Genesis 44:18
Ver. 18. Then Judah came near unto him,.... Being the spokesman of his brethren, and the surety of Benjamin: he plucked up a spirit, put on courage, and drew nearer to the governor, and with much freedom and boldness, and in a very polite manner, addressed him:
and said, O my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears; not admit him to private audience, or suffer him to whisper something to him, but give him the hearing of a few words he had to say to him:
and let not thine anger burn against thy servant; do not be displeased with his boldness, and the freedom he takes, but hear him patiently:
for thou [art] even as Pharaoh; next, if not equal in power and authority with him; could exercise justice or show mercy, punish or release from punishment, at his pleasure; and having leave granted him, he began his speech, and made the following narrative. Genesis 44:19Ver. 19. My lord asked his servants,.... The first time they came down to Egypt to buy corn; he puts him in mind of what passed between them at that time:saying, have ye a father or a brother? which question followed upon their saying that they were the sons of one man, Ge 42:11. Genesis 44:20Ver. 20. And we said unto my lord, we have a father,.... Yet living in the land of Canaan:an old man; being one hundred and thirty years of age, Ge 47:9;and a child of his old age; who was born when he was near an hundred years of age: anda little one; not in stature, but in age, being the youngest son, and much younger than they: so they represented him, on that account, and because he was tenderly brought up with his father, and not inured to business and hardship, and so unfit to travel:and his brother is dead; meaning Joseph: so they thought him to be, having not heard of him for twenty two years or more, and they had so often said he was dead, or suggested as much, that they at length believed he was:and he alone is left of his mother; the only child left of his mother Rachel:and his father loveth him; being his youngest son, and the only child of his beloved Rachel, and therefore most dear unto him. Genesis 44:21Ver. 21. And thou saidst unto thy servants, bring him down unto me,.... Judah does not relate the reason of his order, which was to give proof that they were no spies, but as if Joseph designed to show favour to Benjamin, as undoubtedly he did:that I may set mine eyes upon him; not barely see him, as Aben Ezra interprets it, though that would be, and was, very desirable by him, and agreeable to him; but he desired to set his eyes upon him, not only for his own pleasure, but for the good of Benjamin, as the Targum of Jonathan adds; he intimated that he should receive him kindly, show favour unto him, and use him well: the Septuagint version is, "and I will take care of him": Joseph's brethren had told him, that Benjamin was at home with their father, who they suggested was afraid to let him go with them, lest evil should befall him; wherefore to encourage him to let him go with them, Joseph promised to take care of him, that no hurt should be done to him, but he should be provided with everything that was proper and necessary; and this Judah improves into an argument with the governor in favour of Benjamin, that since he desired his coming, in order to show him a kindness, he hoped he would not detain him, and make a slave of him. Genesis 44:22Ver. 22. And we said unto my lord, the lad cannot leave his father,.... That is, his father will not be willing to part with him:for [if] he should leave his father, [his father] would die; with grief and trouble, fearing some evil was befallen him, and he should see him no more. Genesis 44:23Ver. 23. And thou saidst unto thy servants,.... In answer to the representation of things made by them, and notwithstanding that:except your youngest brother come down with you, you shall see my face no more; which though not before related in the discourse, which passed between Joseph and his brethren, in express terms, yet might be justly inferred from what he said; nay, might be expressed in so many words, though not recorded, and as it seems plainly it was, as appears from Ge 43:3. Genesis 44:24Ver. 24. And it came to pass, when we came unto thy servant my father,.... In the land of Canaan:we told him the words of my lord; what he had said to them, particularly respecting Benjamin. Genesis 44:25Ver. 25. And our father said,.... After some time, when the corn was almost consumed they had bought in Egypt:go again, [and] buy us a little food; that may suffice fill the famine is over; see Ge 43:1. Genesis 44:26Ver. 26. And we said, we cannot go down,.... With any safety to their persons, which would be in danger, or with any profit to their families, since their end in going down to buy corn would not be answered:if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down; let it be agreed to, that Benjamin go along with us, to Egypt, and then no difficulty will be made of it:for we may not see the man's face, except our youngest brother [be] with us; the face of the great man, the governor of Egypt; for that this