Genesis 43
43
1 Meanwhile, the famine pressed heavily on all the land.
2 And having consumed the provisions that they had brought out of Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, "Return and buy us a little food."
3 Judah answered: "The man himself declared to us, under the attestation of an oath, saying: 'You will not see my face, unless you bring your youngest brother with you.'
4 If therefore you are willing to send him with us, we will travel together, and we will buy necessities for you.
5 But if you are not willing, we will not go. For the man, as we have often said, declared to us, saying: 'You will not see my face without your youngest brother.' "
6 Israel said to them, "You have done this for my misery, in that you revealed to him that you also had another brother."
7 But they responded: "The man questioned us in order, concerning our family: whether our father lived, if we had a brother. And we answered him respectively, according to what he demanded. How could we know that he would say, 'Bring your brother with you?' "
8 Likewise, Judah said to his father: "Send the boy with me, so that we may set out and be able to live, lest we and our little ones should die.
9 I accept the boy; require him at my hand. Unless I lead him back and restore him to you, I will be guilty of a sin against you for all time.
10 If a delay had not intervened, by now we would have returned here a second time."
11 Therefore, their father Israel said to them: "If it is necessary to do so, then do what you will. Take, in your vessels, from the best fruits of the land, and carry down gifts to the man: a little resin, and honey, and storax ointment, oil of myrrh, turpentine, and almonds.
12 Also, take with you double the money, and carry back what you found in your sacks, lest perhaps it was done in error.
13 But also take your brother, and go to the man.
14 Then may my Almighty God cause him to be pleased by you. And send your brother, whom he holds, back with you, along with this one, Benjamin. But as for me, without my children, I will be like one who is bereaved."
15 Therefore, the men took the gifts, and double the money, and Benjamin. And they went down into Egypt, and they stood in the presence of Joseph.
16 And when he had seen them and Benjamin together, he instructed the steward of his house, saying: "Lead the men into the house, and kill victims, and prepare a feast, because they will be eating with me at midday."
17 He did what he had been ordered to do, and he brought the men into the house.
18 And there, being terrified, they said one to another: "Because of the money, which we carried back the first time in our sacks, we have been brought in, so that he may unleash a false accusation against us, and by violence subjugate both us and our donkeys into servitude."
19 For this reason, approaching the steward of the house at his door,
20 they said: "We beg you, lord, to hear us. We came down once before to buy food.
21 And having bought it, when we arrived at the inn, we opened our sacks and found the money in the mouths of the sacks, which we now have carried back in the same amount.
22 But we have also brought other silver, so that we may buy those things that are necessary for us. It is not on our conscience who had placed it in our bags."
23 But he responded: "Peace be with you. Do not be afraid. Your God, and the God of your father, has given you the treasure in your sacks. As for the money that you gave to me, I held it as a test." And he led Simeon out to them.
24 And having led them into the house, he brought water, and they washed their feet, and he gave fodder to their donkeys.
25 But they also prepared the gifts, until Joseph entered at midday. For they had heard that they would eat bread there.
26 And so Joseph entered his house, and they offered him the gifts, holding them in their hands. And they reverenced prone on the ground.
27 But he, gently greeting them again, questioned them, saying: "Is your father, the old man about whom you spoke to me, in good health? Is he still alive?"
28 And they answered: "Your servant, our father, is safe; he is still alive." And bowing, they reverenced him.
29 Then Joseph, lifting up his eyes, saw Benjamin, his brother of the same womb, and he said, "Is this your little brother, about whom you spoke to me?" And again, he said, "May God be compassionate to you, my son."
30 And he hurried out, because his heart had been moved over his brother, and tears gushed out. And going into his chamber, he wept.
31 And when he had washed his face, coming out again, he composed himself, and he said, "Set out bread."
32 And when it was set out, separately for Joseph, and separately for his brothers, likewise separately for the Egyptians, who ate at the same time, (for it is unlawful for Egyptians to eat with Hebrews, and they consider feasting in this way to be profane)
33 they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his state of life. And they wondered exceedingly,
34 taking the portions that they received from him. And the greater portion went to Benjamin, so much so that it exceeded five parts. And they drank and became inebriated along with him.
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Genesis 43
43
Joseph’s Brothers Return to Egypt with Benjamin
1Now the famine in the land continued to grow more severe. 2When all the grain they had brought from Egypt was almost gone, their father said to them, “Go back and buy us more food.”
3But Judah objected, “The Egyptian warned us repeatedly, ‘You will not see my face again, unless Benjamin is with you!’ 4We’ll only go if you’ll let our brother come with us. 5If you insist he remains here, we won’t go, for the man solemnly told us, ‘You will not see my face again, unless your brother is with you!’ ” # 43:5 Jacob’s sons told him, essentially, “We won’t see Joseph’s face until he sees Benjamin.” The name Benjamin means “son of my right hand.” There is One greater than Joseph who is now waiting until he sees “the sons of his right hand,” an overcoming company of sons and daughters who will sit and reign with him in victory (see Rev. 3:21). When the church matures into the full measure of sonship, we will see him whom our soul loves.
6Israel # 43:6 Israel is the name God gave to Jacob. demanded, “Why did you make it so hard for me by telling the man you had another brother?”
