King James Version
Genesis 42
38 verses with commentary
Joseph's Brothers Go to Egypt
Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon a...</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
XLII.
FIRST VISIT OF JOSEPH’S BRETHREN TO EGYPT.
(1) **When Jacob saw.**—That is, learned, understood, that there was corn in Egypt. As we have seen (Genesis 37:25), there was a large caravan trade between Palestine and Egypt, and the report would gradually get abroad that food might be purchased there.
**Why do ye look . . . —**In the second rainless season not only would the flocks and herds beg...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14. Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph--**Now that God's set time had come (Psa 105:19), no human power nor policy could detain Joseph in prison. During his protracted confinement, he might have often been distressed with perplexing doubts; but the mystery of Providence was about to be cleared up, and all his sorrows forgotten in the course of honor and public usefulness in which his services w...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 42
Chapter Outline
Jacob sends ten sons to buy corn.(1-6)
Joseph's treatment of his brethren.(7-20)
Their remorse, Simeon detained.(21-24)
The rest return with corn.(25-28)
Jacob refuses to send Benjamin to Egypt.(29-38)
**Verses 1-6**
Jacob saw the corn his neighbours had bought in Egypt, and brought home. It is a spur to exertion to see others supplied. Shal...
Read full commentary →And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us ...</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15-16. Pharaoh said, ... I have dreamed a dream--**The king's brief statement of the service required brought out the genuine piety of Joseph; disclaiming all merit, he ascribed whatever gifts or sagacity he possessed to the divine source of all wisdom, and he declared his own inability to penetrate futurity; but, at the same time, he expressed his confident persuasion that God would reveal what...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 42
Chapter Outline
Jacob sends ten sons to buy corn.(1-6)
Joseph's treatment of his brethren.(7-20)
Their remorse, Simeon detained.(21-24)
The rest return with corn.(25-28)
Jacob refuses to send Benjamin to Egypt.(29-38)
**Verses 1-6**
Jacob saw the corn his neighbours had bought in Egypt, and brought home. It is a spur to exertion to see others supplied. Shal...
Read full commentary →And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt....</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments of salvation.<br><br>Central themes include...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Joseph’s ten brethren.**—Either their cattle and households had been already greatly reduced by the mortality caused by the famine, or each patriarch must have taken a number of servants with him, if the corn carried home was to be enough to be of any real use. We learn, however, that they still possessed flocks and herds when they went down into Egypt (Genesis 47:1), and also households of ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15-16. Pharaoh said, ... I have dreamed a dream--**The king's brief statement of the service required brought out the genuine piety of Joseph; disclaiming all merit, he ascribed whatever gifts or sagacity he possessed to the divine source of all wisdom, and he declared his own inability to penetrate futurity; but, at the same time, he expressed his confident persuasion that God would reveal what...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 42
Chapter Outline
Jacob sends ten sons to buy corn.(1-6)
Joseph's treatment of his brethren.(7-20)
Their remorse, Simeon detained.(21-24)
The rest return with corn.(25-28)
Jacob refuses to send Benjamin to Egypt.(29-38)
**Verses 1-6**
Jacob saw the corn his neighbours had bought in Egypt, and brought home. It is a spur to exertion to see others supplied. Shal...
Read full commentary →But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mis...</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**17. Pharaoh said, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river--**The dreams were purely Egyptian, founded on the productions of that country and the experience of a native. The fertility of Egypt being wholly dependent on the Nile, the scene is laid on the banks of that river; and oxen being in the ancient hieroglyphics symbolical of the earth and of food, animals of that species wer...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 42
Chapter Outline
Jacob sends ten sons to buy corn.(1-6)
Joseph's treatment of his brethren.(7-20)
Their remorse, Simeon detained.(21-24)
The rest return with corn.(25-28)
Jacob refuses to send Benjamin to Egypt.(29-38)
**Verses 1-6**
Jacob saw the corn his neighbours had bought in Egypt, and brought home. It is a spur to exertion to see others supplied. Shal...
