Verse 25. God hath showed Pharaoh what he is about to do.] Joseph thus shows the Egyptian king that though the ordinary cause of plenty or want is the river Nile, yet its inundations are under the direction of God: the dreams are sent by him, not only to signify beforehand the plenty and want, but to show also that all these circumstances, however fortuitous they may appear to man, are under the direction of an overruling Providence.
Verse 31. The plenty shall not be knoivn in the land by reason of that famine following'] As Egypt depends for its fertility on the flowing of the Nile, and this flowing is not always equal, there must be a point to which it must rise to saturate the land sufficiently, in order to produce grain sufficient for the support of its inhabitants. Pliny, Hist. Nat., lib. v., cap. 9, has given us a scale by which the plenty and dearth may be ascertained; and, from what I have been able to collect from modern travellers, this scale may be yet considered as perfectly correct. Justum incrementum est cubitorum rvi. Minores aquce non omnia rigant, ampUores delinent, iardius recedendo. 'S.s. serendi tempora absumunt, solo madente, illje non dant, sitiente. Utrumque reputat provincia. In xii. cubitis famem sentit. In xiii. etiamnum esurit; xiv. cubita hUaritatem afferunt; xv. securitatem; rvi. delicias.
Egypt; and the famine ' shall consume the land;
31 And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very? grievous.
32 And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the ^ thing is ' established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.
33 Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the
34 Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint ^ officers over the land, and ' take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years:
35 And ™ let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn
" The ordinary height of the inundations is sixteen cubits. When the waters are lower than this standard they do not overflow the whole ground; when above this standard, they are too long in running off. In the first case the ground is not saturated; by the second, the waters are detained so long on the ground that seed-time is lost. The province marks both. If it rise only twelve cubits, a famine is the consequence. Even at thirteen cubits hunger prevails; fourteen cubits produces general rejoicing; fifteen, perfect security; and sixteen, all the luxuries of life."
When the Nile rises to eighteen cubits it prevents the sowing of the land in due season, and as necessarily produces a famine as when it does not overflow its banks.
Verse 33. A man discreet and ivise] As it is impossible that Joseph could have foreseen his own elevation, consequently he gave this advice without any reference to himself. The counsel therefore was either immediately inspired by God, or was dictated by policy, prudence, and sound sense.
Take up the fifth part of the land] What is still called the mecry, or that part of the produce which is claimed by the king by way of tax. It is probable that in Joseph's time it was not so much as a fifth part, most likely a tenth: but as this was an extraordinary occasion, and the earth brought forth by handfuls, ver. 47, the king would be justified in requiring 3. fifth; and from the great abundance, the people could pay thia increased tax without feeling it to be oppressive.
Verse 35. Under the hand of Pharaoh] To be campletely at the disposal of the king.
under the hand of Pharaoh, and them keep food in the cities. And that food shall be for store to
36 And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land "perish "not through the famine.
37 And P the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants.
38 And Pharaoh said unto his servants. Can we find such a one as this is, a man i in whom the Spirit of God is?
39 And Pharaoh sni<l unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath showed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art:
4 0 ' Thou shalt be over my house, A. M. 2289, and according unto thy word shall —1—1 '-.
all my people ' be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.
4 1 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have ' set thee over all the land of Egypt.
42 And Pharaoh " took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and ' arrayed him in vestures of " fine linen, ^ and put a gold chain about his neck;
43 And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; ^ and they cried before him, ' Bow the knee: '^ and he made him ruler ^ over all the land of Eg\'pt.
Verse 37. The thing was good] Pharaoh and his courtiers saw that the counsel was prudent, and should be carefully followed.
Verse 38. lu whom the Spirit of God is!] D'hSn nn tuach Elohim, the identical words used chap. i. 2; and certainly to he understood here as in the preceding place. If the Egyptians were idolaters, they acknowledged Joseph's God; and it is not to be supposed that they only became acquainted with him on this occasion. The knowledge of the true God was in Egypt long before; hut it is very likely that though they acknowledged his influence with respect to Joseph, as they saw most clearly that he acted under an influence far beyond that of their magicians, for he interpreted dreams which they could not; yet they might, notwithstanding, have their gods many and their lords many at this time, for we know that in religious matters they were exceedingly corrupt afterwards.
A'erse 40. According unto thy word shall all my people be ruled] Literally, At thy mouth shall all my people kiss. In the eastern countries it is customary to kiss any thing that comes from a superior, and this is done by way of testifying respect and submission. In this sense the words in the text are to be understood: All the peojile shall pay the profoundest respect and obedience to all thy orders and commands.
Oidy in the throne U'ill I be greater than thou.] This, in one word, is a perfect description of a prime minister. Thou shalt have the sole management, under me, of all state aflairs.
Verse 42. And Pharaoh took off his ring — and put it upon Joseph's hand] In this ring was probably set the king^s signet, by which the royal instruments were sealed; and thus Joseph was constituted what we would call Lord Chancellor, or Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal. Vestures of fine linen] Vl'il shesh. Whether this mean linen or cotton is not known. It seems to have been a term by which both were denominated; or it may be some other substance or cloth with which we are unacquainted. If the fine linen of Egypt was euch as that which invests the bodies of the mummies, sod these in general were persons of the first distinction, and consequently were enveloped in cloth of the finest quality, it was only fine comparatively speaking, Egypt being the only place at that time where such cloth was manufactured. I have often examined the cloth about the bodies of the most splendidly ornamented mummies, and found it sackcloth when compared with the fine Irish linens. As this shesh appears to have been a part of the royal clothing, it was proliably both scarce and cosily. " By comparing," says Parkhurst, "Exod. x.xv. 4, xxvi. 1, with 2 Ghron. ii. 14, and Exod. xxvi. 31, with 2 Chron. iii. 14, it appears that ]'U buts, cotton, is called;a'\S shesh; and by comparing Exod. xxviii. 42, with Exod. xxxix. 28, that T3 bad, linen, is also called lyc «/(«/(; so that shesh seems a name expressive of either of these, from their cheerful vivid whiteness."
Put a gold chain about his neck] This was not merely a badge of office. The chain might be intended to point out the union which should subsist between all parts of the government — the king, his ministers, and the people; as also that necessary dependence which they liad reciprocally on each other, as well as the connection which must be preserved between the different members of the body politic, and the laws and institutions by which they were to be governed. Its ' being o( gold might be intended to show the excellence, utility, and permanence of a government constituted ' on wise, just, and equal laws. We are justified in drawing such inferences as these, because in ancient ' times, in all nations, every thing was made an emblem ' or representation of some spiritual or moral subject. It is strange that, probably without adverting to the reasons, the chain of gold worn about the neck is in diflerent nations an emblem of civil authority.
Verse 43. He made him to ride in the second chariot] That which usually followed the king's chariot in public ceremonies.
Boto the knee] p^N abrech, which we translate bow the knee, and which we might as well translate any thing else, is probably an Egyptian word, the signification of which is utterly unknown. If we could suppose it to be a Hebrew word, it might be considered
44 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the
45 And Pharaoh called Joseph's name <= Zaphnath-paaneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah ^ priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the
46 And Joseph was thirty years old when he = stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of
47 And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handful s.
48 And he gathered up all the
as compounded of DN rtJ, fathef, and 1"l rack, tender; for Joseph might be denominated a father, because of his care over the people, and the provision he was making for their preservation; and tender because of his youth. Or it may be compounded of 3N ab, father, and "|"1D harech. Messing, the latter 3 beth being easily lost in the preceding one; and Joseph might have this epithet as well as the other, on account of the care he was taking to turn aside the heavy curse of the seven years of famine, by accuniulatiug the blessings of the seven years of plenty. Besides, father seems to have been a name of office, and probably/aMer of the king or father of Pharaoh might signify tlie same as the king^s ininister among us; see on chap. xlv. 8. But if it be an Egyptian word, it is vain to look for its signification in Hebrew.
Verse 44. I am Pharaoh] The same as if he had said, I am the king; for Pharaoh was the common title of the sovereigns of Eg\'pt.
Verse 45. Zaphnath-paaneah] The meaning of this title is as little known as that of abrech in the preceding verse. Some translate it. The revealer of secrets; others. The treasury of glorious comfort. St. Jerome translates the whole verse in the most arbitrary manner. Verlitque nomen ejus, el vocacit eum, lingua JEgypliaca, Salvatorem mimdi. " And he changed his name, and called him in the Egyptian language, The saviour of the world." None of the Asiatic versions acknowledge this extraordinary gloss, and it is certainly worthy of no regard. The Anglo-Saxon nearly copies the A'ulgate: ^ nombe hine on Cjipeirc pibbaneapber jiiBlenb. And named him in Egyptian, The healer of the world. All the etymologies hitherto given of this word are, to say the least of them, doubtful. I believe it also to be an Egyptian epithet, designating the ofllce to which he was now raised; and similar to our compound terms, Prime-Minister, Lord-Chancellor, High-Treasurer, Chief-Justice, <^c.
laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same.
49 And Joseph gathered ^ corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it ivas without number.
50 ^ And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Ase nath the daughter of Poti-pherah ''priest of On bare unto him.
seh: for God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house. 52 And the name of the second a. M. cir. 229.'j
Asenath, the daughter of Poti-pherah] There is no likelihood that the Poti-pherah mentioned here is the same as the Potiphar who had purchased Joseph, and, on the false accusations of his wife, cast him into prison. 1. The Scripture gives no intimation that they were one and the same person. 2. Poti-pherah had children, and Potiphar was an eunuch; see on chap, xxxvii. 36; for though eunuchs often kept women, there is no proof that they had any issue by them.
