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Genesis Chapter
Forty-two
Genesis 42
Outlines
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO
GENESIS 42
This chapter relates how
that Jacob having heard there was corn in Egypt, sent all his sons but Benjamin
thither to buy corn, Genesis 42:1; and
coming before Joseph, they bowed to him, and he knowing them, though they knew
not him, spoke roughly to them, and charged them with being spies, Genesis 42:6; they
in their defence urged that they were the sons of one man in Canaan, with whom
their youngest brother was left, on which Joseph ordered them to send for him,
to prove them true men, Genesis 42:10; and
put them all into prison for three days, and then released them, and sent them
away to fetch their brother, Genesis 42:17; this
brought to mind their treatment of Joseph, and they confessed their guilt to
each other, which Joseph heard, and greatly affected him, they supposing he
understood them not, and before he dismissed them bound Simeon before their
eyes, whom he retained till they returned, Genesis 42:21; then
he ordered his servants to fill their sacks with corn, and put each man's money
in his sack, which one of them on the road found, opening his sack for
provender, filled them all with great surprise and fear, Genesis 42:25; upon
their return to Jacob they related all that had befallen them, and particularly
that the governor insisted on having Benjamin brought to him, Genesis 42:29;
their sacks being opened, all their money was found in them, which greatly
distressed them and Jacob also, who was very unwilling to let Benjamin go,
though Reuben offered his two sons as pledges for him, and himself to be a
surety, Genesis 42:35.
Genesis 42:1. When
Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look
at one another?”
YLT 1And Jacob seeth that there
is corn in Egypt, and Jacob saith to his sons, `Why do you look at each other?'
Now when Jacob
saw that there was corn in Egypt,....
That is, to be sold there,
or otherwise it being there, unless it could be bought, would have been of no
avail to foreigners; wherefore the Septuagint version is, that there was a saleF23יבר πρασις Sept.
"frumentum venale", Schmidt; so Ainsworth, and the Targum of
Jonathan. there, a sale of corn; the word has the signification of
"breaking"F24"Fractio", Montanus, Munster,
Piscator. in it, because that bread corn is broke in the mill, or is broken
from the heap when sold or distributed, or because when eaten it breaks the
fast. Now Jacob had either seen persons passing by with corn, of whom he
inquired from whence they had it, who replied, from Egypt; or he understood by
the report of others that corn was to be bought there; though some of the
Jewish writers would have it, as Jarchi observes, that he saw it by the revelation
of the Holy Spirit:
Jacob said
unto, his sons, why do ye look one upon another?
like persons in surprise,
distress and despair, at their wits' end, not knowing what to do, what course
to take, and which way to turn themselves, and scarce able to speak to one
another, and consult with each other what was proper to be done; for it seems
not so agreeable that they should be charged as idle persons, careless and
unconcerned, indifferent and inactive; but rather, if the other sense is not
acceptable, the meaning may be, "why do ye look?"F25למה תתראו "ut quid
circumspicitis", Schmidt. here and there, in the land of Canaan, where it
is to no purpose to look for corn; look where it is to be had.
Genesis 42:2. 2 And
he said, “Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down to that
place and buy for us there, that we may live and not die.”
YLT 2he saith also, `Lo, I have
heard that there is corn in Egypt, go down thither, and buy for us from thence,
and we live and do not die;'
And he said,
behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt,....
This explains what is
meant by the phrase he saw, one sense being put for another:
get ye down
thither;
as fast as you can without
delay; Egypt lay lower than Canaan, and therefore they are bid to go down, as
when they went from thence to Canaan they are said to go up, Genesis 45:25,
and buy for us
from thence, that we may live, and not die;
which shows the famine was
very pressing, since, unless they could buy corn from Egypt they could not
live, but must die.
Genesis 42:3. 3 So
Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt.
YLT 3and the ten brethren of
Joseph go down to buy corn in Egypt,
And Joseph's
ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt.
They obeyed their father's
orders, and immediately set out for Egypt; "ten" of them went down in
a body together, all but Benjamin, so that it is easily reckoned who they were,
and they are called not Jacob's sons, as they were; but Joseph's brethren, whom
they had sold into Egypt, and to whom now they were going, though they knew it
not, to buy corn of him in their necessity, and to whom they would be obliged
to yield obeisance, as they did.
Genesis 42:4. 4 But
Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said,
“Lest some calamity befall him.”
YLT 4and Benjamin, Joseph's
brother, Jacob hath not sent with his brethren, for he said, `Lest mischief meet
him.'
But Benjamin,
Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren,....
