1And he commandedH6680 the steward of his houseH1004, sayingH559, FillH4390 the men’sH582 sacksH572 with foodH400, as much asH834 they canH3201 carryH5375, and putH7760 every man’sH376 moneyH3701 in his sack’sH572 mouthH6310. 2And putH7760 my cupH1375, the silverH3701 cupH1375, in the sack’sH572 mouthH6310 of the youngestH6996, and his grainH7668 moneyH3701. And he didH6213 according to the wordH1697 that JosephH3130 had spokenH1696. 3As soon as the morningH1242 was lightH215, the menH582 were sent awayH7971, they and their donkeysH2543. 4And when they had gone outH3318 of the cityH5892, and were not yet far offH7368, JosephH3130 saidH559 to his stewardH1004, AriseH6965, followH7291 afterH310 the menH582; and when thou dost overtakeH5381 them, sayH559 to them, Why have ye rewardedH7999 evilH7451 for goodH2896? 5Is not this the cup in which my lordH113 drinkethH8354, and by which indeedH5172 he divinethH5172? ye have done evilH7489 in so doingH6213. 6And he overtookH5381 them, and he spokeH1696 to them these sameH428 wordsH1697. 7And they saidH559 to him, Why saithH1696 my lordH113 these wordsH1697? Far be it from usH2486 that thy servantsH5650 should doH6213 according to this thingH1697: 8Behold, the moneyH3701, which we foundH4672 in our sacksH572’ mouthsH6310, we brought againH7725 to thee from the landH776 of CanaanH3667: how then should we stealH1589 from thy lord’sH113 houseH1004 silverH3701 or goldH2091? 9With whomever of thy servantsH5650 it shall be foundH4672, both let him dieH4191, and we also will be my lord’sH113 slavesH5650. 10And he saidH559, Now also let it be according to your wordsH3651 H1697: he with whom it shall be foundH4672 shall be my servantH5650; and ye shall be blamelessH5355. 11Then they speedilyH4116 took downH3381 every manH376 his sackH572 to the groundH776, and openedH6605 every manH376 his sackH572. 12And he searchedH2664, and beganH2490 at the eldestH1419, and stoppedH3615 at the youngestH6996: and the cupH1375 was foundH4672 in Benjamin’sH1144 sackH572. 13Then they toreH7167 their clothesH8071, and loadedH6006 every manH376 his donkeyH2543, and returnedH7725 to the cityH5892. 14And JudahH3063 and his brethrenH251 cameH935 to Joseph’sH3130 houseH1004; for he was yet there: and they fellH5307 before himH6440 on the groundH776. 15And JosephH3130 saidH559 to them, What deedH4639 is this that ye have doneH6213? knew yeH3045 not that such a manH376 as I can certainlyH5172 divineH5172? 16And JudahH3063 saidH559, What shall we sayH559 to my lordH113? what shall we speakH1696? or how shall we clear ourselvesH6663? GodH430 hath found outH4672 the iniquityH5771 of thy servantsH5650: behold, we are my lord’sH113 servantsH5650, both we, and he alsoH1571 with whomH834 H3027 the cupH1375 is foundH4672. 17And he saidH559, Far be it from meH2486 that I should doH6213 soH2063: the manH376 in whose handH3027 the cupH1375 is foundH4672, he shall be my servantH5650; and as for you, goH5927 in peaceH7965 to your fatherH1. 18Then JudahH3063 came nearH5066 to him, and saidH559, OH994 my lordH113, let thy servantH5650, I pray thee, speakH1696 a wordH1697 in my lord’sH113 earsH241, and let not thy angerH639 burnH2734 against thy servantH5650: for thou art even as PharaohH6547. 19My lordH113 askedH7592 his servantsH5650, sayingH559, HaveH3426 ye a fatherH1, or a brotherH251? 20And we saidH559 to my lordH113, We haveH3426 a fatherH1, an old manH2205, and a childH3206 of his old ageH2208, a little oneH6996; and his brotherH251 is deadH4191, and he alone is leftH3498 of his motherH517, and his fatherH1 lovethH157 him. 21And thou saidstH559 to thy servantsH5650, Bring him downH3381 to me, that I may setH7760 my eyesH5869 upon him. 22And we saidH559 to my lordH113, The ladH5288 cannotH3201 leaveH5800 his fatherH1: for if he should leaveH5800 his fatherH1, his father would dieH4191. 23And thou saidstH559 to thy servantsH5650, ExceptH3808 your youngestH6996 brotherH251 shall come downH3381 with you, ye shall seeH7200 H3254 my faceH6440 no moreH7200 H3254. 24And it came to pass when we cameH5927 to thy servantH5650 my fatherH1, we toldH5046 him the wordsH1697 of my lordH113. 25And our fatherH1 saidH559, Go againH7725, buyH7666 us a littleH4592 foodH400. 26And we saidH559, We cannotH3201 go downH3381: if our youngestH6996 brotherH251 shall beH3426 with us, then will we go downH3381: for we mayH3201 not seeH7200 the man’sH376 faceH6440, exceptH369 our youngestH6996 brotherH251 shall be with us. 27And thy servantH5650 my fatherH1 saidH559 to us, Ye knowH3045 that my wifeH802 boreH3205 me twoH8147 sons: 28And the oneH259 went outH3318 from me, and I saidH559, SurelyH2963 he is torn in piecesH2963; and I have not seen himH7200 sinceH2008: 29And if ye takeH3947 this also fromH5973 meH6440, and harmH611 shall befall himH7136, ye shall bring downH3381 my gray hairsH7872 with sorrowH7451 to the graveH7585. 