioness. Who will rouse Him up? The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between His feet,...
Old Testament foundation
He called for a famine on the land. He destroyed the food supplies. He sent a man before them. Joseph was sold for a slave. They bruised His feet with shackles. His neck was locked in irons,
Old Testament foundation
But if He has wronged You at all or owes You anything, put that to my account. I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it (not to mention to You that You owe to me even Your own self besides).
Gospel resolution
When He came near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If You, even You, had known today the things which belong to Your peace! But now, they are hidden from Your eyes.
Gospel resolution
When He had sat down at the table with them, He took the bread and gave thanks. Breaking it, He gave it to them. Their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, then He vanished out of their sight.
Gospel resolution
When therefore it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were locked where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the middle, and said to them, “Peace be to You.”
Gospel resolution
By so much, Jesus has become the collateral of a better covenant.
Gospel resolution
Now Israel loved Joseph more than all His children, because He was the son of His old age, and He made Him a tunic of many colors. His brothers saw that their father loved Him more than all His brothers, and they hated Him, and couldn’t speak peaceably to Him.
Thematic parallel
Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to His sons, “Why do You look at one another?” He said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there, and buy for us from there, so that we may live, and not die.” Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.
Thematic parallel
Judah and His brothers came to Joseph’s house, and He was still there. They fell on the ground before Him. Joseph said to them, “What deed is this that You have done? Don’t You know that such a man as I can indeed do divination?” Judah said, “What will we tell my lord? What will we speak? How will we clear ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of Your...
Thematic parallel
When He had sat down at the table with them, He took the bread and gave thanks. Breaking it, He gave it to them. Their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, then He vanished out of their sight.
Thematic parallel
Passages
Chapter opening: Genesis 43:1-14
Gen 43:1-2 When the corn brought from Egypt was all consumed, as the famine still continued, Jacob called upon his sons to go down and fetch a little corn (little in proportion to their need).
Gen 43:1-2 When the corn brought from Egypt was all consumed, as the famine still continued, Jacob called upon his sons to go down and fetch a little corn (little in proportion to their need).
Gen 43:3-5 Judah then declared, that they would not go there again unless their father sent Benjamin with them; for the man (Joseph) had solemnly protested (העד העד) that they should not see his face without their youngest brother. Judah undertook the consultation with his father about Benjamin’s going, because Reuben, the eldest son, had already been refused, and Levi, who followed Reuben and Simeon, had forfeited his father’s confidence through his treachery to the Shechemites (Gen 34).
Gen 43:3-5 Judah then declared, that they would not go there again unless their father sent Benjamin with them; for the man (Joseph) had solemnly protested (העד העד) that they should not see his face without their youngest brother. Judah undertook the consultation with his father about Benjamin’s going, because Reuben, the eldest son, had already been refused, and Levi, who followed Reuben and Simeon, had forfeited his father’s confidence through his treachery to the Shechemites (Gen 34).
Gen 43:3-5 Judah then declared, that they would not go there again unless their father sent Benjamin with them; for the man (Joseph) had solemnly protested (העד העד) that they should not see his face without their youngest brother. Judah undertook the consultation with his father about Benjamin’s going, because Reuben, the eldest son, had already been refused, and Levi, who followed Reuben and Simeon, had forfeited his father’s confidence through his treachery to the Shechemites (Gen 34).
Gen 43:6-7 To the father’s reproachful question, why they had dealt so ill with him, as to tell the man that they had a brother, Judah replied: “ The man asked after us and our kinsmen: Is your father yet alive? have ye a brother? And we answered him in conformity (פּי על as in Exo 34:27, etc.) with these words (i. e. , with his questions). Could we know, then, that he would say, Bring your brother down?
” Joseph had not made direct inquiries, indeed, about their father and their brother; but by his accusation that they were spies, he had compelled them to give an exact account of their family relationships. So that Judah, when repeating the main points of the interview, could very justly give them in the form just mentioned.
Gen 43:6-7 To the father’s reproachful question, why they had dealt so ill with him, as to tell the man that they had a brother, Judah replied: “ The man asked after us and our kinsmen: Is your father yet alive? have ye a brother? And we answered him in conformity (פּי על as in Exo 34:27, etc.) with these words (i. e. , with his questions). Could we know, then, that he would say, Bring your brother down?
” Joseph had not made direct inquiries, indeed, about their father and their brother; but by his accusation that they were spies, he had compelled them to give an exact account of their family relationships. So that Judah, when repeating the main points of the interview, could very justly give them in the form just mentioned.
