They said to him, “Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants that they should do such a thing! Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks’ mouths, we brought again to you out of the land of Canaan. How then should we steal silver or gold out of your lord’s house? With whomever of your servants it is found, let him die, and we also will be my lord’s slaves.”
He said, “Now also let it be according to your words. He with whom it is found will be my slave; and you will be blameless.”
Then they hurried, and each man took his sack down to the ground, and each man opened his sack. He searched, beginning with the oldest, and ending at the youngest. The cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. Then they tore their clothes, and each man loaded his donkey, and returned to the city.
Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, and he was still there. They fell on the ground before him. Joseph said to them, “What deed is this that you have done? Don’t you know that such a man as I can indeed do divination?”
Judah said, “What will we tell my lord? What will we speak? How will we clear ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants. Behold, we are my lord’s slaves, both we and he also in whose hand the cup is found.”
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv7, 16 7. And they said unto him. The sons of…
7. And they said unto him. The sons of Jacob boldly excuse themselves, because a good conscience gives them confidence. They also argue from the greater to the less: for they contend, that their having voluntarily brought back the money, which they might with impunity have applied to their own use, was such a proof of their honesty, as to make it incredible that they should have been so blinded by a little gain, as to bring upon themselves the greatest disgrace, together with immediate danger of their lives. They, therefore, declared themselves ready to submit to any punishment, if they were found guilty of the theft. When the cup was discovered in Benjamin’s sack, Moses does not relate any of their complaints; but only declares, that they testified the most bitter grief by rending their garments. I do not doubt that they were struck dumb by the unexpected result; for they were confounded, not only by the magnitude of their grief, but by perceiving themselves to be obnoxious to punishment, for that of which their conscience did not accuse them. Therefore, when they come into the presence of Joseph, they confess the injury, not because they acknowledge that the crime has been committed by them, but because excuse would be of no avail; as if they would say, “It is of no use to deny a thing which is manifest in itself.” In this sense, they say that their iniquity has been found out by God; because, although they had some secret suspicion of fraud, thinking that this had been a contrivance for the purpose of bringing an unjust charge against them, they choose rather to trace the cause of their punishment to the secret judgment of God. Some interpreters believe that they here confessed their crime committed against Joseph; but that opinion is easily refuted, because they constantly affirm that he had been torn by a wild beast, or had perished by some accident. Therefore, the more simple meaning is that which I have adduced; that although the truth of the fact is not apparent, yet they are punished by God as guilty persons. They do not, however, speak hypocritically; but being troubled and astonished in their perplexed affairs, there is nothing left for them but the consciousness that this punishment is inflicted by the secret judgment of God. And I wish that they who, when smitten by the rod of God, do not immediately perceive the cause, would adopt the same course; and when they find that men are unjustly incensed against them, would recall to mind the secret judgments of God, by which it becomes us to be humbled. Moreover, whereas Judah speaks in the name of them all, we may hence infer, that he had already obtained precedence among his brethren. And Moses exhibits him as their head and chief, when he expressly states that he and the rest came. For though the dignity of primogeniture had not yet been conferred upon him, by the solemn judgment of his father, yet it was intended for him. Certainly, in taking the post of speaker for the rest, his authority appears in his language. Again, it is necessary to recall to memory, in reference to the language of Joseph, what I have before said, that although at first he had endeavored to ascribe the glory to God, he now sins in pretending that he is a soothsayer or diviner. Some, to extenuate the fault, say that the allusion is, not to the art of augury, but to his skill in judging; there is, however, no need to resort to forced expositions for the sake of excusing the man; for he speaks according to the common understanding of the multitude, and thus foolishly countenances the received opinion.
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 vv10, 13, 16 Hebrew, innocent.
