GE�ESIS 42 COMME�TARY

EDITED BY GLE�� PEASE

Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt

1 When Jacob learned that there was grain in

Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you just keep

looking at each other?”

BAR�ES, "Gen_42:1-5

The aged Jacob is the only man of counsel. “Behold, I have heard there is grain in Mizraim:” go down and buy. The ten brothers are sent, and Benjamin, the youngest, is retained, not merely because of his youth, for he was now twenty-four years of age, but because he was the son of his father’s old age, the only son of Rachel now with him, and the only full brother of the lost Joseph. “Lest mischief befall him,” and so no child of Rachel would be left. “Among those that went.” The dearth was widespread in the land of Kenaan.

CLARKE, "Jacob saw that there was corn - That is, Jacob heard from the report of others that there was plenty in Egypt. The operations of one sense, in Hebrew, are often put for those of another. Before agriculture was properly known and practiced, famines were frequent; Canaan seems to have been peculiarly vexed by them. There was one in this land in the time of Abraham, Gen_12:10; another in the days of Isaac, Gen_26:1; and now a third in the time of Jacob. To this St. Stephen alludes, Act_7:11 : there was great affliction, and our fathers found no sustenance.

GILL, "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 sale (w) there, a sale of corn; the word has the signification of "breaking" (x) 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?" (y) 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.

HAWKER, "A gracious GOD in his over-ruling providence, having caused a famine of bread to prevail in Canaan, compels thereby the sons of Jacob to go down into Egypt to seek sustenance for themselves and their household. And this brings about the leading design which the LORD had in view, (as the HOLY GHOST informs the Church, Psa_105:16-17.) in sending Joseph before his family into Egypt. The contents of this Chapter, are: the departure of the sons of Jacob from Canaan: their arrival at Egypt: their appearance before Joseph: their unconsciousness of him: his knowledge of them: their humbling themselves before him: his treatment of them: he supplies them with corn, but detains Simeon; their return to Canaan: and the distress of their father in finding that they had left Simeon behind. Gen_42:1

Reader! recollect that at our last view of Jacob, we left him in a state of the greatest affliction, on the supposed loss of Joseph Gen_37:35. Here we find him in the midst of his family, likely to perish for want of bread! Remember what JESUS saith, Joh_16:33. Then read that sweet scripture, Isa_33:16.

HE�RY, "Though Jacob's sons were all married, and had families of their own, yet, it should seem, they were still incorporated in one society, under the conduct and presidency of their father Jacob. We have here,

I. The orders he gave them to go and buy corn in Egypt, Gen_42:1, Gen_42:2. Observe, 1. The famine was grievous in the land of Canaan. It is observable that all the three patriarches, to whom Canaan was the land of promise, met with famine in that land, which was not only to try their faith, whether they could trust God though he should slay them, though he should starve them, but to teach them to seek the better country, that is, the heavenly, Heb_11:14-16. We have need of something to wean us from this world, and make us long for a better. 2. Still, when there was famine in Canaan, there was corn in Egypt. Thus Providence orders it, that one place should be a succour and supply to another; for we are all brethren. The Egyptians, the seed of accursed Ham, have plenty, when God's blessed Israel want: Thus God, in dispensing common favours, often crosses hands. Yet observe, The plenty Egypt now had was owing, under God, to Joseph's prudence and care: if his brethren had not sold him into Egypt, but respected him according to his merits, who knows but he might have done the

same thing for Jacob's family which now he had done for Pharaoh, and the Egyptians might then have come to them to buy corn? but those who drive away from among them wise and good men know not what they do. 3. Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt;he saw the corn that his neighbours had bought there and brought home. It is a spur to exertion to see where supplies are to be had, and to see others supplied. Shall others get food for their souls, and shall we starve while it is to be had? 4. He reproved his sons for delaying to provide corn for their families. Why do you look one upon another? Note, When we are in trouble and want, it is folly for us to stand looking upon one another, that is, to stand desponding and despairing, as if there were no hope, no help, - to stand disputing either which shall have the honour of going first or which shall have the safety of coming last, - to stand deliberating and debating what we shall do, and doing nothing, - to stand dreaming under a spirit of slumber, as if we had nothing to do, and to stand delaying, as if we had time at command. Let it never be said, “We left that to be done tomorrow which we could a well have done today.” 5. He quickened them to go to Egypt: Get you down thither. Masters of families must not only pray for daily bread for their families, and food convenient, but must lay out themselves with care and industry to provide it.

JAMISO�, "Gen_42:1-38. Journey into Egypt.

Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt— learned from common rumor. It is evident from Jacob’s language that his own and his sons’ families had suffered greatly from the scarcity; and through the increasing severity of the scourge, those men, who had formerly shown both activity and spirit, were sinking into despondency. God would not interpose miraculously when natural means of preservation were within reach.

K&D 1-6, "With the words “Why do ye look at one another!” viz., in such a helpless and undecided manner. Jacob exhorted his sons to fetch corn from Egypt, to preserve his family from starvation. Joseph's ten brothers went, as their aged father would not allow his youngest son Benjamin to go with them, for fear that some calamity might

befall him (ָקָרה = ָקָרא, Gen_44:29 as in Gen_42:38 and Gen_49:1); and they came “in the midst of the comers,” i.e., among others who came from the same necessity, and bowed down before Joseph with their faces to the earth. For he was “the ruler over the land,” and had the supreme control of the sale of the corn, so that they were obliged to apply to

him. יטִ�ַהַ seems to have been the standing title which the Shemites gave to Joseph as

ruler in Egypt; and from this the later legend of Σάλατις the first king of the Hyksos arose (Josephus c. Ap. i. 14). The only other passages in which the word occurs in the Old Testament are in writings of the captivity or a still later date, and there it is taken from the Chaldee; it belongs, however, not merely to the Aramaean thesaurus, but to the Arabic also, from which it was introduced into the passage before us.

CALVI�, "1.�ow when Jacob saw. Moses begins, in this chapter, to treat of the

occasion which drew Jacob with his whole family into Egypt; and thus leaves it to us

to consider by what hidden and unexpected methods God may perform whatever he

has decreed. Though, therefore, the providence of God is in itself a labyrinth; yet

when we connect the issue of things with their beginnings, that admirable method of

operation shines clearly in our view, which is not generally acknowledged, only

because it is far removed from our observation. Also our own indolence hinders us

from perceiving God, with the eyes of faith, as holding the government of the world;

because we either imagine fortune to be the mistress of events, or else, adhering to

near and natural causes, we weave them together, and spread them as veils before

our eyes. Whereas, therefore, scarcely any more illustrious representation of Divine

Providence is to be found than this history furnishes; let pious readers carefully

exercise themselves in meditation upon it, in order that they may acknowledge those

things which, in appearance, are fortuitous, to be directed by the hand of God.

Why do ye look one upon another? Why do ye Men are said to look one upon

another, when each is waiting for the other, and, for want of counsel, no one dares to

attempt anything. Jacob, therefore, censures this inactivity of his sons, because none

of them endeavors to provide for the present necessity. Moses also says that they

went into Egypt at the command of their father, and even without Benjamin; by

which he intimates that filial reverence at that time was great; because envy of their

brother did not prevent them from leaving their wives and children, and

undertaking a long journey. He also adds, that they came in the midst of a great

crowd of people; which enhances the fame of Joseph; who, while supplying food for

all Egypt, and dispensing it by measure, till the end of the drought, could also afford

assistance to neighboring nations.

HAWKER, "Verse 1

A gracious GOD in his over-ruling providence, having caused a famine of bread to

prevail in Canaan, compels thereby the sons of Jacob to go down into Egypt to seek

sustenance for themselves and their household. And this brings about the leading

design which the LORD had in view, (as the HOLY GHOST informs the Church,

Psalms 105:16-17.) in sending Joseph before his family into Egypt. The contents of

this Chapter, are: the departure of the sons of Jacob from Canaan: their arrival at

Egypt: their appearance before Joseph: their unconsciousness of him: his knowledge

of them: their humbling themselves before him: his treatment of them: he supplies

them with corn, but detains Simeon; their return to Canaan: and the distress of

their father in finding that they had left Simeon behind. Genesis 42:1

Reader! recollect that at our last view of Jacob, we left him in a state of the greatest

affliction, on the supposed loss of Joseph Genesis 37:35. Here we find him in the

midst of his family, likely to perish for want of bread! Remember what JESUS saith,

John 16:33. Then read that sweet scripture, Isaiah 33:16.

BE�SO�, "Genesis 42:1-2. When Jacob saw — That is, heard, as the word is used,

Exodus 20:18; or saw the corn which his neighbours had bought there and brought

home. Why look ye one upon another? — As careless and helpless persons, each one

expecting relief from the other; but none offering either counsel or help for the

subsistence of all. Go down thither — Masters of families must not only pray for

daily bread for their families, but must, with care and industry, endeavour to

provide it.

COFFMA�, "Introduction

This, the sixth episode in the [~toledowth] of Jacob, recounts the onset of the famine

with its impact upon Israel, the ten sons journeying to Egypt to buy grain, Joseph's

recognition of his brothers, and his maneuvering to keep Simeon bound in Egypt

until they should return another day. We may entitle the events of this chapter:

THE JOUR�EY I�TO EGYPT

The remarkable narrative of the events recorded in this and related chapters is so

vivid, true to life, and charged with emotion, that one may only marvel at the type of

vicious and arrogant unbelief that would attempt to split the sources, contradict its

plainest affirmations, and impose some corrupted substitute for what the Word of

God says. The events of these chapters "are true to life and fit the character of Jacob

(depicted in Genesis 25 and Genesis 26), making it difficult to accept the view of

some scholars that two disparate sources lie behind the present material."[1]

Verse 1-2

"�ow Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said unto his sons, Why

do ye look one upon another? And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is grain

in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence, that we may live, and

not die."

This record of a family council precipitated by the stern realities of the terrible

famine and the threat of death from starvation emphasizes the authority and

decisiveness of Jacob, whose "energy and resourcefulness (of the father) is (sic) set

in striking contrast to the perplexity of the sons."[2] Such a glimpse underlines the

fact that we are actually dealing with the [~toledowth] of Jacob, not that of Joseph.

Like any good narrative, this one leaves out many things. It is not related how Jacob

learned of the availability of grain in Egypt, nor what proposals (if any) his sons

offered as a remedy for the situation. Whatever discussions and proposals were

discussed and rejected, Jacob resolved them all by the order, "Get you down thither,

and buy for us from thence!"

CO�STABLE, "Verses 1-7

Twenty-one years after his brothers sold Joseph into slavery they bowed before him

in fulfillment of his youthful dreams ( Genesis 42:6-7; cf. Genesis 37:5-9). Ronald

Hyman analyzed Joseph"s skillful use of questions to uncover his brothers"

attitudes and intentions as well as the key role of questions in the whole Joseph

narrative-there are30 to40 of them. [�ote: Ronald T. Hyman, "Questions in the

Joseph Story: The Effects and Their Implications for Teaching," Religious

Education (Summer1984):437-55.]

"The time was when Joseph"s brethren were men of high respectability in the land

of Canaan, whilst Joseph himself was a slave or a prisoner in the land of Egypt.

�ow, by a signal reverse, Joseph was governor over all the land of Egypt, while they

appeared before him as humble suppliants, almost craving as an alms those supplies

of food for which they were both able and willing to pay the price demanded."

[�ote: Bush, 2:298.]

"The double identification of Joseph as hassallit [administrator] and hammasbir

[dispenser] recall Joseph"s two earlier dreams, the one in which the sun, moon, and

eleven stars bowed before him (his position of authority), and the other in which the

brothers" sheaves bowed before his sheaf (his position of provider)." [�ote:

Hamilton, The Book . . . Chapters18-50 , p519. Cf. Robert Alter, The Art of Biblical

�arrative, p163.]

People who sell their brother into slavery are not trustworthy. Therefore Joseph

retained power over his brothers until he could trust them.

The chiastic structure of Genesis 42:7-24 focuses attention on the brothers"

imprisonment.

"A Joseph knew his brothers and remembered ( Genesis 42:7-9 a).

B Joseph accused them of being spies, but they explained their situation (

Genesis 42:9-13).

C Joseph set out a test whereby they could prove they were honest men (14-16).

D Joseph put them in prison ( Genesis 42:17).

C" Joseph set out a new test for the brothers to prove they were honest ( Genesis

42:18-20).

B" The brothers confessed their guilt concerning their brother, and Reuben

accused them of their fault ( Genesis 42:21-22).

A" Joseph understood and wept ( Genesis 42:23-24)." [�ote: Ross, Creation and

. . ., p649.]

ELLICOTT, "(1) When Jacob saw.—That is, learned, understood, that there was

corn in Egypt. As we have seen (Genesis 37:25), there was a large caravan trade

between Palestine and Egypt, and the report would gradually get abroad that food

might be purchased there.

Why do ye look . . . —In the second rainless season not only would the flocks and

herds begin to languish, but the numerous retainers of Jacob and his sons would

also become enfeebled from insufficient nourishment, and begin to die of low fever

and those other diseases which follow in the train of famine. Jacob’s words,

therefore, mean, Why are you irresolute, and uncertain what to do? And then he

encourages them to take this journey as a possible means of providing for the wants

of their households.

PETT, "The First Visit of the Brothers to Egypt to Buy Corn (Genesis 42:1-38).

Genesis 42:1-4

‘�ow Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, “Why do

you look one on another?” And he said, “Behold, I have heard that there is corn in

Egypt. Get yourselves down there and buy for us from there, that we might live and

not die.” And Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy corn from Egypt, but Jacob

did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with his brothers, for he said “In case

mischief befalls him.” ’

At this stage, of course, they did not know that there were years of famine to come.

But things were clearly bad. The rain had not come and their stores of corn were

getting low and there was little prospect of renewing it locally, for everyone was

suffering in the same way. But then came the news that Egypt had a sufficiency of

corn and was willing to sell it to foreigners.

Through the centuries Egypt, with its usually unfailing water source in the �ile, was

famed for its agricultural prosperity, and would regularly welcome Canaanites who

would come in times of famine, and they would provide for them in return for

reward. They were regularly welcomed into the areas across the borders, where they

were allowed to stay until the situation improved and they could return to their own

place. On one ancient grave relief ‘Asiatics who did not know from what they would

live’ are depicted as bowing before the general Haremhab (c1330 BC).

So he had no hesitation in sending his sons to buy corn there. But he refused to let

Benjamin go because he still remembered what had (in his own mind) happened to

Joseph.

EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE COMME�TARY, "VISITS OF JOSEPH’S BRETHRE�

Genesis 42:1-38; Genesis 43:1-34; Genesis 44:1-34

"Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me;

but God meant it unto good."- Genesis 50:19-20.

THE purpose of God to bring Israel into Egypt was accomplished by the

unconscious agency of Joseph’s natural affection for his kindred. Tenderness

towards home is usually increased by residence in a foreign land; for absence, like a

little death, sheds a halo round those separated from us. But Joseph could not as yet

either revisit his old home or invite his father’s family into Egypt. Even, indeed,

when his brothers first appeared before him, he seems to have had no immediate

intention of inviting them as a family to settle in the country of his adoption, or even

to visit it. If he had cherished any such purpose or desire he might have sent down

wagons at once, as he at last did, to bring his father’s household out of Canaan.

Why, then, did he proceed so cautiously? Whence this mystery, and disguise, and

circuitous compassing of his end? What intervened between the first and last visit of

his brethren to make it seem advisable to disclose himself and invite them?

Manifestly there had intervened enough to give Joseph insight into the state of mind

his brethren were in, enough to satisfy him they were not the men they had been,

and that it was safe to ask them and would be pleasant to have them with him in

Egypt. Fully alive to the elements of disorder and violence that once existed among

them, and having had no opportunity of ascertaining whether they were now

altered, there was no course open but that which he adopted of endeavouring in

some unobserved way to discover whether twenty years had wrought any change in

them.

For effecting this object he fell on the expedient of imprisoning them, on pretence of

their being spies. This served the double purpose of detaining them until he should

have made up his mind as to the best means of dealing with them, and of securing

their retention under his eye until some display of character might sufficiently

certify him of their state of mind. Possibly he adopted this expedient also because it

was likely deeply to move them, so that they might be expected to exhibit not such

superficial feelings as might have been elicited had he set them down to a banquet

and entered into conversation with them over their wine, but such as men are

surprised to find in themselves, and know nothing of in their lighter hours. Joseph

was, of course, well aware that in the analysis of character the most potent elements

are only brought into clear view when the test of severe trouble is applied, and when

men are thrown out of all conventional modes of thinking and speaking.

The display of character which Joseph awaited he speedily obtained. For so new an

experience to these free dwellers in tents as imprisonment under grim Egyptian

guards worked wonders in them. Men who have experienced such treatment aver

that nothing more effectually tames and breaks the spirit: it is not the being

confined for a definite time with the certainty of release in the end, but the being

shut up at the caprice of another on a false and absurd accusation; the being cooped

up at the will of a stranger in a foreign country, uncertain and hopeless of release.

To Joseph’s brethren so sudden and great a calamity seemed explicable only on the

theory that it was retribution for the great crime of their life. The uneasy feeling

which each of them had hidden in his own conscience, and which the lapse of twenty

years had not materially alleviated, finds expression: "And they said one to another,

We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul,

when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon

us." The similarity of their position to that in which they had placed their brother

stimulates and assists their conscience. Joseph, in the anguish of his soul, had

protested his innocence, but they had not listened; and now their own protestations

are treated as idle wind by this Egyptian. Their own feelings, representing to them

what they had caused Joseph to suffer, stir a keener sense of their guilt than they

seem ever before to have reached. Under this new light they see their sin more

clearly, and are humbled by the distress into which it has brought them.

When Joseph sees this, his heart warms to them. He may not yet be quite sure of

them. A prison-repentance is perhaps scarcely to be trusted. He sees they would for

the moment deal differently with him had they the opportunity, and would welcome

no one more heartily than himself, whose coming among them had once so

exasperated them. Himself keen in his affections, he is deeply moved, and his eyes

fill with tears as he witnesses their emotion and grief on his account. Fain would he

relieve them from their remorse and apprehension-why, then, does he forbear? Why

does he not at this juncture disclose himself? It has been satisfactorily proved that

his brethren counted their sale of him the great crime of their life. Their

imprisonment has elicited evidence that that crime had taken in their conscience the

capital place, the place which a man finds some one sin or series of sins will take, to

follow him with its appropriate curse, and hang over his future like a cloud-a sin of

which he thinks when any strange thing happens to him, and to which he traces all

disaster-a sin so iniquitous that it seems capable of producing any results however

grievous, and to which he has so given himself that his life seems to be concentrated

there, and he cannot but connect with it all the greater ills that happen to him. Was

not this, then, security enough that they would never again perpetrate a crime of

like atrocity? Every man who has almost at all observed the history of sin in himself,

will say that most certainly it was quite insufficient security against their ever again

doing the like. Evidence that a man is conscious of his sin, and, while suffering from

its consequences, feels deeply its guilt, is not evidence that his character is altered.

And because we believe men so much more readily than God, and think that they do

not require, for form’s sake, such needless pledges of a changed character as God

seems to demand, it is worth observing that Joseph, moved as he was even to tears,

felt that common prudence. forbade him to commit himself to his brethren without

further evidence of their disposition. They had distinctly acknowledged their guilt,

and in his hearing had admitted that the great calamity that had befallen them was

no more than they deserved; yet Joseph, judging merely as an intelligent man who

had worldly interests depending on his judgment, could not discern enough here to

justify him in supposing that his brethren were changed men. And it might

sometimes serve to expose the insufficiency of our repentance were clear-seeing men

the judges of it, and did they express their opinion of its trustworthiness. We may

think that God is needlessly exacting when He requires evidence not only of a

changed mind about past sin, but also of such a mind being now in us as will

preserve us from future sin; but the truth is, that no man whose common worldly

interests were at stake would commit himself to us on any less evidence. God, then,

meaning to bring the house of Israel into Egypt in order to make progress in the

Divine education He was giving to them, could not introduce them into that land in a

state of mind which would negative all the discipline they were there to receive.

These men then had to give evidence that they not only saw, and in some sense

repented of, their sin, but also that they had got rid of the evil passion which had led

to it. This is what God means by repentance. Our sins are in general not so

microscopic that it requires very keen spiritual discernment to perceive them. But to

be quite aware of our sin, and to acknowledge it, is not to repent of it. Everything

falls short of thorough repentance which does not prevent us from committing the

sin anew. We do not so much desire to be accurately informed about our past sins,

and to get right views of our past selves; we wish to be no longer sinners, we wish to

pass through some process by which we may be separated from that in us which has

led us into sin. Such a process there is, for these men passed through it.

The test which revealed the thoroughness of his brothers’ repentance was

unintentionally applied by Joseph. When he hid his cup in Benjamin’s sack, all that

he intended was to furnish a pretext for detaining Benjamin, and so gratifying his

own affection. But, to his astonishment, his trick effected far more than he intended;

for the brothers, recognising now their brotherhood, circled round Benjamin, and,

to a man, resolved to go back with him to Egypt. We cannot argue from this that

Joseph had misapprehended the state of mind in which his brothers were, and in his

judgment of them had been either too timorous or too severe; nor need we suppose

that he was hampered by his relations to Pharaoh, and therefore unwilling to

connect himself too closely with men of whom he might be safer to be rid; because it

was this very peril of Benjamin’s that matured their brotherly affection. They

themselves could not have anticipated that they would make such a sacrifice for

Benjamin. But throughout their dealings with this mysterious Egyptian, they felt

themselves under a spell, and were being gradually, though perhaps unconsciously,

softened, and in order to complete the change passing upon them, they but required

some such incident as this of Benjamin’s arrest. This incident seemed by some

strange fatality to threaten them with a renewed perpetration of the very crime they

had committed against Rachel’s other son. It threatened to force them to become

again the instrument of bereaving their father of his darling child, and bring about

that very calamity which they had pledged themselves should never happen. It was

an incident, therefore, which, more than any other, was likely to call out their family

love.

The scene lives in every one’s memory. They were going gladly back to their own

country with corn enough for their children, proud of their entertainment by the

lord of Egypt; anticipating their father’s exultation when he heard how generously

they had been treated and when he saw Benjamin safely restored, feeling that in

bringing him back they almost compensated for having bereaved him of Joseph.

Simeon is revelling in the free air that blew from Canaan and brought with it the

scents of his native land, and breaks into the old songs that the strait confinement of

his prison had so long silenced-all of them together rejoicing in a scarcely hoped-for

success; when suddenly, ere the first elation is spent, they are startled to see the

hasty approach of the Egyptian messenger, and to hear the stern summons that

brought them to a halt, and boded all ill. The few words of the just Egyptian, and

his calm, explicit judgment, "Ye have done evil in so doing," pierce them like a keen

blade-that they should be suspected of robbing one who had dealt so generously

with them; that all Israel should be put to shame in the sight of the stranger! But

they begin to feel relief as one brother after another steps forward with the boldness

of innocence; and as sack after sack is emptied, shaken, and flung aside, they

already eye the steward with the bright air of triumph; when, as the very last sack is

emptied, and as all breathlessly stand round, amid the quick rustle of the corn, the

sharp rattle of metal strikes on their ear, and the gleam of silver dazzles their eyes as

the cup rolls out in the sunshine. This, then, is the brother of whom their father was

so careful that he dared not suffer him out of his sight! This is the precious youth

whose life was of more value than the lives of all the brethren, and to keep whom a

few months longer in his father’s sight Simeon had been left to rot in a dungeon!

This is how he repays the anxiety of the family and their love, and this is how he

repays the extraordinary favour of Joseph! By one rash childish act had this fondled

youth, to all appearance, brought upon the house of Israel irretrievable disgrace, if

not complete extinction. Had these men been of their old temper, their knives had

very speedily proved that their contempt for the deed was as great as the Egyptian’s;

by violence towards Benjamin they might have cleared themselves of all suspicion of

complicity; or, at the best, they might-have considered themselves to be acting in a

fair and even lenient manner if they had surrendered the culprit to the steward, and

once again carried back to their father a tale of blood. But they were under the spell

of their old sin. In all disaster, however innocent they now were, they saw the

retribution of their old iniquity; they seem scarcely to consider whether Benjamin

was innocent or guilty, but as humbled, God-smitten men, "they rent their clothes,

and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city."

Thus Joseph in seeking to gain one brother found eleven-for now there could be no

doubt that they were very different men from those. brethren who had so heartlessly

sold into slavery their father’s favourite-men now with really brotherly feelings, by

penitence and regard for their father so wrought together into one family, that this

calamity, intended to fall only on one of their number, did in falling on him fall on

them all. So far from wishing now to rid themselves of Rachel’s son and their

father’s favourite, who had been put by their father in so prominent a place in his

affection, they will not even give him up to suffer what seemed the just punishment

of his theft, do not even reproach him with having brought them all into disgrace

and difficulty, but, as humbled men who knew they had greater sins of their own to

answer for, went quietly back to Egypt, determined to see their younger brother

through his misfortune or to share his bondage with him. Had these men not been

thoroughly changed, thoroughly convinced that at all costs upright dealing and

brotherly love should continue; had they not possessed that first and last of

Christian virtues, love to their brother, then nothing could so certainly have revealed

their want of it as this apparent theft of Benjamin’s. It seemed in itself a very likely

thing that a lad accustomed to plain modes of life, and whose character it was to

"ravin as a wolf," should, when suddenly introduced to the gorgeous Egyptian

banqueting-house with all its sumptuous furnishings, have coveted some choice

specimen of Egyptian art, to carry home to his father as proof that he could not only

bring himself back in safety, but scorned to come back from any expedition empty-

handed. It was not unlikely either that, with his mother’s own superstition, he might

have conceived the bold design of robbing this Egyptian, so mysterious and so

powerful, according to his brothers’ account, and of breaking that spell which he

had thrown over them: he may thus have. conceived the idea of achieving for

himself a reputation in the family, and of once for all redeeming himself from the

somewhat undignified, and to one of his spirit somewhat uncongenial, position of

the youngest of a family. If, as is possible, he had let any such idea ooze out in

talking with his brethren as they went down to Egypt, and only abandoned it on

their indignant and urgent remonstrance, then when the cup, Joseph’s chief treasure

according to his own account, was discovered in Benjamin’s sack, the case must

have looked sadly against him even in the eyes of his brethren. �o protestations of

innocence in a particular instance avail much when the character and general habits

of the accused point to guilt. It is quite possible, therefore, that the brethren, though

willing to believe Benjamin, were yet not so thoroughly convinced of his innocence

as they would have desired. The fact that they themselves had found their money

returned in their sacks, made for Benjamin; yet in most cases, especially where

circumstances corroborate it, an accusation even against the innocent takes

immediate hold and cannot be summarily and at once got rid of.

Thus was proof given that the house of Israel was now in truth one family. The men

who, on very slight instigation, had without compunction sold Joseph to a life of

slavery, cannot now find it in their heart to abandon a brother who, to all

appearance, was worthy of no better life than that of a slave, and who had brought

them all into disgrace and danger. Judah had no doubt pledged himself to bring the

lad back without scathe to his father, but he had done so without contemplating the

possibility of Benjamin becoming amenable to Egyptian law. And no one can read

the speech of Judah-one of the most pathetic on record-in which he replies to

Joseph’s judgment that Benjamin alone should remain in Egypt, without perceiving

that he speaks not as one who merely seeks to redeem a pledge, but as a good son

and a good brother. He speaks, too, as the mouth-piece of the rest, and as he had

taken the lead in Joseph’s sale, so he does not shrink from standing forward and

accepting the heavy responsibility which may now light upon the man who

represents these brethren. His former faults are redeemed by the courage, one may

say heroism, he now shows. And as he spoke, so the rest felt. They could not bring

themselves to inflict a new sorrow on their aged father; neither could they bear to

leave their young brother in the hands of strangers. The passions which had

alienated them from one another, and had threatened to break up the family, are

subdued. There is now discernible a common feeling that binds them together, and a

common object for which they willingly sacrifice themselves. They are, therefore,

now prepared to pass into that higher school to which God called them in Egypt. It

mattered little what strong and equitable laws they found in the land of their

adoption, if they had no taste for upright living; it mattered little what thorough

national organisation they would be brought into contact with in Egypt, if in point

of fact they owned no common brotherhood, and were willing rather to live as units

and every man for himself than for any common interest. But now they were

prepared, open to teaching, and docile.

To complete our apprehension of the state of mind into which the brethren were

brought by Joseph’s treatment of them, we must take into account the assurance he

gave them, when he made himself known to them, that it was not they but God who

had sent him into Egypt. and that God had done this for the purpose of preserving

the whole house of Israel. At first sight this might seem to be an injudicious speech,

calculated to make the brethren think lightly of their guilt, and to remove the just

impressions they now entertained of the unbrotherliness of their conduct to Joseph.

And it might have been an injudicious speech to impenitent men; but no further

view of sin can lighten its heinousness to a really penitent sinner. Prove to him that

his sin has become the means of untold good, and you only humble him the more,

and more deeply convince him that while he was recklessly gratifying himself and

sacrificing others for his own pleasure, God has been mindful of others, and,

pardoning him, has blessed them. God does not need our sins to work out His good

intentions, but we give Him little other material; and the discovery that through our

evil purposes and injurious deeds God has worked out His beneficent will, is

certainly not calculated to make us think more lightly of our sin or more highly of

ourselves.

Joseph in thus addressing his brethren did, in fact, but add to their feelings the

tenderness that is in all religious conviction, and that springs out of the

consciousness that in all our sin there has been with us a holy and loving Father,

mindful of His children. This is the final stage of penitence. The knowledge that God

has prevented our sin from doing the harm it might have done does relieve the

bitterness and despair with which we view our life, but at the same time it

strengthens the most effectual bulwark between us and sin-love to a holy, over-

ruling God. This, therefore, may always be safely said to penitents: Out of your

worst sin God can bring good to yourself or to others, and good of an apparently

necessary kind; but good of a permanent kind can result from your sin only when

you have truly repented of it, and sincerely wish you had never done it. Once this

repentance is really wrought in you, then, though your life can never be the same as

it might have been had you not sinned, it may be, in some respects, a more richly

developed life, a life fuller of humility and love. You can never have what you sold

for your sin; but the poverty your sin has brought may excite within you thoughts

and energies more valuable than what you have lost, as these men lost a brother but

found a Saviour. The wickedness that has often made you bow your head and

mourn in secret, and which is in itself unutterable shame and loss, may, in God’s

hand, become food against the day of famine. You cannot ever have the enjoyments

which are possible only to those whose conscience is laden with no evil

remembrances, and whose nature, uncontracted and unwithered by familiarity with

sin, can give itself to enjoyment with the abandonment and fearlessness reserved for

the innocent. �o more at all will you have that fineness of feeling which only

ignorance of evil can preserve; no more that high and great conscientiousness which,

once broken, is never repaired; no more that respect from other men which for ever

and instinctively departs from those who have lost self-respect. But you may have a

more intelligent sympathy with other men and a keener pity for them; the

experience you have gathered too late to save yourself may put it in your power to

be of essential service to others. You cannot win your way back to the happy, useful,

evenly-developed life of the comparatively innocent, but the life of the true-hearted

penitent, is yet open to yon. Every beat of your heart now may be as if it throbbed

against a poisoned dagger, every duty may shame you, every day bring weariness

and new humiliation, but let no pain or discouragement avail to defraud you of the

good fruits of true reconciliation to God and submission to His lifelong discipline.

See that you lose not both lives, the life of the comparatively innocent and the life of

the truly penitent.

LA�GE, "PRELIMI�ARY REMAKES

1. It appears uncertain to Knobel which narrator (the Elohist or the Jehovist) tells

the story here. Many expressions, says Hebrews, favor the original Scripture, but

some seem to testify for the Jehovist, e. g, land of Goshen ( Genesis 45:10), thy

servant instead of I ( Genesis 42:10). Very singular examples truly! Yet the language,

it is then said, is rich in peculiarities. This part the Jehovist is said to have made up

from his first record. A very peculiar presentation this, of the ἅπαξ λεγόµενα of

different authors, as obtained by such a combination. The ἅπαξ λεγόµενα (words or

expressions occurring but once) are always forth-coming from behind the scene.

Such is the dead representation of that spiritless book-making, or rather that book-

mangling criticism, now so much in vogue with those who make synopses of the �ew

Testament.

2. The history of Joseph’s reconciliation to his brethren extends through four

chapters, from Genesis 41-45 It contains: 1) The history of the chastisement of the

brothers, which, at the same time is a history of Joseph’s struggles; 2) of the

repentance of his brothers, marked by the antithesis Joseph and Simeon ( Genesis

42); 3) the trial of the brothers, in which appears their repentance and Joseph’s

reconciliation, marked by the antithesis of Joseph and Benjamin ( Genesis 43:1;

Genesis 44:17); 4) the story of the reconciliation and recognition, under the

antithesis of Judah and Joseph ( Genesis 44:18; Genesis 45:16); 5) the account of the

glad tidings to Jacob ( Genesis 42:7-28).

1. The contents of the present section: 1) The journey to Egypt ( Genesis 42:1-6); 2)

the rough reception ( Genesis 42:7-17); 3the tasks imposed and the arrangements

made by Joseph ( Genesis 42:18-34); 4) The voluntary release, the return home, the

report, the dark omen ( Genesis 42:25-35); 5) Jacob’s lament ( Genesis 42:36-38).

EXEGETICAL A�D CRITICAL

3. Genesis 42:1-6. The first journey of Joseph’s brethren to Egypt.—When Jacob

saw.—It is already presupposed that the famine was raging in Canaan. Jacob’s

observation was probably based upon the preparations of others for buying corn in

Egypt. The word שבר is translated corn, but more properly means a supply of corn

(frumenti cumulus, Gesen, Thesaur.), or vendible or market corn.—Why do ye look

one upon another?—Their helpless and suspicious looking to each other seems to be

connected with their guilt. The journey to Egypt, and the very thought of Egypt

haunts them on account of Joseph’s sale.—And Joseph’s ten brethren.—They thus

undertake the journey together, because they received corn in proportion to their

number. For though Joseph was humanely selling corn to foreigners, yet preference

for his own countrymen, and a regard to economy, demanded a limitation of the

quantity sold to individuals.—But Benjamin.—Jacob had transferred to Benjamin

his preference of Joseph as the son of Rachel, and of his old age ( Genesis 37:3). He

guarded him, therefore, all the more carefully on account of the self-reproach he

suffered from having once let Joseph take a dangerous journey all alone. Besides,

Benjamin had not yet arrived at full manhood. Finally, although the facts were not

clearly known to him, yet there must be taken into the account the deep suspicion he

must have felt when he called to mind the strange disappearance of Joseph, their

envy of him, and all this the stronger because Benjamin, too, was his favorite—

Rachel’s Song of Solomon, Joseph’s brother.—Among those that came.—The

picture of a caravan. Jacob’s sons seem willing to lose themselves in the multitudes,

as if troubled by an alarming presentiment. Knobel thinks the city to which they

journeyed was Memphis. According to others it was probably Zoar or Tanais (see

�umbers 13:23). By the double הּוא the writer denotes the inevitableness of their

appearing before Joseph. Having the general oversight of the sale, he specially

observed the selling to foreigners, and it appears to have been the rule that they

were to present themselves before him. Such a direction, though a proper caution in

itself, might have been connected in the mind of Joseph with a presentiment of their

coming. He himself was the ַׁשִּליט. The circumstance that this word appears

otherwise only in later writers may be partly explained from the peculiarity of the

idea itself. See Daniel 5:29. Here Daniel is represented as the third שליט (shalit) of

the kingdom. “It seems to have been the standing title by which the Shemites

designated Joseph, as one having despotic power in Egypt, and from which later

tradition made the word Σάλατις, the name of the first Hyksos king (see Josephus:

Contra Apion. i14).”—Keil—And bowed themselves.—Thus Joseph’s dreams were

fulfilled, as there had been already fulfilled the dreams of Pharaoh.

