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Text -- Genesis 43:1-34 (NET)

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Context
The Second Journey to Egypt
43:1 Now the famine was severe in the land. 43:2 When they finished eating the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Return, buy us a little more food.” 43:3 But Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ 43:4 If you send our brother with us, we’ll go down and buy food for you. 43:5 But 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.’” 43:6 Israel said, “Why did you bring this trouble on me by telling the man you had one more brother?” 43:7 They 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’?” 43:8 Then 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. 43:9 I 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. 43:10 But if we had not delayed, we could have traveled there and back twice by now!” 43:11 Then 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. 43:12 Take 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. 43:13 Take your brother too, and go right away to the man. 43:14 May 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.” 43:15 So 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. 43:16 When 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.” 43:17 The man did just as Joseph said; he brought the men into Joseph’s house. 43:18 But 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!” 43:19 So they approached the man who was in charge of Joseph’s household and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. 43:20 They said, “My lord, we did indeed come down the first time to buy food. 43:21 But 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. 43:22 We have brought additional money with us to buy food. We do not know who put the money in our sacks!” 43:23 “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. 43:24 The 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. 43:25 They got their gifts ready for Joseph’s arrival at noon, for they had heard that they were to have a meal there. 43:26 When Joseph came home, they presented him with the gifts they had brought inside, and they bowed down to the ground before him. 43:27 He asked them how they were doing. Then he said, “Is your aging father well, the one you spoke about? Is he still alive?” 43:28 “Your servant our father is well,” they replied. “He is still alive.” They bowed down in humility. 43:29 When 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.” 43:30 Joseph 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. 43:31 Then he washed his face and came out. With composure he said, “Set out the food.” 43:32 They 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.) 43:33 They 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. 43:34 He 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.
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics

Names, People and Places:
 · Benjamin the tribe of Benjamin of Israel
 · Egypt descendants of Mizraim
 · Egyptians descendants of Mizraim
 · Hebrew a person descended from Heber; an ancient Jew; a Hebrew speaking Jew,any Jew, but particularly one who spoke the Hebrew language
 · Israel a citizen of Israel.,a member of the nation of Israel
 · Joseph the husband of Mary and foster-father of Jesus,a Jewish man from Arimathea in whose grave the body of Jesus was laid,two different men listed as ancestors of Jesus,a man nominated with Matthias to take the place of Judas Iscariot as apostle,a son of Jacob and Rachel; the father of Ephraim and Manasseh and ruler of Egypt,a brother of Jesus; a son of Mary,a man who was a companion of Paul,son of Jacob and Rachel; patriarch of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh,a tribe, actually two tribes named after Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Manasseh,father of Igal, of Issachar, who helped spy out Canaan,son of Asaph the Levite; worship leader under Asaph and King David,a man who put away his heathen wife; an Israelite descended from Binnui,priest and head of the house of Shebaniah under High Priest Joiakim in the time of Nehemiah
 · Judah the son of Jacob and Leah; founder of the tribe of Judah,a tribe, the land/country,a son of Joseph; the father of Simeon; an ancestor of Jesus,son of Jacob/Israel and Leah; founder of the tribe of Judah,the tribe of Judah,citizens of the southern kingdom of Judah,citizens of the Persian Province of Judah; the Jews who had returned from Babylonian exile,"house of Judah", a phrase which highlights the political leadership of the tribe of Judah,"king of Judah", a phrase which relates to the southern kingdom of Judah,"kings of Judah", a phrase relating to the southern kingdom of Judah,"princes of Judah", a phrase relating to the kingdom of Judah,the territory allocated to the tribe of Judah, and also the extended territory of the southern kingdom of Judah,the Province of Judah under Persian rule,"hill country of Judah", the relatively cool and green central highlands of the territory of Judah,"the cities of Judah",the language of the Jews; Hebrew,head of a family of Levites who returned from Exile,a Levite who put away his heathen wife,a man who was second in command of Jerusalem; son of Hassenuah of Benjamin,a Levite in charge of the songs of thanksgiving in Nehemiah's time,a leader who helped dedicate Nehemiah's wall,a Levite musician who helped Zechariah of Asaph dedicate Nehemiah's wall
 · Simeon a son of Jonas and brother of Andrew; an apostle of Jesus Christ,a man who was one of the apostles of Christ and also called 'the Zealot',a brother of Jesus,a man who was a well-know victim of leprosy who had been healed by Jesus (NIV note),a man from Cyrene who was forced to carry the cross of Jesus,a Pharisee man in whose house Jesus' feet were washed with tears and anointed,the father of Judas Iscariot,a man who was a sorcerer in Samaria and who wanted to buy the gifts of the Spirit,a man who was a tanner at Joppa and with whom Peter was staying when Cornelius sent for him


