mh_parser/vol_split/1 - Genesis/Chapter 44.xml

<div2 id="Gen.xlv" n="xlv" next="Gen.xlvi" prev="Gen.xliv" progress="27.77%" title="Chapter XLIV">
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<h2 id="Gen.xlv-p0.1">G E N E S I S</h2>
<h3 id="Gen.xlv-p0.2">CHAP. XLIV.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Gen.xlv-p1">Joseph, having entertained his brethren, dismissed
them; but here we have them brought back in a greater fright than
any they had been in yet. Observe, I. What method he took both to
humble them further and also to try their affection to his brother
Benjamin, by which he would be able to judge of the sincerity of
their repentance for what they had done against himself, of which
he was desirous to be satisfied before he manifested his
reconciliation to them. This he contrived to do by bringing
Benjamin into distress, <scripRef id="Gen.xlv-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.44.1-Gen.44.17" parsed="|Gen|44|1|44|17" passage="Ge 44:1-17">ver.
1-17</scripRef>. II. The good success of the experiment; he found
them all heartily concerned, and Judah particularly, both for the
safety of Benjamin and for the comfort of their aged father,
<scripRef id="Gen.xlv-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.44.18-Gen.44.34" parsed="|Gen|44|18|44|34" passage="Ge 44:18-34">ver. 18</scripRef>, &amp;c.</p>
<scripCom id="Gen.xlv-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.44" parsed="|Gen|44|0|0|0" passage="Ge 44" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Gen.xlv-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Gen.44.1-Gen.44.17" parsed="|Gen|44|1|44|17" passage="Ge 44:1-17" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gen.44.1-Gen.44.17">
<h4 id="Gen.xlv-p1.5">Joseph's Policy. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Gen.xlv-p1.6">b. c.</span> 1707.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Gen.xlv-p2">1 And he commanded the steward of his house,
saying, Fill the men's sacks <i>with</i> food, as much as they can
carry, and put every man's money in his sack's mouth.   2 And
put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest,
and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph
had spoken.   3 As soon as the morning was light, the men were
sent away, they and their asses.   4 <i>And</i> when they were
gone out of the city, <i>and</i> not <i>yet</i> far off, Joseph
said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost
overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for
good?   5 <i>Is</i> not this <i>it</i> in which my lord
drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so
doing.   6 And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these
same words.   7 And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my
lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do according
to this thing:   8 Behold, the money, which we found in our
sacks' mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of
Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord's house silver or
gold?   9 With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both
let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen.   10 And
he said, Now also <i>let</i> it <i>be</i> according unto your
words: he with whom it is found shall be my servant; and ye shall
be blameless.   11 Then they speedily took down every man his
sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack.   12 And he
searched, <i>and</i> began at the eldest, and left at the youngest:
and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.   13 Then they rent
their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the
city.   14 And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house;
for he <i>was</i> yet there: and they fell before him on the
ground.   15 And Joseph said unto them, What deed <i>is</i>
this that ye have done? wot ye not that such a man as I can
certainly divine?   16 And Judah said, What shall we say unto
my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God
hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we <i>are</i>
my lord's servants, both we, and <i>he</i> also with whom the cup
is found.   17 And he said, God forbid that I should do so:
<i>but</i> the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my
servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xlv-p3">Joseph heaps further kindnesses upon his
brethren, fills their sacks, returns their money, and sends them
away full of gladness; but he also exercises them with further
trials. Our God thus humbles those whom he loves and loads with
benefits. Joseph ordered his steward to put a fine silver cup which
he had (and which, it is likely, was used at his table when they
dined with him) into Benjamin's sack's mouth, that it might seem as
if he had stolen it from the table, and put it here himself, after
his corn was delivered to him. If Benjamin had stolen it, it had
been the basest piece of dishonesty and ingratitude that could be

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and if Joseph, by ordering it to be there,
had designed really to take advantage against him, it had been in
him most horrid cruelty and oppression; but it proved, in the
issue, that there was no harm done, nor any designed, on either
side. Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xlv-p4">I. How the pretended criminals were pursued
and arrested, on suspicion of having stolen a silver cup. The
steward charged them with ingratitude—rewarding evil for good; and
with folly, in taking away a cup of daily use, and which therefore
would soon be missed, and diligent search made for it; for so it
may be read: <i>Is not this it in which my lord drinketh</i> (as
having a particular fondness for it), <i>and for which he would
search thoroughly?</i> <scripRef id="Gen.xlv-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.44.5" parsed="|Gen|44|5|0|0" passage="Ge 44:5"><i>v.</i>
5</scripRef>. Or, "By which, leaving it carelessly at your table,
