EXPOSITION. Ve:. 15. - And when (literally a,nd) 'Speaker's Commentary'), or the y,o,-er co 1oseph's brethren sa.w that their father interfere with the p1.1rpose3 of God 1 (Keil, wa.s dead, they (literally, and they) ea.id, Rosenmiiller); or, regarding them as an 1oseph will pero.dventnre hate us,-literally, assertion, I am in God's stead, i. e. a minister If Joseph hated us, or pursued us hostilely to you for good (Wordsworth). (sr. what would become of us 1), ~, with the Ver. 20.-But as for yon, ye thought evil imperfect or future setting forth a possible a.gai.nat me; but God meant it unto good Lut undesirable contingency (vide Ewald's (literally, and ye were thinking or meditatin:.1 'Hebrew Syntax,'§ 358a ; Gcsenius, 'Lexi- evil against me; Elohim wa,s thinlcin:.1 or con,' sub voce)-and will certainly requite us meditating for good, i. e. that what yon clid (literally, iF retnrning he caused to retiirn should be for good), to bring to pa.ss, as tipon us) a.11 the evil wbich we did unto it _is tbis do.y, to save much people alive him. "What then 1" is the natural con- (vide eh. xlv. 5). clusion of the sentenco. ",v e must be Ver. 21. - Now therefore (literally, and utterly undone." now) fear ye not: I will no1lrish you, and Vers. 16, 17.-And (under these erroneous your little ones. Thus he repeats and con- though not unnatural apprehensions) they firms the promise which he had originally sent a messenger unto Joseph,-literally, made to them when he invited them to come they charged Joseph, i. e. they deputed one of to Egypt (eh. xlv. 11, 18, 19). And he com- their number (possibly Benjamin) to carry forted them, and spake kindly unto them- their desires to Joseph-saying, Thy father literally, lo their hearts (cf. eh. xxxiv. 3). did command before he died, saying(though Ver. 22.-And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, not recorded, tho circumstance here men- and bis father' ■ holllle: and Joseph lived tioned may have been historically true), So an hundred and ten years. Wordsworth shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray notices that Joshua, who superintended the thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and burial of Joseph in Shechem, also lived 110 their sin; for they did unto thee evil years. Joseph's death occurred fifty-si.,c years (nothing is more inherently probable than after tho.t of Jacob. tho.t. the good man on his death-bed did Ver. 23. - And Joseph saw Ephra.im's request his sons to beg their brother's par- children of the third geuemtion : - i. e. don): and now, we pray thee, forgive the Ephro.im's great - gmndchildren (Kalisch, trespass of the servants of the God of thy Lange), or Ephraim's great-great-grandsons father. J oseph's brethren in these words at (Keil, Murphy), which perhaps wns not im- once evince the depth of their humility, the possible, since Ephraim must have been boru sincerity of their repentance, and the genuine- before Joseph's thirty- seventh year, thus ness of their religion. They were God's allowing at least si.,cty-three years for four true servants, nnd tbey wished to be forgiven generations to intervene before the patri- by their much-offended brother, who, how- arch's death, which might ho, if m11rriage ever, had long since embraced them in the happened early, say not later than eightean- o.rms of his affection. And Joseph wept the children also of Machir the son of Ma- when they spake unto him - pained that nasseh-by a concubine (1 Chron. vii. H)- they should for II single moment have enter- were bronght up upon Joseph's knees-liter- tained such suspicions against his love. ally, were born upon Joscph's knees, i. e. wero Ver. 18.-And his brethren o.lso went e.nd adopted by him as soou ns they were born fe11 down before his face; and they said, (Ko.lisch, ,vordsworth, 'Speaker's Comment- Behold, we be thy servants. Both the ary'), or were born so that ho could take 11ttitudes assumed and the words spoken them also upon his knees, and show his lov~ were designed to express the intensity of for them (Keil). their contrition and the fervour of their Vcrs. 24, 25.-And Joseph said unto his su pplica.tion. brethren, I die: and God (Elohim) will Ver. 19.-And Joseph said unto them, surely visit you,-literally, visiting will visit Fear not : for am I in the place of God !- you, o.ccording to his promise (eh. xlvi. 4)- i. ~- either rending the words as a question, and bring you ont of this land unto the Should I arrogate to myself what obviously land whioh he aware to Abraham, to Isaac, belongs to Elohim, viz., the power and right and to Jacob. And Joseph took an oath of of vengeance (C11lvin, Kalisch, Murphy, the children of Israel,--as his fathel' had 5-!0 THE BOOK 01<' GENESHl. [cir. L. 15-20
done of him (eh. xlvii. 31),-saying, God vcr. 2), and he wM put in a coffin (or chost, will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up i, e. a mummy cnse, which was commonlv my bones from hence. The writer to the constructed of sycamore wood) in Egypt Hebrews (eh. xi. 22) refers to this as a si"- whero he remained for II period of 360 years: nal inst.nnce of faith on the part of Joseph." ~ntil the time of the .Exodus, when, nccorJ- Ver. 26.-So Joseph died, being an hun- rng_ to the enga,gcrneut now given, his re- dred and ten years old (literally, a son of a mams wero carried up to Cannnn nnd so- kundrcd and ten years), and they (i. c. the lemnly deposited in tho sepulchre of Shcchcm children of Israel) embalmed him (vide on (Josh. xxiv. 32),