Genesis 44

1 And Joseph charged the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put the money of each in the mouth of his sack.

2 And put my silver cup into the sack of the youngest, and the price of his corn. And it was done according to the word of Joseph, as he said.

3 The morning dawned, and the men were sent away, they and their asses.

4 And when they had gone out of the city, were not far off, then Joseph said to his steward, Arise, and pursue after the men; and thou shalt overtake them, and say to them, Why have ye returned evil for good?

5 Why have ye stolen my silver cup? is it not this out of which my lord drinks? and he divines augury with it; ye have accomplished evil in that which ye have done.

6 And he found them, and spoke to them according to these words.

7 And they said to him, Why does our lord speak according to these words? far be it from thy servants to do according to this word.

8 If we brought back to thee out of the land of Chanaan the money which we found in our sacks, how should we steal silver or gold out of the house of thy lord?

9 With whomsoever of thy servants thou shalt find the cup, let him die; and, moreover, we will be servants to our lord.

10 And he said, Now then it shall be as ye say; with whomsoever the cup shall be found, he shall be my servant, and ye shall be clear.

11 And they hasted, and took down every man his sack on the ground, and they opened every man his sack.

12 And he searched, beginning from the eldest, until he came to the youngest; and he found the cup in Benjamin's sack.

13 And they rent their garments, and laid each man his sack on his ass, and returned to the city.

14 And Judas and his brethren came in to Joseph, while he was yet there, and fell on the ground before him.

15 And Joseph said to them, What is this thing that ye have done? know ye not that a man such as I can surely divine?

16 And Judas said, What shall we answer to our lord, or what shall we say, or wherein should we be justified? whereas God has discovered the unrighteousness of thy servants; behold, we are slaves to our lord, both we and he with whom the cup has been found.

17 And Joseph said, Far be it from me to do this thing; the man with whom the cup has been found, he shall be my servant; but do ye go up with safety to your father.

18 And Judas drew near him, and said, I pray, Sir, let thy servant speak a word before thee, and be not angry with thy servant, for thou art next to Pharao.

19 Sir, thou askedst thy servants, saying, Have ye a father or a brother?

20 And we said to lord, We have a father, an old man, and he has a son of his old age, a young one, and his brother is dead, and he alone has been left behind to his mother, and his father loves him.

21 And thou saidst to they servants, Bring him down to me, and I will take care of him.

22 And we said to lord, The child will not be able to leave his father; but if he should leave his father, he will die.

23 But thou saidst to they servants, Except your younger brother come down with you, ye shall not see my face again.

24 And it came to pass, when we went up to thy servant our father, we reported to him the words of our lord.

25 And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food.

26 And we said, We shall not be able to go down; but if our younger brother go down with us, we will go down; for we shall not be able to see the man's face, our younger brother not being with us.

27 And thy servant our father said to us, Ye know that my wife bore me two ;

28 and one is departed from me; and ye said that he was devoured of wild beasts, and I have not seen him until now.

29 If then ye take this one also from my presence, and an affliction happen to him by the way, then shall ye bring down my old age with sorrow to the grave.

30 Now then, if I should go in to they servant, and our father, and the boy should not be with us, (and his life depends on this life)

31 —it shall even come to pass, when he sees the boy is not with us, he will die, and thy servants will bring down the old age of thy servant, and our father, with sorrow to the grave.

32 For thy servant has received the boy from his father, saying, If I bring him not to thee, and place him before thee, I shall be guilty towards my father for ever.

33 Now then I will remain a servant with thee instead of the lad, a domestic of my lord; but let the lad go up with his brethren.

34 For how shall I go up to my father, the lad not being with us? lest I behold the evils which will befall my father.

Genesis 44 Commentary

Chapter 44

Joseph's policy to stay his brethren, and try their affection for Benjamin. (1-17) Judah's supplication to Joseph. (18-34)

Verses 1-17 Joseph tried how his brethren felt towards Benjamin. Had they envied and hated the other son of Rachel as they had hated him, and if they had the same want of feeling towards their father Jacob as heretofore, they would now have shown it. When the cup was found upon Benjamin, they would have a pretext for leaving him to be a slave. But we cannot judge what men are now, by what they have been formerly; nor what they will do, by what they have done. The steward charged them with being ungrateful, rewarding evil for good; with folly, in taking away the cup of daily use, which would soon be missed, and diligent search made for it; for so it may be read, Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, as having a particular fondness for it, and for which he would search thoroughly? Or, By which, leaving it carelessly at your table, he would make trial whether you were honest men or not? They throw themselves upon Joseph's mercy, and acknowledge the righteousness of God, perhaps thinking of the injury they had formerly done to Joseph, for which they thought God was now reckoning with them. Even in afflictions wherein we believe ourselves wronged by men, we must own that God is righteous, and finds out our sin.

Verses 18-34 Had Joseph been, as Judah supposed him, an utter stranger to the family, he could not but be wrought upon by his powerful reasonings. But neither Jacob nor Benjamin need an intercessor with Joseph; for he himself loved them. Judah's faithful cleaving to Benjamin, now, in his distress, was recompensed long afterwards by the tribe of Benjamin keeping with the tribe of Judah, when the other tribes deserted it. The apostle, when discoursing of the mediation of Christ, observes, that our Lord sprang out of Judah, ( Hebrews 7:14 ) ; and he not only made intercession for the transgressors, but he became a Surety for them, testifying therein tender concern, both for his Father and for his brethren. Jesus, the great antitype of Joseph, humbles and proves his people, even after they have had some tastes of his loving-kindness. He brings their sins to their remembrance, that they may exercise and show repentance, and feel how much they owe to his mercy.

Footnotes

• [a]. Gr. in which.
• [b]. Gr. but.
• [c]. Gr. Hades.
• [d]. Gr. Hades.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 44

This chapter relates the policy of Joseph in making an experiment of his brethren's regard and affection for Benjamin; he ordered his steward to put every man's money into his sack, and his silver cup in Benjamin's, and when they were got out of the city, to follow after them, and charge them with the theft, as he did; and having searched their sacks, as they desired he would, found the cup with Benjamin, which threw them into the utmost distress, and obliged them to return to Joseph, Ge 44:1-14; who charged them with their ill behaviour towards him; they acknowledge it, and propose to be his servants; but he orders them to depart to their father, retaining Benjamin in servitude, Ge 44:15-17; upon which Judah addressed him in a very polite and affectionate manner, and relates the whole story, both of what passed between Joseph and them, concerning Benjamin, the first time they were in Egypt, and between their father and them upon the same subject, when he directed them to go a second time thither to buy corn, and how he became a surety to his father for him, and therefore proposed to be his bondman now, not being able to see his father's face without Benjamin, Ge 44:18-34.