Chapter 42

1 Jacob sendeth his ten sons to buy corn in Egypt. 16 They are imprisoned by Joseph for spies. 18 They are set at liberty, on condition to bring Benjamin. 21 They have remorse for Joseph. 24 Simeon is kept for a pledge. 25 They return with corn, and their money. 29 Their relation to Jacob. 36 Jacob refuseth to send Benjamin.

2. Get you down thither. As the drought became more and more severe, and man and beast were both suffering, Jacob made the decision to fetch grain from Egypt to preserve his family from starvation. That he did not, like Abraham (ch. 12:10) and Isaac (ch. 26:2), plan to move his family to Egypt may have been due to the fact that the famine prevailed in Egypt as well as Canaan.

3. Ten brethren went down. That all ten went to Egypt was either for safety or because the grain was distributed to heads of families. Their number would possibly enable them to secure more grain, and would certainly enable them to return with more of it. Also, the famine conditions would render plundering of their caravan for its supplies of food a very real possibility.

4. Benjamin. Benjamin was not kept back because of his youth, since he was now more than 20 years of age, but because, as the only remaining child of Rachel, he had taken Joseph’s place as the object of Jacob’s most tender affections.

5. Among those that came. Joseph’s brothers either formed part of a caravan of Canaanites or simply arrived with others who had come for the same reason.

6. The governor. From shallit\ in turn derived from the root shalat\, “to rule.” It is used to designate one invested with unlimited authority. This word, known also in Aramaic and Arabic, lies behind the title sultan, and perhaps behind the personal name Salatis, which, according to Manetho, belonged to the first Hyksos king. Manetho, however, may have mistaken the word meaning “ruler” for a personal name. This word shows clearly that Joseph was more than an ordinary minister of food. As the second man in the country he was the actual ruler, or prime minister, of Egypt.

7. He knew them. Joseph recognized his brothers at once, but they, not having seen him for more than 20 years, did not recognize him (v. 8). Not only was he older now, but he was Egyptianized as well, wore Egyptian dress and had a clean-shaven face instead of a Semite beard. Furthermore, he spoke a strange language and was, apparently, a great lord. The mere thought of connecting Joseph with this mighty man would have seemed highly absurd (see ch. 45:3).

Spake roughly unto them. That Joseph spoke “hard things to them,” as the text reads literally, was not due to a feeling of revenge, but rather to ascertain their present state of mind, particularly with regard to himself and to Benjamin, whose absence had certainly arrested his attention and perhaps aroused his suspicion.

9. Ye are spies. The “hard things” Joseph spoke to his brothers are now revealed. Egypt had always been suspicious of its eastern neighbors, who had not only raided Egypt and then vanished back into their desert abodes, but had in the past infiltrated Egypt and actually taken over the government of parts of the country. Such incursions during the First Intermediate Period, prior to the Twelfth Dynasty, had led King Amenemhet I to build border fortifications between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, called “Wall of the Ruler,” to keep the Canaanites out of Egypt. The Hyksos, coming afterward and also from the east, had now gained the supremacy of the country and were watchful that others might not do to them what they had done to the Egyptians. It was therefore natural for Joseph to examine all easterners carefully, and make an effort to detect any undesirables or actual spies. Since the famine raging in the neighboring countries brought great numbers of foreigners to Egypt as grain purchasers, greater care had to be taken to weed out those whose presence in the country might endanger its security.

10. Nay, my lord. If Joseph’s brothers were offended by the accusation hurled against them, fear led them to swallow their pride, and they asserted their complete innocence. When their claim to being honest men failed to impress the Egyptian lord, they told him more particularly about their family. By this they sought to prove their innocence. Inasmuch as they all belonged to one family, which could hardly make a hostile attack upon a whole kingdom, there was no real reason for suspecting them of being spies. Joseph took up the challenge and insisted that they prove the accuracy of their story by producing their missing youngest brother.

17. Into ward three days. Joseph had solemnly charged his brothers (v. 15) to send one of their number back to Canaan to fetch Benjamin. Their apparent unwillingness to do this, in the knowledge that Jacob would not consent, led Joseph to send them all to jail for three days. This was ostensibly done in consequence of their unwillingness to agree to his proposal, but in reality to test them further. He had languished in prison for approximately three years, as the result of their inhuman treatment; he inflicted on them a confinement of only three days.

18. This do, and live. On the third day Joseph modified his severe attitude. His explanation, “I fear God,” was intended to be understood in a general way, without reference to Jehovah, as supposedly coming from an Egyptian ruler. Instead of imprisoning nine of them he would keep only one in prison, and allow the others to return to fetch Benjamin and to carry food to their suffering families. Their return with Benjamin would procure the release of the one to be held in prison. If, on the other hand, they had deceived Joseph with their story, they would die of hunger, and the one remaining behind in Egypt would be executed as a spy.

