He said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there, and buy for us from there, so that we may live, and not die.” Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. But Jacob didn’t send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with his brothers; for he said, “Lest perhaps harm happen to him.” The sons of Israel came to buy among those who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan. Joseph was the governor over the land. It was he who sold to all the people of the land. Joseph’s brothers came, and bowed themselves down to him with their faces to the earth. Joseph saw his brothers, and he recognized them, but acted like a stranger to them, and spoke roughly with them. He said to them, “Where did you come from?” They said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.”
Joseph recognized his brothers, but they didn’t recognize him. Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land.”
They said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. We are all one man’s sons; we are honest men. Your servants are not spies.”
He said to them, “No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land!”
They said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is today with our father, and one is no more.”
Joseph said to them, “It is like I told you, saying, ‘You are spies!’ By this you shall be tested. By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go out from here, unless your youngest brother comes here. Send one of you, and let him get your brother, and you shall be bound, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you, or else by the life of Pharaoh surely you are spies.” He put them all together into custody for three days.
Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this, and live, for I fear God. If you are honest men, then let one of your brothers be bound in your prison; but you go, carry grain for the famine of your houses. Bring your youngest brother to me; so will your words be verified, and you won’t die.” They did so.
They said to one another, “We are certainly guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us, and we wouldn’t listen. Therefore this distress has come upon us.” Reuben answered them, saying, “Didn’t I tell you, saying, ‘Don’t sin against the child,’ and you wouldn’t listen? Therefore also, behold, his blood is required.” They didn’t know that Joseph understood them; for there was an interpreter between them. He turned himself away from them, and wept. Then he returned to them, and spoke to them, and took Simeon from among them, and bound him before their eyes. Then Joseph gave a command to fill their bags with grain, and to restore each man’s money into his sack, and to give them food for the way. So it was done to them.
They loaded their donkeys with their grain, and departed from there. As one of them opened his sack to give his donkey food in the lodging place, he saw his money. Behold, it was in the mouth of his sack. He said to his brothers, “My money is restored! Behold, it is in my sack!” Their hearts failed them, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, “What is this that God has done to us?” They came to Jacob their father, to the land of Canaan, and told him all that had happened to them, saying, “The man, the lord of the land, spoke roughly with us, and took us for spies of the country. We said to him, ‘We are honest men. We are no spies. We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is today with our father in the land of Canaan.’ The man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘By this I will know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain for the famine of your houses, and go your way. Bring your youngest brother to me. Then I will know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. So I will deliver your brother to you, and you shall trade in the land.’ ”
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv6, 7, 9, 15, 17, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29 6. And Joseph was the governor over the land.…
6. And Joseph was the governor 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.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv4, 7, 9, 13, 15, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 28, 32 Hebrew, should meet him.
Hebrew, should meet him.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv2–34 Gen 42:2 And he said, Behold, I have heard…
Gen 42:2 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.
Ver. 2. Get you down thither,] Here the divine decree of Israel’s sojourning and suffering in Egypt begins to be fulfilled, by a wonderful providence. The ruinous of Joseph’s barns invites Jacob, first to send, and then to go thither himself for relief. Shall not the fulness that is in Christ {Joh 1:16} incite and entice us to come to him; as bees to a meadow full of flowers; as merchants to the Indies full of spices and othex riches; as the Queen of Sheba to Solomon full of wisdom; as Jacob’s sons to Egypt full of corn, in that extreme famine; that we may return full fraught with treasures of truth and grace? "It pleased God, that in him should all fulness dwell." {Col 1:19} And his fulnees is not only repletive, but diffusive; a fuiness of plenty and abundance, but of bounty also and redundance. He was "anointed with the oil of gladness," not only "above," but for "his fellows." {Heb 1:9}
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That we may live, and not die.] Saints have their share in common calamities. Jacob tasted of the famine, as well as his neighbonrs the Canaanites; so had Abraham and Isaac done before him. Both the good figs and bad figs were carried captive; {Jer 24:5} the corn as well as the weeds is cut down at harvest, &c.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 27, 28 I have heard: this word explains the word saw,…
I have heard: this word explains the word saw, Gen 42:1.
Get you down; for Egypt was lower than Canaan; whence, on the contrary, they are said to go up to Canaan, Gen 45:9.