Priest of On.] For the signification of the word jriD cohen or priest, see on chap. xiv. 18. On is rendered Heliopolis (the city of the sun, Sunnan buph) by the Septuagint and Anglo-Saxon; and it is very likely that this Poti-pherah was intendant o( that nomc or province, under Pharaoh.
Joseph went out over all the land] No doubt for the building of granaries, and appointing proper officers to receive the corn in every place, as Dr. Dodd has very properly conjectured.
Verse 46. Joseph was thirty years old] As he was seventeen years old when he was sold into Egypt, chap, xxxvii. 2, and was now thirty, he must have been thirteen years in slavery.
Stood before Pharaoh] This phrase always means admission to the immediate presence of the sovereign, and having the honour of his most unlimited confidence. Among the Asiatic princes, the privilege of coming even to their seat, of standing before them, cjc, was granted only to the highest favourites.
Verse 47. The earth brought forth by handfuls.j This probably refers principally to rice, as it grows in tufts, a great number of stalks proceeding from the same seed. In those years the Nile probably rose sixteen cahits; see on ver. 31.
Verse 50. Two sons] Whom he called by names expressive of God's particular and bountiful providence towards him. Manasseh, HK'JO menashsheh, signifies forgelfulness, from n0i nashah, to forget and
The dearth commences, and
A. M. cir. 2203. hath caused me to be ' fruitful iii tlie land of my aitliction.
A. M. 2296. 53 And the seven years of plen- teousness, that was in the land oi
54 " And the seven years of dearth began to come, " according as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egj'pt there was bread.
55 And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for
GEXESIS. prevails over all the earth.
bread: and Pharaoh said unto all a. M. 2290. tlie Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; ' ' ' ' what he saith to you, do.
56 And the famine was over all the face of the earth. And Joseph opened ° all the store-houses, and " sold unto tlie Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egj'pt.
57 "i And all countries came into Egypt, to Joseph, for to buy com; because that the famine was so sore in all lands.
Ephraim, D'13X eplirayim,fruitfulness, from m3 parah, to be fruitful; and he called his sons by these names, because God had enabled him to forget all his toil, disgrace, and affliction, and had made him fi-uitfd in the very land in which he had suffered the greatest misfortURe and indignities.
Verse 64. The seven years of dearth began to come] Owing ill Egypt to the Nile not rising more than twelve or thirteen cubits; (see on ver. 31;) but there must have been other causes which affected other countries, not immediately dependent on the Nile, though remotely connected with Egypt and Canaan.
The dearth was in all lands] All the countries dependent on the Nile. And it appears that a general drought had taken place, at least through all Egypt and Canaan; for it is said, ver. 57, that the famine was sore in alt lands — Egypt and Canaan, and their respective dependencies.
Verse 55. Whcnallthc land of Egypt was famished] As Pharaoh, by the advice of Joseph, had exacted a fifth part of all the grain during the seven years of plenty, it is very likely that no more was left than what was merely necessary to supply the ordinary demand both in the way of home consumption, and for the purpose of barter or sale to neighbouring countries.
Verse 56. Over alt tlie face of the earth] The original, yixn 1J3 Sd col peney haarets, should be translated, all the face o/tliat land, viz., Egypt, as it is e.vplained at the end of the verse.
Verse 57. All countries came into Egypt — to buy] As there had not been a sufficiency of rains, vapours, &c., to swell the Nile, to effect a proper inundation in Egypt, the same cause would produce drought, and consequently scarcity, in all the neighbouring countries; and this may be all that is intended in the text.
I. As the providence of God evidently led the but- Itr and baher of Pharaoh, as well as the king himself, to dream the prophetic iL-eams mentioned in this and 2)6 the preceding chapter, so his Spirit in Joseph led to the true interpretation of them. ^\Tiat a proof do all these things give us of a providence that is so general as to extend its influence to every part, and so particular as to notice, influence, and direct the most minute circumstances! Surely God " has way every where, and all things serve his ivill."
2. Dreams have been on one hand superstitiously regarded, and on the other skeptically disregarded. That some are prophetic there can be no doubt; that others are idle none can hesitate to believe. Dreams may be divided into the «i,i following kinds: 1. Those which are the mere nightly result of the mind's reflections and perplexities during the business of the day. 2. Those which spring from a diseased state of the body, occasioning starlings, terrors, &c. 3. Those which spring from an impure state of the heart, mental repetitions of those acts or images of illicit pleasure, riot, and excess, which form the business of a profligate life. 4. Those which proceed from a diseased mind, occupied with schemes of pride, ambition, grandeur, &c. These, as forming the characteristic conduct of the life, are repeatedly reacted in the deep watches of the night, and strongly agitate the soul with illusive enjoyments and disappointments. 5. Those which come immediately from Satan, which instil thoughts and principles opposed to truth and righteousness, leaving strong impressions on the mind suited to its natural bent and turn, which, in the course of the day, by favouring circumstances, may be called into action. 6. Those which come from God, and which necessarily lead to him, whether prophetic of future good or evil, or impressing holy purposes and heavenly resolutions. Whatever leads away from God, truth, and righteousness, must be from the source of evil; whatever leads to obedience to God, and to acts of benevolence to man, must be from the source of goodness and truth. Reader, there is often as much superstition in disregarding as in attending to dreams; and he who fears God will escape it in both.
Jacob sends his ten sons to Egypt to buy com, 1-3; but refuses to permit Benjamin to go, 4. TTiey arrive in Egypt, and bow themselves before Joseph, 5, 6. He treats them roughly and calls them spies, 7-10. They defend themselves and give an account of their family, 11—13. He appears unmoved, and puts them ail in prison for three days, 14—17. On the third day he releases them on condition of their bringing Benjamin, 18-20. Being convicted by their consciences, they reproach themselves with their cruelty to their brother Joseph, and consider themselves under the displeasure of God, 31—23. Joseph is greatly affected, detains Simeon as a pledge for Benjamin, orders their sacks to be filled u'ith corn, and the purchase money to be put in each man^s sack, 24, 25. When one of them is going to give his ass provender he discovers his money in the mouth of his sack, at u'hich they are greatly alarmed, 26-28. They come to their father in Canaan, and relate what happened to them in their journey, 29-34. On emptying their sacks, each man's money is found in his sacVs mouth, which causes alarm both to them and their father, 35. Jacob deplores the loss of Joseph and Simeon, and refuses to let Benjamin go, though Reuben offers his two sons as pledges for his safety, 36—38. •
said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?
2 And he said. Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may ^ live, and not die.
3 And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt.
4 But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, ° Lest peradvcnture mischief befall him.
5 And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was ^ in the land of Canaan.
6 And Joseph luas the governor ' over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people
Verse 1. Jacob saiv that there was corn] That is, Jacob heard from the report of others that there was plenty in Egypt. The operations of one sense, in Hebrew, are often put for those of another. Before agriculture was properly known and practised, famines were frequent; Canaan seems to have been peculiarly vexed by them. There was one in this land in the time 01' Abraham, chap. xii. 10; another in the days of Isaac, chap. xxvi. 1; and now a third in the time of Jacob. To this St. Stephen alludes, Acts vii. 11: there was great affliction, and our fathers found no sustenance.
Versr 6. Joseph W3.s the governor] a''ia shallit, an mtendant. a protector, from CiT^ shalat, to be over as 3 protector. hence D'bSkt shelatim, shields, or arms for protection and defence, 2 Sam. viii. 7; and JIdViV shilton, power and authority, Eccles. viii. 4, 8; and nence ihe Arabic ylL^^ sidtan, a lord, prince, or king, from {J^^^ salata, he obtained and exercised dominion, he ruled. Was it not from this very circumstance, Joseph being shallit, that all the Moham-
came, and ' bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth.
7 And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake s roughly unto them; and said unto them, Whence come ye '' And they said. From the land of Canaan to buy food.
8 (And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.)
9 And Joseph *" remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
10 And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.
1 1 We are all one man's sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies.
Bowed down themselves before him] Thus fulfilling the prophetic dream, chap, xxxvii. 7, 8, which they had taken every precaution to render null and void. But there is neither might nor counsel against the Lord.
Verse 9. Ye are spies] Dns DwJIiD meraggelim attem, ye 3.re footmen, trampers about, footpads, vagabonds, lying in wait for the property of others; persons who, under the pretence of wishing to buy corn, desire only to find out whether the land be so defenceless that the tribes to which ye belong (see ver. 11) may attack it successfully, drive out the inhabitants, and settle in it themselves; or, having plundered it, retire to their deserts. This is a frequent custom among the Arabs to the present day. Thus Joseph spake roughhj to them merely to cover that warmtli of affection which he felt towards them; and that being thus brought, apparently, into straits and dangerous circumstances, their consciences might be awakened to reflect on and abhor their own wickedness.
13 And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, tlie sous of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one ' is not.
11 And Joseph said unto them. That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies:
1 5 Hereby ye shall be proved: '' By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.
16 Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be ' kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies.
17 And he ■" put them all together into ward three days.
18 And Joseph said unto ihcm tlie third day, This do, and live; ^Jor I fear God:
19 If ye be true men, let one of your bre-
belong to different tribes, and it is not likely that one familij would make a hostile attempt upon a whole kingdom. This seems to be the very ground that Joscpli took, viz., that they were persons belonging to difTererit tribes. Against this particularly they set up their defence, asserting that they all belonged to one family; and it is on the proof of this that Joseph puts theiTi, ver. 15, in obliging them to leave one as a hostage, and insisting on their bringing their remaining brother; so that he took exactly the same precautions to delect them as if he had had no acquaintance with them, and had every reason to be suspicious.