Gen 43:8-10 He then repeated the only condition on which they would go to Egypt again, referring to the death by famine which threatened them, their father, and their children, and promising that he would himself be surety for the youth (הנּער, Benjamin was twenty-three years old), and saying, that if he did not restore him, he would bear the blame (חטא to be guilty of a sin and stone for it, as in 1Ki 1:21) his whole life long. He then concluded with the deciding words, “ for if we had not delayed, surely we should already have returned a second time .
”
Gen 43:8-10 He then repeated the only condition on which they would go to Egypt again, referring to the death by famine which threatened them, their father, and their children, and promising that he would himself be surety for the youth (הנּער, Benjamin was twenty-three years old), and saying, that if he did not restore him, he would bear the blame (חטא to be guilty of a sin and stone for it, as in 1Ki 1:21) his whole life long. He then concluded with the deciding words, “ for if we had not delayed, surely we should already have returned a second time .
”
Gen 43:8-10 He then repeated the only condition on which they would go to Egypt again, referring to the death by famine which threatened them, their father, and their children, and promising that he would himself be surety for the youth (הנּער, Benjamin was twenty-three years old), and saying, that if he did not restore him, he would bear the blame (חטא to be guilty of a sin and stone for it, as in 1Ki 1:21) his whole life long. He then concluded with the deciding words, “ for if we had not delayed, surely we should already have returned a second time .
”
Gen 43:11 And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds: After this, the old man gave way to what could not be avoided, and let Benjamin go. But that nothing might be wanting on his part, which could contribute to the success of the journey, he suggested that they should take a present for the man, and that they should also take the money which was brought back in their sacks, in addition to what was necessary for the corn they were to purchase; and he then commended them to the mercy of Almighty God.
“ If it must be so, yet do this (אפוא belongs to the imperative, although it precedes it here, cf. Gen 27:37): take of the prize (the most choice productions) of the land-a little balm and a little honey (דּבשׁ the Arabian dibs, either new honey from bees, or more probably honey from grapes, - a thick syrup boiled from sweet grapes, which is still carried every year from Hebron to Egypt), gum-dragon and myrrh (vid.
, Gen 37:25), pictachio nuts and almonds . ” בּטנים, which are not mentioned anywhere else, are, according to the Samar. vers. , the fruit of the pistacia vera , a tree resembling the terebinth, - long angular nuts of the size of hazel-nuts, with an oily kernel of a pleasant flavour; it does not thrive in Palestine now, but the nuts are imported from Aleppo.
Gen 43:12-13 “ And take second (i.e., more) money (משׁנה כּסף is different from משׁנה־כּסף doubling of the money = double money, Gen 43:15) in your hand; and the money that returned in your sacks take with you again; perhaps it is a mistake, ” i.e., was put in your sacks by mistake.
Gen 43:12-13 “ And take second (i.e., more) money (משׁנה כּסף is different from משׁנה־כּסף doubling of the money = double money, Gen 43:15) in your hand; and the money that returned in your sacks take with you again; perhaps it is a mistake, ” i.e., was put in your sacks by mistake.
Gen 43:14-15 Thus Israel let his sons go with the blessing, “ God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may liberate to you your other brother ( Simeon ) and Benjamin; ” and with this resigned submission to the will of God, “ And I, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved, ” i.e., if I am to lose my children, let it be so! For this mode of expression, cf. Est 4:16 and 2Ki 7:4. שׁכּלתּי with the pausal a , answering to the feelings of the speaker, which is frequently used for o ; e.g., טרף for יטרף, Gen 49:27.
Gen 43:14-15 Thus Israel let his sons go with the blessing, “ God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may liberate to you your other brother ( Simeon ) and Benjamin; ” and with this resigned submission to the will of God, “ And I, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved, ” i.e., if I am to lose my children, let it be so! For this mode of expression, cf. Est 4:16 and 2Ki 7:4. שׁכּלתּי with the pausal a , answering to the feelings of the speaker, which is frequently used for o ; e.g., טרף for יטרף, Gen 49:27.
Gen 43:16-25 When the brethren appeared before Joseph, he ordered his steward to take them into the house, and prepare a dinner for them and for him. טבה the original form of the imperative for טבח. But the brethren were alarmed, thinking that they were taken into the house because of the money which returned the first time (השּׁב which came back, they could not imagine how), that he might take them unawares (lit.