Hebrew, innocent.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 Gen 44:7 And they said unto him, Wherefore saith…
Gen 44:7 And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing:
Ver. 7. God forbid that thy servants should do.] Rapine and robbery was ever condemned amongst very heathens, and severely punished. Tamerlane, in his expedition against Bajazet, took such order with his soldiers that none were injured; insomuch, that if a soldier had but taken an apple, or other thing of like value from any man, he died for it. One of his soldiers having taken a little milk from a country woman, and she thereof complaining, he ripped up his stomach; where when he found the milk, he contented the woman and sent her away, who had otherwise died for her false accusation. {a}
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{a} Turk. Hist., fol. 213.
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 vv8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 16 It is not probable that we who restored that…
It is not probable that we who restored that which was in our power to keep, and to conceal without any danger, should steal that which was likely to be discovered with so much shame and hazard to ourselves.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv7–16 And they said unto him, wherefore saith my lord…
And they said unto him, wherefore saith my lord these words?.... One of them, in the name of the rest, perhaps Judah, made answer, as astonished at the charge laid against them, suggesting that there was not the least foundation for it, and were quite surprised to hear anything of this kind alleged against them:
God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing; expressing the utmost detestation of such a fact, as being what they could never be guilty of.
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 v16 God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants…
God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants - Referring to the injury they had formerly done to Joseph, for which they thought God was now reckoning with them. Even in those afflictions wherein we apprehend ourselves wronged by men, yet we must own that God is righteous, and finds out our iniquity. We cannot judge what men are, by what they have been formerly, not what they will do, by what they have done. Age and experience may make men wiser and better, They that had sold Joseph, yet would not abandon Benjamin.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v16 Verse 16. What shall we say, c.] No words…
Verse 16. What shall we say, c.] No words can more strongly mark confusion and perturbation of mind. They, no doubt, all thought that Benjamin had actually stolen the cup and the probability of this guilt might be heightened by the circumstance of his having that very cup to drink out of at dinner; for as he had the most honourable mess, so it is likely he had the most honourable cup to drink out of at the entertainment.
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 vv8, 13, 16 Gen 44:8-9. How then should we steal, &c. —…
Gen 44:8-9. How then should we steal, &c. — It is not probable that we, who restored that which it was in our power to keep, and to conceal without any danger, should steal that which was likely to be discovered with so much shame and hazard to ourselves. With whomsoever it is found, let him die — They suspected no fraud, and were so conscious of their innocence, that they consented to suffer the severest punishment, if found guilty. Their offer, however, was rash and inconsiderate.
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 vv10, 13, 14, 15, 16 Sentence. It is but just; yet I shall only…
Sentence. It is but just; yet I shall only insist on the detention of the culprit. (Calmet) --- Joseph wished to see whether the marks of attention, which he had shewn to Benjamin, would have excited the envy of his brethren (Menochius); and whether they would be concerned for him: thus he would discover their present dispositions. He might wish also to keep his younger brother out of danger, in case they were inclined to persecute him. (Haydock)
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 v16 Judah said, What shall we say?--This address needs no…
Judah said, What shall we say?--This address needs no comment--consisting at first of short, broken sentences, as if, under the overwhelming force of the speaker's emotions, his utterance were choked, it becomes more free and copious by the effort of speaking, as he proceeds. Every word finds its way to the heart; and it may well be imagined that Benjamin, who stood there speechless like a victim about to be laid on the altar, when he heard the magnanimous offer of Judah to submit to slavery for his ransom, would be bound by a lifelong gratitude to his generous brother, a tie that seems to have become hereditary in his tribe. Joseph's behavior must not be viewed from any single point, or in separate parts, but as a whole--a well-thought, deep-laid, closely connected plan; and though some features of it do certainly exhibit an appearance of harshness, yet the pervading principle of his conduct was real, genuine, brotherly kindness. Read in this light, the narrative of the proceedings describes the continuous, though secret, pursuit of one end; and Joseph exhibits, in his management of the scheme, a very high order of intellect, a warm and susceptible heart, united to a judgment that exerted a complete control over his feelings--a happy invention in devising means towards the attainment of his ends and an inflexible adherence to the course, however painful, which prudence required.
