Genesis 42:1-7
The Arrival in Egypt... [ Continue Reading ]
The Arrival in Egypt... [ Continue Reading ]
Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, having undoubtedly gotten the information from his Canaanite neighbors, many of whom were merchants, JACOB SAID UNTO HIS SONS, WHY DO YE LOOK ONE UPON ANOTHER? The mention of Egypt caused the brethren to look upon one another with a helpless and suspi... [ Continue Reading ]
And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt, grain which people could buy for their own needs; GET YOU DOWN THITHER, AND BUY FOR US FROM THENCE; THAT WE MAY LIVE, AND NOT DIE. All this appears to have happened at a family council at which Jacob, as the head of the family or tribe,... [ Continue Reading ]
And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt, to obtain provisions for the family.... [ Continue Reading ]
But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, his full brother by Rachel, JACOB SENT NOT WITH HIS BRETHREN; FOR HE SAID, LEST PERADVENTURE MISCHIEF BEFALL HIM. Benjamin was now just entering manhood, being about twenty-one years old or somewhat more. Jacob had given him all the affection which he had formerly fel... [ Continue Reading ]
And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came; for the famine was in the land of Canaan. They were only a few of a great number that came down from Canaan to buy a supply of grain for their needs, that were thus dependent upon the generosity of the Egyptian ruler for their food.... [ Continue Reading ]
And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land. As the ruler of the country by Pharaoh's decree and as the chief overseer of the store-houses, Joseph exercised the greatest care in selling to strangers, and it seems to have been the rule that the for... [ Continue Reading ]
And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them, he literally spoke to them hard things; AND HE SAID UNTO THEM, WHENCE COME YE? AND THEY SAID, FROM THE LAND OF CANAAN TO BUY FOOD. It was an easy matter for Joseph, even after the lapse of... [ Continue Reading ]
And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.... [ Continue Reading ]
In Prison as Spies... [ Continue Reading ]
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,... [ Continue Reading ]
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.... [ Continue Reading ]
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 shou... [ Continue Reading ]
And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.... [ Continue Reading ]
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... [ Continue Reading ]
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.... [ Continue Reading ]
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.... [ Continue Reading ]
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 bel... [ Continue Reading ]
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.... [ Continue Reading ]
And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God:... [ Continue Reading ]
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;... [ Continue Reading ]
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... [ Continue Reading ]
Simeon Kept Back in Egypt... [ Continue Reading ]
And they said one to another, we are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us. More than twenty years after their crime their consciences cause them to confess that they were inde... [ Continue Reading ]
And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? Therefore, behold, also his blood is required. Reuben was by no means innocent in the matter of Joseph, and his present reminder was not in the sense of a reproach by which he meant t... [ Continue Reading ]
And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter, who was between him and his brothers and communicated all his commands to them in their own tongue, since Joseph purposely feigned ignorance of their language.... [ Continue Reading ]
And he turned himself about from them, and wept at this evidence of their complete change of heart; AND RETURNED TO THEM AGAIN, AND COMMUNED WITH THEM, AND TOOK FROM THEM SIMEON, AND BOUND HIM BEFORE THEIR EYES. He spared Reuben, either because he did not want to harm the right of the firstborn, or... [ Continue Reading ]
Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way; and thus did he unto them. Since it was not advisable, at this time, for him to reveal the reasons for acting thus, Joseph resorted to this secret measure, his... [ Continue Reading ]
The Return to Canaan... [ Continue Reading ]
And they laded their asses with the corn, and departed thence. The grain which they had brought for their needs made a big load, and they had a journey of several days.... [ Continue Reading ]
And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, at the place where they encamped for the night, probably in one of the shed-like buildings which are found along the caravan roads, HE ESPIED HIS MONEY; FOR, BEHOLD, IT WAS IN HIS SACK'S MOUTH.... [ Continue Reading ]
And he said unto his brethren, my money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack; and their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us? In their great consternation over this unexplainable happening they hastily conclude that it was ano... [ Continue Reading ]
And they came unto Jacob, their father, unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them; saying,... [ Continue Reading ]
The man who is the lord of the land spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.... [ Continue Reading ]
And we said unto him, We are true men; we are no spies;... [ Continue Reading ]
we be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.... [ Continue Reading ]
And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men: leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine of your households, and be gone;... [ Continue Reading ]
and bring your youngest brother unto me; then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men; so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffic in the land, have the right to trade, to buy and sell in the country. Thus the brethren gave their father a complete account of the stra... [ Continue Reading ]
And it came to pass, as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack; and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, the little sacks of silver with which they thought they had paid their grain, THEY WERE AFRAID. Surely the ruler of Egypt would n... [ Continue Reading ]
JACOB'S GRIEF... [ Continue Reading ]
And Jacob, their father, said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away; all these-things are against me. The renewed grief over the disappearance of Joseph, the apparent loss of Simeon, and now the anguish concerning Benjamin cau... [ Continue Reading ]
And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons if I bring him not to thee. He thus offered his dearest and best as hostages, as a guarantee for the safe return of Benjamin. DELIVER HIM INTO MY HAND, AND I WILL BRING HIM TO THEE AGAIN.... [ Continue Reading ]
And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone; if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave, to the realm of the dead. That was Jacob's decision at that time, and his sons could n... [ Continue Reading ]