Benjamin is called
Joseph's brother, because he was so both by father and mother's side, as the
rest were not; him Jacob kept with him, being the youngest and his darling, the
only son he had with him of his beloved wife Rachel; and was very probably the
more beloved by him since he had been bereft of Joseph; and it was not only to
keep him company that he retained him at home, but for the reason following:
for he said,
lest peradventure mischief befall him;
as had to Joseph his
brother, as he imagined; either that the journey would be too much for him,
being young, or lest he should be seized with sickness on the road, or rather
with death, as Aben Ezra interprets it according to the Targums of Onkelos and
Jonathan.
Genesis 42:5. 5 And
the sons of Israel went to buy grain among those who journeyed, for the
famine was in the land of Canaan.
YLT 5And the sons of Israel come
to buy in the midst of those coming, for the famine hath been in the land of
Canaan,
And the sons of
Israel came to buy corn among those that came,....
Either among the Egyptians
that came to buy, or among those who came from different countries, or rather
particularly among the Canaanites, as the Targum of Jonathan; with these they
might join upon the road, and go together in a body where the market for corn
was:
for the famine
was in the land of Canaan:
which obliged the
inhabitants of it as well as Jacob's family to seek for corn elsewhere, and
confirms the sense of the preceding clause: this, though a very fruitful land,
yet when God withheld a blessing from it, it became barren, as it had been
before, Genesis 12:10, and
was to try the faith of those good men to whom God had given it, and to wean
their hearts from being set upon it, and to put them upon seeking a better
country, as they did.
Genesis 42:6. 6 Now
Joseph was governor over the land; and it was he who sold to all the
people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him with their
faces to the earth.
YLT 6and Joseph is the ruler
over the land, he who is selling to all the people of the land, and Joseph's
brethren come and bow themselves to him -- face to the earth.
And Joseph was
the governor over the land,....
Not the land of Canaan
last mentioned, but the land of Egypt; under Pharaoh, he had the chief and sole
authority, and especially in the affair of the corn, and the disposal of that:
and he it was that sold to all the people of the land:
of Egypt, and also to all
that came out of other lands; not that he in person could do all this, but by
those that acted under him:
and Joseph's
brethren came;
to Joseph to buy corn of
him:
and bowed down
themselves before him, with their faces to the earth;
not only bowed the knee as
the Egyptians did, but prostrated their whole bodies, stretching out their
hands and feet, and touching the ground with their faces, as was the manner of
the eastern countries, at least some of them; and so of Canaan; and thus did
they submit themselves to him in the most humble manner, and thereby, though
without their knowledge, fulfilled his dream of their sheaves making obeisance
to his sheaf, Genesis 37:7.
Genesis 42:7. 7 Joseph
saw his brothers and recognized them, but he acted as a stranger to them and
spoke roughly to them. Then he said to them, “Where do you come from?” And they
said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.”
YLT 7And Joseph seeth his
brethren, and discerneth them, and maketh himself strange unto them, and
speaketh with them sharp things, and saith unto them, `From whence have ye
come?' and they say, `From the land of Canaan -- to buy food.'
And Joseph saw
his brethren,....
Among those that came to
buy corn, and when they prostrated themselves before him:
and he knew
them;
some of them being at
man's estate, and their beards grown when they sold him, and their habits and
dress now being much the same it was then, and by them he knew the younger:
but made
himself strange unto them;
took no notice of them as
his relations, but carried himself to them as he did to other foreigners, and
yet more strangely:
and spake
roughly unto them;
or hardF26קשות "dura", Pagninus, Montanus, Drusius,
Piscator, Schmidt. things or words; put on a stern countenance, and spoke with
a high tone and in a rough surly manner to them:
and he said
unto them, whence come ye?
who are ye? of what
country are ye? what is your business here?
and they said,
from the land of Canaan to buy food;
which they could not get
in Canaan, the famine being there so great.
Genesis 42:8. 8 So
Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.
YLT 8And Joseph discerneth his
brethren, but they have not discerned him,
And Joseph knew
his brethren, but they knew not him.
It being about twenty two
years since they saw him, and then he was young, and his beard not grown, as
now it was; and besides, he was clothed as a prince, and spoke the Egyptian
language; and being in such great grandeur and splendour, and in such power and
authority, and having such a retinue attending him, they never once thought of
him, whom they supposed might be dead, having never heard of him all this time;
or, however, it could not come into their minds, that he whom they sold for a
slave could ever be governor of the land of Egypt.
Genesis 42:9. 9 Then
Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed about them, and said to them,
“You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land!”
YLT 9and Joseph remembereth the
dreams which he dreamed of them, and saith unto them, `Ye [are] spies; to see
the nakedness of the land ye have come.'
And Joseph
remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them,....