A''erse 15. Bij the life of Pharaoh] n;'1i3 TI ehey Pharoh, Pharaoh Iweth. As if he had said, As surely as the king of Egypt lives, so surely shall ye not go hence unless your brother come hither. Here therefore is no oath; it is just what they themselves make it in their report to their father, chap, xliii. 3: the man did.solemnly protest unto tis; and our translators should not have put it in the form of an oath, especially as the original not only will bear another version, but is absolutely repugnant to this in our sense of the word.
Verse 18. I fear God"] NT ':n D'hSsP nN eth haelohiin ani yare, literally translated the passage runs ihus, / atsn fear the gods; but the emphatic n ha is probably added by Joseph, both here and in his conversation with Pharaoh, Oie more particularly to point out the eminence and perfection of the Supreme Bciog as coiilrai\istinguished from the gods c^ Egypt- He
20 But " bring your youngest brother unto me: so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.
2 1 And they said one to another, •" We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; ■» therefore is this distress come upon us.
22 And Reuben answered them, saymg, ^ Spake I not unto you, saying. Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is * required.
23 And they knew not that Joseph understood thetn; for ' he spake unto them by an interpreter.
24 And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes.
seems to say to his brethren, I am a. worshipper of the true God, and ye have nothing to fear.
Verse 21. Wc are verily guilty] How finely are the office and influence of conscience exemplified in these words I It was about tioenly-lwo years since they had sold their brother, and probably their conscience had been lulled asleep to the present hour. God combines and brings about those favorable cir- ■ cumstances which produce attention and reflection, | and give weight to the expostulations of conscience. How necessary to hear its voice in time, for here it may be the instrument of salvation; but if not heard in this world, it must be heard in the next; and there, in association with ihe unquenchable fire, it will be the never-dying icorm. Reader, has not thy sin as yet found thee out? Pray to God to take away the veil from thy heart, and to give thee that deep sense of guilt which shall oblige thee to flee for refuge to the hope which is set before thee in the Gospel of
Verse 23. For he spake unto them by an interpreter.] Either there was a very great diflerence between the two languages as then spoken, or Joseph, to prevent all suspicion, might aflect to be ignorant of both. We have many evidences in this book that the Egyptians, Hebrews, Canaanites, and Syrians, could understand each other in a general way, though there are also proofs that there was a considerable difference between their dialects.
Verse 24. Took — Simeon and bound him before their eyes.] This was retaliation, if, as the rabbins suppose, it was Simeon v-ho bound Joseph, and put hiin
restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way: and " thus did he unto them.
26 And they laded their asses with the corn, and departed thence.
27 And as ' one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, he espied his money; for, behold, it was in his sack's mouth.
28 And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack: and their heart '" failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another. What is this that God hath done unto us?
29 And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them; saying,
30 The man, loho is the lord of the land, spake ^ roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.
3 1 And we said unto him. We are true?nen; we are no spies:
into the pit. A recollection of this circumstance must exceedingly deepen the sense he had of his guilt.
Verse 25. Commanded to fill their sacks] DH'Sd Keleyhem, their vessels; probably large woollen bags, or baskets lined with leather, which, as Sir John Chardin says, are still in use through all Asia, and are called lamhellet; they are covered with leather, tlie better to resist the wet, and to prevent dirt and sand from mixing with the grain. These vessels, of whatever sort, must have been different from those called p'i* sah in the twenty-seventh and following verses, which was probably only a small suck or bag, in which each had reserved a sufficiency of corn for his ass during the journey; the larger vessels or bags serving to hold the wheat or rice they had brought, and their own packages. The reader will at once see that the English word sack is plainly derived from the Hebrew.
Verse 26. They laded their asses] Amounting, no doubt, to several scores, if not hundreds, else they could not have brought a sufficiency of corn for the support of so large a family as that of Jacob.
Verse 27. One of them opened his sack] From ver. 35 we learn that each of the ten brethren on emptying his sack when he returned found his money ■ in it; can we suppose that this was not discovered by them all l)efore 1 It seems not; and the reason was probably this: the money was put in the mouth of the sack of one only, in the sacks of the others it was placed at or near to the bottom; hence only one discovered it on the road, the rest found it when they came to empty their sacks at their father's house.
32 We he twelve brethren, sons a.m. 2297.
youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.
33 And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, ^ Hereby siiall I know that yo are true men; leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine of your households, and be gone:
34 And bring your youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men: so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall "^ traffic in the land.
35 And it came to pass as they emptied tlieir sacks, that, behold, ^ every man's bundle of money ivas in his sack: and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, thej' were afraid.
36 And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye ''bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin aivay: all these things are against me.
In the inn] |l'7D3 hammalon, from tl Ian, to lodge, stay, remain, <^c. The place at which they stopped to bait or rest themselves and their asses. Our word inn gives us a false idea here; there were no such places of entertainment at that time in the desert over which they had to pass, nor are there any to the present day. Travellers generally endeavour to reach a loell, where they fill their girbahs, or leathern bottles, with fresh water, and having clogged their camels, asses, &c., permit them to crop any little verdure there may be in the place, keeping watch over them by turns. This is all we are to understand by the malon or inn in the text, for even caravanseries were not then in use, which are generally no more than four walls perfectly exposed, the place being open at the top.
Verse 28. Their heart failed ihem] Q^'? XS'l ('«;- yetse libham, their heart went out. This refers to that spasmodic affection which is felt in the breast at any suddea alarm or fright. Among the common people in our own country we find an expression exactly similar, " My heart was ready to leap out at my mouth," used on similar occasions.
What is this that God hath done unto us 1] Their guilty consciences, now thoroughly awakened, were in continual alarms; they felt that they deserved God's curse, and every occurrence served to confirm and increase their suspicions.
Verse 36. All these things are against me.] Vn 'hy naS^ alai hayu cuUanah; literally, All these things are
37 And Reuben spake unto his
my hand, and I will bring him to thee again.
38 And lie said. My son shall not go down
upon me. Not badly translated by the A'ulgate, In me hac omnia mala reciderunt, " AH these evils fall back upon me." They lie upon me as heavy loads, hastening my death; they arc more than I can bear.
A''erse 37. Stay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee] What a strange proposal made by a son to his father, concerning his grandchildren! But they show the honesty and affection of Reuben's heart; he felt deeply for his father's distress, and was determined to risk and hazard every thing in order to relieve and comfort him. There is scarcely a transaction in which Reuben is concerned that does not serve to set his character in an amiable point of view, except the single instance mentioned chap. xxxv. 22, and which for the sake of decency and piety we should wish to understand as the Targumists have explained it. See the notes.
Verse 38. He is left alo7ie] That is, Benjamin is the only remaining son of Rachel; for he supposed Joseph, who was the other son, to be dead.
Shall ye bring down my giay hairs with sorrow] Here he keeps up the idea of the oppressive burden mentioned ver. 36, to which every occurrence was adding an additional weight, so that he felt it impossible to support it any longer.
The following observations of Dr. Dodd on this Terse are very appropriate and judicious: " Nothing can be more tender and picturesque than the words of the venerable patriarch. Full of affection for his beloved Rachel, he cannot think of parting with Benjamin, the only remaining pledge of that love, now Joseph, as he supposes, is no more. We seem to behold the gray-headed, venerable father pleading with his sons, the beloved Benjamin standing by his side, impatient sorrow in their countenances, and in his all the bleeding anxiety of paternal love. It will be difficult to find in any author, ancient or modem, a more exquisite picture."
1. There is one doctrine relative to the economy of Divine Providence little heeded among men; I mean the doctrine of restitution. When a man has done wrong to his neighbour, though, on his repentance, and faith in our Lord Jesus, God forgives him his sin, yet he requires him to make restitution to the person
befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye ' bring dowTi my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.
injured, if it lie in the compass of his power. If he do not, God will take care to exact it in the course of his providence. Such respect has he for the dictates of infinite justice that nothing of this kind shall pass unnoticed. Several instances of this have already occurred in this history, and we shall see several more. No man should expect mercy at the hand of God who, having wronged his neighbour, refuses, when he has it in his power, to make restitution. Were he to weep tears of blood, both the justice and mercy of God would shut out his prayer, if he made not his neighbour amends for the injury he may have done him. The mercy of God, through the blood of the cross, can alone pardon his guilt; but no dishonest man can expect this; and he is a dishonest man who illegally holds the properly of another in his hand. The unnatural brethren who sold their brother are now about to be captivated themselves; and the ii;«/fr himself is iownd in his turn: and though a kind Providence permits not the evil to fall upon them, yet, while apprehending it, they feel all its reality, conscience supplying the lack of prison, jailer, and bonds.
2. The ways of Providence are often to us dark and perplexed, so that we are ready to imagine that good can never result from what appears to us to be directly contrary to our interest; and we are often tempted to think that those very providential dealings of God, which have for their object our present and eternal welfare, are rather proofs of his displeasure, or evidences of his vindictive judgment. All these things are against me, said poor desponding Jacob; whereas, instead of being against him, all these things were for him; and by all these means was the merciful God working for the preservation of himself and his fiimily, and the fulfilment of his ancient promise, that the posterity of Abraham should be as the stars of heaven for multitude. How strange is it that our faith, after so many evidences of his goodness, should still be so weak; and that our opinion of him should be so imperfect, that we can never trust in him but while he is under our own eye! If we see him producing good, we can believe that he is doing so, and this is all. If we believe not, he abides faithful; but our unbelief must make our own way extremely perplexing and difficult.
