GOD’S ANCIENT PEOPLE GENESIS _ALUN OWEN_ CHAPTER 43 JACOB SENDS HIS SONS TO EGYPT AGAIN V1 Now there was an extreme lack of food in the region. V2 And they had eaten the grain that the brothers had brought from Egypt. So their father said to them, ‘Go again. Buy a little food for us.’ V3 But Ju... [ Continue Reading ]
Judah spoke on behalf of all the brothers. We would expect that Reuben would do this. Reuben was the oldest brother. And, before this time, Reuben was the most responsible brother. (See Genesis 37:21.) But Judah became the leader. And, later, Jacob dealt with Judah as if he was the oldest. (See Gene... [ Continue Reading ]
Benjamin was not a boy. He was more than 22 years of age. This is how we know that. • Benjamin was born before Joseph went to Egypt. • Joseph was in Egypt for 13 years before he met *Pharaoh. (See Genesis 37:2, ‘Joseph was 17 years of age’ and see Genesis 41:46, ‘Joseph was 30 years of age’.) • A... [ Continue Reading ]
Reuben had made a promise like this. (See Genesis 42:37 and the comment.) And now Judah promised that he would bring Benjamin back. However, he knew that he might not be able to do that. But he still made the promise. If he did not promise, his father would not agree. So Benjamin would not go to Egy... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Balm’ is a medicine. People use ‘spice’ to give more flavour to food. People use ‘myrrh’ to produce a pleasant smell. ‘Almonds’ are a kind of nuts.... [ Continue Reading ]
The ‘double money’ included the money that they found in their sacks earlier. And it included money to buy more grain. THE MEAL IN JOSEPH’S HOUSE V16 Joseph saw that Benjamin was with them. So he said to the manager of his house, ‘Bring these men into my house. Kill an animal and prepare a meal. T... [ Continue Reading ]
To eat together was a sign of friendship. So the manager knew that Joseph was friendly towards the brothers. But the brothers did not know that yet.... [ Continue Reading ]
The brothers did not know why they were going to Joseph’s house. They could not guess that they would eat a meal with Joseph. They made the only guess that they could make. And they were very much afraid. V19 So they went to the manager of Joseph’s house and they spoke with him. They spoke at the d... [ Continue Reading ]
They spoke at the door because they did not want to go into the house. They thought that it was like a trap. They did not know what Joseph would do to them.... [ Continue Reading ]
The manager of Joseph’s house already knew about the money. Perhaps he had put the money back into the sacks during the brothers’ previous visit. (See Genesis 42:25.) So he knew that Joseph refused to take money from the brothers. And he knew that Joseph would not hurt the brothers. Otherwise, he wo... [ Continue Reading ]
To eat together was a sign of friendship. And the brothers heard that they would eat a meal at Joseph’s house. Perhaps they would eat a meal with Joseph. That would mean that they were not in danger. But they were still worried. They did not understand what was happening. And they still could not be... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Benjamin was his brother.’ All the brothers were sons of Joseph’s father. But only Benjamin was a son of Joseph’s mother. Joseph called Benjamin ‘my son’. But that was a common greeting by an important person to someone who was young. Joseph was not saying that Benjamin was a relative. V32 The se... [ Continue Reading ]
It was the custom that Egyptians (inhabitants of Egypt) did not eat with foreigners. Also, *Pharaoh may have made Joseph an Egyptian priest. And it was the custom that Egyptian priests did not eat with other Egyptians. But Joseph had another reason to eat separately. He was not ready to show that he... [ Continue Reading ]
On important occasions, the brothers would sit in order. The oldest brother would sit nearest to the head of the table. The other brothers would sit in the order of their ages. And Joseph put each brother in the right position. The brothers were very surprised. They could not understand how Joseph k... [ Continue Reading ]
These shares were not the main part of the meal. Joseph ate at a separate table from them. He sent small shares from his own table to his brothers. That showed that they were eating the meal together. It showed that they were his guests. So these shares were small. And Benjamin’s larger share was no... [ Continue Reading ]