Their bowing and
prostrating themselves before him brought to his remembrance his dreams of
their sheaves making obeisance to his, and of the sun, moon, and eleven stars,
doing the same to him, Genesis 37:7,
and said unto
them, ye are spies;
not believing they were,
nor absolutely asserting that they were such; but this he said to try them, and
what they would say for themselves, and in order to lead on to further
discourse with them, and to get knowledge of his father and brother Benjamin,
whether living or not: he dealt with them as a judge on the bench, when
examining persons, whose charges have the nature of an interrogation, as this
has: "ye are spies"; are ye not? surely ye must be, and unless
you give a better account of yourselves, I must take you up as such:
to see the
nakedness of the land ye are come:
what parts of it are
weakest, most defenceless, and less fortified, and most easy to break in at,
and invade the land; and it was not without reason that the Egyptians might
suspect the neighbouring nations round about them, being in distress, and
hearing of corn in Egypt, of forming a design of coming upon them and taking
away their corn by force, and might be the reason why foreigners that came to
buy corn were brought before Joseph and examined by him.
Genesis 42:10.
10 And
they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food.
YLT 10And they say unto him, `No,
my lord, but thy servants have come to buy food;
And they said
unto him, nay, my lord,....
One in the name of the
rest, or each in his turn, denying that they were spies, and addressing him
with the greatest reverence and submission, calling him their lord, and thus
further accomplishing his dreams:
but to buy food
are thy servants come;
that and no other was the
errand they came upon.
Genesis 42:11. 11 We are all one
man’s sons; we are honest men; your servants are not spies.”
YLT 11we [are] all of us sons of
one man, we [are] right men; thy servants have not been spies;'
We are
all one man's sons,....
Therefore not likely to be
spies; it could hardly be thought that a single family should engage in such an
affair; or that one man would, send his sons as spies, and especially all of
them, it being a dangerous affair, and they being liable to be taken up and put
to death; and as more families than one must be concerned in such an
enterprise, it is reasonable to suppose, that if they had been spies they would
have been of different families, and also not together, but in different parts
of the kingdom, to observe the fittest place to enter in at and execute their
design:
we are
true men:
that spoke truth when they
said they came to buy corn; were honest, upright, and sincere in what they
said, nor would they, nor durst they, tell a lie:
thy servants
are no spies;
this they expressed in the
strongest terms, and with the fullest assurance they could, detesting the
charge and character of being spies.
Genesis 42:12. 12 But
he said to them, “No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land.”
YLT 12and he saith unto them,
`No, but the nakedness of the land ye have come to see;'
And he said
unto them, nay,....
This argument will not do,
I am not to be put off with such words as these; if you can produce no better
proof of your being honest men than this, or give no better account of
yourselves, I must abide by it, that:
to see the
nakedness of the land ye are come;
this he urged in order to
get a further account from them of their family and the state of it, which he
was anxious to know.
Genesis 42:13. 13 And
they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in
the land of Canaan; and in fact, the youngest is with our father today,
and one is no more.”
YLT 13and they say, `Thy servants
[are] twelve brethren; we [are] sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and lo,
the young one [is] with our father to-day, and the one is not.'
And they said,
thy servants are twelve brethren,....
Or rather, "were
twelve", since one afterwards is said not to be:
the sons of one
man in the land of Canaan;
of Jacob, who dwelt there;
this is said with the same view as before, to show the improbability of their
being spies:
and, behold,
the youngest is this day with our father:
meaning Benjamin, whom
Joseph was eager to hear of, and no doubt was glad to hear he was alive, and
his father also, and that they were both together in the land of Canaan:
and one is
not;
is not in the land of the
living, is dead; for so they thought Joseph was, who is the person intended, as
appears from what both Reuben and Judah afterwards say, Genesis 42:22; and
yet he was before them, and was the person they were speaking to: this must be
very striking and affecting to Joseph, who knew full well they meant himself.
Genesis 42:14. 14 But
Joseph said to them, “It is as I spoke to you, saying, ‘You are
spies!’
YLT 14And Joseph saith unto them,
`This [is] that which I have spoken unto you, saying, Ye [are] spies,
And Joseph said
unto them, that is it that I spake unto you, saying, ye are
spies.
This proves it, at least
gives strong suspicion of it; since at first they seemed to speak of
themselves, as if they were the only sons of one man and there were no more,
now they speak of twelve, and make mention of one being at home with his
father; but seeing he sent so many of them, why not all? why should one only be
left at home?
Genesis 42:15. 15 In
this manner you shall be tested: By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not
leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.
YLT 15by this ye are proved:
Pharaoh liveth! if ye go out from this -- except by your young brother coming
hither;
Hereby ye shall
be proved,....
