13 Then they said, We your servants are twelve brothers, sons of one man in the land of Canaan; the youngest of us is now with our father, and one is dead.
And the Lord said to Moses, Make two silver horns of hammered work, to be used for getting the people together and to give the sign for the moving of the tents. When they are sounded, all the people are to come together to you at the door of the Tent of meeting. If only one of them is sounded, then the chiefs, the heads of the thousands of Israel, are to come to you. When a loud note is sounded, the tents placed on the east side are to go forward. At the sound of a second loud note, the tents on the south side are to go forward: the loud note will be the sign to go forward. But when all the people are to come together, the horn is to be sounded but not loudly. The horns are to be sounded by the sons of Aaron, the priests; this is to be a law for you for ever, from generation to generation. And if you go to war in your land against any who do you wrong, then let the loud note of the horn be sounded; and the Lord your God will keep you in mind and give you salvation from those who are against you. And on days of joy and on your regular feasts and on the first day of every month, let the horns be sounded over your burned offerings and your peace-offerings; and they will put the Lord in mind of you: I am the Lord your God. Now in the second year, on the twentieth day of the second month, the cloud was taken up from over the Tent of witness. And the children of Israel went on their journey out of the waste land of Sinai; and the cloud came to rest in the waste land of Paran. They went forward for the first time on their journey as the Lord had given orders by the hand of Moses. First the flag of the children of Judah went forward with their armies: and at the head of his army was Nahshon, the son of Amminadab. And at the head of the army of the children of Issachar was Nethanel, the son of Zuar. And at the head of the army of the children of Zebulun was Eliab, the son of Helon. Then the House was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who were responsible for moving the House, went forward. Then the flag of the children of Reuben went forward with their armies: and at the head of his army was Elizur, the son of Shedeur. And at the head of the army of the children of Simeon was Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai. At the head of the army of the children of Gad was Eliasaph, the son of Reuel. Then the Kohathites went forward with the holy place; the others put up the House ready for their coming. Then the flag of the children of Ephraim went forward with their armies: and at the head of his army was Elishama, the son of Ammihud. At the head of the army of the children of Manasseh was Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur. At the head of the army of the children of Benjamin was Abidan, the son of Gideoni. And the flag of the children of Dan, whose tents were moved last of all, went forward with their armies: and at the head of his army was Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai. At the head of the army of the children of Asher was Pagiel, the son of Ochran. And at the head of the army of the children of Naphtali was Ahira, the son of Enan. This was the order in which the children of Israel were journeying by armies; so they went forward. Then Moses said to Hobab, the son of his father-in-law Reuel the Midianite, We are journeying to that place of which the Lord has said, I will give it to you: so come with us, and it will be for your profit: for the Lord has good things in store for Israel. But he said, I will not go with you, I will go back to the land of my birth and to my relations. And he said, Do not go from us; for you will be eyes for us, guiding us to the right places in the waste land to put up our tents. And if you come with us, we will give you a part in whatever good the Lord does for us. So they went forward three days' journey from the mountain of the Lord; and the ark of the Lord's agreement went three days' journey before them, looking for a resting-place for them; And by day the cloud of the Lord went over them, when they went forward from the place where they had put up their tents. And when the ark went forward Moses said, Come up, O Lord, and let the armies of those who are against you be broken, and let your haters go in flight before you. And when it came to rest, he said, Take rest, O Lord, and give a blessing to the families of Israel.
These are the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah, Issachar and Zebulun; Dan, Joseph and Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad and Asher. The sons of Judah: Er and Onan and Shelah; these three were his sons by Bathshua, the Canaanite woman. And Er, Judah's oldest son, did evil in the eyes of the Lord; and he put him to death. And Tamar, his daughter-in-law, had Perez and Zerah by him. All the sons of Judah were five. The sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul. And the sons of Zerah: Zimri and Ethan and Heman and Calcol and Dara; five of them. And the sons of Carmi: Achan, the troubler of Israel, who did wrong about the cursed thing. And the son of Ethan: Azariah.
