8 and now, ye -- ye have not sent me hither, but God, and He doth set me for a father to Pharaoh, and for lord to all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
And Micah saith to him, `Dwell with me, and be to me for a father and for a priest, and I give to thee ten silverlings for the days, and a suit of garments, and thy sustenance;' and the Levite goeth `in'.
and Pharaoh saith unto Joseph, `After God's causing thee to know all this, there is none intelligent and wise as thou; thou -- thou art over my house, and at thy mouth do all my people kiss; only in the throne I am greater than thou.' And Pharaoh saith unto Joseph, `See, I have put thee over all the land of Egypt.' And Pharaoh turneth aside his seal-ring from off his hand, and putteth it on the hand of Joseph, and clotheth him `with' garments of fine linen, and placeth a chain of gold on his neck, and causeth him to ride in the second chariot which he hath, and they proclaim before him, `Bow the knee!' and -- to put him over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh saith unto Joseph, `I `am' Pharaoh, and without thee a man doth not lift up his hand and his foot in all the land of Egypt;' and Pharaoh calleth Joseph's name Zaphnath-Paaneah, and he giveth to him Asenath daughter of Poti-Pherah, priest of On, for a wife, and Joseph goeth out over the land of Egypt. And Joseph `is' a son of thirty years in his standing before Pharaoh king of Egypt, and Joseph goeth out from the presence of Pharaoh, and passeth over through all the land of Egypt; and the land maketh in the seven years of plenty by handfuls. And he gathereth all the food of the seven years which have been in the land of Egypt, and putteth food in the cities; the food of the field which `is' round about `each' city hath he put in its midst;
A father I `am' to the needy, And the cause I have not known I search out.
He hath made him lord of his house, And ruler over all his possessions. To bind his chiefs at his pleasure, And his elders he maketh wise.
Jesus answered, `Thou wouldst have no authority against me, if it were not having been given thee from above; because of this, he who is delivering me up to thee hath greater sin.'
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Genesis 45
Commentary on Genesis 45 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 45
Ge 45:1-28. Joseph Making Himself Known.
1. Then Joseph could not refrain himself—The severity of the inflexible magistrate here gives way to the natural feelings of the man and the brother. However well he had disciplined his mind, he felt it impossible to resist the artless eloquence of Judah. He saw a satisfactory proof, in the return of all his brethren on such an occasion, that they were affectionately united to one another; he had heard enough to convince him that time, reflection, or grace had made a happy improvement on their characters; and he would probably have proceeded in a calm and leisurely manner to reveal himself as prudence might have dictated. But when he heard the heroic self-sacrifice of Judah [Ge 44:33] and realized all the affection of that proposal—a proposal for which he was totally unprepared—he was completely unmanned; he felt himself forced to bring this painful trial to an end.
he cried, Cause every man to go out from me—In ordering the departure of witnesses of this last scene, he acted as a warm-hearted and real friend to his brothers—his conduct was dictated by motives of the highest prudence—that of preventing their early iniquities from becoming known either to the members of his household, or among the people of Egypt.
2. he wept aloud—No doubt, from the fulness of highly excited feelings; but to indulge in vehement and long-continued transports of sobbing is the usual way in which the Orientals express their grief.
3. I am Joseph—or, "terrified at his presence." The emotions that now rose in his breast as well as that of his brethren—and chased each other in rapid succession—were many and violent. He was agitated by sympathy and joy; they were astonished, confounded, terrified; and betrayed their terror, by shrinking as far as they could from his presence. So "troubled" were they, that he had to repeat his announcement of himself; and what kind, affectionate terms he did use. He spoke of their having sold him—not to wound their feelings, but to convince them of his identity; and then, to reassure their minds, he traced the agency of an overruling Providence, in his exile and present honor [Ge 35:5-7]. Not that he wished them to roll the responsibility of their crime on God; no, his only object was to encourage their confidence and induce them to trust in the plans he had formed for the future comfort of their father and themselves.
6. and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest—"Ear" is an old English word, meaning "to plough" (compare 1Sa 8:12; Isa 30:24). This seems to confirm the view given (Ge 41:57) that the famine was caused by an extraordinary drought, which prevented the annual overflowing of the Nile; and of course made the land unfit to receive the seed of Egypt.
14, 15. And he fell upon … Benjamin's neck—The sudden transition from a condemned criminal to a fondled brother, might have occasioned fainting or even death, had not his tumultuous feelings been relieved by a torrent of tears. But Joseph's attentions were not confined to Benjamin. He affectionately embraced every one of his brothers in succession; and by those actions, his forgiveness was demonstrated more fully than it could be by words.
17-20. Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren—As Joseph might have been prevented by delicacy, the king himself invited the patriarch and all his family to migrate into Egypt; and he made most liberal arrangements for their removal and their subsequent settlement. It displays the character of this Pharaoh to advantage, that he was so kind to the relatives of Joseph; but indeed the greatest liberality he could show could never recompense the services of so great a benefactor of his kingdom.
21. Joseph gave them wagons—which must have been novelties in Palestine; for wheeled carriages were almost unknown there.
22. changes of raiment—It was and is customary, with great men, to bestow on their friends dresses of distinction, and in places where they are of the same description and quality, the value of these presents consists in their number. The great number given to Benjamin bespoke the warmth of his brother's attachment to him; and Joseph felt, from the amiable temper they now all displayed, he might, with perfect safety, indulge this fond partiality for his mother's son.
23. to his father he sent—a supply of everything that could contribute to his support and comfort—the large and liberal scale on which that supply was given being intended, like the five messes of Benjamin, as a token of his filial love [see on Ge 43:34].
24. so he sent his brethren away—In dismissing them on their homeward journey, he gave them this particular admonition:
See that ye fall not out by the way—a caution that would be greatly needed; for not only during the journey would they be occupied in recalling the parts they had respectively acted in the events that led to Joseph's being sold into Egypt, but their wickedness would soon have to come to the knowledge of their venerable father.