Dictionary Themes and Topics: Joseph | GENESIS, 1-2 | Lies and Deceits | Famine | Hypocrisy | NUMBER | Benjamin | Deception | Exports | Judah | Jacob | Money | MEALS, MEAL-TIME | JOSEPH (2) | Integrity | Brother | Honey | Hospitality | Balm | Treasure | more
Table of Contents

Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes

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Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Gen 43:1 The disjunctive clause gives supplemental information that is important to the storyline.

NET Notes: Gen 43:3 The idiom “see my face” means “have an audience with me.”

NET Notes: Gen 43:4 Heb “if there is you sending,” that is, “if you send.”

NET Notes: Gen 43:6 The infinitive construct here explains how they brought trouble on Jacob.

NET Notes: Gen 43:7 Once again the imperfect verbal form is used as a historic future (that is, future from the perspective of past time).

NET Notes: Gen 43:8 After the preceding cohortatives, the prefixed verbal form (either imperfect or cohortative) with the prefixed conjunction here indicates purpose or r...

NET Notes: Gen 43:9 I will bear the blame before you all my life. It is not clear how this would work out if Benjamin did not come back. But Judah is offering his life fo...

NET Notes: Gen 43:10 Heb “we could have returned.”

NET Notes: Gen 43:12 Heb “take back in your hand.” The imperfect verbal form probably has an injunctive or obligatory force here, since Jacob is instructing hi...

NET Notes: Gen 43:13 The man refers to the Egyptian official, whom the reader or hearer of the narrative knows is Joseph. In this context both the sons and Jacob refer to ...

NET Notes: Gen 43:14 Heb “if I am bereaved I am bereaved.” With this fatalistic sounding statement Jacob resolves himself to the possibility of losing both Ben...

NET Notes: Gen 43:15 Heb “they arose and went down to Egypt.” The first verb has an adverbial function and emphasizes that they departed right away.

NET Notes: Gen 43:17 This verse is a summary statement. The next verses delineate intermediate steps (see v. 24) in the process.

NET Notes: Gen 43:18 The word “take” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

NET Notes: Gen 43:20 Heb “in the beginning” (see the note on the phrase “last time” in v. 18).

NET Notes: Gen 43:21 Heb “brought it back in our hand.”

NET Notes: Gen 43:23 Heb “your money came to me.”

NET Notes: Gen 43:24 Heb “the man.”

NET Notes: Gen 43:25 Heb “eat bread.” The imperfect verbal form is used here as a historic future (future from the perspective of the past).

NET Notes: Gen 43:26 Heb “into the house.”

NET Notes: Gen 43:27 Heb “concerning peace.”

NET Notes: Gen 43:28 Heb “and they bowed low and they bowed down.” The use of synonyms here emphasizes the brothers’ humility.

NET Notes: Gen 43:29 Joseph’s language here becomes warmer and more personal, culminating in calling Benjamin my son.

NET Notes: Gen 43:30 Heb “and he sought to weep.”

NET Notes: Gen 43:31 Heb “and he controlled himself and said.”

NET Notes: Gen 43:32 That the Egyptians found eating with foreigners disgusting is well-attested in extra-biblical literature by writers like Herodotus, Diodorus, and Stra...

NET Notes: Gen 43:33 The brothers’ astonishment indicates that Joseph arranged them in this way. They were astonished because there was no way, as far as they were c...

NET Notes: Gen 43:34 Heb “and they drank and were intoxicated with him” (cf. NIV “drank freely with him”; NEB “grew merry”; NRSV “...

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