Genesis 45:27

25-28 To hear that Joseph is alive, is too good news to be true; Jacob faints, for he believes it not. We faint, because we do not believe. At length, Jacob is convinced of the truth. Jacob was old, and did not expect to live long. He says, Let my eyes be refreshed with this sight before they are closed, and then I need no more to make me happy in this world. Behold Jesus manifesting himself as a Brother and a Friend to those who once were his despisers, his enemies. He assures them of his love and the riches of his grace. He commands them to lay aside envy, anger, malice, and strife, and to live in peace with each other. He teaches them to give up the world for him and his fulness. He supplies all that is needful to bring them home to himself, that where he is they may be also. And though, when he at last sends for his people, they may for a time feel some doubts and fears, yet the tho...

Verse Genesis 45:27. _WHEN HE SAW THE WAGONS - THE SPIRIT OF JACOB - REVIVED_] The wagons were additional evidences of the truth of what he had heard from his sons; and the consequence was, that he was restored to fresh vigour, he seemed as if he had gained _new life_, ותחי vattechi, and he lived; revixit, says the Vulgate, _he lived_ _afresh_. The Septuagint translate the original word by ανεζωπυρησε, which signifies the _blowing_ and _stirring up_ of _almost extinguished_ _embers_ that had been buried under the ashes, which word St. Paul uses, 2 Timothy 1:6, for _stirring up the gift of God_. The passage at once shows the debilitated state of the venerable patriarch, and the wonderful effect the news of Joseph's preservation and glory had upon his mind....

- Joseph Made Himself Known to His Brethren 10. גשׁן _gôshen_, Goshen, Gesem (Arabias related perhaps to גשׁם _geshem_ “rain, shower”), a region on the borders of Egypt and Arabia, near the gulf of Suez. The appeal of Judah is to Joseph irresistible. The repentance of his brothers, and their attachment to Benjamin, have been demonstrated in the most satisfactory manner. This is all that Joseph sought. It is evident, throughout the whole narrative, that he never aimed at exercising any supremacy over his brothers. As soon as he has obtained an affecting proof of the right disposition of his brothers, he conceals himself no longer. And the speech of Judah, in which, no doubt, his brothers concurred, does equal credit to his head and heart....

EXPOSITION GENESIS 45:16 AND THE FAME THEREOF—literally, _the voice, _hence rumor (cf. Jeremiah 3:9)—WAS HEARD IN PHARAOH'S HOUSE (having been brought thither doubtless by some of the Court officials), SAYING, JOSEPH'S BRETHREN—it is probable that they would style him Zaphnath-paaneah (cf. Genesis 41:45) ARE COME (_i.e._ are arrived in Egypt): AND IT PLEASED PHARAOH WELL, AND HIS SERVANTS—literally, _it was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants _(cf. Genesis 41:37). The...

AND THEY TOLD HIM ALL THE WORDS OF JOSEPH, WHICH HE HAD SAID UNTO THEM,.... Not concerning their selling of him, and his forgiveness of them, and reconciliation to them, which perhaps Jacob never heard of to his dying day, since he makes no mention of it, nor hints at it in his dying words to them; but of his great advancement in the court of Pharaoh, and how desirous he was to have his father and family with him, and provide for them, since there were five years of famine yet to come: AND WHEN HE SAW THE WAGONS WHICH JOSEPH HAD SENT TO CARRY HIM, and his sons wives and children, down to Egypt in; and which were so grand and magnificent, that he was easily persuaded could never have been provided by his sons, if what they had said concerning Joseph was not true: and then THE SPIRIT OF JACOB THEIR FATHER REVIVED: not the Holy Spirit, or spirit of prophecy, as the Targums, which the Jews...

Genesis 45:9. _Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt; come down unto me, tarry not:_ Joseph, having made himself known to his brethren, bids them return to their father, and bring him down to Egypt to see his long-lost son. Genesis 45:10. _And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast: and there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty._ It is just like Joseph to speak thus kindly, and to put the invitation so attractively to his father: «Thou shalt be near unto me.»

CHAPTER 45 JOSEPH REVEALS HIMSELF _ 1. He reveals himself (Genesis 45:1)_ 2. His address (Genesis 45:4) 3. He kissed his brethren (Genesis 45:14) 4. Pharaoh's command (Genesis 45:16) 5. His brethren sent away and their return to Jacob (Genesis 45:21) These three Chapter s belong together because they lead up to the great climax in the story of Joseph. The nobility of the character of Joseph is here fully brought out. Besides being a wise man, the great statesman of Egypt, he had a heart of tender

Joseph's Brethren bring the News to Jacob 16. _the fame_ Lit. "the voice." It is not the sound of Joseph's weeping, but the news of the discovery of his brethren....

DISCOURSE: 57 JACOB’S RESOLUTION TO VISIT JOSEPH IN EGYPT Genesis 45:27. _And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the waggons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived: and Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die._ IT is of very great importance to exercise sound wisdom and discretion in interpreting the Holy Scriptures, lest, by imposing on them a forced or fanciful meaning, we bring the sacred oracles themselves into contempt. Yet is there a certain latitude allowed us, provided we do not set forth the subordinate and accommodated sense as if it were the true and primary import of the passage. The Apostles themselves frequently take this liberty. The prophet, speaking of the Babylonish captivity, says, “A voice was heard in Ramah, lame

WHEN HE SAW THE WAGGONS— The intelligence of his son Joseph was so unexpected, yet so important to the good old father, that he could scarcely be persuaded to believe the truth of it; nor could he be satisfied, without the convincing evidence of the magnificent presents which Joseph had sent him: then _his spirit revived; i.e._. he not only recovered perfectly from his fainting fit, but was now raised to greater life and vigour than he had felt since the loss of Joseph. _Pristino vigori restitutus est_, says Bochart; _he was restored to his ancient vigour. Joy revived his heart,_ says St. Chrysostom, _just as fresh oil poured upon a lamp, which was ready to die, makes it rekindle, and shed a new and more vigorous light._...