The famine continuing, Jacob desires his sons to go again to Egypt and buy some food, 1,2. Judah shows the necessity of Benjamin's accompanying them, without whom it would be useless to return to Egypt, 3-5. Jacob expostulates with him, 6. Judah replies, and offers to become surety for Benjamin, 7-10. Jacob at last consents, and desires them to take a present tcith them for the governor of Egypt; and double money, that which they had brought bach in their sacks'' mouth, and the price of the load they were now to Irring; and, having prayed for them, sends them away, 11-15. They arrive in Egypt, and are brought 240 s to Joseph's house to dine with him, at which they are great! 1/ alarmed, 16-18. Thei/ speak to the steward nf JosepKs house concerning the money returned in their sachs, 19-22. He gives them encouragement, S3, 24. Having made ready the present, they bring it to Joseph when he came home to dine, 25, 26. He speaks kindly to them, and inquires concerning their health, and that of their father, 27, 28. Joseph ts greatly affected at seeing his brother Benjamin, 29-31. They dine with him, and are distinguished accorditig to their seniority; but Benjamin receives marks of peculiar favour, 32-34.
2 And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a Utile food.
3 And Judah spalie unto him, saying, The man *• did solemnly protest unto us, saying. Ye shall not see my face, except your "= brother be with you.
4 If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food:
5 But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.
6 And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother?
7 And they said. The man ^ asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred, saying, 75
Verse 8. Send the lad with me] As the original is not iV yeled, from which we have derived our word lad, but li*J naar, it would have been better had our translators rendered it by some other term, such as the youth, or the young man, and thus the distinction in the Hebrew would have been better kept up. Benjamin was at this time at least twenty-four years of age, some think thirty, and had a family of his own. See chap. xlvi. 21.
That we may live, and not die] An argument drawn from self-preservation, what some have termed the first law nf nature. By your keeping Benjamin we are prevented from going to Egypt; if we go not to Egypt we shall get no corn; if we get no corn we shall all perish by famine; and Benjamin himself, who otherwise might live, must, with thee and the whole family, infallibly die.
Verse 9. Let me bear the blame for ever] TlNUni D'O'n 73 yl vechaiathi lecha col haiyamim, then shall I sin against thee all my days, and consequently be liable to punishment for violating my failh.
Verse 1 1. Carry down the man a present] From the very earliest times presents were used as means of introduction to great men. This is particularly noticed by Solomon: A man's gfl m.aketh room for him, and brmgeth him before great men, Ptov. xviii. 16. But
your fitther yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the ' tenor of these words: ' could we certainly know that he would say. Bring your brother down?
8 And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, a?id also our little ones.
9 I will be surety for him; of my hand shall thou require him:? if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever:
10 For except we had lingered, surely now we had returned ^ this second time.
1 1 And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do tJiis; take of die best fruits in the land in your vessels, and ' carry down the man a present, a little '^ balm, and a little honey, spices and myrrh, nuts and almonds:
what was the present brought to Josepl on this occasion 1 After a)l the labour of commentators, we are obliged to be contented with probabilities and conjecture. According to our translation, the gifts were balm, honey, spices, myrrh, nuts, and almonds.
Balm] "li" tsori is supposed to signify resin in creneral, or some kind of gum issuing from trees.
Honey] CDT dehash has been supposed to be the same as the rob of grapes, called in Egypt dibs. Others think that honey, in the common sense of the term, is to be understood here: we know that honey was plentiful in Palestine.
Spices] nXDJ nechoth is supposed to mean gum slorax, which might be very valuable on account of its qualities as a perfume.
Myrrh] aS lot, supposed by some to mean stacte; by others to signify an oitinnent made of myrrh.
Nuts] D'jaD bolnim, by some rendered pistachio nuts, those produced in Syria being the finest in the world; by others, dates; others, walnuts; others, pine apples; others, the nuts of the terebinth tree.
Almond.i] D'TpK/ shekedim, correctly enough translated, and perhaps the only article in the collection of which we know any thing with certainty. It is generally allowed that the land of Canaan produces the best almonds in (he east; and on this account they might be deemed a very acceptable present to the
12 And take double money in
your liand; and the money ' that was brouglit again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight:
13 Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man:
1 4 And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other lirotlicr, and Benjamin. " If " I be bereaved i)f my children, I am bereaved.
15 And the men took that present, and they took double money in their hand, and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.
16 And when Joseph saw Benjamin with hem, he said to the ° ruler of his house, Bring
these men home, and " slay, and make ready; for these men shall "^ dine "with me at noon.
17 And the man did as Joseph bade; and "he man brought the men into Joseph's house.
18 And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's iiouse; and they said. Because of the money that was returned
in our sacks at the first time are we brought in: that he may ' seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses.
19 And they came near to the steward of Joseph's house, and they communed with him at the door of the house,
20 And said, 0 sir, ' we ' came indeed down at the first time to buy food:
2 1 And " it came to pass, when we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand.
22 And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks.
23 And he said. Peace he to you, fear not your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: ^ I had your money. And he brovight Simeon out unto
24 And the man brought the men intt Joseph's house, and ■" gave them water, and
governor of Egypt. Those who wi.sh to see this subject e.Kliausted must have recourse to the Phij.^ica Sacra of Schcuchzer.
Verse 12. Double monej/] AVhat was returned in iheir sacks, and what was farther necessary to buy another load.
Verse 14. This verse may be literally translated thus; " And God, the all-sufficient, shall give you tender mercies before the man, and send to you your other brother, and Benjamin; and 1, as I shall be childless, so I shall be childlcs.s." That is, I will submit to this privation, till God shall restore my children. It appears that this verse is spoken praphcticallt/; and that God at this time gave Jacob a supernatural evidence that his children should be restored.
Verse 18. And the men leere afraid] A guilty conscience needs no accuser. Kvcry thing alanns them; they now feel that God is exacting retribution, and ihev know not what the degrees shall be, nor where it shall stop.
Fall upon us] Viy 77jnn hithgotel alainu, roll himself upon us. A metaphor taken from torestlers; when a man has overthrown his antagonist, he rolls himself upon him, in order to keep him down.
jutmher with them; and which, if captured, would have been a great loss to the family of Jacob, as such cattle must have constituted a principal part of its riches.
Verse 20. O sir, we cnmc indeed — to buy food] There is a frankness now in the conduct of Joseph's brethren that did not exist before; they simply and honestly relate the whole circumstance of the money being found in their sacks on their return from their last journey. Afflictinns from the hand of God, and under his direction, have a wonderful tendency to humble the soul. Did men know how gracions his designs are in sending such, no murmur would ever be heard against the dispensations of Divine Providence.
Verse 23. And he said] The address of the steward in Ibis verse plainly proves that the knowledge of the true God was in Egypt. It is probable that the steward himself was a Hebrew, and lliat Joseph had given him intimation of the whole affair; and thouch he was not at liberty to reveal it, vet he gives them assurances that the whole business would issue happily.
/ had your money.] 'Ss N2 DD-J^J caspechem ba elai, your money cmncs to me. As I am the steward, the cash for the corn belongs to me. Ye have no reason to be apprehensive of any evil; the whole transaction is between myself and you; receive therefore tho money as a present from the God of your father, no mailer whose hands he makes use of to convey it. The conduct of the steward, as well as his words, had a great tendency to relieve tlieir burdened minds.
M. 2297. they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender,
•25 And they made ready the present against Josepli came at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there.
26 And when Joseph came home, they brought liim the present which was in tlieir hand into the house, and ^ bowed themselves to him to the earth.
27 And he asked them of their y welfare, and said, ^ Is your father well, the old man " of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?
28 And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. '' And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance.
29 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, " his mother's son, and said. Is this your younger brother, ^ of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son!
This is exactly the way in which a Hindoo receives a guest. As soon as he enters, one of the first civilities is the presenting of water to wash his feet. So indispensable is this, that water to wash the feet makes a part of the offerings to an image.
Verse 27. And he ashed them of \\ie\x welfare] This verse may be thus translated: " And he asked theih concerning their prosperity; and he said, Is your father prosperous, the old man who ye told me was alive \ And they said, Thy servant our father prospers; he is yet alive."
A'^erse 29. He lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin] They were probably introduced to him successively/; and as Benjamin was the youngest, he would of course be introduced last.
God be gracious unto thee, my son!] A usual salutation in the east from the aged and superiors to the younger and inferiors, which, though very emphatic and expressive in ancient times, in the present day means no more than " I am your humble servant," or " I am exceedingly glad to see you;" words which among us mean — just nothing. Even in David's time they seem to have been, not only devoid of meaning, but to be used as a cloa/c for the basest and most treacherous designs; They bless with their mouths, but they curse inwardly. Hence Joah salutes Amasa, kisses him with apparent affection, and stabs him in the same moment! The case of Judas, betraying the Son of man with a kiss, will not be forgotten.
Verse 32. They set on for him by hinuelf, ^-c] From the text it appears evident that there were three tables, one for Joseph, one for the Egyptians, and one for the eleven brethren.
30 7\jid Joseph made haste; for a.m. 2297. ' his bowels did yearn upon his ' ' ' " brother: and he sought ivhere to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and ^ wept
3 1 And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on s bread.
