Bereshis 44

1 4 And he commanded the ish over Bais Yosef, saying, Fill the sacks of the anashim with ochel, as much as they can carry, and put kesef ish in the mouth of his sack.

2 And put my cup, gevi’a hakesef (cup of silver), in the mouth of the sack of the katon, and his kesef for shever (grain). And he did according to the davar Yosef had spoken.

3 As soon as the boker ohr, the anashim were sent away, they and their chamorim.

4 And when they were gone out of the ir, and not yet far off, Yosef said unto the ish over Bais Yosef, Up, follow after the anashim; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded ra’ah for tovah?

5 Is not this it in which adoni drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? Ye have done ra’ah in so doing.

6 And he overtook them, and he spoke unto them these same devarim.

7 And they said unto him, Wherefore saith adoni these words? Chalilah (far be it) that thy avadim should do according to this thing;

8 Hinei, the kesef, which we found in the mouth of our sacks, we brought back unto thee out of Eretz Kena’an; how then should we be ganavim stealing kesef or zahav out of the bais adonecha?

9 With whomsoever of thy avadim it be found, both let him die, and we also will be avadim of adoni.

10 And he said, Now also let it be according unto your devarim; he with whom it is found shall be to me eved; and ye shall be nekiyim (blameless).

11 Then they speedily took down every ish his sack to the ground, and opened every ish his sack.

12 And he searched, and began at the gadol (eldest), and ended at the katon (youngest); and the gevi’a (cup, goblet) was found in the sack of Binyamin.

13 Then they tore their garments, and loaded every ish his chamor, and returned to the ir.

14 And Yehudah and his achim came to Bais Yosef; for he was yet there; and they fell before him on the ground.

15 And Yosef said unto them, What ma’aseh (deed) is this that ye have done? Know ye not that an ish like me can find things out as a menachesh (diviner)?

16 And Yehudah said, What shall we say unto adoni? What shall we speak? Or how hall we clear ourselves? HaElohim hath found out the avon (iniquity) of thy avadim; look at us, we are now avadim la’adoni, both we, and he also with whom the gevi’a (cup) is found.

17 And he [Yosef] said, Chalilah that I should do so; but the ish in whose yad the gevi’a is found, he shall be to me eved; and as for you, go back in shalom unto avichem.

18 Then Yehudah came near unto him, and said, Oh, adoni, let thy eved speak now a davar in oznei adoni, and let not thine anger burn against thy eved; for thou art even like Pharaoh.

19 Adoni asked his avadim, saying, Have ye an av, or an ach?

20 And we said unto adoni, We have an av, a zaken, and a yeled zekunim katan (child of his old age, a little one); and achiv is dead, and he alone is left of immo, and aviv loveth him.

21 And thou saidst unto thy avadim, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him.

22 And we said unto adoni, The na’ar cannot leave aviv; for if he should leave aviv, aviv would die.

23 And thou saidst unto thy avadim, Except achichem hakaton (your youngest brother) come down with you, ye shall see my face no more.

24 And it came to pass when we came up unto thy eved Avi we told him the divrei adoni.

25 And avinu said, Shuvu, (go back, return) and buy us a little ochel.

26 And we said, We cannot go down; if achinu hakaton (our youngest brother) be with us, then will we go down; for we may not see the face of HaIsh, except achinu hakaton be with us.

27 And thy eved Avi said unto us, Ye know that my wife bore me two banim;

28 And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn to pieces; and I saw him not ad-hennah (until now);

29 And if ye take this also from me, and ason (evil, harm) befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hair in ra’ah (misery) to Sheol.

30 Now therefore when I come to thy eved Avi, and the na’ar be not with us; seeing that his nefesh is bound up in the nefesh of the na’ar;

31 It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the na’ar is not with us, that he will die; and thy avadim shall bring down the gray hair of thy eved avinu with yagon (sorrow) to Sheol,

32 For thy eved became surety for the na’ar unto Avi, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame before Avi kol hayamim.

33 Therefore, let thy eved, now, abide instead of the na’ar, an eved to adoni; and let the na’ar go up with his achim.

34 For how shall I go up to Avi, and the na’ar be not with me? Lest I see the rah that would overtake Avi.

Bereshis 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.

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.