7They answered him, “The man interrogated us about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still living? Do you have another brother?’ We had to answer his questions! We had no idea he would say, ‘You must bring your brother here to me.’ ”
8-9Then Judah spoke up and said to Israel, “Father, I promise to guarantee his safety with my life. # 43:8–9 This was an amazing statement of sacrificial love from Judah. One day a son of Judah would come, a Lion from the tribe of Judah, Jesus, who would offer his life as a ransom for many. Only a father can understand the loss of two of his children, and Judah had experienced that loss. See Gen. 38:7, 10. You can hold me personally responsible if I don’t return with him. I’ll bear the blame before you for the rest of my life if I fail to bring him safely back to you! You have my promise. Entrust him to my care, and let us be on our way, so that we all don’t die of starvation—we and you and all our children—we will live and not die! 10And besides, if we hadn’t delayed so long, we could have gone and returned twice by now!”
11After considering their words, their father Israel said to them, “If that’s the way it has to be, then do this: Load your donkeys with the very best gifts you can find, choice products of the land, and offer them to the man. Take some balm and some honey, spices, and myrrh, # 43:11 Ironically, these items were the same things carried in the caravan that took Joseph away as a slave (see Gen. 37:25). Now they carry the same items to Joseph as tribute. pistachio nuts and almonds. 12Take double the money with you. Give him back the money that was returned in the top of your sacks, for it may have been a mistake. 13Take your brother, too, and be off! Go back to the man at once. 14May the God who is more than enough # 43:14 Or “El Shaddai.” See second footnote on Gen. 17:1. grant you mercy and favor before the man, so that he may send back both Simeon and Benjamin. As for me, if I suffer loss, then let it be so.”
15So the brothers set off for Egypt and took double the money, the many gifts, and Benjamin. Once they arrived, they presented themselves before Joseph.
Joseph Prepares a Feast for His Brothers
16When Joseph saw his brother Benjamin with them, he said to his chief servant, “Bring the men to my house and make them feel at home. Butcher an animal and prepare a meal, for these men are to dine with me at noon.” 17Joseph’s chief servant did as he was told and brought the men to Joseph’s house.
18Now the brothers were very apprehensive as they were being led inside, and said to each other, “He brought us here because of the money that was put back in our sacks the first time we came to Egypt! He’s looking for an opportunity to arrest us, turn us into his slaves, and take away our donkeys!” 19So they approached the chief servant and spoke to him at the entrance of the house. 20“If you please, my lord,” they said, “we came here once before to buy food, 21-22but on our way home, when we camped for the night and opened our sacks, we found each one’s money in the top of his bag. All our money was there in our bags! We know it must have been an oversight of some kind, and we have no clue who put it there, so we have brought it all back with us. Plus, we have additional money to buy more food.”
23“Relax,” he replied, “don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, must have been the one who put treasure in your bags. I have received your money; it’s all accounted for.” Then the chief servant brought Simeon out to them. 24Then he gave feed to their donkeys and brought the brothers into the house. He gave them water to drink and washed their feet. 25The men laid out their gifts to present to Joseph, for they were told he would appear before them at noon and would dine with them.
26When Joseph came home, they presented to him the gifts they had brought with them into the house. They each bowed low before him with their faces to the ground. 27He asked them how the family was doing, saying, “You mentioned your aging father; is he still alive? Is he doing well?”
28“Yes,” they replied, “our father, your servant, is still alive and doing well.” And they bowed low before Joseph in respect.
29Looking them over, he saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said to them, “So, I see you have returned with your youngest brother, of whom you spoke. God be gracious to you, my son.” 30Joseph hastily left the room, for he was overwhelmed with feelings of love # 43:30 This is the Hebrew word racham. It is used ninety times in the Bible and almost always refers to God’s compassionate, merciful love for us. Racham is also the word for “womb.” Racham is best described as nurturing love, the love a mother would have for her children. for his brother and on the verge of tears. He went into a private room and sobbed, as tears ran down his cheeks. # 43:30 All of a sudden, this world leader, this captain over millions, collapsed inside. It was beginning to make sense to him—all the loneliness, those dark days in prison, the misunderstanding, and the pain of rejection. A family shattered for over two decades was being reunited. It took great discipline for Joseph to keep his secret from them. Joseph’s heart moved him to tears—tears of tenderness and affection for his younger brother and his long-lost family. Like a little boy again, Joseph missed his daddy. 31When he finally composed himself, he washed his face, reappeared, and ordered: “Serve the meal.”
32First, they served Joseph who was seated apart from his brothers, then the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians by themselves. (It would have been utterly offensive for the Egyptians to eat at the same table with the Hebrews.) 33Now, the brothers had been seated before Joseph in their birth order, # 43:33 What a feast was before them! They had not eaten like this for months, maybe years. As they noticed the order of seating, the brothers were amazed but still had no clue. There are 39,916,800 different orders in which eleven individuals could be seated. Did they believe he had supernatural wisdom to know their birth order? from the firstborn at one end of the table to the youngest at the other end. They were all stunned when they realized the seating arrangement and looked at each other in astonishment. 34Eleven plates of food were taken from Joseph’s table and set in front of each of them, but Benjamin’s portion was five times more than any of theirs! # 43:34 Joseph let them understand that Benjamin was his favorite, giving him a portion five times larger than the others. Five times more meat, five times more vegetables, five times more of everything! Why would Joseph have given more to Benjamin? Was he merely following the steps of his father’s favoritism that brought all of this on? No. Joseph was testing them to see if they would be jealous again. Were they truly broken? Could they endure seeing one brother favored over the others and still rejoice? Or, would they get rid of Benjamin as they had him? They feasted and drank their fill with Joseph until they all became drunk.
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