BI 1-2, "Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt.

The famine in the house of Jacob

I. CONSIDERED IN ITS REARING UPON THE DIVINE PURPOSES CONCERNING THE CHOSEN PEOPLE.

II. CONSIDERED IN ITS EFFECT UPON JACOB’S SONS. “Why do ye look one upon another?” This sad question reavealed—

1. The utmost distress.

2. Great perplexity.

3. Forebodings of conscience. (T. H. Leale.)

The famine; or, good out of evil

I. THE WIDESPREAD CALAMITY.

II. THE ERRAND TO EGYPT.

III. THE DOUBTFUL RECEPTION. Learn:

1. When distresses and trials come, we should be ready to trust that God means to do good by them in some way, though we may not know how.

2. When difficulties occur, we should still hope on.

3. When disappointments are our lot, we should remember that they come not without God’s knowledge and permission.

4. Humility and faith will always lead to renewed hope. (W. S. Smith, B. D.)

Corn in Egypt

We have here a picture of man’s lost estate, he is in a sore soul-devouring famine. We discover here man’s hope. His hope lies in that Joseph whom he knows not, who has gone before him and provided all things necessary, that his “wants may be supplied. And we have here practical advice, which was pre-eminently wise on the part of Jacob to his sons in his case, and which, being interpreted, is also the wisest advice to you and to me. Seeing that there is mercy for sinners, and that Jesus our brother has gone before us to provide for us an all-sufficient redemption, “Why sit we here and look one upon another?” There is mercy in the breast of God, there is salvation in Christ; “get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.”

I. A PITIFUL PLIGHT. These sons of Jacob were overtaken by a famine. They were cast into a waste, howling wilderness of famine, with but one oasis, and that oasis they did not hear of till just at the time to which our text refers, when they learned to their joy that there was corn in Egypt. Permit me now to illustrate the condition of the sinner by the position of these sons of Jacob.

1. The sons of Jacob had a very great need of bread. But what is this compared with the sinner’s needs! His necessities are such that only Infinity can supply them; he has a demand before which the demands of sixty-six mouths are as nothing.

2. Mark, again: what these people wanted was an essential thing. They did not lack clothes, that were a want, but nothing like the lack of bread; for a man might exist with but scanty covering. Oh that men should cry for bread—the absolute necessary for the sustenance of the body! But what is the sinner’s want? Is it not exactly this? he wants that without which the soul must perish.

3. Yet again: the necessity of the sons of Jacob was a total one. They had no bread;

there was none to be procured. Such is the sinner’s case. It is not that he has a little grace and lacks more; but he has none at all. Of himself he has no grace. It is not that he has a little goodness, and needs to be made better; but he has no goodness at all, no merits, no righteousness—nothing to bring to God, nothing to offer for his acceptance; he is penniless, poverty-stricken; everything is gone whereon his soul might feed.

4. But yet worse: with the exception of Egypt, the sons of Jacob were convinced that there was no food anywhere. In speechless silence they resigned themselves to the woe which threatened to overwhelm them. Such is the sinner’s condition, when first he begins to feel a hungering and thirsting after righteousness, he looks to others. “There is no hope for us; we have all been condemned, we have all been guilty, we can do nothing to appease the Most High”; what a wretched world were ours, if we were equally convinced of sin, and equally convinced that there was no hope of mercy! This, then, was the condition of Jacob’s sons temporally, and it is our condition by nature spiritually.

II. Now we come, in the second place, to the GOOD NEWS. Jacob had faith, and the ears of faith are always quiet; faith can hear the tread of mercy, though the footfall be as light as that of the angel among the flowers. Jacob had the ears of faith. He had been at prayer, I doubt not, asking God to deliver his family in the time of famine; and by and by he hears, first of his household, that there is corn in Egypt. Jacob heard the good news, and communicated it as speedily as possible to his descendants. Now, we also have heard the good news. Good news has been sent to us in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. “There is corn in Egypt.” We need not die. Now, we have better news than even Jacob had; although the news is similar, understanding it in a spiritual sense.

1. We are told to-day, by sure and certain witnesses, that there is corn in Egypt, there is mercy in God. Jacob’s messenger might have deceived him—idle tales are told everywhere, and in days of famine men are very apt totell a falsehood, thinking that to be true which they wish were so. The hungry man is apt to hope that there may be corn somewhere; and then he thinks there is; and then he says there is; and then, what begins with a wish comes to be a rumour and a report. But this day, my friends, it is no idle talk; no dream, no rumour of a deceiver. There is mercy with God, there is salvation with Him that He may be feared.

2. There is another thing in which we have the start of Jacob. Jacob knew there was corn in Egypt, but did not know who had the keeping of it. If he had known that, he would have said, “My sons, go down at once to Egypt, do not be at all afraid, your brother is lord of Egypt, and all the corn belongs to him.” Nay, more, I can readily imagine that he would have gone himself, forthwith. Sinner, the mercies of God are under no lock and key except those over which Christ has the power. The granaries of heaven’s mercy have no steward to keep them save Christ. He is exalted on high to give repentance and remission of sins.

3. There is yet another thing which the sons of Jacob knew nothing of. When they went to Egypt, they went on hap-hazard: If they knew there was corn, they were not sure they would get it. But when you and I go to Christ, we are invited guests.

4. But one other remark, and I will have done with this second point. The sons of Jacob were in one respect better off than you are apparently, for they had money with which to buy. Jacob was not a poor man in respect of wealth, although he had now become exceedingly poor from lack of bread. His sons had money to take with them. Glittering bars of gold they thought must surely attract the notice of the ruler

of Egypt. You have no money, nothing to bring to Christ, nothing to offer Him. You offered Him something once, but He rejected all you offered Him as being spurious coins, imitations, counterfeits, and good for nothing. And now utterly stripped, hopeless, penniless, you say you are afraid to go to Christ because you have nothing of your own. Let me assure you that you are never in so fit a condition to go to Christ as when you have nowhere else to go to, and have nothing of your own.

III. Thus I have noticed the good news as well as the pitiful plight. I come now to the third part, which is GOOD ADVICE. Jacob says, “Why do ye look one upon another?” And he said, “Behold I have heard that there is corn in Egypt; get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.” This is very practical advice. I wish people would act the same with religion as they do in temporal affairs. Jacob’s sons did not say: “Well, that is very good news; I believe it,” and then sit still and die. No, they went straightway to the place of which the good news told them corn was to be had. So should it be in matters of religion. We should not be content merely to hear the tidings, but we should never be satisfied until by Divine grace we have availed ourselves of them, and have found mercy in Christ. Lastly, let me put this question: “Why do ye look one upon another?” Why do ye sit still? Fly to Christ, and find mercy. Oh, says one, “I cannot get what I expect to have.” But what do you expect? I believe some of our hearers expect to feel an electric shock, or something of that kind, before they are saved. The gospel says simply, “Believe.” That they will not understand. They think there is to be something so mysterious about it. They can’t make out what it is; but they are going to wait for it and then believe. Well, you will wait till doomsday; for if you do not believe this simple gospel, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,” God will not work signs and wonders to please your foolish desires. Your position is this—you are a sinner, lost, ruined; you cannot help yourself. Scripture says, “Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.” Your immediate business, your instantaneous duty is to cast yourself on that simple promise, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, that as He came into the world to save sinners, He has therefore come to save you. What you have to do with, is that simple command—“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” In conclusion, I make this last remark: Did you notice the argument Joseph used why the sons should go to Egypt? It was this—“That we may live, and not die.” Sinner, this is my argument with thee this morning. My dear hearers, the gospel of Christ is a matter of life and death with you. It is not a matter of little importance, but of all importance. There is an alternative before you; you will either be eternally damned, or everlastingly saved. Despise Christ, and neglect His great salvation, and you will be lost, as sure as you live. Believe in Christ; put your trust alone in Him, and everlasting life is yours. What argument can be more potent than this to men that love themselves? (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The famine in Canaan

I. FAMINE.

1. A dire calamity. Perhaps none greater. One which human wisdom cannot foresee. Affects all classes. Animal life depends on vegetable life, vegetable life on seasons, light, heat, rain, temperature, &c. These under the control of God. The lawmaker may suspend the operation of natural laws, moderate their influence, or affect their course.

2. Usually unexpected. In this case there was a warning given, and preparations made. Men cannot foresee the suspension or deviation of natural laws. Hopes for the

future built on productiveness of the past.

3. Often over-ruled for good. In this case conspicuously so. Promotes human sympathy (thus the Irish famine, 1846-7, besides evoking much individual benevolence, was responded to by Parliamentary grants of, in the whole, £10,000,000. Ill. Indian famine, 1861). Provokes scientific inquiry into “supply and demand.” of food. Leads to emigration and breaking up of new ground.

4. Always possible and near. World at any time only a harvest off starvation.

5. Generally local (Gen_8:22). “All countries” (Gen_41:57), those adjacent to Egypt. Kindness of Providence in this. Nations in their turn dependent on each other. Each “offers something for the general use.”

II. PLENTY.

1. Where? In Egypt. A storehouse of plenty for hungry nations. Always food in some place, and will be while the earth lasts. He who feeds the ravens knows what man has need of.

2. Why? Does it seem strange that the promised land should suffer, rather than be the favoured spot?

(1) It was a small country.

(2) Had other nations gone thither they would have conquered it.

(3) Chiefly: it was part of the Divine plan that Israel should go down into Egypt, and the famine necessitated this.

3. How? By the extraordinary productiveness of seven preceding years, and the storing of the surplus corn. This effected by the instrumentality of Joseph. His mind supernaturally illuminated. Favour given him in the sight of the king of Egypt. Him appointment to office, including the absolute control of the produce of the land.

III. BUYING FOOD.

1. Want in the house of Jacob.

2. The ten sent out to buy corn in Egypt.

3. They arrive in Egypt, and visit the royal granaries.

4. Joseph recognizes them, and they bow before him, and thus fulfil the dream.

5. To disarm suspicion, and to discover the temper of their minds, and the history of their family, they are charged with being spies, and cast into prison.

6. After three days they are liberated, and a hostage required for their return with the younger brother of whom they have spoken, and of whose existence Joseph affects to doubt.

7. Mutual recriminations respecting Joseph.

8. Joseph is affected by what he hears.

9. Simeon bound and left in prison, while they betake themselves away to Canaan. Learn: However great the dearth of the bread that perisheth, there is always sufficient of the “bread of life,” and it is always accessible. (J. C. Gray.)

2 He continued, “I have heard that there is grain

in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so

that we may live and not die.”

GILL, "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, Gen_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.

HAWKER, "It is worthy remark, that Canaan, the land of promise, became a land of famine to Abraham-Gen_12:10. to Isaac, Gen_26:1, - and here to Jacob. My brother, none but the heavenly Canaan is exempt from such trials to the faithful. Read that scripture: Amo_8:11-12. and bless GOD if such be not among your exercises.

3 Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy

grain from Egypt.

GILL, "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.

HE�RY 3-6, " Their obedience to these orders, Gen_42:3. They went down to buy corn; they did not send their servants, but very prudently went themselves, to lay out their own money. Let none think themselves too great nor too good to take pains. Masters of families should see with their own eyes, and take heed of leaving too much to servants. Only Benjamin went not with them, for he was his father's darling. To Egypt they came, among others, and, having a considerable cargo of corn to buy, they were brought before Joseph himself, who probably expected they would come; and, according to the laws of courtesy, they bowed down themselves before him, Gen_42:6. Now their empty sheaves did obeisance to his full one. Compare this with Isa_60:14 and Rev_3:9.

SBC. "I. The story of Joseph is a good example of what is meant by Providence working for the best in the lives of men. Look at the young foreigner, as he comes to a land not his own; see how he resists the one great temptation of his age and station; observe how, through means not of his own seeking, through good report and evil, through much misunderstanding of others, but by consistent integrity and just dealing on his own part, he overcomes all the difficulties of his position, and is remembered long afterwards in his adopted land as the benefactor of his generation and the deliverer of his country.

II. The story of Joseph is, perhaps, of all the stories in the Old Testament, the one which most carries us back to our childhood, both from the interest we felt in it as children, and from the true picture of family life which it presents. It brings before us the way in which the greatest blessings for this life and the next depend on the keeping up of family love pure and fresh, as when the preservation and fitting education of the chosen people depended on that touching generosity and brotherly affection which no distance of time, no new customs, no long sojourn in a strange land, could extinguish in the heart of Joseph. Home is on earth the best likeness of heaven; and heaven is that last and best home in which, when the journey of life is over, Joseph and his brethren, Jacob and his sons, Rachel and her children, shall meet to part no more.

A. P. Stanley, Sermons in the East, p. 17.

COFFMA�, "Verse 3-4

"And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy grain from Egypt. But Benjamin,

Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure

harm befall him."

Benjamin had become Jacob's favorite following what he supposed was the death of

Joseph, and he might have been afraid that the same kind of hatred that had

previously resulted from his partiality to Joseph might possibly have been

transferred to Benjamin. There might even be some evidence here that Jacob in the

intervening years had come to question some of the things his sons had told him. In

any event, he refused to entrust Benjamin to them on this trip to Egypt.

ELLICOTT, "(3) Joseph’s ten brethren.—Either their cattle and households had

been already greatly reduced by the mortality caused by the famine, or each

patriarch must have taken a number of servants with him, if the corn carried home

was to be enough to be of any real use. We learn, however, that they still possessed

flocks and herds when they went down into Egypt (Genesis 47:1), and also

households of servants (Genesis 46:5, where see �ote). Joseph, moreover, besides the

wagons and their contents, sends twenty loads of provisions for the use of his father

by the way (Genesis 45:21-23), showing thereby that there were very many mouths

to feed. Probably, therefore, there was some small amount of rain in Palestine,

though not enough for the support of crops of corn. There would be, however,

supplies of milk and flesh, but not much more.

BI 3-20, "Joseph’s ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt

Providence working in men’s lives

I. The story of Joseph is a good example of what is meant by Providence working for the best in the lives of men. Look at the young foreigner, as he comes to a land not his own; see how he resists the one great temptation of his age and station; observe how, through means not of his own seeking, through good report and evil, through much misunderstanding of others, but by consistent integrity and just dealing on his own part, he overcomes all the difficulties of his position, and is remembered long afterwards in his adopted land as the benefactor of his generation and the deliverer of his country.

II. The story of Joseph is, perhaps, of all the stories in the Old Testament, the one which most carries us back to our childhood, both from the interest we felt in it as children, and from the true picture of family life which it presents. It brings before us the way in which the greatest blessings for this life and the next depend on the keeping up of family love pure and fresh, as when the preservation and fitting education of the chosen people depended on that touching generosity and brotherly affection which no distance of time, no new customs, no long sojourn in a strange land, could extinguish in the heart of Joseph. Home is on earth the best likeness of heaven; and heaven is that last and best home in which, when the journey of life is over, Joseph and his brethren, Jacob and his sons, Rachel and her children, shall meet to part no more. (Dean Stanley.)

The first journey of Jacob’s brethren into Egypt

I. THEY SHOW EVIDENT SIGNS OF FEAR. Therefore they go together in a company, ten strong, that by their numbers they might encourage and support one another (Gen_42:3).

II. THEIR WORST FOREBODINGS ARE FULFILLED. They dreaded Egypt, and events justified their fears.

1. They are received roughly (Gen_42:7).

2. They are suspected of evil designs (Gen_42:9).

3. They are threatened with the prospect of imprisonment and death.

III. GREAT PRINCIPLES OF GOD’S MORAL GOVERNMENT ARE :ILLUSTRATED IN THIS HISTORY.

1. That pride is sure to meet with a fall. In Gen_42:6 we are told that “Joseph’s brethren came and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth.” Where were now those lofty looks, and that contemptuous tone with which they said when Joseph had told them of his dreams—“Shalt thou then indeed reign over us, or shalt thou have dominion over us?”

2. That nothing can hinder the counsel of God from taking effect.

3. That the crisis will arrive when the wicked must appear before the judgment-seat of the pious.

4. That retribution, even in kind, follows sin.

5. That throughout the severity of God’s righteous anger against Sin there runs a purpose of mercy. (T. H. Leale.)

The first journey of Joseph’s brethren into Egypt

I. THE FAMINE IN CANAAN.

II. THE OFFICE OF CONSCIENCE (Gen_42:21). Where sin is voluntary wrong-doing, the language of the human heart inevitably connects the penalty with the wrong-doing. In every temptation that comes upon you, think what it will be in the hour of death to be free from the recollection of it. Refrain, refrain, remember the hereafter.

III. OBSERVE THE SEVERITY IN THE LOVE OF JOSEPH (Gen_42:7). He did not allow his personal feelings to interfere with what seemed to him his duty. Joseph’s love to his brethren was a noble love. God’s love to us is still nobler, and severity accompanies it. It does not shrink from human suffering, for suffering is necessary for the man’s well being.

IV. Lastly, we remark on THE RETURN HOMEWARDS OF JOSEPH’S BRETHREN. Jacob expected corn to relieve their necessities; he got the corn, but with it came sorrow upon sorrow. Bereaved of Joseph, he is now bereaved of Simeon also. In Jacob’s answers to his sons, in the close of the chapter, we find a depth of querulousness and despondency. Job was tried with sorrows far more severe, and yet they only served and contributed to the purifying of his spirit. In order to understand the cause of Jacob’s despondency we must go far back. Jacob was a selfish man; his very religion was selfish;

he would become religious only on condition that God would protect and guide him. To that selfish origin may be traced all the evils of his after life. Throughout it seems to have been his principle to receive as much as possible, and to give as little as he could. He who lives in this world for his own personal enjoyment, without God and His Christ, will by degrees find, like Jacob, that he has no rock to rest his soul upon, but that he must go down in sorrow to the grave. (F. W. Robertson, M. A.)

The retributions of Providence

Men troubled by memory of former sins, not because they doubt mercy of God, but because they doubt themselves. Jacob’s sons better men than formerly, yet the retribution follows.

I. The vengeance of TIME. The sin of twenty years ago. Time no friend to the sinner. Time gives the harvest opportunity and room to develop. Years of Joseph’s imprisonment. Years of torture to brethren.

II. The vengeance of CIRCUMSTANCES. Every link in chain, strong and connected with next link. “Remarkable series of coincidences,” very. The plots and counterplots of fiction: of with Scripture.

III. The vengeance of MEMORY. Joseph’s cries wrought into the mental texture of these men. Hetfy, in “Adam Bede.” The baby’s cry: “ Son, remember.” Memory, a cup of blessing, or devil’s scourge.

IV. The vengeance of CONSCIENCE. Memory may exaggerate, extenuate, add, subtract, &c. But conscience is a just judge. Hamlet, “The play’s the thing,” &c. Adonibezak, conscience-stricken wretch.

V. The vengeance of PUBLICITY. Evildoers clever in blocking up ninety-nine avenues of discovery. The 100th. The shame. The collapse. Conclusion: Vengeance, not last word in relation to sin. “We know that He was manifested,” &c. “Better to fall,” &c. “Faithful and just.” “Though your sins as mountains rise,” &c. (A. P. Watson.)

4 But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s

brother, with the others, because he was afraid

that harm might come to him.

GILL, "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.

5 So Israel’s sons were among those who went to

buy grain, for there was famine in the land of

Canaan also.

GILL, "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, Gen_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.

JAMISO�, "the famine was in the land of Canaan— The tropical rains, which annually falling swell the Nile, are those of Palestine also; and their failure would produce the same disastrous effects in Canaan as in Egypt. Numerous caravans of its

people, therefore, poured over the sandy desert of Suez, with their beasts of burden, for the purchase of corn; and among others, “the sons of Israel” were compelled to undertake a journey from which painful associations made them strongly averse.

CALVI�, "Verses 5-7

"And the sons of Israel came to buy among those that came; for the famine was in the

land of Canaan. And Joseph was the governor over the land; he it was that sold to all the

people of the land. And Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down themselves to him with

their face to the earth. And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself

strange unto them, and spake roughly with them; Whence come ye? And they said, From

the land of Canaan to buy food."

"Came to buy among those that came ..." Keil gave the literal meaning of this as, "they

came in the midst of the comers."[3] The narrative indicates that a large number of people

were arriving from many different places. The ready access to Joseph by the brethren has

been made the occasion of some very snide remarks by some scholars. Simpson charged

the narrator here with total ignorance of "the administrative problems in such an office as

Joseph's."[4] All such views are unjustified, because, as we have noted, many of the

details are here omitted. While true enough that Joseph did not personally handle all of

the details of so many sales, any group of strangers who might have been suspected of

being spies would inevitably have been referred to Joseph, and this would appear to have

been exactly what occurred here. Neither should it be overlooked that the hand of God

was moving in all the events of the Bible.

Regarding Genesis 42:7, "according to a truly Semitic style of narrative, is a condensation

of what is more circumstantially related in Genesis 42:8-17."[5] This explains the

repetition of key statements."

PETT, "Verse 5

‘And the sons of Israel came to buy among those who came, for the famine was in the

land of Canaan.’

As they travelled to Egypt they found themselves in company with many travelling the

same route, for all had been hit by the famine. They would probably have a number of

servants with them for much corn would be needed. Others would tend what remained of

the once abundant flocks and herds. But the fact that they had ‘money’ (silver and gold -

there were no coins in those days) demonstrated that they were not yet poor.

“The sons of Israel.” The narrative switches easily between the two names Jacob and

Israel. While the use of two names for the same person in one narrative was not unusual it

is probable that the writer wants to make sure that we connect these events both with the

patriarchs of the past and with the future Israel. It is a fulfilling of the covenant promises

and a preparation for the future.

6 �ow Joseph was the governor of the land, the

person who sold grain to all its people. So when

Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to

him with their faces to the ground.

CLARKE, "Joseph was the governor - ,shallit, an intendant, a protector שליט

from שלט skalat, to be over as a protector; hence שלטים shelatim, shields, or arms for

protection and defense, 2Sa_8:7; and שלטון shilton, power and authority, Ecc_8:4, Ecc_

8:8; and hence the Arabic sultan, a lord, prince, or king, from salata, he obtained and exercised dominion, he ruled. Was it not from this very circumstance, Joseph being

shallit, that all the Mohammedan governors of Egypt, etc., took the title of sultan? Bowed down themselves before him - Thus fulfilling the prophetic dream, Gen_37:7, Gen_37:8, which they had taken every precaution to render null and void. But there is neither might nor counsel against the Lord.

BARNES 6-17, "Gen_42:6-17

The ten brothers meet with a rough reception from the lord of the land. “The

governor” - the sultan. This, we see, is a title of great antiquity in Egypt or Arabia. Joseph presided over the cornmarket of the kingdom. “Bowed down to him with their faces to the earth.” Well might Joseph think of those never-to-be-forgotten dreams in which the sheaves and stars bowed down to him. “And knew them.” How could he fail to remember the ten full-grown men of his early days, when they came before him with all their peculiarities of feature, attitude, and mother tongue. “And he made himself strange unto them.” All that we know of Joseph’s character heretofore, and throughout this whole affair, goes to prove that his object in all his seemingly harsh treatment was to get at their hearts, to test their affection toward Benjamin, and to bring them to repent of their unkindness to himself.

“They knew not him.” Twenty years make a great change in a youth of seventeen. And besides, with his beard and head shaven, his Egyptian attire, his foreign tongue, and his exalted position, who could have recognized the stripling whom, twenty years ago, they had sold as a slave? “Spies are ye.” This was to put a color of justice on their detention. To see the nakedness of the land, not its unfortified frontier, which is a more recent idea, but its present impoverishment from the famine. “Sons of one man are we.” It was not likely that ten sons of one man would be sent on the hazardous duty of spies. “And behold the youngest is with our father this day.” It is intensely interesting to Joseph to hear that his father and full brother are still living. “And one is not.” Time has assuaged all their bitter feelings, both of exasperation against Joseph and of remorse for their unbrotherly conduct. This little sentence, however, cannot be uttered by them, or heard by Joseph, without emotion. “By the life of Pharaoh.” Joseph speaks in character, and uses an Egyptian asseveration. “Send one of you.” This proposal is enough to strike terror into their hearts. The return of one would be a heavy, perhaps a fatal blow to their father. And how can one brave the perils of the way? They cannot bring themselves to concur in this plan. Sooner will they all go to prison, as accordingly they do. Joseph is not without a strong conviction of incumbent duty in all this. He knows he has been put in the position of lord over his brethren in the foreordination of God, and he feels bound to make this authority a reality for their moral good.

GILL, "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, Gen_37:7.

JAMISO�, "Joseph was the governor— in the zenith of his power and influence.

he it was that sold— that is, directed the sales; for it is impossible that he could give attendance in every place. It is probable, however, that he may have personally superintended the storehouses near the border of Canaan, both because that was the most exposed part of the country and because he must have anticipated the arrival of some messengers from his father’s house.

Joseph’s brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him— His prophetic dreams [Gen_37:5-11] were in the course of being fulfilled, and the atrocious barbarity of his brethren had been the means of bringing about the very issue they had planned to prevent (Isa_60:14; Rev_3:9, last clause).

CALVI�, "6.And Joseph was the governor (164) over the land. Moses connects the

honor of Joseph with his fidelity and diligence. For although he was possessed of

supreme authority, he nevertheless submitted to every possible laborious service,

just as if he had been a hired servant. From which example we must learn, that as

any one excels in honor, he is bound to be the more fully occupied in business; but

that they who desire to combine leisure with dignity, utterly pervert the sacred order

of God. Let it be, moreover, understood, that the corn was sold by Joseph, not as if

he measured it out with his own hands, or himself received the money for it, seeing

that it was set to sale in many parts of the kingdom, and he could scarcely have

attended to one single storehouse: but that the whole of the stores were under his

power.

WHEDO�, "6. The governor — The word ( ׁשליׂש ) thus rendered occurs elsewhere

only in the later Hebrew books — Ezekiel, Daniel, and Ecclesiastes. It seems, says

Keil, “to have been the standing title which the Shemites gave to Joseph as ruler in

Egypt, and from this the later legend of Salatis, the first king of the Hyksos, arose.”

Josephus, Apion, 1:14.

He it was that sold — �ot that Joseph personally attended to all the details of the

selling; but he had general oversight and authority; and when, as in the present

instance, a large number of foreigners came to buy, he would be called upon to

receive them in due form, and see that all was proper. He would not allow a general

traffic in Egyptian grain to be carried on among foreign nations in such a time of

famine.

BE�SO�, "Genesis 42:6. Joseph’s brethren came and bowed themselves before him

— Some have inferred from this that the names of all the strangers that came to buy

corn in Egypt were brought to Joseph and registered; and such persons or families

as were any way remarkable, were brought before him. Thus his brethren would of

course be introduced to him: but, in general, he undoubtedly sold the corn by

deputies. With their faces to the earth — The common method of salutation in the

eastern nations. Thus Joseph’s first dream was already fulfilled; their sheaves

bowed to his sheaf.

COKE, "Genesis 42:6. Joseph was the governor— shalit, one who is appointed ׁשליט

ruler, or governor: the Arabic word sultan comes from it.

And Joseph's brethren came— Hence, it seems very probable, that the names of all

those strangers who came to AEgypt were brought to Joseph, either that such of

them as he thought fit might be introduced to him, or that by such means he might

be informed of his father's family. Accordingly, as soon as his brethren arrived in

the land, they were introduced to him, and unknowingly fulfilled his first dream,

and that part of the second which related to themselves, and which must have

strongly recurred to Joseph's remembrance (see Genesis 42:9.) when he saw them

bowing down themselves before him, with their faces to the earth; which was the

common method of salutation towards superiors in the eastern nations.

REFLECTIO�S.—The famine now began to be sensibly felt in Canaan. That land

of promise had hitherto in many instances proved a land of dearth to every

succeeding patriarch. �ote; It is good to have the creature embittered, that we may

be led to look to a better country; that is, a heavenly. Jacob, understanding there

was corn in AEgypt, reproves his sons for their delay and despondence, and hastens

them on their journey. �ote; When difficulties overtake us, we must not lie down

and despond, nor waste the time in useless debate, but exert our most vigorous

efforts for relief. At his command, all, except Benjamin, immediately set off, and,

arriving safely, are introduced to the governor, before whom they bow with

profound obeisance. And now the dreams begin to be accomplished. �ote; God's

counsels will take effect in their own time.

ELLICOTT, "(6) Joseph’s brethren came and bowed down themselves before

him.—Throughout the land of Egypt Joseph would sell by deputy, and only give

general directions; but the arrival of so large a party as Joseph’s ten brethren, each

probably with several attendants, would be reported to the governor in person, as

certainly was the case with Abraham when he went into Egypt (Genesis 12:14-15).

Such visits would happen only occasionally, and the arrival of foreigners was always

a matter looked upon with suspicion, especially upon the Arabian frontier.

PETT, "Verse 6

‘And Joseph was the governor over the land, he it was who sold to all the people of

the land, and Joseph’s brothers came and bowed themselves to him with their faces

to the earth.’

It is probable that Joseph had arranged things in such a way that all Canaanites

coming to buy food had to approach him. He would not of course be actually selling

the food but would be on a seat of honour and approached by those who came, who

would abase themselves to him before passing on to those who actually handled the

transactions.

7 As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he

recognized them, but he pretended to be a

stranger and spoke harshly to them. “Where do

you come from?” he asked.

“From the land of Canaan,” they replied, “to buy

food.”

GILL, "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 hard (z) 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.

HAWKER, "Reader! I charge you not to overlook the precious things contained in this verse. How little doth the sinner think, in his first approaches to JESUS, while the HOLY GHOST is leading him, and his necessities, like Jacob’s sons, compel him to the mercy seat, that He is a brother, as well as a governor, to whom he is come. How unconscious is he, when JESUS seems to make himself strange and speak roughly to him, that grace is at the bottom. My Christian Reader! never forget this one precious truth, however outward things vary, the heart; of our JESUS is the same. While we fear his power let us not lose sight of his love. Heb_4:14-16.

HE�RY 7-9, "We may well wonder that Joseph, during the twenty years that he had now been in Egypt, especially during the last seven years that he had been in power there, never sent to his father to acquaint him with his circumstances; nay, it is strange that he who so often went throughout all the land of Egypt (Gen_41:45, Gen_41:46) never made an excursion to Canaan, to visit his aged father, when he was in the borders of Egypt, that lay next to Canaan. Perhaps it would not have been above three or four days' journey for him in his chariot. It is a probable conjecture that his whole management of himself in this affair was by special direction from Heaven, that the purpose of God concerning Jacob and his family might be accomplished. When Joseph's brethren came, he knew them by many a satisfactory token, but they knew not him, little thinking to find him there, Gen_42:8. He remembered the dreams (Gen_42:9), but they had forgotten them. The laying up of God's oracles in our hearts will be of excellent use to us in all our conduct. Joseph had an eye to his dreams, which he knew to be divine, in his carriage towards his brethren, and aimed at the accomplishment of them and the

bringing of his brethren to repentance for their former sins; and both these points were gained.

I. He showed himself very rigorous and harsh with them. The very manner of his speaking, considering the post he was in, was enough to frighten them; for he spoke roughly to them, Gen_42:7. He charged them with bad designs against the government (Gen_42:9), treated them as dangerous persons, saying, You are spies, and protesting by the life of Pharaoh that they were so, Gen_42:16. Some make this an oath, others make it no more than a vehement asseveration, like that, as thy soul liveth; however it was more than yea, yea, and nay, nay, and therefore came of evil. Note, Bad words are soon learned by converse with those that use them, but not so soon unlearned. Joseph, by being much at court, got the courtier's oath, By the life of Pharaoh, perhaps designing hereby to confirm his brethren in their belief that he was an Egyptian, and not an Israelite. They knew this was not the language of a son of Abraham. When Peter would prove himself no disciple of Christ, he cursed and swore. Now why was Joseph thus hard upon his brethren? We may be sure it was not from a spirit of revenge, that he might now trample upon those who had formerly trampled upon him; he was not a man of that temper. But, 1. It was to enrich his own dreams, and complete the accomplishment of them. 2. It was to bring them to repentance. 3. It was to get out of them an account of the state of their family, which he longed to know: they would have discovered him if he had asked as a friend, therefore he asks as a judge. Not seeing his brother Benjamin with them, perhaps he began to suspect that they had made away with him too, and therefore gives them occasion to speak of their father and brother. Note, God in his providence sometimes seems harsh with those he loves, and speaks roughly to those for whom yet he has great mercy in store.

JAMISO�, "Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, ... but they knew not him— This is not strange. They were full-grown men - he was but a lad at parting. They were in their usual garb - he was in his official robes. They never dreamt of him as governor of Egypt, while he had been expecting them. They had but one face; he had ten persons to judge by.

made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly— It would be an injustice to Joseph’s character to suppose that this stern manner was prompted by any vindictive feelings - he never indulged any resentment against others who had injured him. But he spoke in the authoritative tone of the governor in order to elicit some much-longed-for information respecting the state of his father’s family, as well as to bring his brethren, by their own humiliation and distress, to a sense of the evils they had done to him.

K&D, "Joseph recognised his brothers at once; but they could not recognise a brother who had not been seen for 20 years, and who, moreover, had not only become thoroughly Egyptianized, but had risen to be a great lord. And he acted as a foreigner

towards them, speaking harshly, and asking them whence they had come. In (ִיְתַנֵ%ר)Gen_42:7, according to a truly Semitic style of narrative, we have a condensation of what is more circumstantially related in Gen_42:8-17.

CALVI�, "7.He made himself strange unto them. It may be asked for what purpose

Joseph thus tormented his brethren with threats and with terror. For if he was

actuated by a sense of the injury received from them, he cannot be acquitted of the

desire of revenge. It is, however, probable, that he was impelled neither by anger nor

a thirst of vengeance, but that he was induced by two just causes to act as he did.

For he both desired to regain his brother Benjamin, and wished to ascertain, — as if

by putting them to the torture, — what was in their mind, whether they repented or

not; and, in short, what had been their course of life since he had seen them last.

For, had he made himself known at the first interview, it was to be feared lest they,

keeping their father out of sight, and wishing to cast a vail over the detestable

wickedness which they had committed, should only increase it by a new crime.

There lurked, also, a not unreasonable suspicion concerning his brother Benjamin,

lest they should attempt something perfidious and cruel against him. It was

therefore important that they should be more thoroughly sifted; so that Joseph,

being fully informed of the state of his father’s house, might take his measures

according to circumstances; and also, that previous to pardon, some punishment

might be inflicted which would lead them more carefully to reflect upon the atrocity

of their crime. For whereas he afterwards showed himself to be placable and

humane; this did not arise from the fact, that his anger being assuaged, he became,

by degrees, inclined to compassion; but rather, as Moses elsewhere subjoins, that he

sought retirement, because he could no longer refrain himself; herein intimating at

the same time, that Joseph had forcibly repressed his tears so long as he retained a

severe aspect; and, therefore, that he had felt throughout the same affection of pity

towards them. And it appears that a special impulse moved him to this whole course

of action. For it was no common thing, that Joseph, beholding so many authors of

his calamities, was neither angry nor changed in his manner, nor broke out into

reproaches; but was composed both in his countenance and his speech, as if he had

long meditated at leisure, respecting the course he would pursue. But it may be

inquired again, whether his dissimulation, which was joined with a falsehood, is not

to be blamed; for we know how pleasing integrity is to God, and how strictly he

prohibits his own people from deceit and falsehoods. Whether God governed his

servant by some special movement, to depart without fault, from the common rule of

action, I know not; seeing that the faithful may sometimes piously do things which

cannot lawfully be drawn into a precedent. Of this, however, in considering the acts

of the holy fathers, we must always beware; lest they should lead us away from that

law which the Lord prescribes to all in common. By the general command of God,

we must all cultivate sincerity. That Joseph feigned something different from the

truth, affords no pretext to excuse us if we attempt anything of the same kind. For,

though a liberty granted by privilege would be pardoned, yet if any one, relying on a

private example, does not scruple to subvert the law of God, so as to give himself

license to do what is therein forbidden, he shall justly suffer the punishment of his

audacity. And yet I do not think that we ought to be very anxious to excuse Joseph,

because it is probable that he suffered something from human infirmity, which God

forgave him; for by Divine mercy alone could that dissimulation, which in itself was

not without fault, escape condemnation.

