Genesis 43

 

The Second Journey to Egypt

Gen 43: 1Now the famine was severe in the land. 

 

The famine was about to lead to the starvation of the Jewish nation.

 

2When they finished eating the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Return, buy us a little more food.”

 

The grain was gone. The only place to purchase grain was Egypt.

 

3But Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ 

 

Notice that Judah was the main spokesman at this time. Judah would later be identified as the seed-son.

 

4If you send our brother with us, we’ll go down and buy food for you. 

 

Judah’s condition was that Benjamin must go with them.

 

5But if you will not send him, we won’t go down there because the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’”

 

Judah informed their father that this was the only condition in which they would make the trip. It was possible that Rueben and Levi, the older brothers of Judah, did not want to confront Jacob on this issue.

 

6Israel said, “Why did you bring this trouble on me by telling the man you had one more brother?”

 

Jacob objected. He criticized his sons for sharing additional information about Benjamin.

 

7They replied, “The man questioned us thoroughly about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ So we answered him in this way. How could we possibly know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”

 

All of the brothers gave the same response. They had to answer the point-blank question. They had no idea that the Egyptian governor would make this request.

 

8Then Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me and we will go immediately. Then we will live and not die – we and you and our little ones. 

 

Judah stated that they must leave immediately. If not, then they would not survive. According to the Abrahamic Covenant, the seed-son would have to survive so that the Jewish race and the messianic seed could continue to its fulfillment.

 

9I myself pledge security for him; you may hold me liable. If I do not bring him back to you and place him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life. 

 

Judah was willing to give up his inheritance in order to protect the security of Benjamin.

 

10But if we had not delayed, we could have traveled there and back twice by now!”

 

This delay cost them valuable time.

 

11Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best products of the land in your bags, and take a gift down to the man – a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachios and almonds. 

 

There was still some food in the land, but not enough to sustain them for very long.

 

12Take double the money with you; you must take back the money that was returned in the mouths of your sacks – perhaps it was an oversight. 

 

Jacob and the brothers were still confused about the money that was found in their packs.

 

13Take your brother too, and go right away to the man. 

 

Jacob allowed the brothers to take Benjamin.

 

14May the sovereign God grant you mercy before the man so that he may release your other brother and Benjamin! As for me, if I lose my children I lose them.”

 

Jacob understood the sovereignty of God.

 

15So the men took these gifts and they took double the money with them, along with Benjamin. Then they hurried down to Egypt and stood before Joseph. 

 

The brothers traveled back to Egypt and stood before their brother Joseph.

 

16When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the servant who was over his household, “Bring the men to the house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, for the men will eat with me at noon.” 

 

This was an unusual request. The brothers were to eat at the official’s own house. Egyptians were known for not associating with strangers, especially if these strangers were despised Jewish shepherds. Not only was the hospitality strange, but this Egyptian leader was preparing a feast. 

 

17The man did just as Joseph said; he brought the men into Joseph’s house.

 

The brothers entered Joseph’s house. Since he was second in command of Egypt, it must have been a very large and beautiful house.

 

18But the men were afraid when they were brought to Joseph’s house. They said, “We are being brought in because of the money that was returned in our sacks last time. He wants to capture us, make us slaves, and take our donkeys!” 

 

The brothers could not understand why an Egyptian official would take them into his own house, unless it was for sinister purposes. The brothers had nothing of value that an Egyptian official needed. Plus, the Egyptian official had treated them harshly and accused them of conspiracy. 

 

19So they approached the man who was in charge of Joseph’s household and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. 

 

The brothers spoke to Joseph’s servant who was in charge of the house.

 

20They said, “My lord, we did indeed come down the first time to buy food. 

 

They call the servant “lord,” meaning that they were his servants.

 

21But when we came to the place where we spent the night, we opened our sacks and each of us found his money – the full amount – in the mouth of his sack. So we have returned it. 

 

The brothers reported that there must have been some kind of mistake on their prior visit.

 

22We have brought additional money with us to buy food. We do not know who put the money in our sacks!”

 

The brothers were hoping that the head-servant would have an answer to this situation which had confused them for many months.

 

23“Everything is fine,” the man in charge of Joseph’s household told them. “Don’t be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks. I had your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.

 

The Hebrew word for God is אֱלֹ֨הֵיכֶ֜ם (elohicem), meaning "your triune Creator God." The Egyptian servant praised the God of Jacob by his Hebrew triune name. This must have been a great shock to the brothers! 

 

24The servant in charge brought the men into Joseph’s house. He gave them water, and they washed their feet. Then he gave food to their donkeys. 

 

The brothers were being treated like honored guests.

 

25They got their gifts ready for Joseph’s arrival at noon, for they had heard that they were to have a meal there.

 

The brothers brought gifts for the Egyptian official. Joseph would have been a very wealthy man just from the gifts that he would receive from surrounding tribes and nations.

 

26When Joseph came home, they presented him with the gifts they had brought inside, and they bowed down to the ground before him. 

 

Joseph had had two dreams. This was the second time that his brothers bowed down to him just as in his dream.

 

27He asked them how they were doing. Then he said, “Is your aging father well, the one you spoke about? Is he still alive?” 

 

Joseph was curious to know about Jacob. This type of question must have confused the brothers.

 

28“Your servant our father is well,” they replied. “He is still alive.” They bowed down in humility.

 

They bowed down again, fulfilling Joseph’s dream.

 

 

29When Joseph looked up and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, he said, “Is this your youngest brother, whom you told me about?” Then he said, “May God be gracious to you, my son.” 

 

Joseph gave a special blessing to his youngest full-brother Benjamin. Joseph was testing his other brothers to see if they were still filled with jealousy.

 

30Joseph hurried out, for he was overcome by affection for his brother and was at the point of tears. So he went to his room and wept there.

 

This was an emotional scene for Joseph. He left the room in tears. 

 

31Then he washed his face and came out. With composure he said, “Set out the food.” 

 

Joseph dried his tears in secret and came back out with an aura of composure.

 

32They set a place for him, a separate place for his brothers, and another for the Egyptians who were eating with him. (The Egyptians are not able to eat with Hebrews, for the Egyptians think it is disgusting to do so.) 

 

The servants of Joseph were not Hyksos because they lived during the 15, 16^th dynasties. These servants could possibly have been native Hamitic Egyptians. The Hamitic culture would not eat with foreigners.

 

33They sat before him, arranged by order of birth, beginning with the firstborn and ending with the youngest. The men looked at each other in astonishment. 

 

Joseph placed his brothers in the order of their birth. This astonished the brothers, as they had never given this information to the Egyptian official.

 

34He gave them portions of the food set before him, but the portion for Benjamin was five times greater than the portions for any of the others. They drank with Joseph until they all became drunk.

 

This was a major feast. Benjamin was given five times as much as the other brothers. Joseph was giving an extra blessing to his little brother to see if there was still animosity inside the family.