Whether spies, or not,
namely, by producing their youngest brother, said to be at home with his
father:
by the life of
Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither:
the phrase, "by the
life of Pharaoh", seems to be the form of an oath, as it was common with
many nations, especially with the Scythians, who used to swear by the royal
throneF1Herodot. Melpomene, sive, l. 4. c. 68. , and the Romans, in
later times, by the life, health, and genius of their emperor; and this custom
of swearing by the life of their king, or by his head, continued with the
Egyptians, as Aben Ezra says, unto his times; though some take this to be a
wish or prayer for the life of Pharaoh, and render it, "may Pharaoh
live"F2חי פרעה
"vivat Parhoh", Montanus, Junius & Tremellius; so Ainsworth and
Lightfoot. , or, at most, but a strong asseveration, that as dear as the life
of Pharaoh was to him, so surely they should not stir from the place where they
were, unless their youngest brother Benjamin was brought thither.
Genesis 42:16. 16 Send
one of you, and let him bring your brother; and you shall be kept in prison,
that your words may be tested to see whether there is any truth in you;
or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies!”
YLT 16send one of you, and let
him bring your brother, and ye, remain ye bound, and let your words be proved,
whether truth be with you: and if not -- Pharaoh liveth! surely ye [are]
spies;'
Send one of
you, and let him fetch your brother,....
He proposes that one of
them might be sent by them to their father's house, and bring, Benjamin down to
Egypt:
and ye shall be
kept in prison;
the rest of them till he
came:
that your words
may be proved, whether there be any truth in you;
by this it would be seen
whether they were men of truth and honesty or not; and should their brother be
brought they would appear to be good men and true:
or else, by the
life of Pharaoh, surely ye are spies;
should not their brother
they spoke of be produced, it would be a plain case that they were not the honest
men they pretended to be, nor did they come merely to buy corn, but had an ill
intention.
Genesis 42:17. 17 So
he put them all together in prison three days.
YLT 17and he removeth them unto
charge three days.
And he put them
all together into ward three days.
In order to consult
together, and agree who should be sent to fetch their brother; and which it
seems probable in this length of time they could not agree upon, no one caring
to be the bringer of such evil tidings to their father.
Genesis 42:18. 18 Then
Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this and live, for I fear God:
YLT 18And Joseph saith unto them
on the third day, `This do and live; God I fear!
And Joseph said
unto them the third day,....
His heart yearning towards
them, though he put on such an appearance; finding they could not come to an
agreement among themselves who should go on the errand, he thought fit to
recede from his former order, and to give them another:
this do, and
live:
meaning what he was about
to say to them, which if they punctually observed and performed, it would be
the means of saving their lives:
for I fear God;
and therefore would not do
either an unjust or cruel thing. This might have given them an him who he was:
but there being among the Gentiles, in all nations, some few that feared God,
they took no further notice of it than this, that they might expect just and
equitable dealings by him; since, though he was in such an high place, he knew
and owned there was one higher than he, to whom he was accountable.
Genesis 42:19. 19 If
you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined to your
prison house; but you, go and carry grain for the famine of your houses.
YLT 19if ye [are] right men, let
one of your brethren be bound in the house of your ward, and ye, go, carry in
corn [for] the famine of your houses,
If ye be
true men,....
As you say you are:
let one of your
brethren be bound in the house of your prison;
agree among yourselves
which of you (for one of you must) remain in prison where you are: and the rest
being set at liberty:
go ye, carry
corn for the famine of your houses;
Joseph, though he dealt
with them after this manner to get what knowledge he could of his family, and
to get sight of his brother, yet was concerned for the good of them and theirs,
lest they should be in extreme want through the famine, and that they might
have a speedy supply of corn, was not willing to detain them any longer.
Genesis 42:20. 20 And
bring your youngest brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you
shall not die.” And they did so.
YLT 20and your young brother ye
bring unto me, and your words are established, and ye die not;' and they do so.
But bring your
youngest brother unto me,....
Upon their return for more
corn:
so shall your
words be verified;
that they were true men,
and had no ill design upon the land, but were come only to buy corn:
and ye shall
not die;
as spies, which they were
otherwise threatened with; and as it is customary in all nations to put such to
death when found out:
and they did so;
they left one of their
brethren behind; they carried corn to their houses or families in Canaan, and
brought their brother Benjamin with them when they returned to Egypt.
Genesis 42:21. 21 Then they said to one
another, “We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the
anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore
this distress has come upon us.”
YLT 21And they say one unto
another, `Verily we [are] guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the
distress of his soul, in his making supplication unto us, and we did not
hearken: therefore hath this distress come upon us.'
And they said
one to another,....