Read full commentary →And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Can...</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18. there came up out of the river seven kine--**Cows now, of the buffalo kind, are seen daily plunging into the Nile; when their huge form is gradually emerging, they seem as if rising "out of the river."
**and they fed in a meadow--**Nile grass, the aquatic plants that grow on the marshy banks of that river, particularly the lotus kind, on which cattle were usually fattened.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 42
Chapter Outline
Jacob sends ten sons to buy corn.(1-6)
Joseph's treatment of his brethren.(7-20)
Their remorse, Simeon detained.(21-24)
The rest return with corn.(25-28)
Jacob refuses to send Benjamin to Egypt.(29-38)
**Verses 1-6**
Jacob saw the corn his neighbours had bought in Egypt, and brought home. It is a spur to exertion to see others supplied. Shal...
Read full commentary →And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: an...</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Joseph’s brethren came and bowed down themselves before him.**—Throughout the land of Egypt Joseph would sell by deputy, and only give general directions; but the arrival of so large a party as Joseph’s ten brethren, each probably with several attendants, would be reported to the governor in person, as certainly was the case with Abraham when he went into Egypt (Genesis 12:14-15). Such visit...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**19. behold, seven other kine ... poor and ill-favoured--**The cow being the emblem of fruitfulness, the different years of plenty and of famine were aptly represented by the different condition of those kine--the plenty, by the cattle feeding on the richest fodder; and the dearth, by the lean and famishing kine, which the pangs of hunger drove to act contrary to their nature.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 42
Chapter Outline
Jacob sends ten sons to buy corn.(1-6)
Joseph's treatment of his brethren.(7-20)
Their remorse, Simeon detained.(21-24)
The rest return with corn.(25-28)
Jacob refuses to send Benjamin to Egypt.(29-38)
**Verses 1-6**
Jacob saw the corn his neighbours had bought in Egypt, and brought home. It is a spur to exertion to see others supplied. Shal...
Read full commentary →And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food. roughly: Heb. hard things with them
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly...</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Joseph . . . spake roughly unto them.**—Joseph has been accused of harshness in his treatment of his brethren, and still more so of his father in forcing him to send away Benjamin. The latter was, no doubt, the result of his great longing to see his only brother, and he may not have known how dear he was to Jacob, or have reflected upon the pain which his father would feel in parting with hi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-20**
Joseph was hard upon his brethren, not from a spirit of revenge, but to bring them to repentance. Not seeing his brother Benjamin, he suspected that they had made away with him, and he gave them occasion to speak of their father and brother. God, in his providence, sometimes seems harsh with those he loves, and speaks roughly to those for whom yet he has great mercy in store. J...
Read full commentary →And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him....</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments of salvation.<br><br>Central themes include divi...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **Joseph knew.**—As this is twice repeated, some suppose that Joseph (in Genesis 42:7) had only a suspicion, from their dress and appearance, that these Canaanites were his brethren; but that when they spake the Hebrew tongue (comp. Genesis 42:23), every doubt was removed. They would not recognize him, as he used the Egyptian language, was clad in a white linen dress, and being but seventeen w...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-20**
Joseph was hard upon his brethren, not from a spirit of revenge, but to bring them to repentance. Not seeing his brother Benjamin, he suspected that they had made away with him, and he gave them occasion to speak of their father and brother. God, in his providence, sometimes seems harsh with those he loves, and speaks roughly to those for whom yet he has great mercy in store. J...
Read full commentary →And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see ...</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **Ye are spies.**—This is the suspicion under which every traveller labours in the East; but in those days the whole Semitic race was especially looked upon in Egypt with distrust, and, as we saw in Genesis 12:15. a chain of fortresses had been built to protect the land from their incursions. Such an arrival, therefore, as that of Joseph’s brethren would be a matter of state, worthy of the att...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**22. I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears--**that is, of Egyptian wheat, which, when "full and good," is remarkable in size (a single seed sprouting into seven, ten, or fourteen stalks) and each stalk bearing an ear.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-20**
Joseph was hard upon his brethren, not from a spirit of revenge, but to bring them to repentance. Not seeing his brother Benjamin, he suspected that they had made away with him, and he gave them occasion to speak of their father and brother. God, in his providence, sometimes seems harsh with those he loves, and speaks roughly to those for whom yet he has great mercy in store. J...
