(E (J).) Joseph's Brethren in Egypt 1 5. The descent into Egypt. 6 17. The first interview with Joseph. 18 26. The second interview. 27 38. The return to Canaan. The whole of this chapter, except Genesis 42:5 a, Genesis 42:27; Genesis 42:28, is probably from the E narrative. The dramatic in... [ Continue Reading ]
The Descent into Egypt 1. _look one upon another_ In silence, as if desperate. Jacob's words indicate the energy and resourcefulness of the old man, as compared with the helpless despondency of the sons.... [ Continue Reading ]
_down thither_ Egypt being regarded as on the low ground, in comparison with Palestine; cf. Genesis 12:10; Genesis 13:1; Genesis 43:4; Genesis 43:15; Genesis 46:3-4.... [ Continue Reading ]
_ten brethren_ Jacob's sons are here mentioned, not as heads of families, or as separate householders, but as the capable male members of a single family. The whole ten are needed, in order to carry back enough corn.... [ Continue Reading ]
_mischief_ See Genesis 42:38. Jacob dares not part with Benjamin, for whom, both as his youngest child and as the surviving son of Rachel, he has special affection. On this trait the whole narrative turns, cf. Genesis 42:38; Genesis 44:20; Genesis 44:30-31. 5 (? J). _And the sons of Israel_, &c. "So... [ Continue Reading ]
The first Interview with Joseph 6. _governor_ The late, and not very common, word here used in the Hebrew (_shâlît_) denotes the position of "Grand Vizier 1 [59] [59] On the "Grand Vizier" of Egypt, see Appendix E, The name of one of the Hyksos kings, Salatis, presents a resemblance to _shâlît_, w... [ Continue Reading ]
_knew them_ Joseph at once recognized his brethren. They did not recognize him. From a boy he had become a man; they were grown men when they sold him, and were comparatively unaltered. He in stature, dress, hair, and ornament must have been wholly changed from the rough shepherd lad of Canaan. Acco... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ye are spies_ The pretext for this sudden accusation lies in the constant exposure of the Egyptians, on their eastern border, to raids and attacks from nomad hordes of Asiatics. Joseph's words are therefore quite natural. LXX κατάσκοποι, Lat. _exploratores_. _the nakedness of the land_ Referring n... [ Continue Reading ]
_true men_ Lit. "straight," i.e. genuine and above suspicion.... [ Continue Reading ]
_We … twelve brethren_ In this verse, as in Genesis 42:32, it appears that Joseph's brethren proffer this information of their own accord, in order to convince the ruler that they were simple private persons. According to J (Genesis 43:7; Genesis 44:19), Joseph extracted the information by direct qu... [ Continue Reading ]
_That is it that I spake_ Joseph seems to say that their claim to be all the sons of one man is improbable and suspicious. If these suspicions are to be removed, their statements must be verified. Their statement was either the needless embroidery of a falsehood, or it was a detail of actual life th... [ Continue Reading ]
_by the life of Pharaoh_ An Egyptian form of oath, in the sense of "as sure as Pharaoh is alive to punish, or avenge." Dillmann says, "the oath is very suitable here, as the Egyptians honoured their kings, ὡς πρὸς ἀλήθειαν ὄντας θεούς (Diod. i. 90)," i.e. as truly divine. The oath by the life of the... [ Continue Reading ]
_put them … into ward_ i.e. "in charge, or safe keeping"; as in Genesis 40:3. Not "in prison," as in Genesis 39:20. Joseph's treatment sounds to us harsh and cruel. Arbitrary confinement, however, was, and is, only too common in the East. The brethren would be a prey to the sickening dread either of... [ Continue Reading ]
The second Interview 18. _for I fear God_ See notes on Genesis 20:3; Genesis 20:11; Genesis 22:12; Genesis 39:9. Cf. Leviticus 25:43; Nehemiah 5:15. Joseph reassures his brethren by representing to them that the potentate of Egypt is one who recognizes the universal Divine law of right and wrong. He... [ Continue Reading ]
