Joseph's policy Before CHRIST 1707. + Heb. him that was over his house. CHAP. XLIV. GENESIS. 14 1 Joseph's policy to stay his brethren. Judah's humble supplication to Joseph. ND he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks with 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 And when they were gone out of the city, and not yet 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 Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he || Or, maketh || divineth? ye have done evil in so doing. trial. 6 And he overtook them, and one his portion. As a mark of particular esteem for Benjamin, Joseph sent him five dishes to the others' one; or five times as much meat in his mess, as in one of their's. Bp. Patrick. In Persia, Arabia, and the Indies, a carver parts each dish, which is set before the master of the house, or the principal guest, or in the middle of the hall, into as many portions, put into different plates, as there are people to eat. The great men of the state are always by themselves in the feasts that are made for them, and have a greater profusion; their part of each kind of provision being always double, treble, or a larger proportion of each kind of meat. As for Benjamin's mess being five times as much as any of his brethren's, it may be under.stood to mean, that he had five times as much of every thing as they; or that the vessel, in which he was served, was five times larger: but the first notion agrees best with the customs and manners of the East. Sir J. Chardin. Chap. XLIV. ver. 1. Fill the men's sacks with food,] There are two sorts of sacks, noticed in the history of Joseph, which ought not to be confounded: one for the corn, the other for the baggage, &c. Through all Asia, as far as to the Indies, every thing is carried upon beasts of burden, in sacks of wool, covered in the middle with leather down to the bottom, the better to resist water. They inclose in them their things, done up in large parcels. Of this kind of sacks we are to understand what is said here, and through this history; and not of the sacks in which they carried their corn. Otherwise we must believe that each of the Patriarchs carried but one sack of corn out of Egypt, which is not reasonable. The present text confirms this remark; for Joseph ordered the steward to fill the sacks with victuals as much as they could hold; which presupposes they were not full of corn. Another proof is in chap. xlii. 27, "One of to stay his brethren. he spake unto them these same Before 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 let it be 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, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. 13 Then they rent their clothes, CHRIST 1707. them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn:" for if this sack had been a sack of wheat, it would follow, that they gave their beasts of burden wheat for food, which is not at all probable. Sir J. Chardin. 2.- put my cup, &c.] Joseph having before honoured Benjamin, now tries the temper of his brethren, whether moved with envy they would give him up, or help him in his danger. Bp. Kidder. 5.—whereby he divineth?] This does not signify that Joseph practised divination, nor does his steward say that he did; but only asks such a question as might make them think he did. For being a known interpreter of dreams, people perhaps thought he was skilled in the arts of divination. But the word, rendered "divineth,” sometimes signifies no more than to make an experiment, as in the words of Laban, chap. xxx. 27. The meaning then may be, Might you not have considered, that my master made a trial, (so we interpret it in the margin,) by laying this in your way, whether you were honest men or thieves? Bp. Patrick. The verse may be rendered, "Why have ye stolen the cup, in which my lord drinketh? He indeed hath conjectured rightly concerning it, and you have done wickedly." The verb rendered "divineth" signifies, not only auguries, but conjecture: and the original admits of an application not only to the instrument, which one uses, but also to the subject, concerning which any thing is done, judged, or said. The steward means, that his lord had made a certain conjecture concerning his cup, where it was; and the words of Joseph, ver. 15, have the same meaning: "Wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?" Knew ye not that such a man as I could form a right conjecture? that is, that I, who can interpret dreams and foretel future events, must be able to form an immediate and true conjecture concerning all things, and that therefore I should suspect you? Houbigant. Judah's humble supplication Before CHRIST 1707. J Or, make trial. and laded man his every turned to the city. CHAP. XLIV. and to Joseph. shall you, ye 14 And Judah and his brethren 24 And it came to pass when we came to Joseph's house; for he was came up unto thy servant my father, yet there and they fell before him we told him the words of : my lord. on the ground. 25 And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food. 15 And Joseph said unto them, What deed is 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 are my lord's servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found. 17 And he said, God forbid that I should do so but 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. 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 art 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 if he should leave his father, his futher would die. 23 And thou saidst unto thy sera Chap. 43. 3. vants, Except your youngest bro 16. God hath found out the iniquity &c.] He ingenuously acknowledges that he and his brethren had been guilty of many sins, for which God had now brought them hither to suffer punishment. Yet he neither confesses this particular guilt, nor denies it, nor excuses it; but acknowledging God's justice, throws himself and his brethren upon Joseph's mercy. Bp. Patrick. He meant their cruelty to Joseph, whom probably they now named, and began afresh to reproach each other with, as in chap. xlii. 21, &c. As Josephus thinks. Pyle. 33. - let thy servant abide &c.] Thus God makes use of afflictions, to humble us, and bring us to a sense of our sins: and we see their power in this very instance. He who could not endure Joseph, because 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 be with us. 27 And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons : Before CHRIST 1707. 