Next: Genesis Chapter 45
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 vv9, 13, 14 9. Let him die — Their words on the…
9. Let him die — Their words on the occasion show the intensity of their feeling and excitement, and their entire action evinced their consciousness of innocency as to the charge of stealing the cup.
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 vv7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 7. God forbid] Lit. “far be it” = μὴ…
7. God forbid] Lit. “far be it” = μὴ γένοιτο. The Heb. has no appeal to the Deity; cf. Jos_22:29.
They are convinced of their innocence, and indignantly repel the insinuation that they have rewarded the “lord’s” hospitality so basely,
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.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv7, 11, 14 Vers. 7-10. And they said unto him, Wherefore saith…
Vers. 7-10. And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do (literally, for be thy seesaws from doing) according to s thing: behold, the money (literally, the silver), which we found in our sacks" mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan (this was an irrefragable proof of their honesty): how then should we steal out of my lord"s house silver or gold? They were even so confident of their innocence that they ventured on a rash proposition. With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord"s bondmen literally, for servants to my lord. And he (the steward) said, Now also let it be according to your words. So LXX, Vulgate, and commentators generally; but Kalisch reads it as an interrogation, Is it right according to your words?" meaning that strict justice demanded only the punishment of the thief, as he explained. He with whom it is found shall be my servant; and ye (i.e. the others of you) shall be blameless.
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 v16 And Judah said, What shall we say unto my…
Gen_44:16-34
And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord?
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--
Judahs intercession
I. IT WAS ABLE.
II. IT WAS NOBLE.
III. IT GAVE PROMISE OF FUTURE GREATNESS,
IV. IT SUGGESTS SOME FEATURES OF OUR LORDS INTERCESSION FOR US.
V. IT SUGGESTS THE QUALITIES OF TRUE PRAYER. In true prayer the soul is stirred to its depths. I would give very much, says Luther, if I could pray to cur Lord God as well as Judah prays to Joseph here; for it is a perfect specimen of prayer--the true feeling there ought to be in prayer. (T. H.Leale.)
Judahs intercession
The whole of this intercession, taken together, is not one twentieth part of the length which our best advocates would have made of it in a court of justice; yet the speaker finds room to expatiate upon those parts which are the most tender, and on which a minute description will heighten the general effect. We are surprised, delighted, and melted with his charming parenthesis: Seeing his life is bound up with the lads life. It is also remarkable how he repeats things which are the most tender; as, when I come, and the lad be not with us . . . it shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us . . . So also in describing the effect which this would produce: When he seeth that the lad is not with us, he will die; and we shall bring down the grey hairs of thy servant, my father, with sorrow to the grave. And now, having stated his situation, he presumes to express his petition. His withholding that to the last was holding the mind of his judge in a state of affecting suspense, and preventing the objections which an abrupt introduction of it at the beginning might have created. Thus Esther, when presenting her petition to Ahasuerus, kept it back till she had, by holding him in suspense, raised his desire to the utmost height to know what it was, and induced in him a predisposition to grant it. And when we consider his petition, and the filial regard from which it proceeds, we may say, that if we except the grace of another and greater Substitute, never surely was there a more generous proposal! (A. Fuller.)
Josephs love, and Judahs charge
I. BENJAMINS SURETY.
II. THE FRIENDLY BANQUET.
III. THE STRANGE STRATAGEM.
IV. THE ELOQUENT APPEAL. Judah makes a speech which is very natural, simple, and pathetic. It is conciliatory towards Joseph. Josephs greatness, power, and high rank are fully recognized (Thou art as Pharaoh). It is considerate in reference to the statements about Jacobs peculiar reasons for sorrow. It is courageous in its announcement of Judahs own responsibility, and of his readiness to be a substitute for his brother. And all through the speech tenderness and sympathy are exhibited in a very simple but touching manner. (W. S. Smith, B. D.)