And the Lord said to Moses, Give orders to the children of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land of Canaan; (this is the land which is to be your heritage, the land of Canaan inside these limits,) Then your south quarter will be from the waste land of Zin by the side of Edom, and your limit on the south will be from the east end of the Salt Sea, And round to the south of the slope of Akrabbim, and on to Zin: and its direction will be south of Kadesh-barnea, and it will go as far as Hazar-addar and on to Azmon: And from Azmon it will go round to the stream of Egypt as far as the sea. And for your limit on the west you will have the Great Sea and its edge: this will be your limit on the west. And your limit on the north will be the line from the Great Sea to Mount Hor: And from Mount Hor the line will go in the direction of Hamath; the farthest point of it will be at Zedad: And the limit will go on to Ziphron, with its farthest point at Hazar-enan: this will be your limit on the north. And on the east, your limit will be marked out from Hazar-enan to Shepham, Going down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain, and on as far as the east side of the sea of Chinnereth: And so down to Jordan, stretching to the Salt Sea: all the land inside these limits will be yours. And Moses gave orders to the children of Israel saying, This is the land which is to be your heritage, by the decision of the Lord, which by the Lord's order is to be given to the nine tribes and the half-tribe: For the tribe of the children of Reuben, by their fathers' families, and the tribe of the children of Gad, by their fathers' families, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, have been given their heritage: The two tribes and the half-tribe have been given their heritage on the other side of Jordan at Jericho, on the east looking to the dawn. And the Lord said to Moses, These are the names of the men who are to make the distribution of the land among you: Eleazar the priest and Joshua, the son of Nun. And you are to take one chief from every tribe to make the distribution of the land. And these are the names of the men: of the tribe of Judah, Caleb, the son of Jephunneh. And of the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel, the son of Ammihud. Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad, the son of Chislon. And of the tribe of the children of Dan, a chief, Bukki, the son of Jogli. Of the children of Joseph: of the tribe of the children of Manasseh, a chief, Hanniel, the son of Ephod: And of the tribe of the children of Ephraim, a chief, Kemuel, the son of Shiphtan. And of the tribe of the children of Zebulun, a chief, Elizaphan, the son of Parnach. And of the tribe of the children of Issachar, a chief, Paltiel, the son of Azzan. And of the tribe of the children of Asher, a chief, Ahihud, the son of Shelomi. And of the tribe of the children of Naphtali, a chief, Pedahel, the son of Ammihud. These are they to whom the Lord gave orders to make the distribution of the heritage among the children of Israel in the land of Canaan.
Now after the disease was over, the Lord said to Moses and Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, Let all the children of Israel be numbered, by the names of their fathers' families, all those of twenty years old and over who are able to go to war in Israel. So Moses and Eleazar the priest gave them the order in the lowlands of Moab by Jordan at Jericho, saying, Let all the people of twenty years old and over be numbered, as the Lord has given orders to Moses and the children of Israel who have come out of Egypt. Reuben, the first son of Israel: the sons of Reuben by their families: of Hanoch, the family of the Hanochites: of Pallu, the family of the Palluites: Of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites: of Carmi, the family of the Carmites. These are the families of the Reubenites: their number was forty-three thousand, seven hundred and thirty. And the sons of Pallu, Eliab And the sons of Eliab: Nemuel and Dathan and Abiram. These are the same Dathan and Abiram who had a place in the meeting of the people, who together with Korah made an outcry against Moses and Aaron and against the Lord: And they went down into the open mouth of the earth, together with Korah, when death overtook him and all his band; at the time when two hundred and fifty men were burned in the fire, and they became a sign. But death did not overtake the sons of Korah. The sons of Simeon by their families: of Nemuel, the family of the Nemuelites: of Jamin, the family of the Jaminites: of Jachin, the family of the Jachinites: Of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites: of Shaul, the family of the Shaulites. These are the families of the Simeonites, twenty-two thousand, two hundred. The sons of Gad by their families: of Zephon, the family of the Zephonites: of Haggi, the family of the Haggites: of Shuni, the family of the Shunites: Of Ozni, the family of the Oznites: of Eri, the family of the Erites: Of Arod, the family of the Arodites: of Areli, the family of the Arelites. These are the families of the sons of Gad as they were numbered, forty thousand, five hundred. The sons of Judah, Er and Onan: and Er and Onan had come to their death in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Judah by their families were: of Shelah, the family of the Shelahites: of Perez, the family of the Perezites: of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites. And the sons of Perez were: of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites: of Hamul, the family of the Hamulites. These are the families of Judah as they were numbered, seventy-six thousand, five hundred. The sons of Issachar by their families: of Tola, the family of the Tolaites: of Puvah, the family of the Punites: Of Jashub, the family of the