Chapter 44

1 Joseph’s policy to stay his brethren. 14 Judah’s humble supplication to Joseph.

2. Put my cup. This was Joseph’s final and decisive test prior to revealing himself to his brothers. His purpose was to create a situation by which he could legitimately claim the right to retain Benjamin in Egypt, so that his brothers might have an excuse for returning to Canaan without the favorite of their father. By this he would learn beyond a doubt what kind of men they now were. Either they would abide by the decision of Joseph to keep Benjamin in Egypt and return to their father with the heartbreaking message that he must reconcile himself to the loss of the remaining son of his beloved Rachel, or they would do everything in their power to prevent such a misfortune.

5. Whereby indeed he divineth. The goblet was a valuable possession. It was not an ordinary drinking cup, but one, supposedly, capable of detecting any poisonous substance placed in it. Such cups were also used for the practice of magic. The word translated “divineth” means “to whisper,” “to mumble,” “to prophesy.” Classical writers speak of the Oriental practice of pouring water into a goblet and looking into it for representations of future events (Jamblichus De mysteriis iii. 14). Another custom described by the ancients consisted of pouring water into a goblet, dropping in pieces of gold and silver or precious stones, and then observing and interpreting the appearance in the water (Pliny Natural History xxxvii. 73; Strabo Geography xvi. 2. 39). That the steward was ordered to mention the practice of magic to the brothers does not imply that Joseph had actually adopted this superstitious practice himself. As previously (ch. 43:33), he was willing that they should believe he could read their thoughts. This would tend to unnerve them and lead them to abandon pretense.

On account of his great wisdom, the Egyptians probably attributed to Joseph the practice of magic. Had he not accurately predicted the years of plenty and of famine, and taken care that Egypt be prepared for the emergency? He certainly excelled their best “magicians” (ch. 41:8), and must therefore possess superior magic (see Ex. 8:19). Perhaps his fame as a wise man had spread far and wide, even to foreign lands, so that the supposed thieves of the goblet might appropriately be asked whether they were unaware of this fact (Gen. 44:15).

9. Let him die. Conscious of their complete innocence, the brothers did not hesitate to pronounce upon themselves the most severe penalty should the missing object be found with them. Their rash words seem a little foolhardy, particularly after the experience of finding their money mysteriously placed in their sacks. They might have been expected to be suspicious, and consequently somewhat more cautious. However, the unfeigned friendliness with which they had been received and entertained upon their second visit to Egypt, both by the viceroy himself and by his subordinates, had dissipated all doubts concerning the sincerity of Joseph’s intentions.

10. Let it be. Professing an exalted sense of fairness and justice, the steward declined to think of punishing the innocent with the guilty, or even the guilty as rigorously as they proposed. When others speak rashly we should not take advantage of their rashness. We ourselves may at times make commitments without due deliberation which might bring injury to us, except for the leniency of others.

12. He searched. The steward’s systematic search must have reminded them of their surprise the day before at finding themselves seated according to age. Also it must have kept them tense, for the lost object was not found until the very last moment of the search. One after another the men found themselves cleared. By facial expression, and perhaps even in words, they may have expressed triumph at the growing evidence of their declared innocence. But then the lost object was found in Benjamin’s sack. With anguish and alarm at this new calamity they rent their clothes (see on ch. 37:34), reloaded their asses, and returned to the city.

13. Returned to the city. Now it would be seen how they felt in their inmost hearts toward their father’s favorite, who had been so honored by the great man of Egypt. Would they give him up as they had Joseph, and bring their aged father with sorrow to the grave, or would they be ready to surrender their own liberty and lives that he might return in safety to his father?

14. They fell before him. With Judah leading the way, the men came to Joseph’s house, where they all fell down before him, pleading for mercy. Several ancient Egyptian reliefs depicting similar situations have been preserved. One shows Canaanite petitioners before the general Haremhab in the 14th century b.c. Some of them lie flat on the ground, with arms outstretched and heads lifted pleadingly to the high official. Others kneel or bow low before him, all of them with arms raised, to impress the general with the urgency of their request. In the case of those who fell down before Haremhab the request was to be permitted to settle in Egypt, since they had been expelled from their homeland.