BENSON, "Genesis 42:7. We may well wonder that Joseph, during the twenty years he

had been in Egypt, especially during the last seven years that he had been in power there,

never sent to his father to acquaint him with his circumstances; nay, it is strange that he,

who so oft went through all the land of Egypt, never made a step to Canaan, to visit his

aged father. When he was in the borders of Egypt that lay next to Canaan, perhaps it

would not have been above three or four days’ journey for him in his chariot. It is a

probable conjecture, that his whole management of himself in this affair was by special

direction from Heaven, that the purpose of God, concerning Jacob and his family, might

be accomplished. When Joseph’s brethren came, he knew them by many a good token,

but they knew not him, little thinking to find him there.

HAWKER, "Verse 7

Reader! I charge you not to overlook the precious things contained in this verse. How

little doth the sinner think, in his first approaches to JESUS, while the HOLY GHOST is

leading him, and his necessities, like Jacob's sons, compel him to the mercy seat, that He

is a brother, as well as a governor, to whom he is come. How unconscious is he, when

JESUS seems to make himself strange and speak roughly to him, that grace is at the

bottom. My Christian Reader! never forget this one precious truth, however outward

things vary, the heart; of our JESUS is the same. While we fear his power let us not lose

sight of his love. Hebrews 4:14-16.

WHEDON, "7. Made himself strange — acted like a foreigner, speaking to them ,יתנכר

through an interpreter. Genesis 42:23 . He dissembled, and spoke harsh things to them.

Perhaps he had anticipated their coming, and had, therefore, arranged to have all

foreigners presented to him personally; but in that moment of interest and excitement,

noticing that Benjamin was not among them, he must find out the reason, and deems it

best to treat them with severity.

ELLLICOTT, "(7) Joseph . . . spake roughly unto them.—Joseph has been accused of

harshness in his treatment of his brethren, and still more so of his father in forcing him to

send away Benjamin. The latter was, no doubt, the result of his great longing to see his

only brother, and he may not have known how dear he was to Jacob, or have reflected

upon the pain which his father would feel in parting with him. Still it was but a temporary

separation, to prepare for a happy re-union. As regards his half-brethren, Joseph was

obliged to prove them, and he did nothing to them which they did not richly deserve.

From the first he probably wished to have his father and Benjamin to dwell with him, and

share his good fortune; but if his brethren were still the cruel and heartless wretches

which they had shown themselves to have been in their conduct to him twenty years

before, we may well suppose that he would justly have left them to their fate. Possibly his

first emotion towards them was one of indignation, but it melted away, when, even in but

one of them, he saw proof that they were not entirely destitute of better feeling (see

Genesis 42:22; Genesis 42:24).

LANGE, " Genesis 42:7-17. The harsh reception. Joseph recognized them immediately,

because, at the time of his abduction, they were already grown up men, who had not

changed as much as Hebrews, and because, moreover, their being all together brought out

distinctly their individual characteristics. He was, besides, familiar with their language

and its idioms. They, on the contrary, did not recognize him because he had attained his

manhood since in Egypt,—because he appeared before them clad in foreign attire, and

introduced himself, moreover, as an Egyptian who spoke to them through an interpreter.

Add to this, that he had probable reasons for expecting his brethren, whilst they could

have had no thought of meeting Joseph in the character of the shalit.—But made himself

strange unto them.—By speaking roughly unto them. It is a false ascription to Joseph of a

superhuman perfection and holiness, when, with Luther, Delitzsch, Keil, and others (see

Keil, p259), we suppose that Joseph, with settled calmness, only intended to become

acquainted with the disposition of their hearts, so as to lead them to a perception of their

guilt, and to find out how they were disposed towards his hoary sire, and their youngest

brother. Kurtz is more correct in supposing it a struggle between anger and gentleness.

Their conduct to himself may have even made it a sign of suspicion to him that Benjamin

did not accompany them. True it Isaiah, that a feeling of love predominates; since the

humiliation foretold in his dreams was already, for the most part, fulfilled, and he might,

therefore, expect the arrival of his father, and of his brother Benjamin, who would, at the

same time, represent his mother. His future position towards them, however, must be

governed by circumstances. The principal aim, therefore, of his harsh address, is to sound

them in respect to their inner and outer relations. According as things should appear were

they to expect punishment or forbearance. Finding them well disposed, self-renunciation

becomes easier to him; whilst his harsh conduct is to them only a wholesome

discipline.—Ye are spies.—That such a danger was common, in those ancient days of

emigration and conquest, is clear from various instances ( Numbers 21:32; Joshua 2:1,

etc.). See also Knobel, p321. Moreover, Egypt was exposed to invasion from the North.

Supposing, too, that Joseph had already a presentiment of how the affair would turn out,

he might term them spies, with something of an ironical feeling, because their coming

was undoubtedly a preliminary to their settlement in Egypt.—The nakedness of the

land—its unfortified cities, unprotected boundaries, etc. Afterwards Joseph himself

becomes to them the gate through which they enter Egypt.—Nay, my Lord.—Their

answer shows a feeling of dignified displeasure.—We are all one man’s sons, we are true

men.—Yet their mortified pride is restrained by fear and respect. Joseph repeats his

charge, and so gets from them the further information, that his father is still alive, and that

Benjamin was well at home.—And one is not.—From this expression Keil concludes that

they did not yet feel much sorrow for their deed. But are they to confess to the Egyptian

shalit? If, however, their distress alone had afterwards drawn from them a sudden

repentance, it could hardly have been genuine.—That is it that I spake with you.—

Joseph’s great excitement shows itself in his wavering determinations quickly succeeding

and correcting each other. They gravitate from severity to mildness. In Genesis 42:14, we

have his positive decision that they are spies, and are, therefore, to expect death. In

Genesis 42:15, it is made conditional. As a test of their truth they are to be retained until

the arrival of their brother.—By the life of Pharaoh.[FN3]—The Egyptians, as the

Hebrews afterwards, swore by the life of their kings (see Knobel, 322). Joseph thus

swears as an Egyptian. His main solicitude, however, appears here already: he must know

how Benjamin does, and their disposition towards him. In Genesis 42:16, he expresses

himself more definitely: one of them is to go and bring the brother, the others are to

remain in confinement. A change follows in Genesis 42:17, they are confined for three

days, probably on account of the expression of their unwillingness to fetch Benjamin. Pit

for pit (see Genesis 37:24)! These three days, however, were to Joseph a time for

reflection, and for the brothers a time of visitation. They all seemed now to have fallen

into slavery in Egypt, even if they had not incurred the death of criminals. How this must

have made them remember Joseph’s sale! One ray of hope has he left them: on

Benjamin’s appearance they could be released.

PETT, "Verse 7

‘And Joseph saw his brothers, and he knew them, but he made himself a stranger to them

and spoke harshly to them. And he said to them, “From where have you come?” And they

said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.”

When Joseph saw his brothers he knew them immediately, but he did not make himself

known. Rather he signalled to his underlings to bring them forward so that he could speak

with them. They were probably quite apprehensive at being selected out to speak to this

great Egyptian overlord, and were even more so when he addressed them harshly. They

must have wondered why they should be picked out. All they could do was answer his

questions and hope for the best.

8 Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they

did not recognize him.

GILL, "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.

HE�RY, "

JAMISO�, "

COFFMA�, "Verses 8-11

"And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. And Joseph remembered

the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the

nakedness of the land ye have come. And they said unto him, �ay, my lord, but to

buy food are thy servants come. We are all one man's sons; we are true men, thy

servants are no spies."

The dramatic fulfillment of Joseph's dream that his brothers would bow down to

him had just occurred; no wonder Joseph remembered. It may be wondered why

Joseph charged his brothers with being spies. Some have charged Joseph with

insincerity in this and have attempted to explain it in various ways. Some have

thought that Joseph was intent on bringing his brothers to repentance. And some

Jewish writers have made this an act of righteousness on Joseph's part. Friedman

even stated that "he made himself a stranger unto them in order to spare them the

shame of defeat."[6]

Perhaps a better explanation lies in the supposition that the case of his brothers had

been brought before Joseph personally by subordinates in the bureaucracy and that

they had originated the charge of spying. If so, this would account for two things: (1)

Joseph's handling the case in person, and (2) the firm, even harsh manner in which

he dealt with it. Anything on Joseph's part that could have been interpreted by

lesser officials as disloyalty to Pharaoh would have been pounced upon and used by

them against Joseph, for it may not be supposed for a moment that everyone in

Egypt appreciated having "this foreigner" rule over them. Thus, Joseph discharged

his duty under the circumstances to the fullest, openly backing up the false charges

in a manner that left him above and beyond all possible criticism.

"We are all one man's sons ..." The argument is that no father would risk sending

ten sons on a single spy mission. The argument was valid.

"We are true men ..." Joseph's opinion of that remark might have been, "Yes, I

know what kind of true men you are. You sold a brother, and lied to your father

about what became of him." Despite everything, however, Joseph was glad to see his

brothers and was already of a mind to forgive them totally.

"To spy out the nakedness of the land ..." This has no reference to the lack of food

supplies, for there was plenty of food. The word "nakedness" is here used

"metaphorically for things that are meant to be hidden from potential enemies."[7]

What is implied is that they had come to discover the state of Egypt's military

preparedness to repel an attack.

CO�STABLE, "Verses 8-17

Joseph remembered his dreams ( Genesis 42:9), and the proof of God"s faithfulness

undoubtedly encouraged his confidence as he proceeded to deal with his brothers.

He played a role before them charging them with a crime punishable with death in

Egypt. Such a serious accusation encouraged his brothers to be as honest as

possible, which is what Joseph wanted.

A family will rarely risk almost all of its sons in a dangerous spying mission, which

probably explains the brothers" statement that they were all sons of one man (

Genesis 42:11).

Probably Joseph wanted to be sure that his brothers had not killed Benjamin since

they had contemplated killing himself ( Genesis 42:15).

The three-day imprisonment provided Joseph with time to plan his strategy, and it

impressed the brothers with the importance of cooperating with Joseph ( Genesis

42:17). These three days also gave the brothers a taste of what Joseph had endured

for three years. Joseph may have intended that they serve one day"s imprisonment

for each year he had suffered incarceration because of their hatred.

"A vindictive Joseph could have dismayed his brothers with worthless sackloads, or

tantalized them at his feast as they had tantalized him ( Genesis 37:24-25); his

enigmatic gifts were a kinder and more searching test. Just how well-judged was his

policy can be seen in the growth of quite new attitudes in the brothers, as the

alternating sun and frost broke them open to God." [�ote: Kidner, p199. Cf. Waltke,

Genesis , p542.]

ELLICOTT, "(8) Joseph knew.—As this is twice repeated, some suppose that

Joseph (in Genesis 42:7) had only a suspicion, from their dress and appearance, that

these Canaanites were his brethren; but that when they spake the Hebrew tongue

(comp. Genesis 42:23), every doubt was removed. They would not recognize him, as

he used the Egyptian language, was clad in a white linen dress, and being but

seventeen when sold, had during the twenty years of separation changed in

appearance much more than they had.

PETT, "Verse 8

‘And Joseph knew his brothers but they did not know him.’

There was no way in which they would have recognised him. He was dressed in the

dignity of his office, with his hair and sumptuous clothing in the Egyptian style, and

he was now a mature man changed by the course of years and what he had been

forced to go through. Moreover he spoke to them through interpreters and they

would not dare to look at him closely but would do so with bowed heads.

9 Then he remembered his dreams about them

and said to them, “You are spies! You have come

to see where our land is unprotected.”

CLARKE, "Ye are spies - meraggelim)attem, ye are footmen, trampers מרגלים(אתםabout, footpads, vagabonds, lying in wait for the property of others; persons who, under the pretense of wishing to buy corn, desire only to find out whether the land be so defenceless that the tribes to which ye belong (see Gen_42:11) may attack it successfully, drive out the inhabitants, and settle in it themselves; or, having plundered it, retire to their deserts. This is a frequent custom among the Arabs to the present day. Thus Joseph spake roughly to them merely to cover that warmth of affection which he felt towards them; and that being thus brought, apparently, into straits and dangerous circumstances, their consciences might be awakened to reflect on and abhor their own wickedness.

GILL, "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, Gen_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.

JAMISO� 9-14, "Ye are spies— This is a suspicion entertained regarding strangers in all Eastern countries down to the present day. Joseph, however, who was well aware that his brethren were not spies, has been charged with cruel dissimulation, with a deliberate violation of what he knew to be the truth, in imputing to them such a character. But it must be remembered that he was sustaining the part of a ruler; and, in fact, acting on the very principle sanctioned by many of the sacred writers, and our Lord Himself, who spoke parables (fictitious stories) to promote a good end.

K&D 9-17, "As the sight of his brethren bowing before him with the deepest reverence reminded Joseph of his early dreams of the sheaves and stars, which had so increased the hatred of his brethren towards him as to lead to a proposal to kill him, and an actual sale, he said to them, “Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land (i.e., the unfortified parts of the kingdom which would be easily accessible to a foe) ye are come;”

and persisted in this charge notwithstanding their reply, “nay, my lord, but ()ְו see Ges. §

155, 1b) to buy food are thy servants come. We are all one man's sons (ַנְחנּו for ֲאַנְחנּו, only

in Exo_16:7-8; Num_32:32; 2Sa_17:12; Lam_3:42): honest (ִנים%ֵ) are we; thy servants are no spies.” Cum exploratio sit delictum capitale, non est verisimile; quod pater tot filios uno tempore vitae periculo expositurus sit (J. Gerhard). But as their assertion failed to make any impression upon the Egyptian lord, they told him still more particularly about their family (Gen_42:13.): “Twelve are thy servants, brothers are we, sons of a man in the land of Canaan; and behold the youngest is now with our father,

and one is no more (ֵאיֶמ1ּו as in Gen_5:24). Joseph then replied, “That is it (הּוא neut. like Gen_20:16) that I spake unto you, saying ye are spies. By this shall ye be proved: By

the life of Pharaoh! ye shall not (ִאם, like Gen_14:23) go hence, unless your youngest brother come hither. Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother; but he shall be in bonds, and your words shall be proved, whether there be truth in you or not. By the life of Pharaoh! ye are truly spies!” He then had them put into custody for three days. By the coming of the youngest brother, Joseph wanted to test their assertion, not because

he thought it possible that he might not be living with them, and they might have treated him as they did Joseph (Kn.), but because he wished to discover their feelings towards Benjamin, and see what affection they had for this son of Rachel, who had taken Joseph's place as his father's favourite. And with his harsh mode of addressing them, Joseph had no intention whatever to administer to his brethren “a just punishment for their wickedness towards him,” for his heart could not have stooped to such mean revenge; but he wanted to probe thoroughly the feelings of their hearts, “whether they felt that they deserved the punishment of God for the sin they had committed,” and how they felt towards their aged father and their youngest brother.

(Note: Joseph nihil aliud agit quam ut revelet peccatum fratrum hoc durissimo opere et sermone. Descendunt enim in Aegyptum una cum aliis emtum frumentum, securi et negligentes tam atrocis delicti, cujus sibi erant conscii, quasi nihil unquam deliguissent contra patrem decrepitum aut fratrem innocentem, cogitant Joseph jam diu exemtum esse rebus humanis, patrem vero rerum omnium ignarum esse. Quid ad nos? Non agunt poenitentiam. Hi silices et adamantes frangendi et conterendi sunt ac aperiendi oculi eorum, ut videant atrocitatem sceleris sui, idque ubi perfecit Joseph statim verbis et gestibus humaniorem se praebet eosque honorifice tractat. - Haec igitur atrocitas scelerum movit Joseph ad explorandos animos fratrum accuratius, ita ut non solum priorum delictorum sed et cogitationum pravarum memoriam renovaret, ac fuit sane inquisitio satis ingrata et acerba et tamen ab animo placidissimo profecta. Ego durius eos tractassem. Sed haec acerbitas, quam prae se fert, non pertinet ad vindicandum injuriam sed ad

salutarem eorum poenitentiam, ut humilientur.)Luther.)

Even in the fact that he did not send the one away directly to fetch Benjamin, and merely detain the rest, but put the whole ten in prison, and afterwards modified his threat (Gen_42:18.), there was no indecision as to the manner in which he should behave towards them - no “wavering between thoughts of wrath and revenge on the one hand, and forgiving love and meekness on the other;” but he hoped by imprisoning them to make his brethren feel the earnestness of his words, and to give them time for reflection, as the curt “is no more” with which they had alluded to Joseph's removal was a sufficient proof that they had not yet truly repented of the deed.

SBC, "Jacob became aware of a fact which his brother had not cared to know—a fact for himself and his seed after him. The Being who had made man in His own image told this man that he was made in His image; taught him that he was not meant, like the serpent, to go on his belly and eat dust. This is the only explanation given. It assumes that man lives because he is related to God, that when he denies that relation he chooses death; it assumes that God is continually teaching men of their relation to Him, and that they are continually flying from His voice.

I. Joseph’s story is in strict accordance with these principles. He had dreams of greatness: his brothers’ sheaves are to bow down before him; the sun and the moon are to pay him obeisance. In his vanity he tells the dreams, and is hated the more. His brothers plot against his life, throw him into a pit, sell him to a company of Ishmaelites. There is no description of his anguish, or of any thoughts of comfort that came to him. We are merely told that God was with him, that he found favour with Potiphar, and became the steward of his house.

II. We know that though our dreams have never told us anything about that which is to come, they have told us secrets of our own experience; they have shown how near dark,

fierce thoughts, which we fancied at a great distance, were lying to us. The interpretation of dreams for us and for the old world lies in the belief that we are under a loving and Divine Teacher, who does not wish us to walk in darkness.

III. There are crises, however, in a man’s life, when he is neither troubled with the dreams of the night nor of the day—when he is called to act, and act at once—when life and death hang on the decision of a moment. To such a crisis had Joseph come when he spoke the words, "How shall I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" The belief in a living, present God, was then all in all to him.

IV. Joseph’s sermon to Pharaoh was a simple declaration that the Righteous Being was the Lord over Egypt, that He could set it in order. And his sermon to the Egyptians was the proof which his administration gave that he had spoken truth.

F. D. Maurice, The Patriarchs and Lawgivers of the Old Testament, p. 118.

CALVI�, "9.And Joseph remembered the dreams. When the boy Joseph had

spoken of receiving obeisance, the absurdity of the thing impelled his brethren

wickedly to devise his death. �ow, although they bow down to him without knowing

him, there is yet nothing better for them. Indeed, their only means of safety, is to

prostrate themselves at his feet, and to be received by him as suppliants. Meanwhile,

their conspiracy, by which they attempted to subvert the celestial decree, lest they

should have to bear the yoke, was rendered fruitless. So the Lord forcibly restrains

the obstinate, just as wild and refractory horses are wont to be more severely

treated, the more they kick and are restive. Wherefore, there is nothing better than

meekly to compose the mind to gentleness, that each may take his own lot

contentedly, though it be not very splendid. It may, however, seem absurd, that

Joseph should, at this time, have recalled his dream to mind, as if it had been

forgotten through the lapse of years; which, indeed, could not be, unless he had lost

sight of the promises of God. I answer, nothing is here recorded but what frequently

happens to ourselves: for although the word of God may be dwelling in our hearts,

yet it does not continually occur to us, but rather is sometimes so smothered that it

may seem to be extinct, especially when faith is oppressed by the darkness of

affliction. Besides, it is nothing wonderful, if a long series of evils should have

buried, in a kind of oblivion, his dreams which indicated prosperity. God had

exalted him, by these dreams, to the hope of great and distinguished authority. He is,

however, cast into a well not unlike a grave. He is taken hence to be sold as a slave;

he is carried to a distant land; and, as if slavery would not prove sufficiently severe,

he is shut up in prison. And though his misery is in some degree mitigated, when he

is released from his iron fetters, yet there was little, if any, prospect of deliverance. I

do not, however, think that the hope entertained by him was entirely destroyed, but

that a cloud passed over it, which deprived him of the light of comfort. A different

kind of temptation followed; because nothing is more common than for great and

unexpected felicity to intoxicate its possessors. And thus it happened, as we have

recently read, that a forgetfulness of his father’s house stole over the mind of the

holy man. He was not, therefore, so mindful of his dreams as he ought to have been.

Another excuse may probably be alleged; that he, at the moment, compared his

dreams with the event. And truly it was no common virtue to apply what was

passing, thus immediately for the confirmation of the Divine oracle. For we readily

perceive, that those dreams which so quickly recur to the memory, had not been

obliterated through length of time. So the disciples remembered the words of the

Lord after he had risen from the dead; because, by the sight of the fact predicted,

their knowledge became more clear; whereas, before, nothing but transient sparks

of it had shined in their hearts.

WHEDON, "9. Remembered the dreams — How strangely but clearly fulfilled! They had

thought to put him out of their way, and said, “We shall see what will become of his

dreams.” Genesis 37:20. Now, behold, what comes of his dreams!

Ye are spies — This would be a very natural charge for Joseph to make in order to carry

out his policy with his brethren. “The Egyptians were always most liable to be assailed

from the east and north-east. The various Arab and Canaanitish tribes seem to have

constantly made incursions into the more settled and civilized land of Egypt. Particularly

the Hittites were at constant feud with the Egyptians. Moreover, the famous Hyksos

invasion and domination may have been very nearly impending at this period.” —

Speaker’s Com.

Nakedness of the land — In this time of dearth the land may have been in a comparatively

exposed and defenceless condition.

COKE, "Genesis 42:9. Ye are spies— This might be rendered, are ye spies? or, are ye not

spies? are ye not come to spy out the nakedness of the land? by which means, the direct

affirmation is removed. The nakedness of the land signifies, the weak, unfortified places

of the country. Le Clerc observes, that what made Joseph's feigned suspicion the more

plausible was, that they entered AEgypt by those parts where alone it is liable to be

invaded; as Herodotus observes, lib. 3: cap. 4. and 5. where he gives an account of

Cambyses' descent upon AEgypt.

ELLICOTT, "(9) Ye are spies.—This is the suspicion under which every traveller labours

in the East; but in those days the whole Semitic race was especially looked upon in Egypt

with distrust, and, as we saw in Genesis 12:15. a chain of fortresses had been built to

protect the land from their incursions. Such an arrival, therefore, as that of Joseph’s

brethren would be a matter of state, worthy of the attention of the highest officials; and

probably they had themselves come prepared to be assailed with the accusation of having

political objects in view in their visit.

The nakedness of the land.—That is, its defenceless condition, from the want of fortresses

and garrisons. Egypt was chiefly assailable on the side of Palestine, and was often at war

with the Hittites there. So also the Hyksos, who subdued Egypt, were Semites from

Palestine, and thus there was reason for looking closely at visitors from that quarter.

PETT, "Verse 9

‘And 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.”

He had lessons which he wished to teach them. He remembered the dreams of them

bowing down to him and was determined they would do it in full measure, for as they

spoke with him through the interpreters they would constantly abase themselves to him.

He accuses them of being spies come to spy out conditions in the land so as to report back

to prospective invaders. The words must have brought a chill to their hearts. The

Egyptians could be very severe on their enemies and this man clearly had the power of

life and death.

10 “�o, my lord,” they answered. “Your servants

have come to buy food.

GILL, "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.

HAWKER 10-21, "Observe, in this verse, the effects of conscience: see that scripture: Rom_2:15. Observe the conscious sense of merited punishment also: therefore (say they) is this distress come upon us. Sinners can and do frequently connect the punishments they feel, with the sense of what they acknowledge they deserve. Do not these pointings of unenlightened nature, loudly confirm that invaluable scheme of mercy and grace which the gospel proclaims? And is not the precious, precious JESUS here again endeared to our view in the riches of his atoning blood, which alone cleanseth from all sin?

HE�RY, "They, hereupon, were very submissive. They spoke to him with all the respect imaginable: Nay, my lord (Gen_42:10) - a great change since they said, Behold, this dreamer comes. They very modestly deny the charge: We are no spies. They tell him their business, that they came to buy food, a justifiable errand, and the same that many strangers came to Egypt upon at this time. They undertake to give a particular account of themselves and their family (Gen_42:13), and this was what they wanted.

HAWKER, "Verses 10-21

Observe, in this verse, the effects of conscience: see that scripture: Romans 2:15.

Observe the conscious sense of merited punishment also: therefore (say they) is this

distress come upon us. Sinners can and do frequently connect the punishments they

feel, with the sense of what they acknowledge they deserve. Do not these pointings of

unenlightened nature, loudly confirm that invaluable scheme of mercy and grace

which the gospel proclaims? And is not the precious, precious JESUS here again

endeared to our view in the riches of his atoning blood, which alone cleanseth from

all sin?

11 We are all the sons of one man. Your servants

are honest men, not spies.”

CLARKE, "We are all one man’s sons -We do not belong to different tribes, and it is not likely that one family would make a hostile attempt upon a whole kingdom. This seems to be the very ground that Joseph took, viz., that they were persons belonging to different tribes. Against this particularly they set up their defense, asserting that they all belonged to one family; and it is on the proof of this that Joseph puts them, Gen_42:15, in obliging them to leave one as a hostage, and insisting on their bringing their remaining brother; so that he took exactly the same precautions to detect them as if he had had no acquaintance with them, and had every reason to be suspicious.

GILL, "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.

COKE, "Genesis 42:11. We are all one man's sons— Their answer here was very

pertinent; for it was not probable that a father would have sent his sons, and much

less all of them, in one company, upon so dangerous an exploit; nor that one

particular person, or family, would have formed a design against so capital a

kingdom as that of AEgypt.

ELLICOTT, "(11) We are all one man’s sons.—Joseph’s brethren had probably

expected this accusation, and their answer, as Abravanel points out, is a sound one:

for no man would send his whole family on so dangerous an errand. And thus they

press their family relations as a proof of their being true, that is, honest, just men,

with no evil designs; and Joseph, who was glad in this way to obtain intelligence of

his father and Benjamin, finally, after persisting in the accusation until he had

learned all he wished to know, accepts their argument as valid.

12 “�o!” he said to them. “You have come to see

where our land is unprotected.”

GILL, "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.

COFFMA�, "Verses 12-14

"And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. And they

said, We thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and,

behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not. And Joseph said unto

them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies."

This is a further elaboration of the impromptu trial, initiated by Joseph on the spot, and

conducted in the presence of everyone. The brothers supported their testimony by giving

further information about the family, including the fact of Benjamin's being at home with

Jacob, and the cryptic reference to Joseph who, they said, "is not." Joseph announced the

verdict: Guilty! No underling could have complained about Joseph's handling of the case.

Under the rules of that ancient society, every accused was considered guilty until proved

innocent, and the burden of proof was always upon the defendant.

13 But they replied, “Your servants were twelve

brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the

land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our

father, and one is no more.”

GILL, "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, Gen_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.

14 Joseph said to them, “It is just as I told you:

You are spies!

GILL, "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?

ELLICOTT, "(14) That is it . . . —Joseph persists in his charge, because, besides the

information which he gained, he also wished to get Benjamin into his power, that he

might have him with him. As for his brethren, he had probably as yet no settled

purpose, but naturally he would feel great indignation at the treatment he had

experienced at their hands, and might not be unwilling to give them some degree of

punishment.

PETT, "Verses 14-16

‘And Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you, you are spies. You will prove

yourselves in this way. By the life of Pharaoh you shall not go forth from here unless

your youngest brother comes here. Send one of your number and let him fetch your

brother, and you shall be put in custody so that your words may be proved, whether

there is truth in you. Or else by the life of Pharaoh you are surely spies.” ’

Joseph intends that just as he went into slavery and then into custody they too will

experience the same. He wants them to taste something of what he had known to see

how they will come out of it. Thus he proposes that one should go and return with

this supposed youngest son while the remainder are held in custody.

“You shall be put in custody.” Literally, ‘you shall be bound’. But in Genesis 40

‘being bound’ is mentioned frequently where men clearly had some freedom

(Genesis 42:3-5 compare Genesis 39:20). Therefore it may or may not include being

restricted with ropes.

To swear by the life of Pharaoh was a solemn oath for the life of Pharaoh was the

life of a god. Perhaps he is ensuring that they realise he is a true Egyptian.

15 And this is how you will be tested: As surely as

Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless

your youngest brother comes here.

CLARKE, "By the life of Pharaoh - chey)Pharaoh, Pharaoh liveth. As if he חי(פרעהhad said, As surely as the king of Egypt lives, so surely shall ye not go hence unless your brother come hither. Here therefore is no oath; it is just what they themselves make it in their report to their father, Gen_43:3 : the man did solemnly protest unto us; and our translators should not have put it in the form of an oath, especially as the original not only will bear another version, but is absolutely repugnant to this in our sense of the word.

GILL, "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 throne (a), 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" (b), 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.

JAMISO�, "By the life of Pharaoh— It is a very common practice in Western Asia to swear by the life of the king. Joseph spoke in the style of an Egyptian and perhaps did not think there was any evil in it. But we are taught to regard all such expressions in the light of an oath (Mat_5:34; Jam_5:12).

CALVI�, "15.By the life of Pharaoh. From this formula of swearing a new question

is raised; for that which is commanded in the law, that we should swear only by the

name of God, had already been engraven on the hearts of the pious; since nature

dictates that this honor is to be given to God alone, that men should defer to his

judgment, and should make him the supreme arbiter and vindicator of faith and

truth. If we should say that this was not simply an oath, but a kind of obtestation,

the holy man will be, in some degree, excusable. He who swears by God wishes him

to interpose in order to inflict punishment on perjury. They who swear by their life

or by their hand, deposit, as it were, what they deem most valuable, as a pledge of

their faithfulness. By this method the majesty of God is not transferred to mortal

man; because it is a very different thing to cite him as witness who has the right of

taking vengeance, and to assert by something most dear to us, that what we say is

true. So Moses, when he calls heaven and earth to witness, does not ascribe deity to

them, and thus fabricate a new idol; but, in order that higher authority may be

given to the law, he declares that there is no part of the world which will not cry out

before the tribunal of God, against the ingratitude of the people, if they reject the

doctrine of salvation. �otwithstanding, there is, I confess, in this form of swearing

which Joseph uses, something deserving of censure; for it was a profane adulation,

among the Egyptians, to swear by the life of the king. Just as the Romans swore by

the genius of their prince, after they had been reduced to such bondage that they

made their Caesar equal to gods. Certainly this mode of swearing is abhorrent to

true piety. Whence it may be perceived that nothing is more difficult to the holy

servants of God than to keep themselves so pure, while conversant with the filth of

the world, as to contract no spots of defilement from it. Joseph, indeed, was never so

infected with the corruptions of the court, but that he remained a pure worshipped

of God: nevertheless we see, that in accommodating himself to this depraved custom

of speaking, he had received some stain. His repetition of the expression shows, that

when any one has once become accustomed to evil, he becomes exceedingly prone to

sin again and again. We observe, that they who have once rashly assumed the license

of swearing, pour forth an oath every third word, even when speaking of the most

frivolous things. So much the greater caution ought we to use, lest any such

indulgence should harden us in this wicked custom.

BE�SO�, "Genesis 42:15. By the life of Pharaoh — As sure as Pharaoh lives, or as I

value the life of Pharaoh. A solemn protestation, as Judah, who heard it, and must

have understood its meaning, explains it to his father, Genesis 43:3; The man did

solemnly protest unto us. It seems, however, to have been the form of an oath in use

among the Egyptians, as afterward the Romans used to swear by the name and life

of their emperors. And it is no wonder that Joseph was carried by the stream of the

general practice of the court, especially as the law of God concerning the

appropriation of oaths unto God, that men are to swear only by his name, or are

only to appeal to him for the truth of what they affirm, was not yet delivered.

COFFMA�, "Verses 15-17

"Hereby shall ye be proved: by the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence,

except your youngest brother come hither. Send one of you and let him fetch your

brother, and ye shall be bound, that your words may be proved, whether there be

truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies. And he put them all

together into ward three days."

So the accused must prove themselves innocent. To this point, Joseph had disposed

of the case fully in keeping with what anyone in Egypt would have considered to be

absolutely proper. After a period of three days, during which period practically

everyone in Egypt would have forgotten all about the incident, Joseph would again

review the case and reduce the number from ten to one of those who would be left in

prison. Perhaps Joseph remembered the members of his father's house and thought

of their dire need of food, and therefore he sent them all home except Simeon, their

sacks laden with grain, and their money returned, as related at once by the sacred

author.

"By the life of Pharaoh ..." This was a common oath, corresponding to an

expression found in 2 Kings 2:4, "And Elisha said, As Jehovah liveth." In Egypt,

Pharaoh was considered a god, but Joseph's early training had taught him the name

of the true God, a truth he had not forgotten, despite his using the usual Egyptian

expression here.

COKE, "Genesis 42:15. By the life of Pharaoh— This was a solemn protestation; as

he valued the life and honour of his prince, he would do so and so. Judah explains it

in this manner to his father, ch. Genesis 43:3. The man did solemnly protest unto us;

and certainly Judah, who heard him, must best understand his meaning. Yet the

protestation is not to be vindicated in Joseph. There can be no doubt, that it was

customary among the heathens to swear, properly speaking, by the life or health of

their kings and emperors, as the Jews did by their living God. Joseph used this

phrase, the better to conceal himself from his brethren, and to make them think him

an AEgyptian.

16 Send one of your number to get your brother;

the rest of you will be kept in prison, so that your

words may be tested to see if you are telling the

truth. If you are not, then as surely as Pharaoh

lives, you are spies!”

GILL, "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.

17 And he put them all in custody for three days.

GILL, "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.

HE�RY, " He clapped them all up in prison for three days, Gen_42:17. Thus God deals with the souls he designs for special comfort and honour; he first humbles them, and terrifies them, and brings them under a spirit of bondage, and then binds up their wounds by the Spirit of adoption.

JAMISO� 17-24, "put them ... into ward three days— Their confinement had been designed to bring them to salutary reflection. And this object was attained, for they looked upon the retributive justice of God as now pursuing them in that foreign land. The drift of their conversation is one of the most striking instances on record of the power of conscience [Gen_42:21, Gen_42:22].