Jashubites: of Shimron, the family of the Shimronites. These are the families of Issachar, as they were numbered, sixty-four thousand, three hundred. The sons of Zebulun by their families: of Sered, the family of the Seredites: of Elon, the family of the Elonites: of Jahleel, the family of the Jahleelites. These are the families of the Zebulunites as they were numbered, sixty thousand, five hundred. The sons of Joseph by their families: Manasseh and Ephraim. The sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites: and Machir was the father of Gilead: of Gilead, the family of the Gileadites. These are the sons of Gilead: of Iezer, the family of the Iezerites: of Helek, the family of the Helekites: And of Asriel, the family of the Asrielites: and of Shechem, the family of the Shechemites: And of Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites: and of Hepher, the family of the Hepherites. And Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, had no sons, but only daughters, and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. These are the families of Manasseh; and those who were numbered of them were fifty-two thousand, seven hundred. These are the sons of Ephraim by their families: of Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthelahites: of Becher, the family of the Becherites: of Tahan, the family of the Tahanites. And these are the sons of Shuthelah: of Eran, the family of the Eranites: These are the families of Ephraim as they were numbered, thirty-two thousand, five hundred. These are the sons of Joseph by their families. The sons of Benjamin by their families: of Bela, the family of the Belaites: of Ashbel, the family of the Ashbelites: of Ahiram, the family of the Ahiramites: Of Shephupham, the family of the Shuphamites: and of Hupham, the family of the Huphamites. And the sons of Bela were Ard and Naaman: of Ard, the family of the Ardites: of Naaman, the family of the Naamites. These are the sons of Benjamin by their families: and those who were numbered of them were forty-five thousand, six hundred. These are the sons of Dan by their families: of Shuham, the family of the Shuhamites. These are the families of Dan by their families. All the families of the Shuhamites, as they were numbered, were sixty-four thousand, four hundred. The sons of Asher by their families: of Imnah, the family of the Imnites: of Ishvi, the family of the Ishvites: of Beriah, the family of the Beriites. Of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the family of the Heberites: of Malchiel, the family of the Malchielites: And the name of the daughter of Asher was Serah. These are the families of the sons of Asher as they were numbered, fifty-three thousand, four hundred. The sons of Naphtali by their families: of Jahzeel, the family of the Jahzeelites: of Guni, the family of the Gunites: Of Jezer, the family of the Jezerites: of Shillem, the family of the Shillemites. These are the families of Naphtali by their families: and those who were numbered of them were forty-five thousand, four hundred. Those who were numbered of the children of Israel were six hundred and one thousand, seven hundred and thirty. And the Lord said to Moses, Let there be a division of the land among these, for their heritage, in relation to the number of names. To those families who are more in number, give a greater heritage; to those who are less in number, a smaller part: to every one let the heritage be given in relation to the number in his family. But let the distribution of the land be made by the decision of the Lord: by the names of the tribes of their fathers let their heritage be given them. As it is ordered by the decision of the Lord, let distribution be made between those who are more in number and those who are less. These were those of the Levites who were numbered by their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites: of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites: of Merari, the family of the Merarites. These are the families of Levi: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Korahites. And Kohath was the father of Amram. Amram's wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, whom he had in Egypt: by Amram she had Moses and Aaron and their sister Miriam. Aaron's sons were Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. Death overtook Nadab and Abihu when they made an offering of strange fire before the Lord. Of these, twenty-three thousand males, from one month old and over, were numbered: they were not numbered with the rest of the children of Israel, for they had no heritage among the children of Israel. All these were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest when the children of Israel were numbered in the lowlands of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. But among all these was not one of those numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest when the children of Israel were numbered in the waste land of Sinai. For the Lord had said of them, Death will certainly overtake them in the waste land. And of them all, only Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun, were still living.
And Leah was with child, and gave birth to a son to whom she gave the name Reuben: for she said, The Lord has seen my sorrow; now my husband will have love for me. Then she became with child again, and gave birth to a son; and said, Because it has come to the Lord's ears that I am not loved, he has given me this son in addition: and she gave him the name Simeon. And she was with child again, and gave birth to a son; and said, Now at last my husband will be united to me, because I have given him three sons: so he was named Levi. And she was with child again, and gave birth to a son: and she said, This time I will give praise to the Lord: so he was named Judah; after this she had no more children for a time.