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That we may live, and not die; an emphatical repetition of the same thing, used here to make them more sensible of their danger.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv7, 21, 29 We may well wonder that Joseph, during the twenty…
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.
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II. 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.
III. 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.
IV. 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.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv2–34 And he said, behold, I have heard that there…
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,
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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.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv2, 7, 9, 21, 24, 28 Get you down thither - Masters of families must…
Get you down thither - Masters of families must not only pray for daily bread for their families, but must with care and industry provide it.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv6, 9, 11, 13, 15, 18, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 Verse 6. Joseph was the governor] שליט shallit, an…
Verse 6. Joseph was the governor] שליט shallit, an intendant, a protector, from שלט skalat, to be over as a protector; hence שלטים shelatim, shields, or arms for protection and defence, 2Sa 8:7; and שלטון shilton, power and authority, Ec 8:4, Ec 8:8; and hence the Arabic [Arabic] sultan, a lord, prince, or king, from [Arabic] 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, c., took the title of sultan?
Bowed down themselves before him] Thus fulfilling the prophetic dream, Ge 37:7-8, which they had taken every precaution to render null and void. But there is neither might nor counsel against the Lord.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv6, 7, 9, 15, 18, 21, 23, 28 Gen 42:6. Joseph’s brethren came and bowed themselves before…
Gen 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.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv6, 8, 9, 15, 16, 18, 21, 22, 23, 25, 34 To him. Conformably to the prophetic dreams, chap. xxxvii.…
To him. Conformably to the prophetic dreams, chap. xxxvii. 7, 9. (Menochius) --- Joseph was like a prince or sultan, shallit, with sovereign authority. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv5, 6, 7, 9, 15, 17, 24, 25, 27 the famine was in the land of Canaan--The tropical…
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.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 15, 17, 18, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 3. Joseph’s ten brethren went — No one of…
3. Joseph’s ten brethren went — No one of them would go alone, and they conclude it is best for all of them to go together. They might thus mutually protect and help each other. In this there is another intimation of their guilty fears.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 30, 33, 34 2. down thither] Egypt being regarded as on the…
2. down thither] Egypt being regarded as on the low ground, in comparison with Palestine; cf. Gen_12:10, Gen_13:1, Gen_43:4; Gen_43:15, Gen_46:3-4.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 14, 15, 18, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 27, 28, 33 (3) Joseph’s ten brethren.—Either their cattle and households had…
(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 (Gen_47:1), and also households of servants (Gen_46:5, where see Note). Joseph, moreover, besides the wagons and their contents, sends twenty loads of provisions for the use of his father by the way (Gen_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.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 And he said, Behold, I have heard (this does…
And he said, Behold, I have heard (this does not imply that the rumor had not also reached Jacob"s sons, but only that the proposal to visit Egypt did not originate with them) that there is corn rb,v, ut supra, sitov (LXX.), triticum (Vulgate)in Egypt: get you down thither. That Jacob did not, like Abraham (Gen_12:10) and Isaac, (Gen_26:2) propose to remove his family to Egypt, may be explained either by the length of the journey, which was too great for so large a household, or by the circumstance that the famine prevailed in Egypt as well as Canaan (Gerlach). That he entrusted his sons, and not his servants, with the mission, though perhaps dictated by a sense of its importance (Lawson), was clearly of Divine arrangement for the further accomplishment of the Divine plan concerning Joseph and his brethren. And buy (i.e. buy corn, the verb being a denominative from rb,v, corn) for us from thence. From this it is apparent that the hitherto abundant flocks and herds of the patriarchal family had been greatly reduced by the long-continued and severe drought, thus requiring them to obtain food from Egypt, if either any portion of their flocks were to be saved, or themselves to escape starvation, as the patriarch explained to his sons. That we may (literally, and we shall) live, and not die.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv3, 8, 11, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24, 25, 29 Josephs ten brethren went down to buy corn in…
Gen_42:3-20
Josephs ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt
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Providence working in mens 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 Jacobs 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 GODS 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 Josephs 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 Gods righteous anger against Sin there runs a purpose of mercy. (T. H. Leale.)
The first journey of Josephs 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. Josephs love to his brethren was a noble love. Gods love to us is still nobler, and severity accompanies it. It does not shrink from human suffering, for suffering is necessary for the mans well being.