Before they went out of
the prison, at least while in the presence of Joseph:
we are
verily guilty concerning our brother;
meaning Joseph, whom they
had sold for a slave, and who they supposed was dead through grief and hard
servitude; and now being in trouble themselves, it brings to mind the sin they
had been guilty of, which, though committed twenty two years ago, was still
fresh in their memories, and lay heavy on their consciences; for length of time
neither makes sin less, nor the conscience lighter, when it is revived and
charged home upon it, and which was aggravated particularly by the following
circumstance:
in that we saw
the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear;
when in the utmost agony,
with trembling limbs, and quivering lips, and floods of tears, as they stripped
him of his coat, he most earnestly and importunately requested of them they
would not put him into the pit, and leave him there; and in the same manner
entreated them they would not put him into the hands of strangers, but restore
him alive to his father; but they turned a deaf ear to all his cries and
entreaties, and hardened themselves against him:
therefore is
this distress come upon us;
the same measure that was
measured by them to him, was now measured to them again, and they were dealt
with according to "lex talionis": they cast Joseph into a pit, and
now they were committed to a prison; they would not attend to his cries and
tears, and the anguish of his soul did not move their pity, and now he is
inexorable to them, and will not at least appear to have any compassion on
them, or show pity to them; and perhaps their being dealt with in this similar
way brought to their remembrance what they had done.
Genesis 42:22. 22 And
Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Do not sin
against the boy’; and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now
required of us.”
YLT 22And Reuben answereth them,
saying, `Spake I not unto you, saying, Sin not against the lad? and ye
hearkened not; and his blood also, lo, it is required.'
And Reuben
answered them,....
Being the eldest, and who
had been most concerned for the life of Joseph, and most tender and careful of
him:
saying, spake I
not unto you, saying, do not sin against the child, and ye would not hear?
it seems by this that
Reuben endeavoured to dissuade his brethren from selling Joseph, when they
first proposed it, to which they would not attend; since it is certain they did
hearken to him as not to kill him directly, as they first consulted, and they
hearkened to him to cast him into a pit, where he did not intend he should
continue, but till he had an opportunity of taking him out, and returning him
to his father: but it seems probable that Reuben was with them when they first
spied the Ishmaelites, and proposed to sell Joseph to them, which he objected
to, and entreated they would not do it; and perhaps he went out from them, and
took a circuit, with a view to get to the pit and take Joseph out, but before
he got thither his brethren had taken him out, and sold him: or this may refer
to the general advice he always gave them, to do nothing that might endanger
the life of Joseph, or be the means of his death, which selling him for a slave
he supposed had been:
therefore,
behold, also, his blood is required;
the Targum of Jonathan
adds, "of us"; they were accessary to his death, and guilty of it;
for Reuben supposed he was dead, and now they must suffer for it, as a just
retaliation, being threatened with death unless they could clear themselves.
Genesis 42:23. 23 But
they did not know that Joseph understood them, for he spoke to them
through an interpreter.
YLT 23And they have not known
that Joseph understandeth, for the interpreter [is] between them;
And they knew
not that Joseph understood them,....
For what is above related
they spoke in his presence and hearing; but speaking to one another in the
Hebrew language, and he being an Egyptian, as they took him to be, they did not
imagine that he could understand them, and therefore were not at all upon their
guard in what they said: and what confirmed them in this was:
for he spake
unto them by an interpreter;
which he the rather chose
to do, that they might have no suspicion of him; and which shows, that though
there was a likeness between the Hebrew language and the Egyptian in many
things, yet in some they differed, and the difference was such that there was
need of an interpreter, where the parties did not understand both languages:
this interpreter between Joseph and his brethren, according to the Targums of
Jonathan and Jerusalem, was Manasseh, the eldest son of Joseph, and so Jarchi;
which is very improbable, he being but a child at this time, if not an infant;
see Genesis 41:50.
Genesis 42:24. 24 And
he turned himself away from them and wept. Then he returned to them again, and
talked with them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.
YLT 24and he turneth round from
them, and weepeth, and turneth back unto them, and speaketh unto them, and
taketh from them Simeon, and bindeth him before their eyes.
And he turned
himself about from them, and wept,....