Judahs argument
To point out the force of this overwhelming argument requires a view of the human mind, when, like a complicate machine in motion, the various powers and passions of it are at work. The whole calamity of the family arising from obedience to the judges own command; an obedience yielded to on their part with great reluctance, because of the situation of their aged father; and on his part with stiff greater, because his brother was, as he supposed, torn in pieces, and he the only surviving child of a beloved wife; and the declaration of a venerable grey-headed man, that if he lose him it will be his death--was enough to melt the heart of any one possessed of human feelings. If Joseph had really been what he appeared, an Egyptian nobleman, he must have yielded the point. To have withstood it would have proved him not a man, much less a man who feared God, as he professed to be. But if such would have been his feelings even on that supposition, what must they have been to know what he knew? It is also observable with what singular adroitness Judah avoids making mention of this elder brother of the lad, in any other than his fathers words. He did not say he was torn in pieces. No, he knew it was not so! But his father had once used that language, and though he had lately spoken in a manner which bore hard on him and his brethren, yet this is passed over, and nothing hinted but what will turn to account. (A. Fuller.)
Judahs intercession
I. HE REHEARSES THE PAST (Gen_44:18-29).
1. The speaker. Judah. Well that it was he. Had it been Reuben the proof of penitence had not been so clear. It had been too much like the old Reuben Gen_37:22 with Gen_42:22). It was Judah, and not like the old Judah (Gen_37:26-27). The last time Joseph heard Judah speak of his fathers favourite was when he (Joseph) was in the pit, and Judah, on the edge, was proposing to sell him into Bondage. Now he intercedes to save Benjamin from bondage.
2. The subject. He
(1) recalls the former visit, and the conversation of that time (Gen_42:18-20). He then
(2) proceeds to remind Joseph of his command (Gen_42:21), but for which they had not brought their brother. Of their expostulations (Gen_42:22) and of his firmness of purpose (Gen_42:23). He then drew the portrait of the old man, described the long time they bore the pangs of hunger before Jacob at last would suffer Benjamin to go; and, having hinted at the loss of one other son, repeated the final words of the old man (Gen_42:29).
II. HE PICTURES THE FUTURE. This he was the better able to do, from his memory of a former occasion. That picture of sorrow and wail of agony had ever since haunted him. It might be repeated with still more painful consequences. It might hasten the death of his father. He records, without a censure, the endearing union of the old father and his younger brother. There was one life between them. The death or loss of Benjamin might be the death of the father. He relates that he had become a surety for the safe return of the lad. As he thus earnestly and most pathetically pleads for the release of Benjamin, what feelings must have risen in the mind of Joseph. Chiefly of joy that Judah was so changed; but also of attachment to a father who had mourned his own supposed death so long and truly.
III. HE PROPOSES A COMPROMISE.
1. Its nature. If one must be held in bondage for this supposed crime, let it be himself, who is confessedly innocent, in place of Benjamin, whose guilt is assumed. Judah has wife and children at home, yet will leave all rather than abandon his brother. He will be henceforth a slave, if only Benjamin may be free. Was ever love like this? Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (Joh_15:13; see especially Rom_5:6-8).
2. The motive. To spare his father all needless pain, he would accept the position of being less loved than Benjamin. His father might grieve at his loss, as he had at Simeons, but the loss of Benjamin would affect him more.
3. The result. The test had proved to Joseph that Judah repented the past. It was a happy discovery. What can give greater joy to a brother than to see a right moral change in a brother? Learn:
1. Fearlessly to take the side of the innocent and the aged.
2. To bring forth fruit meet for repentance.
3. Not to be ashamed of an honourable change of heart and mind.
4. To love and honour Him who became a surety for us. (J. C. Gray.)
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 v16 Gen_44:21. That I may set mine eyes upon him.]…
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Gen_44:21. That I may set mine eyes upon him.] An expression meaning the exercising of a tender care towards him. Thus (Jer_29:12.) “Take him, and look well to him, and do him no harm.” Heb. “Set thine eyes upon him.”