Read full commentary →And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come....</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments of salvation.<br><br>Cen...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23. blasted with the east wind--**destructive everywhere to grain, but particularly so in Egypt; where, sweeping over the sandy deserts of Arabia, it comes in the character of a hot, blighting wind, that quickly withers all vegetation (compare Eze 19:12; Ho 13:15).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-20**
Joseph was hard upon his brethren, not from a spirit of revenge, but to bring them to repentance. Not seeing his brother Benjamin, he suspected that they had made away with him, and he gave them occasion to speak of their father and brother. God, in his providence, sometimes seems harsh with those he loves, and speaks roughly to those for whom yet he has great mercy in store. J...
Read full commentary →We are all one man's sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>We are all one man's sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies....</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments of salvation.<br><br>Central t...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **We are all one man’s sons.**—Joseph’s brethren had probably expected this accusation, and their answer, as Abravanel points out, is a sound one: for no man would send his whole family on so dangerous an errand. And thus they press their family relations as a proof of their being *true, *that is, honest, just men, with no evil designs; and Joseph, who was glad in this way to obtain intellige...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**24. the thin ears devoured the seven good ears--**devoured is a different word from that used in Ge 41:4 and conveys the idea of destroying, by absorbing to themselves all the nutritious virtue of the soil around them.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-20**
Joseph was hard upon his brethren, not from a spirit of revenge, but to bring them to repentance. Not seeing his brother Benjamin, he suspected that they had made away with him, and he gave them occasion to speak of their father and brother. God, in his providence, sometimes seems harsh with those he loves, and speaks roughly to those for whom yet he has great mercy in store. J...
Read full commentary →And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come....</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments of salvation.<br><br>Ce...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Ge 41:25-36. Joseph Interprets Pharaoh's Dreams.
**25. Joseph said, ... The dream ... is one--**They both pointed to the same event--a remarkable dispensation of seven years of unexampled abundance, to be followed by a similar period of unparalleled dearth. The repetition of the dream in two different forms was designed to show the absolute certainty and speedy arrival of this public crisis; the ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-20**
Joseph was hard upon his brethren, not from a spirit of revenge, but to bring them to repentance. Not seeing his brother Benjamin, he suspected that they had made away with him, and he gave them occasion to speak of their father and brother. God, in his providence, sometimes seems harsh with those he loves, and speaks roughly to those for whom yet he has great mercy in store. J...
Read full commentary →And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, beh...</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-20**
Joseph was hard upon his brethren, not from a spirit of revenge, but to bring them to repentance. Not seeing his brother Benjamin, he suspected that they had made away with him, and he gave them occasion to speak of their father and brother. God, in his providence, sometimes seems harsh with those he loves, and speaks roughly to those for whom yet he has great mercy in store. J...
Read full commentary →And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies:
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies:...</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments of salvation.<br><...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **That is it . . . —**Joseph persists in his charge, because, besides the information which he gained, he also wished to get Benjamin into his power, that he might have him with him. As for his brethren, he had probably as yet no settled purpose, but naturally he would feel great indignation at the treatment he had experienced at their hands, and might not be unwilling to give them some degre...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-20**
Joseph was hard upon his brethren, not from a spirit of revenge, but to bring them to repentance. Not seeing his brother Benjamin, he suspected that they had made away with him, and he gave them occasion to speak of their father and brother. God, in his providence, sometimes seems harsh with those he loves, and speaks roughly to those for whom yet he has great mercy in store. J...
Read full commentary →Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest ...</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **By the life of Pharaoh.**—It was common in ancient times to swear by the king’s life (see 1Samuel 17:55; 2Samuel 14:19 ), and even by the life of Jehovah (2Samuel 15:21; 2Kings 2:2; 2Kings 2:4; 2Kings 2:6). It is only in the stricter morality of the Gospel that such oaths are forbidden (Matthew 5:33-37).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-20**
Joseph was hard upon his brethren, not from a spirit of revenge, but to bring them to repentance. Not seeing his brother Benjamin, he suspected that they had made away with him, and he gave them occasion to speak of their father and brother. God, in his providence, sometimes seems harsh with those he loves, and speaks roughly to those for whom yet he has great mercy in store. J...