And the Lord said to Moses in the waste land of Sinai, in the Tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they came out of the land of Egypt, Take the full number of the children of Israel, by their families, and by their fathers' houses, every male by name; All those of twenty years old and over, who are able to go to war in Israel, are to be numbered by you and Aaron. And to give you help, take one man from every tribe, the head of his father's house. These are the names of those who are to be your helpers: from Reuben, Elizur, the son of Shedeur; From Simeon, Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai; From Judah, Nahshon, the son of Amminadab; From Issachar, Nethanel, the son of Zuar; From Zebulun, Eliab, the son of Helon; Of the children of Joseph: from Ephraim, Elishama, the son of Ammihud; from Manasseh, Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur, From Benjamin, Abidan, the son of Gideoni; From Dan, Ahiezer, the son of Ammi-shaddai; From Asher, Pagiel, the son of Ochran; From Gad, Eliasaph, the son of Reuel; From Naphtali, Ahira, the son of Enan. These are the men named out of all the people, chiefs of their fathers' houses, heads of the tribes of Israel. And Moses and Aaron took these men, marked out by name; And they got together all the people on the first day of the second month; and everyone made clear his family and his father's house, by the number of the names, from twenty years old and over. As the Lord had given orders to Moses, so they were numbered by him in the waste place of Sinai. The generations of the sons of Reuben, the oldest son of Israel, were numbered by their families and their fathers' houses, every male of twenty years old and over, who was able to go to war; Forty-six thousand, five hundred of the tribe of Reuben were numbered. The generations of the sons of Simeon were numbered by their families and their fathers' houses, every male of twenty years old and over, who was able to go to war; Fifty-nine thousand, three hundred of the tribe of Simeon were numbered. The generations of the sons of Gad were numbered by their families and their fathers' houses, every male of twenty years old and over who was able to go to war; Forty-five thousand, six hundred and fifty of the tribe of Gad were numbered. The generations of the sons of Judah were numbered by their families and their fathers' houses, every male of twenty years old and over who was able to go to war; Seventy-four thousand, six hundred of the tribe of Judah were numbered. The generations of the sons of Issachar were numbered by their families and their fathers' houses, every male of twenty years old and over who was able to go to war; Fifty-four thousand, four hundred of the tribe of Issachar were numbered. The generations of the sons of Zebulun were numbered by their families and their fathers' houses, every male of twenty years old and over who was able to go to war; Fifty-seven thousand, four hundred of the tribe of Zebulun were numbered. The generations of the sons of Joseph were numbered by their families and their fathers' houses, every male of twenty years old and over who was able to go to war; Forty thousand, five hundred of the tribe of Ephraim were numbered. The generations of the sons of Manasseh were numbered by their families and their fathers' houses, every male of twenty years old and over who was able to go to war; Thirty-two thousand, two hundred of the tribe of Manasseh were numbered. The generations of the sons of Benjamin were numbered by their families and their fathers' houses, every male of twenty years old and over who was able to go to war; Thirty-five thousand, four hundred of the tribe of Benjamin were numbered. The generations of the sons of Dan were numbered by their families and their fathers' houses, every male of twenty years and over who was able to go to war; Sixty-two thousand, seven hundred of the tribe of Dan were numbered. The generations of the sons of Asher were numbered by their families and their fathers' houses, every male of twenty years old and over who was able to go to war; Forty-one thousand, five hundred of the tribe of Asher were numbered. The generations of the sons of Naphtali were numbered by their families and their fathers' houses, every male of twenty years old and over who was able to go to war; Fifty-three thousand, four hundred of the tribe of Naphtali were numbered. These are they who were numbered by Moses and Aaron and by the twelve chiefs of Israel, one from every tribe. So all those who were numbered of the children of Israel, by their families, all those of twenty years old and over who were able to go to war, Were six hundred and three thousand, five hundred and fifty. But the Levites, of the tribe of their fathers, were not numbered among them. For the Lord said to Moses, Only the tribe of Levi is not to be numbered among the children of Israel, But to them you are to give the care of the Tent of meeting with its vessels and everything in it: they are to take up the Tent, and be responsible for everything to do with it, and put up their tents round it. And when the Tent of meeting goes forward, the Levites are to take it down; and when it is to be put up, they are to do it: any strange person who comes near it is to be put to death. The children of Israel are to put up their tents, every man in his tent-circle round his flag. But the tents of the Levites are to be round the Tent of meeting, so that wrath may not come on the children of Israel: the Tent of meeting is to be in the care of the Levites. So the children of Israel did as the Lord had given orders to Moses.
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. All the offspring of Jacob were seventy persons: and Joseph had come to Egypt before them.