Hearing his brethren
confess their sin and guilt to one another in selling him, and Reuben's
affectionate concern for him, it wrought so much upon his affections, being
naturally of a tender spirit, that he could no longer act the part he had, and
keep up the sternness and severity of his countenance; wherefore he turned his
face from them, that they might not discern it, and his back upon them, and
went into another room: and after he had given vent to his passion, and
composed himself:
and returned to
them again, and communed with them;
upon the same subject, of
going with their corn to Canaan, and bringing their youngest brother with them
upon their return, and promising moreover, for their encouragement, a free
traffic in the land of Egypt, Genesis 42:34,
and took from
them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes;
who perhaps was the most
cruel and hardhearted among them; and it appears from the affair of Shechem,
that he was a man of a fierce and bloody disposition. According to Jarchi, it
was he that said to Levi, on sight of Joseph, behold this dreamer cometh; and
that it was he that cast him into the pit; and, as the Targum says, advised to
kill him: and perhaps Joseph might pitch upon him as the hostage, not only
because he had used him more evilly than the rest, but because he might observe
he was less concerned, and not so much humbled now for the evil he had done as
the rest were; as also he might choose to detain him, as being not so much in
his father's affection, because of the affair of Shechem, and so be a less
affliction to him than if it was another; and besides, he might fear that being
of a perverse and boisterous disposition, he would vehemently oppose the
sending of Benjamin into Egypt, which Joseph was so very desirous of: and he
bound him in their presence to terrify them, and let them know what they must
expect if they did not obey his orders, and the more to humble them for the sin
they had been guilty of, and was now upon their minds; though perhaps, as
Jarchi observes, when they were gone he let him out, and gave him food and
drink; or however might give him some liberty, and use him with mildness and
gentleness.
Genesis 42:25. 25 Then
Joseph gave a command to fill their sacks with grain, to restore every man’s
money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. Thus he did for
them.
YLT 25And Joseph commandeth, and
they fill their vessels [with] corn, also to put back the money of each unto
his sack, and to give to them provision for the way; and one doth to them so.
Then Joseph
commanded to fill their sacks with corn,....
Which was as much as they
came for:
and to restore
every man's money into his sack;
the money paid by each for
his quantity of corn delivered to him, not into the person's hands, but to be
put into his sack privately, and unknown to him:
and to give
them provision for the way;
sufficient both for
themselves and for their cattle, that they might carry the whole of what corn
they bought to their families:
and thus did he
unto them; that is, not Joseph, but his steward or deputy, or however the
servant that he gave the above order to.
Genesis 42:26. 26 So
they loaded their donkeys with the grain and departed from there.
YLT 26And they lift up their corn
upon their asses, and go from thence,
And they laded
their asses with the corn,....
Cattle very fit to carry
burdens, and no doubt they had each of them one at least:
and departed
thence;
from the place where
Joseph was, and from the land of Egypt.
Genesis 42:27. 27 But
as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed at the
encampment, he saw his money; and there it was, in the mouth of his sack.
YLT 27and the one openeth his
sack to give provender to his ass at a lodging-place, and he seeth his money,
and lo, it [is] in the mouth of his bag,
And as one of
them opened his sack,....
According to the Targum of
Jonathan and Jarchi, this was Levi; but Aben Ezra thinks it is more likely to
be Reuben the firstborn, who was one, that is, the first of them:
to give his ass
provender in the inn;
at which they lay very
probably the first night of their journey; a good man regards the life of his
beast, and takes care of that as well as of himself, and generally in the first
place:
he espied his
money;
the money which he paid
for his corn:
for, behold, it
was in his sack's mouth;
just as he opened it.
Genesis 42:28. 28 So
he said to his brothers, “My money has been restored, and there it is, in my
sack!” Then their hearts failed them and they were afraid, saying to one
another, “What is this that God has done to us?”
YLT 28and he saith unto his
brethren, `My money hath been put back, and also, lo, in my bag:' and their
heart goeth out, and they tremble, one to another saying, `What [is] this God
hath done to us!'
And he said
unto his brethren, my money is restored,....
The money paid for the
corn is returned:
and, lo, it
is even in my sack;
this put them all upon
opening their sacks, where every man found his money, though not expressed, see
Genesis 43:21,
and their heart
failed them;
through surprise and fear;
or "went out"F3ויצא לבם "et exiit cor eorum", Montanus, Drusius,
Piscator, Schmidt. front them, as it were, they were ready to faint and swoon
away:
and they were
afraid;
their consciences being
awakened, and loaded with the guilt of their former sins, they were afraid that
more evil was coming upon them for them; and that this was a scheme laid to
entrap them, and that they should be pursued and seized, and fetched back, and
charged with a fraud and trick, as going off with their corn without paying for
it:
saying one to
another, what is this that God hath done unto us?
for whoever was the
instrument, they concluded the overruling hand of divine Providence was in it,
for the further chastisement and correction of them for their iniquity: instead
of being thus frightened and distressed, it is very much it did not give them
suspicion of Joseph, that he was the person they had been conversing with, and
that he had done this in kindness to them; but their minds were so pressed with
the guilt of their sin, that they were possessed of nothing but fears and
dreadful apprehensions of things, and put the worst construction upon them they
could, as men in such circumstances usually do, even fear where no fear is, or
no occasion for it.
