Genesis 43:15
Ver. 15. And the men took the present,.... Their father directed them to:
and they took double money in their hand; besides what they found in their sacks mouths, which they also carried with them:
and Benjamin; they took him likewise with their father's leave:and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph; presented themselves to him, and their petitions for more corn, as well as to answer to any questions that should be asked them. Genesis 43:16Ver. 16. And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them,.... Whom he knew, though he had not seen him twenty two years, and though he must be very much altered, being but about ten years of age when Joseph was said into Egypt, yet being with the rest of his brethren, whom he knew very well, concluded it must be him:he said to the ruler of his house; his steward, as be is after called, not his son Manasseh, as the Targum of Jonathan:bring [these] men home; to his own house, for Joseph was now at or near the place where were the granaries of corn, and where that was said and distributed:and slay, and make ready; or "slay a slaughter" {t}, that is, of beasts for food; a sheep, or a lamb, or a calf, very probably, and order it to be dressed, boiled or roasted, or both, that it might be fit for food: wherefore Aben Ezra must be mistaken when Ge 46:34; he says, that the Egyptians in those times did not eat flesh, nor might any kill a sheep; for it cannot be thought that Joseph could order a dinner for his brethren, to whom as yet he did not choose to make himself known, in direct violation of the customs and laws of Egypt, and who, it is plain by what follows, dined as an Egyptian, and with the Egyptians, and not as an Hebrew, and with his brethren as Hebrews; besides, for what purpose did Pharaoh get and possess such herds and flocks of cattle, if not for food as well as other uses? see Ge 47:6; though in later times they abstained from eating various animals, as Porphyry {u} from Chaeremon relates, and particularly from sheep and goats, according to Juvenal {x}:for [these] men shall dine with me at noon; which was the usual time of dining with the eastern people, as it is now with us, though with the Romans at evening.{t} xbj xbj "macta mactationem", Drusius, Schmidt; "macta animalia", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. {u} De abstinentia, l. 4. sect. 6, 7. {x} "-----lanatis animalibus abstinet omnis Mensa, nefas illic foetus jugulare capellae." Satyr 15. ver. 11, 12. Genesis 43:17Ver. 17. And the man did as Joseph bade: and the man brought the men into Joseph's house. Showed them the way to it, and introduced them into it, and led them into some apartment in it, and ordered every thing to be got ready for dinner as his master had bid him, being a diligent and faithful servant: at old Cair is shown to travellers {y} the house of Joseph in the tower, and a very surprising well, said to be made by him, and here, they say; the granaries were, in which the corn was laid up.{y} Radzivil, Thevenot, Le Brun & Lucas apud Jablonski de Terra Goshen, Dissert. 5. sect. 6. Genesis 43:18Ver. 18. And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house,.... It not being usual, as Jarchi observes, for those that came to buy corn to lodge there, but at an inn in the city:and they said, because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; to examine and inquire of them how they came to go away without paying for their corn, take up their money again after they had laid it down, and take it away with them, and so were guilty of tricking and defrauding, if not of theft:that he may seek occasion against us: or "roll on us" {z}; cast all the shame on them, and leave the reproach and scandal of it on them:and fall upon us; with hard words, and severe menaces, if not with blows:and take us for bondmen, and our asses; imprison them, which was the punishment for fraud and theft, and take their asses as a forfeiture.{z} wnyle llnthl "ut devolvat (hoc) in nos", Tigurine version. Genesis 43:19Ver. 19. And they came near to the steward of Joseph's house,.... The same person before called the ruler of his house, under whose direction they were; just before they came to the house, as it seems by what follows, they made up to him as having something to say to him:and they communed with him at the door of the house; before they went into it, being uneasy and eager to know what should be the meaning of their being brought thither, which was unusual. Genesis 43:20Ver. 20. And said, O sir,.... Or, "on me, my lord" {a}, one said in the name of the rest, perhaps Judah, on me let the blame lie, if guilty of rudeness in making our address to thee; or as the Vulgate Latin version, "we pray, sir, that thou wouldest hear us"; and so Jarchi and Aben Ezra say the phrase is expressive of beseeching, entreating, and supplicating:we came indeed down at the first time to buy food; not to spy the land but to buy corn, and not to get it by fraud or tricking but by paying for it the price that was required.{a} ynda yb "in me Domine mi", Montanus. Genesis 43:21Ver. 21. And it came to pass when we came to the inn,.... Upon the road, on the first day's journey, to refresh themselves and their cattle:that we opened our sacks; to give provender to our cattle; by which it appears that they all did this, though it is only said of one of them at the inn, and of all of them when they came home, Ge 42:27;and, behold, [every] man's money [was] in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight; nothing wanting of it; it being usual in those times to pay money by weight, and not by the tale of pieces:and we have brought it again in our hand; in order to pay it for the corn we have had, having no design to defraud. Genesis 43:22Ver. 22. And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food,.... Double money for a double quantity, or because the price of corn was now doubled; and their bringing this besides the other showed their