15. Wot ye not? Joseph spoke harshly, which must have been reminiscent of the reception accorded them on their first visit to Egypt. On Joseph as not being a practitioner of magic, see on v. 5.

16. Judah said. Judah, the leader of this second mission to Egypt (ch. 43:8), stepped forward as spokesman. He made no attempt to justify himself and his brothers or to clear himself and them from suspicion, but acknowledged freely their guilt. He referred, without doubt, to the crime committed against their brother Joseph, a crime that had been haunting their consciences ever since its perpetration (ch. 42:21, 22). To the Egyptian bystanders, particularly the steward, the words of Judah meant the acknowledgment of their guilt, and this no doubt astonished the Egyptians, since they knew the men were really innocent. Joseph must have felt the anguish of their souls, realizing that they felt the punishment soon to be meted out was deserved. In reply to Judah’s offer that all should remain as slaves in Egypt, where they had once sold their brother into slavery, Joseph declared that his sentence would be mild and just. The guilty one alone should be his slave; the others might go back to their father unharmed and unmolested.

18. Judah came near. The remaining 17 verses of the chapter repeat the speech of Judah on behalf of his brother Benjamin. This speech has appropriately been called one of the masterpieces of Hebrew literary composition, one of the finest specimens of natural eloquence in the world.

Thou art even as Pharaoh. Judah’s speech began with a request for a gracious hearing. He was speaking to one who was equal to Pharaoh, with authority to condemn or to pardon. Inasmuch as the monarch of Egypt was considered a god, the paragon of all perfection, the highest honor that might be conferred upon a person was comparison with the monarch.

19. My lord asked his servants. First of all, Judah related how Benjamin happened to become involved in the trouble. Joseph had inquired into their family affairs, and they had truthfully informed him concerning their youngest brother, who was still at home. Joseph had insisted that they should not venture to return to Egypt without their brother, by way of proving his existence and thus the accuracy of their statements. Although some phases of this report relate more than the shorter account of the conversation in ch. 42, Judah must have reported the original conversation accurately, in order to avoid making any untrue or exaggerated statements.

25. Our father said. After having reminded Joseph in courteous but definite terms that his demands were the cause of Benjamin’s presence in Egypt, he proceeded to depict in affectionate and effective words the love of their aged father for the son of his old age, and his grief when they informed him that they might not return to Egypt without Benjamin. He related the intense anxiety with which, after a severe struggle, their father had finally permitted him to come. He emphasized the sober fact that they would bring down the gray hairs of their father with sorrow to the grave (see ch. 37:35), should they return without the youth.

27. Ye know that my wife. This remark, made here for the first time, implies that Jacob regarded Rachel more as his actual wife than Leah, Bilhah, or Zilpah (see ch. 46:19). She was ever the wife of his affections.

28. Surely he is torn. Jacob meant here that Joseph, had he been alive, would certainly have been able to return himself or to send word. Never having seen him since that fateful day of his departure from Hebron, Jacob could only conclude that his fears were fully justified.

33. Instead of the lad. Judah’s self-sacrifice is certainly deserving of praise. Voluntary submission to servitude on behalf of a brother who enjoyed a higher degree of parental affection, in order to save his aged father fresh sorrow and anguish, cannot be overestimated. Judah’s self-forgetful magnanimity has never been surpassed, and but seldom equaled. Judah emerges here as a truly converted man, a worthy ancestor of the promised seed, and worthy to give his name to the chosen people of God.

Joseph could no longer doubt that a complete change had come over his brothers, and over Judah in particular, since the day when he had so eloquently urged the sale of Joseph into slavery. Joseph’s tactics had proved eminently successful. He was now convinced regarding the attitude of his brothers, and satisfied that their conversion was genuine. There was no further need to test them, and he was therefore ready to reveal his identity.

Ellen G. White comments

1-34PP 229-230