33. 28 And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in Chap. 37. 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 be 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 is not with us, 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 e Chap. 43. 9. shall bear the blame to my father for he was dear to his father, is willing, for the very same reason, to become a bond-slave for Joseph's brother. Bp. Wilson. 34. For how shall I go up to my father,] I must abide here too, if thou wilt not dismiss him; for I am not able to see my father die. Nothing could be said more affecting, than this speech of Judah, which flowed from such natural passions, as no art can imitate. Which makes me wish that they who think these historical books of Scripture were written with no spirit, but that with which honest men now write the history of their country, or the lives of any famous persons, would seriously read and consider this speech of Judah's to Joseph, together with the foregoing dialogue between Jacob and his sons: and I hope it may GENESIS. 1 Joseph maketh himself known to his bre pro thren. 5 He comforteth them in God's the news. THEN HEN Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. 2 And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard. to his brethren, and comforteth them. 6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. Before CHRIST 1706. 7 And God sent me before you to + preserve you a posterity in the + Heb. to put earth, and to save your lives by a remnant. great deliverance. 8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. 9 Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not: 10 And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast : 11 And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy houshold, and all that thou hast, come to poverty. 12 And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you. for you a thought only to be rid of me, God intended another thing, which is now come to pass. For He hath made me an instrument of preserving all your lives. A most happy event of a most wicked deed. Bp. Patrick. God's thoughts are not as men's thoughts, nor his ways like our ways. In our transactions with the world, we are too apt to be actuated by some irregular passion, and to be so far from aiming at the glory of God, or the welfare of our brethren, that we often grossly neglect them both, and sacrifice them to the gratification of our own desires. But He, to whom alone belong the pro the unruly wills and affections of sinful men, as to make them subservient to the fulfilling of his decrees, when they least intend it. Reading. 6. Chap. XLV. ver. 1. Then Joseph could not refrain himself] The circumstances of this discovery are very remarkable, and serve strongly to illustrate the filial piety of Joseph. He had prepared, we read in the fore-perty and the power to bring good out of evil, so orders going chapter, to detain Benjamin: the rest being perplexed beyond measure, and distressed by this proposal, Judah, approaching Joseph, presents a most earnest supplication for the deliverance of the lad; offers himself to remain Joseph's prisoner, or slave, in his brother's place; and in the conclusion touches, unknowingly, upon a string which vibrates with all the affections of the person, whom he was addressing. "How shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father." The mention of this circumstance and this person subdued immediately the heart of Joseph; and produced a sudden, and, as it should seem, an undesigned premature discovery of himself to his astonished family. Then, that is, upon this circumstance being mentioned, "Joseph could not refrain himself:" and, after a little preparation, Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph." Archdeacon Paley. 5.-for God did send me before you] When you neither be earing nor harvest.] The word " earing" suggests the idea of gathering ripe ears of corn: whereas Joseph means to say, "there shall be neither ploughing nor harvest during five years." "Earing" is an old English word for "ploughing :" the word is used in the same sense in 1 Sam. viii. 12; Exod. xxxiv. 21; Isa. xxx. 24. In Deut. xxi. 4, it occurs in the sense of tillage, general labour, labour of any kind bestowed upon the ground. Fragments to Calmet. 8.-made me a father to Pharaoh,] Given me the authority of a father with him, so that he honours me, and does nothing without my advice and counsel. Bp. Patrick. 10. the land of Goshen,] Part of lower Egypt, next to Arabia and Palestine; abounding with fair pastures, and watered by many streams from the Nile. Bp. Patrick. Jacob sendeth for his father, Before CHRIST 1706. + Heb. was good in the 13 And ye shall tell my father of | Pharaoh, and gave them provision for 14 And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck. : 15 Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them and after that his brethren talked with him. 16 And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come and it +pleased Pharaoh well, and his ser eyes of Pha- Vants. raoh. 17 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan; 18 And take your father and your housholds, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land. 19 Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. 20 Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is your's. 21 And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the † commandment of - he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, &c.] Among the Bedoweens, those who are more intimately acquainted, or are of equal age and dignity, mutually kiss the hand, head, or shoulder of each other. Dr. Shaw. Those passages in the Bible, which speak of falling on the neck and kissing a person, seem to have a reference to this Eastern way of kissing the shoulder in an embrace. Harmer. 