he would make trial whether you were honest men or no."</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xlv-p5">II. How they pleaded for themselves. They
solemnly protested their innocence, and detestation of so base a
thing (<scripRef id="Gen.xlv-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.44.7" parsed="|Gen|44|7|0|0" passage="Ge 44:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>), urged
it as an instance of their honesty that they had brought their
money back (<scripRef id="Gen.xlv-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.44.8" parsed="|Gen|44|8|0|0" passage="Ge 44:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>),
and offered to submit to the severest punishment if they should be
found guilty, <scripRef id="Gen.xlv-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.44.9-Gen.44.10" parsed="|Gen|44|9|44|10" passage="Ge 44:9,10"><i>v.</i> 9,
10</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xlv-p6">III. How the theft was fastened upon
Benjamin. In his sack the cup was found to whom Joseph had been
particularly kind. Benjamin, no doubt, was ready to deny, upon
oath, the taking of the cup, and we may suppose him as little
liable to suspicion as any of them; but it is in vain to confront
such notorious evidence: the cup is found in his custody; they dare
not arraign Joseph's justice, nor so much as suggest that perhaps
he that had put their money in their sacks' mouths had put the cup
there; but they throw themselves upon Joseph's mercy. And,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xlv-p7">IV. Here is their humble submission,
<scripRef id="Gen.xlv-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.44.16" parsed="|Gen|44|16|0|0" passage="Ge 44:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>. 1. They
acknowledge the righteousness of God: <i>God hath found out the
iniquity of thy servants,</i> perhaps referring to the injury they
had formerly done to Joseph, for which they thought God was now
reckoning with them. Note, Even in those afflictions wherein we
apprehend ourselves wronged by men yet we must own that God is
righteous, and finds out our iniquity. 2. They surrender themselves
prisoners to Joseph: <i>We are my lord's servants.</i> Now Joseph's
dreams were accomplished to the utmost. Their bowing so often, and
doing homage, might be looked upon but as a compliment, and no more
than what other strangers did; but the construction they
themselves, in their pride, had put upon his dreams was, <i>Shalt
though have dominion over us?</i> (<scripRef id="Gen.xlv-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.37.8" parsed="|Gen|37|8|0|0" passage="Ge 37:8"><i>ch.</i> xxxvii. 8</scripRef>), and in this sense it is
now at length fulfilled,; they own themselves his vassals. Since
they did invidiously so understand it, so it shall be fulfilled in
them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xlv-p8">V. Joseph, with an air of justice, gives
sentence that Benjamin only should be kept in bondage, and the rest
should be dismissed; for why should any suffer but the guilty?
Perhaps Joseph intended hereby to try Benjamin's temper, whether he
could bear such a hardship as this with the calmness and composure
of mind that became a wise and good man: in short, whether he was
indeed his own brother, in <i>spirit</i> as well as <i>blood;</i>
for Joseph himself had been falsely accused, and had suffered hard
things in consequence, and yet kept possession of his own soul.
However, it is plain he intended hereby to try the affection of his
brethren to Benjamin and to their father. If they had gone away
contentedly, and left Benjamin in bonds, no doubt Joseph would soon
have released and promoted him, and sent notice to Jacob, and would
have left the rest of his brethren justly to suffer for their
hard-heartedness; but they proved to be better affected to Benjamin
than he feared. Note, We cannot judge what men are by what they
have been formerly, nor what they will do by what they have done:
age and experience may make men wiser and better. Those that had
sold Joseph would not now abandon Benjamin. The worst may mend in
time.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Gen.xlv-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.44.18-Gen.44.34" parsed="|Gen|44|18|44|34" passage="Ge 44:18-34" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gen.44.18-Gen.44.34">
<h4 id="Gen.xlv-p8.2">Judah's Appeal on Behalf of
Benjamin. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Gen.xlv-p8.3">b. c.</span> 1707.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Gen.xlv-p9">18 Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh
my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's
ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou
<i>art</i> even as Pharaoh.   19 My lord asked his servants,
saying, Have ye a father, or a brother?   20 And we said unto
my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age,
a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his
mother, and his father loveth him.   21 And thou saidst unto
thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon
him.   22 And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his
father: for <i>if</i> he should leave his father, <i>his father</i>
would die.   23 And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your
youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more.
  24 And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my
father, we told him the words of my lord.   25 And our father
said, Go again, <i>and</i> buy us a little food.   26 And we
said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then
will we go down: for we may not see the man's face, except our
youngest brother <i>be</i> with us.   27 And thy servant my
father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two <i>sons:</i>
  28 And the one went

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out from me, and
I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I saw him not since:
  29 And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall
him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.