CALVI�, "17.And he put them altogether into ward. Here, not by words only, as

before, but by the act itself, Joseph shows himself severe towards his brethren, when

he shuts them all up in prison, as if about to bring them to punishment: and during

three days torments them with fear. We said a little while ago, that from this act no

rule for acting severely and rigidly is to be drawn; because it is doubtful whether he

acted rightly or otherwise. Again, it is to be feared lest they who plead his example

should be far removed from his mildness, and that they should prove to be rather

his apes than his true imitators. Meanwhile, it plainly appears what he was aiming

at; for he does not mitigate their punishment, as if at the end of three days he was

appeased; but he renders them more anxious about the redemption of their brother,

whom he retains as a hostage. Lest, however, immoderate fear should deter them

from returning, he promises to act with good faith towards them: and to convince

them of that, he declares that he fears God, which expression is worthy of

observation. Doubtless he speaks from the inward feeling of his heart, when he

declares that he will deal well and truly with them, because he fears God. Therefore

the commencement and the fountain of that good and honest conscience, whereby

we cultivate fidelity and justice towards men, is the fear of God. There appears

indeed some probity in the despisers of God; but it soon goes off in smoke, unless the

depraved affections of the flesh are restrained as with a bridle, by the thought that

God is to be feared, because he will be the Judge of the world. For whoever does not

think that he must render an account, will never so cultivate integrity as to refrain

from pursuing what he supposes will be useful to himself. Wherefore, if we wish to

be free from perfidy, craft, cruelty, and all wicked desire of doing injure, we must

labor earnestly that religion may flourish among us. For whenever we act with want

of sincerity or humanity towards each other, impiety openly betrays itself. For

whatever there is of rectitude or justice in the world, Joseph comprised in this short

sentence, when he said, that he feared God.

WHEDON, "17. Put them all together — Hebrews, Gathered, or, assembled them to

prison. He huddled them together in one cell. This might remind them of their casting

Joseph into the pit. Genesis 37:24. But Joseph’s character and tender heart forbid our

supposing that his severity towards his brethren was in retaliation for their sins against

him. He doubtless sought in this way to test them, and find out their feeling toward Jacob

and Benjamin. And in all this he was acting, in a way which he scarcely comprehended,

the part of a minister of retribution. God used him and his methods to chasten and punish

those who were virtually guilty of his blood. He seems all through to have entertained

dark suspicions of his brethren. How could he else, when his experience at their hands

showed them to be utterly heartless and cruel? He proposes to find out if Benjamin still

lives, and what their feeling is towards him. Also, if his father still lives, and whether they

love or hate him. He may find it necessary to become the avenger of their blood.

18 On the third day, Joseph said to them, “Do this

and you will live, for I fear God:

BAR�ES, "Gen_42:18-25

After three days, Joseph reverses the numbers, allowing nine to return home, and retaining one. “This do and live.” Joseph, notwithstanding the arbitrary power which his office enabled him to exercise, proves himself to be free from caprice and unnecessary severity. He affords them a fair opportunity of proving their words true, before putting them to death on suspicion of espionage. “The God do I fear.” A singular sentence from the lord paramount of Egypt! It implies that the true God was not yet unknown in Egypt. We have heard the confession of this great truth already from the lips of Pharaoh Gen_41:38-39. But it intimates to the brothers the astonishing and hopeful fact that the grand vizier serves the same great Being whom they and their fathers have known and worshipped; and gives them a plain hint that they will be dealt with according to the just law of heaven.

“Carry grain for your houses.” The governor then is touched with some feeling for their famishing households. The brothers, though honoring their aged father as the patriarch of their race, had now their separate establishments. Twelve households had to be supplied with bread. The journey to Egypt was not to be undertaken more than once a year if possible, as the distance from Hebron was upwards of two hundred miles. Hence, the ten brothers had with them all their available beasts of burden, with the needful retinue of servants. We need not be surprised that these are not especially enumerated, as it is the manner of Scripture to leave the secondary matters to the intelligence and experience of the reader, unless, as in the case of Abraham’s three hundred and eighteen trained servants, they happen to be of essential moment in the process of events. “Your youngest brother.” Joseph longs to see his full brother alive, whom he left at home a child of four summers. “Verily guilty are we concerning our brother.”

Their affliction is beginning to bear the fruit of repentance. “Because we saw the distress of his soul when he besought us, and we would not hear.” How vividly is the scene of Joseph’s sale here brought before us. It now appears that he besought them to spare him, and they would not hear! “This distress.” Retribution has come at last. “His blood is required.” Reuben justly upbraids them with their hardness of heart. Their brother’s blood is required; for murder was intended, and when he was sold his death was pretended. “The interpreter was betwixt them.” The dragoman was employed in holding conversation with them. But Joseph heard the spontaneous expressions of remorse, coming unprompted from their lips. The fountain of affection is deeply stirred. He cannot repress the rising tear. He has to retire for a time to recover his composure. He now takes, not Reuben, who was not to blame, but Simon, the next oldest, and binds him before them: a speaking act. He then gives orders to supply them with corn (grain), deposit their money in their sacks without their knowledge, and furnish them with provision for the way. Joseph feels, perhaps, that he cannot take money from his father. He will pay for the corn out of his own funds. But he cannot openly return the money to his brothers without more explanation than he wishes at present to give.

CLARKE, "I fear God - eth)haelohim)ani)yare, literally translated את(האלהים(אני(ירא

the passage runs thus, I also fear the gods; but the emphatic ה ha is probably added by Joseph, both here and in his conversation with Pharaoh, the more particularly to point out the eminence and perfection of the Supreme Being as contradistinguished from the

gods of Egypt. He seems to say to his brethren, I am a worshipper of the true God, and ye have nothing to fear.

GILL, "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.

HE�RY, "He concluded with them, at last, that one of them should be left as a hostage, and the rest should go home and fetch Benjamin. It was a very encouraging word he said to them (Gen_42:18): I fear God; as if he had said, “You may assure yourselves I will do you no wrong; I dare not, for I know that, high as I am, there is one higher than I.” Note, With those that fear God we have reason to expect fair dealing. The fear of God will be a check upon those that are in power, to restrain them from abusing their power to oppression and tyranny. Those that have no one else to stand in awe of ought to stand in awe of their own consciences. See Neh_5:15, So did not I, because of the fear of God.

K&D 18-25, "On the third day Joseph modified his severity. “This do and live,” i.e., then ye shall live: “I fear God.” One shall remain in prison, but let the rest of you take home “corn for the famine of your families,” and fetch your youngest brother, that your words may be verified, and ye may not die, i.e., may not suffer the death that spies deserve. That he might not present the appearance of despotic caprice and tyranny by too great severity, and so render his brethren obdurate, Joseph stated as the reason for his new decision, that he feared God. From the fear of God, he, the lord of Egypt, would not punish or slay these strangers upon mere suspicion, but would judge them justly. How differently had they acted towards their brother! The ruler of all Egypt had compassion on their families who were in Canaan suffering from hunger; but they had intended to leave their brother in the pit to starve! These and similar thoughts could hardly fail to pass involuntarily through their minds at Joseph's words, and to lead them to a penitential acknowledgement of their sin and unrighteousness. The notion that Joseph altered his first intention merely from regard to his much afflicted father, appears improbable, for the simple reason, that he can only have given utterance to the threat that he should keep them all in prison till one of them had gone and fetched Benjamin, for the purpose of giving the greater force to his accusation, that they were spies. But as he was not serious in making this charge, he could not for a moment have thought of actually carrying out the threat. “And they did so:” in these words the writer anticipates the result of the colloquy which ensued, and which is more fully narrated

afterwards. Joseph's intention was fulfilled. The brothers now saw in what had happened to them a divine retribution: “Surely we atone because of our brother, whose anguish of soul we saw, when he entreated us and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.” And Reuben reminded them how he had warned them to no purpose, not to sin against the boy - “and even his blood...behold it is required” (cf. Gen_9:5); i.e., not merely the sin of casting him into the pit and then selling him, but his death also, of which we have been guilty through that sale. Thus they accused themselves in Joseph's presence, not knowing that he could understand; “for the interpreter was between them.” Joseph had conversed with them through an interpreter, as an Egyptian who was ignorant of their language. “The interpreter,” viz., the one appointed for that

purpose; ינּות<ֵ like Gen_26:28. But Joseph understood their words, and “turned away and wept” (Gen_42:24), with inward emotion at the wonderful leadings of divine grace, and at the change in his brothers' feelings. He then turned to them again, and, continuing the conversation with them, had Simeon bound before their eyes, to be detained as a hostage (not Reuben, who had dissuaded them from killing Joseph, and had taken no part in the sale, but Simeon, the next in age). He then ordered his men to

fill their sacks with corn, to give every one (איׁש as in Gen_15:10) his money back in his sack, and to provide them with food for the journey.

COFFMA�, "Verses 18-20

"And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God: if ye be

true men, let one of your brethren be bound in your prison-house; but go ye, carry

grain for the famine of your houses: and bring your youngest brother unto me; so

shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so."

"This do, and live ... Your words shall be verified, and ye shall not die ..." From this

it appears that the imprisonment of the alleged spies implied also that they were to

be executed, a not unlikely sentence in view of the charges under which they had

been imprisoned. Whitelaw says, "This was the death due to spies."[8]

"For I fear God ..." The word here is [~'Elohiym].[9] It is significant that in this

phase of Joseph's life, Jehovah, the covenant name of God does not appear in his

speech. �evertheless, his mention of God in this passage must have been a source of

hope for the brothers.

"And they did so ..." Speiser called this a mistranslation, "because no deed

followed," adding that, "They made the Yes sign,"[10] signaling that they agreed.

However, the same general expression is used in Genesis 42:25, where it has the

meaning that the following events were in conformity with what Joseph said. And

we see no good reason why the same is not the case here.

Joseph's purpose is clearly discernible in the turn of events recorded here. He

wished to have charge of Benjamin, fearing, perhaps, that the same fate which had

befallen him might also be the lot of his youngest brother, both Joseph and

Benjamin being the sons of Jacob's favorite wife, Rachel, and therefore subject to

the jealous hatred of the other brothers.

COKE, "Genesis 42:18. For I fear God— As much as to say, I am influenced by a

religious principle, though you might not expect it, in my place and station; and, as

so influenced, cannot be guilty either of injustice or cruelty; on which account I will

treat you with as much lenity as the suspicions I have urged will admit, detaining

only one of you, and suffering the rest to carry corn for your house, and to verify

your own account of yourselves.

REFLECTIO�S.—Little thought the sons of Jacob who this great man was. Joseph

is now forgotten with his dreams; and if alive, never could they expect to find him

there. But Joseph knew them, though unknown; and as he had hitherto, no doubt,

been kept by Divine direction from sending to inform them of his estate, he will, by

concealing it still, make the accomplishment of his dreams more remarkable. His

rough address, and his imprecation, terrify them, but his deeds still more. Their

deep humiliations before him restrain not his severity; they are bound, and

committed to safe custody as spies, that they might recollect themselves in the house

of their prison, and repent over their own inhuman conduct; while their exculpation

also informed him of those circumstances of his family, which, without discovering

himself, he could not else have inquired into. At the end of three days they are

released, on condition of bringing down their younger brother, as a proof of their

sincerity; and he gives the reason of this clemency, because he feared God. �ote; (1.)

Where a man fears God, he cannot be unmerciful or unkind. (2.) Harsh providences

are often attended with blessed effects. Obstinate diseases call for strong medicine.

CO�STABLE, "Verses 18-24

Joseph"s profession of faith in God (Elohim) told his brothers that he realized he

was under divine authority and therefore would be fair with them. His test

guaranteed Benjamin"s safe passage to Egypt, something Joseph had every reason

to worry about in view of his brothers" treatment of himself. Earlier, when he saw

only10 brothers and not Benjamin, he probably wondered if the10 had already done

away with Benjamin.

The brothers saw divine retribution in what had happened to them ( Genesis 42:21-

23). The brothers confessed their guilt in dealing with Joseph as they had done in his

hearing. However, Joseph wanted to assure himself that they had also borne the

fruits of genuine repentance (i.e, taken a different course of action with Benjamin

and Jacob). Therefore he did not reveal himself to them at this time. Joseph"s heart

had not become hard toward his brothers because of their treatment of him. He did

not hate them ( Genesis 42:24).

"There is nothing more striking in the character of Joseph than the utter absence of

revengeful feeling, whether it was against his brothers, or against Potiphar, or

against the chief butler." [�ote: Thomas, p407.]

Rather his heart remained tender, and his brothers" confession moved him. Reuben

as the eldest and most responsible son would have been the logical choice to retain as

a hostage. Yet because Joseph had overheard that Reuben had talked his brothers

out of killing Joseph ( Genesis 42:22), Joseph passed him over and selected Simeon,

who was the next oldest. Perhaps Joseph also remembered Simeon"s cruelty and

callousness toward his father ( Genesis 34:25; cf. Genesis 49:5-7).

PETT, "Verse 18

‘And the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this, and live, for I fear God. If you are

true men let one of your brothers be put in custody in your prison house, but you go

and carry corn for the famine of your houses, and bring your youngest brother to

me. So shall your words be proved right and you will not die.” And they did so.’

On the third day they are brought out of the prison and led before the great

Egyptian official. The news was not as bad as they had feared. One brother was to

be retained as a hostage, the others would be allowed to return home. But they must

return with Benjamin to prove the truth of their words. Then all would live.

“On the third day.” A relatively short time. It was two nights and one day and two

part days, regularly called ‘three days’ (Genesis 42:17) and even at times ‘three days

and three nights’.

“Do this and live.” He is offering them a chance to save their lives. Thus they realise

that the possibility of their execution had been very close.

“For I fear God.” They would not suspect the use of ‘God’ (elohim) for they would

consider it the work of the interpreter in explaining the meaning of Joseph’s words.

“Your prison house.” Hinting that it might now have been their permanent abode

until their execution.

“For the famine of your houses.” There were not just the ten but their households to

feed, and this would involve much corn.

“And they did so.” meaning ‘they did as they were told’. A way of saying that they

began to make preparation for departure. They do not yet go for the following

words occur in the presence of Joseph.

EXPOSITOR'S DICTIO�ARY OF TEXTS, "The Fear of God

Genesis 42:18

�o one could say this with more confidence than Joseph, all whose actions were

evidently inspired and governed by genuine piety. He seems to have used this

language as a pledge of honourable and just dealing with those who were completely

within his power.

I. What does the Fear of God Involve?

(a) A conviction of God"s existence.—Without this man is little better than the

brutes that perish, to whom an unseen and Superior Being remains unknown,

through the limitation of their faculties. It is the prerogative of man to know that

God Isaiah , and that He is omnipresent and omniscient.

(b) A reverential regard for God"s law.—The Supreme is not only a Creator; He is

also a Ruler, who ordains laws and ordinances for the regulation of the life of His

intelligent and voluntary subjects. The mind of man can not only comprehend such

laws; it can appreciate their moral authority, admire their justice and Wisdom of

Solomon , and treat them with loyal respect.

(c) A sense of amenability to God"s authority.—This may take various forms, but

from true piety it is never absent. The godly man fears to offend a Governor so

great, so righteous, and so interested in the obedience of His people.

II. Is the Fear of God Compatible with the Relation of the Christian to his

Saviour?—The ancient Hebrews cherished toward Jehovah a reverence and awe

which gave an especial gravity and solemnity to their religion and their worship.

The revelation of the law amid the thunders of Sinai was fitted to form in the Jewish

mind an association between religion and trembling awe. But "grace and truth came

by Jesus Christ"; and we are told that "perfect love casteth out fear". The solution

of this difficulty is to be found in the progressive nature alike of revelation and of

experience. There were reasons why the earlier revelation should be especially of a

God of righteousness, why the latter revelation should be of a God of love. And the

penitent sinner, whose religious feelings are first aroused by fear of justly deserved

punishment, advances through the teaching of the "spirit of adoption" to an

intimacy of spiritual fellowship with His Father in heaven which softens fear into

reverence and awe into a chastened love. Thus the Christian never ceases to say, "I

fear God"; though the expression from his lips has a somewhat altered shade of

meaning.

III. Are Important Social Ends Answered by the Prevalence among Men of the Fear

of God?—Yes, for it is—

(a) A corrective to the undue fear of man.

(b) A preventive from the tendency to follow out every natural impulse.

(c) A strengthening of the bonds of mutual confidence in society.—Where the

members of a community are understood to be under the influence of this spiritual

and religious motive, there will be less of suspicion and distrust, and more of

harmony and fellowship and true love.

LA�GE, " Genesis 42:18-24. The hard terms imposed; Joseph’s arrangement and

the repentance of the brothers; Joseph’s struggle; Simeon in prison.—This do and

live.—Joseph now presents the charge in its conditional aspect. The motive assigned:

For I fear God.—This language is the first definite sign of peace—the first lair self-

betrayal of his heart. Agitated feelings lie concealed under these words. It is as much

as to say: I am near to you, and to your faith. For them, it is true, the expression

meant that he was a religious and conscientious Prayer of Manasseh, who would

never condemn on mere suspicion. It is an assertion, too, on which they are more to

rely than on the earlier asseveration made: by the life of Pharaoh.—Let one of your

brethren he bound.—Before, it was said: one shall go, but the others remain; now

the reverse, and more mildly: one shall remain, but the others may go. This

guarantees the return with Benjamin, and leaves them under the impression that

they are not yet free from suspicion. Joseph sees the necessity of the others going, for

his father’s house must be supplied with bread.—And they did so.—A summary

expression of what follows, but anticipatory of their readiness to comply with

Joseph’s request.—We are verily guilty.—�ot: “we atone for our brother’s death”

(Delitzsch); for thus there would be effaced the thought that the guilt was still

resting upon them. The expiation is expressed in what follows.—Therefore is this

distress come upon us.–Knobel translates it atoning, and makes the trivial remark:

“All misfortune, according to the Hebrew notion, is a punishment for sin.” Joseph’s

case itself directly contradicts him.—When he besought us.–Thus vividly paints the

evil conscience. The narrator had not mentioned this beseeching. Thus are they

compelled to make confession in Joseph’s hearing, without the thought that he

understands them. But their open confession, made, as it was, before the interpreter,

betrays the pressure of their sense of guilt.—And Reuben answered.—A picture of

the thoughts that “accuse or excuse one another” ( Romans 2:15). Reuben, too, is not

wholly innocent; but, as against them, he thought to act the censurer, and what he

did to save Joseph he represents in the strongest light. We may, indeed, conclude

that his counsel to cast him into the pit was preceded by unheeded entreaties for his

entire freedom.—For he spake with them by an interpreter.—Knobel here has to

encounter the difficulty that Joseph, “as an officer of the Hyksos” (to use his own

language), assumes the appearance of not being able to speak Hebrew.—And he

turned himself about from them.—Overcome by his emotion, he has to turn away

and weep. This is repeated more powerfully at the meeting with Benjamin ( Genesis

43:30) and finally, in a most touching manner, after Judah’s appeal ( Genesis 44:18,

etc.). The cause of this emotion, thrice repeated, and each time with increasing

power, is; in every instance, some propitiating appeal. In the first case, it is the

palliating thought that Reuben, the first-born, intended to save him, and yet takes to

himself the feeling of the guilt that weighed upon them. In the second case it is the

appearance of the young and innocent Benjamin, his beloved brother, as though

standing before the guilty brethren. In the third instance, it is Judah’s self-sacrifice

in behalf of Benjamin and his father’s house. The key-note of Joseph’s emotion,

therefore, is this perception of atoning love, purifying the bitter recollection of

injustice suffered. A presentiment and a sentiment of reconciliation melt the heart

which the mere sense of right might harden, and becomes even a feeling, at the same

time, of divine and human reconciliation. Only as viewed from this definite

perception can we estimate the more general feelings that flow from it: “painful

recollection of the past, and thankfulness to God for his gracious guidance.”—And

returned to them again.—Joseph’s first emotion may have removed his harsh

decisiveness. His feeling of justice, however, is not yet satisfied; still less is there

restored his confidence in his brethren, especially in reference to the future of

Benjamin. But before adopting any severer measures, he communed with them,

doubtless in a conciliatory manner. Then he takes Simeon, binds him, or orders him

to be bound, that he might remain as a hostage for their return. That he does not

order Reuben, the first-born, to be bound, explains itself from the discovery of his

guiltlessness. Thus Simeon, as standing next, is the first-born of the guilty ones. He

did not adopt Reuben’s plan of deliverance, though he did not especially distinguish

himself in Joseph’s persecution, as might have been expected of him from his

zealous disposition shown in the affair of Shechem,—a fact the more easily credited

since neither did Judah, the next after him, agree with the majority.

19 If you are honest men, let one of your brothers

stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and

take grain back for your starving households.

GILL, "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.

20 But you must bring your youngest brother to

me, so that your words may be verified and that

you may not die.” This they proceeded to do.

GILL, "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.

ELLICOTT, "(20) Bring your youngest brother.—Besides his desire to be re-united to

his brother, Joseph reasonably felt that the possession of Benjamin would be the best

means of inducing his father also to come to him. While substituting a much milder

proposal for his former one, that nine should remain in prison, and the tenth go to fetch

Benjamin, Joseph nevertheless takes care to make his brethren feel that he was in earnest.

21 They said to one another, “Surely we are being

punished because of our brother. We saw how

distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his

life, but we would not listen; that’s why this

distress has come on us.”

CLARKE, "We are verily guilty - How finely are the office and influence of conscience exemplified in these words! It was about twenty-two years since they had sold their brother, and probably their conscience had been lulled asleep to the present hour. God combines and brings about those favorable circumstances which produce attention and reflection, and give weight to the expostulations of conscience. How necessary to hear its voice in time, for here it may be the instrument of salvation; but if not heard in this world, it must be heard in the next; and there, in association with the unquenchable fire, it will be the never-dying worm. Reader, has not thy sin as yet found thee out? Pray to God to take away the veil from thy heart, and give thee that deep sense of guilt which shall oblige thee to flee for refuge to the hope which is set before thee in the Gospel of Christ.

GILL, "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.

HE�RY, "Here is, I. The penitent reflection Joseph's brethren made upon the wrong they had formerly done to him, Gen_42:21. They talked the matter over in the Hebrew tongue, not suspecting that Joseph, whom they took for a native of Egypt, understood them, much less that he was the person they spoke of.1. They remembered with regret the barbarous cruelty wherewith they persecuted him:

We are verily guilty concerning our brother. We do not read that they said this during

their three days' imprisonment; but now, when the matter had come to some issue and

they saw themselves still embarrassed, now they began to relent. Perhaps Joseph's

mention of the fear of God (Gen_42:18) put them upon consideration and extorted this

reflection. Now see here, (1.) The office of conscience; it is a remembrancer, to bring to

mind things long since said and done, to show us wherein we have erred, though it was

long ago, as the reflection here mentioned was above twenty years after the sin was

committed. As time will not wear out the guilt of sin, so it will not blot out the records of

conscience; when the guilt of this sin of Joseph's brethren was fresh they made light of

it, and sat down to eat bread; but now, long afterwards, their consciences reminded

them of it. (2.) The benefit of affliction; they often prove the happy and effectual means

of awakening conscience, and bringing sin to our remembrance, Job_13:26. (3.) The evil

of guilt concerning our brethren; of all their sins, it was this that conscience now

reproached them for. Whenever we think we have wrong done us, we ought to remember

the wrong we have done to others, Ecc_7:21, Ecc_7:22.

SBC, "I. Joseph’s brethren had not been placed in any peculiar circumstances of trial since the loss of Joseph; consequently their sin had slept. There had been nothing to call it to light; they had well-nigh forgotten it; its heinousness had become dim in the distance. But now they were in trouble, and they could not help seeing the hand of God in that trouble. Their spiritual instinct told them that their trouble did not spring out of the ground; it had been planted there,—it had a root. Their sin had found them out at last, and their own adversity brought about that contrition for their offence which its own hatefulness ought to have been sufficient to produce.

II. We see from this story that men may commit sins, and may forget them; and yet the sins may be recorded, and may one day rise up again with a frightful vitality. Men will soon bury their own sins, if they be left to themselves; but it is like burying seed, which appears to die and be forgotten, and yet it. rises up again, and perhaps becomes a great tree.

III. The voice of conscience is a good voice, a wholesome voice,—yea, the very voice of God to our souls, and one to be welcomed by us if we only listen to it at the right time. The consciousness of guilt is a blessed thing, if only it come at the right time, and when there is opportunity for bringing forth fruits meet for repentance. Well for us if our estimate of our condition is the same, at least in its main features, as that estimate which God has made, and which the last day will produce!

Bishop Harvey Goodwin, Parish Sermons, 5th series, p. 118.

CALVI�, "21.And they said one to another. This is a remarkable passage, showing

that the sons of Jacob, when reduced to the greatest straits, recall to memory a

fratricide committed thirteen years previously. Before affliction pressed upon them,

they were in a state of torpor. Moses relates that, even lately, they had spoken

without agitation of Joseph’s death, as if conscious to themselves of no evil. But now

they are compelled (so to speak) to enter into their own consciences. We see then,

how in adversity, God searches and tries men; and how, while dissipating all their

flattering illusions, he not only pierces their minds with secret fear, but extorts a

confession which they would gladly avoid. And this kind of examination is very

necessary for us. Wonderful is the hypocrisy of men in covering their evils; and if

impunity be allowed, their negligence will be increased twofold. Wherefore no

remedy remains, except that they who give themselves up to slumber when the Lord

deals gently with them, should be awakened by afflictions and punishments. Joseph

therefore produced some good effect, when he extorted from his brethren the

acknowledgment of their sin, in which they had securely pleased themselves. And

the Lord had compassion on them, in taking away the covering with which they had

been too long deceived. In the same manner, while he daily chastises us by the hand

of man, he draws us, as guilty, to his tribunal. �evertheless it would profit but little

to be tried by adversity, unless he inwardly touched the heart; for we see how few

reflect on their sins, although admonished by most severe punishments; certainly no

one comes to this state of mind but with reluctance. Wherefore, there is no doubt

that God, in order to lead the sons of Jacob to repentance, impelled them, as well by

the secret instinct of his Spirit as by outward chastisement, to become sensible of

that sin which had been too long concealed. Let the reader also observe, that the

sons of Jacob did not only fix their minds on something which was close at hand, but

considered that divine punishments were inflicted in various ways upon sinners.

And doubtless, in order to apprehend the divine judgments, we must extend our

views afar. Sometimes indeed God, by inflicting present punishment on sinners,

holds them up for observation as on a theater; but often, as if aiming at another

object, he takes vengeance on our sins unexpectedly, and from an unseen quarter. If

the sons of Jacob had merely looked for some present cause of their sufferings, they

could have done nothing but loudly complain that they had been injured; and at

length despair would have followed. But while considering how far and wide the

providence of God extends, looking beyond the occasion immediately before their

eyes, they ascend to a remote cause. It is, however, doubtful, whether they say that

they shall be held guilty on account of their brother, or for their brother’s sake, or

that they will themselves confess that they have sinned: for the Hebrew noun, אשמים

(ashaimim) is ambiguous because it sometimes refers to the crime committed, and

sometimes to the punishment, as in Latin, piaculum signifies both the crime and the

expiation. On the whole, it is of little consequence which meaning is preferred, for

they acknowledge their sin either in its guilt or its punishment. But the latter sense

appears to me the more simple and genuine, that they are deservedly punished

because they had been so cruel to their brother.

In that we saw the anguish of his soul. They acknowledge that it is by the just

judgment of God, that they obtained nothing by their suppliant entreaties, because

they themselves had acted so cruelly towards their brother. Christ had not yet

uttered the sentence,

“With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you again,” (Matthew 7:2,)

but it was a dictate of nature, that they who had been cruel to others, were

unworthy of commiseration. The more heed ought we to take, that we prove not deaf

to so many threatening of Scripture. Dreadful is that denunciation,

“Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, and shall

not be heard.” (Proverbs 21:13.)

Therefore while we have time, let us learn to exercise humanity, to sympathize with

the miserable, and to stretch out our hand for the sake of giving assistance. But if at

any time it happens that we are treated roughly by men, and our prayers are

proudly rejected; then, at least, let the question occur to us, whether we ourselves

have in anything acted unkindly towards others; for although it were better to be

wise beforehand; it is, nevertheless, some advantage, whenever others proudly

despise us, to reflect whether they with whom we have had to deal, have not

experienced similar hardships from us. “Our brother,” they say, “entreated us when

he was in the last extremity: we rejected his prayers: therefore it is by divine

retribution that we can obtain nothing.” By these words they bear witness that the

hearts of men are so under Divine government, that they can be inclined to equity,

or hardened in inflexible rigor. Moreover, their cruelty was hateful to God, because,

since his goodness is diffused through heaven and earth, and his beneficence is

extended not only to men, but even to brute animals, nothing is more contrary to his

nature, than that we should cruelly reject those who implore our protection.

BE�SO�, "Genesis 42:21. We are verily guilty — This is the just punishment of that

wickedness which we committed against our brother. Though we could conceal it

from men, we now see and feel it was known to God, who is reckoning with us for it.

Thus the divine vengeance overtakes them, and conscience tortures them for a sin

committed twenty years before, and their affliction, we may hope, brought them to

repentance. We saw the anguish of his soul when he besought us — This particular

is not mentioned in the history of this affair, recorded chap. 37., from which

circumstance we learn, that the silence of Scripture concerning certain matters, is

not a sufficient proof that they did not take place. We do not read that Joseph’s

brethren were brought to feel this remorse of conscience, or made this confession to

each other, during their three days of imprisonment; but now, when the matter was

come to some issue, and they saw themselves still embarrassed, they began to relent.

Perhaps Joseph’s mention of the fear of God, put them upon consideration, and

extorted this reflection from them.

COFFMA�, 'Verses 21-23

"And they said one to another, We are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw

the distress of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is

this distress come upon us. And Reuben answered them saying, Spake I not unto

you, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore also, behold, his

blood is required. And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for there was an

interpreter between them."

"We are guilty ..." "Conscience arouses in the brethren the fear that the day of

reckoning, so long delayed, has come at last."[11] Twenty years had not removed the

horrible guilt of those brothers. And, although they had not actually killed their

brother, they had little doubt that death had indeed claimed him. The edict of God

Himself to the effect that "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be

shed, for in the image of God made he man" (Genesis 9:6) was very much in the

minds of those sinful brothers, who recalled their own merciless refusal to hear the

pleas of their brother. That detail concerning how they heard and refused Joseph's

pleading is not recorded elsewhere, but from this it appears that they sat down to eat

bread within earshot of their brother's pitiful pleadings. �o wonder their conscience

tortured them when at last it appeared that the day of reckoning had come!

Supposing that Joseph could not understand their language, they did not bother to

hide their remarks from him, but Joseph understood fully, and also learned from

what they said something he might not until then have known, namely, that Reuben

had attempted, though vainly, to restrain the others. This may also account for the

fact that not Reuben, the oldest, but Simeon was chosen to be kept as hostage. Some

have inferred from this that Simeon was the principal leader in the whole event of

Joseph's sale. Francisco observed that, "If a man has a good conscience, he should

heed it; it is easy to silence for awhile, but impossible to kill."[12]

COKE, "Genesis 42:21. They said one to another— �othing can more strongly or

beautifully picture to us the power of conscience, and the utility of affliction to

awaken that power, than this conversation, and these mutual reproaches. We see, in

their representation, the little innocent Joseph stretching out his tender hands, and

pleading to them for mercy, while they, full of sarcastic envy and savage barbarity,

consign him to destruction; we saw the anguish of his soul when he besought us, and

we would not hear. This circumstance is omitted in the 37th chapter, which shews us

that the sacred writers do not relate every particular.

ELLICOTT, "(21) We are verily guilty.—They had evidently expected that whatever

suspicions might be aroused by their first appearance, all such ideas would

disappear upon their explanation of themselves and their purpose. Instead of this

they are thrown into prison, abandoned to their reflections for three days, and

dismissed only upon the condition of their leaving one brother as a hostage for their

coming again accompanied by Benjamin: and as they knew no reason for this, it

would fill their minds with fear. But though they were now suffering unjustly, it

brought back to their mind their former sin; and the fact that it was so fresh in their

memories is a sign of the reality of their repentance.

EXPOSITOR'S DICTIO�ARY OF TEXTS, "The Power of Conscience

Genesis 42:21

The history of Joseph is well known, but let us briefly recount it up to the point

when the brethren break out in the words of the text. It is here that the strange part

of the story begins.

What was it that made these men, just at this moment, when they saw one of their

number bound before their eyes to be retained as a hostage, utter these strange

words of self-accusation?

I. It was the Power of Conscience.—But observe that conscience was stirred by

memory.

(a) Was there anything in the tone of Joseph"s voice which brought back to their

minds the thought of the brother whom they had so many years ago so wrongfully

treated? It is a well-known fact that the voice changes less than anything that

belongs to us, and when recognition by form and features fails after years of

absence, some well-known and well-remembered tones will start again forgotten

links of memory.

(b) Was it in the action of blindfolding, which reminded them of that scene so many

long and forgotten years ago?

(c) Or did they think of what would be the grief of the old man at home when he

found another son lost, and did this call to their minds the outburst of grief when

Joseph was thought to be no more? In any case, it illustrates the fact that conscience

is stirred by memory.

II. The Power of Conscience to Punish—How many times had that scene of anguish,

when they were about to cast Joseph into the pit, caused them misery, and how they

now recall it! "We saw the anguish of his soul and would not hear; therefore is this

distress come upon us." The face of Joseph is before them as perfectly as if the deed

had only happened yesterday. See the story of Herod Anti-pas, the murderer of John

the Baptist, in the Gospels.

(a) Conscience is the witness in our hearts of a moral ruler.

(b) Conscience is the witness to us of a day of account.

References.—XLII:21.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xlii. �o2497. XLII:21-22.—J. J.

Blunt, Plain Sermons (2Series), p236. XLII:22.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xiv.

�o840.

�ISBET, "CO�SCIE�CE AWAKE�ED

‘And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother,’ etc.

Genesis 42:21-22

I. Joseph’s brethren had not been placed in any peculiar circumstances of trial since

the loss of Joseph; consequently their sin had slept. There had been nothing to call it

to light; they had well-nigh forgotten it; its heinousness had become dim in the

distance. But now they were in trouble, and they could not help seeing the hand of

God in that trouble. Their spiritual instinct told them that their trouble did not

spring out of the ground; it had been planted there,—it had a root. Their sin had

found them out at last, and their own adversity brought about that contrition for

their offence which its own hatefulness ought to have been sufficient to produce.

II. We see from this story that men may commit sins, and may forget them; and yet

the sins may be recorded, and may one day rise up again with a frightful vitality.

Men will soon bury their own sins, if they be left to themselves; but it is like burying

seed, which appears to die and be forgotten, and yet it rises up again, and perhaps

becomes a great tree.

III. The voice of conscience is a good voice, a wholesome voice,—yea, the very voice

of God to our souls, and one to be welcomed by us if we only listen to it at the right

time. The consciousness of guilt is a blessed thing, if only it come at the right time,

and when there is opportunity for bringing forth fruits meet for repentance. Well for

us if our estimate of our condition is the same, at least in its main features, as that

estimate which God has made, and which the last day will produce!

—Bishop Harvey Goodwin.

Illustration

‘The brothers’ sin found them out in want, in shame, in remorse, in degradation.

Those dreams of their brother came literally true; they might punish him, but they

could not defeat their fulfilment. Let us never excuse ourselves for sins done long

ago, or done in ignorance, or in passion. Let us be lenient towards others, but severe

towards ourselves.’

Dean Vaughan.

PETT, "Verse 21-22

‘And they said to one another, “We are truly guilty in respect of our brother, for we

saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us and we would not listen. This is

why this distress has come on us.” And Reuben answered them saying, “Did I not

speak to you saying, ‘Do not sin against the child’, but you would not listen? See,

that is why his blood is now required of us.” ’

This living nightmare that is happening to them brings to their minds the day when

their younger brother had pleaded for his life and they had refused to listen. At least

it demonstrates that they continually carried it on their consciences. �ow they

realise that judgment for what they had done is coming on them. And Reuben

bitterly forces it home. ‘I warned you,’ he says. ‘And now his blood is being required

of us.’ They all thought that by now Joseph was dead.