21. We are verily guilty. As they realized that this lord of Egypt would not punish or slay them upon mere suspicion, but judge them justly, their consciences began to speak. How differently they had acted toward Joseph! The ruler of all Egypt had compassion on their families, who suffered hunger in Canaan, whereas they had intended to leave their brother in the pit to starve. As these and similar thoughts passed through their minds, they were led to an acknowledgment of their guilt. Their own misfortune brought back to them the anguish of their brother. Reuben reminded them of how he had warned them, unsuccessfully, not to sin against the boy, and now they were receiving a just reward for their coldness toward him. Thus they accused themselves in Joseph’s presence, without realizing that he understood every word.

24. Took from them Simeon. Passing by Reuben, who had been comparatively guiltless, Joseph selected Simeon, the chief instigator of the cruel treatment he received (PP 226). Simeon’s heartlessness had been manifested on other occasions also, as when he and Levi had massacred the Shechemites. As Simeon was bound before the eyes of his brothers they were forcefully reminded of what they had done to Joseph, who may have hoped that pity for Simeon would encourage their more speedy return with Benjamin.

25. Their sacks. The first word translated “sacks,” keli, means “vessels” or “receptacles,” and may have signified a basket or other container. The second word “sack,” into which the money was placed, is a transliteration of the Hebrew sЊaq, which has found entrance into the European languages through the Greek sakos and the Latin saccus. Besides these terms another old word for “sack” is used, the Hebrew Фamtachath. It is employed in the Bible only in connection with this story, and must have been a synonym of sЊaq, because it is used interchangeably with it (vs. 27, 28; ch. 43:12; etc.).

Joseph did not return their money maliciously, but could not bring himself to accept money from his father and brothers for bread. Even if he may have thought it possible that his brothers would be alarmed upon finding the money, he saw no reason for sparing them this anxiety. It would help to soften their hard hearts still more, after the bitter experiences of the preceding days.

27. Opened his sack. The word “inn” would be more accurately rendered “lodging place,” as in the RSV. The discovery of his money by one of them brought consternation to all. Was it a harbinger of further misfortunes yet to befall them? In Egypt they had already been taken for spies; would they now also be accused as thieves? That the brothers looked upon this, for which they were at a loss to account, as a punishment from God, is evidence of its salutary effect upon them. In their consternation and alarm they forgot to examine the rest of the sacks.

29. They came unto Jacob. Reaching home, they reported their sad experiences, including the detention of Simeon. Upon opening their containers and finding all their money, they were more alarmed than ever. The reason that only one had discovered his money while on the road, and the others after their return home, may have been that it was hidden in the opening of one sack only, but at or near the bottom of the others. Or, it may have been placed in the fodder sack of one and in the food sacks of the others.

36. Me have ye bereaved. Upon hearing their sad story and seeing the evil omen of the returned money, and realizing that he had lost a second son, Jacob broke out in a bitter lament, accusing his sons of responsibility for the loss of Joseph and Simeon. Now, they were bent on taking Benjamin away also. Jacob was hardly fair toward his sons, since he did not know that they were guilty in the matter of Joseph’s disappearance, and since, of course, were not directly to blame for Simeon’s imprisonment. Nevertheless, they must have accepted Jacob’s lament as a well-deserved rebuke. They knew that he spoke more truly than even he himself knew. They had certainly bereaved their father of Joseph, and felt also that Simeon’s imprisonment was a just reward for that cruel act. How could they now shoulder the responsibility of taking Benjamin to Egypt, when there was no certainty that he would return safely? They were in a predicament, but their only other choice was starvation. If they were to secure Simeon’s release and save him from certain death, and if they and their families were to survive the famine, they must return to Egypt for grain.

37. Reuben spake. Reuben’s offer represented supreme sacrifice on his part. It was a sincere but rash offer. Reuben was the eldest, though certainly not the wisest, of Jacob’s sons, and once more he turns up as the tenderhearted one. But Jacob refused; he had little confidence in their ability to guarantee Benjamin’s safe return. Their hands were not clean. They had caused him many anxious hours in the past. Reuben had committed a grievous sin, Simeon and Levi had murdered the population of a city, and the family of Judah was so evil that two of his sons had died in their youth for their wickedness. How could God prosper Benjamin with such men? Everything in which they were involved ended in disappointment or disaster.

Ellen G. White comments

1-38PP 224-227

1-3, 6, 8PP 224

9-17PP 225

18-29PP 226

36 PP 234; 3T 67

36-38PP 227