Genesis 42:29. 29 Then
they went to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan and told him all that had
happened to them, saying:
YLT 29And they come in unto Jacob
their father, to the land of Canaan, and they declare to him all the things
meeting them, saying,
And they came
unto Jacob their father, unto the land of Canaan,....
Without being pursued and
fetched back, or retarded in their journey as they might fear:
and told him
all that befell unto them;
chiefly what befell them
while in Egypt:
saying,
as follows.
Genesis 42:30. 30 “The
man who is lord of the land spoke roughly to us, and took us for spies
of the country.
YLT 30`The man, the lord of the
land, hath spoken with us sharp things, and maketh us as spies of the land;
The man, who
is the lord of the land,....
Of Egypt; not the king,
but the deputy governor of it, whose authority under Pharaoh was very great,
and reached to the whole land, and all political affairs, and especially what
related to the corn, and the sale of it; he, say they:
spake roughly
to us;
gave them hard words, and
stern looks, and used them in a very rough manner, see Genesis 42:7,
and took us for
spies of the country;
laid such a charge against
them, and treated them as such; or "gave" themF4ויתן "et dedit", Pagninus, Montanus, Schmidt;
"sive tradidit", Fagius, Vatablus. , committed them to prison
as such.
Genesis 42:31. 31 But we said to him, ‘We are
honest men; we are not spies.
YLT 31and we say unto him, We
[are] right men, we have not been spies,
And we said
unto him, we are true men,....
Honest, upright men, not
given to treacherous and treasonable practices, either in the country where they
lived, or any other; they came to Egypt with no ill design upon the country,
only to buy corn for the relief of their families in necessity:
we are no spies;
or never wereF5לא היינו "non fuimus",
Montanus; "nunquam fuimus", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator,
Schmidt. : they had never been guilty of such practices, and never charged with
anything of that kind; they denied the charge, and detested the character.
Genesis 42:32. 32 We
are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more,
and the youngest is with our father this day in the land of Canaan.’
YLT 32we [are] twelve brethren,
sons of our father, the one is not, and the young one [is] to-day with our
father in the land of Canaan.
We be
twelve brethren, sons of our father,....
All brethren by the
father's side, though not by the mother's, and by one father; they had been twelve,
and were so now, though they knew it not, supposing that one was dead, as is
next observed:
one is
not;
is not alive, but dead;
the Targum of Jonathan is,"what is become of one we know not"
and the
youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan;
see Genesis 42:13.
Genesis 42:33. 33 Then
the man, the lord of the country, said to us, ‘By this I will know that you are
honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, take food
for the famine of your households, and be gone.
YLT 33`And the man, the lord of
the land, saith unto us, By this I know that ye [are] right men -- one of your
brethren leave with me, and [for] the famine of your houses take ye and go,
And the man,
the lord of the country, said unto us, hereby shall I know that you are
true men,....
This will be a proof and
demonstration of it:
leave one of
your brethren here with me;
as an hostage; they do not
say "bound in the prison", Genesis 42:19, as
Joseph did, because they would not grieve their father, at least would not tell
him of it at once, lest it should too much affect him:
and take food
for the famine of your household, and be gone;
that is, corn for the
relief of their families, being distressed with a famine.
Genesis 42:34. 34 And
bring your youngest brother to me; so I shall know that you are not
spies, but that you are honest men. I will grant your
brother to you, and you may trade in the land.’”
YLT 34and bring your young
brother unto me, and I know that ye [are] not spies, but ye [are] right men;
your brother I give to you, and ye trade with the land.'
And, bring your
youngest brother unto me,....
Their brother Benjamin:
then shall I
know that you are no spies, but that you are true men;
he knew they were no spies
now, but true, honest, upright men, with respect to any designs upon the
country; but then he should own and acknowledge them to be such, having such
plain proof that what they said was true:
so will I deliver your brother;
their brother Simeon, who
was left bound; though this circumstance they also here studiously conceal from
their father:
and ye shall
traffic in the land;
not only for corn, but for
any other commodity Egypt furnished its neighbours with.
Genesis 42:35. 35 Then
it happened as they emptied their sacks, that surprisingly each man’s bundle of
money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw the bundles of
money, they were afraid.
YLT 35And it cometh to pass, they
are emptying their sacks, and lo, the bundle of each man's silver [is] in his
sack, and they see their bundles of silver, they and their father, and are
afraid;
And it came to
pass, as they emptied their sacks,....