IV. Lastly, we remark on THE RETURN HOMEWARDS OF JOSEPHS 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 Jacobs 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 Jacobs 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. Jacobs 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 Josephs 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. Josephs cries wrought into the mental texture of these men. Hetfy, in Adam Bede. The babys cry: Son, remember. Memory, a cup of blessing, or devils scourge.
IV. The vengeance of CONSCIENCE. Memory may exaggerate, extenuate, add, subtract, &c. But conscience is a just judge. Hamlet, The plays 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.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On vv3, 21, 25, 29 Gen_42:6. Governor.] “The word rendered governor, Shalit, is, except…
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Gen_42:6. Governor.] “The word rendered governor, Shalit, is, except here, said to be only found in the books contemporary with and following the Captivity. Salatis is given by Josephus as the title of the first shepherd-king.”—(Alford.)—
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Gen_42:9. Spies.] “This dynasty, we are told by Manetho, was ever in fear of invasion from the then powerful Assyrians, and Josephus says that on that account they fortified the eastern side of Egypt. Hence men arriving from Asia, and especially Jacob’s sons, who from their Chaldaic origin were more like the eastern Semitic peoples than Canaanites, might well arouse suspicion as to their being Assyrian spies.”—(Alford).—The nakedness of the land. Its unfortified cities, unprotected boundaries—exposed as a man unarmed, having fewer strong places than any other countries.—
Gen_42:15. By the life of Pharaoh.] The Egyptians swore by the life of their kings. There are similar instanced among the Hebrews themselves. (1Sa_17:55; 2Sa_11:11.) A similar form is found in the address of Abigail to David. (1Sa_25:36.)—
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Gen_42:3-20
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 forbodings are fulfilled. They dreaded Egypt, and events justified their fears.
1. They are received roughly. (Gen_42:7.) Joseph acted the part of a foreigner, and treats them with a heartless and haughty indifference. With their peculiarities of feature, attitude, and mother tongue, he knew them. But they did not know him; for twenty years had made a great change in a youth of seventeen. Besides, his beard was shaven, he had on Egyptian attire, and spoke in a foreign tongue, and above all was found in such an exalted position. Therefore they failed to recognise him. This rough reception had dark suggestions for them. Their conscience read it as the beginning of sorrows.
2. They are suspected of evil designs. “Ye are spies,” said Joseph, “to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.” (Gen_42:9.) The suspicion which Joseph expressed was unfounded, and he knew it to be so. But he was acting a part for the purpose of bringing their guilt home to them. He disguised, for the time, under a hard aspect a loving design. Yet his suspicion (even though it be regarded as expressing no real conviction on his part), expresses a righteous judgment—a stern moral fact, that guilty men who conceal a crime demanding open atonement, must ever encounter suspicion as a reflex of their evil secret. They felt that, though not in form, yet in reality that suspicion was justified.
3. They are threatened with the prospect of imprisonment and death. (Gen_42:15; Gen_42:20.) They must remain in ward until their words be proved. And if unable to verify them, their lives were to be forfeited.
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 one of his dreams—“Shalt thou then indeed reign over us, or shalt thou have dominion over us?” They now bow themselves with the most abject humility before that very man of whom they said, on another occasion, “Come, let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will see what will become of his dreams.”
2. That nothing can hinder the counsel of the Lord from taking effect. Joseph’s brethren tried their utmost to prevent the fulfilment of his dreams; but all the while they were really working towards this very end. They were accomplishing the will of God concerning Joseph though they knew it not. They knew not how wonderful is the Lord of Hosts in counsel, and how excellent in working.
3. That the crisis will arrive when the wicked must appear before the judgment seat of the pious. The time will come when the oppressors and the oppressed must meet together. The saints shall judge the world by their very position, for righteouness carries in itself the condemnation of sin. The highest form of this truth is “that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ” (2Co_5:10). We must all come into the presence of Jesus Christ the Righteous, who will make manifest what we really are and appoint us our true place.
4. That retribution, even in kind, follows sin. Joseph was hated of his brethren for being his father’s spy, and now the time has come when they themselves are treated as spies. He who was hungry when they were eating now holds the food for which they hunger. They condemned Joseph to the pit, and now he judges them. That same thing which a man sows he also reaps.