BI 21-22, "We are verily guilty concerning our brother

Conscience awakens in Joseph’s brethren

I. Joseph’s brethren had not been placed in any peculiar circumstances of trial since the loss of Joseph; consequently their sin had slept. There had been nothing to call it to light; they had well-nigh forgotten it; its heinousness had become dim in the distance. But now they were in trouble, and they could not help seeing the hand of God in that trouble. Their spiritual instinct told them that their trouble did not spring out of the ground; it had been planted there—it had a root. Their sin had found them out at last, and their own adversity brought about that contrition for their offence which its own hatefulness ought to have been sufficient to produce.

II. We see from this story that men may commit sins, and may forget them; and yet the sins may be recorded, and may one day rise up again with a frightful vitality. Men will soon bury their own sins, if they be left to themselves; but it is like burying seed, which appears to die and be forgotten, and yet it rises up again, and perhaps becomes a great tree.

III. The voice of conscience is a good voice, a wholesome voice—yea, the very voice of God to our souls, and one to be welcomed by us if we only listen to it at the right time. The consciousness of guilt is a blessed thing, if only it come at the right time, and when there is opportunity for bringing forth fruits meet for repentance. Well for us if our estimate of our condition is the same, at least in its main features, as that estimate which God has made, and which the last day will produce! (Bp. Harvey Goodwin.)

The memory of conscience

I. IT IS SURE TO AWAKEN, THOUGH IT MAY SLUMBER LONG.

II. IT IS SOMETIMES AWAKENED BY OUTWARD TROUBLE.

III. IT IS FAITHFUL AND JUST.

1. In that it brings the past accurately to mind.

2. In that it connects the penalty with the sin.

IV. IT CONVERTS MORAL DIRECTION AND REMONSTRANCE INTO REPROACH AND UPBRAIDING. Reuben became to his brethren what conscience becomes to the

sinner.

V. IT REMINDS US OF MORAL PROCESSES NOW AT WORK IN THE WORLD. God’s searching providence is ever bringing past sins to light. Christ’s Cross reveals the darkness of the world’s guilt. (T. H. Leale.)

The Nemesis of wrong

I. THE POSSESSION OF A GUILTY SECRET.

1. This secret bound them henceforward to a life of hypocrisy.

2. This secret filled them with constant anxiety.

3. This secret neutralized all healthful moral influence.

II. THE BLACK CLOUD OF SUSPICION DARKENED THEIR DAILY LIFE.

1. They were the objects of suspicion. Jacob refused to allow

Benjamin in their company.

2. They were the subjects of suspicion. Living in dread of God and man.

III. THE EVER-DREADED, BUT INEVITABLE, EXPOSURE OF THEIR GUILT. (J. C.Burnett.)

Joseph’s brethren in trouble -

I. THAT MEN UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF FEAR CAN CONTEMPLATE ONLY THE WORST TRAITS IN THEIR CHARACTER.

II. THAT TIME DOES NOT OBLITERATE THE SINFULNESS OF AN EVIL DEED.

III. THAT THE VOICE OF CONSCIENCE IS UNCHANGEABLE.

IV. THE RECOGNITION OF THE LAW OF RETRIBUTION. (Homilist.)

The guilt of neglecting the souls of our brethren

I. THE SOURCES FROM WHENCE THESE CONVICTIONS ARE TO BE DERIVED.

1. The relation of the sufferers. Our brethren.

2. The wretchedness of their state.

3. Our orders to succour them.

4. The possibility of affording them succour.

5. The facilities we have in this cause of compassion.

(1) Providence;

(2) The grace of God.

6. That even the effort we have made in this work furnish evidence of our guilt.

II. WHAT INFLUENCE SHOULD THESE CONVICTIONS PRODUCE?

1. The depravity of human nature will be acknowledged.

2. Deep and godly sorrow will be felt.

3. It will lead us to apply to the mercy of God.

4. It will awaken zeal. (J. Summerfield, M. A.)

Transgression unperceived

I. The most dangerous propensity of sin is its deceivableness; the concealment of its true nature and danger when committed, the extent and evil of it are seldom perceived; a veil is thrown over its hideous and destructive qualities; and it is imagined to be, if not altogether defensible in the sight of God, at least desirable at the moment, and tolerable. However the conscience may give warning that all is not perfectly right, the consequences are commonly neither foreseen nor apprehended. Whether this be in the very nature of sin, as brought by the spirit of evil into the world; or whether that wicked spirit, with his numberless agents, is continually exercised in producing this deceit; or whether it proceed from both these sources, which is probable, the evil and misery are the same: men are tempted to sin, because they do not perceive its utter sinfulness; and it seems as if they could do it with impunity, do it and have nothing to fear.

II. And here, as we see the dreadful nature of sin, how it blinds the sinner, and makes him content with his guilt, so do we see the goodness of our heavenly Father, how graciously, by the ordination of His providence, He leads the transgressor to a deep sense of his perilous condition; how compassionately He interposes to deliver him from the fatal snare.

III. The instruction to be drawn from this subject is highly beneficial and important: it warns us to consider our own case, to look into our own condition. And let us be mindful that we do draw, from such considerations and examples, the right conclusion.

IV. There are two great considerations in connection with this subject, which I desire to press upon your attention.

1. The importance of our hearts being always open to God’s merciful dealings in awakening us, and reclaiming us from evil.

2. That we profit from them without delay. (J. Slade, M. A.)

The Christian responsible for his influence over others

The language of self-reproach, which sharp compunction wrung from Jacob’s sons, may well be adopted by many among ourselves. Take the most favourable case you can. Grant that you have done no positive harm to others. Have you not, too often, forgotten to do them good? Some, with no more natural abilities, and no better opportunities than their neighbours, render all with whom they come in contact, wiser, holier, and happier. Others, possessing the same powers of mind, and surrounded by she same circumstances, stand like a moral Upas, rendering the very atmosphere about them unwholesome and deadly. But, alas! how many who ought to improve a privilege so great, are, by inactivity and gross neglect, preparing for themselves seasons of sorrow in the future, when they will cry out, in agony of soul, knowing it is then too late to offer advice or aid to one who has become hopelessly hardened in sin, but whom, at an earlier

period in his career, they possessed influence enough to save: “We are verily guilty concerning our brother.” The wicked might kindly have been warned; the ignorant might easily have been taught; the headstrong might have been moved by expostulation and love; the poor might have been effectually relieved. Selfishness is the true secret of such unwarrantable neglect. We are disposed to think too much of our ease. Christians should not be contented with being in the right road themselves, but they should feel a lively interest in the welfare of others. Christians are responsible for their example. They are “the salt of the earth.” They are “the leaven,” which must leaven the whole lump. Their example in their families, in private intercourse with friends, and in their regular occupation, should be safe and consistent. Christian principle should be discovered in everything. Is it any wonder that the ungodly mock? Can we be surprised that unbelievers multiply? Is it astonishing that such a reckless disregard of ordinary duties, and such a strange forgetfulness of the importance of setting a good example, should draw a long train of calamities in the wake of inconsistent Christians, and cause them, in the hour of sickness and death, to cry out, at the remembrance of a brother, or husband, or child, or friend, shipwrecked and ruined by their neglect: “We are verily guilty concerning our brother”? (J. N. Norton, D. D.)

Of the cause of inward trouble

In this chapter we have the description of our fathers, the patriarchs; their first journey into Egypt for corn, to relieve their famine in Canaan. Herein is considerable—

1. Their entertainment there: it was harsh, with much trouble, more danger.

2. The consequence of this their hard and distressful usage and entreatment; and that is trouble of mind, horror and perplexity of spirit: “And they said one to another,” &c. The words, then, are the Holy Ghost’s report of the case of the sons of Jacob, their being spiritually troubled, by way of conviction, or judgment in their own (which also is the Lord’s) court of conscience.

Wherein we observe—

1. The actors themselves: being the registers, accusers, witnesses, judge, and tormentors.

2. Process in judging themselves: wherein—

(1) Self-accusation of the cause of their trouble, their sin, with the utmost aggravations; namely—

(a) In general: “We are guilty.”

(b) In particular: Of envy, wrong against a brother; whom in bitterness we saw without pity, and were deaf to his entreaties; obstinate to the admonition of Reuben, and abiding therein.

(2) In self-condemnation: “Therefore is this distress come”; and his blood required.

3. Execution: wherein—

(1) The smart, by inward terror and consternation; their heart, misgiving them, is deeply affected, and that makes them very abrupt: “Yea, verily,” that is, Alas! what shall we do?

(2) The circumstance of the time when; couched in, “and”

(a) In general: Many years after the offence was done.

(b) In special: Now that they were outwardly in an afflicted condition.

Doctrines:

I. Every man hath a conscience within himself.

II. The guilt of sin turns a man’s conscience, that is, himself, against himself.

III. Conscience is apt to be very sensible, when it is awakened, not only of sin, but particular sins, and the particular circumstances and degrees thereof to the utmost; and charge all upon a man’s self, not upon God’s decrees or providence, nor upon the devil or evil company, &c.

IV. Envy, unnatural affection, cruelty, deafness to the entreaties of the distressed, obstinacy against warning and admonition, continuance in sin without repentance, &c., are very heinous and dangerous.

V. The accusations and condemnations of conscience are terrible, or cause terror beyond all expression.

VI. There is a time when God will call over sins that are past, and charge them upon the conscience.

VII. Inward trouble of mind sometimes (yea, usually) comes upon the people of God, when they are outwardly in some distress. (E. Pledger, M. A.)

The moral impotence of time

Twenty years after the event l Their recollections of that event was as clear as if it transpired but yesterday. Learn the moral impotence of time. We say this evil deed was done fifty years ago. Fifty years may have some relation to the memory of the intellect, but it has no relation to the tormenting memory of the conscience. There is a moral memory. Conscience has a wondrously realizing power—taking things we have written in secret ink and holding them before the fire until every line becomes vivid, almost burning. Perhaps some of you know not yet the practical meaning of this. We did something twenty years ago.

We say to ourselves, “Well, seeing that it was twenty years ago it is not worth making anything to do about it, it is past, and it is a great pity to go twenty years back raking up things.” So it is in some respects, a great pity to bother ourselves about things other men did twenty years ago. But what about our own recollection, our own conscience, our own power of accusation? A man says, “I forged that name twenty-five years ago, and oh! every piece of paper I get hold of seems to have the name upon it. I never dip the pen, but there is something in the pen that reminds me of what I did by candle light, in almost darkness, when I had locked the door and assured myself nobody was there. Yet it comes upon me so graphically—my punishment is greater than I can bear!” Time cannot heal ouriniquities. Forgetfulness is not the cure for sin. Obliviousness is not the redeemer of the world. How then can I get rid of the torment and the evils of an accusing memory? The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin. “Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts, let him return unto the Lord and He will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” That is the kind of answer men want, when they feel all their yesterdays conspiring to urge an indictment

against them, as sinners before the living God. (J. Parker, D. D.)

The human soul contains within itself all the necessary elements of retributive penalty

Here is nothing but memory, conscience, and reason; yet what an exhibition and illustration of the self-retributive power of sin!

1. Memory. “We saw the anguish,” &c.

2. Conscience. “We are verily guilty,” &c.

3. Reason. “Therefore is this distress come upon us.”

Let a soul go into the future state with a memory to recall, a conscience to accuse, and a reason to justify penalty as deserved; and what more is necessary to hell? Hence Milton—

“The mind in its own place, and in itself,

Can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven!”

Sin brought home to the conscience

It would be good for us if we could entertain the same views of sin in the time of temptation, that we are likely to have after it is committed, or at the time when trouble brings it home to our consciences. When Joseph cried piteously to his brethren out of the pit, they thought only of the pleasure of gratifying their envy. They then wilfully overlooked the guilt they were contracting, and the sorrows they were preparing for their father, and for them, selves; but when they were in trouble, they remembered their guilt in all its aggravating circumstances, and they would have given all they had in the world to recover that degree of innocence to which they might have pretended before Joseph came into their hands. They were chargeable with many other sins. Simeon and Levi, in particular, were chargeable with a crime not less heinous than the murder of Joseph. Yet the affliction which they endured in prison brought to remembrance in a special manner this sin against their brother. This was an atrocious iniquity, of which the most of them were equally guilty. We are naturally averse to suffering of every kind, and yet nothing is more necessary than suffering when we have sinned. It is necessary for us to know and feel the bitterness of sin, that we may confess and forsake it. And the sufferings which our flesh endures, are often necessary and useful to bring our sins to our remembrance. No doubt Joseph’s brethren had often formerly thought with regret of the hatefulness of their conduct. If they were not hardened to a very uncommon degree, their hearts must have smitten them soon after the fact was committed. The sight of their father’s anguish must have melted their stubborn spirits. But they needed their afflictions in Egypt likewise to awaken a new and more affecting sense of their wickedness. Joseph, and God by Joseph, did them a kindness in giving them an experimental knowledge of the bitter sufferings of an oppressed man, when he pours out tears, but finds no comforter. (G. Lawson, D. D.)

Therefore is this distress come upon us

Jacob’s sons did not think that the man who had treated them with such severity knew anything concerning their conduct to their poor brother, but they knew that there is a

God in the heavens, who knoweth and judgeth all the actions of the children of men. In this knowledge they were trained up by their father. But although they had been the children of a man who knew not God, this reflection might have occurred to them in the day of trouble, Adoni-bezek, king of Jerusalem, had his education amongst the most hardened sinners that ever lived in the world, and was himself one of the most hard-hearted tyrants that ever disgraced a throne; yet, when sore trouble came upon him, he acknowledged that it was the infliction of just punishment from God (Jdg_1:1-36.). It is said of the virtuous Dion, the Syracusan, that when he was compelled to flee from his country, and knocked at some doors that did not open unto him as they would have done in former times, he meekly observed to his servant, that perhaps himself, in the time of his prosperity, had not always opened his door to the stranger. When we meet from men with treatment which we did not deserve, it may be of use, for calming our spirits, to consider whether we have not been guilty of as bad, or even worse conduct, to some of our neighhours. What if God has commissioned these men who behave ill to us, as His messengers, to execute His anger for offences against some of their fellow-men? Look forward, ye who have hitherto lived in ease and prosperity. The day of trouble will come. Plant not your dying pillow before hand with thorns and briars. If no reverse of circumstances should come upon you before you till you die, yet you are sure that you must die; and a death-bed will be the very worst place for such reflections as awakened conscience may produce. Bitter was the anguish of Joseph’s brethren, but it would have been ten times more bitter if they had seen inevitable death before their eyes. They had little prospect of repairing the injury done to Joseph; but they might yet live to repair in some degree the wrong they had done to their father, and to seek with tears and supplications the forgiveness of their sins from God. Look back on your former conduct. Consider whether you have not done some injuries that may yet be repaired, or neglected some important duties that may yet be done, before you go to that place where there is no counsel, nor device, nor work. O death! how terrible are thy approaches to the man who is conscious that he hath shut his ears against the cry of the poor, or against the loud calls of the Son of God, urging him to improve the space given him for repentance! (G. Lawson, D. D.)

The time when conscience makes itself heard

Have you ever heard of the great clock of St. Paul’s in London? At midday, in the roar of business, when carriages, and carts, and waggons, and omnibuses, go rolling through the streets, how many never hear that great clock strike, unless they live very near it. But when the work of the day is over, and the roar of business has passed away—when men are gone to sleep, and silence reigns in London—then at twelve, at one, at two, at three, at four the sound of that clock may be heard for miles around. Twelve—One!—Two!—Three!—Four! How that clock is heard by many a sleepless man! That clock is just like the conscience of the impenitent man. While he has health and strength, and goes on in the whirl of business, he will not hear conscience. He drowns and silences its voice by plunging into the world The time will come when he must retire from the world, and lie down on the sick bed, and look death in the face. And then the clock of conscience, that solemn clock, will sound in his heart, and, if he has not repented, will bring wretchedness and misery to his soul. (Bp. Ryle.)

Indestructibility of conscience

Man’s conscience was once the vicegerent of Deity: what conscience said within was just the echo of what God said without; and even now, conscience in its ruin has enough of its pristine eloquence and surviving affinity to God never to be altogether and always silent. The passions try to make conscience a sort of citizen-king, putting it up and down as they please: but it will not quietly submit; it resists the authority of the passions; it insists upon supremacy; it cannot forget its noble lineage and its erst holy function derived from God. As long as man can gratify his passions, and give an opiate to conscience, so long will it be partially quiet. But a day comes when the passions must be laid, and when every beat of the heart, like the curfew bell, will tell you that the time for extinguishing their fires is come, and then and there conscience will re-assert its lost supremacy, grasp its broken sceptre, and, refusing to be put down, it will emit its true and eternal utterances; and reason of righteousness, and temperance, and judgment; and prove that man may peradventure live without religion, but die without it he rarely can. A death-bed is that hour when conscience re-asserts its supremacy, however stupefied it may have been with the opium of half a century, and reminds its possessor of all behind and before. In such a case there are two resources: either the Romish priest, with a stronger opiate, under which man will die deluded and deceived: or the blood of Jesus, with pardon for the sin, and therefore peace for the conscience, which is the joyful sound of forgiveness. (J. Gumming, D. D.)

Voice of an evil conscience

The voice of an evil conscience is not one evil in particular, but a multitude of evils. It is a barking hell-hound, a monster vomiting fire, a raging fury, a tormenting devil. It is a nature and quality of a guilty conscience to flee and be terrified, even when all is well, and when prosperity abounds, and to change such prosperity into danger and death. (Luther.)

A burdened memory

A dying man, floating about on the wreck of the Central American, thought he heard his mother’s voice saying, “Johnny, did you take your sister’s grapes?” Thirty years before his sister was dying of consumption, and he had secretly eaten some choice grapes sent her by a friend. For twenty years the words had passed from his recollection. What have we really forgotten.

22 Reuben replied, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin

against the boy? But you wouldn’t listen! �ow we

must give an accounting for his blood.”

GILL, "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.

HAWKER, "How sweet and refreshing the thought, that during all these soul transactions of mixed hope and fear, JESUS is looking on: he sees and knows all, however unconscious we are of it.

HE�RY, "Reuben alone remembered, with comfort, that he had been an advocate for his brother, and had done what he could to prevent the mischief they did him (Gen_42:22): Spoke I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child? Note, (1.) It is an aggravation of any sin that it was committed against admonitions. (2.) When we come to share with others in their calamities, it will be a comfort to us if we have the testimony of our consciences for us that we did not share with them in their iniquities, but, in our places, witnessed against them. This shall be our rejoicing in the day of evil, and shall take out the sting.

CALVI�, "22.And Reuben answered them. Because he had attempted to deliver

Joseph out of the hands of his brethren, in order to restore him in safety to his

father, he magnifies their fault, in not having, at that time, listened to any prudent

counsel: and I understand his words as conveying a reproof for their too late

repentance. Whereas Joseph was not yet satisfied with this confession, but retained

Simeon in bonds, (165) and dismissed the rest in suspense and perplexity, this was

not done from malevolence, but because he was not certain about the safety of his

brother Benjamin, and the state of his father’s house. For he might justly fear lest,

when they found that their wicked contrivance of putting their brother to death, was

discovered, they might again attempt some horrible crime, as desperate men are

wont to do; or, at least, might desert their father, and flee to some other country.

�evertheless the act of Joseph is not to be drawn into a precedent: because it is not

always right to be thus austere. We ought also to beware lest the offender be

swallowed up by grief, if we are not mild, and disposed to forgiveness. Therefore we

must seek the spirit of discretion from heaven, which shall so govern us that we may

do nothing by rash impetuosity, or immoderate severity. This, indeed, is to be

remembered, that under the stern countenance of Joseph was concealed not only a

mild and placid disposition, but the most tender affection.

23 They did not realize that Joseph could

understand them, since he was using an

interpreter.

CLARKE, "For he spake unto them by an interpreter - Either there was a very great difference between the two languages as then spoken, or Joseph, to prevent all suspicion, might affect to be ignorant of both. We have many evidences in this book that the Egyptians, Hebrews, Canaanites, and Syrians, could understand each other in a general way, though there are also proofs that there was a considerable difference between their dialects.

GILL, "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 Gen_41:50.

PETT, "Verse 23

‘And they did not know that Joseph understood them for there was an interpreter between

them.’

Had it not been for this twist in the story we would never have known that Joseph had

deliberately been speaking through an interpreter. This reminds us that behind these

homely stories is more detail than we are aware of. The ancients were not so much

interested in background detail as in the pith of the story. They went to the centre of

things and ignored the detail. We have seen this constantly in the stories of the patriarchs.

24 He turned away from them and began to weep,

but then came back and spoke to them again. He

had Simeon taken from them and bound before

their eyes.

CLARKE, "Took - Simeon and bound him before their eyes - This was retaliation, if, as the rabbins suppose, it was Simeon who bound Joseph, and put him into the pit. A recollection of this circumstance must exceedingly deepen the sense he had of his guilt.

GILL, "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, Gen_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.

HAWKER, "That is a blessed scripture, Isa_63:9. And who shall take upon him to say to what extent those yearnings of JESUS over his people in their sorrows are carried, before the time comes for his openly manifesting himself to them as their Savior.

HE�RY, ". Joseph's tenderness towards them upon this occasion. He retired from them to weep, Gen_42:24. Though his reason directed that he should still carry himself

as a stranger to them, because they were not as yet humbled enough, yet natural affection could not but work, for he was a man of a tender spirit. This represents the tender mercies of our God towards repenting sinners. See Jer_31:20, Since I spoke against him I do earnestly remember him still. See Jdg_10:16.

III. The imprisonment of Simeon, Gen_42:24. He chose him for the hostage probably because he remembered him to have been his most bitter enemy, or because he observed him now to be least humbled and concerned; he bound him before their eyes to affect them all; or perhaps it is intimated that, though he bound him with some severity before them, yet afterwards, when they were gone, he took off his bonds.

JAMISO�, "took ... Simeon, and bound him— He had probably been the chief instigator - the most violent actor in the outrage upon Joseph; and if so, his selection to be the imprisoned and fettered hostage for their return would, in the present course of their reflections, have a painful significance.

COFFMA�, "Verse 24-25

"And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and he returned to them, and spake to

them, and took Simeon from among them, and bound him in prison before their eyes.

Then Joseph commanded to fill their vessels with grain, and to restore every man's money

into his sack, and to give them provision for the way: and thus it was done unto them."

The conversation of the conscience-stricken brothers recalled all too vividly the tragedy

in his own life for which they were guilty, and the burning memories of it, together with

the thought that one of them vainly tried to save him, touched the fountains of tears in

Joseph's heart, and he turned away to hide his tears. After a little while, he stopped

weeping and returned to the business in hand.

"Bound Simeon in prison before their eyes ..." This is a strong statement. It was not,

merely, that Simeon was imprisoned. They were all in prison. Something more was added

to the sentence of Simeon and was executed in the presence of the other brothers. Did

Joseph hold the cruel Simeon to be especially guilty? It would appear that he did.

"Commanded to fill their vessels with grain ..." The naive notion that has crept into the

comments of some exegetes regarding this episode, namely, that these ten brothers had

only ten sacks is ridiculous. On such an expedition, with pack animals to bring home the

purchases, there were probably a great many sacks, or skins, in which to convey grain.

"Restore every man's money into his sack ..." This has the meaning of requiring the

money to be put into "one of the sacks" pertaining to each of the ten brothers. The size of

the whole operation fully explains why only one of them discovered the money en route

home.

COKE, "Genesis 42:24. Turned himself about from them, and wept— If the conduct of

Joseph's brethren presents us with a striking proof of the power of conscience, Joseph

himself affords us as striking a proof of the power of nature: affected at their confusion

and distress, all the tenderness of the brother filled his heart, and drew tears from his eyes.

Severe as he seemed to them in outward behaviour, his soul and his affections were full

of kindness towards them. His looks, his mien, his voice, his dress, were those of a

stranger; but his heart was that of a brother.

He—took—Simeon, and bound him— The Rabbis and Philo affirm, that Joseph

determined to retain Simeon rather than any other, because he threw Joseph into the pit.

The tradition is not improbable; it is certain, that Reuben was desirous to save Joseph,

and Judah inclined to favour him; so that if Simeon had joined with them, their authority

might have prevailed to deliver him. We may add to this, that Simeon was a violent man,

as the affair of the Sechemites proves; and that Joseph thought it best to detain him, as it

would least afflict his father, and prevent any obstacle to his desire of embracing his

brother Benjamin. Having gained what information he wanted concerning his father and

Benjamin, he now hastens their departure.

ELLICOTT, "(24) He turned . . . and wept.—There was no bitterness in Joseph’s heart,

and at their first word of regret he melted. But lest he should lose Benjamin he overcame

his feelings, and commanded that Simeon should be bound, choosing him, probably, as

the one chiefly guilty of the wrong done him. As soon as the rest had departed, he would

probably make his imprisonment as easy as possible, especially as he was detained, not as

an evil-doer, but as a hostage.

PETT, "Verse 24

‘And he turned himself away from them and wept, and he returned to them and spoke to

them and took Simeon from among them and bound him before their eyes.’

Joseph overhears what they are saying and it brings tears to his eyes. Whether he actually

goes out prior to speaking to them again through the interpreter we are not specifically

told. Then he acts promptly. Simeon is placed in custody (‘bound’) and they are made to

watch. Whether ‘bound’ includes being tied up with ropes we do not know, although as

Joseph wanted to make the greatest possible impression it is quite possible.

BI, "He turned himself about from them and wept

Joseph’s feelings on seeing his brethren

After the lapse of twenty years, Joseph on seeing his brethren wept.Why, he might have been vengeful! It is easy for us glibly to read the words, “Joseph turned himself about and wept.” But consider what the words might have been! We oftentimes see results, not processes. We do not see how men have had to bind themselves down, crucify themselves—hands, feet, head, and side—and undergo death in the presence of God, before they could look society in the face with anything like benignity and gentleness and forgiveness. What the words might have been! Joseph, when he saw his brethren, might have said, “Now I have you! Once you put me in a pit—I shall shake you over hell; once you sold me—I will imprison you and torture you day and night; you smote me with whips—I shall scourge you with scorpions! It shall be easier to go through a circle of fire than to escape my just and indignant vengeance to-day!” He might have said, “I shall operate upon the law, ‘A tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye.’” That is the law of nature; that is elementary morality. It is not vengeance, it is not resentment; it is alphabetic justice—justice at its lowest point—incipient righteousness. It is not two eyes for an eye, two teeth for a tooth; but an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a blow for a blow, a pit for a pit, selling for selling, and so on. A great many men are perfectly content with elementary morality and alphabetic justice. People don’t educate themselves from this kind of righteousness into Christian nobility of disposition. It is not a question of education; it is a question of sanctification. Few men can rise beyond mere justice. Many men find in mere justice all the moral satisfaction which their shallow natures require; they cannot see that mercy is the very highest point in justice, and that when a man stoops to forgive be becomes a prince and a king and a crowned ruler in the house and kingdom of God. It requires all that God can do to teach men this: That there is something higher than the law of retaliation, that forgiveness is better than resentment, and that to release men is oftentimes-if done from moral consideration and not from moral neglect—the highest form of Christian justice. But revenge is sweet! I am afraid that some of us like just a little revenge; not that we would ourselves personally and directly inflict it, but if our enemies could, somehow or another, be tripped up, and tumble half way at least into a pit, we should not feel that compunction and sorrow and distress of soul which, sentimentally, appears to be so very fine and beautiful. Nothing but God the Holy Ghost can train a man to this greatness of answering the memory of injury with tears, and accepting processes in which men only appear to have a part, as if God, after all, had been over-ruling and directing the whole scheme.. (J. Parker, D. D.)

The secret sorrows of men

“And Joseph turned himself about from them and wept.” Afterwards he left their presence and went into his chamber and wept. Think of the secret sorrows of men! The tears did not flow in the presence of the ten men. The tears were shed in secret. We do not know one another altogether, because there is a private life. There are secret experiences. Some of us are two men. Joseph was two men. He spake roughly unto his brethren. He put it on, he assumed roughness for the occasion. But if you had seen him when he had got away into his secret chamber, no woman ever shed hotter, bitterer tears than streamed from that man’s eyes. We do not know one another altogether. We come to false conclusions about each other’s character and disposition. Many a time we say about men, “They are very harsh, rough, abrupt”; not knowing that they have other days when their very souls are dissolved within them; that they can suffer more in one hour than shallower natures could endure in an eternity. Let us be hopeful about the very worst of men. Some men cannot cry in public. Some men are unfortunately afflicted with coarse, harsh voices, which get for them a reputation for austerity, unkindliness, ungeniality. Other men are gifted with fairness and openness of countenance, gentleness and tunefulness of voice. When they curse and swear it seems as though they were half praying, or just about to enter into some religious exercise. When they speak, when they smile, they get a reputation for being very amiable men, yet they do not know what amiability is. They have no secret life. They weep for reputation; they make their tears an investment for a paltry renown. We do not want all our history to be known. We are content for men to read a little of what they see on the outside, and they profoundly mistake that oftentimes. But the secret history, the inner room of life, what we are and what we do when we are alone, no man can ever tell—the dearest, truest, tenderest friend can never understand. Do not let us treat Joseph’s tears lightly. Under this feeling there are great moral principles and moral impulses. The man might have been stern, vengeful, resentful. Instead of that he is tender as a forgiving sister. When he looks he yearns, when he listens to their voices all the gladness and none of the bitterness of his old home comes back again on his soul. (J. Parker, D. D.)

Joseph’s emotion

The hearing of the bitter reflections made by his brethren, upon their barbarous treatment of himself, brought rivers of waters from Joseph’s eyes. Many passions, many unpleasant and many pleasant remembrances, struggled together in his mind. He tenderly sympathized with the distress of his brethren. He was grieved when he found it necessary to inflict such grief upon men so dear to him, after all they had done to ruin his comfort. He wept at the remembrance of that anguish which he had felt in the day of his calamity, and of the unavailing applications to his hard-hearted brethren, extorted by strong necessity and bitter anguish. He called to mind his afflictions and his misery, the wormwood and the gall; but he remembered also how the Lord had sent from above, and taken and drawn him out of many waters, and set him in a large place, and established his goings. Although Joseph was now exalted to glory and power, he was not in the place where all tears are wiped from every eye. We must in this world weep often, even for ourselves; we must often weep for our friends; but “they that sow in tears shall reap in joy.” He that “goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” Joseph wished not that his brethren should see his tears. When he found he could not refrain, he turned himself from them and wept. Tears shed in secret are the truest indication of the heart. Jeremiah wept in secret places for the calamities coming upon his people, when the Lord’s flock

was to be carried away captive. (G. Lawson, D. D.)

Took from them Simeon, and bound him:—

Harsh steps sometimes necessary

The circumstances of the case required such a behaviour from Joseph as ought not to be made a precedent, unless similar circumstances, or different circumstances of a very uncommon kind, render it advisable. It was not sufficient to satisfy Joseph that he heard his brethren sorely regret their conduct towards himself. In the judgment of charity, he hoped their repentance was sincere; but farther proofs of their sincerity were requisite, before he could place that confidence which he wished to do, in any professions they might have made. Parents are not to be blamed when they forgive their offending but penitent children, although they watch over them with anxious jealousy, lest they should not “bring forth fruits meet for repentance.” The surgeon is not to be blamed although he give great pain to his patient, by incisions deeper than appear to ordinary beholders to be necessary. Joseph had too good reason to know the stubborn spirit of some of his brethren, and in particular of Simeon; and who knows but he had particular directions from God about the proper means for taming it? During the two or three days of his brethren’s imprisonment, he had time to acknowledge the Lord in this important affair, and the Lord directed his steps. You must not be rash in passing judgment on men’s conduct. “A tree,” says our Lord, “is known by its fruit.” And yet there are cases in which the fruit is to be judged of from the tree. If a good man does actions that are certainly bad, that charity which rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, will not hinder you from assigning them that character which they deserve. But if actions are dubious, charity, which believeth all things, hopeth all things, forbids you to pronounce them bad till better evidence appear. “He bound Simeon before their eyes.” This circumstance of Simeon’s imprisonment puts us in mind of Nebuchadnezzar’s cruelty to Zedekiah, king of Judah, whose sons he slew before their father’s eyes, and then caused his eyes to be put out, that he might never behold another object. His intention was to double the calamities of the loss of sight, and of the murder of his children. But those actions may be not only different, but opposite in their nature, which present the same appearance when viewed with a careless eye. An enemy wounds that he may destroy, “but faithful are the wounds of a friend.” All Joseph’s brethren now with him, except Reuben, needed severe rebukes; and no reproofs of the tongue were so likely to subdue their haughty spirit, as the sight of the distress of their brother and companion in iniquity. But it is probable that Joseph’s chief design in presenting this melancholy spectacle to their eyes was, that they might be excited to return more speedily with their younger brother, whom Joseph was impatient to see. The eye affects the heart. Envy hindered them from regarding the distress of Joseph in the pit; but it was to be hoped that they would compassionate the sufferings of that brother who had never offended them by his dreams, nor received from his father a coat of divers colours. We cannot pretend either to the power or to the wisdom of Joseph. We do not enjoy such intercourse with Heaven by immediate revelation as he frequently enjoyed; and therefore, it would be presumptuous in us to pretend to take such methods as he employed, to humble the spirits of those who have offended us. We have never met with usage that can be compared to the treatment which he had received from his brethren. We must not, however, hope to pass through life without trials to our patience and meekness. “Who is a wise man, and endued with knowledge among us? let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.” (G. Lawson, D. D.)

25 Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain,

to put each man’s silver back in his sack, and to

give them provisions for their journey. After this

was done for them,

CLARKE, "Commanded to fill their sacks - ;keleyhem, their vessels כליהםprobably large woolen bags, or baskets lined with leather, which, as Sir John Chardin says, are still in use through all Asia, and are called tambellet; they are covered with leather, the better to resist the wet, and to prevent dirt and sand from mixing with the

grain. These vessels, of whatever sort, must have been different from those called שק sakin the twenty-seventh and following verses, which was probably only a small sack or bag, in which each had reserved a sufficiency of corn for his ass during the journey; the larger vessels or bags serving to hold the wheat or rice they had brought, and their own packages. The reader will at once see that the English word sack is plainly derived from the Hebrew.

GILL, "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.

HAWKER, "Is not this a striking resemblance to our spiritual Joseph, in commanding

his servants the ministers, to supply the wants of his people in gospel mercies, without money and without price? Isa_55:1.

JAMISO�, "Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man’s money— This private generosity was not an infringement of his duty - a defrauding of the revenue. He would have a discretionary power - he was daily enriching the king’s exchequer - and he might have paid the sum from his own purse.

CO�STABLE, "Verses 25-28

Joseph restored his brothers" money to them out of the goodness of his heart. His

gracious act would satisfy their needs but also cause them to search their souls

further as they contemplated the implications of their good fortune. When they first

discovered the money in one of their sacks, they regarded what God was doing to

them as divine punishment ( Genesis 42:28). This is the first time in the story that

the brothers mentioned God. Their aroused consciences saw God at work behind

what they were experiencing (cf. Genesis 42:21-22).

""Silver, money" (keseph) is mentioned twenty times ( Genesis 42:25 to Genesis

45:22). In the first scene of Acts 1 [ Genesis 37:2-36], the brothers put a total of

twenty pieces of silver before a brother ( Genesis 37:28). �ow they put their brother

over a fortune in silver. As might be expected in an act about family reconciliation [

Genesis 42:1 to Genesis 46:27], other key words are "brother" (ca50x) and "father"

(ca40x)." [�ote: Waltke, Genesis , pp541-42.]

ELLICOTT, "(25) To fill their sacks.—Heb., their vessels. The word includes all

their means of transport, and probably they had come with materials sufficient for

the removal of a large quantity of corn. They had sacks as well. So in Genesis 42:19,

Joseph had commanded them to “carry corn for the famine of their houses.” And as

their households were numerous, what would nine sacks of corn avail for their

maintenance?