, roll upon them), and fall upon them, and keep them as salves, along with their asses. For the purpose of averting what they dreaded, they approached (Gen 43:19) the steward and told him, “at the door of the house,” before they entered therefore, how, at the first purchase of corn, on opening their sacks, they found the money that had been paid, “ every one’s money in the mouth of his sack, our money according to its weight, ” i.
e. , in full, and had now brought it back, together with some more money to buy corn, and they did not know who had put their money in their sacks (Gen 43:20-22). The steward, who was initiated into Joseph’s plans, replied in a pacifying tone, “Peace be to you (לכם שׁלום is not a form of salutation here, but of encouragement, as in Jdg 6:23): fear not; your God and the God of your father has given you a treasure in your sacks; your money came to me; ” and at the same time, to banish all their fear, he brought Simeon out to them.
He then conducted them into Joseph’s house, and received them in Oriental fashion as the guests of his lord. But, previous to Joseph’s arrival, they arranged the present which they had brought with them, as they heard that they were to dine with him. When Joseph came home, they handed him the present with the most reverential obeisance.
Gen 43:16-25 When the brethren appeared before Joseph, he ordered his steward to take them into the house, and prepare a dinner for them and for him. טבה the original form of the imperative for טבח. But the brethren were alarmed, thinking that they were taken into the house because of the money which returned the first time (השּׁב which came back, they could not imagine how), that he might take them unawares (lit.
, roll upon them), and fall upon them, and keep them as salves, along with their asses. For the purpose of averting what they dreaded, they approached (Gen 43:19) the steward and told him, “at the door of the house,” before they entered therefore, how, at the first purchase of corn, on opening their sacks, they found the money that had been paid, “ every one’s money in the mouth of his sack, our money according to its weight, ” i.
e. , in full, and had now brought it back, together with some more money to buy corn, and they did not know who had put their money in their sacks (Gen 43:20-22). The steward, who was initiated into Joseph’s plans, replied in a pacifying tone, “Peace be to you (לכם שׁלום is not a form of salutation here, but of encouragement, as in Jdg 6:23): fear not; your God and the God of your father has given you a treasure in your sacks; your money came to me; ” and at the same time, to banish all their fear, he brought Simeon out to them.
He then conducted them into Joseph’s house, and received them in Oriental fashion as the guests of his lord. But, previous to Joseph’s arrival, they arranged the present which they had brought with them, as they heard that they were to dine with him. When Joseph came home, they handed him the present with the most reverential obeisance.
Gen 43:16-25 When the brethren appeared before Joseph, he ordered his steward to take them into the house, and prepare a dinner for them and for him. טבה the original form of the imperative for טבח. But the brethren were alarmed, thinking that they were taken into the house because of the money which returned the first time (השּׁב which came back, they could not imagine how), that he might take them unawares (lit.
, roll upon them), and fall upon them, and keep them as salves, along with their asses. For the purpose of averting what they dreaded, they approached (Gen 43:19) the steward and told him, “at the door of the house,” before they entered therefore, how, at the first purchase of corn, on opening their sacks, they found the money that had been paid, “ every one’s money in the mouth of his sack, our money according to its weight, ” i.
e. , in full, and had now brought it back, together with some more money to buy corn, and they did not know who had put their money in their sacks (Gen 43:20-22). The steward, who was initiated into Joseph’s plans, replied in a pacifying tone, “Peace be to you (לכם שׁלום is not a form of salutation here, but of encouragement, as in Jdg 6:23): fear not; your God and the God of your father has given you a treasure in your sacks; your money came to me; ” and at the same time, to banish all their fear, he brought Simeon out to them.
He then conducted them into Joseph’s house, and received them in Oriental fashion as the guests of his lord. But, previous to Joseph’s arrival, they arranged the present which they had brought with them, as they heard that they were to dine with him. When Joseph came home, they handed him the present with the most reverential obeisance.
Gen 43:16-25 When the brethren appeared before Joseph, he ordered his steward to take them into the house, and prepare a dinner for them and for him. טבה the original form of the imperative for טבח. But the brethren were alarmed, thinking that they were taken into the house because of the money which returned the first time (השּׁב which came back, they could not imagine how), that he might take them unawares (lit.