32 And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is ^ an abomination unto the Egyptians.
33 And they sat before him, the first-born according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one at another.
34 And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin's mess was ' five times so much a.s any of theirs. And they drank and "^ were merry with him.
brews] There might have been some political reason for this, with which we are unacquainted; but independently of this, two may be assigned. 1. The Hebrews were shepherds; and Egypt had been almost ruined by hordes of lawless wandering banditti, under the name of Hycsos, or King-shepherds, who had but a short time before this been expelled from the land by.imasis, after they had held it in subjection for 259 years, according to Manetho, committing the most wanton cruelties. 2. The Hebrews sacrificed those animals which the Egyptians held sacred, and fed on their flesh. The Egyptians were in general very superstitious, and would have no social intercourse witli people of any other nation; hence we are informed that they would not even use the knife of a Greek, because they might have reason to suspect it had cut the flesh of some of those animals which they held sacred. Among the Hindoos different castes will not eat food cooked in the same vessel. If a person of another caste touch a cooking vessel, it is thrown away. Some are of opinion that the Egyptian idolatry, especially their worship of Apis under the figure of an ox, was posterior to the time of Joseph; ancient monuments are rather against this opinion, hut it is impossible to decide either way. The clause in the Alexandrian Septuagint stands thus, \iS£2.v-//ia yap tanv ToiQ.KiyvTvTioi^ \nac Tzoifiriv Trpoilaruf,] " For [every shepherd] is an abomination to the Egyptians;" but this clause is probably borrowed from chap. xlvi. 34, where it stands in the Hebrew as well as in the Greek. See the note on chap. xlvi. 34.
"\'erse 33. The first-born according to his birthright] This must greatly astonish these brethren, to find themselves treated with so umch ceremony, and
Verse 34. BenjamMs mess was five limes so jnurh as any of theirs.'] Sir John Chardin observes that " in Persia, Arabia, and the Indies, there are several houses where they place several plates in large salvers, and set one of these before each person, or before two or throe, according to the magnificence of each house. This is the method among the Hindoos; the dishes are not jilaced on the table, but messes are sent to each individual by the master of the feast or by his substitute. The great men of the state are always served by themselves, in the feasts that are made for them; and with greater profusion, their part of each kind of provision being always double, treble, or a LARGER proportion of each kind of meat." The circumstance of Benjamin's having a mess five times as large as any of his brethren, shows the peculiar honour which Joseph designed to confer upon him. See several useful observations on this subject in Harmer's Observ., vol. ii., p. 101, &c., Edit. 1808.
1. The scarcity in Canaan was not absolute; though they ha<i no corn, they had honey, nuts, almonds, ice. In the midst of yurfj^men^, God remembers mercy. If there was scarcity in Canaan, tl^ere was plenty in Egypt; and though his providence had denied one country com, and accnmulated it in the other, his bounty had placed in the former money enough to procure it from the latter. How true is the saying, " It is never ill with any but it might be worse!" Let us be deeply thankful to God that we have any thing, seeing we deserve no good at his hands.
2. If we examine our circumstances closely, and call to remembrance the dealings of God's providence towards us, we shall find that we can sing much both of mercy and of Judgment. For one day of absolute unavoidable want, we shall find we had three handred and sixty-four, if not of fulness, yet of a cmnpetency. Famines, though rarely happening, are everywhere recorded; itinumerable years of abundance are scarcely ever registered! Such is the perverseness and ingratitude of man!
Joseph commands his steward to put his cup secretly inio Benjamin's sack, 1, 2. The sons of Jacob depend with the corn they had purchased, 3. Joseph commands his steivard to pursue them, and charge them witn having stolen his cup, 4—6. The brethren excuse themselves, protest their innocence, and offer to submit to be slaves should the cup be found with any of them, 7-9. Search is made, and the cup is found in Benjamin's sack, 10—12. They are brought back and submit themselves to Joseph, 13—16. He determines that Benjamin alone, with whom the cup is found, shall remain in captivity, 17. Judah, in a most affecting speech, pleads for Benjamin's enlargement, and offers himself to be a bondman in his stead, 18-34.
men's sacks with food, as much as they can cany, and put every man's money in his sack's mouth;
2 And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had.'^pokcn.
3 As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent awav, they and their asses.
A'erse 2. Put my cup — in the sack's mouth of the youngest] The stratagem of tlie cup seems to have been designed to bring Joseph's bretliren into the highest slate of pcrplcrily and distress, tliat their deliverance by the disonvi^ry that Joseph was their brother iiiight have its highest effect.
Verse 5. Whereby — he divinelh?] Divination by cups has been from time immemorial prevalent among the Asiatics; and for want of knowing this, commentators have spent a profusion of learned labour upon these words, in order to reduce them to tluit kind of meaning which would at once be consistent with the scope and design of the history, and save i!44
4 And when they were gone out a. m. 2297.
Joseph said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men: and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them. Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good?
5 Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he '' divineth? ye have done evil in so doing.
6 And he overlook them, and he spake unto them these same words.
Joseph from the impeachment of sorcery and divination. I take the word ETIJ nachash here in its general acceptation of to view attentively, to inquire. Now there ha.s been in the east a tradition, the commencement of which is lost in immemorial time, that there was a CUP, which had passed successively into the hands of different potentates, which possessed the strange property of representing in it the whole world and all the things which were then doing in it. The cup is called iXaw*-^; ^Vs^ y^^j Jemsheed, the cup of Jcmshecd, a very ancient king of Persia, whom late historians and poets have confounded with Bacchus, Solomon, Alexander the Great, cjc. This cip, fdled with the eluir of imnwrtaliiy, they say was discovered
God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing:
8 Behold, ■= the money, which we found in our sacks' mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord's house silver or gold?
9 With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, '' both let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen.
10 And he said, Now also let it he according unto your words: he, with whom it is found, shall be my servant; and ye shall be blameless.
1 1 Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack.
1 2 And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest; and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.
when digging to lay the foundations of Persepolis. The Persian poets are full of allusions to this cup, which, from its properly of representing the whole world and its transactions, is styled by them ^^ cJ*^^ f • i'^'" jehan nima, " the cup showing the universe;" and to the intelligence received by means of it they attribute the great prosperity of their ancient monarchs, as by it they understood all events, past, present, and to come. Many of the Mohammedan princes and governors affect still to have information of futurity by means of a cup. When Mr. Norden was at Derri in the farthest part of Egypt, in a very dangerous situation, an ill-natured and powerful Arab, in a threatening way, told one of their people whom they sent to him that " he knew what sort of people they were, for he had consulted his cup, and found by it that they were those of whom one of their prophets had said, that Franks (Europeans) would come in disguise; and, passing everywhere, examine the state of the country; and afterwards bring over a great number of other Franks, conquer the country, and exterminate all." By this we see that the tradition of the divining cup still exists, and in the very same country too in which Joseph formerly ruled. Now though it is not at all likely that Joseph practised any kind of divination, yet probably, according to the superstition of those times, (for I suppose the tradition to be even older than the time of Joseph,). supernatural influence might be attributed to his cup; and as the whole transaction related here was merely intended to deceive his brethren for a short time, he might as well affect divination by his cup, as he affected to believe they had stolen it. The steward therefore uses the word tyn: nachash in its proper meaning: h not this it out of which my lord drinketh, and in which he inspectelh accurately? ver. 5. And hence
13 Then they ^ rent their clothes, a. m. 2297. and laded every man his ass, and ' ' " returned to the city.
14 And Judah and his bretliren came to Joseph's house; for he was yet there: and ' they f fell before him on the ground.
15 And Joseph said unto them. What deed is this that ye have done? wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly s divine?
1 6 And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, ^ we are my lord's servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found.
1 7 And he said, ' God forbid that I should do so: hut the man in whose hand the cup is foimd, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father.
18 Then Judah came near unto him, and said, O, my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee,
Joseph says, ver. 15: Wot ye no^^-did ye not know, that such a person as I (having such a cup) would accurately and attentively look into it? As I consider this to be the true meaning, I shall not trouble the reader with other modes of interpretation.
Verse 16. What shall we say, (^c] No words can more strongly mark confusion and perturbation of mind. They, no doubt, all thought that Benjamin had actually stolen the cup; and the probability of this guilt might be heightened by the circumstance of his having that very cup to drink out of at dinner; for as he had the most honourable mess, so it is likely he had the most honourable cup to drink out of at the entertainment.
Verse 18. Thou art even as Pharaoh.] As wise, as powerful, and as much to be dreaded as he. In the Asiatic countries, the reigning monarch is always considered to be the pattern of all perfection; and the highest honour that can be conferred on any person, is to resemble him to the monarch; as the monarch himself is likened, in the same complimentary way, to an angel of God. See 2 Sara. xiv. 17, 18. Judah is the chief speaker here, because it was in consequence of his becoming surety for Benjamin that Jacob permitted him to accompany them to Egypt. See chap, xliii. 9.
" Every man who reads," says Dr. Dodd, " to the close of this chapter, must confess that Judah acts here the part both of the affectionate brother and of the dutiful son, who, rather than behold his father's misery in case of Benjamin's being left behind, submits to become a bondman in his stead: and indeed there is such an air of candour and generosity running through the whole strain of this speech, the sentiments are so tender and affecting, the expressions so passionate, and flow so much from artless nature, that it is no wonder if they
against thy servant: for thou art even as
20 And we said unto my lord. We have a father, an old man, and ' a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth
21 And thou saidst unto thy servants, "" Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him.
22 And we said unto my lord. The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should leave his father, his father would die.
23 And tiiou saidst unto thy servants, " Except your youngest brother come down with you, yc shall see my face no more.
24 And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.
25 And ° our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food.
2G And we said, Wc cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down: for we may not see the man's face, except our youngest brother be with us.
27 And thy servant my father a. m. 229T. said unto us. Ye know that p my ' ' '" wife bare me two sons:
28 And the one went out from me, and I said, "I Surely he is torn in pieces: and I saw him not since:
29 And if ye ' take this also from me, anJ mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.
30 Now therefore, when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad he not with us; (seeing that ' his life is bound up in the lad's life;)
3 1 It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not luith us, that he will die; and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave.