To restore every man’s money into his sack.—It is evident that each one had made

his own separate purchase for his own household. The restoration of the money

frightened Joseph’s brethren, as they saw in it a pretext for their detention on their

next visit. But Joseph could not have meant thus to alarm them, as their fear would

act as an obstacle to their coming again accompanied by Benjamin. It is more likely

that he intended it as an encouragement, and sign of secret good will.

LA�GE, " Genesis 42:25-35. The voluntary release; the return; the report; the dark

omen.—To fill their sacks.—ְּכֵליֶהם, receptacles or vessels, in the most general

sense.—To restore every man’s money with his sack.—Joseph would not receive pay

from his father, and yet he could not openly return the money without betraying a

particular relation to them. Therefore the secret measure, one object of which,

doubtless, was to keep up the fear and excitement, as it also served to give them

reasons for expecting something extraordinary.—Provisions for the way.—To

prevent the decrease of their store, and to make unnecessary the premature opening

of their sacks.—One of them opened his sack.—At the place of their night-quarters.

It could not have been what we now call an inn. Delitzsch supposes that, at that

time, already, there were shed-like buildings, caravanseras, existing along the route

through the desert ( Exodus 4:24). Keil doubts this. The fact of the separate opening

of his sack by one of them, demands no explanation. He might have made a mistake

in the sack, or the money might have been put in a wrong one; but even this

circumstance is so arranged as to increase the fear of their awakened consciences.—

What is this that God hath done unto us?—They are conscious of no deception on

their part, and they cannot understand how the Egyptians could have done it.

Whether it were an oversight on their side, or a cunning trick of the Egyptians to

arrest them afterwards for theft—at all events, their aroused consciences tell them

that they have now to contend with God. They see a dark and threatening sign in it,

now that a sense of God’s judgments is awakened in them.—And they came unto

Jacob.—The story of their strange intercourse with the terrible man in Egypt, is

confirmed by the fearful discovery made when all the sacks are opened. Joseph’s

intimation, which they report, that they might traffic again in Egypt, provided they

fulfilled the imposed condition, is a ray of light, which, in their present mood, they

hardly knew how to appreciate.

PETT, "Verse 25-26

‘Then Joseph commanded that their vessels be filled with corn, and to restore every

man’s silver into his sack, and to give them provision for the way, and this was done

to them. And they loaded their asses with their corn and went on their way.’

Joseph now makes sure they are well provided for. Abundance of corn, provisions

for the journey and their silver returned, hidden in their sacks.

“Their vessels.” This must refer to their sacks but usually means a vessel. It may,

however, signify that anything that could carry corn was filled.

BI, "My money is restored; and lo, it is even in my sack: and their hearts failed them

The miseries of an awakened conscience

I. THEY PURSUE THE SINNER EVERYWHERE.

II. THEY DRIVE THE SINNER TO PUT THE WORST CONSTRUCTION UPON EVERY EVENT.

III. THEY ARE INTENDED TO LEAD THE SINNER TO REPENTANCE. (T. H.Leale.)

The money returned

I. THE RETURN. Affairs in Egypt strangely settled, they set out on their return. They have been treated with a perplexing mixture of kindness and harshness. They have provision for their journey; but they remember the prison, and the hostage they have left behind. What shall they say to their father? Once they returned without Joseph. He scarcely recovered from that blow. Now they are without Simeon, and must demand Benjamin. How great their perplexity! They thought of Joseph when in the presence of the lord of Egypt; do they think of him now? By the very road they were travelling they saw him borne away years before. They were enveloped in mystery. The old man at home among his hungry household, and their own children awaiting their return. Simeon’s children, too, to meet; and no father brought back to them.

II. THE DISCOVERY. Thus perplexed, and anxiously anticipating the result, they arrive at one of the inns, or khans, at which the caravans stopped to rest. An ass needs provender. A sack is opened. The money is discovered. Consternation. What can it all mean? Did they reflect on the money for which they had once sold a brother? Probably Joseph’s purchasers once lodged with their newly bought slave in that very inn, and talked of the sum they had given, as these men were now talking of the money they had found. This money boded no good. An unheard-of thing, that a seller should return the money. Joseph very likely returned the money to ensure their return; lest they might need food and not have money to buy it. A new thing to tell their father.

III. THE FAMILY CONSTERNATION. They arrive at home. The first greetings over, inquiries are made. Where is Simeon? They relate the history of their adventures and Simeon’s detention. While they relate this strange history they open their sacks. A new discovery. All the money returned! Fear seizes the whole family. It is a new thing in the story of trade. May have been regarded by them as a pretext for the Egyptians coming and carrying them all away into captivity. Jacob especially filled with dread. He has now lost two sons, and sees in the returned money a new occasion of alarm. “All these things are against me.” But they were all for him, because a son was in it all. “All things shall work together for the good of them who love God,” because another Son—Jesus Christ—is concerned in our welfare. Learn:

I. Past sins cast their shadow on the present, and overcast the future.

II. The wicked fleeth when no man pursueth.

III. Conscience converts things strange into things ominous.

IV. Our ignorance of Divine plans causes us to charge God foolishly.

V. No money needed to procure the bread of life. “In my hand no price I bring.” Jesus Christ is an “unspeakable GIFT.” (J. C. Gray.)

A sorrowful company

“They said one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us?” They all spoke the same language of despondency. None of them, as far as we find, administered any comfort to his companions. It is an unhappy thing, when, in a company of men, not one is found who can speak a word in season, for advice or consolation to his companions in trouble. It is reported, that in a time of persecution, some faithful ministers met together to deliberate about their duty. All of them for a time were silent, or if anything was said, it tended only to increase the general dejection. At last they all recovered their spirits, at hearing one of their number say, “We are all immortal till our work is done.” These few words gave effect to a truth, which they already knew, that their days were numbered by a Divine decree, and that it was not in the power of all the men on earth to cut them off from the land of the living a moment before the time appointed by the wisdom and love of that God whom they served. (G. Lawson, D. D.)

The money found in the sack

1. See how sin pursues the sinner. Like an enemy that he cannot shake off, ready at any moment to accuse and torment. And it will do more against him hereafter, unless taken away.

2. Observe the fear of these men. They were bold, hard men; yet see how their heart fails them. Whom do they fear? The stern Egyptian ruler? No. Their own thoughts, their own secret, their own sin. Nothing makes men so fearful as an evil conscience.

3. But their thoughts turned not to their sin alone, but to God. They saw His hand in what befell them. This, as far as it went, was a wholesome thought. What they said was quite true; it was God that was dealing with them. It was well that they should feel it. (F. Bourdillon.)

26 they loaded their grain on their donkeys and

left.

BAR�ES, "Gen_42:26-34

The nine brothers return home and record their wonderful adventure. “In the inn;” the lodge or place where they stopped for the night. This place was not yet perhaps provided with even the shelter of a roof. It was merely the usual place of halting. They would probably occupy six or seven days on the journey. Apparently at the first stage one opened his sack to give provender to his ass. The discovery of the silver in its mouth strikes them with terror. In a strange land and with an uneasy conscience they are easily alarmed. It was not convenient or necessary to open all the bags on the way, and so they make no further discovery.

CLARKE, "They laded their asses - Amounting, no doubt, to several scores, if not hundreds, else they could not have brought a sufficiency of corn for the support of so large a family as that of Jacob.

GILL, "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.

HAWKER, "The hearts of the faithful know what kind of failing is here meant, when a gracious Redeemer makes his love towards them overflow. Son_5:6; Son_6:12.

K&D, "Thus they started with their asses laden with the corn. On the way, when they had reached their halting-place for the night, one of them opened his sack to feed the

ass, and found his money in it. ָמלּון, camping-place for the night, is merely a resting-place, not an inn, both here and in Exo_4:24; for there can hardly have been

caravanserais at that time, either in the desert or by the desert road. אמתחת: an antiquated word for a corn-sack, occurring only in these chapters, and used even here

interchangeably with ַׂשק.

COFFMA�, "Verses 26-28

"And they laded their asses with their grain, and departed thence. And as one of

them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the lodging-place, he espied his

money; and, behold, it was in the mouth of his sack. And he said unto his brethren,

My money is restored; and lo, it is even in my sack: and their heart failed them, and

they turned trembling one to another saying, What is this that God hath done unto

us?"

The mention here of only one of the brothers finding his money, and later of all of

them finding their money after they arrive home, is no evidence whatever of two

different, contradictory sources, a favorite allegation of unbelievers. On the other

hand, this is exactly the way it happened. It was by chance that one of them opened

a sack of grain to feed his ass, and that that particular sack was the one in which his

money was restored. It would have been an exceedingly difficult and dangerous task

to dismantle the whole shipment and search all the sacks at a lodging-place, where

the curiosity of others and the cupidity of thieves would have been an added

inducement for a hostile attack. One sack with the money restored was the only

excuse which Joseph needed to have them all arrested, an event which they, at the

time, might have expected. The full extent of the restored purchase price did not

come to light until the entire cargo was unloaded AFTER they reached home.

COKE, "Genesis 42:26. They laded their asses— Some have inferred from this and

the following verse, that they had only ten asses with them, an ass to each man: but

the expression would lead one as much to believe, that they had only ten sacks, a

sack on each ass, which would have been so small a quantity as would not have

supplied their asses with provender during their journey into Canaan. It is most

likely they had several other beasts of burden as well as servants in their train; and

that they were supplied with corn sufficient to answer all the present necessities of

their families, which, we are to remember, were very numerous. It may, perhaps, be

worth remarking, that the word rendered sacks at the beginning of the 25th verse, to

fill their sacks with corn, is different from that rendered sack in the next clause and

the following verses. The first might be rendered their vessels כליהם keliem, and may

refer to some larger chests, or something of that kind, in which the chief part of their

corn was deposited; while that which was put in sacks, ׂשקו sakko, might be only for

the use of their cattle on the road. It should here be remembered, that in those days

there were no inns, as indeed at present there are not in those countries; so that

travellers are obliged to carry their own provisions.

27 At the place where they stopped for the night

one of them opened his sack to get feed for his

donkey, and he saw his silver in the mouth of his

sack.

CLARKE, "One of them opened his sack - From Gen_42:35 we learn that each of the ten brethren on emptying his sack when he returned found his money in it; can we suppose that this was not discovered by them all before? It seems not; and the reason was probably this: the money was put in the mouth of the sack of one only, in the sacks of the others it was placed at or near to the bottom; hence only one discovered it on the road, the rest found it when they came to empty their sacks at their father’s house.

In the inn - lan, to lodge, stay, remain, etc. The place at לן bammalon, from במלוןwhich they stopped to bait or rest themselves and their asses. Our word inn gives us a false idea here; there were no such places of entertainment at that time in the desert over which they had to pass, nor are there any to the present day. Travellers generally endeavor to reach a well, where they fill their girbahs, or leather bottles, with fresh water, and having clogged their camels, asses, etc., permit them to crop any little verdure there may be in the place, keeping watch over them by turns. This is all we are to understand by the malon or inn in the text, for even caravansaries were not then in use, which are generally no more than four walls perfectly exposed, the place being open at the top.

GILL, "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.

JAMISO�, "inn— a mere station for baiting beasts of burden.

he espied his money— The discovery threw them into greater perplexity than ever. If they had been congratulating themselves on escaping from the ruthless governor, they perceived that now he would have a handle against them; and it is observable that they

looked upon this as a judgment of heaven. Thus one leading design of Joseph was gained in their consciences being roused to a sense of guilt.

CALVI�, "27.And as one of them opened his sack. With what intention Joseph had

commanded the price paid for the corn to be secretly deposited in the sacks of his

brethren, may easily be conjectured; for he feared lest his father being already

impoverished, would not be able again to buy provisions. The brethren, having

found their money, knew not where to seek the cause; except that, being terrified,

they perceived that the hand of God was against them. That they were greatly

astonished appears from their not voluntarily returning to Joseph, in order to prove

their own innocence: for the remedy of the evil was at hand, if they had not been

utterly blinded. Wherefore we must ask God to supply us, in doubtful and troubled

affairs, not only with fortitude, but also with prudence. We see also how little can be

effected even by a great multitude, unless the Lord preside among them. The sons of

Jacob ought mutually to have exhorted each other, and to have consulted together

what was necessary to be done: but there is an end to all deliberation; no solace nor

remedy is suggested. Even while each sees the rest agitated, they mutually increase

each other’s trepidation. Therefore, the society and countenance of men will profit

us nothing, unless the Lord strengthen us from heaven.

ELLICOTT, "(27) In the inn.—Heb., lodging-place, literally, place to pass the night.

It is quite possible that on a route frequented by numerous caravans there were

places where a certain amount of protection for the beasts of burden and their

attendants had been provided, either by the rulers, or by benevolent people. But

Joseph’s brethren would find there at most only walls and water. “The one” who

opened his sack is said by tradition to have been Levi. At the end of the verse this

sack is called by another name, signifying a travelling-bag, or wallet for forage. The

translation of these three different words, vessel, wallet, and sack, indifferently by

the last of them, has led to the absurd view, common among commentators, that

Joseph’s brethren went down into Egypt, each with one ass and one sack. Hence

their astonishment that such an insignificant knot of men should be brought before

the governor of Egypt. But the word used in Genesis 42:25 signifies everything into

which corn could be put; and the word at the end of this verse is the travelling-bag,

which each of the patriarchs carried behind him on his riding ass. Their men would

go on foot at the side of the beasts of burden laden with the corn.

It is said here that one only found his money at the lodging-place, and that the rest

did not find their money until they emptied their sacks on reaching home. the sacks

mentioned here (in Genesis 42:35) were the same as the travelling-bags, for they are

expressly so called in Genesis 43:21-23. In Genesis 43:21, however, they tell Joseph’s

steward that they all found their money in the mouth of their sacks on opening them

at the lodging-place. This was not strictly accurate, but it would have been

wearisome and useless to enter into such details. Two things it was necessary to

show: the first, that all had found their money; the second, that they had gone too

far on their journey homewards to be able to return and give the money back.

Probably what is said in Genesis 43:21 was literally true only of one, and he found

his money because it had been put in last, and was therefore at the mouth of the

wallet. In all the other sacks it had been put in first, under the corn, and so they did

not find it until “they had emptied their sacks.”

PETT, "Verse 27

‘And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the lodging place

he saw his silver and behold, it was in the mouth of his sack.’

It is stressed that at this stage only one of them finds the silver. It is probable that

they would all feed their asses from the one opened sack and they would not dream

for one moment that this would be true for them all. It had every sign of being a

plant so that they could be accused of theft. There were probably also a number of

servants who also bore sacks on their asses, and they would have no silver in them.

Jacob had a large household to feed with many retainers.

28 “My silver has been returned,” he said to his

brothers. “Here it is in my sack.”

Their hearts sank and they turned to each other

trembling and said, “What is this that God has

done to us?”

CLARKE, "Their heart failed them - .valyetse)libbam, their heart went out ויצא(לבםThis refers to that spasmodic affection which is felt in the breast at any sudden alarm or fright. Among the common people in our own country we find an expression exactly similar, “My heart was ready to leap out at my mouth,” used on similar occasions.

What is this that God hath done unto us? - Their guilty consciences, now thoroughly awakened, were in continual alarms; they felt that they deserved God’s curse, and every occurrence served to confirm and increase their suspicions.

GILL, "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 Gen_43:21,

and their heart failed them; through surprise and fear; or "went out" (c) 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.

HE�RY, "The dismission of the rest of them. They came for corn, and corn they had; and not only so, but every man had his money restored in his sack's mouth. Thus Christ, our Joseph, gives out supplies without money and without price. Therefore the poor are invited to buy, Rev_3:17, Rev_3:18. This put them into great consternation (Gen_42:28): Their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done to us?

1. It was really a merciful event; for I hope they had no wrong done to them when they had their money given them back, but a kindness; yet they were thus terrified by it. Note, (1.) Guilty consciences are apt to take good providences in a bad sense, and to put wrong constructions even upon those things that make for them. They flee when none pursues. (2.) Wealth sometimes brings as much care along with it as want does, and more too. If they had been robbed of their money, they could not have been worse frightened than they were now when they found their money in their sacks. Thus he whose ground brought forth plentifully said, What shall I do? Luk_12:17.

2. Yet in their circumstances it was very amazing. They knew that the Egyptians abhorred a Hebrew (Gen_43:32), and therefore, since they could not expect to receive any kindness from them, they concluded that this was done with a design to pick a quarrel with them, and the rather because the man, the lord of the land, had charged them as spies. Their own consciences also were awake, and their sins set in order before them; and this put them into confusion. Note, (1.) When men's spirits are sinking every thing helps to sink them. (2.) When the events of Providence concerning us are surprising it is good to enquire what it is that God has done and is doing with us, and to consider the operation of his hands.

K&D, "When this discovery was made known to the brethren, their hearts sank within them. They turned trembling to one another, and said, “What is this that God hath done to us!” Joseph had no doubt had the money returned, “merely because it was against his nature to trade with his father and brethren for bread;” just as he had caused them to be supplied with food for the journey, for no other reason than to give them a proof of his good-will. And even if he may have thought it possible that the brothers would be alarmed when they found the money, and thrown into a state of much greater anxiety from the fear of being still further accused by the stern lord of Egypt of cheating or of theft, there was no reason why he should spare them this anxiety, since it could only help to break their hard hearts still more. At any rate, this salutary effect was really produced, even if Joseph had no such intention. The brothers looked upon this incomprehensible affair as a punishment from God, and neglected in their alarm to examine the rest of the sacks.

CALVI�, "28.What is this that God has done unto us? They do not expostulate with

God, as if they thought this danger had come upon them without cause: but, perceiving

that God was angry with them in many ways, they deplore their wretchedness. But why

do they not rather turn their thoughts to Joseph? For the suspicion was natural, that this

had been done by fraud, because he wished to lay new snares for them. How does it

happen, then, that losing sight of man, they set God as an avenger directly before them?

Truly, because this single thought possessed their minds, that a just reward, and such as

their sins deserved, would be given them; and, from that time, they referred whatever

evils happened to the same cause. Before (as we have said) they were asleep: but from the

time that they began to be affected by the lively fear of God’s judgment, his providence

always presented itself to their view. So David, when, by the inward suggestion of the

Spirit, he has learned that the rod with which he was chastised had been sent from

heaven, is not distracted or perplexed, though he sees plainly that the evils have

proceeded from another quarter; but prays to God to heal the wounds which He had made.

It is no common act of prudence, and is at the same time profitable, whenever any

adversity overtakes us, to accustom ourselves to the consideration of the judgments of

God. We see how unbelievers, while they imagine their misfortunes to be accidental, or

while they are bent on accusing their enemies, only exasperate their grief by fretting and

raging, and thus cause the anger of God to burn the more against them. But he who, in his

affliction, exercises himself in reflecting on his own sins, and sets God before him as his

Judge, will humble himself in the divine presence, and will compose his mind to patience

by the hope of pardon. Let us, however, remember that the providence of God is not truly

acknowledged, except in connection with his justice. Forthough the men by whose hand

he chastises us are often unjust, yet, in an incomprehensible manner, he executes his

judgments through them, against which judgments it is not lawful for us either to reply or

to murmur. For sometimes even the reprobate, though they acknowledge themselves to be

stricken by the hand of God, yet do not cease to complain against him, as Moses teaches

us by the example of Cain. I do not, however, understand that this complaint was made by

the sons of Jacob, for the purpose of charging God with tyrannical violence; but because

they, being overcome with fear, inferred from this double punishment that God was

highly displeased with them.

BENSON, "Genesis 42:28. Their heart failed them, and they were afraid — Their

awakened consciences set their sins in order before them, made them afraid of every

thing, and threw them into the utmost dismay and consternation. Saying one to another,

What is this that God hath done unto us? — They knew that the Egyptians abhorred a

Hebrew, (Genesis 43:32,) and therefore, since they could not expect to receive any

kindness from them, they concluded that their money was put into their sacks with a

design to pick a quarrel with them, and the rather, because the man, the lord of the land,

had charged them as spies. Thus they construed every circumstance in this affair as the

purpose of God to bring evil upon them, for their unnatural and cruel usage of their

brother. When the events of Providence concerning us are surprising, it is good to inquire

what it is that God has done, and is doing with us.

COKE, "Genesis 42:28. Their heart failed them— In the strong Hebrew idiom, their heart

went out, or left their body: strong conscience was at work; they were afraid where no

fear was: What is this that God hath done unto us? say they. It is the nature of awakened

guilt to be particularly full of apprehensions of God's justice and vengeance: they

expected nothing less, than that the providence of God was about to make this

extraordinary event a means of that punishment, which they were conscious that they

justly deserved for their treatment of Joseph. In Genesis 42:35 they were afraid, refers to

Jacob also, as well as his sons.

REFLECTIONS.—We have here,

1. The reflections which the ten sons of Jacob make on their past conduct. For twenty

years they seem to have forgotten it, or stifled the remembrance; but now conscience does

her office, and in their distress they acknowledge the justice of God's hand in thus

overtaking them. If they were so unrelenting to a brother, what may they not apprehend

from a heathen stranger? Reuben reminds them of his entreaty for the child; a fresh

reproach to their cruelty, though a comfort to his own conscience. Note; (1.) It is a needful

stroke, which awakens the conscience to a remembrance of sin. (2.) When we share with

others in calamity, it is a great support to be clear of their guilt. Little did they imagine

how nearly he was interested before whom they spoke; little were they apprehensive that

the AEgyptian governor, who spake by an interpreter, understood their language; while

he, unable to restrain, yet willing to conceal the falling tear, turns aside, to discharge the

tender meltings of an affectionate heart. Are such the tender mercies of a man? What then

are the compassions of our God towards repenting sinners!

2. Simeon is bound for a hostage till their return, and they dismissed with their lading.

But how great their astonishment, when one, on opening his sack, finds the purchase-

money returned! Guilt immediately awakens their fears, and they tremble with the

apprehensions that God is now about to visit them for their sins. They who sold their own

brother unjustly for twenty pieces of silver, may well fear, lest judgment overtake them as

thieves. Note; A guilty conscience is subject to perpetual alarms.

PETT, "Verse 28

‘And he said to his brothers, “My silver has been handed back, and see, it is in my sack.”

And their heart failed them and they turned to one another trembling, saying, “What is

this that God has done to us?”

The sight of the silver terrifies them and they were filled with fear. This was the worst

possible thing that could have happened. It had looked as though things might be resolved

reasonably satisfactorily and now this. It was clear things were still as bad as ever. They

were clearly marked down as victims.

29 When they came to their father Jacob in the

land of Canaan, they told him all that had

happened to them. They said,

GILL, "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.

HE�RY 29-38, "Here is, 1. The report which Jacob's sons made to their father of the great distress they had been in in Egypt; how they had been suspected, and threatened, and obliged to leave Simeon a prisoner there, till they should bring Benjamin with them thither. Who would have thought of this when they left home? When we go abroad we should consider how many sad accidents, that we little think of, may befall us before we return home. We know not what a day may bring forth; we ought therefore to be always ready for the worst. 2. The deep impression this made upon the good man. The very bundles of money which Joseph returned, in kindness to his father, frightened him (Gen_42:35); for he concluded it was done with some mischievous design, or perhaps suspected his own sons to have committed some offence, and so to have run themselves into a praemunire - a penalty, which is intimated in what he says (Gen_42:36): Me have you bereaved. He seems to lay the fault upon them; knowing their characters, he feared they had provoked the Egyptians, and perhaps forcibly, or fraudulently, brought home their money. Jacob is here much out of temper. (1.) He has very melancholy apprehensions concerning the present state of his family: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not; whereas Joseph was in honour and Simeon in the way to it. Note, We often perplex ourselves with our own mistakes, even in matters of fact. True griefs may arise from false intelligence and suppositions, 2Sa_13:31. Jacob gives up Joseph for gone, and Simeon and Benjamin as being in danger; and he concludes, All these things are against me. It proved otherwise, that all these were for him, were working together for his good and

the good of his family: yet here he thinks them all against him. Note, Through our ignorance and mistake, and the weakness of our faith, we often apprehend that to be against us which is really for us. We are afflicted in body, estate, name, and relations; and we think all these things are against us, whereas these are really working for us the weight of glory. (2.) He is at present resolved that Benjamin shall not go down. Reuben will undertake to bring him back in safety (Gen_42:37), not so much as putting in, If the Lord will, nor expecting the common disasters of travellers; but he foolishly bids Jacob slay his two sons (which, it is likely, he was very proud of) if he brought him not back; as if the death of two grandsons could satisfy Jacob for the death of a son. No, Jacob's present thoughts are, My son shall not go down with you. He plainly intimates a distrust of them, remembering that he never saw Joseph since he had been with them; therefore, “Benjamin shall not go with you, by the way in which you go, for you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.” Note, It is bad with a family when children conduct themselves so ill that their parents know not how to trust them.

CALVI�, "29.And they came unto Jacob their father. Here is a long repetition of the

former history, but it is not superfluous; because Moses wished to show how

anxiously they made their excuse to their father for having left Simon in chains, and

how strenuously they pleaded with him, that, for the sake of obtaining Simeon’s

liberty, he should allow them to take their brother Benjamin: for this was greatly to

the purpose. We know what a sharp dart is hunger: and yet, though the only method

of relieving their want was to fetch corn out of Egypt, Jacob would rather that he

and his family should perish, than allow Benjamin to accompany the rest. What can

he mean by thus peremptorily refusing what his sons were compelled by necessity to

ask, except to show that he was suspicious of them? This also more clearly appears

from his own words, when he imputes his bereavement to them. For, though their

declaration, that Joseph had been torn by a wild beast, had some color of

probability, there still remained in the heart of the holy patriarch a secret wound,

arising from suspicion; because he was fully aware of their fierce and cruel hatred of

the innocent youth. Moreover, it is useful for us to know this; for it appears hence

how miserable was the condition of the holy man, whose mind, during thirteen

successive years, had been tortured with dire anxiety. Besides, his very silence added

greatly to his torment, because he was compelled to conceal the grief he felt. But the

chief burden of the evil was the temptation which oppressed him, that the promise of

God might prove illusory and vain. For he had no hope except from the promised

seed; but he seemed to be bringing up devils at home, from whom a blessing was no

more to be expected than life from death. He thought Joseph to be dead, Benjamin

alone remained to him uncorrupted: how could the salvation of the world proceed

from such a vicious offspring? He must, therefore, have been endowed with great

constancy, seeing he did not cease to rely upon God; and being certainly persuaded

that he cherished in his house the Church, of which scarcely any appearance was

left, he bore with his sons till they should repent. Let the faithful now apply this

example to themselves, lest their minds should give way at the horrible devastation

which is almost everywhere perceived.

COFFMA�, "Verses 29-34

"And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all

that had befallen them, saying, The man, the lord of the land, spake roughly with us,

and took us for spies of the country. And we said unto him, We are true men; we are

no spies: we are twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is

this day with our father in the land of Canaan. And the man, the lord of the land,

said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men: leave one of your brethren

with me, and take grain for the famine of your houses, and go your way; and bring

your youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are no spies: so will I

deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffic in the land."

As is characteristic of the Biblical writings, there is here a detailed repetition of facts

already known by the reader, but they were repeated for the sake of Jacob. It is

interesting that the brothers, who certainly had no certain knowledge that Joseph

was dead, nevertheless spoke of him as "is not," deceased. It was the same lie they

had told Jacob twenty years earlier, but they had probably told it such a long time

that they themselves believed it. Jacob's reaction to their report is recounted in the

closing verses of the chapter.

CO�STABLE, "Verses 29-38

Each time Jacob"s sons had left home they returned with more money but minus a

brother (chs37 , 42). [�ote: Hamilton, The Book . . . Chapters18-50 , p535.] Did

Jacob think they had sold Simeon?

"Joseph"s brothers soften the news considerably, making it sound like Simeon was a

guest of Joseph ... instead of being bound in prison. They do not mention the threat

of death and do not at this time speak of the money in the one sack." [�ote: The

�ET Bible note on42:34.]

The money in the sack widened the breach between Jacob and his sons but drew the

brothers closer together. Jacob despaired because he distrusted his sons and the

Egyptian ruler, and he had forgotten the promises of God ( Genesis 42:36). He

therefore concluded that, "All these things are against me." In reality God was

causing all those things to work together for good for Jacob (cf. Romans 8:28). He

would soon realize God"s blessing.

"A great portion of our present trouble arises from our not knowing the whole

truth." [�ote: Bush, 2:309.]

Reuben"s offer of his two sons was pathetically weak ( Genesis 42:37). He claimed

willingness to suffer in Jacob"s place, but would he really put his own sons before

his brother? And how would killing Jacob"s grandsons console Jacob? It is no

wonder that Jacob declined Reuben"s offer ( Genesis 42:38).

Throughout this chapter we can observe the attitude of Joseph"s brothers changing.

Faced with a personal crisis they acknowledged their guilt. They regarded their

suffering as righteous divine punishment, and they began to place Jacob"s interests

above their own. However their repentance was not yet complete. The process of

contrition had to run further before reconciliation was possible. [�ote: See Waltke,

Genesis , p550 , for further development of the "severe mercies" God used to heal

Jacob"s fractured family.]

"The motives and actions of Joseph and his family members are not patterns to be

copied or avoided. The author"s goal is to show that God"s designs for Israel"s

fathers are working toward the end of redeeming the household of faith." [�ote:

Mathews, Genesis 11:27-50:26 , p768.]

When believers have unresolved guilt in their hearts, God often convicts their

consciences to discover if they are spiritually sensitive enough to participate in His

program.

PETT, "Verses 29-34

‘And they came to Jacob their father to the land of Canaan, and told him all that

had befallen them, saying, “The Man, the lord of the land, spoke roughly to us and

took us for spies of the country. And we said to him, ‘We are true men, we are no

spies. We are twelve brothers, sons of our father. One is not, and the youngest is this

day with our father in the land of Canaan.’ And the Man, the lord of the land, said

to us, ‘By this I will know that you are true men. Leave one of your brothers with

me and take corn for the famine of your houses and go your way. And bring your

youngest brother to me. Then I will know that you are no spies, but that you are true

men. Then I will set your brother free and you shall trade in the land’.” ’

Jacob has no doubt noted the absence of Simeon and he listens with failing heart to

the story unfolded. His problem will be what to do next.

“The Man.” This is an unusual use when used before a further description. It has

been suggested from other evidence that the second in command in Egypt was so

called in contrast with Pharaoh ‘the god’ (Genesis 42:29 and Genesis 42:33 here and

compare Genesis 43:3; Genesis 43:5-7; Genesis 43:11; Genesis 43:14 and especially

Genesis 44:26 when we might expect ‘the lord’ or something similar).

BI 29-35, "They came unto Jacob

Lessons

1. Providence carrieth guilty souls in, through, and out of temporal dangers at His will.

2. Gracious fathers are gratified sometimes from God by safe return of sinful children.

3. Reason will instruct men to declare all events of Providence furthering, or hindering in the way (Gen_42:29).

4. In relation of providential events truth must be declared; yet no need of telling all.

5. In relating providences, evil men are willing to hide sins which caused them.

6. It concerns suspected, and accused persons to declare what is required for their purgation. Upon this these sons of Jacob make this narration of themselves and others (Gen_42:30-34). (G. Hughes, B. D.)

Lessons

1. Providence ordereth to creatures strange things at home, as well as abroad.

2. God ordereth good in events to men, which they are apt to think bad.

3. Mistakes of Providence may make men fear where no cause is (Gen_42:35). (G.

Hughes, B. D.)

Money causing fear

Gold and silver are bright metals. They dazzle the eye of the greater part of mankind. Achan saw a gold wedge, and, in defiance of an awful curse, took it to his tent. Yet when Jacob and his sons saw heaps of money in the mouths of their sacks, they were terrified as if they had seen a serpent. For what reason were they afraid at a sight so generally desired? They thought that this money was a snare laid for their lives. And have not many rich men still greater reason to tremble when they look at their gold and silver? All money unjustly got, or unrighteously or unmercifully kept, is a snare to the possessor, and will rise up to witness against him in the day of accounts. Such riches are corrupted and cankered, and the rust of them shall be a witness against the owners, and eat their flesh as it were fire. But Jacob and his sons had no good reason to be afraid when they saw the money. It came not from an artful knave, but from a kind son and brother, who was tenderly solicitous about his father and brethren, that they should not come to poverty. Our fears often proceed from our ignorance and mistake. We are afraid of those evils that will never come, and stand in no fear of those that will come. Happy are they who can commit all their affairs to Him who knows everything that shall befall us. Jacob’s sons were afraid at the inn, when they were told of money in one of their sacks. But the fears which they had endeavoured to forget were awakened anew at the opening of all their sacks. Every little circumstance heightens the distress of minds already dejected; and therefore, in dangerous circumstances, it is necessary to our peace and happiness to have our minds fortified with the consolations of God. “The wicked fleeth when no man pursueth, but the righteous is bold as a lion.” (G. Lawson, D. D.)

30 “The man who is lord over the land spoke

harshly to us and treated us as though we were

spying on the land.

GILL, "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 Gen_42:7,

and took us for spies of the country; laid such a charge against them, and treated them as such; or "gave" them (d), committed them to prison as such.

�ISBET, "ROUGH TO�GUE A�D TE�DER HEART

‘The lord of the land spake roughly unto us.’

Genesis 42:30

There may be immeasurable kindness hiding behind a rough exterior. Joseph made

himself strange to his brethren; but what truth was in his heart, what tenderness,

what love!

I. So it sometimes is in human relationships. For a little while the father must look

gravely on the child who has disobeyed, and must speak seriously and sternly to

him; but underneath the surface, his very soul is throbbing over the wrongdoer. A

true friend is called, now and then, to reprove and rebuke his friend, rather than

suffer sin upon him; but his affection is unchanged all the time.

II. So it often is in the providence of God. He leads me through dark rooms, along

stony paths, up the steep hillsides, down into the waters which are ‘to the palate

bitter, and to the stomach cold.’ He seems to hide the shining of His face. But He

loves me none the less but all the more. He is seeking my richest good. He is

consulting my truest welfare.

III. So it frequently is, too, in the history of the soul. There is conviction of sin before

there is the assurance of forgiveness. There is trouble, and afterwards there is peace.

Weeping endures for a night, and then joy comes in the morning. My Saviour

deepens and intensifies in me the sense of my guilt, ere He lifts away my heavy

burden and welcomes me into His house of wine.

IV. Sin always finds the sinner out. Let me look the humbling and momentous truth

in the face. I am inclined to refuse to do this. I am disposed to prophesy smooth

things to my heart.

But that is foolish, ruinous, suicidal. It prevents me taking home the consolations of

God. I cannot know the comfort till I know the sadness. I am not meant to abide in

the gloom for ever, but to pass out of its shadows into the sunshine. But I cannot

enter the region of light and peace, until I have become acquainted with that of

darkness and pain. Only then ‘the morning will awaken, the shadows will decay.’

Only then the weeping will yield place to shouting and joy.

So soon as Joseph’s brethren know the incubus of their guilt and confess the vileness

of their pollution, pardon and hope and life are not far away.

Illustration

‘Our Brother sometimes speaks roughly, but never because He does not love us. It is

to test us; to see whether we love Him for His own sake, or for the bounties He gives

us; to know what is in our hearts. “Thou shalt remember,” said Moses, “all the way

which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, that He might

humble thee, to prove thee, to know what was in thy heart.”

But all the time that He is speaking roughly to us, and even when He is taking our

Simeon from us, His eyes are full of tears, He is filling our sacks with corn, and

giving us provision for the way. The roughness is a great effort for Him to sustain;

and He longs for the hour when He may cast aside His mask, and talk with us face

to face.