, roll upon them), and fall upon them, and keep them as salves, along with their asses. For the purpose of averting what they dreaded, they approached (Gen 43:19) the steward and told him, “at the door of the house,” before they entered therefore, how, at the first purchase of corn, on opening their sacks, they found the money that had been paid, “ every one’s money in the mouth of his sack, our money according to its weight, ” i.
e. , in full, and had now brought it back, together with some more money to buy corn, and they did not know who had put their money in their sacks (Gen 43:20-22). The steward, who was initiated into Joseph’s plans, replied in a pacifying tone, “Peace be to you (לכם שׁלום is not a form of salutation here, but of encouragement, as in Jdg 6:23): fear not; your God and the God of your father has given you a treasure in your sacks; your money came to me; ” and at the same time, to banish all their fear, he brought Simeon out to them.
He then conducted them into Joseph’s house, and received them in Oriental fashion as the guests of his lord. But, previous to Joseph’s arrival, they arranged the present which they had brought with them, as they heard that they were to dine with him. When Joseph came home, they handed him the present with the most reverential obeisance.
Gen 43:16-25 When the brethren appeared before Joseph, he ordered his steward to take them into the house, and prepare a dinner for them and for him. טבה the original form of the imperative for טבח. But the brethren were alarmed, thinking that they were taken into the house because of the money which returned the first time (השּׁב which came back, they could not imagine how), that he might take them unawares (lit.
, roll upon them), and fall upon them, and keep them as salves, along with their asses. For the purpose of averting what they dreaded, they approached (Gen 43:19) the steward and told him, “at the door of the house,” before they entered therefore, how, at the first purchase of corn, on opening their sacks, they found the money that had been paid, “ every one’s money in the mouth of his sack, our money according to its weight, ” i.
e. , in full, and had now brought it back, together with some more money to buy corn, and they did not know who had put their money in their sacks (Gen 43:20-22). The steward, who was initiated into Joseph’s plans, replied in a pacifying tone, “Peace be to you (לכם שׁלום is not a form of salutation here, but of encouragement, as in Jdg 6:23): fear not; your God and the God of your father has given you a treasure in your sacks; your money came to me; ” and at the same time, to banish all their fear, he brought Simeon out to them.
He then conducted them into Joseph’s house, and received them in Oriental fashion as the guests of his lord. But, previous to Joseph’s arrival, they arranged the present which they had brought with them, as they heard that they were to dine with him. When Joseph came home, they handed him the present with the most reverential obeisance.
Gen 43:16-25 When the brethren appeared before Joseph, he ordered his steward to take them into the house, and prepare a dinner for them and for him. טבה the original form of the imperative for טבח. But the brethren were alarmed, thinking that they were taken into the house because of the money which returned the first time (השּׁב which came back, they could not imagine how), that he might take them unawares (lit.
, roll upon them), and fall upon them, and keep them as salves, along with their asses. For the purpose of averting what they dreaded, they approached (Gen 43:19) the steward and told him, “at the door of the house,” before they entered therefore, how, at the first purchase of corn, on opening their sacks, they found the money that had been paid, “ every one’s money in the mouth of his sack, our money according to its weight, ” i.
e. , in full, and had now brought it back, together with some more money to buy corn, and they did not know who had put their money in their sacks (Gen 43:20-22). The steward, who was initiated into Joseph’s plans, replied in a pacifying tone, “Peace be to you (לכם שׁלום is not a form of salutation here, but of encouragement, as in Jdg 6:23): fear not; your God and the God of your father has given you a treasure in your sacks; your money came to me; ” and at the same time, to banish all their fear, he brought Simeon out to them.
He then conducted them into Joseph’s house, and received them in Oriental fashion as the guests of his lord. But, previous to Joseph’s arrival, they arranged the present which they had brought with them, as they heard that they were to dine with him. When Joseph came home, they handed him the present with the most reverential obeisance.
Gen 43:16-25 When the brethren appeared before Joseph, he ordered his steward to take them into the house, and prepare a dinner for them and for him. טבה the original form of the imperative for טבח. But the brethren were alarmed, thinking that they were taken into the house because of the money which returned the first time (השּׁב which came back, they could not imagine how), that he might take them unawares (lit.
, roll upon them), and fall upon them, and keep them as salves, along with their asses. For the purpose of averting what they dreaded, they approached (Gen 43:19) the steward and told him, “at the door of the house,” before they entered therefore, how, at the first purchase of corn, on opening their sacks, they found the money that had been paid, “ every one’s money in the mouth of his sack, our money according to its weight, ” i.
e. , in full, and had now brought it back, together with some more money to buy corn, and they did not know who had put their money in their sacks (Gen 43:20-22). The steward, who was initiated into Joseph’s plans, replied in a pacifying tone, “Peace be to you (לכם שׁלום is not a form of salutation here, but of encouragement, as in Jdg 6:23): fear not; your God and the God of your father has given you a treasure in your sacks; your money came to me; ” and at the same time, to banish all their fear, he brought Simeon out to them.