32 For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, ' If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever.
33 Now therefore, I pray thee, ° let thy servant abide instead of the lad, a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren.
34 For how shall T go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall '' come on my father.
came home to Joseph's heart, and forced him to throw off the mask." " When one sees," says Dr. Jackson, " such passages related hy men who affect no art, and who lived long after the parties who first uttered them, we cannot conceive how all particulars could be so naturally and fully recorded, unless they had been sugg^led by His Spirit who gives mouths and speech unto men; who, being alike present to all successions, is able to communicate the secret thoughts of forefathers to their children, and put the very words of the deceased, never registered before, into the mouths or pens of their successors born many ages after; and that as exactly and distinctly as if they had been caught, in characters of steel or brass, as they issued out of their mouths. For it is plain that every circumstance is here related with such natural specifications, as if Moses had heard them talk; and therefore could not have been thus represented to us, unless they had been written by His direction who knows all things, fore-past, present, or to come."
To two such able and accurate testimonies I may be permitted to add my omi. No paraphrase can heighten the effect of Judah's address to Joseph. To add would be to diminish its excellence; to attempt to explain would be to obscure its beauties; to clothe the ideas in other language than that of Judah, and his translators in our Bible, would ruin its energy, and destroy its influence. It is perhaps one of the most tender, affecting pieces of natural oratory ever spoken or penned; and we need rot wonder to find that when Joseph heard it he could not refrain hiitiselt, but wept aloud. Ilis soul must have been insensible beyond what is common to human nature, had he not immediately yielded to a speech so delicately tender, and so powerfully impressive. We cannot But deplore the unnatural and unscientific division of the narratiTS in our common Bibles, which obliges us to have recourse to another chapter in order to witness the effects which this speech produced on the heart of Joseph.
'vseph, deeply affected with the speech of Judah, could no longer conceal himself, hut discovers hiTnself to his brethren^ 1-4. Excuses their conduct toioards him, and attributes the whole to the providence of God, 5-8. Orders them to hasten to Canaan, and bring up their father and their own families, cattle, JfC, because there were five years of the famine yet to come, 9-13. He embraces and converses vjith all his brethren, 14, 15. Pharaoh, hearing that Joseph's brethren loere came to Egypt, and that Joseph had desired them lo return to Canaan and bring back their families, not only confirms the order, but promises them the best fart of the land of Egypt to dwell in; and provides them carriages to transport themselves and their households, 16-SO. Joseph provides them with icagons according to the commandment of Pharaoh; ani having given them various presents, sends them away with suitable advice, 21-34. They depart, arrive in Canaan, and announce the glad tidings to their father, who for a time believes not, but being assured of the truth of their relation, is greatly comforted, and resolves to visit Egypt, 25-28.
stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.
2 And he " wept aloud: and the Egyptians ind the house of Pharaoh heard.
3 And Joseph said unto his brethren, '' I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his
^Heb. gave forth his voice in weeping; Num. xiv. 1. ^ Acts
Verse 1. Joseph could not refrain himself] Tlie word psxnn hithappek is very emphatic; it signifies to force one's self, to do something against nature, to do violence to one's self. Joseph could no longer constrain himself to act a feigned part — all the brother and the son rose up in him at once, and overpowered all his resolutions; he felt for his father, he realized his disappointment and agony; and he felt for his brethren, " now at his feet submissive in distress;" and, that he might give free and full scope to his feelings, and the most ample play to the workings of his affectionate heart, he ordered all his attendants to go out, while he made himself known lo his brethren. " The beauties of this chapter," says Dr. Dodd, " are so striking, that it would be an indignity to the reader's judgment to point them out; all who can read and feel must be sensible of them, as there is perhaps nothing in sacred or profane history more highly wrought up, move interesting or affecting."
Verse 3. The Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.\ It seems strange that Joseph should have wept so loud that his cries should be heard at some considerable distance, as we may suppose his dwelling was not very nigh to the palace! " But this," says. Sir Jolm Chirdin, " is exactly the genius of the people of Asia — their sentiments of joy or grief are properly transports, and iheir transports are ungoverned, excessive, and truly outrageous. When any one returns from a long journey, or dies, his family burst into cries that may be heard twenty doors off; and this is renewed at different times, and continues many days, aecording to the vigour of the passion. Sometimes
4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came nean And he said, I am Joseph your brother "^ whom ye sold into Egypt.
5 Now therefore " be not grieved, ' nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: s for God did send me before you to preserve lifa
they cease all at once, and then begin as suddenly, with a greater shrillness and loudness than one could easily imagine." This circumstance Sir John brings to illustrate the verse in question. See Harmer, vol. iii. p. 17. But the house of Pharaoh may certainly signify Pharaoh's servants, or any of the members of his household, such as those whom Joseph had desired to withdraw, and who might still be within hearing of his voice. After all, the words may only mean that the report was brought to Pharaoh's house. See ver. 16.
Verse 3. / am Joseph] Mr. Pope supposed that the discovery of Ulysses to his son Telemachus bears some resemblance to Joseph's discovery of himself to his brethren. The passage may be seen in Homer, Odyss. 1. xvi., ver. 186-218.
A few lines from Camper's translation will show much of the spirit of the original, and also a consider able analogy between the two scenes:-
"I am thy father, for whose sake thou lead'st
A life of wo by violence oppress'd.
So saying, he kiss'd his son; while from his cheeks
Tears trickled, tears till then perforce restrain'd.
His arms around his father's neck, and wept.
Pangs of soft sorrow, not to be suppress'd.
So they, their cheeks with big round drops of wo
Verse 5. Be not grieved, nor angry ivith yourselves'] This discovers a truly noble mind: he not only forgives and forgets, but he wishes even those who had wronged him to forget the injury they had done, that
7 And God sent me before you *" to preserve you a posterity in llie earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hatli made me ' a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all liis house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
9 Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him. Thus saith thj' son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egj'pt: come down unto me, tarry not.
10 And ''thou shall dwell in the land of
they might not suffer distress on the account; and with deep piety he attributes the whole to the providence of God; for, says he, God did send rae before you to preserve life. On every word here a strong emphasis may be laid. It is not yoit, but God; it is not you that sold rae, but God who sent me; Egypt and Canaan must both have perished, had not a merciful provision been made; you were to come down hither, and God sent me before you; death must have been the consequence of this famine, had not God sent me here to preserve life.
Verse 6. Tliere shall neitherhe earing nor harvest.'] Earing has been supposed to mean collecting the ears of corn, which would confound it with harvest: the word, however, me3.ns ploughing or seed-time, from the Anglo-Sason ejiian erian, probably borrowed from the Latin aro, \o plough, and plainly means that there should be no seed-time, and consequently no harvest; and why? Because there should be a total want of rain in other countries, and the Nile should not rise above twelve cubit.i in Egypt; see on chap. xli. 31. But the expressions here must be qualified a little, as we find from chap, xlvii. 19, that the Egyptians came to Joseph to buy seed; and it is probable that even during this famine they sow-ed some of the ground, particularly on the borders of the river, from which a crop, though not an abund.int one, might be produced. The passage, however, in the above chapter may refer to the last year of the famine, when they came to procure seed for the ensuing year.
Verso 8. He hath made me a father to Pharaoh] It lias already been conjectured that father was a name of office in Egypt, and that father of Pharaoh might among them signify the same as pri>ne minister or the king''s minister does among us. Calmet has remarked that among the Phoenicians, Persians,.\rabians, and Romans, the title o( father was given to certain officers of state. The Roman emperors gave the name of father to the prefects of the Prtetorium, as appears by the letters of Constantino to.\blavius. The caliphs gave the same name to their prime ministers. In Judges xvii. 10, Micah says to the young Levite. Dioe//
Goshen, and thou shalt be near a.m. 2297. unto me, thou, and thy children, ^''^'
and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast:
1 1 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.
1 2 And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is ' my mouth that spcaketh unto you.
13 x\nd yc shall toll my father of all my glorj' in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and)'c shall haste and "■ bring down my father hither.
14 And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's
rvith me, and be unto me a father and a priest. And Diodorus Siculus remarks that the teachers and counsellors of the kmgs of Egypt were chosen out of the priesthood.
Verse 10. Thou.^halt dwell in the land of Goshen] Probably this district had been allotted to Joseph by the king of Egypt, else we can scarcely think he could have promised it so positively, without first obtaining Pharaoh's consent. Goshen was the most easterly province of Lower Egypt, not far from the Arabian Gulf, lying next to Canaan, (for Jacob went directly thither when he came into Egypt,) from whence it is supposed to have been about fourscore miles distant, though Hebron was distant from the Egyptian capital about three hundred miles. At Goshen Jacob stayed till Joseph visited him, chap. xlvi. 28. It is also called the land of Rameses, chap, xlvii. 11, from a city of that name, which was the metropolis of the coimtry. Josephus, Antiq., 1. ii., c. 4, makes Heliopolis, the city of Joseph's father-in-law, the place of the Israelites' residence. As Dt^J geshem signifies rain in Hebrew, St. Jerome and some others have supposed that ja'J Goshen comes from the same root, and that the land in question was called thus because it had rain, which was not the case with Egypt in general; and as it was on the confines of the Arabian Gulf, it is very probable that it was watered from heaven, and it might be owing to this circumstance that it was peculiarly fertile, for it is stated to be the best of the land of Egypt. See chap, xlvii. 6, 11. See also Calmet and Dodd
A''erse 12. That it is my mouth that spcaketh unto you.] The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel renders the place thus: — " Your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my own mouth that si)eaketh with you, in the language of the house of the sanctuary." Undoubtedly Joseph laid considerable stress on his speaking with them in the Hebrew tongue, without the assistance of an interpreter, as in the case mentioned chap. xlii. 23.