Read full commentary →Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies. kept: Heb. bound
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may...</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-20**
Joseph was hard upon his brethren, not from a spirit of revenge, but to bring them to repentance. Not seeing his brother Benjamin, he suspected that they had made away with him, and he gave them occasion to speak of their father and brother. God, in his providence, sometimes seems harsh with those he loves, and speaks roughly to those for whom yet he has great mercy in store. J...
Read full commentary →And he put them all together into ward three days. put: Heb. gathered
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he put them all together into ward three days....</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments of salvation.<br><br>Central themes include divine...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-20**
Joseph was hard upon his brethren, not from a spirit of revenge, but to bring them to repentance. Not seeing his brother Benjamin, he suspected that they had made away with him, and he gave them occasion to speak of their father and brother. God, in his providence, sometimes seems harsh with those he loves, and speaks roughly to those for whom yet he has great mercy in store. J...
Read full commentary →And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God:...</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments of salvation.<br><br>Cent...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **I fear God (Elohim).**—By the use of the name Elohim they would understand that he worshipped the same God as they did. For though he may himself have used the Egyptian word for the supreme Deity, yet doubtless he would take care that the interpreter used the word Elohim.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-20**
Joseph was hard upon his brethren, not from a spirit of revenge, but to bring them to repentance. Not seeing his brother Benjamin, he suspected that they had made away with him, and he gave them occasion to speak of their father and brother. God, in his providence, sometimes seems harsh with those he loves, and speaks roughly to those for whom yet he has great mercy in store. J...
Read full commentary →If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses:
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn ...</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-20**
Joseph was hard upon his brethren, not from a spirit of revenge, but to bring them to repentance. Not seeing his brother Benjamin, he suspected that they had made away with him, and he gave them occasion to speak of their father and brother. God, in his providence, sometimes seems harsh with those he loves, and speaks roughly to those for whom yet he has great mercy in store. J...
Read full commentary →But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And ...</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **Bring your youngest brother.**—Besides his desire to be re-united to his brother, Joseph reasonably felt that the possession of Benjamin would be the best means of inducing his father also to come to him. While substituting a much milder proposal for his former one, that nine should remain in prison, and the tenth go to fetch Benjamin, Joseph nevertheless takes care to make his brethren fee...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**33. Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man--**The explanation given, when the key to the dreams was supplied, appears to have been satisfactory to the king and his courtiers; and we may suppose that much and anxious conversation arose, in the course of which Joseph might have been asked whether he had anything further to say. No doubt the providence of God provided the opportunity of his sugge...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-20**
Joseph was hard upon his brethren, not from a spirit of revenge, but to bring them to repentance. Not seeing his brother Benjamin, he suspected that they had made away with him, and he gave them occasion to speak of their father and brother. God, in his providence, sometimes seems harsh with those he loves, and speaks roughly to those for whom yet he has great mercy in store. J...
Read full commentary →And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguis...</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **We are** **verily guilty.**—They had evidently expected that whatever suspicions might be aroused by their first appearance, all such ideas would disappear upon their explanation of themselves and their purpose. Instead of this they are thrown into prison, abandoned to their reflections for three days, and dismissed only upon the condition of their leaving one brother as a hostage for their...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**34. and let him appoint officers over the land--**overseers, equivalent to the beys of modern Egypt.
**take up the fifth part of the land--**that is, of the land's produce, to be purchased and stored by the government, instead of being sold to foreign corn merchants.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 21-24**
The office of conscience is to bring to mind things long since said and done. When the guilt of this sin of Joseph's brethren was fresh, they made light of it, and sat down to eat bread; but now, long afterward, their consciences accused them of it. See the good of afflictions; they often prove the happy means of awakening conscience, and bringing sin to our remembrance. Also,...