5. That throughout the severity of God’s righteous anger against sin there runs a purpose of mercy. Joseph put on a stern demeanour. (Gen_42:7.) He must bring his brethren to a sense of their sin by lifting the rod of justice against them. And yet he feels more distress than the objects of his chastisement. He is like a wise and just father who feels compelled to punish his son, though all the time it goes sore against his heart. A merciful intention must often wear this hard aspect. Joseph afflicted his brethren for their good. He disguises his private feelings, and acts for the time with stern justice. But when the harsh remedy had wrought its end, then he relents, and the prevailing kindness of his nature is free to flow. And so God loves us, yet with a love which does not shrink from severity. But the purpose which underlies all His dealings is kind. He wounds only in order that he might heal. “He will not always chide, neither will He keep His anger for ever. (Psalms 103.)
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Gen_42:3-4. The family is spoken of in their relation to Joseph, not as Jacob’s ten sons, but as Joseph’s ten brethren. He is the hero of the narrative. Benjamin was Joseph’s brother in a special sense, as born of the same mother, and beloved by the father in Joseph’s stead, so that he could not bear to part with him for fear the like calamity might fall upon him as befell Joseph. How little does Jacob know what is good or evil in Providence!—(Jacobus).
The guilt of Benjamin’s brothers seems to weigh upon the father’s heart as a kind of presentiment.—(Lange).
Gen_42:5. The expression sons of Israel, instead of sons of Jacob, points to Israel the man of faith, whose children they were, who accompanied them with his prayers, and for whose sake, though he knew it not, this journey to Egypt, so dark in its commencement, became a blessing to them all.—(Lange).
Gen_42:6. They bowed down themselves before him, etc. This fulfils most literally the dream of Joseph, which up to this time had seemed so impossible to human view. Joseph had doubtless rested in the confidence of this result as thus revealed to him, and had felt it his duty to wait patiently upon God through his long years of trial.—(Jacobus).
Gen_42:7-8. What must have been his feelings! The remembrance of the manner in which he parted from them two and twenty years ago, the events which had befallen him, their prostration before him, and the absence of Benjamin, from which he might be apprehensive that they also had made away with him,—altogether must have been a great shock to his sensibility. Let him beware, or his countenance will betray him. He feels the danger of this, and immediately puts on a stern look, speaks roughly to them, and affects to take them for spies. By this innocent piece of artifice, he could interrogate them, and get out of them all the particulars that he wished without betraying himself, which he could not have done by any other means.—(Fuller.)
God sometimes brings us to a sense of our sins by hiding Himself from us, and standing afar off.
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.—(Robertson.)
Gen_42:9. Such an imputation as this remains to this day, that to which a stranger is continually exposed in the East. The Orientials generally have no idea that people will make a journey unless from urgent necessity, or on gainful speculations. Curiosity, or the desire of collecting information, are motives perfectly incomprehensible to them, and are always treated as shallow and childish pretences. They ask triumphantly whether you have no trees, birds, animals, rivers, or ruins at home to engage your attention, that you should come so far to look for them.—(Bush.)
This is the Oriental method of challenging a stranger. In truth it is the very idea of the European passport system, which puts every traveller under so much suspicion of mischievous intent as to put him constantly upon the proof of an honest and good object in his visit.—(Jacobus.)
He was not only to bless, but also to punish and judge, i.e., become forgetful of all human relations and act divinely. A similar position God assumes towards believers when in tribulation. Let us, therefore, hold assuredly that all our misfortunes, trials, and lamentations, even death itself, are nothing but a hearty and fair display of the Divine goodness towards us.—(Luther.)
Joseph remembered the dreams. Event is the best interpreter of Divine oracles. The disciples understood not many things at first that our Saviour said to them. (Joh_2:22; Joh_12:16.) So John Baptist’s preaching wrought not for some years after it was delivered, and then it did. (Joh_10:41-42.)—(Trapp.)
Gen_42:10-13. 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 his 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.—(Murphy.)
Gen_42:14-16. 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 fore-ordination of God, and he feels bound to make this authority a reality for their moral good.—(Murphy.)
