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 » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Genesis 42
Commentary on Genesis 42 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
With the words “ Why do ye look at one another! ” viz., in such a helpless and undecided manner. Jacob exhorted his sons to fetch corn from Egypt, to preserve his family from starvation. Joseph's ten brothers went, as their aged father would not allow his youngest son Benjamin to go with them, for fear that some calamity might befall him ( קרא = קרה , Genesis 44:29 as in Genesis 42:38 and Genesis 49:1); and they came “ in the midst of the comers, ” i.e., among others who came from the same necessity, and bowed down before Joseph with their faces to the earth. For he was “the ruler over the land,” and had the supreme control of the sale of the corn, so that they were obliged to apply to him. השּׁלּיט seems to have been the standing title which the Shemites gave to Joseph as ruler in Egypt; and from this the later legend of Σάλατις the first king of the Hyksos arose (Josephus c. Ap. i. 14). The only other passages in which the word occurs in the Old Testament are in writings of the captivity or a still later date, and there it is taken from the Chaldee; it belongs, however, not merely to the Aramaean thesaurus, but to the Arabic also, from which it was introduced into the passage before us.
Joseph recognised his brothers at once; but they could not recognise a brother who had not been seen for 20 years, and who, moreover, had not only become thoroughly Egyptianized, but had risen to be a great lord. And he acted as a foreigner ( יתנכּר ) towards them, speaking harshly, and asking them whence they had come. In Genesis 42:7, according to a truly Semitic style of narrative, we have a condensation of what is more circumstantially related in Genesis 42:8-17.
As the sight of his brethren bowing before him with the deepest reverence reminded Joseph of his early dreams of the sheaves and stars, which had so increased the hatred of his brethren towards him as to lead to a proposal to kill him, and an actual sale, he said to them, “ Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land (i.e., the unfortified parts of the kingdom which would be easily accessible to a foe) ye are come; ” and persisted in this charge notwithstanding their reply, “ nay, my lord, but ( ו see Ges. §155, 1 b ) to buy food are thy servants come. We are all one man's sons ( נחנוּ for אנחנוּ , only in Exodus 16:7-8; Numbers 32:32; 2 Samuel 17:12; Lamentations 3:42): honest ( כּנים ) are we; thy servants are no spies .” Cum exploratio sit delictum capitale, non est verisimile; quod pater tot filios uno tempore vitae periculo expositurus sit ( J. Gerhard ). But as their assertion failed to make any impression upon the Egyptian lord, they told him still more particularly about their family (Genesis 42:13.): “ Twelve are thy servants, brothers are we, sons of a man in the land of Canaan; and behold the youngest is now with our father, and one is no more ( אימנּוּ as in Genesis 5:24). Joseph then replied, “ That is it ( הוּא neut. like Genesis 20:16) that I spake unto you, saying ye are spies. By this shall ye be proved: By the life of Pharaoh! ye shall not ( אם , like Genesis 14:23) go hence, unless your youngest brother come hither. Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother; but he shall be in bonds, and your words shall be proved, whether there be truth in you or not. By the life of Pharaoh! ye are truly spies! ” He then had them put into custody for three days. By the coming of the youngest brother, Joseph wanted to test their assertion, not because he thought it possible that he might not be living with them, and they might have treated him as they did Joseph ( Kn .), but because he wished to discover their feelings towards Benjamin, and see what affection they had for this son of Rachel, who had taken Joseph's place as his father's favourite. And with his harsh mode of addressing them, Joseph had no intention whatever to administer to his brethren “a just punishment for their wickedness towards him,” for his heart could not have stooped to such mean revenge; but he wanted to probe thoroughly the feelings of their hearts, “whether they felt that they deserved the punishment of God for the sin they had committed,” and how they felt towards their aged father and their youngest brother.
(Note: Joseph nihil aliud agit quam ut revelet peccatum fratrum hoc durissimo opere et sermone. Descendunt enim in Aegyptum una cum aliis emtum frumentum, securi et negligentes tam atrocis delicti, cujus sibi erant conscii, quasi nihil unquam deliguissent contra patrem decrepitum aut fratrem innocentem, cogitant Joseph jam diu exemtum esse rebus humanis, patrem vero rerum omnium ignarum esse. Quid ad nos? Non agunt poenitentiam. Hi silices et adamantes frangendi et conterendi sunt ac aperiendi oculi eorum, ut videant atrocitatem sceleris sui, idque ubi perfecit Joseph statim verbis et gestibus humaniorem se praebet eosque honorifice tractat. - Haec igitur atrocitas scelerum movit Joseph ad explorandos animos fratrum accuratius, ita ut non solum priorum delictorum sed et cogitationum pravarum memoriam renovaret, ac fuit sane inquisitio satis ingrata et acerba et tamen ab animo placidissimo profecta. Ego durius eos tractassem. Sed haec acerbitas, quam prae se fert, non pertinet ad vindicandum injuriam sed ad salutarem eorum poenitentiam, ut humilientur . Luther.)