Read full commentary →And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye...</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **His blood.**—Evidently they thought that Joseph was dead, so that the accusation brought against them of falsehood for saying in Genesis 42:13 *“*one is not” is groundless. Moreover, Jacob uses the same words of Simeon (Genesis 42:36), meaning by it only that he was lost to him.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 21-24**
The office of conscience is to bring to mind things long since said and done. When the guilt of this sin of Joseph's brethren was fresh, they made light of it, and sat down to eat bread; but now, long afterward, their consciences accused them of it. See the good of afflictions; they often prove the happy means of awakening conscience, and bringing sin to our remembrance. Also,...
Read full commentary →And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter. he spake: Heb. an interpreter was between them
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter....</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments of salvation...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 21-24**
The office of conscience is to bring to mind things long since said and done. When the guilt of this sin of Joseph's brethren was fresh, they made light of it, and sat down to eat bread; but now, long afterward, their consciences accused them of it. See the good of afflictions; they often prove the happy means of awakening conscience, and bringing sin to our remembrance. Also,...
Read full commentary →And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them,...</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **He turned . . . and wept.**—There was no bitterness in Joseph’s heart, and at their first word of regret he melted. But lest he should lose Benjamin he overcame his feelings, and commanded that Simeon should be bound, choosing him, probably, as the one chiefly guilty of the wrong done him. As soon as the rest had departed, he would probably make his imprisonment as easy as possible, especia...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 21-24**
The office of conscience is to bring to mind things long since said and done. When the guilt of this sin of Joseph's brethren was fresh, they made light of it, and sat down to eat bread; but now, long afterward, their consciences accused them of it. See the good of afflictions; they often prove the happy means of awakening conscience, and bringing sin to our remembrance. Also,...
Read full commentary →Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way: and thus did he unto them.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man's money into his sack,...</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **To fill their sacks.**—Heb., *their vessels. *The word includes all their means of transport, and probably they had come with materials sufficient for the removal of a large quantity of corn. They had sacks as well. So in Genesis 42:19, Joseph had commanded them to “carry corn for the famine of their houses.” And as their households were numerous, what would nine sacks of corn avail for the...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Ge 41:37-57. Joseph Made Ruler of Egypt.
**38. Pharaoh said unto his servants--**The kings of ancient Egypt were assisted in the management of state affairs by the advice of the most distinguished members of the priestly order; and, accordingly, before admitting Joseph to the new and extraordinary office that was to be created, those ministers were consulted as to the expediency and propriety of ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 25-28**
The brethren came for corn, and corn they had: not only so, but every man had his money given back. Thus Christ, like Joseph, gives out supplies without money and without price. The poorest are invited to buy. But guilty consciences are apt to take good providences in a bad sense; to put wrong meanings even upon things that make for them.
And they laded their asses with the corn, and departed thence.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they laded their asses with the corn, and departed thence....</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments of salvation.<br><br>Central themes in...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 25-28**
The brethren came for corn, and corn they had: not only so, but every man had his money given back. Thus Christ, like Joseph, gives out supplies without money and without price. The poorest are invited to buy. But guilty consciences are apt to take good providences in a bad sense; to put wrong meanings even upon things that make for them.
And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, he espied his money; for, behold, it was in his sack's mouth.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, he espied his money; for, b...</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(27) **In the inn.**—Heb., *lodging-place, *literally, place to pass the night. It is quite possible that on a route frequented by numerous caravans there were places where a certain amount of protection for the beasts of burden and their attendants had been provided, either by the rulers, or by benevolent people. But Joseph’s brethren would find there at most only walls and water. “The one” who o...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**40. Thou shalt be over my house--**This sudden change in the condition of a man who had just been taken out of prison could take place nowhere, except in Egypt. In ancient as well as modern times, slaves have often risen to be its rulers. But the special providence of God had determined to make Joseph governor of Egypt; and the way was paved for it by the deep and universal conviction produced i...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 25-28**
The brethren came for corn, and corn they had: not only so, but every man had his money given back. Thus Christ, like Joseph, gives out supplies without money and without price. The poorest are invited to buy. But guilty consciences are apt to take good providences in a bad sense; to put wrong meanings even upon things that make for them.