22 To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment. Before CHRIST 1706. carrying. 23 And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses + laden with + Heb. the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way. 24 So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the 25 And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father, 26 And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And + Jacob's + Heb. his. heart fainted, for he believed them not. 27 And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived: 28 And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die. See that ye fall not out by the way.] About what you have formerly done to me; or any thing else that I have said to you. But when you reflect on your selling me, adore the providence of God, which by that means brought about your happiness and mine. Bp. Patrick. 15. Moreover he kissed all his brethren,] Here is noble matter of instruction. The affectionate brother forgets his past sufferings, and is so far from endeavouring to avenge himself, and to afflict the authors of his wrongs, that he employs his whole power to comfort Considering the bad disposition of mankind in geand relieve them. A behaviour this, different from neral, and the bad disposition, which he knew by expewhat most men would be inclined to discover on the rience had formerly appeared in some of them, he gave like occasion: the sense of injuries is apt to bear too them a charge, not to fall out by the way; but to travel hard on the mind; and men are transported into mea- peaceably like brethren, and make their journey as com sures both mischievous and unreasonable. Bp. Cony-fortable to each other as they could. Gilpin. It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive :] Two things his sons told him ; namely, that Joseph was alive, and that he was governour of Egypt. And the latter of the two Joseph required them to tell his father. But for Joseph's glory and dominion Jacob does not rejoice, as one greatly affected with it. It was his life that gave him the joy he said, "It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive,' Bp. Kidder. I : Jacob is comforted by God at Beer-sheba. GENESIS. Before CHRIST 1706. Egypt. 8 The number of his family that 31 He instructeth his brethren how to an- The number of Jacob's family. CHRIST 1706. and Zarah: but Er and Onan died Before AND Israel took his journey with Tola, and Phuvah, and Job, and that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. 2 And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Ja- | cob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. 3 And he said, I am God, the God of thy father fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: 4 I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes. Shimron. 14 And the sons of Zebulun ; Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel. 15 These be the sons of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padanaram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and three. 16 And the sons of Gad; Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli. 7.1. 17 And the sons of Asher; h 1 Chron. Jimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and 7.30. Beriah, and Serah their sister and the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Mal 5 And Jacob rose up from Beer- 6 And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into a Josh. 24. 4. Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him: Ps. 105. 23. Is. 52. 4. a 7 His sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt. b b Exod. 1. 1. 8 And these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob's firstborn. & 6. 14. c Numb. 26. d Exod. 6. 15. 1 Chron. 4. 24. e 1 Chron. 6. 1. f1 Chron. And the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 12 And the sons of Judah; Er, Chap. 38. 3. and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, Chap. XLVI. ver. 3. —fear not to go down into Egypt;] On several accounts Jacob might fear to go, with his whole family especially, into Egypt. Abraham had been injured there: it had been foretold that his seed should be afflicted by the Egyptians: Isaac had been warned not to go into Egypt: the Egyptians were men of very different usages and manners from the Hebrews: they were also of a different religion, and Jacob besides might fear lest by this means his posterity should be deprived of the land of Canaan. Bp. Kidder. 4. I will go down with thee] Take care of thee in thy : 18 These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls. 19 The sons of Rachel Jacob's wife; Joseph, and Benjamin. 20 And unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, which Asenath the daugh- i Chap. 41. 50. ter of Poti-pherah || priest of On bare | Or, prince. unto him. 21 And the sons of Benjamin were Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard. 22 These are the sons of Rachel, which were born to Jacob: all the souls were fourteen. 23 And the sons of Dan; Hu shim. 24 And the sons of Naphtali; Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem. 25 These are the sons of Bilhah, which Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and she bare these unto Jacob: all the souls were seven. 1 Chron. 7.6. & 8. 1. 26 All the souls that came with 1 Deut. 10. 22. journey, and preserve thee and thy family there. Bp. Patrick. bring thee up again:] His body was brought into Canaan, and (what seems principally intended) his posterity also returned thither. Bp. Kidder. put his hand upon thine eyes.] Be with thee, when thou leavest the world, and take care of thy funeral when thou art dead. The first thing done, when one expired, was to close his eyes, which was performed, both among Greeks and Romans, by the nearest relations or dearest friends. In short, by these words God |