The Pulpit Commentary
And Judah spake unto him, saying,—Judah now becomes the spokesman, either because Reuben's entreaty had been rejected, and Levi, who followed Reuben and Simeon in respect of age, had forfeited his father's confidence though his treachery to the Shechemites (Keil, Murphy); or because he could speak to his father with greater freedom, having a freer conscience than the rest (Lange); or because he was a man possessed of greater prudence and ability than the rest (Lawson), if indeed the suggestion is not correct that they all endeavored to persuade their father, though Judah's eloquence alone is recorded (Calvin)—the man (i.e. the Egyptian viceroy) did solemnly protest (literally, protesting did protest, i.e. did earnestly protest) unto us, saying,—with an oath which is not here repeated (Gen_42:15)—Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.

Gen_43:4, Gen_43:5

If thou wilt send—literally, if thou art sending, i.e. if thou art agreeable to send (cf. Gen_24:42, Gen_24:49; Jdg_6:36)—our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food: but (literally, and) if thou wilt not send him (a similar form of expression to the above, the two words יֵשׁ, being, and אַיִן, not being, including the substantive verb, and being conjoined with a participle for the finite verb), we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. Judah's peremptory language receives sufficient justification from the fact that he believed the Egyptian governor to be in thorough earnest when he declared that without Benjamin they should sue a second time in vain.

The Pulpit Commentary
And Israel said,—this is the second time that Jacob is so designated in the history of Joseph, the first time being in Gen_37:1-36; which recites the sad account of Joseph's disappearance from the family circle. The recurrence of what may eventually prove another breach in the theocratic family is probably the circumstance that revives the name Israel, which besides seems to prevail throughout the chapter (vide Gen_37:8, Gen_37:11)—Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother! literally, whether yet to you a brother (sc. there was).

The Pulpit Commentary
And they said, The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? Though not appearing in the preceding narrative of the historian (Gen_42:13, Gen_42:32), it must yet be held as accurate that the information given to Joseph about Jacob and Benjamin was supplied in answer to direct inquiries, since Judah afterwards gives the same account of it (Gen_44:19) when pleading before Joseph in behalf of Benjamin. And we told him according to the tenor of these words—literally, according to these words, i.e. either in conformity to his questions (Ainsworth, Rosenmüller, Keil), κατὰ τὴν ἐπερώτησιν ταύτην (LXX.), juxta id quod fuerat sciscitatus (Vulgate), or like those words we have told thee (Kalisch). Could we certainly know (literally, knowing could we know) that he would say, Bring your brother down?

The Pulpit Commentary
And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me (Benjamin, though styled a lad, must have been at this time upwards of twenty years of age), and we will arise and go; that we may (literally, and we shall) live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones. I will be surety for him (the verb conveys the idea of changing places with another); of my hand shalt thou require him (vide Gen_9:5): if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee,—the words are even more emphatic than those of Reuben (Gen_42:37)—then let me bear the blame for ever—literally, and I shall be a sinner (i.e. liable to punishment as a sinner) against thee all the days (sc. of my life). The thought is elliptical. Judah means that if he does not return with Benjamin he shall both have failed in his promise and be guilty of a dire transgression against his father (cf. 1Ki_1:21). For except we had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time—literally, these two times. The nobility of character which shines out so conspicuously in Judah's language is afterwards signally illustrated in his pathetic pleading before Joseph, and goes far to countenance the suggestion that a change must have taken place in his inner life since the incidents recorded of him in Gen_37:1-36 and Gen_38:1-30.

And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now (literally, if so now), do this; take of the best fruits in the land (literally, of the song of the land, i.e. of its choicest and most praised productions) in your vessels, and carry down the man a present. That Jacob could propose to send a handsome present of rich fruits to the Egyptian viceroy has been regarded as inconsistent with the prevalence of a famine in the land of Canaan for over two or three years (Bohlen); but

(1) the failure of the cereal crops does not necessarily imply a like absence of fruit, and

(2) it does not follow that, though Jacob selected the under-mentioned articles for his gift, they existed in abundance, while