So long as this strange behaviour is in our Lord, we must be humble and resigned.

We must above all be very tender with our brothers. It does not become us to be

churlish or austere to them; but, on the contrary, sweet, generous, and helpful.’

31 But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are

not spies.

GILL, "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 were (e): they had never been guilty of such practices, and never charged with anything of that kind; they denied the charge, and detested the character.

32 We were twelve brothers, sons of one father.

One is no more, and the youngest is now with our

father in Canaan.’

GILL, "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 Gen_42:13.

33 “Then the man who is lord over the land said

to us, ‘This is how I will know whether you are

honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with

me, and take food for your starving households

and go.

GILL, "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", Gen_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.

34 But bring your youngest brother to me so I will

know that you are not spies but honest men. Then

I will give your brother back to you, and you can

trade[a] in the land.’”

GILL, "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.

35 As they were emptying their sacks, there in

each man’s sack was his pouch of silver! When

they and their father saw the money pouches, they

were frightened.

GILL, "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.

BARNES, "Gen_42:35-38

Upon emptying the other sacks all the silver turns up, to their great amazement and consternation. Jacob laments the loss of his son. Reuben offers two of his sons to Jacob as pledges for Benjamin, to be slain if he did not bring him back in safety. The sorrowing parent cannot yet bring himself to consent to Benjamin’s departure on this hazardous journey. “And ye shall bring down.” Jacob either speaks here in the querulous tone of afflicted old age, or he had come to know or suspect that his brothers had some hand in the disappearance of Joseph.

JAMISO�, "as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man’s ... money was in his sack— It appears that they had been silent about the money discovery at the resting-place, as their father might have blamed them for not instantly returning. However innocent they knew themselves to be, it was universally felt to be an unhappy circumstance, which might bring them into new and greater perils.

K&D, "But when they emptied their sacks, and, to their own and their father's terror, found their bundles of money in their separate sacks, Jacob burst out with the complaint, “Ye are making me childless! Joseph is gone, and Simeon is gone, and will

ye take Benjamin! All this falls upon me” (ָנהָ%ֻ for ןָ%ֻ as in Pro_31:29).

CALVI�, "35.As they emptied their sacks. Here, again, it appears how greatly they

had been alarmed in their journey, seeing that each had not at least examined his

sack, after money had been found in one. But these things are written to show that,

as soon as men are smitten with fear, they have no particle of wisdom and of

soundness of mind, until God tranquilizes them. Moreover, Joseph did not act with

sufficient consideration, in that he occasioned very great grief to his father, whose

poverty he really intended to relieve. Whence we learn that even the most prudent

are not always so careful, but that something may flow from their acts which they do

not wish.

COFFMA�, "Verses 35-38

"And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bundle

of money was in his sack: and when they and their father saw their bundle of

money, they were afraid. And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye

bereaved of my children; Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take

Benjamin away: all these things are against me. And Reuben spake unto his father,

saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I

will bring him unto thee again. And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for

his brother is dead, and he only is left: if harm befall him by the way in which ye go,

then will ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol."

"And ye will take Benjamin away ..." Jacob here anticipated the continuing famine

and the eventuality that Benjamin would have to go on the next trip to Egypt.

Reuben's rash promise about slaying his two sons as a surety made no impression at

all upon Jacob. "Boiling over as water ..." was the ultimate verdict upon Reuben's

whole life, as pronounced by Jacob in the final blessing of the twelve sons (Genesis

49:4). Therefore, for the present time at least, Jacob was determined not to comply

with the demands that Benjamin go into Egypt.

Difficult as it might appear, the dramatic and emotional impact of this chapter is not

diminished by what follows, but it is enhanced and deepened until it reaches the

soul-stirring climax in Genesis 44, in which that mighty emotional storm swallowed

up them all and Joseph was revealed to his brothers.

PETT, "Verse 35

‘And it happened as they emptied their sacks that, behold, every man’s bundle of

silver was in his sack. And when they and their father saw the bundles of silver they

were afraid.’

All the other sacks are now opened as they store the corn, and the remaining silver is

found. Their silver has been returned. This could only mean one thing. Their status

as traders was rejected. They were marked for destruction.

36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You have

deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more

and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take

Benjamin. Everything is against me!”

CLARKE, "All these things are against me - ;alai)hayu)cullanah עלי(היו(כלנהliterally, All these things are upon me. Not badly translated by the Vulgate, In me haec omnia mala reciderunt, “All these evils fall back upon me.” They lie upon me as heavy loads, hastening my death; they are more than I can bear.

GILL, "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" (f), as heavy burdens, too heavy for him to bear, ready to sink him down to the earth.

JAMISO�, "Me have ye bereaved— This exclamation indicates a painfully excited state of feeling, and it shows how difficult it is for even a good man to yield implicit submission to the course of Providence. The language does not imply that his missing sons had got foul play from the hands of the rest, but he looks upon Simeon as lost, as well as Joseph, and he insinuates it was by some imprudent statements of theirs that he was exposed to the risk of losing Benjamin also.

SBC, "So spoke the patriarch Jacob when Joseph had been made away with, Simeon was detained in Egypt, Benjamin threatened, and his remaining sons were suspected by him and distrusted; when at his door was a grievous famine, enemies or strangers round

about, evil in prospect, and in the past a number of sad remembrances. Thus did Almighty God remind His people that the world was not their rest.

I. In Jacob is prefigured the Christian. What he said in dejection of mind, the Christian must say, not in dejection, not in complaint or impatience, but calmly, as if confessing a doctrine—"’All these things are against me,’ but it is my portion; they are against me, that I may fight with and overcome them." If there were no enemy, there could be no conflict; were there no trouble, there could be no faith; were there no trial, there could be no love; were there no fear, there could be no hope.

II. To passages like these it is natural to object, that they do not belong to the present time, that so far from Christians being in trouble because they are Christians it is those who are not Christians who are under persecution. The answer is that affliction, hardship, and distress are the Christian’s portion, both promised and bestowed, though at first sight they seem not to be. If Christians are in prosperity, not in adversity, it is because, by disobedience, they have forfeited the promise and privilege of affliction.

III. Take up thy portion then, Christian soul, and weigh it well, and learn to love it. There is an inward world which none see but those who belong to it—an inward world into which they enter who come near to Christ. They have a portion in destinies to which other men are strangers; and, having destinies, they have conflicts also. Never, while the Church lasts, will the words of old Jacob be reversed—All things here are against us, but God; and if God be for us, who can really be against us?

J. H. Newman, Selection from Parochial and Plain Sermons, p. 113; also vol. v., p. 284.

CALVI�, "36.Me have ye bereaved. Jacob does not, indeed, openly accuse his sons of

the crime of their brother’s murder; yet he is angry as if, two of his sons being already

taken away, they were hastening to destroy the third. For he says that all these evils were

falling on himself alone; because he does not think that they were affected as they ought

to be, nor shared his grief with him, but were carelessly making light of the destruction of

their brethren, as if they had no interest in their lives. It seems, however, exceedingly

barbarous that Reuben should offer his two sons to his father to be slain, if he did not

bring Benjamin back. Jacob might, indeed, slay his own grandchildren: what comfort,

then, could he take in acting cruelly to his own bowels? But this is what I before alluded

to, that they were suspected of having dealt perfidiously towards Joseph; for which reason

Reuben deemed it necessary to assuage his father’s fear, by such a vehement protestation;

and to give this pledge, that he and his brethren were designing nothing wicked against

Benjamin.

WHEDON, "36. Jacob… said — Jacob’s words are full of emotion, and may be literally

rendered thus:

Me have ye bereft;

Joseph is not,

And Simeon is not,

And Benjamin ye will take:

Upon me are all these things!

Here Jacob more than intimates that they had been privy to Joseph’s and Simeon’s

disappearance, and would fain seize away Benjamin also.

BENSON, "Genesis 42:36. Me have ye bereaved of my children — Who can read Jacob’s

lamentation here without being moved by it? He considers Simeon as already dead, being

in the power of so rough a man as they described the lord of the country to be: he reflects

on his former loss of Joseph, and he looks on Benjamin, the only remaining pledge of his

beloved Rachel, as already taken from him. And what makes it the more moving is, that

by his expressions it seems as if he thought his sons did not sympathize with him, and

were little affected with these calamities. Nay, the unhappy father seems to have

suspected that it was a plot of his sons to bereave him of Benjamin. All these things are

against me — How ready have we all been to think and say the same amid

disappointments, and afflictive dispensations of Providence, even at a time when all

things, although in a mysterious way, were working together for our good!

PETT, "Verse 36

‘And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me of my children. Joseph is

not, and Simeon is not. And you would take Benjamin away. All these things have come

on me.” ’

To Jacob this is the end of hope for Simeon. Now he has lost two sons. And yet they

expect to be able to take Benjamin as well! ‘All these things have come on me.’ Tragedy

has piled up on tragedy as a great burden to be borne and it is all too much for him.

EXPOSITOR'S DICTIONARY OF TEXTS, ""A God of infinite perfections has the whole

of our life in His hands, sees the end from the beginning, knows how to adjust the strain

of trouble to our powers of endurance, sends appropriate little mitigations of one kind or

another, like temporary cordials; and by a long and wonderful series of interventions,

succours, and secret workings, Jacob, who at one time said, "All these things are against

me," finds himself housed in Goshen, in the land of light."

—James Smetham, Letters, p174.

A Sea of Troubles

Genesis 42:36

I. There are times when everything seems to be against us. It is clear that such a time had

come to Jacob. He was old—life"s fire was damped—and the land was famine-stricken

and his sons were lost. Jacob had reached one of those bitter times when everything

seemed to be against him. It is not the way of the messengers of evil to come at

respectable and ordered distances. Sometimes the hand of one has barely ceased to knock

when the feet of another are hurrying to the threshold. If this view of the coming of

troubles be a true one, and not a rare or exceptional experience, there is one proof of it

that we shall be sure to find. We shall find it expressed and crystallized in Proverbs , for a

proverb is an epitome of life; and a proverb will only live in people"s tongue if it interpret

with some measure of truth a people"s heart. Well then, have we not one proverb that

says, "Troubles never come singly"? Have we not another that says, "It never rains but it

pours". These proverbs have lived because men feel that they ring true. They might be

written across this hour in Jacob"s life, and they might form the motto of hours in your

life and mine. May I not say that in the life of Jesus, too, we find traces of this unequal

pressure? There were days for Him when every voice made music; there were hours when

everything seemed to be against Him. Had it been otherwise the Bible dared not have

written that He was tempted in all points like as we are. So to our Lord there came the

hour of darkness when sorrows were massed and gathered as to a common centre, and

pierced not by one shaft but by a score. He died as a sacrifice upon the cross.

II. Things that seem against us may not be really so. God wraps His blessings up in

strange disguises and we rarely have faith to see into their heart. Many a thing that we

should call a curse, in the language of heaven may be called a blessing; and many a thing

we welcome as a blessing, in the language of heaven may be called a curse. I would

suggest, then, in all life"s darker seasons a wise and reverent suspense of judgment. It

takes the totality to understand the parts, and we shall not see the whole until the

morning.

III. The things that seem against us, then, may not be really so; then lastly, whether they

are or not we may still triumph. If God be for us who can be against us—all things are

working for our good. So may a man whose faith is firm and steadfast wrestle on towards

heaven "gainst storm and wind and tide till the light affliction which endureth for a

moment, is changed into the glory of the dawn.

—G. H. Morrison, The Unlighted Lustre, p207.

References.—XLII:36.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xiv. No837. J. H. Newman, Parochial

and Plain Sermons, p113. XLII.—F. W. Robertson, Notes on Genesis , p152. XLIII:1.—

H. J. Wilmot-Buxton, Sunday Lessons, vol. i. p262.

LANGE, ". Genesis 42:36-38. Jacob’s lamentation.—Me have ye bereaved of my

children.—The pain of Simeon’s apparent loss, grief for Joseph here renewed again, and

the anguish concerning Benjamin, move Jacob greatly, and cause him to express himself,

hyperbolically indeed, but still truthfully, according to his conception, as a man

overwhelmed with misfortune, and losing his children, one after the other. So little

thought the wise and pious Jacob how Dear was the joyful turning-point in the destiny of

his house. His reproach: me have ye bereaved of my children, as addressed to those who

might have formally contradicted it, is more forcible in its application than he could have

thought. Or had he a presentiment of something he knew not? In regard to Joseph he

could only knowingly charge that he had once sent him to them, and they had not brought

him back. In respect to Simeon he could only reproach them with having told too much to

the governor of Egypt respecting their family affairs (see Genesis 43). Respecting

Benjamin he could only complain that they should ask to take him along. The aroused

consciences of his sons, however, told them that truly all the threatening losses of Jacob

were connected with their removal of Joseph; for they themselves considered the present

catastrophe as a visitation on account of it.—And Reuben spake.—With a clearer

conscience, he has also more courage; but his offer to leave his sons as hostages, so that

Jacob might slay them if he did not return with Benjamin, is more expressive of a rude

heroism than of true understanding; for how could it be a satisfaction to a grandfather to

slay both his grandchildren! It can only be understood as a tender of a double blood-

vengeance, or as a strong expression of assurance that his return without Benjamin was

not to be thought of. Knobel thinks it strange that Reuben speaks of two sons, since at the

time of the emigration to Egypt, according to Genesis 46, he had four sons. And yet he

was quite advanced in years, according to the Elohistic account!—With sorrow to the

grave (see Genesis 37:35; 1 Kings 2:6; 1 Kings 2:9).

BI, "All these things are against me

The conflict of life

So spoke the patriarch Jacob when Joseph had been made away with, Simeon was detained in Egypt, Benjamin threatened, and his remaining sons were suspected by him and distrusted; when at his door was a grievous famine, enemies or strangers round about, evil in prospect, and in the past a number of sad remembrances.Thus did Almighty God remind His people that the world was not their rest.

I. In Jacob is prefigured the Christian. What he said in dejection of mind, the Christian must say, not in dejection, not in complaint or impatience, but calmly, as if confessing a doctrine—“‘All these things are against me,’ but it is my portion; they are against me, that I may fight with and overcome them.” If there were no enemy, there could be no conflict; were there no trouble, there could be no faith; were there no trial, there could be no love; were there no fear, there could be no hope.

II. To passages like these it is natural to object, that they do not belong to the present time, that so far from Christians being in trouble because they are Christians, it is those who are not Christians who are under persecution. The answer is that affliction, hardship and distress are the Christian’s portion, both promised and bestowed, though at first sight they seem not to be. If Christians are in prosperity, not in adversity, it is because, by disobedience, they have forfeited the promise and privilege of affliction.

III. Take up thy portion then, Christian soul, and weigh it well, and learn to love it. (J. H. Newman, D. D.)

The increasing troubles of Jacob’s old age

I. THE CAUSES WHICH LED TO THEM.

1. The strange perplexity into which his sons had been brought.

2. The opening again of an old wound (Gen_42:32).

3. The loss of all earthly hope.

II. THE WEAKNESSES IN JACOB’S CHARACTER WHICH THEY REVEL.

1. Querulousness and despondency.

2. Want of strong faith in God. (T. H. Leale.)

Mistaking God’s providences

There is nothing more characteristic or more striking in the nature of man than the alternations often very rapid—to which he is subject of seasons of self-confidence and

gloom.

I. A NATURAL EXCLAMATION.

1. Human nature in similar circumstances is continually making it. I might go further, and say that human nature, even after it has been strengthened and elevated by Christianity, is still continually prone to pass this judgment upon the providence of God. When lately the edifice of fortune, which perhaps long years of energy and honesty had piled, was in an instant stricken as by a bolt from heaven, and fell crumbling around you, leaving you all unsheltered in a cold, unpitying world, could you see a proof of infinite tenderness, a sign of happiness, in the smoking ruins at your feet?

2. Human nature cannot by itself do otherwise than give this answer. There is, and can be found, no comfort, no strengthening, for man in mere nature, and man himself has an instinctive consciousness of this. The highest effort of philosophy, strictly so called, was simply to harden man—to cure his wounded sensibilities by first destroying them. Christianity alone can lay open to man’s tearful gaze the vision of two worlds, and, pouring its sustaining, enlightening influences into his soul, enable him to apprehend the truth that “the sufferings,” &c. (Rom_8:18).

II. AIDS TO FAITH FURNISHED BY REASON AND EXPERIENCE. Are there not considerations furnished to us from these sources which should lead us to regard all God’s dealings with us, even those which seem to us the heaviest and darkest, as not really against us, but for us?

1. We should be led to this conclusion by the consideration of God’s character. “God is love,” and “I, the Lord, change not.”

2. We should be led to this conclusion by the consideration of our own present ignorance in all things. What can we see of the outgoings of the All-wise and the All-good other than the veriest hem of His garment? We see a few isolated facts, but the hidden connections, the far reaching purposes, the eternal consequences of the mighty plan are entirely covered up from our eyes. You have sometimes seen from a hill-side, a valley over the undulating floor of which there has been laid out a heavy mantle of mist. The spires of the churches rise above it. Here and there you seem to catch the glistening of a roof or of a vane. Here and there a higher house, or some little eminence, or some tree-tops islanded in vapour, are beheld. But the lower and connecting objects—the linking line of the roads, the plan and foundation of the whole—are completely hidden from our gaze. And this is just the view which is permitted to us of the providence of God. We see a few isolated facts, and that is all. How absurd then, in reason, to attempt to determine the character of the Divine dealings with us upon such a view! How unjust are we when we do so to our God!

3. We should be led to a patient submission to God’s will, and a belief that even His severest visitations are the effects and evidences of His love, from a consideration of the present moral effects of trial and suffering manifested to us by experience.

(1) This discipline is generally necessary to break off our connections with this world and to fix them on heaven. We should want no better rest if all were peace here. We should want no deeper joy if no blackness of affliction ever rested on our earthly path.

(2) Only thus can the highest style of character be formed. Affliction gives balance to the character, softens the asperities of nature, gives tone and depth to all our emotions, and places us nearer to the Son of Man, who was also the Son of

God.

Concluding lessons:

1. Contentment. This a day of great hopes, desires, endeavours, and disappointments.

2. Trust in God (Job_13:15). (W. Rudder, D. D.)

A faithless lament

I. ATHEISTIC. He makes no mention of God. For the moment he has forgotten how the Lord had led him at first to Laban’s house, and had given him prosperity during his twenty-one years’ sojourn in Padan-aram; how He had cared for him when he left his father-in-law; how He had mollified for him the anger of Esau; how He had blessed him at Penuel after the night-long wrestling; and how He had protected him at the time when the violence of some of his sons might have drawn upon him the vengeance of the Shechemites. Now God was in this new trial as much and as really as He was in these old ones, and if Jacob had remembered that, he would not have spoken as he did. We shall see, indeed, that after a while, when his sons were bidding him farewell on their departure for Egypt for ore food, he came back to his old trustfulness, and offered for them this prayer: “God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.” But at the first, when the full shadow of his trouble passed over him, God was to him, for the moment, eclipsed, and that only made his trial heavier.

II. UNTRUE. All these things were not against him. They were really working together for his good. They were onward steps in that process by which he was to recover his long-lost won, and was to have conferred upon him those years of happiness that, as we read the history, seem to us to be like the Sabbath of his early life, which, after the labour and sorrow of the week, he was enabled to spend in rest, in thankfulness, and in joy. How he would blame himself for these hasty words in those latter days, when he went to see Joseph in his palace, and took his grandsons between his knees; and I can imagine him saying to the God of his fathers, after all the riddle of his life had been unfolded to him, “Now I know the thoughts of Thy heart towards me, and I bless Thee that they were thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give me this delightful end.”

1. Now, from this analysis of Jacob’s experience, we may learn, in the first place, that God is in all the events of our lives. Many of us are ready enough to admit that He is in the prosperous things, but when trouble comes upon us we attribute that solely to others, and “n that way we lose the comfort which otherwise me might have enjoyed under its endurance. The mercies of a lifetime are often ignored by us under the bitterness of a single trial; and God, who has been our friend for years, is forgotten altogether, while we passionately condemn some others as the authors of our affliction. But we shall never find consolation that way. The first thing we ought to say regarding every trial is, “It is the Lord.” If, instead of turning on his sons, Jacob had only turned to his God, he would have been sustained; and we may be sure of this, that trouble never yet overwhelmed a man so long as he could see God in it.

2. Then, again, from our analysis of Jacob’s case, we ought to learn to pass no sentence of condemnation on God’s work until it is completed. “Judge nothing before the time.” We must not argue, from the pain of a part of the process, that there is evil intended to us in the result of the whole. The surgeon has a stern aspect,

and apparently an unfeeling hand, when he cuts into the diseased organ or amputates the broken limb, but he is working towards healing all the time. And so it is with God and the discipline of His children. Wait until He finish His work before you condemn it.

3. Finally, if these two things be true, that God is in our trials, and that the outcome of them all under His supervision will be good, we may surely stay ourselves in trouble by earnest prayer. “Is any among you afflicted, let him pray.” We have to deal with no blind, remorseless law. The Lord Jesus has taught us to say, “Our Father,” and when we enter fully into the meaning of these words, and recognize clearly that His providence is universal, we shall have no difficulty in saying “Thy will be done”; for the Father’s will is always love to His own children. That will sustain us while we are on earth. (W. M. Taylor, D. D.)

The smiling face behind the frowning providence

I. WE HAVE UNQUALIFIED ASSURANCE THAT GOD IS THE FRIEND OF HIS PEOPLE; AND THAT HE IS DIRECTING AND CONTROLLING ALL THINGS FOR THEIR HIGHEST GOOD. Why, then, should we ever fall into despair?

II. WE HAVE THE EVIDENCE OF GOD’S LOVE TO US IN THE DEATH OF HIS SON ON OUR BEHALF. We may, therefore, rest satisfied that He will not harm us by any of the events of His providence. There are not TWO GODS, one of providence, and one of grace.

III. WE HAVE THE TESTIMONY OF MANY OF GOD’S PEOPLE TO THE FACT THAT THOSE THINGS WHICH WERE APPARENTLY HARDEST IN THEIR LOTS, WERE AFTER ALL MOST BLESSED TO THEM. It is easy to see how that was the case in the history of Jacob which has been before us. But it is equally conspicuous in the history of Abraham. But it has been the same with all God’s saints. The head-waters which have fed the main tributaries to their character, have been away up in some lonely tam of trial among the mountains, where their souls were sore pressed by the affliction that came upon them.

IV. YOU MAY FIND FROM YOUR OWN PAST EXPERIENCE THAT YOUR TRIALS WILL END IN YOUR SPIRITUAL PROFIT. You are different from any disciples of Jesus whom I have ever known, if you be not ready to say that the greatest starts your spiritual growth has taken have been occasioned by trial. In the early spring-time, after the seed has been put into the ground, and has begun to sprout out of the earth, there come those cloudy, close, damp, steamy days, which we all know so well and dislike so much. The sun is rarely visible; the heat is more oppressive and relaxing than in the dog-days; and everybody is uncomfortable. We would rather have a pelting rain for a few hours and be done with it, or we would infinitely prefer the cloudless sky and blazing sun of midsummer. Yes, but then these are the “fine growing days” which the farmer loves, when things seem to be shooting up from the earth with such rapidity that you almost think you can see them moving. So, the “fine growing days” of the soul are not its most agreeable ones. They are the close, damp, depressing ones, in which, as with Paul and his fellow-passengers in the storm, no sun appears by day, and no star visible by night. Or, to illustrate it yet in another way: There is a shuddering dread comes over one as he sees the lightning leap from the cloud, and light up the midnight gloom with its glare; but if the flash reveal to us that we are standing on the edge of a precipice over which we are in danger of falling, we will welcome it in spite of our alarm, and thank God for the

providence that sent it just then. Now, it is so sometimes that trial has come to us, and we have forgotten the forked fury of the flaming thunderbolt in our gratitude for the warning which it gave so timely. Who has not known of such times in his history? and with such experiences behind us, how can we permit ourselves to say of any circumstances, however untoward they may seem, “All these things are against us”? Take to yourselves the support which these considerations are fitted to supply. If I have spoken truly, then—

1. No matter what your trials may be, you may be at peace. You are in God’s hands. Where could you be better? Where would you be rather?

2. You may see new reason for patience. “Judge nothing before the time.” Let God finish His work, and when you can look back upon the beginning from the end, you will not need anyone to vindicate His ways to you.

3. You may surely stay yourselves by earnest prayer. (W. M. Taylor, D. D.)

Lessons

I. A PRINCIPLE OR AFFECTION, WHICH IS IN ITSELF GOOD, WHEN ALLOWED TO OPERATE EITHER EXCESSIVELY OR PARTIALLY, MAY GIVE RISE TO SENTIMENTS AND FEELINGS, AS WELL AS TO WORDS AND ACTIONS, SUCH AS CANNOT BE JUSTIFIED. THE PRINCIPLE TO WHICH I NOW REFER, AS YOU WILL AT ONCE CONJECTURE, IS THAT OF PARENTAL AFFECTION. But in the instance before us, amiable as was the principle in itself, it led the aged patriarch to the feeling and the utterance of what could not be vindicated. For example—

1. His affection for Joseph and Benjamin made him unreasonable to his other sons.

2. Under the predominant influence of his parental solicitudes, Jacob forgot for the time the hand of his God. “Me have YE bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away. All these things are against me.” Things may often be set in a more striking light by means of contrast. And Jacob not only overlooked the hand of God; he manifested criminal distrust of the faithfulness and goodness of the God of the covenant; distrust of that word which he had never yet known to fail, and of that ever-watchful care to which heretofore he had been so deeply indebted: “All these things are against me.” Many a time had the Lord appeared to Jacob. Many an assurance had He given him of His love and care.

II. THAT THERE IS GREAT DANGER, ON THE PART OF CREATURES, IN FORMING HASTY CONCLUSIONS RESPECTING ANY PARTS OF THE DIVINE ADMINISTRATION. How ignorant and short-sighted was the good old saint! He saw not—and who does?—“what a day was to bring forth.” The mission of Benjamin was to be the release of Simeon. Benjamin was to be made happy in the meeting of his own maternal brother. And Jacob himself was to get tidings of his long-lost boy, that would be the renewing of the youth of his aged spirit. (R. Wardlaw, D. D.)

All these things—a sermon with three texts

The patriarch must needs use the expression, “ALL THESE THINGS.” He had gone through the catalogue: there were but three items at the most, and yet nothing narrower than “All these things are against me” will suit him. “All these things,” indeed! And what

a little “all” compared with the benefits of God! What an insignificant “all” compared with the sufferings of our covenant Head! What a trifling “all” compared with the amazing weight of glory which shall soon be revealed in us!

I. Our first text is THE EXCLAMATION OF UNBELIEF: “All these things are against me.”

1. In Jacob’s case it was a very plausible verdict. Yet plausible as was the old man’s mournful conclusion, it was not correct; and hence let us learn to forbear rash judgment, and never in any case conclude against the faithfulness of the Lord.

2. Jacob’s exclamation was most evidently exaggerated—exaggerated in the term he used, “All these things,” for there were but three evils at the most; exaggerated, too, in most of the statements. You would suppose, from the patriarch’s language, that beyond all doubt, Simeon had fallen a victim in Egypt, and that Benjamin was demanded with a view to his instant execution; but where was evidence to support this assertion? We frequently talk of our sorrows in language larger than the truth would warrant. We write ourselves down as peers in the realms of misery, whereas we do but bear the common burdens of ordinary men.

3. The exclamation of Jacob was also as bitter as it was exaggerated. It led him to make a speech which (however accidentally true), with his information as to his sons, was ungenerous, and even worse. He said, “Me ye have bereaved of my children.” Now, if he really believed that Joseph was torn of beasts, as he appears to have done, he had no right to assail the brethren with a charge of murder; for it was little else. In the case of Simeon, the brethren were perfectly innocent; they had nothing whatever to do with Simeon’s being bound, it was wrong to accuse them so harshly. In the taking away of Benjamin, though there may have been a jealousy against him as aforetime against Joseph, yet most certainly the brethren were not to blame.

4. Observe that this speech was rather carnal than spiritual. You see more of human affections than of grace-wrought faith; more of the calculator than the believer; more of Jacob than of Israel. Jacob is more the man and less the man of God than we might have expected him to have been. See how he dwells upon his bereavements 1 Notice, in the case before us, the patriarch’s unbelieving observation was quite unwarranted by his past history. Could Jacob think of Bethel, and yet say, “All these things are against me”? Could he forget Penuel, and the place where he wrestled and prevailed at the brook Jabbok?

5. Still keeping to Jacob’s exclamation, let me observe that it was altogether erroneous. Not a syllable that he spoke was absolutely true. “Joseph is not.” And yet, poor Jacob, Joseph is. Thou thinkest the beasts have devoured him, but he is ruler over all the land of Egypt, and thou shalt kiss his cheeks ere long. “Simeon is not”; wrong again, good father, for Simeon is alive, though for his good, to cool his hot and headlong spirit, Joseph has laid him by the heels a little. And as to Benjamin, whom thou sayest they wish to take away, he is to go and see his brother Joseph, who longs to embrace him, and will return him to thee in peace. Not one of all these things is against thee. Our best days have been those which we thought our worst. Probably we are never so much in prosperity as when plunged in adversity. No summer days contribute so much to the healthy growth of our souls as those sharp wintry nights which are so trying to us. We fear that we are being destroyed, and our inner life is at that moment being most effectually preserved.

6. Being wrong in judgment, the good old man was led to unwise acting and

speaking, for he said, “My son shall not go down with you.” The unbelieving generally do stupid things. We conclude that God is against us, and then we act in such a way as to bring troubles upon ourselves which otherwise would not have come.

7. And notice, once more, that good old Jacob lived to find in actual experience that he had been wrong from beginning to end. We do not all live to see what fools we have been, but Jacob did.

II. Turn now to the thirty-eighth chapter of Isaiah, and the sixteenth verse, where you have THE PHILOSOPHY OF EXPERIENCE: “O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit.” Unbelief saith, “All these things are against me”; enlightened experience saith, “In all these things is the life of my spirit.” The passage is taken from the prayer of Hezekiah after he was raised from his sick bed.

1. Our spirits, under God, live by passing through the sorrows of the present; for first, let me remind you, that by these trials and afflictions we live, because they are medicinal. There are spiritual diseases which would corrupt our spirit if not checked, kept down, and destroyed as to their reigning power by the daily cross which the Lord lays upon our shoulders. Just as the fever must be held in check by the bitter draught of quinine, so must the bitter cup of affliction rebuke our rising pride and worldliness.

2. Afflictions, again, are stimulative. We are all apt to grow slothful. There is an old story in the Greek annals, of a soldier under Antigonus who had a disease about him, an extremely painful one, likely to bring him soon to the grave. Always first in the ranks was this soldier, and in the hottest part of the fray; he was always to be seen leading the van, the bravest of the brave, because his pain prompted him to fight that he might forget it; and he feared not death because he knew that in any case he had not long to live. Antigonus, who greatly admired the valour of his soldier, finding out that he suffered from a disease, had him cured by one of the most eminent physicians of the day, but alas! from that moment the warrior was absent from the front of the battle. He now sought his ease, for, as he remarked to his companions, he had something worth living for—health, home, family, and other comforts, and he would not risk his life now as aforetime. So when our troubles are many, we are made courageous in serving our God, we feel that we have nothing to live for in this world, and we are driven by hope of the world to come, to exhibit zeal, self-denial, and industry; but how often is it otherwise in better times? for then the joys and pleasures of this world make it hard for us to remember the world to come, and we sink into inglorious ease.

3. Our troubles are a great educational process. We are at school now, and are not yet fully instructed.

4. So, too, trials and tribulations are the life of our spirit, because they are preparative for that higher life in which the spirit shall truly live. This is the place for washing our robes—yonder is the place for wearing them; this is the place for tuning our hearts, and discord is inevitable to that work; but yonder is the abode of unbroken harmony.

III. I close with my third text, and I think you may almost guess it, it tells of THE TRIUMPH OF FAITH. Turn now to the eighth chapter of Romans, and the thirty-seventh verse: “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.” “All these things are against us.” Very well, we could not conquer them if they were not against us; but they are the life of our spirit—and as Samson found honey in the lion,

so we, though these things roar upon us, shall find food within them. Trials threaten our death, but they promote our life. I want you to be sure to notice the uniform expression, “All these things are against me.” “In all these things is the life of my spirit,” and now, “In all these things we are more than conquerors.” The list is just as comprehensive in the best text as in the worst. Nay, poor Jacob’s “All these things” only referred to three; but look at Paul’s list: tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword—the list is longer, darker, blacker, fiercer, sterner, but still we triumph—“In all these things we are more than conquerors.” Observe then, that the believing Christian enjoys present triumph over all his troubles. What does Paul mean by saying that believers are “more than conquerors”? Is it not this, that with the conqueror there is a time when his triumph is in jeopardy? But it is never so with the believer; he grasps the victory at once by an act of faith. No “ifs,” “buts,” “per-adventures,” for him. He is conqueror at once, for God is on his side. But see how this last text of mine opens up the great source of comfort. “We are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.” Did you notice, Jacob said nothing about Him that loved us? No, he could not have been unbelieving if he had thought of Him; and the life of our spirit in trouble very much lies in remembering Him that loved us. It is through Him we conquer because He has conquered. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

A mistaken conclusion

I. GOD’S DEALINGS WITH HIS PEOPLE, EVEN WHEN HE IS WORKING THEIR DELIVERANCE, AND DESIGNING THEIR GOOD, ARE OFTEN DARK AND INTRICATE, SEEMING TO MAKE MORE AGAINST THEM THAN FOR THEM. Thus it was with Jacob now. God designed the preservation of him and his family in Egypt, by Joseph’s advancement there; but how unlikely was the method He took in order to it?

II. WHENCE IT IS THAT A CHILD OF GOD MAY BE READY TO CONCLUDE THAT TO BE AGAINST HIM WHICH IS REALLY FOR HIM.

1. This proceeds from their weakness of faith, as to God’s wisdom and power, faithfulness and love.

2. A saint is apt to say of what befalls him, all these things are against me, as looking to Providence, and judging by it abstracted from His promise.

3. A child of God may say of what befalls him, all these things are against me, judging by sense.

4. What a saint thus speaks, ‘tie as looking down to the present world, and his interest in it.

5. Saints may say of God’s dealings, they are against them, as speaking through rashness, and viewing only a part of his work, and not staying to the end.

6. Saints, under the trials they meet with, may be tempted to say, all these things are against us, as not duly attending to the method of God’s dealing with His people, and their own and others’ experience of the happy purposes He has served by it.

III. How MAY IT BE CONCLUDED, THAT WHAT THE PEOPLE OF GOD APPREHEND TO BE AGAINST THEM, SHALL IN THE ISSUE MAKE REALLY FOR THEE?

1. From God’s relation to them. He is their God in covenant, their tender Father, and

so in a peculiar manner concerned about them.

2. From His love to them.

3. From His express promises (Isa_43:1-2).

IV. WHY GOD CHOOSES TO CARRY ON HIS PEOPLE’S GOOD BY WAYS, TO APPEARANCE, THE MOST DARK AND THREATENING.

1. For His own glory (Joh_11:4) In God’s delivering us when we are at the end of our thoughts and hopes, and when ready to give up all for lost, then He appears in His glory, a God powerful, wise, merciful, and faithful indeed.

2. This God does, for the trial and discovery of His people.

(1) In their corruption: that they may be more sensible of it, and humbled under it.

(2) For the discovery of their graces: either as to their weakness, that they may be labouring after improvement; or as to their strength, that this may appear to His honour and their own comfort.

(3) To quicken and make them the more earnest in prayer to Him.

(4) To sweeten and endear the mercy He vouchsafes them, after all their doubtings and fears of the contrary.