And these are the names of the children of Israel who came into Egypt, even Jacob and all his sons: Reuben, Jacob's oldest son; And the sons of Reuben: Hanoch and Pallu and Hezron and Carmi; And the sons of Simeon: Jemuel and Jamin and Ohad and Jachin and Zohar and Shaul, the son of a woman of Canaan; And the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari; And the sons of Judah: Er and Onan and Shelah and Perez and Zerah: but Er and Onan had come to their death in the land of Canaan; and the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. And the sons of Issachar: Tola and Puah and Job and Shimron; And the sons of Zebulun: Sered and Elon and Jahleel; All these, together with his daughter Dinah, were the children of Leah, whom Jacob had by her in Paddan-aram; they were thirty-three in number. And the sons of Gad: Ziphion and Haggi, Shuni and Ezbon, Eri and Arodi and Areli; And the sons of Asher: Jimnah and Ishvah and Ishvi and Beriah, and Sarah, their sister; and the sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel. These are the children of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah, and Jacob had these sixteen children by her. The sons of Jacob's wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. And Joseph had Manasseh and Ephraim in the land of Egypt, by Asenath, the daughter of Poti-phera, priest of On. And the sons of Benjamin were Belah and Becher and Ashbel, Gera and Naaman, Ehi and Rosh, Muppim and Huppim and Ard. All these were the children of Rachel whom Jacob had by her, fourteen persons. And the son of Dan was Hushim. And the sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel and Guni and Jezer and Shillem. These were the children of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel, seven persons. All the persons who came with Jacob into Egypt, the offspring of his body, were sixty-six, without taking into account the wives of Jacob's sons. And the sons of Joseph whom he had in Egypt were two. Seventy persons of the family of Jacob came into Egypt.
So they went on from Beth-el; and while they were still some distance from Ephrath, the pains of birth came on Rachel and she had a hard time. And when her pain was very great, the woman who was helping her said, Have no fear; for now you will have another son. And in the hour when her life went from her (for death came to her), she gave the child the name Ben-oni: but his father gave him the name of Benjamin. So Rachel came to her end and was put to rest on the road to Ephrath (which is Beth-lehem). And Jacob put up a pillar on her resting-place; which is named, The Pillar of the resting-place of Rachel, to this day. And Israel went journeying on and put up his tents on the other side of the tower of the flock. Now while they were living in that country, Reuben had connection with Bilhah, his father's servant-woman: and Israel had news of it. Now Jacob had twelve sons: the sons of Leah: Reuben, Jacob's first son, and Simeon and Levi and Judah and Issachar and Zebulun; The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin; The sons of Bilhah, Rachel's servant: Dan and Naphtali; The sons of Zilpah, Leah's servant: Gad and Asher; these are the sons whom Jacob had in Paddan-aram.
Then Rachel said, God has been my judge, and has given ear to my voice, and has given me a son; so he was named Dan. And again Bilhah, Rachel's servant, was with child, and gave birth to a second son. And Rachel said, I have had a great fight with my sister, and I have overcome her: and she gave the child the name Naphtali. When it was clear to Leah that she would have no more children for a time, she gave Zilpah, her servant, to Jacob as a wife. And Zilpah, Leah's servant, gave birth to a son. And Leah said, It has gone well for me: and she gave him the name Gad. And Zilpah, Leah's servant, gave birth to a second son. And Leah said, Happy am I! and all women will give witness to my joy: and she gave him the name Asher. Now at the time of the grain-cutting, Reuben saw some love-fruits in the field, and took them to his mother Leah. And Rachel said to her, Let me have some of your son's love-fruits. But Leah said to her, Is it a small thing that you have taken my husband from me? and now would you take my son's love-fruits? Then Rachel said, You may have him tonight in exchange for your son's love-fruits. In the evening, when Jacob came in from the field, Leah went out to him and said, Tonight you are to come to me, for I have given my son's love-fruits as a price for you. And he went in to her that night. And God gave ear to her and she became with child, and gave Jacob a fifth son. Then Leah said, God has made payment to me for giving my servant-girl to my husband: so she gave her son the name Issachar. And again Leah became with child, and she gave Jacob a sixth son. And she said, God has given me a good bride-price; now at last will I have my husband living with me, for I have given him six sons: and she gave him the name Zebulun. After that she had a daughter, to whom she gave the name Dinah. Then God gave thought to Rachel, and hearing her prayer he made her fertile. And she was with child, and gave birth to a son: and she said, God has taken away my shame. And she gave him the name Joseph, saying, May the Lord give me another son.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Genesis 42
Commentary on Genesis 42 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 42
Ge 42:1-38. Journey into Egypt.
1. Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt—learned from common rumor. It is evident from Jacob's language that his own and his sons' families had suffered greatly from the scarcity; and through the increasing severity of the scourge, those men, who had formerly shown both activity and spirit, were sinking into despondency. God would not interpose miraculously when natural means of preservation were within reach.
