Genesis 43

1 But the famine prevailed in the land.

2 And it came to pass, when they had finished eating the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, that their father said to them, Go again; buy us a little food.

3 And Judas spoke to him, saying, The man, the lord of the country, positively testified to us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, unless your younger brother be with you.

4 If, then, thou send our brother with us, we will go down, and buy thee food;

5 but if thou send not our brother with us, we will not go: for the man spoke to us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, unless your younger brother be with you.

6 And Israel said, Why did ye harm me, inasmuch as ye told the man that ye had a brother?

7 And they said, The man closely questioned us about our family also, saying, Does your father yet live, and have ye a brother? and we answered him according to this question: did we know that he would say to us, Bring your brother?

8 And Judas said to his father Israel, Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and thou, and our store.

9 And I engage for him; at my hand do thou require him; if I bring him not to thee, and place him before thee, I shall be guilty toward thee for ever.

10 For if we had not tarried, we should now have returned twice.

11 And Israel, their father, said to them, If it be so, do this; take of the fruits of the earth in your vessels, and carry down to the man presents of gum and honey, and frankincense, and stacte, and turpentine, and walnuts.

12 And take double money in your hands, and the money that was returned in your sacks, carry back with you, lest peradventure it is a mistake.

13 And take your brother; and arise, go down to the man.

14 And my God give you favour in the sight of the man, and send away your other brother, and Benjamin, for I accordingly as I have been bereaved, am bereaved.

15 And the men having taken these presents, and the double money, took in their hands also Benjamin; and they rose up and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.

16 And Joseph saw them and his brother Benjamin, born of the same mother; and he said to the steward of his household, Bring the men into the house, and slay beasts and make ready, for the men are to eat bread with me at noon.

17 And the man did as Joseph said; and he brought the men into the house of Joseph.

18 And the men, when they perceived that they were brought into the house of Joseph, said, We are brought in because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first; even in order to inform against us, and lay it to our charge; to take us for servants, and our asses.

19 And having approached the man who was over the house of Joseph, they spoke to him in the porch of the house,

20 saying, We pray , Sir; we came down at first to buy food.

21 And it came to pass, when we came to unlade, and opened our sacks, also this money of each in his sack; we have now brought back our money by weight in our hands.

22 And we have brought other money with us to buy food; we know not who put the money into our sacks.

23 And he said to them, mercifully with you; be not afraid; your God, and the God of your fathers, has given you treasures in your sacks, and I have enough of your good money. And he brought Symeon out to them.

24 And he brought water to wash their feet; and gave provender to their asses.

25 And they prepared their gifts, until Joseph came at noon, for they heard that he was going to dine there.

26 And Joseph entered into the house, and they brought him the gifts which they had in their hands, into the house; and they did him reverence with their face to the ground.

27 And he asked them, How are ye? and he said to them, Is your father, the old man of whom ye spoke, well? Does he yet live?

28 And they said, Thy servant our father is well; he is yet alive. And he said, Blessed be that man by God; —and they bowed, and did him reverence.

29 And Joseph lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, born of the same mother; and he said, Is this your younger brother, whom ye spoke of bringing to me? and he said, God have mercy on thee, my son.

30 And Joseph was troubled, for his bowels yearned over his brother, and he sought to weep; and he went into his chamber, and wept there.

31 And he washed his face and came out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread.

32 And they set on for him alone, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians feasting with him by themselves, for the Egyptians could not eat bread with the Hebrews, for it is an abomination to the Egyptians.

33 And they sat before him, the first-born according to his seniority, and the younger according to his youth; and the men looked with amazement every one at his brother.

34 And they took their portions from him to themselves; but Benjamin's portion was five times as much as the portions of . And they drank and were filled with drink with him.