Verse 14. He fell upon his brother Benjamin's mek] Among the Asiatics kissing the beard, the neck, and the shoulders, is in use to the present day; and probably
15 Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.
16 And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come: and it " pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.
17 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy bretliren. This do ye: lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan;
18 And take your father, and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat " the fat of the land.
19 Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.
20 Also p regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yoiurs.
2 1 And the children of Israel did so: and
falling on the neck signifies no more than kissing the neck or shoulders, with the arms around.
Verse 20. Regard not your stuff] Literally, Let not your eye spare your instruments or vessels. QyiJ keleychem, a general term, in which may be included household furniture, agricultural utensils, or implements of any description. They were not to delay nor encumber themselves with articles which could be readily found in Egypt, and were not worth so long a carriage.
Verse 2 1. Joseph gave them wagons] ni7Ji' agaloth, from Sji? agal, which, though not used as a verb in the Hebrew Bible, evidently means to turn round, roll round, be circular, &c., and hence very properly applied to wheel carriages. It appears from this that such vehicles were very early in use, and that the road from Egypt to Canaan must have been very open and much frequented, else such carriages could not have passed by it.
Verse 22. Changes of raiment] It is a common custom with all the Asiatic sovereigns to give both garments and money to ambassadors and persons of distinction, whom they particularly wish to honour. Hence they keep in their wardrobes several hundred changes of raiment, ready made up for presents of this. kind- That such were given by way of reward and honour, see Judges xiv. 12, 19; Rev. vi. 11. At the
close of a feast the Hindoos, among other presents to the guests, commonly give new garments. A Hindoo garment is merely a piece of cloth, requiring no work of the tailor. — Ward.
Verse 23. Meat for his father by the way.] lliD •nazon, from [I zan, to prepare, provide, &c. Hence
22 To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and ' five changes of raiment.
23 And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses ' laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she-asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way
24 So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them. See that ye fall not out by the way.
25 And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father,
26 And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. ' And " Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not.
27 And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and
prepared meat, some made-up dish, delicacies, confectionaries, &c. As the word is used, 2 Chron. xvi. 14, for aromatic preparations, it may be restrained in its meaning to something of that kind here. In Asiatic countries they haye several curious methods of preserving flesh by potting, by which it may be kept for any reasonable length of time sweet and wholesome. Some delicacy, similar to the savoury food which Isaac loved, may be here intended; and this was sent to Jacob in consideration of his age, and to testify the re speet of his son. Of other kinds of meat he could need none, as he had large herds, and could kill a lamb, kid, sheep, or goat, whenever he pleased.
Verse 24. See that ye fall not out by the way.] This prudent caution was given by Joseph, to prevent his brethren from accusing each other for having sold him; and to prevent them from envying Benjamin, for the superior favour shown him by his brother. It is strange, but so it is, that children of the same parents are apt to envy each other, fall out, and contend; and therefore the exhortation in this verse must be always seasonable in a large family. But a rational, religions education will, under God, prevent every thing of this sort.
Verse 26. Jacob's heart fainted] Probably the good news so overpowered him as to cast him into a swoon. He believed them not — he thought it was too good news to be true; and though it occasioned his swoonmg, yet on his recovery he could not fully credit it. See a similar case, Luke xxiv. 41.
Verse 27. When he saw the wagons — the spirit of Jacob — revived] The wagons were additional ovi- S49
will go and see him before I die.
dences 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, "nni vattechi, and he lived; reviiit, says the Vulgate, he lived afresh. The Septuagint translate the original word by avc^aTrvpi/ac, which signifies the Mowing and stirring up of almost extinguished embers that had been buried under the ashes, which word St. Paul uses, 2 Tim. i. 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.
Verse 28. It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive] It was not the state of dignity to which Joseph had arisen that particularly affected Jacob, it was the consideration that he was still alive. It was this that caused him to e.\claim 31 rab; " much! multiplied! my son is yet alive! I will go and see him before I die." None can realize this scene; the words, the circumstances, all refer to indescribable feelings.
1. In Joseph's conduct to his brethren there are several things for which it is difficult to account. It is strange, knowing how much his father loved him, that he never took an opportunity, many of which must have offered, to acquaint him that he was alive; and that self-interest did not dictate the propriety of this to him is at first view surprising, as his father would undoubtedly have paid his ransom, and restored him to liberty: but a little reflection will show that prudence dictated secrecy. His brethren, jealous and envious in the extreme, would soon have found out other methods of destroying bis life, had they again got him into their power. Therefore for his personal safety, he chose rather to be a bond-slave in Egypt than to risk his life by returning home. On this ground it is evident that he could not with any safety have discovered the place of his residence.
2. His carriage to his brethren, previously to his making himself known, appears inexcusably harsh, if not vindictive; but when the tnen are considered, it will appear sufficiently evident that no other means would have been adequate to awaken their torpid consciences, and bring them to a due sense of their guilt. A desperate disease ri!quires a desperate remedy. The event justified all that he did, and God appears to have been the director of the whole.
3. His conduct in requiring Benjamin to be as it were torn away from the bleeding heart of an aged, desolate father, in whose affection he himself had long lived, is the most difficult to be satisfactorily accounted for. Unless the Spirit of prophecy had assured him that this experiment would terminate in the most favourable manner, his conduct in making it cannot well be vindicated. To such prophetic intimation this conduct has been attributed by learned men; and we may say that this consideration, if it does not untie the knot, at least cuts it. Perhaps it is best to say that in all these things Joseph acted as he was directed by a providence, under the influence of which he might have been led to do many things which he had not previously designed. The issue proves that the hand of God's wisdom and goodness directed, regulated, and governed every circumstance, and the result was glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace and good will among men. 4. This chapter, which contains the unravelling of the plot, and wonderfully illustrates the mysteries of these particular providences, is one of the most interesting in the whole account: the speech of Joseph to his brethren, ver. 1—13, is inferior only to that of Judah in the preceding chapter. He saw that his brethren were confounded at his presence, that they were struck with his present power, and that they keenly remembered and deeply deplored their own guilt. It was necessary to comfort them, lest their hearts should have been overwhelmed with overmuch sorrow. How delicate and finely wrought is the apology he makes for them! the whole heart of the affectionate brother is at once seen in it — art is confounded and swallowed up by nature — " Be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves— it was not you that sent me hither, but God." What he says also concerning his father shows the warmest feelings of a benevolent and filial heart. Indeed, the whole chapter is a master-piece of composition; and it is the more impressive because it is evidently a simple relation of fads just as they occurred; for no attempt is made to heighten the effect by rhetorical colouring or philosophical reflections; it is all simple, sheer nature, from beginning to end. It is a history that has no fellow, crowded with incidents as probable as they are true; where every passion is called into action, where every one acts up to his own character, and where nothing is outre in time, or extravagant in degree. Had not the history of Joseph formed a part of the sacred Scriptures, it would have been published in all the living languages of man, and read throughout the universe! But it contains the things of Ood, and to all such the carnal mind is cnmilv.
/aeob begins his journey to Egypt, comes to Beer-sheha, and offers sacrifices to God, 1. God appears to him in a vision, gives him gracious promises, and a.<!.mrcs him of his protection, 2—4. He proceeds, with hit family and their cattle, on his journey towards Egypt, 5-7. A genealogical enumeration of the seventy persons who went down to Egypt. 8, <ffc. The posterity of i^icoh by Leah. Reuben and his sons, 9, Simeon and his sou.'. 10. Levi and his sons, 11. Judah and his sons, 12. Issachar and h\s sons, 13. i&O a
And Zebulun and his sons, 14. All the posterity 0/ Jacob bi/ Leah, thirty and three, 15. The posterity of Jacob by Zilpah. Gad and his sons, 16. A.sher and his so7is, 17. All the posterity of Jacob by ZiLPAH, sixteei, 18. The posterity o/" Jacob by Rachel. Joseph and his sons, 19, 20. Benjamin and his sons, 21..1// the posterity of Jacob by Rachel, fourteen, 22. The posterity 0/ Jacob by Bilhah. Dan and his sons, 23. NaphtaU and his sons, 24. All the posterity of Jacob by Bilhah, seven, 25. All the immediate descendants of Jacob by his four loives, threescore and sis, 26; and all the descendants of the house of Jacob, seventy souls, 27. Judah is sent before to inform Joseph of his father's coming, 28. Joseph goes to Goshen to meet Jacob, 29. Their affecting interview, 30. Joseph proposes to return to Pharaoh, and inform him of the arrival of his family, 31, and of their occupation, as keepers of cattle, 32. Instructs them what to say when called before Pharaoh, and questioned by him, that they might he permitted to dwell unmolested in the land of Goshen, 33, 34.
to ^ Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices '' unto the God of his father Isaac.
2 And God spake unto Israel " in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And lie said, Here am I.
3 And he said, I am God, ^ the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there * make of thee a great nation:
4 *^I will go down with thee into Egypt, and I will also surely ^ bring thee up again: and *" Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.