5. the famine was in the land of Canaan—The tropical rains, which annually falling swell the Nile, are those of Palestine also; and their failure would produce the same disastrous effects in Canaan as in Egypt. Numerous caravans of its people, therefore, poured over the sandy desert of Suez, with their beasts of burden, for the purchase of corn; and among others, "the sons of Israel" were compelled to undertake a journey from which painful associations made them strongly averse.
6. Joseph was the governor—in the zenith of his power and influence.
he it was that sold—that is, directed the sales; for it is impossible that he could give attendance in every place. It is probable, however, that he may have personally superintended the storehouses near the border of Canaan, both because that was the most exposed part of the country and because he must have anticipated the arrival of some messengers from his father's house.
Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him—His prophetic dreams [Ge 37:5-11] were in the course of being fulfilled, and the atrocious barbarity of his brethren had been the means of bringing about the very issue they had planned to prevent (Isa 60:14; Re 3:9, last clause).
7, 8. Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, … but they knew not him—This is not strange. They were full-grown men—he was but a lad at parting. They were in their usual garb—he was in his official robes. They never dreamt of him as governor of Egypt, while he had been expecting them. They had but one face; he had ten persons to judge by.
made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly—It would be an injustice to Joseph's character to suppose that this stern manner was prompted by any vindictive feelings—he never indulged any resentment against others who had injured him. But he spoke in the authoritative tone of the governor in order to elicit some much-longed-for information respecting the state of his father's family, as well as to bring his brethren, by their own humiliation and distress, to a sense of the evils they had done to him.
9-14. Ye are spies—This is a suspicion entertained regarding strangers in all Eastern countries down to the present day. Joseph, however, who was well aware that his brethren were not spies, has been charged with cruel dissimulation, with a deliberate violation of what he knew to be the truth, in imputing to them such a character. But it must be remembered that he was sustaining the part of a ruler; and, in fact, acting on the very principle sanctioned by many of the sacred writers, and our Lord Himself, who spoke parables (fictitious stories) to promote a good end.
15. By the life of Pharaoh—It is a very common practice in Western Asia to swear by the life of the king. Joseph spoke in the style of an Egyptian and perhaps did not think there was any evil in it. But we are taught to regard all such expressions in the light of an oath (Mt 5:34; Jas 5:12).
17-24. put them … into ward three days—Their confinement had been designed to bring them to salutary reflection. And this object was attained, for they looked upon the retributive justice of God as now pursuing them in that foreign land. The drift of their conversation is one of the most striking instances on record of the power of conscience [Ge 42:21, 22].
24. took … Simeon, and bound him—He had probably been the chief instigator—the most violent actor in the outrage upon Joseph; and if so, his selection to be the imprisoned and fettered hostage for their return would, in the present course of their reflections, have a painful significance.
25-28. Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man's money—This private generosity was not an infringement of his duty—a defrauding of the revenue. He would have a discretionary power—he was daily enriching the king's exchequer—and he might have paid the sum from his own purse.
27. inn—a mere station for baiting beasts of burden.
he espied his money—The discovery threw them into greater perplexity than ever. If they had been congratulating themselves on escaping from the ruthless governor, they perceived that now he would have a handle against them; and it is observable that they looked upon this as a judgment of heaven. Thus one leading design of Joseph was gained in their consciences being roused to a sense of guilt.
35. as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's … money was in his sack—It appears that they had been silent about the money discovery at the resting-place, as their father might have blamed them for not instantly returning. However innocent they knew themselves to be, it was universally felt to be an unhappy circumstance, which might bring them into new and greater perils.
36. Me have ye bereaved—This exclamation indicates a painfully excited state of feeling, and it shows how difficult it is for even a good man to yield implicit submission to the course of Providence. The language does not imply that his missing sons had got foul play from the hands of the rest, but he looks upon Simeon as lost, as well as Joseph, and he insinuates it was by some imprudent statements of theirs that he was exposed to the risk of losing Benjamin also.
37. Reuben spake, … Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee—This was a thoughtless and unwarrantable condition—one that he never seriously expected his father would accept. It was designed only to give assurance of the greatest care being taken of Benjamin. But unforeseen circumstances might arise to render it impossible for all of them to preserve that young lad (Jas 4:13), and Jacob was much pained by the prospect. Little did he know that God was dealing with him severely, but in kindness (Heb 12:7, 8), and that all those things he thought against Him were working together for his good.