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MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Gen_44:16-34
JUDAH’S INTERCESSION
There are some remarkable features in this intercession—
I. It was able. Judah was the man of eloquence among his brethren. His eloquence proposed and carried out the measure of Joseph’s sale, prevailed on Jacob to send Benjamin with the rest to Egypt; and now it persuades and overcomes this unknown Joseph who cannot endure any longer the restraint which he put upon himself. Judah confines himself to facts, but arranges them in the best order for effect. They are all speaking facts, each one has a tender memory or sorrow of its own. They suggest so much to the hearer that the whole speech is fired with the passion of true eloquence. Kalisch justly calls this pleading speech of Judah’s, “one of the masterpieces of Hebrew composition.” The facts narrated are simple, but they are told with the true touches of nature. What fiction can surpass the pathos of Gen_44:20? “And we said unto my lord, we have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age; a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him.”
II. It was noble. He does not insist upon the innocence of Benjamin, nor does he confess the theft; but acknowledges the general iniquity of his life. He generously offers himself as a surety for Benjamin. This heroic and self-sacrificing deed speaks louder than any words. He accepts slavery in his brother’s stead. Here was an appeal to Joseph’s sense of a self-forgetting devotion. In Judah there were many faults, and yet we find in him fond love for his father, and compassion for a brother stronger than even the desire of life.
III. It gave promise of future greatness. In sacred history, Judah’s name becomes great, is associated with all that is strong and noble. He is the pleader, “Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah.” (Deu_33:7.) “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah.” (Gen_49:10.) David was chosen to be king of the tribe of Judah. (Psa_78:67-68.)
IV. It suggests some features of our Lord’s intercession for us. Judah was a type of Christ. “Our Lord sprang out of Judah.” (Heb_7:14.) He was “the Lion of the tribe of Judah.” (Rev_5:5.) His human ancestor was a remarkable type of Him, of His power, His wisdom, His triumphs, His preeminence. A type also, as here, of His intercession. Christ appears in the presence of God for us. He “maketh intercession for us.” (Rom_8:34.) He bears the curse that would otherwise fall upon us. Though Himself the birthright son, He bears the cross that we, the humblest and the least, might be free.
V. It suggests the qualities of true prayer. In true prayer the soul is stirred to its depths. “I would give very much,” says Luther, “if I could pray to our Lord God as well as Judah prays to Joseph here; for it is a perfect specimen of prayer—the true feeling that there ought to be in prayer.”
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Gen_44:16. They well knew that they had sold Joseph for a slave, and filled up many of the years of their father’s life with bitter anguish; and they admit that it were a righteous thing with God to make them all slaves for crimes which their consciences charged upon them, but of which they supposed Joseph to be profoundly ignorant.—(Bush.)
An ingenuous and penitent confession, joined with self-loathing and self-judging; teaching us how to confess to God.—(Trapp.)
Gen_44:17. This was to try the truth of their love to Benjamin, and whether they would stick to him in his utmost peril. God hath like ends in afflicting His children. “The King of Babylon stood at the parting-way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination” (Eze_21:21.) So doth God. He knows that the best divining of men is at the parting-way; there every dog will show to what master he belongs.—(Trapp.)
Gen_44:18. He asks the privilege of speaking a word.
“Say, what is prayer, when it is prayer indeed?
The mighty utterance of a mighty need.”
He begs that the lord’s anger may not burn against him. He is in his power; the evidence is against him. But he will press his suit, if possible to get a hearing. He owns the royal authority which he addresses; but he must tell the facts in some faint hope of prevalence.—(Jacobus.)