phrase, "the man", is not used diminutively, but as expressive of grandeur, is clear, or otherwise it would never have been made use of in his presence, and in such a submissive and polite speech as this of Judah's. Genesis 44:27Ver. 27. And thy servant my father said unto us,.... When thus pressed to let Benjamin go with them:ye know that my wife bare me two [sons]; Rachel, by whom he had Joseph and Benjamin, and whom he calls his wife, she being his only lawful wife; Leah was imposed upon him, Ge 29:20; and the other two were concubines, Ge 30:4. Genesis 44:28Ver. 28. And the one went out from, me,.... Being sent by him to see how his brethren did, who were feeding his flocks at Shechem, and he had never returned to him to that day:and I said, surely he is torn in pieces; by some wild beast; this he said on sight of his coat, being shown him all bloody:and I saw him not since; now twenty two years ago; for though Joseph was not such a great way off his father, especially if he was at Memphis, as some think; yet what through his confinement as a servant in Potiphar's house, and then for some years in prison, and through the multiplicity of business when advanced in Pharaoh's court, he had no leisure and opportunity of visiting his father; and especially so it was ordered by the providence of God that he should not, that he might be made known at the most proper time for the glory of God, and the good of his family. Genesis 44:29Ver. 29. And if ye take this also from me,.... His son Benjamin, as he perhaps suspected they had taken Joseph, and made away with him:and mischief befall him; either in Egypt, or on the road, going or returning, any ill accident, especially death, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, or what may issue in it:ye shall bring my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave; it would be the means of his death, and while he lived he should be full of sorrow and grief; see Ge 42:38. Genesis 44:30Ver. 30. Now therefore, when I come to thy servant my father,.... That is, should he return to him in the land of Canaan with the rest of his brethren:and the lad [be] not with us; his brother Benjamin, so called here, and in the following verses, though thirty years of age and upwards, see Ge 43:8;seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life; he is as closely united to him in affection, and is as dear to him as his own soul; quite wrapped up in him, and cannot live without him; should he die, he must die too; see 1Sa 18:1; so it follows: Genesis 44:31Ver. 31. It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad [is] not [with us], that he will die,.... As soon as ever he sees us, without asking any question and observes that Benjamin is missing he will conclude at once that he is dead, which will so seize his spirits, that he will expire immediately:and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant, our father, with sorrow to the grave; as he said would be the case, Ge 44:29; and which would be very afflicting to his sons to be the cause of it, and could not be thought of without the utmost uneasiness and distress. Genesis 44:32Ver. 32. For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father,.... Which is another argument used for the release of Benjamin, though he should be detained for him, which he offers to be:saying, if I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame unto my father for ever; See Gill on "Ge 43:9". Genesis 44:33Ver. 33. Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord,.... Being, as Jarchi observes preferable to Benjamin for strength, for war, and for service: in this Judah was a type of Christ, from whose tribe he sprung, who became the surety of God's Benjamins, his children who are beloved by him, and as dear to him as his right hand, and put himself in their legal place and stead, and became sin and a curse for them, that they might go free, as Judah desired his brother Benjamin might, as follows:and let the lad go up with his brethren; from Egypt to Canaan's land, to their father there. Genesis 44:34Ver. 34. For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad [be] not with me?.... Signifying that he must abide in Egypt, and chose to do it, and could not go up to the land of Canaan any more or see his father's face without Benjamin along with him, to whom he was a surety for him:lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father; see him die, or live a life of sorrow worse than death: this he could not bear, and chose rather to be a slave in Egypt, than to be the spectator of such an affecting scene. By this speech of Judah, Joseph plainly saw the great affection which his brethren, especially Judah, had for his father and his brother Benjamin, as well as the sense they had of their evil in selling him, which lay uppermost on their minds, and for which they thought themselves brought into all this trouble; wherefore he could no longer conceal himself from them, but makes himself known unto them, which is the principal subject of the following chapter.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.