(5) God heightens the difficulties that seem to stand in the way of mercy before us, that we may be enlarged in our thanksgivings for it afterwards.

Application:

1. Take heed of judging God’s purposes of grace by the external dispensations which make way to bring them into effect.

2. Beg that faith may not fail when all things of sense seem dark and dismal.

3. Beware of entertaining narrow thoughts of God in the deepest distress. Believe Him always the same, whatever changes you meet with.

4. Listen not to what flesh, and sense, or Satan would suggest, derogatory to the power and faithfulness of God.

5. Be assured that all God’s providences are accomplishing His promises, though you see not how this will be brought about.

6. Whilst you are so apt to say on earth, that all these things are against me, with the greater earnestness press on towards heaven. And in the light of that world, you will be fully satisfied how all things in the issue were for you, and that all your tears did but prepare you, with the greater relish to enter into that presence of God, where there is fulness of joy, and where there are pleasures for evermore. (D. Wilcox.)

Jacob’s complaint

1. That men may be brought by very different ways to think that all things are against them. Jacob was brought to despond by the simple pressure of adverse circumstances. It was the loss of his children that made him utter the words of my text. Joseph and Simeon were gone. Benjamin was apparently to go next. It was indeed too much for a father’s heart. But I wish you to observe, that it had in it

nothing of the bitterness of sin. I do not say that Jacob’s adversity might not be connected with the faults of his early life. Most probably the judgment of God it was. But I mean that his sorrows were not of a kind to bring his sins to remembrance. I think if the sons of Jacob had said, “all these things are against us,” they would have had much more reason for uttering these words than had their father. Depend upon it, it is when our faults have brought us into trouble—when our punishment is the legitimate child of our sins—it is then that we have most reason for believing and for saying, that “the hand of the Lord is against us.” And yet I would have you observe, that even in the ease of Joseph’s brethren, who were now in his power, and locked by his command in prison, it was not true that all things were against them. Little as they might deserve it, God’s hand was over them for good. Thus they were on the eve of prosperity; for, however strange it may seem, still it was certainly true, that the sin of these men against their brother was not only the means of their own prosperity, but was likewise a link in the grand chain of God’s providential dealings with the whole race of mankind.

2. Every one knows how frequently he is wrong in his forebodings of evil—how circumstances of evil which he feared would prove fatal to hishappiness have turned out entirely different from that which he feared—how often has it been the jaundice of his own eyes, and no defect of the light of heaven, which has made all around him wear a melancholy tint. And, therefore, upon mere general grounds, we strongly condemn those who are always faint hearted, and those who magnify disasters and difficulties in fancying that all things are against them.

3. But I have showed you that there is a divinely appointed way of viewing the circumstances in which we find ourselves placed, so that, by the help of this, we may foresee that they are really for us, when they seem to be against us. Yes, there is such a divinely appointed mode, and if I can only help some of you to look on your condition here upon earth, in that way which God has revealed and has made palpable through His most blessed Son, I shall feel sure that I have not spoken to you in vain. Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God? Then, if you do, you will find it impossible to prove that in any condition of life all things can be against you. You will feel an assurance which nothing on earth or hell can shake, that God Himself is for you. Let me take two or three cases by way of example. In the first place, let us take a case of poverty. I suppose that there is nothing so likely to make a man say to himself that all things are against him, as being poor. Jesus Christ was a poor man too. You cannot be so poor as He. What honest man is there without a home? But again, there is a much worse enemy to be found in this world than poverty, and in sight of this enemy, I do not wonder that a person who remembers our Lord’s words concerning the narrow road of life, and the broad road of destruction, should sometimes be dismayed. I allude to the fact, that every condition of life, and every period of life, is full of temptation to go astray from the ways of God and of heaven. Christ, by whose name we are called, and whose soldiers we are, condescended to be tempted himself. But again, a man may be brought to the conclusion that all things are against him by the same kind of painful experience as that which made Jacob utter the words of the text. It was the hand of God taking away what was dearest to the heart that made Jacob groan with a sense of the deepest misery. I do not think we need inquire whether Jacob was or was not excusable for uttering this lamentation. God was the judge of this. But we may well remark, that myriads of persons since then have been afflicted in the same manner, and many have given way to the same lament. He who believes on Jesus Christ must never say, under the weight of any affliction, “all these things are against me,”

because, under the weight of those sorrows which were put upon Christ, He never uttered such words. Once more, let me allude to that moment in every human life which brings a man into immediate contact with the unseen world. Let me speak of death, that one only event which is certain to every one present. It is well for us, while we are in health, and have the use of our faculties, to consider what impression will be made on us when we feel our strength decaying, and are assured either by age or sickness, that our work will soon be done. It is a terrible thing for a man, then, to feel that all is against him; and, no doubt, this feeling does often give rise to very happy results; but, I believe, that this is not the usual result. Certainly, according to my own experience, it is far from being so. I think that, in general, they who have not found out how much there is against them during their life, and how much has to be done in order to cut through the obstacles which stand between their souls and God—I think that they do not find this out in death. They who have lived carelessly, generally die carelessly too. (Bp. Harvey Goodwin.)

The methods of Divine Providence

He thought everything was against him. But we know that he was wrong. All was for him, both temporally and spiritually. Jacob’s exclamation was caused by ignorance.

I. I notice THAT GOD WORKS THROUGH SECONDARY INSTRUMENTS. The fore-determined purpose was to provide for Jacob and for his race; and we know that this purpose was accomplished. Jacob spent his declining years in peace and plenty beneath the shadow of his son’s greatness. So also was the race secure from the incessant wars and dangers of Canaan. In the land of Goshen they grew into a nation, till, through the agency of the Egyptian king, God sent them forth upon their destiny a great and conquering people. Bat think, how many links in the chain of events there were to bring about this result, how many secondary causes were at work l The silent order of nature, the bad passions of man the apparent accidents of travel, the vain visions of the night, all concurred—but why? Was it some happy accident alone that blended them all together? Do great results spring out of blind causes? or do the accidents of a world of chance accomplish the promises of a God of truth? Surely not? They all concurred because God was in them all, through them all, over them all.

II. I notice THE COMPLEXITY AND REACH OF THE DIVINE GOVERNMENT, EXTENDING SO FAR AND INVOLVING SO MUCH AS TO BE WHOLLY BEYOND OUR POWER TO UNDERSTAND IT. Surely none but God can measure God. If He be not beyond our reach and understanding, He cannot be God. We know only that which is before our eyes, and can not measure Him or His doings.

III. But, lastly, LET US LEARN TO HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THE LOVE OF GOD AND THE FULFILMENT OF ALL HIS GRACIOUS PURPOSES TOWARDS US. If the blinded eye of the flesh indeed there may seem darkness and trouble on every side of us, our wishes thwarted, our hopes destroyed, our loved ones taken away—every comfort wrecked, till the heart cries out, I have nothing left to live for—yet when that time of bitterness comes to us, let us not forget the promise, “All things work together for good to them that love God” the exact meaning is “all things are working together for good,” at this very moment, when the anguish is in thine heart, and the complaint is yet quivering upon thy lips. (E. Garbett, M. A.)

Man’s ignorance of God’s providence

The plan of our lives is hidden from us, it is only worked out step by step, and we who see a part only and out he whole of which it is the part, grow frightened and perplexed; we are like those who are led along blind-folded by others, and fear to plant our steps firmly on the ground before us; we are as travellers in a strange land who have received directions to take a road which seems unlikely to lead to our destination. God leads His own by a way that they know not, and we, ignorant as we are of the ways of His providence, too often take alarm, and refuse to place implicit trust in our Heavenly Guide; faith refuses to pierce the veil of sense, and we are ready to sit down by the wayside in despair at the very moment when the towers of the heavenly city are ready to burst upon our view. Now, why does God thus deal with us?

1. It is for the trial of our faith.

2. And do not the secret ways of God’s providence illustrate brightly His Divine power? He works indeed by means, but His independence of them is shown by the unexpected way in which He orders and employs them.

3. And, lastly, do we not gather the oft-required lesson of increased confidence in Him, who is our God and our all? (S. W. Skeffington, M. A.)

Take a comprehensive view of God’s dealings with us

A child might say to a geographer, “You talk about the earth being round I Look on this great crag; look on that deep dell; look on yonder great mountain, and the valley at its feet, and yet you talk about the earth being round.” The geographer would have an instant answer for the child; his view is comprehensive; he does not look at the surface of the world in mere detail; he does not deal with inches, and feet, and yards; he sees a larger world than the child has had time to grasp. He explains what he means by the expression, “The earth is a globe,” and justifies his strange statement. And so it is with God’s wonderful dealings towards us: there are great rocks and barren deserts, deep, dank, dark pits, and defiles, and glens, and dells, rugged places that we cannot smooth over at all, and yet when He comes to say to us at the end of the journey, “Now look back; there is the way I have brought you,” we shall be enabled to say, “Thou hast gone before us, and made our way straight.” (J. Parker, D. D.)

Magnifying our troubles

Being once surrounded by a dense mist on the Styhead Pass in the Lake District, we felt ourselves to be transported into a world of mystery, where everything was swollen to a size and appearance more vast, more terrible than is usual on this sober planet. A little mountain tarn, scarcely larger than a farmer’s horse-pond, expanded into a great lake, whose distant shores were leagues beyond the reach of our poor optics; and as we descended into the valley of Wastwater, the rocks rose on one side like the battlements of heaven, and the descent on the other hand looked like the dreadful lips of a yawning abyss; and yet when one looked back again in the morning’s clear light there was nothing very dangerous in the pathway, or terrible in the rocks. The road was a safe though sharp descent, devoid of terrors to ordinary mountain-climbers. In the distance through the fog the shepherd “stalks gigantic,” and his sheep are full-grown lions. Into such blunders do we fall in our life-pilgrimage: a little trouble in the distance is, through our mistiness,

magnified into a crushing adversity. We see a lion in the way, although it is written that no ravenous beast shall go up thereon. A puny foe is swollen into a Goliath, and the river of death widens into a shoreless sea. Come, heavenly wind, and blow the mist away: and then the foe will be despised, and the bright shores on the other side of the river will stand out clear in the light of faith. (C. H.Spurgeon.)

Jacob’s wrong view of life

An old man, who does not know what he is talking about! What does the oldest and best man amongst us know about life? Jacob is writing a list of his grievances and misfortunes and distresses, and God’s angels are looking down upon him and saying, That the whole statement, though one of what men call facts, is all a mistake from beginning to end. Think of man writing his life, and of God’s writing the same life in a parallel column! Now old Israel is perfectly correct, so far as the story is known to himself. Jacob their father said, “Me have ye bereaved of my children.” That is right. “Joseph is not.” That is perfectly true, so far as Jacob is concerned, so far as his information extends. “And Simeon is not.” That also is literally correct, so far as the absence of Simeon may be regarded. “And ye will take Benjamin away.” Precisely so, that is the very thing they have in view. “All these things are against me.” It is exactly the same with us to-day. Men don’t know what they say when they use words. They don’t know the full meaning of their own expressions. They will always snatch at first appearances and pronounce judgment upon incomplete processes. Every day I afflict myself with just the same rod. I know what a fool I am for doing so, and yet I shall do it again to-morrow. There comes into a man’s heart a kind of grim comfort when he has scourged himself well; when he knows all the while that ten thousand errors are accusing him of a repetition of his folly. There are men who don’t know their own family circumstances, yet they have undertaken to pronounce judgment upon the infinite I Some men are very familiar with the infinite, and have a wonderful notion of their power of managing God’s concerns. We seem at home when we go from home. Here is an old man saying, “Joseph is not, Simeon is not, Benjamin is to be taken away. All these things are against me.” Yet we who have been in a similar position, though the circumstances have been varied, have undertaken to pronounce judgment upon God’s way in the world, God’s government, God’s purposes. Why don’t we learn from our ignorance? Why don’t we read the book of our own folly, and learn that we know nothing, being children of yesterday? We cannot rise to that great refinement of learning, it would appear. Every day we repeat our follies. It is but a man here and there who has a claim to a reputation for religious wisdom. (J. Parker, D. D.)

Me have ye bereaved of my children

The words before us are the expressions of that peevishness and dejection which are ready to find place in the heart even of a good man in a day of darkness. “Me have ye bereaved of my children: all these things are against me” We ought, however, to remember, that words expressive of the passionate working of the mind, ought always to be understood with a limitation of their import. When Jacob says that he was bereaved of his children, the meaning is, that he was bereaved of two or three of them. When he speaks of his sons then present, as if they had bereaved him of his children, he does not mean that they had murdered them, or sold them into a strange land. He means, that by their unwise conduct they had some agency in bringing the calamity upon them. If they

had not rambled about with their flocks from one place to another, Joseph might not have met those wild beasts that tore him in pieces. If they had not, by some imprudent conduct, excited suspicion in the mind of the hard-hearted governor of Egypt, Simeon would not have been kept in prison. If they had not spoken to the governor about their younger brother, he might still have been left with himself when they returned to buy more corn. Jacob, however, spoke more truth than he knew in these words, “Me have ye bereaved of my children.” They had sold Joseph into Egypt, and Simeon’s imprisonment was the consequence of that criminal conduct. But as we have no reason to think that Jacob suspected them to be guilty, his words are to be considered as an angry reflection, which the distress of his mind drew from his lips rather than his heart. When your minds are disturbed be watchful over your tongue. Beware of ill-natured reflections on your children, your servants, or any that are under your power. But, on the other side, let not children or servants be surprised or angry when unjust reflections are uttered or glanced at them by their parents or masters, when grief rather than reason has the direction of their tongues. We must all bear something from our fellow-mortals, and we all make some of our neighbours bear something from us that might be spared. (G. Lawson, D. D.)

Joseph is not, and Simeon is not

More is said than meant, and more was meant than what was true, in these words. The patriarch knew that Simeon was not dead, so far as this information reached, but he was almost given over as a dead man by his father. Yet he had not any strong reason to do it. Perhaps the money came by some oversight into the mouth of the sacks. Probably that hard man, who was Lord of Egypt, did not intend to put Simeon to death; or if he did, his heart might yet be softened by the God of Jacob. We make our burdens heavier than they ought to be, by adding to them the weight of our own gloomy apprehensions; or we represent them heavier than we feel them to be, by words that convey more meaning than they ought. Surely the troubles laid upon us are heavy enough to be borne. Why should we court unhappiness, and yet complain of it? (G. Lawson, D. D.)

Joseph is not, and Simeon is not

A certain good woman, in a time of persecution, heard that one of her sons was killed in the field by the enemy. “Which of my sons?” said she. “The eldest,” said the informer. “God be thanked,” replied she, “he was the fittest to die. My other children will have some more time for preparation, and needed it more than their brother.” Yet Jacob was more grieved for the loss of Joseph, than for the loss of Simeon, although Joseph was sanctified in his early years; and Simeon, for anything we can learn, and yet given little evidence of piety. But it must be remembered that Jacob was only afraid that Simeon might die. Joseph was, in his apprehension, already dead. I believe that a good man, were it referred to his choice which of his children he must lose, would refer it to his Maker; but it would be his deliberate wish, that, if God pleased, He would remove to the other world that member of his family who was fittest for it, though much the dearest to himself. (G. Lawson, D. D.)

And ye will take Benjamin away

True; they would take him away to Egypt, but not out of the world. To go a long journey was a very different thing from dying. He might be exposed to danger from the artifices of the unfeeling lord of Egypt. But will such a good man as Jacob make himself and his house miserable because a favourite son may be lost, when he was not exposed to greater danger than his brethren? Even those who are eminent fearers of God, are too often deprived of a great part of that happiness which they might enjoy, by the infirmity of their faith. (G. Lawson, D. D.)

The days of bereavement

1. The great object of religious discipline in this world is to prepare for the perfect happiness of a future existence. This is a fact too much lost sight of. Many, and especially young and inexperienced Christians, expect that the commencement of a religious life is to be a deliverance from those cares and sorrows, by the pressure of which they were perhaps first drawn to seek the Lord. Rut the great object of religion is to fit a guilty, polluted, lost creature, for the presence of God in a world of eternal happiness. But as the gift of inspired religion is rather a means of preparing the soul for the future life, than a provision of comfort for this, we remark—

2. Religion does not prevent the occurrence of those afflictions which are the common lot of mankind.

3. That if religion, or a real and religious connection with God, increases our afflictions, it sanctifies them. Though deeper afflictions do come upon the child of God, they are not the capricious severities of a hard master.

(1) They are sanctified by our Divine Master to the increase of faith.

(2) Again, the afflictions of the saints are appointed as a means of setting their affections on the things above.

(3) God sanctifies affliction to the increase of obedience. Entire submission to God is a difficult lesson.

(4) But observe that the years of later life are often more especially marked by correction and afflictive discipline. It is partly owing to natural causes. The natural progress of events and relationships serves for a time to increase our hold upon this present scene, and to open to us new sources of earthly enjoyment. But though we conceive that these things are adding to our happiness, and are consequently anxious to increase them, they are so many additional points at which we are accessible to affliction; and then, at last, the time comes, when we feel that schemes and plans will fail, and unexpected misfortunes will arise. The happiness on which we calculated ends in disappointment, Life is, in this respect, like a tree, which in its progress to maturity sustains, and soon recovers an injury, by the energy of the vegetative principle; but after it has spread to its widest extent, both in the root and the branch, and the day of maturity is gone by, it is more widely exposed to injuries than ever—and every day less fitted to repair them. But it is of Divine appointment also that afflictions crowd upon the decline of life. We see it in the history of the saints—in Jacob and Eli and David. We see it every day around us. There is much to be done in the heart, which remains long undone; and life glides away, and grey hairs are upon us, before we are prepared to submit to the needful discipline. And yet the work must be done. God therefore hastens His work of sanctification, and often, very often, sustains

and sanctifies the soul of His faithful pilgrim under an accumulation of suffering, which once would have appeared absolutely insupportable: “Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and Rachel is not, and ye will take Benjamin away.”

(5) But observe, the believer sometimes, in the crisis of affliction, loses sight of the great object of afflictive discipline, and receives it in a wrong spirit. The spirit of resistance shown strongly in the case of Jacob. In the bitterness of his sorrow, he exclaimed, “All these things are against me.” It was the language of passion, of momentary rebellion. In these few words Jacob was guilty of a forgetfulness of the former faithfulness and love of his Almighty Friend—“All these things are against me.” Jacob was guilty of an aggravation of the causes of his sorrow. It is difficult in the time of recent affliction to take a deliberate view of the afflictive circumstances; but it is unwarrantable in a complaining spirit to exaggerate them. “Simeon is not.” Why should Jacob suppose so? Jacob was guilty here also of a premature decision of the whole case, without reference to the Divine power. He had seen his former trials terminating to the welfare of his own soul, and to the glory of God. Jacob was guilty of a decline from the practical conviction of his unworthiness, which formerly he strongly felt.

(6) But observe, such afflictive dispensations issue in the vindication of God’s dealings with His people, and in their advancement in grace and holiness. But see how the development of the dispensation vindicates the gracious providence of God. Of the three sons who were the subject of the Patriarch’s grief, Joseph was already exalted to an honourable station, Simeon was safe under his brother’s roof, and Benjamin was in this very matter the object of his brother’s peculiar solicitude; and the whole family bad been so specially the object of Divine protection. Such visitations issue in the superior sanctification of God’s people. We must not look at the fretful repining of Jacob, without noticing the settled composure with which he meets the severity of the trial when it must be endured. Nothing can be more interesting than the spirit of submission with which he addresses himself at last to this distressing sacrifice, “If it must be so now, do this. Take of the best fruits of the land, and carry down the man a present.” Certainly, Christians in general must not expect a conclusion to their trials so marvellous as this; but, at the same time, God is infinitely wise in the choice of the facts by which our faith is to be strengthened and encouraged; and He would not have put upon the record a history so remarkable, if He did not mean us to gather from it how much we may expect from His gracious providence, as the issue of those trials in which we bend with meekness to His will. (E. Craig.)

Depression

In a fit of dejection Dean Hook once wrote: “My life has been a failure. I have done many things tolerably; but nothing well. As a parish priest, as a preacher, and now as a writer, I am quite aware that I have failed, and the more so because my friends contradict the assertion.” (One Thousand New Illustrations.)

Providence in heathen politics

In the early history of Burmese missions, a young Burman of superior rank became a convert. His sister was a maid of honour to the queen, and being greatly distressed at his

change of religion, and thinking if she could separate him from the missionary he would soon forget the foreign ideas, she obtained for him an appointment, which he was obliged to accept, as governor of a distant province. He had not been long at his new post, when some Karens were brought before him accused of worshipping a strange God. “What God?” he asked. “They call Him the eternal God,” was the reply. A few questions satisfied the young governor that he had fellow-Christians before him. To the great surprise of the accusers he ordered the prisoners to be dismissed. (Fifteen Hundred Illustrations.)

A token of God’s favour in adverse providences

Mr. Newton had a very happy talent of administering reproof. Hearing that a person, in whose welfare he was greatly interested, had met with peculiar success in business, and was deeply immersed in worldly engagements, the first time he called on him, which was usually once a month, he took him by the hand, and drawing him on one side into the counting-house, told him his apprehensions of his spiritual welfare. His friend, without making any reply, called down his partner in life, who came with her eyes suffused with tears, and unable to speak. Inquiring the cause he was told she had just been sent for to one of her children that was out at nurse, and supposed to be in dying circumstances. Clasping her hands immediately in his, Mr. Newton cried, “God be thanked, He has not forsaken you! I do not wish your babe to suffer, but I am happy to find He gives you this token of His favour.” (Moral and Religious Anecdotes.)

37 Then Reuben said to his father, “You may put

both of my sons to death if I do not bring him

back to you. Entrust him to my care, and I will

bring him back.”

CLARKE, "Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee -What a strange proposal made by a son to his father, concerning his grandchildren! But they show the honesty and affection of Reuben’s heart; he felt deeply for his father’s distress, and was determined to risk and hazard every thing in order to relieve and comfort him. There is scarcely a transaction in which Reuben is concerned that does not serve to set his

character in an amiable point of view, except the single instance mentioned Gen_35:22(note), and which for the sake of decency and piety we should wish to understand as the Targumists have explained it. See the notes.

GILL, "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 sons (g), since he had four, Gen_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.

JAMISO�, "Reuben spake, ... Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee—This was a thoughtless and unwarrantable condition - one that he never seriously expected his father would accept. It was designed only to give assurance of the greatest care being taken of Benjamin. But unforeseen circumstances might arise to render it impossible for all of them to preserve that young lad (Jam_4:13), and Jacob was much pained by the prospect. Little did he know that God was dealing with him severely, but in kindness (Heb_12:7, Heb_12:8), and that all those things he thought against Him were working together for his good.

K&D, "Reuben then offered his two sons to Jacob as pledges for Benjamin, if Jacob would entrust him to his care: Jacob might slay them, if he did not bring Benjamin back-the greatest and dearest offer that a son could make to a father. But Jacob refused to let him go. “If mischief befell him by the way, he would bring down my grey hairs with sorrow into Sheol” (cf. Gen_37:35).

BE�SO�, "Genesis 42:37. Slay my two sons — This was a very rash and absurd

proposal. What authority had Reuben to dispose of the lives of his children? And how

could the murder of two grandchildren compensate Jacob for the loss of Benjamin?

Besides, how did he know that Benjamin, if he went, would live to return, or that he

should be able to restore him to his father? He ought, at least, to have said, “If the Lord

will.” But he seems to have been little sensible of his dependance on Divine Providence.

COKE, "Genesis 42:37. Reuben spake unto his father— Reuben's expressions seem to

denote a suspicion of his sons in Jacob; and, however rapid and passionate they may be,

they indicate, at least, something good in Reuben; a sanguine and earnest disposition to

please his father; a just confidence in his own intentions, as well as in Joseph.

ELLICOTT, "(37) Slay my two sons.—Reuben does not suppose that Jacob would really

put his grandchildren to death. but simply means to offer his father a strong assurance that

Benjamin would run no danger. He regarded the risk as so slight that he was willing to

stake the lives of two of his children, perhaps all he then had, upon Benjamin’s safe

return. To take such a proposal as meant literally is irrational. But it was but feeble talk, in

agreement with the general weakness of Reuben’s character.

PETT, "Verse 37

‘And Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “You may kill my two sons if I do not bring him

to you. Hand him over to me and I will bring him back to you again.” ’

Reuben is concerned to go straight back to obtain Simeon’s release. He reveals here

something very admirable in his character. Things may look foreboding but he is prepared

himself to take the risk in order to obtain, if at all possible, his brother’s release, and he is

prepared to die in the attempt. But he realises how his father is feeling. So he uses the

strongest argument he can. If he does not bring Benjamin back then his father can kill his

two sons. He will then fully share in the sufferings of his bereaved father. But his father

will have none of it.

BI, "Slay my two sons

An unlawful mode of speaking

I will give you leave to take away my life, unless I do this or that.Such modes of speaking as this do not become the mouths of the disciples of our Redeemer. How do we know what we shall be able to do a day or an hour hence? We ought to say, If we live, and the Lord will, we shall do this or that; “for a man’s heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps.” When men use this language their words are not to be understood in their literal sense. They are only strong assertions,

tinctured with a profane levity of mind. Death ought not to be made a by-word. It will be found a serious thing to die when death comes, if it is not habitually esteemed a serious matter by us, whilst we are living in prosperity and health. “By the life of Pharaoh, ye are spies,” said Joseph to his brethren. Reuben engages, by the life of his two sons, that he will bring Benjamin in safety to his father, if his father would trust the young man to his care. Surely Reuben might have learned o avoid such strong asseverations about things of this sort. It was his wish to bring Joseph home to his father, and yet he could not persuade his brethren to comply with his intentions. It was his desire to bring Simeon safe to his father, and yet he was compelled to leave him in Egypt. He had reason to hope that his brethren would not treat Benjamin as they had treated Joseph. He had reason to hope that the lord of Egypt would keep his promise. But was he so sure of both these things, and of meeting with no bad accident in the course of his journeyings, that he could warrantably pledge the life of his two sons for Benjamin’s happy return? He knew that Jacob would not take him at his word. But what if God should, by some untoward event, make him sensible that he had spoken amiss? (G. Lawson, D. D.)

38 But Jacob said, “My son will not go down there

with you; his brother is dead and he is the only

one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you

are taking, you will bring my gray head down to

the grave in sorrow.”

CLARKE, "He is left alone - That is, Benjamin is the only remaining son of Rachel; for he supposed Joseph, who was the other son, to be dead.

Shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow - Here he keeps up the idea of the oppressive burden mentioned Gen_42:36, to which every occurrence was adding an additional weight, so that he felt it impossible to support it any longer.

The following observations of Dr. Dodd on this verse are very appropriate and judicious: “Nothing can be more tender and picturesque than the words of the venerable patriarch. Full of affection for his beloved Rachel, he cannot think of parting with

Benjamin, the only remaining pledge of that love, now Joseph, as he supposes, is no more. We seem to behold the gray-headed, venerable father pleading with his sons, the beloved Benjamin standing by his side, impatient sorrow in their countenances, and in his all the bleeding anxiety of paternal love. It will be difficult to find in any author, ancient or modern, a more exquisite picture.”

1. There is one doctrine relative to the economy of Divine Providence little heeded among men; I mean the doctrine of restitution. When a man has done wrong to his neighbor, though, on his repentance, and faith in our Lord Jesus, God forgives him his sin, yet he requires him to make restitution to the person injured, if it lie in the compass of his power. If he do not, God will take care to exact it in the course of his providence. Such respect has he for the dictates of infinite justice that nothing of this kind shall pass unnoticed. Several instances of this have already occurred in this history, and we shall see several more. No man should expect mercy at the hand of God who, having wronged his neighbor, refuses, when he has it in his power, to make restitution. Were he to weep tears of blood, both the justice and mercy of God would shut out his prayer, if he made not his neighbor amends for the injury he may have done him. The mercy of God, through the blood of the cross, can alone pardon his guilt; but no dishonest man can expect this; and he is a dishonest man who illegally holds the property of another in his hand. The unnatural brethren who sold their brother are now about to be captivated themselves; and the binder himself is bound in his turn: and though a kind Providence permits not the evil to fall upon them, yet, while apprehending it, they feel all its reality, conscience supplying the lack of prison, jailer, and bonds.

2. The ways of Providence are often to us dark and perplexed, so that we are ready to imagine that good can never result from what appears to us to be directly contrary to our interest; and we are often tempted to think that those very providential dealings of God, which have for their object our present and eternal welfare, are rather proofs of his displeasure, or evidences of his vindictive judgment. All these things are against me, said poor desponding Jacob; whereas, instead of being against him, all these things were for him; and by all these means was the merciful God working for the preservation of himself and his family, and the fulfillment of his ancient promise, that the posterity of Abraham should be as the stars of heaven for multitude. How strange is it that our faith, after so many evidences of his goodness, should still be so weak; and that our opinion of him should be so imperfect, that we can never trust in him but while he is under our own eye! If we see him producing good, we can believe that he is doing so, and this is all. If we believe not, he abides faithful; but our unbelief must make our own way extremely perplexing and difficult.

GILL, "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.

HAWKER, "REFLECTIONS

Learn, my soul, that gracious lesson to live above ordinances while favoured in the use of them; that when the means fail, the LORD of the means, who never faileth, may be thy portion forever. And if at any time thy JESUS should seem to make himself strange to thee, and by his dispensations to speak roughly unto thee, never doubt but that faithful are the wounds of thy friend: he is still a brother born for adversity.

Hail thou spiritual Joseph! thou almighty governor, and no less our brother, in whose hands are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. To thee we come for food. Before thy sacred presence would we bow the knee. We are indeed verily guilty before thee; for, like the unnatural brethren, we have sold thee by our sins, and hid our faces from the anguish of thy soul by our iniquities. But GOD hath sent thee before us to preserve us a posterity in the earth, and to save our lives by a great deliverance. Nourish us, dearest LORD, how unworthy soever thy favor; and feed us with that living bread which came down from heaven; so will we praise thy mercy, and adore thy name.

CALVI�, "38.My son shall not go down with you. Again we see, as in a lively picture,

with what sorrow holy Jacob had been oppressed. He sees his whole family famishing: he

would rather be torn away from life than from his son: whence we gather that he was not

iron-hearted: but his patience is the more deserving of praise, because he contended with

the infirmity of the flesh, and did not sink under it. And although Moses does not give a

rhetorical amplification to his language, we nevertheless easily perceive that he was

overcome with excessive grief, when he thus complained to his sons, You are too cruel to

your father, in taking away from me a third son, after I have been plundered of first one

and then another.

BENSON, "Genesis 42:38. My son shall not go down with you — Nothing can be more

tender than this verse: it melts us while we read it, and is so expressive that it sets the

venerable old patriarch full before our eyes. His brother is dead, and he is left alone — He

plainly intimates a distrust of them, remembering that he never saw Joseph since he had

been with them; therefore Benjamin should not go with them.

HAWKER, "Verse 38

REFLECTIONS

Learn, my soul, that gracious lesson to live above ordinances while favoured in the use of

them; that when the means fail, the LORD of the means, who never faileth, may be thy

portion forever. And if at any time thy JESUS should seem to make himself strange to

thee, and by his dispensations to speak roughly unto thee, never doubt but that faithful are

the wounds of thy friend: he is still a brother born for adversity.

Hail thou spiritual Joseph! thou almighty governor, and no less our brother, in whose

hands are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. To thee we come for food. Before

thy sacred presence would we bow the knee. We are indeed verily guilty before thee; for,

like the unnatural brethren, we have sold thee by our sins, and hid our faces from the

anguish of thy soul by our iniquities. But GOD hath sent thee before us to preserve us a

posterity in the earth, and to save our lives by a great deliverance. Nourish us, dearest

LORD, how unworthy soever thy favor; and feed us with that living bread which came

down from heaven; so will we praise thy mercy, and adore thy name.

COKE, "Genesis 42:38. My son shall not— Nothing can be more tender and picturesque

than these words of the venerable old patriarch. Full of affection for his beloved Rachel,

he cannot think of parting with Benjamin, the only remaining pledge of their love, now

that Joseph, as he supposes, is no more. We seem to behold the grey-headed venerable

father pleading with his sons; the beloved Benjamin standing by his side; impatient

sorrow in their countenances, and in his all the bleeding anxiety of paternal love. It will

be difficult, I believe, to find in any author, ancient or modern, a more exquisite picture.

ELLICOTT, "(38) Then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.—

Heb., to Sheol (See Note on Genesis 37:35). Jacob, both here and in Genesis 47:9, speaks

as one on whom sorrow had pressed very heavily. Always of a timid and affection Ate

disposition, he looks onward now without hope, and sees in the future only dangers and

ill-fortune. Probably by this time he had lost Leah as well as Rachel, but the blow that had

struck him utterly down had evidently been the loss of Joseph, in whom Rachel had still

seemed to live on for him. And therefore now he clung the more warmly to Benjamin, and

it is plain that the father’s deep sorrow for the loss of the petted son had softened the

hearts of his brethren. They have no grudge against Benjamin because he has taken

Joseph’s place, but rather seem to share in their father’s feelings, and their hearts were in

accordance with what Judah says in Genesis 44:18-34, that any personal suffering would

be cheerfully borne by them, rather than to have to undergo the sight of the repetition of

such grief as they previously had themselves inflicted.

PETT, "Verse 38

‘And he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is

left. If mischief befalls him in the way in which you go, then you will bring my grey hairs

with sorrow to the grave,” ’

His father refuses the offer. His words reveal how much Rachel had meant to him. She

had had only two natural born sons. One is dead. He cannot bear to lose the other. Under

no circumstances will he let Benjamin go. Benjamin is all of Rachel he has left. Thus is

Simeon left to his fate. But if we think of blaming Jacob we must remember that he has

every cause for thinking that Simeon’s fate has already been sealed as is witnessed by the

return of the silver. It is clear the Egyptian lord had evil intent towards them and so as far

as he is concerned Simeon is now dead as well. And this is how things would have

remained had it not been that the famine went on and on and forced the issue.

“My grey hairs in sorrow to Sheol.” Men desired to have a full life and die content. To die

in this way was seen as a tragedy, they would surely not want him to die in unrest?

BI, "Bring down my gray hairs with sorrow

Graceless children

Some graceless children despise their fathers and their mothers when they are old, and when their grey hairs claim reverence or compassion.If we must bow before the man of hoary hairs, although he is a stranger, what reverence do we owe to our own parents, when the respect due to age is added to the claims of parental relation! Those children that load the grey heads of their parents with crushing sorrows, are worse than common murderers. Yet, let not parents, by their own frowardness, kill themselves with grief, and load their children with the blame due to themselves. The aged ought to remember that their infirmities may dispose them to make their burdens heavier than God or men have made them. And when we torment ourselves we are too ready to transfer our own folly to the account of others. (G. Lawson, D. D.)

A faithless exclamation

Why should Jacob die with grief, if Benjamin should be lost? Is Benjamin his God, his life, his exceeding joy? “The Lord liveth, and blessed be the Rock of Israel.” He is the Rock of ages. God had made desolate all Job’s company, and his hope had He removed like a tree; but Job knew that his Redeemer lived. “All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field; but the Word of the Lord shall stand for ever.” And whilst the Word stands, those whose trust is placed on it are safe. They may, through the prevalence of unbelief, and of earthly affections, speak unadvisedly with their lips; hut the Lord will make them sensible of their folly, and enable them to commit their affairs into His hand, and to east all their cares upon Him who cares for all His people. We shall soon hear Jacob saying, “If I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved”; and on his death-bed he says, “I have waited for Thy salvation, O Lord!” (G. Lawson, D. D.).