The surety here becomes the advocate, and presents one of the most powerful pleas ever uttered. Though he knew nothing of the schools or the rules of the rhetoricians, yet no orator ever pronounced a more moving oration. His good sense, and his affection for his venerable father, taught him the highest strains of eloquence.—(Bush.)
This brief introduction was admirably calculated to soften resentment, and obtain a patient hearing. The respectful title given him, “my lord;” the entreaty for permission to “speak;” the intimation that it should be but as it were “a word;” the deprecation of his anger, as being in a manner equal to that of “Pharaoh;” and all this prefaced with an interjection of sorrow, as though nothing but the deepest distress should have induced him to presume to speak on such a subject, showed him to be well qualified for his undertaking.—(Fuller.)
Gen_44:19-29. It is observable that Judah said nothing but what was true, although he did not tell all the truth. It was not to be expected that he would tell how Benjamin’s brother was lost. He only told his father’s opinion concerning it, and that was enough to melt any man’s heart into compassion for a father bereaved in such a cruel manner of one son, and trembling in apprehension of the loss of another.—(Bush.)
Gen_44:30-34. The whole of this intercession, taken together, is not one twentieth part of the length which our best advocates would have made of it in a court of justice; yet the speaker finds room to expatiate upon those parts which are the most tender, and on which a minute description will heighten the general effect. We are surprised, delighted, and melted with his charming parenthesis: “Seeing his life is bound up with the lad’s life” It is also remarkable how he repeats things which are the most tender; as, “when I come, and the lad be not with us … it shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us”.… So also in describing the effect which this would produce: “When he seeth that the lad is not with us, he will die; and we shall bring down the grey hairs of thy servant, my father, with sorrow to the grave. And now, having stated his situation, he presumes to express his petition. His withholding that to the last was holding the mind of his judge in a state of affecting suspense, and preventing the objections which an abrupt introduction of it at the beginning might have created. Thus Esther, when presenting her petition to Ahasuerus, kept it back till she had, by holding him in suspense, raised his desire to the utmost height to know what it was, and induced in him a predisposition to grant it. And when we consider his petition, and the filial regard from which it proceeds, we may say, that if we except the grace of another and greater Substitute, never surely was there a more generous proposal!—(Fuller.)
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.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v14 Judah’s Heroic Behavior
Judah’s Heroic Behavior
v. 14. And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph’s house; for he was yet there, having waited for their return. Judah is now the leader among the brothers, a position which was later confirmed to him. And they fell before him on the ground, in speechless terror and abject surrender. This showed the spirit which now lived in them, as well as the fact that they had not permitted Benjamin to return alone and that they willingly placed themselves under the direction of Judah.
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v. 15. And Joseph said unto them, in apparent indignation, What deed is this that ye have done? Wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine? He intimated that a man in his position and of his wisdom was able to discover the most carefully hidden things. Cf v. 5.
v. 16. And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? What shall we speak? Or how shall we clear ourselves? He felt that the circumstantial evidence against them was so strong as to oblige the ruler to decide against them. God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants; he and his brothers recognized in this strange shaping of events the judgment of God upon their former guilt, and their repentance was certainly genuine. Behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we and he also with whom the cup is found. Thus Judah includes all the brothers with himself as champions of Benjamin, whom they would not permit to enter slavery alone. Judah exhibited a wonderful self-denial, magnanimity, and generosity, even while he was struggling with despair.
v. 17. And he said, God forbid that I should do so; far be it from me to act upon this suggestion; but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father. This is the climax of the test which Joseph had proposed, for now the brothers could show whether they would take this opportunity to get rid of the second son of Rachel, as they had gotten rid of the first: Benjamin would remain in Egypt as Joseph’s slave, while the others would go scot-free.
v. 18. Then Judah came near unto him and said, stepping forward in his great agitation, O my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord’s ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant; for thou art even as Pharaoh. His request was made in the greatest humility, in the full consciousness of his own unworthiness.