(3) if the fruit harvest was small, an offering such as is here described would only be all the more luxuriant and valuable on that account (Kurtz, Kalisch). A little balm,—balsam (vide Gen_37:25)—and a little honey,—דְּבַשׁ, grape honey, called by the Arabians dibs, and the Persians dushab, was prepared by boiling down must or new wine to a third or half; hence called by the Greeks ἕψημα, and by the Romans sapa, defrutum. It is still imported into Egypt from the district of Hebron. That it was not the honey of bees, μέλι, (LXX.), mel (Vulgate), is rendered probable by the circumstance that Egypt abounds in this excellent production of nature—spices, and myrrh (wide Gen_27:25), nuts,—בָּטְנִים, an oblong species of nut, so called from its being fiat on one side and bellying out on the other (the pistacia vera of Linnaeus), having an oily kernel which is most palatable to Orientals (vide Kalisch in loco)—and almonds. The שָׁקֵד or almond tree, so called because of all trees it is the first to arouse from the sleep of winter, the root being שָׁקָד, to be sleepless, (Gesenius), does not seem to have been indigenous in Egypt, while it flourishes in Syria and Palestine (Kalisch).

The Pulpit Commentary
And take double money (literally, money of a second, i.e. of the same, amount; not twice as much as the first time, but simply as much as the first time) in your hand; and the money that was brought again (or returned) in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight (literally, a something caused to wander, a mistake, from a root signifying to go astray).

Gen_43:13, Gen_43:14

Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man: and God Almighty—El Shaddai, the covenant God of Abraham (Gen_17:1), and of Jacob himself (Gen_35:11)—give you mercy (literally, bowels, hence very tender affection, the inward parts being regarded as the seat of the emotions) before the man, that he may send away—literally, and he shall send with you {Kalisch), or for you (Keil)—your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved—literally, and if I am bereaved, I am bereaved, an expression of the patriarch's acquiescence in the Divine will (cf. 2Ki_7:4; Est_4:16).

The Pulpit Commentary
And the men took that present (which Jacob had specified), and they took double money (literally, a doubling of the money, i.e. the first money, and as much again for the new purchase; the phrase is different from that used in Gen_43:12, though the words are the same) in their hand, and Benjamin (so. they took with them); and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph (i.e. in the corn-market).

The Pulpit Commentary
And when (literally, and) Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he literally, and he) said to the ruler of his house,—literally, to him who was over his house, i.e. the steward (cf. Gen_24:2; Gen_39:4; Gen_44:1)—Bring these men home (i.e. conduct these men to my house, which was probably at some distance), and slay,—literally, slay a slaughter. The assertion that the narrator is here guilty of an inaccuracy in representing Joseph as having animal food prepared for himself and his guests (Bohlen) is refuted by Herodotus (2.37, 40) and by Wilkinson, who says that "beef and goose constituted the principal part of the animal food throughout Egypt," and that according to the sculptures "a considerable quantity of meat was served up at those repasts to which strangers were invited.' "Though there was scarcely an animal which was not held sacred in some province, there was, perhaps with the only exception of the cow, none which' was not killed and eaten in other parts of the land" (Kalisch)—and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon—literally, at the double lights (צָהֱרַים), i.e. at mid-day, the time of greatest splendor.

Gen_43:17, Gen_43:18

And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph's house. And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house. "A more natural picture of the conduct of men from the country, when taken into the house of a superior, cannot be drawn. When they are told to go inside they at once suspect that they are about to be punished or confined. And they said (sc. To themselves), Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us,—literally, that he may roll himself upon us (cf. Job_30:14; Psa_22:8; Psa_37:5; Pro_26:3). "To say a man rolls himself upon another is the Eastern way of saying he falls upon him" and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses. The brethren of Joseph were clearly apprehensive of some serious stratagem to deprive them of liberty.

The Pulpit Commentary
And they came near to the steward of Joseph's house (literally, the man who was over Joseph's house), and they communed (or spake) with him at the door of the house (i.e. before they entered), and said, O sir,—literally, Pray, my lord; δεόμεθαπύριε (LXX.)—we came indeed down at the first time to buy food: and it came to pass, when we came to the inn,—or halting-place (vide Gen_42:27)—that we opened our sacks,—this was not strictly accurate, as only one sack had been opened at the wayside khan, while the others were not examined till they had reached home; though, as an explanation of the difficulty, it has been suggested that all the sacks may have been, and probably were, opened at the inn, but that only one man found his money in his sack's mouth, as the next clause explains—and, behold, every man's money was in the mouth of his sack,—literally, a man's money in the mouth of his sack, i.e. one of them found his money there, while the others discovered their money, which was not "in the sack's mouth," but "in the sack" (Gen_42:35), only on emptying their sacks at home—our money in full weight (literally, according to its weight): and we have brought it again in our hand. And other money (i.e. the second silver of Gen_43:12) have we brought down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks.