He then conducted them into Joseph’s house, and received them in Oriental fashion as the guests of his lord. But, previous to Joseph’s arrival, they arranged the present which they had brought with them, as they heard that they were to dine with him. When Joseph came home, they handed him the present with the most reverential obeisance.
Gen 43:16-25 When the brethren appeared before Joseph, he ordered his steward to take them into the house, and prepare a dinner for them and for him. טבה the original form of the imperative for טבח. But the brethren were alarmed, thinking that they were taken into the house because of the money which returned the first time (השּׁב which came back, they could not imagine how), that he might take them unawares (lit.
, roll upon them), and fall upon them, and keep them as salves, along with their asses. For the purpose of averting what they dreaded, they approached (Gen 43:19) the steward and told him, “at the door of the house,” before they entered therefore, how, at the first purchase of corn, on opening their sacks, they found the money that had been paid, “ every one’s money in the mouth of his sack, our money according to its weight, ” i.
e. , in full, and had now brought it back, together with some more money to buy corn, and they did not know who had put their money in their sacks (Gen 43:20-22). The steward, who was initiated into Joseph’s plans, replied in a pacifying tone, “Peace be to you (לכם שׁלום is not a form of salutation here, but of encouragement, as in Jdg 6:23): fear not; your God and the God of your father has given you a treasure in your sacks; your money came to me; ” and at the same time, to banish all their fear, he brought Simeon out to them.
He then conducted them into Joseph’s house, and received them in Oriental fashion as the guests of his lord. But, previous to Joseph’s arrival, they arranged the present which they had brought with them, as they heard that they were to dine with him. When Joseph came home, they handed him the present with the most reverential obeisance.
Gen 43:16-25 When the brethren appeared before Joseph, he ordered his steward to take them into the house, and prepare a dinner for them and for him. טבה the original form of the imperative for טבח. But the brethren were alarmed, thinking that they were taken into the house because of the money which returned the first time (השּׁב which came back, they could not imagine how), that he might take them unawares (lit.
, roll upon them), and fall upon them, and keep them as salves, along with their asses. For the purpose of averting what they dreaded, they approached (Gen 43:19) the steward and told him, “at the door of the house,” before they entered therefore, how, at the first purchase of corn, on opening their sacks, they found the money that had been paid, “ every one’s money in the mouth of his sack, our money according to its weight, ” i.
e. , in full, and had now brought it back, together with some more money to buy corn, and they did not know who had put their money in their sacks (Gen 43:20-22). The steward, who was initiated into Joseph’s plans, replied in a pacifying tone, “Peace be to you (לכם שׁלום is not a form of salutation here, but of encouragement, as in Jdg 6:23): fear not; your God and the God of your father has given you a treasure in your sacks; your money came to me; ” and at the same time, to banish all their fear, he brought Simeon out to them.
He then conducted them into Joseph’s house, and received them in Oriental fashion as the guests of his lord. But, previous to Joseph’s arrival, they arranged the present which they had brought with them, as they heard that they were to dine with him. When Joseph came home, they handed him the present with the most reverential obeisance.
Gen 43:16-25 When the brethren appeared before Joseph, he ordered his steward to take them into the house, and prepare a dinner for them and for him. טבה the original form of the imperative for טבח. But the brethren were alarmed, thinking that they were taken into the house because of the money which returned the first time (השּׁב which came back, they could not imagine how), that he might take them unawares (lit.
, roll upon them), and fall upon them, and keep them as salves, along with their asses. For the purpose of averting what they dreaded, they approached (Gen 43:19) the steward and told him, “at the door of the house,” before they entered therefore, how, at the first purchase of corn, on opening their sacks, they found the money that had been paid, “ every one’s money in the mouth of his sack, our money according to its weight, ” i.
e. , in full, and had now brought it back, together with some more money to buy corn, and they did not know who had put their money in their sacks (Gen 43:20-22). The steward, who was initiated into Joseph’s plans, replied in a pacifying tone, “Peace be to you (לכם שׁלום is not a form of salutation here, but of encouragement, as in Jdg 6:23): fear not; your God and the God of your father has given you a treasure in your sacks; your money came to me; ” and at the same time, to banish all their fear, he brought Simeon out to them.