_let one of your brethren_ Joseph's previous sentence in Genesis 42:16, by which one brother should be sent back, while the remainder should be kept in prison, is here reversed. The three days" interval had moderated Joseph's threat and his first appearance of indignation. The change to a more gener... [ Continue Reading ]
_We are verily guilty_ The words of Joseph's brethren represent the vitality of conscience after a long interval of years. They have the traditional belief that calamity will overtake the guilty. Cf. the words of Elihu, Job 36:6-14. _his soul_ See note on Genesis 12:13. Cf. Genesis 27:4; Genesis 27... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Reuben answered_ See Genesis 37:21-22. Reuben, according to E, believed Joseph to have been killed (Genesis 37:30), and had no knowledge of his being "kidnapped." He can appeal to good intentions, but not to courageous action. _his blood is required_ For this phrase see note on Genesis 9:5. Cf... [ Continue Reading ]
_an interpreter_ The services of interpreters would be necessary for the maintenance of intercourse between Egyptian rulers and the inhabitants of Canaan. The Tel el-Amarna tablets shew that between the kings of Canaanite cities and the court of Egypt, communications were carried on in the Assyrian... [ Continue Reading ]
_wept_ Cf. Genesis 43:30. Joseph's feelings are deeply stirred by overhearing words that indicate his brethren's contrition for their inhuman conduct towards himself. _Simeon_ Simeon was selected to be retained in prison as the next oldest after Reuben. Reuben may have been spared, either for his pr... [ Continue Reading ]
The Return to Canaan 27. _one of them_ Anticipating Genesis 42:35. Lit. "the one," i.e. the others followed. This verse and Genesis 42:28 are from J, according to which the money is found in the sacks at their first lodging place; see Genesis 43:21. According to E, the money is found in their sacks,... [ Continue Reading ]
_their heart failed them_ J's account, as we see in Genesis 43:21, must originally have represented the opening of all the sacks, and the finding of all the money, at the "lodging place." As, however, in E this general discovery is not made until their return to their father, J's narrative is here r... [ Continue Reading ]
_took us for spies_ Lit. "put us as spies." Probably the words "in ward" should be supplied, as LXX ἔθετο ἡμᾶς ἐν φυλακῇ; the Lat. _putavit nos_renders as the English versions.... [ Continue Reading ]
corn for _the famine of your houses_ The expression "take the famine of your houses" is so strange, that probably the word for "corn" is to be supplied, as in the parallel passage in Genesis 42:19. It is supplied in the versions, LXX, Syr. Pesh. and Targ. Onk.: LXX τὸν δὲ ἀγορασμὸν τῆς σιτοδοσίας το... [ Continue Reading ]
_shall traffick in the land_ The Vulg. paraphrases _ac deinceps quae vultis emendi habeatis licentiam_.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And it came to pass_, &c. This verse, interposed between the brethren's report and their father's reply, seems to emphasize the difficulty of their position; the money has been returned, and Simeon is a prisoner.... [ Continue Reading ]
_have ye bereaved_ Jacob, in his distress of mind, accuses his sons of being the cause of the loss, first of Joseph, and then of Simeon. Unwittingly he enforces the reproaches of their own conscience. _against me_ or, as R.V. marg., _upon_. Cf. Genesis 16:5; Genesis 27:12. Jacob is the sufferer. Th... [ Continue Reading ]
_Reuben_ Reuben is here again prominent; cf. Genesis 42:22. His words, offering his two sons as a pledge for the safe return of Benjamin, imply that a second journey to Egypt is regarded as a necessity and as a peril. Notice that here Reuben has two sons; in Genesis 46:9 (P) four are mentioned. Reu... [ Continue Reading ]
_he only is left_ i.e. of the sons of Rachel. _mischief_ Cf. Genesis 42:4; Exodus 21:22-23. _bring down my gray hairs_, &c. See note on Genesis 37:35; cf. Genesis 44:31. Jacob's prediction in these passages is probably intended to heighten the contrast presented by the dignity and happiness of his... [ Continue Reading ]