Genesis 43

The Brothers Return to Egypt

⁽¹⁾ But there was no relief from the terrible famine throughout the land.

⁽²⁾ When the grain they had brought from Egypt was almost gone, Jacob said to his sons, "Go again and buy us a little* food."

*little: Jacob figured that surely this wouldn't last much longer! But, this was no ordinary famine!

⁽³⁾ But Judah* said, "The man wasn't joking when he warned that we couldn't see him again unless Benjamin* came along.

*Benjamin: Benjamin was at this time at least twenty-four years of age, some think thirty, and had a family of his own. See 46:21

*Judah: Judah seems to be taking the lead and becoming the spokesman in the family in place of Reuben. Apparently, Reuben's lost all credibility and Jacob doesn't trust him, Simeon is in prison in Egypt and Levi was out of favor because of his and Simeon's role in the killing of the Shechemite men.

⁽⁴⁾ If you let him come with us, we will go down and buy some food.

⁽⁵⁾ But if you don't let Benjamin go, we may as well stay at home. Remember that the man said, `You won't be allowed to come and see me unless your brother is with you.' "

⁽⁶⁾ "Why did you ever tell him you had another brother?" Jacob* moaned. "Why did you have to treat me with such cruelty?"

*Jacob: Hebrew "Israel". In verse 2, it really is "Jacob". This is the first time the name "Israel" is used since Genesis 37:13 - WHY?

   Jacob is upset with his sons because of what happened to Joseph. He probably blames them for the loss of Joseph.

⁽⁷⁾ "But the man specifically asked us about our family," they replied. "He wanted to know whether our father was still living, and he asked us if we had another brother so we told him. How could we have known he would say, `Bring me your brother'?"

⁽⁸⁾ Judah said to his father, "Send the boy with me, and we will be on our way. Otherwise we will all die of starvation--and not only we, but you and our little ones.

⁽⁹⁾ I personally* guarantee his safety. If I don't bring him back to you, then let me bear the blame forever.

*I personally: Again, Judah seems to be taking the lead in the family in place of Reuben. Accepting responsibility for one's own actions is one of the surest signs of maturity. Judah has come a long way!

   "Compared to his father, Judah is a spiritual giant in Genesis 43 and 44. The only one who is resisting Benjamin’s return to Egypt is Jacob, who has firmly rejected Reuben’s proposal. The first 15 verses of Genesis 43 center about Jacob and his debate with Judah over the matter of the return to Egypt for grain. In this dialogue we find the faith of Jacob exceedingly weak. His leadership in this time of crisis is not a pattern for us to follow. His fears are completely unfounded; and if he had gotten his way, his family would not have been saved." - The Fears of Jacob and the Tears of Joseph: http://www.bible.org/page.asp?page_id=121

⁽¹⁰⁾ For we could have gone and returned twice by this time if you had let him come without delay."

   Jacob’s response to the problem has been procrastination, as pointed out by Judah.

⁽¹¹⁾ So their father, Jacob*, finally said to them, "If it can't be avoided, then at least do this. Fill your bags with the best products of the land. Take them to the man as gifts--balm, honey, spices**, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds.

*Jacob: Hebrew "Israel".

**balm, honey, spices: The same things mentioned in Genesis 37:25 that the Midianite traders were taking to Egypt. Evidently, these items were of great value in Egypt.

⁽¹²⁾ Take double the money* that you found in your sacks, as it was probably someone's mistake.

*double the money: A man of integrity - how many today would have pretended he knew nothing about the money put back into the bags. This was also a strong teaching lesson for his 11 sons!

⁽¹³⁾ Then take your brother and go back to the man.

⁽¹⁴⁾ May God Almighty* give you mercy as you go before the man, that he might release Simeon and return Benjamin. And if I must bear the anguish of their deaths, then so be it**."

God Almighty*: El Shaddai - the God of the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 17:1).

**so be it: Jacob is leaving it all in the hands of El Shaddai - the

⁽¹⁵⁾ So they took Benjamin and the gifts and double the money and hurried to Egypt, where they presented themselves to Joseph*.

*Joseph: Ron Wyatt argues that Joseph was Imhotep. See the site http://www.arkdiscovery.com/joseph.htm for details and drew your own conclusions. The most interesting part of the site is pictures of huge pits believed to be granaries as part of a complex at Saqqara Egypt.

