Genesis 42:1-38
1 Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob 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 peradventure 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 was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph's brethren 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 roughlya unto them; and he 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.
11 We are all one man's sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies.
12 And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
13 And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.
14 And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies:
15 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 them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God:
19 If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses:
20 But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.
21 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, saying, 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 them; 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.
25 Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to 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 failedb 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, who is the lord of the land, spake roughlyc to us, and took us for spies of the country.
31 And we said unto him, We are true men; we are no spies:
32 We be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the 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 shall I know that ye 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 traffick in the land.
35 And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack: and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they 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 away: all these things are against me.
37 And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again.
38 And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.
Genesis 42:4. Benjamin. Jacob wished to reserve him to be heir of the blessing instead of Joseph, who he thought was dead. Hence he let the ten go, for it is highly probable that the Egyptians would not sell corn in large quantities to one man. Jacob's fears seem to indicate a secret suspicion that Joseph had received foul treatment.
Genesis 42:6. Bowed down. The ten sheaves now made obeisance to Joseph's sheaf, though they knew it not. Joseph, it would seem, made all strangers come to Memphis, the capital; and as sultan, or minister, he wished to be well acquainted with the laws and strength of all the neighbouring nations.
Genesis 42:8. They knew not him. In a youth separated from his family at seventeen, the changes which twenty years made in his appearance would be considerable; and especially when raised from the rank of a shepherd to that of a prince.
Genesis 42:9. Joseph remembered the dreams, when he saw his ten brothers bowing to the earth. His soul melted with divine emotions, and all his sentiments were collected on this one point, What shall I do to bring them to true repentance, and make them good men? What an idea of God's faithfulness must now strike him; and how deeply must he have been affected with a sense of the divine goodness. Ye are spies. Ten fine looking men, not servants but masters, he would insinuate had a suspicious appearance. He here judiciously accuses them of a probable crime, to bring them to repentance for a real crime. Joseph would here plead that they looked too well to have spent their life in driving asses, and that they were too near of an age to be brethren.
Genesis 42:13. And one is not. In appearance suspicion falls heavily upon them; yet they now tell the truth, forbearing expressly to say that Joseph was dead, though the words implied as much. The Jews have a tradition that their affairs have never prospered since the sale of Joseph; they took this journey partly to make inquiries concerning him.
Genesis 42:15. By the life of Pharaoh. Joseph regarded this expression as proper language to be used by a man high in office; it cannot be supposed, and in a moment when his heart was so much affected by the divine goodness, that he would use a phrase offensive to God. The oath was sacred: the Hebrews swore by Jehovah, “As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake.” 1 Kings 17:12.
Genesis 42:17. Put into ward. Here they had time to recollect that they had put their brother into the pit, disregarding the anguish of his soul: now they were in the pit, and no man to comfort them.
Genesis 42:23. They knew not that Joseph understood them. Though the primitive language had been confounded at Babel, yet all the oriental nations could then with a little difficulty understand one another. See on Genesis 11:1.
Genesis 42:24. Simeon, who was principal in the massacre at Shechem, Genesis 34., and foremost in advising his brethren to kill Joseph. The Jews say, that Simeon bound Joseph with his own hands, little dreaming that after more than twenty years, Joseph should cause him to be bound. He certainly was a wicked man, as appears from Jacob's dying words. Genesis 49. Hence Joseph fixed on Simeon, to do him good by affliction, and to edify his brethren. He well knew that the detention of this hostage would bring his family once more into Egypt, and Benjamin in particular. It was therefore a masterly stroke of more than human prudence.
Genesis 42:28. What is this that God hath done? On finding the money they were embarrassed and afraid. Return they could not, for want of Benjamin; and if they went forward they might be pursued. Ah, the covered sin of an injured brother, everywhere, whether in Canaan, in Egypt, or in the desert, presented itself to their view.
Genesis 42:37. Slay my two sons. Reuben had four sons; but two he thought equivalent, for Joseph and Benjamin. No doubt, his words are to be understood as pledges of filial devotion; confident that his good old father could not augment the family calamities by the sacrifice of two grandsons in case of future disasters. Joseph must have foreseen the feelings of his father, but there was no milder way of bringing his offending brethren to repentance. What a stroke on the Sire that Benjamin must go into Egypt, and leave him childless.
REFLECTIONS.
When Joseph's brethren had cast him into the pit, they sat down to eat and to drink; for they required some opiate to compose their conscience. And for the long space of twenty two years, the guilt which seemed to slumber, still secretly corroded in the heart. Just so, neither length of time, nor change of circumstances can diminish the guilt of sin; and consequently the sooner a man acknowledges a fault, with the generous fruits of true repentance, the better it is for his soul; nor can he have peace till this is faithfully done.
These brethren, finding themselves wrongfully imprisoned as spies, could now trace a connection between their present sufferings and their past sins. This we likewise should never fail to do, that we may meet the chastising hand of God with a humble and penitent heart. His severe rebukes and harsh treatment are most graciously designed to make us better men.
But did Joseph seek a place to weep in, the moment he heard his brethren begin to accuse themselves? Oh the joy there is in heaven among the angels of God when a sinner repents, and becomes a new man. And when good men can weep like Joseph, under a marvellous sense of God's long and great mercies, it is a sure indication of a gracious heart. The soul swells with emotions of confidence and joy; it looks higher than worldly good, and expects the Lord to become its exceeding great reward.
Did Joseph also, notwithstanding his tears, persevere in duty, by the detention of Simeon? In like manner, God the judge and lawgiver, having once arrested the guilty sinner, will not let him go till he has brought him to a full and ample confession. Let no man therefore stifle conviction, and revolt as the bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: rather let him pray the Lord to strike yet more, and to give deeper regret for his sins.
In Joseph's prudence ministers have an excellent model, to guide them in the management of awakened people. His feeling heart and weeping eyes would gladly have sent the joyful tidings of all his glory to his mourning father, but this he could not do without spoiling the work of repentance, so auspiciously begun in his brethren's heart; and their salvation was more important than the greatest tidings of temporal joy. We must therefore never do the Lord's work in a superficial manner. We must search the conscience and the heart, and not impair the efforts of repentance by comforts injuriously applied. As he left his brethren several grounds to expect the best treatment, if he found them honest in their narrative, so during the convincing economy of the Holy Spirit, the hope of salvation should be set before the sinner; but we should never teach him to think his state safe, till he is come to a sound conversion by an actual close with Jesus Christ. And who is sufficient for these things? Who can penetrate the heart, and accommodate his ministry and conversation to all the weaknesses, temptations and fears of an awakened people! Here the ablest preacher needs divine assistance, as much as the weakest believer.