And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God (Elohim), and the God of your father,—an indication that Joseph's steward had been taught to fear and trust the God of the Hebrews (Wordsworth, Murphy)—hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money (literally, your money came to me). And he brought Simeon out unto them.

The Pulpit Commentary
And the man (Joseph's steward) brought the men into Joseph's house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet (of. Gen_18:4; Gen_24:32); and he gave their asses provender.

The Pulpit Commentary
And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there. This must have been communicated to them after they had entered Joseph's palace, since they had obviously not learnt it upon the way thither (vide supra, Gen_43:18).

The Pulpit Commentary
And when Joseph came home (after the dispatch of public business), they brought him the present which was m their hand (vide Gen_43:11) into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth. Thus they fulfilled the dream of the sheaves (Gen_37:7; cf. Gen_18:2; Gen_19:1).

The Pulpit Commentary
And he asked them of their welfare (literally, peace), and said, Is your father well (literally, Is there peace to your father?), the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?

The Pulpit Commentary
And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance.

The Pulpit Commentary
And he (i.e. Joseph) lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said (without waiting for an answer), God be gracious unto thee, my son. The tenderness of this language was much fitted to encourage the brethren.

The Pulpit Commentary
And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn (literally, were becoming warm, from intensity of tore) upon his brother: and he sought where to weep;—the second occasion on which Joseph is represented as overcome by the strength of his inward emotion, the first having been when his brethren were speaking about their cruelty towards himself (Gen_42:24)—and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.

The Pulpit Commentary
And he washed his face (an indication of the violence of his weeping), and went out (from his chamber), and refrained himself (keeping his tears in check), and said, Set on bread—an expression used at the present day in Egypt for bringing dinner.

The Pulpit Commentary
And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves. "Joseph eats apart from his brethren, keeping strictly to the Egyptian mode; and the history does not omit to remark that in this point he adhered to the custom of the country" (Havernick, 21). Because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews. Herodotus (2.41) affirms that the Egyptians would neither use the knife, spit, or basin of a Grecian, nor taste the flesh of a clean cow if it happened to be cut with a Grecian knife. For that is an abomination unto the Egyptians. The reason for this separation from foreigners being that they dreaded being polluted by such as killed and ate cows, which animals were held in high veneration in Egypt.

The Pulpit Commentary
And they sat before him,—that the Egyptians sat at meals is in exact accordance With the representations on the monuments, in which they are never exhibited as reposing on couches, but always as seated round a circular table resembling the monopodium of the Romans—the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marveled one at another—probably thinking that Joseph must have been supernaturally enlightened to discover so exactly the ages of strangers.

The Pulpit Commentary
And he took and sent (literally, and he sent) messes—maseoth, from nasa, to take or lift up, i.e. things taken or lifted up, hence portions or gifts (2Sa_11:8)—unto them from before him (cf. 1Sa_9:23). The practice of thus honoring guests was also observed among other nations (vide 'Iliad,' 7:321). But Benjamin's mess (or portion) was five times so much as any of theirs—literally, exceeded the portions of all of them five hands, i.e. five times. Herodotus (6.57) mentions that among the Spartans the king received a double portion. The unusually large portion assigned to Benjamin was designed as an expression of his strong fraternal affection, and perhaps also as a test of his brethren to ascertain if they were now free from that spirit of envy which had prompted their former cruelty to him. And they drank, and were merry with him—literally, and drank largely with him. Though the verb שָׁכַר sometimes signifies to drink to the full (Hag_1:6; So 5:1), and though intoxication was not unusual at Egyptian entertainments, there is no reason to suppose that either Joseph or his brethren were inebriated (Vulgate, Alford), or that more is meant than simply that their hearts became exhilarated "because their cares were dissipated by the kindness they were receiving, the presence of Simeon, and the attention paid to Benjamin" (Murphy).