He then conducted them into Joseph’s house, and received them in Oriental fashion as the guests of his lord. But, previous to Joseph’s arrival, they arranged the present which they had brought with them, as they heard that they were to dine with him. When Joseph came home, they handed him the present with the most reverential obeisance.
Gen 43:27-29 Joseph first of all inquired after their own and their father’s health (שׁלום first as substantive, then as adjective = שׁלם Gen 33:18), whether he was still living; which they answered with thanks in the affirmative, making the deepest bow. His eyes then fell upon Benjamin, the brother by his own mother, and he asked whether this was their youngest brother; but without waiting for their reply, he exclaimed, “ God be gracious to thee, my son!
” יחנך for יחנך as in Isa 30:19 (cf. Ewald , §251 d ). He addressed him as “my son,” in tender and, as it were, paternal affection, and with special regard to his youth. Benjamin was 16 years younger than Joseph, and was quite an infant when Joseph was sold.
Gen 43:27-29 Joseph first of all inquired after their own and their father’s health (שׁלום first as substantive, then as adjective = שׁלם Gen 33:18), whether he was still living; which they answered with thanks in the affirmative, making the deepest bow. His eyes then fell upon Benjamin, the brother by his own mother, and he asked whether this was their youngest brother; but without waiting for their reply, he exclaimed, “ God be gracious to thee, my son!
” יחנך for יחנך as in Isa 30:19 (cf. Ewald , §251 d ). He addressed him as “my son,” in tender and, as it were, paternal affection, and with special regard to his youth. Benjamin was 16 years younger than Joseph, and was quite an infant when Joseph was sold.
Gen 43:27-29 Joseph first of all inquired after their own and their father’s health (שׁלום first as substantive, then as adjective = שׁלם Gen 33:18), whether he was still living; which they answered with thanks in the affirmative, making the deepest bow. His eyes then fell upon Benjamin, the brother by his own mother, and he asked whether this was their youngest brother; but without waiting for their reply, he exclaimed, “ God be gracious to thee, my son!
” יחנך for יחנך as in Isa 30:19 (cf. Ewald , §251 d ). He addressed him as “my son,” in tender and, as it were, paternal affection, and with special regard to his youth. Benjamin was 16 years younger than Joseph, and was quite an infant when Joseph was sold.
Gen 43:30-31 And “his (Joseph’s) bowels did yearn” (נכמרוּ lit., were compressed, from the force of love to his brother), so that he was obliged to seek (a place) as quickly as possible to weep, and went into the chamber, that he might give vent to his feelings in tears; after which, he washed his face and came out again, and, putting constraint upon himself, ordered the dinner to be brought in.
Gen 43:30-31 And “his (Joseph’s) bowels did yearn” (נכמרוּ lit., were compressed, from the force of love to his brother), so that he was obliged to seek (a place) as quickly as possible to weep, and went into the chamber, that he might give vent to his feelings in tears; after which, he washed his face and came out again, and, putting constraint upon himself, ordered the dinner to be brought in.
Gen 43:32-33 Separate tables were prepared for him, for his brethren, and for the Egyptians who dined with them. This was required by the Egyptian spirit of caste, which neither allowed Joseph, as minister of state and a member of the priestly order, to eat along with Egyptians who were below him, nor the latter along with the Hebrews as foreigners. “ They cannot (i.
e. , may not) eat (cf. Deu 12:17; Deu 16:5; Deu 17:15). For this was an abomination to the Egyptians . ” The Hebrews and others, for example, slaughtered and ate animals, even female animals, which were regarded by the Egyptians as sacred; so that, according to Herod. ii. 41, no Egyptian would use the knife, or fork, or saucepan of a Greek, nor would any eat of the flesh of a clean animal which had been cut up with a Grecian knife (cf.
Exo 8:22).
Gen 43:32-33 Separate tables were prepared for him, for his brethren, and for the Egyptians who dined with them. This was required by the Egyptian spirit of caste, which neither allowed Joseph, as minister of state and a member of the priestly order, to eat along with Egyptians who were below him, nor the latter along with the Hebrews as foreigners. “ They cannot (i.
e. , may not) eat (cf. Deu 12:17; Deu 16:5; Deu 17:15). For this was an abomination to the Egyptians . ” The Hebrews and others, for example, slaughtered and ate animals, even female animals, which were regarded by the Egyptians as sacred; so that, according to Herod. ii. 41, no Egyptian would use the knife, or fork, or saucepan of a Greek, nor would any eat of the flesh of a clean animal which had been cut up with a Grecian knife (cf.
Exo 8:22).