⁽¹⁶⁾ When Joseph saw that Benjamin was with them, he said to the manager of his household, "These men will eat with me this noon. Take them inside and prepare a big feast."

⁽¹⁷⁾ So the man did as he was told and took them to Joseph's palace.

⁽¹⁸⁾ They were badly frightened when they saw where they were being taken. "It's because of the money returned to us in our sacks," they said. "He plans to pretend that we stole it. Then he will seize us as slaves and take our donkeys."

⁽¹⁹⁾ As the brothers arrived at the entrance to the palace, they went over to the man in charge of Joseph's household.

⁽²⁰⁾ They said to him, "Sir, after our first trip to Egypt to buy food,

⁽²¹⁾ as we were returning home, we stopped for the night and opened our sacks. The money we had used to pay for the grain was there in our sacks. Here it is; we have brought it back again.

⁽²²⁾ We also have additional money to buy more grain. We have no idea how the money got into our sacks."

⁽²³⁾ "Relax. Don't worry about it," the household manager told them. "Your God, the God of your ancestors*, must have put it there. We collected your money all right." Then he released Simeon* and brought him out to them.

*released Simeon: The prison must have been very close to Joseph's house.

*Your God, the God of your ancestors*: The household manager appears to have learned about the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob from Joseph.

⁽²⁴⁾ The brothers were then led into the palace and given water to wash their feet and food for their donkeys.

⁽²⁵⁾ They were told they would be eating there, so they prepared their gifts for Joseph's arrival at noon.

⁽²⁶⁾ When Joseph came, they gave him their gifts and bowed low* before him.

*bowed low: Fulfilling the prophecy once again.

⁽²⁷⁾ He asked them how they had been getting along, and then he said, "How is your father--the old man you spoke about? Is he still alive?"

⁽²⁸⁾ "Yes," they replied. "He is alive and well." Then they bowed again before him.

⁽²⁹⁾ Looking at his brother Benjamin, Joseph asked, "Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about? May God be gracious to you, my son."

⁽³⁰⁾ Then Joseph made a hasty exit because he was overcome with emotion for his brother and wanted to cry. Going into his private room, he wept there.

⁽³¹⁾ Then he washed his face and came out, keeping himself under control. "Bring on the food!" he ordered.

⁽³²⁾ Joseph ate by himself, and his brothers were served at a separate table. The Egyptians sat at their own table because Egyptians despise Hebrews* and refuse to eat with them.

*Egyptians despise Hebrews: There were evidently three tables in the dining room - one for Joseph, one for other Egyptian honored guests and one for foreigners.

⁽³³⁾ Joseph told each of his brothers where to sit, and to their amazement, he seated them in the order of their age*s, from oldest to youngest.

*in the order of their ages: They realized that it was nearly impossible for Joseph to be able to do this by chance. They were all fairly close in age, so how could Joseph know who should sit where?

⁽³⁴⁾ Their food was served to them from Joseph's own table. He gave the largest serving to Benjamin--five times* as much as to any of the others. So they all feasted and drank freely with him.

*five times: Some believe that this was a test to see whether Benjamin's brothers would be jealous - they weren't!

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On-Line Sources:

• BibleGateway: www.biblegateway.com


• Bible.org: www.bible.org


• Chuck Missler: www.blueletterbible.org/audio_video/missler_chuck


• Crosswalk: http://bible.crosswalk.com


• Gleanings in Genesis: www.pbministries.org/books/pink/Gleanings_Genesis/genesis.htm


• Jewish Encyclopedia: www.jewishencyclopedia.com


• "Joseph was Imhotep of Egypt": http://www.arkdiscovery.com/joseph.htm


• Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible: www.ccel.org/h/henry/mhc2/MHC00000.HTM


• Scripture Studies - Genesis 43-44: http://www.scripturestudies.com/Vol5/E7/e7_ot.htmll


• The Fears of Jacob and the Tears of Joseph: http://www.bible.org/page.asp?page_id=121


• Wikipedia: www.wikipedia.org

Off-Line Sources:

• American Heritage^® Dictionary fourth Edition - 2003


• "New International Biblical Commentary - Genesis" – John E. Hartley – Hendrickson Publishers


• "New Living Translation" – Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.


• "The Genesis Record" – Henry M. Morris – Baker Book House