Even in the fact that he did not send the one away directly to fetch Benjamin, and merely detain the rest, but put the whole ten in prison, and afterwards modified his threat (Genesis 42:18.), there was no indecision as to the manner in which he should behave towards them - no “wavering between thoughts of wrath and revenge on the one hand, and forgiving love and meekness on the other;” but he hoped by imprisoning them to make his brethren feel the earnestness of his words, and to give them time for reflection, as the curt “is no more” with which they had alluded to Joseph's removal was a sufficient proof that they had not yet truly repented of the deed.
On the third day Joseph modified his severity. “ This do and live, ” i.e., then ye shall live: “ I fear God .” One shall remain in prison, but let the rest of you take home “corn for the famine of your families,” and fetch your youngest brother, that your words may be verified, and ye may not die, i.e., may not suffer the death that spies deserve. That he might not present the appearance of despotic caprice and tyranny by too great severity, and so render his brethren obdurate, Joseph stated as the reason for his new decision, that he feared God. From the fear of God, he, the lord of Egypt, would not punish or slay these strangers upon mere suspicion, but would judge them justly. How differently had they acted towards their brother! The ruler of all Egypt had compassion on their families who were in Canaan suffering from hunger; but they had intended to leave their brother in the pit to starve! These and similar thoughts could hardly fail to pass involuntarily through their minds at Joseph's words, and to lead them to a penitential acknowledgement of their sin and unrighteousness. The notion that Joseph altered his first intention merely from regard to his much afflicted father, appears improbable, for the simple reason, that he can only have given utterance to the threat that he should keep them all in prison till one of them had gone and fetched Benjamin, for the purpose of giving the greater force to his accusation, that they were spies. But as he was not serious in making this charge, he could not for a moment have thought of actually carrying out the threat. “ And they did so: ” in these words the writer anticipates the result of the colloquy which ensued, and which is more fully narrated afterwards. Joseph's intention was fulfilled. The brothers now saw in what had happened to them a divine retribution: “ Surely we atone because of our brother, whose anguish of soul we saw, when he entreated us and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us .” And Reuben reminded them how he had warned them to no purpose, not to sin against the boy - “ and even his blood...behold it is required ” (cf. Genesis 9:5); i.e., not merely the sin of casting him into the pit and then selling him, but his death also, of which we have been guilty through that sale. Thus they accused themselves in Joseph's presence, not knowing that he could understand; “ for the interpreter was between them .” Joseph had conversed with them through an interpreter, as an Egyptian who was ignorant of their language. “ The interpreter,” viz., the one appointed for that purpose; בּינות like Genesis 26:28. But Joseph understood their words, and “ turned away and wept ” (Genesis 42:24), with inward emotion at the wonderful leadings of divine grace, and at the change in his brothers' feelings. He then turned to them again, and, continuing the conversation with them, had Simeon bound before their eyes, to be detained as a hostage (not Reuben, who had dissuaded them from killing Joseph, and had taken no part in the sale, but Simeon, the next in age). He then ordered his men to fill their sacks with corn, to give every one ( אישׁ as in Genesis 15:10) his money back in his sack, and to provide them with food for the journey.
Thus they started with their asses laden with the corn. On the way, when they had reached their halting-place for the night, one of them opened his sack to feed the ass, and found his money in it. מלון , camping-place for the night, is merely a resting-place, not an inn, both here and in Exodus 4:24; for there can hardly have been caravanserais at that time, either in the desert or by the desert road. אמתחת : an antiquated word for a corn-sack, occurring only in these chapters, and used even here interchangeably with שׂק .
When this discovery was made known to the brethren, their hearts sank within them. They turned trembling to one another, and said, “ What is this that God hath done to us! ” Joseph had no doubt had the money returned, “merely because it was against his nature to trade with his father and brethren for bread;” just as he had caused them to be supplied with food for the journey, for no other reason than to give them a proof of his good-will. And even if he may have thought it possible that the brothers would be alarmed when they found the money, and thrown into a state of much greater anxiety from the fear of being still further accused by the stern lord of Egypt of cheating or of theft, there was no reason why he should spare them this anxiety, since it could only help to break their hard hearts still more. At any rate, this salutary effect was really produced, even if Joseph had no such intention. The brothers looked upon this incomprehensible affair as a punishment from God, and neglected in their alarm to examine the rest of the sacks.
On their arrival at home, they told their father all that had occurred.
But when they emptied their sacks, and, to their own and their father's terror, found their bundles of money in their separate sacks, Jacob burst out with the complaint, “ Ye are making me childless! Joseph is gone, and Simeon is gone, and will ye take Benjamin! All this falls upon me ” ( כּלּנה for כּלּן as in Proverbs 31:29).
Reuben then offered his two sons to Jacob as pledges for Benjamin, if Jacob would entrust him to his care: Jacob might slay them, if he did not bring Benjamin back-the greatest and dearest offer that a son could make to a father. But Jacob refused to let him go. “ If mischief befell him by the way, he would bring down my grey hairs with sorrow into Sheol ” (cf. Genesis 37:35).