v. 19. My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother?
v. 20. And we said unto my lord, we have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him. With unconscious, artless skill the love of Jacob for the one remaining son of his old age from his beloved Rachel is here pictured,
v. 21. And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me that I may set mine eyes upon him. The pleading here is less formal, and more fervent.
v. 22. And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his father; for if he should leave his father, his father would die. From this we may conclude that the refusal of the brothers to bring Benjamin had caused their first imprisonment. It was the prospect of a favorable reception on the part of Joseph that had made the brothers consent.
v. 23. And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more, which was equivalent to telling them that they could purchase no more grain, unless they complied with this condition.
v. 24. And it came to pass, when we came up unto thy servant, my father, we told him the words of my lord.
v. 25. And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food.
v. 26. And we said, We cannot go down; if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down; for we may not see the man’s face, except our youngest brother be with us.
v. 27. And thy servant, my father, said unto us, Ye know that my wife, Rachel, whom only he really considered such in the full name of the word, bare me two sons;
v. 28. and the one went out from me, he was taken from Jacob in a violent manner, and I said, Surely, he is torn in pieces, that was the only conclusion he could reach from the evidence presented; and I saw him not since;
v. 29. and if ye take this also from me, and mischief, some harm or danger, befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. It was a masterly presentation of the love and devotion which now characterized the relationship in the family of Jacob. With these words Judah reached the conclusion of his plea, in a remarkably eloquent outburst.
v. 30. Now, therefore, when I come to thy servant, my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad’s life, his soul was literally tied to the soul of Benjamin;
v. 31. it shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die; and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant, our father, with sorrow to the grave, to the realm of the dead.
v. 32. For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, if I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father forever.
v. 33. Now, therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren. This entreaty was a wonderful exhibition of love, both for the aged father and for Benjamin, since it involved becoming a slave in Egypt without hope of redemption.
v. 34. For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? Lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on (find or strike) my father. This lofty and impressive, vivid and passionate prayer, culminating in the last touching appeal with its self-sacrificing offer, is one of the sublimest passages in the entire Old Testament, reminding us, incidentally, of the infinitely greater sacrifice which the Champion out of the tribe of Judah, who became surety for His brethren according to the flesh, made by giving His life for theirs.
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 vv8, 11, 14, 16 Look, the money
Look, the money
"Listen to what we are about to say and you will see that we are speaking the truth: the money"
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the money that we found in our sacks' openings
"you know the money that we found in our sacks"
we brought again to you out of the land of Canaan
"we brought back to you from Canaan"
How then could we steal out of your master's house silver or gold?
The brothers use a question to emphasize that they would not steal from the lord of Egypt. AT: "So we would never take anything from your master's house!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
silver or gold
These words are used together to mean that they would not steal anything of any value.
With whomever of your servants it is found
The brothers refer to themselves as "your servants." This is a formal way of speaking to someone with greater authority. It can be stated in the first person. Also, "is is found" can be stated in active form. AT: "If you find that one of us has stolen the cup" (See: First, Second, or Third Person and Active or Passive)
we also will be my master's slaves
The phrase "my master" refers to the steward. This can be stated in the second person. AT: "you may take us as your slaves" (See: First, Second, or Third Person)
Now also let it be according to your words
"Very well. I will do what you said." Here "now" does not mean "at this moment," but is used to draw attention to the important point that follows.
He with whom the cup is found will be my slave
This can be stated in active form. AT: "If I find the cup in one of your sacks, that person will be my slave" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
Canaan
silver
gold
servant
manager
word
innocent
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 vv9, 11, 13, 14, 16 44:9-10 The punishment that the brothers proposed was harsher…
44:9-10 The punishment that the brothers proposed was harsher than necessary; it was normal in antiquity to stake your life on what you said. The palace manager was agreeable but enforced a punishment that matched Joseph’s intentions (44:17).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.