Both those in which were
the corn they had bought, and those in which were their provender for their
cattle, and provision for themselves:
that, behold,
every man's bundle of money was in his sack;
the same purse, and the
same pieces of money, gold or silver, they had paid to the steward:
and when both
they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid;
the Targum of Jonathan
adds,"because of Simeon, whom they had left there;'fearing that they
should he charged with theft or fraud, and that Simeon would be put to death;
they had opened their sacks before, and found their money in them, but put it
up again as it was, in order to open them in their father's presence, from whom
they thought proper to conceal this circumstance, lest he should blame them for
not returning to the governor with their money upon the first notice of it,
when they had travelled but one day's journey; wherefore they make no mention of
it in the account of things that befell them, and express their surprise and
fear upon finding it when they opened their sacks, as if they had known,
nothing of it before; though it may be their fears were renewed and increased
by what Jacob might observe to them, as the consequence of it, which they had
not so thoroughly considered before.
Genesis 42:36. 36 And
Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me: Joseph is no more,
Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin. All these things are
against me.”
YLT 36and Jacob their father
saith unto them, `Me ye have bereaved; Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and
Benjamin ye take -- against me have been all these.'
And Jacob their
father said unto them, me have ye bereaved of my children,....
Which looks as if Jacob
suspected that they had either sold or slain Joseph, and had done one or the
other by Simeon:
Joseph is
not, and Simeon is not:
neither of them were with
him, and both were given up by him as dead, or, as the Targum of Jonathan
paraphrases it,"of Joseph ye have said an evil beast hath devoured him;
and Simeon, ye say, the king of the country hath bound him;'as for Joseph he
knew not but he was dead, he feared he was; and as for Simeon, he being in the
hands of so rough a man as they had represented the lord of the land to be, and
especially as his release depended upon sending Benjamin, which he was
determined at present not to do; he was reckoned by him as a lost or dead man:
and ye will
take Benjamin away;
they were desirous of it,
and what their design was he could not tell; he seems to have a strong
suspicion that it was not good:
all these
things are against me;
against his will, his
peace, and comfort, and happiness, though they were all working and would work
as they did for his good, and for the good of his family, for the preservation
of it during the seven years of famine; or are "upon me"F6עלי "super me", Montanus, Schmidt; "vel.
in me", V. L. Vatablus. , as heavy burdens, too heavy for him to bear,
ready to sink him down to the earth.
Genesis 42:37. 37 Then
Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back
to you; put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.”
YLT 37And Reuben speaketh unto
his father, saying, `My two sons thou dost put to death, if I bring him not in
unto thee; give him into my hand, and I -- I bring him back unto thee;'
And Reuben
spoke unto his father,....
Being the eldest son, it
most property lay upon him to make answer to his father in the name of his
brethren, and to offer a word of comfort to him:
saying, slay my
two sons, if I bring him not to thee;
meaning not Simeon, who
was in Egypt, but Benjamin, whom it was proposed to take thither, and whom
Jacob was very loath to part with; and to persuade him to it Reuben offers to
him, and gives him leave to slay his two sons, or rather two of his sonsF7את שני בני
"duos filiorum meorum", Piscator; so Ainsworth. , since he had four, Genesis 46:9; if he
did not bring Benjamin again to him: this was a strange proposal, for what were
two sons of his to his own son, so exceedingly beloved by him? besides, to lose
his own son, and to have two of his grandchildren slain, would have been an
increase of his sorrow and grief, instead of being an alleviation of it; but Reuben's
meaning was, not that his children should be slain, but this he says, to show
that he would be as careful and solicitous for the return of Benjamin as if the
life of two sons of his lay at stake, and was so confident of it that he could
risk the life of them upon it, who were as dear to him as one Benjamin was to
his father:
deliver him
into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again;
he undertook to be
responsible for him.
Genesis 42:38. 38 But
he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is
left alone. If any calamity should befall him along the way in which you go,
then you would bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.”
YLT 38and he saith, `My son doth
not go down with you, for his brother [is] dead, and he by himself is left;
when mischief hath met him in the way in which ye go, then ye have brought down
my grey hairs in sorrow to sheol.'
And he said, my
son shall not go down with you,....
He gives a peremptory
denial; this was his then present resolution and determination:
for his brother
is dead;
meaning Joseph, Benjamin's
own brother by father and mother's side; him he supposed to be dead, such
circumstances being related and produced, which made it highly probable, and he
had not heard anything of him for twenty two years:
and he is left
alone;
Benjamin being the only
surviving child of his dearly beloved Rachel, as he thought:
if mischief
befall him by the way in which ye go;
that is, to Egypt, whether
by thieves and robbers, or by the fatigue of the journey, or by any means
whatever, so that he loses his life. All the Targums interpret this mischief of
death:
then shall ye
bring down my gray heirs with sorrow to the grave;
the sense is, should this
be the case he should never lift up his head, or have any more comfort in this
world, but should pass his time with continual sorrow until his gray head was
laid in the grave, or till he came to the state of the dead.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》