Gen_42:17-20. Here they lie three days; a period which afforded him time to think what to do, and them to reflect on what they had done. On the third day he paid them a visit, and that in a temper of more apparent mildness. He assures them that he has no design, upon their life, and ventures to give a reason for it which must appear to them no less surprising than satisfying: I fear God. What, an Egyptian nobleman know and fear the true God! If so, they can have no injustice to fear at his hands! nor can he withhold food from a starving family. The fear of God will ever be connected with justice and humanity to man. But how mysterious! If he be a good man, how is it that he should treat us so roughly? How is it that God should suffer him so to mistake our designs? Their hearts must surely at this time have been full. Such were the means which God by this wise man made use of to bring them to repentance. This indeed is His ordinary method of dealing with sinners. Now their fears are awakened by threatnings, or adverse providences, in which death sometimes stares them in the face; and now a little gleam of hope arises, just sufficient to keep the mind from sinking; yet all is covered with doubt and mystery. It is thus, as by alternate frost and rain, and sunshine upon the earth, that He humbleth the mind, and maketh soft the heart of man.—(Fuller.)
The true God had not been altogether forgotten in Egypt. Pharaoh had already confessed Him. (Gen_41:38-39.)
This mention of the fear of God would have a two-fold effect upon these men.
1. Encouragement. They would thus be assured that they would be dealt with by a higher principle than expediency or political considerations, even by the just law of heaven. Joseph served the same God in whom their fathers trusted.
2. Alarm. The mention of God’s name would serve to bring home to him a conviction of their sin.
The only permanent and true basis of morality is the fear of God.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv5, 18 See note, (See Scofield "Gen 12:10").
famine
See note, (See Scofield "Gen 12:10").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv8, 21, 25 In Prison as Spies
In Prison as Spies
v. 8. And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.
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v. 9. 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 are come, the open, unfortified places of the country, where an attack by a hostile army would be successful. It was a particularly hard test which Joseph determined upon, but in no manner to be compared to the distress of thirteen years as slave which be had to bear on their account.
v. 10. And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come. The very idea of their suffering the fate of spies filled them with the greatest consternation and fear.
v. 11. We are all one man’s sons, not a band of adventurers, we are true men, thy servants are no spies. They protest, with mortified pride, that they are upright and honest. It did not stand to reason that a father would send out all his sons on an errand which would result in their execution if they should be caught.
v. 12. And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
v. 13. And they said, 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. Joseph’s refusal to believe their assurance of innocence brings him the further information that his aged father is still alive, and that Benjamin is well at home. Their non-committal manner in referring to Joseph shows that they bore uneasy consciences on his account, but they could say no more to the Egyptian ruler.
v. 14. And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies. He treats their mention of a brother at home as a mere subterfuge, as an attempt to make their story plausible.
v. 15. Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh, ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither. Joseph, maintaining his role as an Egyptian, demands that they should produce this brother, the mention of whom was intended to disarm suspicion.
v. 16. Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely ye are spies. If this brother, whose existence they allege, would be forthcoming, then he would be willing to believe them, but if not, then they should, as he solemnly says, be regarded and treated as spies.
v. 17. And he put them all together into ward three days, thus giving them an opportunity to discuss the situation from all sides and to think over some of their past misdeeds.
v. 18. And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God:
v. 19. If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison; go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses;
v. 20. but bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. Here the love of Joseph for his brothers appears. He assures them that the fear of God governs him, he bids them take up the grain for the needs of their family, and while he does not change his condition that he wants to see Benjamin before believing in their uprightness, he relieves the severity by demanding only one out of their midst as hostage, while he offers to dismiss the rest. If they were really repentant, he knew that this way of dealing with them would be sure to have the desired effect. And they did so; the-brethren agreed to this condition in its present form.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 18, 21, 23, 26, 29, 33 The sons of Israel came to buy among those…
The sons of Israel came to buy among those who came
The word "came" can be translated as "went." Also, the words "grain" and "Egypt" are understood. AT: "The sons of Israel went to by grain along with other people who went to Egypt" (See: Go and Come and Ellipsis)
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Now Joseph
"Now" marks a change from the story to background information about Joseph. (See: Background Information)
over the land
Here "land" refers to Egypt. AT: "over Egypt" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
all the people of the land
Here "land" includes Egypt and other surrounding countries. AT: "all the people of all the nations that came to buy grain" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
Joseph's brothers came
Here "came" can be translated as "went." (See: Go and Come)
bowed down to him with their faces to the ground
This is a way of showing respect. (See: Symbolic Action)
translationWords
Jacob
famine
Canaan
govern
bow
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 15, 18, 21, 22, 24, 25, 28, 29 42:4 Jacob may have believed that Benjamin would not…
42:4 Jacob may have believed that Benjamin would not be safe with his brothers.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.