  30 Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and
the lad <i>be</i> not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in
the lad's life;   31 It shall come to pass, when he seeth that
the lad <i>is</i> not <i>with us,</i> that he will die: and thy
servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father
with sorrow to the grave.   32 For thy servant became surety
for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee,
then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever.   33 Now
therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a
bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren.  
34 For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad <i>be</i> not
with me? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my
father.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xlv-p10">We have here a most ingenious and pathetic
speech which Judah made to Joseph on Benjamin's behalf, to obtain
his discharge from the sentence passed upon him. Perhaps Judah was
a better friend to Benjamin than the rest were, and more solicitous
to bring him off; or he thought himself under greater obligations
to attempt it than the rest, because he had passed his word to his
father for his safe return; or the rest chose him for their
spokesman, because he was a man of better sense, and better spirit,
and had a greater command of language than any of them. His
address, as it is here recorded, is so very natural and so
expressive of his present feelings that we cannot but suppose
Moses, who wrote it so long after, to have written it under the
special direction of him that made man's mouth.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xlv-p11">I. A great deal of unaffected art, and
unstudied unforced rhetoric, there is in this speech. 1. He
addresses himself to Joseph with a great deal of respect and
deference, calls him his <i>lord,</i> himself and his brethren his
<i>servants,</i> begs his patient hearing, and ascribes sovereign
authority to him: "<i>Thou art even as Pharaoh,</i> one whose
favour we desire and whose wrath we dread as we do Pharaoh's."
Religion does not destroy good manners, and it is prudence to speak
respectfully to those at whose mercy we lie: titles of honour to
those that are entitled to them are not flattering titles. 2. He
represented Benjamin as one well worthy of his compassionate
consideration (<scripRef id="Gen.xlv-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.44.20" parsed="|Gen|44|20|0|0" passage="Ge 44:20"><i>v.</i>
20</scripRef>); he was <i>a little one,</i> compared with the rest
of them; the youngest, not acquainted with the world, nor ever
inured to hardship, having always been brought up tenderly with his
father. It made the case the more pitiable that he alone was left
of his mother, and his brother was dead, namely, <i>Joseph.</i>
Little did Judah think what a tender point he touched upon now.
Judah knew that Joseph was sold, and therefore had reason enough to
think that he was alive; at least he could not be sure that he was
dead: but they had made their father believe he was dead; and now
they had told that lie so long that they had forgotten the truth,
and begun to believe the lie themselves. 3. He urged it very
closely that Joseph had himself constrained them to bring Benjamin
with them, had expressed a desire to see him (<scripRef id="Gen.xlv-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.44.21" parsed="|Gen|44|21|0|0" passage="Ge 44:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>), and had forbidden them his
presence unless they brought Benjamin with them (<scripRef id="Gen.xlv-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.44.23 Bible:Gen.44.26" parsed="|Gen|44|23|0|0;|Gen|44|26|0|0" passage="Ge 44:23,26"><i>v.</i> 23, 26</scripRef>), all which intimated
that he designed him some kindness; and must he be brought with so
much difficulty to the preferment of a perpetual slavery? Was he
not brought to Egypt, in obedience, purely in obedience, to the
command of Joseph? and would he not show him some mercy? Some
observe that Jacob's sons, in reasoning with their father, had
said, <i>We will not go down unless Benjamin go with us</i>
(<scripRef id="Gen.xlv-p11.4" osisRef="Bible:Gen.43.5" parsed="|Gen|43|5|0|0" passage="Ge 43:5"><i>ch.</i> xliii. 5</scripRef>); but
that when Judah comes to relate the story he expresses it more
decently: "<i>We cannot go down</i> with any expectation to speed
well." Indecent words spoken in haste to our superiors should be
recalled and amended. 4. The great argument he insisted upon was
the insupportable grief it would be to his aged father if Benjamin
should be left behind in servitude: <i>His father loveth him,</i>
<scripRef id="Gen.xlv-p11.5" osisRef="Bible:Gen.44.20" parsed="|Gen|44|20|0|0" passage="Ge 44:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>. This they had
pleaded against Joseph's insisting on his coming down (<scripRef id="Gen.xlv-p11.6" osisRef="Bible:Gen.44.22" parsed="|Gen|44|22|0|0" passage="Ge 44:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>): "<i>If he should leave