And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack: and their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us? failed: Heb. went forth
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack: and their heart...</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(28) **Their heart failed them.**—This verse is far more poetical in the Hebrew, where, literally it is *And their heart went forth, and they trembled each to his brother. *Their courage left them, and they stood looking at one another in terror.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**41. Pharaoh said, ... See, I have set thee over all the land--**These words were preliminary to investiture with the insignia of office, which were these: the signet-ring, used for signing public documents, and its impression was more valid than the sign-manual of the king; the khelaat or dress of honor, a coat of finely wrought linen, or rather cotton, worn only by the highest personages; the g...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 25-28**
The brethren came for corn, and corn they had: not only so, but every man had his money given back. Thus Christ, like Joseph, gives out supplies without money and without price. The poorest are invited to buy. But guilty consciences are apt to take good providences in a bad sense; to put wrong meanings even upon things that make for them.
And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them; saying,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto the...</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 29-38**
Here is the report Jacob's sons made to their father. It troubled the good man. Even the bundles of money Joseph returned, in kindness, to his father, frightened him. He laid the fault upon his sons; knowing them, he feared they had provoked the Egyptians, and wrongfully brought home their money. Jacob plainly distrusted his sons, remembering that he never saw Joseph since he ...
Read full commentary →The man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country. roughly: Heb. with us hard things
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country....</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments of s...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**43. they cried before him, Bow the knee--**abrech, an Egyptian term, not referring to prostration, but signifying, according to some, "father" (compare Ge 45:8); according to others, "native prince"--that is, proclaimed him naturalized, in order to remove all popular dislike to him as a foreigner.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 29-38**
Here is the report Jacob's sons made to their father. It troubled the good man. Even the bundles of money Joseph returned, in kindness, to his father, frightened him. He laid the fault upon his sons; knowing them, he feared they had provoked the Egyptians, and wrongfully brought home their money. Jacob plainly distrusted his sons, remembering that he never saw Joseph since he ...
Read full commentary →And we said unto him, We are true men; we are no spies:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And we said unto him, We are true men; we are no spies:...</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments of salvation.<br><br>Central themes include d...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
44. These ceremonies of investiture were closed in usual form by the king in council solemnly ratifying the appointment.
**I am Pharaoh, and without thee, &c.--**a proverbial mode of expression for great power.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 29-38**
Here is the report Jacob's sons made to their father. It troubled the good man. Even the bundles of money Joseph returned, in kindness, to his father, frightened him. He laid the fault upon his sons; knowing them, he feared they had provoked the Egyptians, and wrongfully brought home their money. Jacob plainly distrusted his sons, remembering that he never saw Joseph since he ...
Read full commentary →We be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>We be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father ...</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**45. Zaphnath-paaneah--**variously interpreted, "revealer of secrets"; "saviour of the land"; and from the hieroglyphics, "a wise man fleeing from pollution"--that is, adultery.
**gave him to wife Asenath, the daughter of--**His naturalization was completed by this alliance with a family of high distinction. On being founded by an Arab colony, Poti-pherah, like Jethro, priest of Midian, might b...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 29-38**
Here is the report Jacob's sons made to their father. It troubled the good man. Even the bundles of money Joseph returned, in kindness, to his father, frightened him. He laid the fault upon his sons; knowing them, he feared they had provoked the Egyptians, and wrongfully brought home their money. Jacob plainly distrusted his sons, remembering that he never saw Joseph since he ...
Read full commentary →And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men; leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine of your households, and be gone:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men; leave ...</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(33) **Leave one of your brethren.**—While acknowledging that the lord of Egypt had spoken “hard things” with them, they do not mention that Simeon was left in bonds, nor even the harsher part of the treatment which they had met with, lest Jacob should be afraid to send Benjamin on their next visit.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**46. Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh--**seventeen when brought into Egypt, probably three in prison, and thirteen in the service of Potiphar.