30Now therefore when I comeH935 to thy servantH5650 my fatherH1, and the ladH5288 is not with us; seeing that his lifeH5315 is bound upH7194 in the lad’s lifeH5315; 31It shall come to pass, when he seethH7200 that the ladH5288 is not with us, that he will dieH4191: and thy servantsH5650 shall bring downH3381 the gray hairsH7872 of thy servantH5650 our fatherH1 with sorrowH3015 to the graveH7585. 32For thy servantH5650 became suretyH6148 for the ladH5288 toH5973 my fatherH1, sayingH559, If I bringH935 him not to thee, then I shall bear the blameH2398 to my fatherH1 for everH3117. 33Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servantH5650 abideH3427 instead of the ladH5288 a slaveH5650 to my lordH113; and let the ladH5288 returnH5927 with his brethrenH251. 34For howH349 shall I returnH5927 to my fatherH1, and the ladH5288 be not with me? lest perhaps I seeH7200 the evilH7451 that shall come onH4672 my fatherH1.
Matthew Henry - Complete Commentary 1 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 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,
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:
Is not this it in which my lord drinketh (as having a particular fondness for it),
and for which he would search thoroughly? Gen 44:5. Or, By which, leaving it carelessly at your table, he would make trial whether you were honest men or no.
II. How they pleaded for themselves. They solemnly protested their innocence, and detestation of so base a thing (
Gen 44:7), urged it as an instance of their honesty that they had brought their money back (
Gen 44:8), and offered to submit to the severest punishment if they should be found guilty,
Gen 44:9,
Gen 44:10.
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,
IV. Here is their humble submission,
Gen 44:16. 1. They acknowledge the righteousness of God:
God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants, 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:
We are my lord's servants. 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,
Shalt though have dominion over us? (
Gen 37:8), 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.
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
spirit as well as
blood; 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 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.
18 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.
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
lord, himself and his brethren his
servants, begs his patient hearing, and ascribes sovereign authority to him:
Thou art even as Pharaoh, 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 (
Gen 44:20); he was
a little one, 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,
Joseph. 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 (
Gen 44:21), and had forbidden them his presence unless they brought Benjamin with them (
Gen 44:23,
Gen 44:26), 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,
We will not go down unless Benjamin go with us (
Gen 43:5); but that when Judah comes to relate the story he expresses it more decently:
We cannot go down 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:
His father loveth him, Gen 44:20. This they had pleaded against Joseph's insisting on his coming down (
Gen 44:22):
If he should leave his father, his father would die; 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:
If mischief befal him, you shall bring down my gray hairs, that crown of glory,
with sorrow to the grave, Gen 44:29. This therefore Judah presses with a great deal of earnestness:
His life is bound up in the lad's life (
Gen 44:30); when he sees that the lad is not with us, he will faint away, and die immediately (
Gen 44:31), or will abandon himself to such a degree of sorrow as will, in a few days, make an end of him. And,
lastly, Judah pleads that, for his part, he could not bear to see this:
Let me not see the evil that shall come on my father, Gen 44:34. 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 plea, offers himself to become a bondsman instead of Benjamin,
Gen 44:33. 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.
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.
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 (
Job 9:15),
Though I were righteous, yet would I not answer; I would not argue, but petition;
I would make supplication to my Judge. 2. What good reason dying Jacob had to say,
Judah, thou art he whom they brethren shall praise (
Gen 49:8), 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
our Lord sprang out of Judah (
Hebre 7:14); for, like his father Judah, he not only
made intercession for the transgressors, but he became a surety for them, as it follows there (
Gen 44:22), testifying therein a very tender concern both for his father and for his brethren.