his father, his father would die;</i> much more if now he be left
behind, never more to return to him." This the old man, of whom
they spoke, had pleaded against his going down: <i>If mischief
befal him, you shall bring down my gray hairs,</i> that crown of
glory, <i>with sorrow to the grave,</i> <scripRef id="Gen.xlv-p11.7" osisRef="Bible:Gen.44.29" parsed="|Gen|44|29|0|0" passage="Ge 44:29"><i>v.</i> 29</scripRef>. This therefore Judah presses
with a great deal of earnestness: "<i>His life is bound up in the
lad's life</i> (<scripRef id="Gen.xlv-p11.8" osisRef="Bible:Gen.44.30" parsed="|Gen|44|30|0|0" passage="Ge 44:30"><i>v.</i>
30</scripRef>); when he sees that the lad is not with us, he will
faint away, and die immediately (<scripRef id="Gen.xlv-p11.9" osisRef="Bible:Gen.44.31" parsed="|Gen|44|31|0|0" passage="Ge 44:31"><i>v.</i> 31</scripRef>), or will abandon himself to
such a degree of sorrow as will, in a few days, make an end of
him." And, <i>lastly,</i> Judah pleads that, for his part, he could
not bear to see this: <i>Let me not see the evil that shall come on
my father,</i> <scripRef id="Gen.xlv-p11.10" osisRef="Bible:Gen.44.34" parsed="|Gen|44|34|0|0" passage="Ge 44:34"><i>v.</i>
34</scripRef>. Note, It is the duty of children to be very tender
of their parents' comfort, and to be afraid of every thing that may
be an occasion of grief to them. Thus the love that descended first
must again ascend, and something must be done towards a recompense
for their care. 5. Judah, in honour to the justice of Joseph's
sentence, and to show his sincerity in this

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plea, offers himself to become a bondsman instead of Benjamin,
<scripRef id="Gen.xlv-p11.11" osisRef="Bible:Gen.44.33" parsed="|Gen|44|33|0|0" passage="Ge 44:33"><i>v.</i> 33</scripRef>. Thus the law
would be satisfied; Joseph would be no loser (for we may suppose
Judah a more able-bodied man than Benjamin, and fitter for
service); and Jacob would better bear the loss of him than of
Benjamin. Now, so far was he from grieving at his father's
particular fondness for Benjamin, that he was himself willing to be
a bondman to indulge it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xlv-p12">Now, had Joseph been, as Judah supposed
him, an utter stranger to the family, yet even common humanity
could not but be wrought upon by such powerful reasonings as these;
for nothing could be said more moving, more tender; it was enough
to melt a heart of stone. But to Joseph, who was nearer akin to
Benjamin than Judah himself was, and who, at this time, felt a
greater affection both for him and his aged father than Judah did,
nothing could be more pleasingly nor more happily said. Neither
Jacob nor Benjamin needed an intercessor with Joseph; for he
himself loved them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xlv-p13">II. Upon the whole matter let us take
notice, 1. How prudently Judah suppressed all mention of the crime
that was charged upon Benjamin. Had he said any thing by way of
acknowledgment of it, he would have reflected on Benjamin's
honesty, and seemed too forward to suspect that; had he said any
thing by way of denial of it, he would have reflected on Joseph's
justice, and the sentence he had passed: therefore he wholly waives
that head, and appeals to Joseph's pity. Compare with this that of
Job, in humbling himself before God (<scripRef id="Gen.xlv-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.9.15" parsed="|Job|9|15|0|0" passage="Job 9:15">Job ix. 15</scripRef>), <i>Though I were righteous, yet
would I not answer;</i> I would not argue, but petition; <i>I would
make supplication to my Judge.</i> 2. What good reason dying Jacob
had to say, <i>Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall
praise</i> (<scripRef id="Gen.xlv-p13.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.49.8" parsed="|Gen|49|8|0|0" passage="Ge 49:8"><i>ch.</i> xlix.
8</scripRef>), for he excelled them all in boldness, wisdom,
eloquence, and especially tenderness for their father and family.
3. Judah's faithful adherence to Benjamin, now in his distress, was
recompensed long after by the constant adherence of the tribe of
Benjamin to the tribe of Judah, when all the other ten tribes
deserted it. 4. How fitly does the apostle, when he is discoursing
of the mediation of Christ, observe, that <i>our Lord sprang out of
Judah</i> (<scripRef id="Gen.xlv-p13.3" osisRef="Bible:Heb.7.14" parsed="|Heb|7|14|0|0" passage="Heb 7:14">Heb. vii. 14</scripRef>);
for, like his father Judah, he not only <i>made intercession for
the transgressors,</i> but he became a surety for them, as it
follows there (<scripRef id="Gen.xlv-p13.4" osisRef="Bible:Gen.44.22" parsed="|Gen|44|22|0|0" passage="Ge 44:22"><i>v.</i>
22</scripRef>), testifying therein a very tender concern both for
his father and for his brethren.</p>
</div></div2>