Genesis 43 Commentary

Chapter 43

Jacob is persuaded to send Benjamin into Egypt. (1-14) Joseph's reception of his brethren, their fears. (15-25) Joseph makes a feast for his brethren. (26-34)

Verses 1-14 Jacob urges his sons to go and buy a little food; now, in time of dearth, a little must suffice. Judah urges that Benjamin should go with them. It is not against the honour and duty children owe their parents, humbly to advise them, and when needful, to reason with them. Jacob saw the necessity of the case, and yielded. His prudence and justice appeared in three things. 1. He sent back the money they had found in the sack. Honesty obliges us to restore not only that which comes to us by our own fault, but that which comes to us by the mistakes of others. Though we get it by oversight, if we keep it when the oversight is discovered, it is kept by deceit. 2. He sent as much again as they took the time before; the price of corn might be risen, or they might have to pay a ransom for Simeon. 3. He sent a present of such things as the land afforded, and as were scarce in Egypt, balm, and honey, &c. Providence dispenses not its gifts to all alike. But honey and spice will never make up the want of bread-corn. The famine was sore in Canaan, yet they had balm and myrrh, &c. We may live well enough upon plain food, without dainties; but we cannot live upon dainties without plain food. Let us thank God that what is most needful and useful, generally is most cheap and common. Though men value very highly their gold and silver, and the luxuries which are counted the best fruits of every land, yet in a time of famine they willingly barter them for bread. And how little will earthly good things stand us in stead in the day of wrath! How ready should we be to renounce them all, as loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ! Our way to prevail with man is by first prevailing with the Lord in fervent prayer. But, Thy will be done, should close every petition for the mercies of this life, or against the afflictions of this life.

Verses 15-25 Jacob's sons went down the second time into Egypt to buy corn. If we should ever know what a famine of the word means, let us not think it much to travel as far for spiritual food, as they did for bodily food. Joseph's steward had orders from his master to take them to his house. Even this frightened them. Those that are guilty make the worst of every thing. But the steward encouraged them. It appears, from what he said, that by his good master he was brought to the knowledge of the true God, the God of the Hebrews. Religious servants should take all fit occasions to speak of God and his providence, with reverence and seriousness.

Verses 26-34 Observe the great respect Joseph's brethren paid to him. Thus were Joseph's dreams more and more fulfilled. Joseph showed great kindness to them. He treated them nobly; but see here the early distance between Jews and gentiles. In a day of famine, it is enough to be fed; but they were feasted. Their cares and fears were now over, and they ate their bread with joy, reckoning they were upon good terms with the lord of the land. If God accept our works, our present, we have reason to be cheerful. Joseph showed special regard for Benjamin, that he might try whether his brethren would envy him. It must be our rule, to be content with what we have, and not to grieve at what others have. Thus Jesus shows those whom he loves, more and more of their need. He makes them see that he is their only refuge from destruction. He overcomes their unwillingness, and brings them to himself. Then, as he sees good, he gives them some taste of his love, and welcomes them to the provisions of his house, as an earnest of what he further intends for them.

Footnotes

• [a]. Gr. one.
• [b]. q.d. I am satisfied with the money you have given me, both as to quality and quantity.
• [c]. Gr. having looked up with, etc.
• [d]. Gr. were amazed.
• [e]. Gr. was magnified beyond the portions of all five times in comparison of theirs.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 43

This chapter informs us how that the famine continued in the land of Canaan, and the corn that Jacob's family had from Egypt being consumed, Jacob pressed his sons to go down for more, which they refused to do, unless Benjamin was sent with them, for whose safety Judah offered to become a surety, Ge 43:1-10; Jacob with reluctance was prevailed upon to let him go, and dismissed them with a present to the governor of Egypt, and with double money to buy corn with, and with his blessing upon them, Ge 43:11-14; upon which they set out for Egypt; and when they came into the presence of Joseph, he seeing Benjamin with them, ordered his steward to have them to his house, and get dinner ready, it being his pleasure that they should dine with him that day, Ge 43:15-17; this threw them into a fright, supposing they were going to be called to an account for the money they found in their sacks; wherefore they related to the steward very particularly the whole of that affair, who bid them not be uneasy, for he had had their money; and as a proof that things would go well with them, brought Simeon out to them, and treated them very kindly and gently, Ge 43:18-24; and having got their present ready against Joseph came home, they delivered it to him with great veneration and submission; who asked of the welfare of their father, and whether that was not their younger brother they spoke of, the sight of whom so affected him, that he was obliged in haste to retire to his chamber, and weep, Ge 43:25-30; and having washed his face, and composed himself, he returned and ordered dinner to be brought, which was set on different tables, one for himself and the Egyptians, and the other for his brethren, whom he placed according to their age, to their great surprise; and sent them messes from his table to each, and to Benjamin five times more than the rest, and they were so liberally entertained, that they became cheerful and merry, Ge 43:31-34.