**went out ... all the land--**made an immediate survey to determine the site and size of the storehouses required for the different quarters of the country.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 29-38**
Here is the report Jacob's sons made to their father. It troubled the good man. Even the bundles of money Joseph returned, in kindness, to his father, frightened him. He laid the fault upon his sons; knowing them, he feared they had provoked the Egyptians, and wrongfully brought home their money. Jacob plainly distrusted his sons, remembering that he never saw Joseph since he ...
Read full commentary →And bring your youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men: so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffick in the land.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And bring your youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are tru...</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**47. the earth brought forth by handfuls--**a singular expression, alluding not only to the luxuriance of the crop, but the practice of the reapers grasping the ears, which alone were cut.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 29-38**
Here is the report Jacob's sons made to their father. It troubled the good man. Even the bundles of money Joseph returned, in kindness, to his father, frightened him. He laid the fault upon his sons; knowing them, he feared they had provoked the Egyptians, and wrongfully brought home their money. Jacob plainly distrusted his sons, remembering that he never saw Joseph since he ...
Read full commentary →And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack: and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bundle of money was in hi...</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**48. he gathered up all the food of the seven years--**It gives a striking idea of the exuberant fertility of this land, that, from the superabundance of the seven plenteous years, corn enough was laid up for the subsistence, not only of its home population, but of the neighboring countries, during the seven years of dearth.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 29-38**
Here is the report Jacob's sons made to their father. It troubled the good man. Even the bundles of money Joseph returned, in kindness, to his father, frightened him. He laid the fault upon his sons; knowing them, he feared they had provoked the Egyptians, and wrongfully brought home their money. Jacob plainly distrusted his sons, remembering that he never saw Joseph since he ...
Read full commentary →And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon...</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(36) **All these things are against me.**—Heb., *are upon me, *are burdens which I have to bear.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 29-38**
Here is the report Jacob's sons made to their father. It troubled the good man. Even the bundles of money Joseph returned, in kindness, to his father, frightened him. He laid the fault upon his sons; knowing them, he feared they had provoked the Egyptians, and wrongfully brought home their money. Jacob plainly distrusted his sons, remembering that he never saw Joseph since he ...
Read full commentary →And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him ...</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(37) **Slay my two sons.**—Reuben does not suppose that Jacob would really put his grandchildren to death. but simply means to offer his father a strong assurance that Benjamin would run no danger. He regarded the risk as so slight that he was willing to stake the lives of two of his children, perhaps all he then had, upon Benjamin’s safe return. To take such a proposal as meant literally is irrat...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**50-52. unto Joseph were born two sons--**These domestic events, which increased his temporal happiness, develop the piety of his character in the names conferred upon his children.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 29-38**
Here is the report Jacob's sons made to their father. It troubled the good man. Even the bundles of money Joseph returned, in kindness, to his father, frightened him. He laid the fault upon his sons; knowing them, he feared they had provoked the Egyptians, and wrongfully brought home their money. Jacob plainly distrusted his sons, remembering that he never saw Joseph since he ...
Read full commentary →And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mi...</strong> This passage is part of the Joseph narrative, a masterfully crafted account demonstrating God's sovereign providence working through human choices and circumstances to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The Joseph cycle shows how God transforms evil intentions into instruments ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(38) **Then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.**—Heb., *to Sheol *(See Note on Genesis 37:35). Jacob, both here and in Genesis 47:9, speaks as one on whom sorrow had pressed very heavily. Always of a timid and affection Ate disposition, he looks onward now without hope, and sees in the future only dangers and ill-fortune. Probably by this time he had lost Leah as well as R...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**50-52. unto Joseph were born two sons--**These domestic events, which increased his temporal happiness, develop the piety of his character in the names conferred upon his children.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 29-38**
Here is the report Jacob's sons made to their father. It troubled the good man. Even the bundles of money Joseph returned, in kindness, to his father, frightened him. He laid the fault upon his sons; knowing them, he feared they had provoked the Egyptians, and wrongfully brought home their money. Jacob plainly distrusted his sons, remembering that he never saw Joseph since he ...
Read full commentary →