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Genesis 43
1 And the famine was sore in the land.
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 little food.
3 And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man (i.e. Joseph) 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.
In other words, they weren't going to be dealt with good unless the youngest (Benjamin) was brought with them.
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, Is your father 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?
In other words, they're telling Israel (Jacob), "how were we supposed to know he was going to tell us to bring our brother down to Egypt?"
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, and also our little ones.
9 I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt 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.
In other words, they would have already been back with more food supply if Israel (Jacob) had went ahead and let them take Benjamin.
11 And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the 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:
12 And take double money in your hand; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; peradventure (= perhaps) it was an oversight:
13 Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man:
And as we can see, Israel (Jacob) agreed to let them take Benjamin.
14 And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.
In other words, Israel's (Jacob's) thinking of everything he can in order for the governor (Joseph) of Egypt to accept them and is now basically saying "whatever happens, happens."
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 them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and slay (i.e. provide meat), and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon.
And so it is, Joseph's preparing to have lunch with his brothers.
17 And the man did as Joseph bade (= commanded); and the man brought the men into Joseph's house.
18 And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house; 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.
Most likely they thought they were going to be murdered.
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, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:
21 And it came to pass, when we came to the inn (i.e. lodging place), 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.
In other words, they're wanting to make it as clear as possible that they have no idea how in the world, their money they used to pay for food, the first time, wound up back in their sacks.
23 And he said, Peace be 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 brought Simeon out unto them.
24 And the man brought the men into Joseph's house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender (= feed).
25 And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there.
26 And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth.
Here we see again, the prophecy of Genesis 37:9, concerning Joseph's dream that GOD had revealed to him, coming to pass, except this time in it's entirety, as all eleven brothers are bowing before him.
27 And he asked them of their 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 (i.e. full 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.
30 And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.
In other words, Joseph stepped aside to let out his overflowing emotions after seeing his younger full blooded brother.
31 And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread.
I.e. he regained control over his emotions before he came back out to his brothers.
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.
The reason for this hostility was most likely because the Hebrews were shepherds who consumed of meat from cattle, sheep, and goats, and to some Egyptians, those animals represented some of their gods, as you will later see in the book of Exodus, as many of them were caught up in idolatry.
33 And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one at another.
And so it was, they were seated in order from oldest to youngest, and so as we can see, that came as a surprise to them as to how anyone could possibly know their ages in order, and of course they were Joseph's own brothers, so naturally he would know.
34 And he took and sent messes (i.e. portions) unto them from before him: but Benjamin's mess (i.e. portion) was five (= the number of grace in Biblical numerics) times so much as any of their's. And they drank, and were merry with him.
In other words, Joseph's showing favoritism to Benjamin, to see whether or not they will perhaps try to sell him out too, as they did with him, years prior. So as we can see, he's simply testing them to see whether or not they have changed from their sour ways.
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 little food.
3 And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man (i.e. Joseph) 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.
In other words, they weren't going to be dealt with good unless the youngest (Benjamin) was brought with them.
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, Is your father 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?
In other words, they're telling Israel (Jacob), "how were we supposed to know he was going to tell us to bring our brother down to Egypt?"
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, and also our little ones.
9 I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt 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.
In other words, they would have already been back with more food supply if Israel (Jacob) had went ahead and let them take Benjamin.
11 And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the 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:
12 And take double money in your hand; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; peradventure (= perhaps) it was an oversight:
13 Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man:
And as we can see, Israel (Jacob) agreed to let them take Benjamin.
14 And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.
In other words, Israel's (Jacob's) thinking of everything he can in order for the governor (Joseph) of Egypt to accept them and is now basically saying "whatever happens, happens."
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 them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and slay (i.e. provide meat), and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon.
And so it is, Joseph's preparing to have lunch with his brothers.
17 And the man did as Joseph bade (= commanded); and the man brought the men into Joseph's house.
18 And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house; 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.
Most likely they thought they were going to be murdered.
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, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:
21 And it came to pass, when we came to the inn (i.e. lodging place), 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.
In other words, they're wanting to make it as clear as possible that they have no idea how in the world, their money they used to pay for food, the first time, wound up back in their sacks.
23 And he said, Peace be 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 brought Simeon out unto them.
24 And the man brought the men into Joseph's house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender (= feed).
25 And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there.
26 And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth.
Here we see again, the prophecy of Genesis 37:9, concerning Joseph's dream that GOD had revealed to him, coming to pass, except this time in it's entirety, as all eleven brothers are bowing before him.
27 And he asked them of their 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 (i.e. full 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.
30 And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.
In other words, Joseph stepped aside to let out his overflowing emotions after seeing his younger full blooded brother.
31 And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread.
I.e. he regained control over his emotions before he came back out to his brothers.
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.
The reason for this hostility was most likely because the Hebrews were shepherds who consumed of meat from cattle, sheep, and goats, and to some Egyptians, those animals represented some of their gods, as you will later see in the book of Exodus, as many of them were caught up in idolatry.
33 And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one at another.
And so it was, they were seated in order from oldest to youngest, and so as we can see, that came as a surprise to them as to how anyone could possibly know their ages in order, and of course they were Joseph's own brothers, so naturally he would know.
34 And he took and sent messes (i.e. portions) unto them from before him: but Benjamin's mess (i.e. portion) was five (= the number of grace in Biblical numerics) times so much as any of their's. And they drank, and were merry with him.
In other words, Joseph's showing favoritism to Benjamin, to see whether or not they will perhaps try to sell him out too, as they did with him, years prior. So as we can see, he's simply testing them to see whether or not they have changed from their sour ways.