5 And ' Jacob rose up from Beer-sheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father.
Verse 1. And came to Beer-sheba] This place appears to be mentioned, not only because it was the way from Hebron, where Jacob resided, to Egypt, whither he was going, but because it was a consecrated place, a place where God had appeared to Abraham, chap. xxi. 33, and to Isaac, chap. xxvi. 23, and where Jacob is encouraged to expect a manifestation of the same goodness: he chooses therefore to begin his journey with a visit to God's house; and as he was going into a strange land, he feels it right to renexo his covenant with God by sacrifice. There is an old proverb which applies strongly to this case: " Prayers and provender never hinder any man's journey." He who would travel safely must take God with him.
Verse 3. Fear not to go down into Egypt] It appears that there had been some doubts in the patriarch's mind relative to the propriety of this journey; he found, from the confession of his own sons, how little they were to be trusted. But every doubt is dispelled by this Divine manifestation. 1. He may go down confidently, no evil shall befall him. 2. Even in Egypt the covenant shall be fulfilled, God will make of him there a great nation. 3. God himself will acompany him on his journey, be with him in the strange land, and even bring back his bones to rest with those of his fathers. 4. He shall see Joseph, and this same beloved son shall be with him in his last hours, and do the last kind office for him. Joseph shall put his hand
6 And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, ^ Jacob, and all his seed with him:
7 His sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt.
8 And ™ these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: " Reuben, Jacob's first-born.
iipon thine eyes. It is not likely that Jacob would have at all atteinpted to go down to Egypt, had he not received these assurances from God; and it is very likely that he offered his sacrifice merely to obtain this information. It was now a time of famine in Egypt, and God had forbidden his father Isaac to go down to Egypt vi-hen there was a famine there, chap. xxvi. 1—3; besides, he may have had some general intimation of the prophecy delivered to his grandfather Abraham, that his seed should be afflicted in Egypt, chap. XV. 13, 14; and he also knew that Canaan, not Egypt, was to be the inheritance of his family, chap, xii., &c. On all these accounts it was necessary to have the most explicit directions from God, before he should take such a journey.
Verse 7. All his seed brought he with him. into Egypt.] When Jacob went down into Egypt he was in the one hundred and thirtieth year of his age, two hundred and fifteen years after the promise was made to Abraham, chap. xii. 1-4, in the year of the world 2298, and before Christ 1706.
Verse 8. These are the names of the children of Israel] It may be necessary to observe here. First, that several of these names are expressed differently elsewhere, Jemuel for Nemuel, Jachin for Jarib, Gershon for Gershom, &c.; compare Num. xxvi. 12; 1 Chron. iv. 24. But it is no uncommon case for the same person to have different names, or the same name to be differently pronounced; see chap. xxv. 15,
1 0 And " the sons of Simeon; p Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and 1 Jachin, and ' Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitisli woman.
12 And the sons of " Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zarah: but " Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And " the sons of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul.
14 And the sons of Zcbulun; Sered, and Elon, and Jahlecl.
15 These be the sons of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padan-aram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and
Secondly, that it is probable that some names in this hst are brought in by prolepsis or anticipation, as the persons were born (probably) during the seventeen years which Jacob sojourned in Eg^'pt, see ver. 12. Thirdly, that the families of some are entered more at large than others because of their peculiar respectability, as in the case of Judah, Joseph, and Benjamin; but see the tables under verse 20.
Verse 12. The so7is of Pharez mere Hezron and Hamul] It is not likely that Pharez was more than ten years of age when he came into Egypt, and if so he could not have had children; therefore it is necessary to consider Hezron and Hamul as being born during the seventeen years that Jacob sojourned in Egypt, see on ver. 8: and it appears necessary, for several reasons, to take these seventeen years into the account, as it is very probable that what is called the going down into Egypt includes the seventeen years which Jacob spent there.
Verse 20. Unto Joseph — were born Manasseh and Ephraim] There is a remarkable addition here in the Septuagint, which must be noticed: Kycvopro ie vioi Mai'aaffiy, orf crtKtv avTtf} fj 7ra?.Xa«7 7 ^vpa, tov Ma^^tfi' JAaxip <5t eyevvfjae tov Ta?.aa6. Xioi de E(ppatfi a6e?.<^ov Maroaoy, SovraAaa/i xai Taa/i. Tloi (If ^ovTa?.aa/i, Ede/J- These were the sons of Manasseh whom his Syrian concubine bore unto him: Machir; and Maehir begat Galaad. The sons of Ephraim, Manassch's brother, were Sutalaam and Taam; and the sons of Sutalaam, Edem. These add five persons to the list, and make out the number given by Stephen,.\ct8 vii. 14, which it seems he had taken from the text of the Scpluagint, unless we could suppose that the text of Stephen had been altered to make it correspond to the Septuagint, of which there is /Kit tne slightest evidence from ancient MSS. or rersions. The addition in the Septuagint is not
1 7 ■= And the sons of Asher; Jimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister: and the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel.
18 ■* These are the sons of Zilpah, ■= whom Laban gave to Leah, his daughter; and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls.
19 The sons of Rachel 'Jacob's wife; Joseph and Benjamin.
20 f And unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah '^ priest of On bare unto him.
found in either the Hebrew or the.Samaritan at present; and some suppose that it was taken either from Num. xxvi. 29, 35, or 1 Chron. vii. 14-20, but in none of these places does the addition appear as it stands in the Septuagint, though some of the names are found interspersed. Various means have been proposed to find the seventy persons in the text, and to reconcile the Hebrew with the Septuagint and the New Testament.
A table given by Scheuchzer, extracted from the Memoires de Trevoux, gives the following general view:
Total sons of Jacob and his four wives 70
" To harmonize this with the Septuagint and St. Stephen,.\cls vii. 14, to the number sixty-sii (all the souls that came out of Jacob's loins, ver. 26) add nine of the patriarchs' wives, Judah's wife being already dead in Canaan, (chap, xxxviii. 12,) Benjamin being
Enumeration of the seventy
22 These are the sons of Rachel, which were born to Jacob: all the souls were fourteen.
24 P And the sons of Naphtali; Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem.
25 1 These are the sons of Bilhah, ''which Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and she bare these unto Jacob: all the souls tuere seven.
supposed to be as yet unmarried, and the wife of Joseph being already in Egypt, and therefore out of the case: the nunnber will amount to seventy-five, which is that found in the Acts." — Universal History.
Dr. Hales' method is more simple, and I think more satisfactory: " Moses states that all the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which issued from his loins, (except his sons' wives,) were sixty-six souls. Gen. xlvi. 26; and this number is thus collected: —
" If to these sixty-six children, and grandchildren, and great grandchildren, we add Jacob himself, Joseph and his two sons, the amount is seventy, the whole amount of Jacob's family which settled in Egypt.
" In this statement the wives of Jacob's sons, who formed part of the household, are omitted; but they amounted to nine, for of the twelve wives of the twelve sons of Jacob, Judah's wife was dead, chap, xxxviii. 12, and Simeon's also, as we may collect from his youngest son Shaul by a Canaanitess, ver. 10, and Joseph's wife was already in Egypt. These nine wives, therefore, added to the sixty-six, give seventyfive souls, the whole amount of Jacob's household that went down with him to Egypt; critically corresponding with the statement in the New. Testament, that ' Joseph sent for his father Jacob and all his kindred, amounting to seventy-five souls.' The expression all his kindred, including the wives which were Joseph's kindred, not only hy affinity, but also by consanguinity, being probably of the families of Esau, Ishmael, or Ke-
26 'All the souls that came with A. M. 2298.
of his ' loins, besides Jacob's sons' wives, all the souls toere threescore and six;
27 And the sons of Joseph, which were bom him in Egypt, were two souls: " all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.
28 And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, ' to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came "" into the land of Goshen.
29 And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen,
turah. Thus does the New Testament furnish an admirable comment on the Old." — Analysis, vol., ii. p. 159.
It is necessary to observe that this statement, which appears on the whole the most consistent, supposes that Judah was married when about yoitrteen years of age, his son Er at the same age, Pharez at the same, Asher and his fourth son Beriah under twenty, Benjamin ahoat fifteen, and Joseph's sons and grandsons about twenty. But this is not improbable, as the children of Israel must all have married at a very early age, to have produced in about two hundred and fifteen years no less than six hundred thousand persons above twenty years old, besides women and children.
Verse 28. He sent Judah before him unto Joseph] Judah was certainly a man of sense, and also an eloquent man; and of him Joseph must have had a very favourable opinion from the speech he delivered before him, chap. xliv. 18, &c.; he was therefore chosen as the most proper person to go before and announce Jacob's arrival to his son Joseph.
To direct his face unto Goshen] The land of Goshen is the same, according to the Septuagint, as the land of Rameses, and Goshen itself the same as Heroopolis, 'Hpauv ttoXi^ Heroon-polis, the city of heroes, a name by which it went in the days of the Septuagint, and which it still retained in the time of Josephus, for he makes use of the same term in speaking of this place. See on ver. 34.
Verse 29. And Joseph made ready his chariot] inDJIO mercabto. In chap. xli. 43, we have the first mention of a chariot, and if the translation be correct, it is a proof that the arts were not in a rude state in Egypt even at this early time. When we find wagons used to transport goods from place to place, we need not wonder that these suggested the idea of forming chariots for carrying persons, and especially those of high rank and authority. Necessity produces arts, and arts and science produce not only an increase of the conve7iiences but also of the refinements and luxuries of life. It has been supposed that a chariot is not intended here; for as the word n33"''D mercabah, which we and most of the ancient versions translate chariot, comes from 3D1 rachab, he rode, saddling his horse may be all that is intended. But it is more
Jwep/i meets his father, and tells his GENESIS, brethren what to say to Pharaoh.
A.M.2298. and presented himself unto him; — _J L and he ' fell on his neck, and wept
30 And Israel said unto Joseph, y Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because