The Pulpit Commentary — Genesis — Section 528

one's self to be a foreigner. And spake pride was swallowed up by fear" (Lawaon). roughly unto them-literally, BJ>ake hard We are all one man's son•; we are true men, things unto them,· not from a feeling of -i. e. upright, honest, viri bona fidei (Ro- revenge which still struggled in his breast senmliller), rather than ,/p71v11coi (LXX.), with his brotherly affection (Kurtz), or in a pacifici (Vulgate)-thyaervants are no spies. spirit of duplicity (Kalisch), but in order to It was altogether improbable that one ruan get at their hearts, and discover the exact should send ten sons at the same time and state of mind in which they then were with to the same place on the perilous lmsiness of re.,c,e,rd to himself and Benjamin, whose a spy, hence the simple mention of the fact absence it is apparent had arrested his atten- that they were ten brethren was sufficient to tion, and perhaps roused his suspicions (Keil, establish their sincerity. Yet Joseph affected Murphy, Wordsworth,' Speaker's Comment- still to doubt them. And he said unto them, ary'), And he said unto them,-speaking Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land through an interpreter (ver. 23)-Whence ye are come-assuming a harsh and almost come ye 1 And they said, From the land of violent demeanour not out of heartless cruelty Canaan (adding, as if they feared J oseph's (Kalisch), but in order to hide the growing suspicions, and wished to deprecate his anger) weakness of his heart (Candlish). to buy food (i. e. corn for food). Ver. 13.-And they said, Thy servants Ver. 8.-And loseph lmew his brethren, are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in but they lmew not him. The lapse of time the land of Canaan ; and, behold, the young- since the tragedy of Dothan, twenty years est-literally, the little one (cf. eh. ix. 2-1) before, the high position occupied by Joseph, -is this day with our father, and one- the Egyptian manners he had by this time literally, the one, i. e. the other one, o i'ie assumed, and the strange tongue in which he ,npoc (LXX. )-is not-i. e. is dead (cf. eh. v. conversed with them, all conspired to prevent 24; xx:xvii. 30)-in which statement have Ja.cob's sons from recognising their younger been seen a sufficient proof that Joseph's brother; while the facts that Joseph's bre- brethren had not yet truly repented of their thren were all grown men when he had last cruelty towards him (Keil) ; an evidence that looked upon them, that he was quite familiar time had assuaged all their bitter feelings, with their appearances, and that he perfectly both of exasperation against Joseph and understood their speech, would account for of remorse for their unbrotherly conduct his almost instantaneous detection of them. (Murphy); a suppression of the truth (Words- Ver. 9.-And Joseph remembered (i. e. worth), if not a direct falsehood (Lawson), the sight of his brethren prostrating them- since they wished it to be understood that selves before him recalled to his mind) the their younger brother was dead, while of that dreams whioh he dreamed (or had dreamed) they had no evidence beyond their own cun- of them (vide eh. xxxvii. 5) and said unto ningly-invented lie (eh. xxxvii. 20) and their them, Ye are spies (literally, ye are spyi'll{!, own probable surmisings. But in point of fact or going about, so as to find out, the verb the inference was natural and reasonable that ~n signifying to move the feet); to see the Joseph was no more, since twenty years lmd elapsed without any tidings of his welfarn, nakedness of the land-not its present im- and there was no absolute necessity re,1uiring poverishment from the famine (Murphy), but them to explain to the Egyptian governor llil its unprotected and. u~for!ifie~ stat~ LKeil). the particulars of their early life. Yet tho Cf. urbs nuda pr<Esidio (C1c., Att., vu. 13); circumstance that their assertion regarding murus nudatus diferisoribus (Cres., • Bell. himself was incorrect may have tended to Gall.,' ii. 6); rEixot •rv1n•wB., (Homer, awaken his suspicions concerning Benjamin. • Ilfod,' xii. 399)-ye are come. The Egyp- Vers. 14-16.-And Joseph said nnto tians were characteristically distrustful of them (betraying his excitement in his lan- strangers,-./Egyptii prre aliis qentibus diffi- guage), That is it that I spake unto you, dere solebant pereqrinis (Rosenm\iller),- saying, Ye are spies. But Joseph knew by whom they prevented, when possible, from this tirue that they were not spies. Hence penetrating into the interior of their country his persistent accusation of them, which to (Wilkinson's 'Ancient Egyptians,' vol. i. p. the brothers must have seemed despotic and 828, ed. 1878). In particular Joscph's sus- tyrannical, and which cannot bo refe1Ted to picion of his Cauaanitish brethren was per- malevolence or revenge, must be explained by fectly natural, since Egypt was peculiarly n desire on the part of Joseph to bring his open to attacks from Palestine (Herodotus, brothers to o. right state of mind. Hereby iii. 6). (or in this) ye shall be proved: By the life Ycrs. 10-12.-And they said unto him, of Pharaoh - literally, life of Pharaoh I Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy serv- An Egyptian oath (LXX., Gcsenins, Rosen- ants oome. "They ,vere not ftllecl with re- mliller, l{alisch, Lange), in using which sentment at the imputation" cast upon them Joseph was not without blame, aliquid esse by Joseph; "or, if they were angry, their jateor quod mei-ito culpetur (Calvin) thou,!?h 476 TlIE BOOK OF GENES1S. [ell. XLII. 1-88,