honest and upright intentions:we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks; we are quite ignorant of it, and can by no means account for it, and therefore hope no blame will be laid on us. Genesis 43:23Ver. 23. And he said, peace [be] unto you, fear not,.... Do not be uneasy and disturbed, you have nothing to fear, you are in no danger:your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks; the hidden treasure, as the word signifies, found in their sacks; was there by the providence of God, so disposing the heart of Joseph to order it to be put there, as the steward interpreted it; who by being Joseph's family had got some knowledge of the true God, and of his all wise and disposing Providence:I had your money; he received it of them, which he acknowledges, and that was sufficient to acquit them from guile and theft, though he does not say that he put the money into their sacks, or by whose order it was done:and he brought Simeon out unto them; either out of prison, or out of some other room to them, which was, no doubt, done by the direction of Joseph. Genesis 43:24Ver. 24. And the man brought the men into Joseph's house,.... After the above discourse had passed between them, and he had made their minds easy, both with respect to the money, and by bringing Simeon unbound to them:and gave [them] water, and they washed their feet; which was usually done in the eastern countries after travelling, and when about to take a meal, and was both for refreshment and cleanliness:and he gave their asses provender; thus were they hospitably entertained, they and all that belonged to them. Genesis 43:25Ver. 25. And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon,.... They took it out of their vessels or bags in which they brought it, having unladen their asses, and disposed of it in a proper manner to present it to him when he came home at noon to dine:for they heard that they should eat bread there; dine there, bread being put for all provision: this was told them, very probably, by the steward, or by some of the servants in the house, or they overheard what Joseph said to the steward, Ge 43:16. Genesis 43:26Ver. 26. And when Joseph came home,.... In order to dine, it being noontime:they brought him the present which [was] in their hand into the house; everyone took a part of it in his hand, and brought it to Joseph in the parlour where he was, and delivered it to him as a present from their father, or from themselves, or it may be as from both:and bowed themselves to him to the earth; in the most prostrate and humble manner, now again fulfilling his dream, and more completely than before, for now all his eleven brethren were together, signified by the eleven stars in the dream, that made obeisance to him, see Ge 37:9. Genesis 43:27Ver. 27. And he asked them of [their] welfare,.... Or "peace" {b}, their prosperity, especially of the health of their bodies, whether they were well and in good health after so long a journey:and said, [is] your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? when they were with him before, and told him they were all the sons of one man, who dwelt in Canaan:[is] he yet alive? which he was very desirous of knowing; for, being advanced in years, he might fear he was removed by death in the time between their going and returning.{b} Mwlvl "ad pacem", Montanus, "de pace", Vatablus, Drusius, Piscator, Schmidt. Genesis 43:28Ver. 28. And they answered, thy servant our father [is] in good health, he [is] yet alive,.... Which is an answer to both his questions; and by calling their father Joseph's servant, he did obeisance to him in them, as well as by sending a present to him, which they delivered as coming from him his servant; and it is not improbable that Jacob sent his salutation to him as his servant, and so that part of the dream of Joseph's was also fulfilled, which represented the sun doing obeisance to him, Ge 37:9:and they bowed their heads, and made obeisance; a second time, as they did, no doubt, at every time they gave answer to Joseph's questions; and this is again observed, to show the full completion of the above dream. Genesis 43:29Ver. 29. And he lifted up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin,.... He had seen him before when his brethren first presented themselves to him, but then took no particular and special notice of him, only gave him a side look as it were, but now he looked wistly at him:his mother's son; the son of Rachel his mother, and who was his only brother by his mother's side, the rest, though his brethren, yet only by his father's side, not his mother's sons:and said, [is] this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? he knew he was the same, but was willing to have it from their mouths, to lead on to what he had further to say:and he said; after they had answered his question, and told him it was he:God be gracious unto thee, my son; speaking as a superior, a governor, in which capacity he was a father to his inferiors; and as a man, a relation, a brother, though not as yet discovered; he spoke in the most tender and affectionate manner, and, as a religious good man, he wishes the best thing he could for his brother, the grace and goodness of God; and which may be understood in the largest and most expressive sense, as including all good things, temporal, spiritual, and eternal. Genesis 43:30Ver. 30. And Joseph made haste,.... To get out of the room where he was with his brethren as fast as he could:for his bowels did yearn upon his brother; his passions grew strong, his affections were raised, his heart was full of tenderness, and there was such a flow of love and joy at the sight of his brother, and the little conversation he had with him, that he was ready to burst out, and must have discovered himself if he had not immediately turned and got out of the room:and he sought [where] to weep; a proper place to vent his passion in tears of joy, and relieve himselfand he entered into [his] chamber, and wept there; where he could be the most retired, and not likely to be overheard. Genesis 43:31Ver. 31. And he washed his face,.... From the tears on it, that it might not be discerned that he had been weeping:and went out; of his chamber into the room again, where his brethren were:and refrained himself; from weeping, or showing any excess of passion, love, joy, &c.and said, set on bread; gave orders to his servants to bring in dinner, and set it upon the table; bread, as before, being put for all kind of food. Genesis 43:32Ver. 32. And they set on for him by himself,.... A table was placed and provisions set upon it in one part of the room for Joseph by himself; which was done either because he was an Hebrew, and the Egyptians might not eat with him, nor he with them; or rather for the sake of grandeur, he being the next man in the kingdom to Pharaoh:and for them by themselves; another table was placed and spread for Joseph's brethren by themselves, the reason of which is after given:and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves; a third table was laid for such Egyptian noblemen and others, who were at this time Joseph's guests, or used to dine with him:because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews, for that [is] an abomination unto the Egyptians; the reason of which, as given by the Targums of Onkelos and, Jonathan, is, because the creatures the Egyptians worshipped the Hebrews eat; but it is a question whether such creatures as oxen, sheep, goats, &c. which were eaten by the Hebrews, were so early worshipped by the Egyptians; though they were in later times, and particularly the Apis or ox, which is supposed by many to be worshipped on the account of Joseph, and so after his time; rather the abhorrence the Egyptians had the Hebrews in was on account of their being shepherds, on a political account, they having before this time suffered much by the insurrections and rebellions of such sort of persons among themselves, who set up a kingdom and kings of their own, called the "Hycsi", or pastor kings: or else this difference made between the Egyptians and Hebrews at eating, was not on account of what they did eat, as of the certain rites and customs the Egyptians had peculiar to themselves in dressing their food, and eating it; and therefore would not eat with any of another nation; so that this was not any particular distaste they had to the Hebrews, but was their usage towards men of all nations; for so Herodotus says {c}, that"no Egyptian, man or woman, might kiss the month of a Greek, or use a knife, or spit, or pot;''that is, a knife a Greek had cut anything with, or a spit he had roasted meat on, or a pot he had boiled it in; and adds,"nor might taste of the flesh of an ox, cut with the knife of a Greek.''And indeed they would not eat nor converse with any of another religion {d}, be they who they would.{c} Euterpe, sive, l. 2. c. 41. {d} Chaeremon apud Porphyr. de abstinentia, l. 4. sect. 6. Genesis 43:33Ver. 33. And they sat before him,.... At a table, so placed that they were in his sight, and he had a full view of them:the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth; everyone according to his age, Reuben, the firstborn, first, and so on to Benjamin the youngest: thus they placed themselves as they used to be in their father's family, or they were so placed by Joseph; and if this was the case, it may be a reason, and a principal one, of what follows:and the men marvelled one at another; not the Egyptians, the guests of Joseph, seeing eleven brethren placed in this manner, and these being Hebrews, taken so much notice of; but Joseph's brethren, who either wondered at the manner of their being seated so regular, according to their age; or at the honour done them to dine with the governor, and at the grandeur of the entertainment, and at the separate manner in which the governor, and the nobles of Egypt, sat at meals; or at what follows. Genesis 43:34Ver. 34. And he took [and sent] messes unto there from before him,.... The several dishes were brought before him, who cut them up, and sent to everyone their part and portion, as was usual in those times and countries, and afterwards elsewhere {e}, for the master of the family or feast to divide the food into parts, and to give to every guest his part; and these were called, from their being sent, "missus", and from whence seems to be our English word "messes", here used:but Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of theirs; which was done out of his great affection to him, being his own brother both by father and mother's side; and, as some think, to try his brethren, how they stood affected to Benjamin, and observe if this did not raise their envy to him, as his father's particular respect to him had raised it in them against himself; and that, if it should, he might provide for his safety, lest they should use him in like manner as they had used him. This undoubtedly was designed as a peculiar favour, and a mark of special honour and respect, it being usual for princes to send messes from their tables to such as they favoured; and particularly it was usual with the Egyptians for their kings to have double messes more than the rest, in honour of them, as Herodotus {f} relates: Benjamin's mess consisted either of five parts, or it was five times bigger than what was sent to the rest; not but that they had all what was sufficient; there was no want to any, but great plenty of everything for them all; nor was this designed Benjamin, that he should eat the larger quantity, only to show him distinguishing respect:and they drank, and were merry with him; after dinner they drank wine liberally and plentifully, but not to excess and intemperance, yet so as to be cheerful and in good spirits; their fears being all dissipated by this generous entertainment they met with.{e} Athenaei Deipnosophist. l. 1. {f} Erato, sive, l. 6. c. 57.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.