Genesis 43:1-34

The Second Journey to Egypt

43:1 Now the famine was severe in the land. ¹  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 ²  us, ‘You will not see my face ³  unless your brother is with you.’ 43:4 If you send ⁴  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 ⁵  on me by telling ⁶  the man you had one more brother?”

43:7 They replied, “The man questioned us ⁷  thoroughly ⁸  about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ ⁹  So we answered him in this way. ¹⁰  How could we possibly know ¹¹  that he would say, ¹²  ‘Bring your brother down’?”

43:8 Then Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me and we will go immediately. ¹³  Then we will live ¹⁴  and not die – we and you and our little ones. 43:9 I myself pledge security ¹⁵  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. ¹⁶  43:10 But if we had not delayed, we could have traveled there and back ¹⁷  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; ¹⁸  you must take back ¹⁹  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 ²⁰  to the man. ²¹  43:14 May the sovereign God ²²  grant you mercy before the man so that he may release ²³  your other brother ²⁴  and Benjamin! As for me, if I lose my children I lose them.” ²⁵ 

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 ²⁶  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 ²⁷  brought the men into Joseph’s house. ²⁸ 

43:18 But the men were afraid when they were brought to Joseph’s house. They said, “We are being brought in because of ²⁹  the money that was returned in our sacks last time. ³⁰  He wants to capture us, ³¹  make us slaves, and take ³²  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 ³³  the first time ³⁴  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 ³⁵  – in the mouth of his sack. So we have returned it. ³⁶  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,” ³⁷  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. ³⁸  I had your money.” ³⁹  Then he brought Simeon out to them.

43:24 The servant in charge ⁴⁰  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 ⁴¹  at noon, for they had heard ⁴²  that they were to have a meal ⁴³  there.

43:26 When Joseph came home, they presented him with the gifts they had brought inside, ⁴⁴  and they bowed down to the ground before him. 43:27 He asked them how they were doing. ⁴⁵  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. ⁴⁶ 

43:29 When Joseph looked up ⁴⁷  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.” ⁴⁸  43:30 Joseph hurried out, for he was overcome by affection for his brother ⁴⁹  and was at the point of tears. ⁵⁰  So he went to his room and wept there.

43:31 Then he washed his face and came out. With composure he said, ⁵¹  “Set out the food.” 43:32 They set a place for him, a separate place for his brothers, ⁵²  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 ⁵³  to do so.) ⁵⁴  43:33 They sat before him, arranged by order of birth, beginning with the firstborn and ending with the youngest. ⁵⁵  The men looked at each other in astonishment. ⁵⁶  43:34 He gave them portions of the food set before him, ⁵⁷  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. ⁵⁸ 

Genesis 25:5

25:5 Everything he owned Abraham left to his son Isaac.

The Song of Songs 5:2

The Trials of Love: The Beloved’s Dream of Losing Her Lover

The Beloved about Her Lover:

5:2 I was asleep, but my mind ⁵⁹  was dreaming. ⁶⁰ 

Listen! ⁶¹  My lover ⁶²  is knocking ⁶³  at the door! ⁶⁴ 

The Lover to His Beloved:

“Open ⁶⁵  for me, my sister, my darling,

my dove, my flawless one!

My head is drenched with dew,

my hair with the dampness of the night.”

Mark 14:37

14:37 Then ⁶⁶  he came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Couldn’t you stay awake for one hour?

Luke 9:32

9:32 Now Peter and those with him were quite sleepy, ⁶⁷  but as they became fully awake, ⁶⁸  they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.

Luke 22:45

22:45 When ⁶⁹  he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping, exhausted ⁷⁰  from grief.

[43:1]  ¹ tn The disjunctive clause gives supplemental information that is important to the storyline.

[43:3]  ² tn The infinitive absolute with the finite verb stresses the point. The primary meaning of the verb is “to witness; to testify.” It alludes to Joseph’s oath, which was tantamount to a threat or warning.

[43:3]  ³ tn The idiom “see my face” means “have an audience with me.”

[43:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “if there is you sending,” that is, “if you send.”

[43:6]  ⁵ tn The verb may even have a moral connotation here, “Why did you do evil to me?”

[43:6]  ⁶ tn The infinitive construct here explains how they brought trouble on Jacob.

[43:7]  ⁷ tn The word “us” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[43:7]  ⁸ tn The infinitive absolute with the perfect verbal form emphasizes that Joseph questioned them thoroughly.

[43:7]  ⁹ sn The report given here concerning Joseph’s interrogation does not exactly match the previous account where they supplied the information to clear themselves (see 42:13). This section may reflect how they remembered the impact of his interrogation, whether he asked the specific questions or not. That may be twisting the truth to protect themselves, not wanting to admit that they volunteered the information. (They admitted as much in 42:31, but now they seem to be qualifying that comment.) On the other hand, when speaking to Joseph later (see 44:19), Judah claims that Joseph asked for the information about their family, making it possible that 42:13 leaves out some of the details of their first encounter.

[43:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and we told to him according to these words.”

[43:7]  ¹¹ tn The infinitive absolute emphasizes the imperfect verbal form, which here is a historic future (that is, future from the perspective of a past time).

[43:7]  ¹² tn Once again the imperfect verbal form is used as a historic future (that is, future from the perspective of past time).

[43:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “and we will rise up and we will go.” The first verb is adverbial and gives the expression the sense of “we will go immediately.”

[43:8]  ¹⁴ tn After the preceding cohortatives, the prefixed verbal form (either imperfect or cohortative) with the prefixed conjunction here indicates purpose or result.

[43:9]  ¹⁵ tn The pronoun before the first person verbal form draws attention to the subject and emphasizes Judah’s willingness to be personally responsible for the boy.

[43:9]  ¹⁶ sn 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 for Benjamin’s if Benjamin does not return.

[43:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “we could have returned.”

[43:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “in your hand.”

[43:12]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “take back in your hand.” The imperfect verbal form probably has an injunctive or obligatory force here, since Jacob is instructing his sons.

[43:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “arise, return,” meaning “get up and go back,” or “go back immediately.”

[43:13]  ²¹ sn 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 him simply as “the man” (see vv. 3-7).

[43:14]  ²² tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.

[43:14]  ²³ tn Heb “release to you.” After the jussive this perfect verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) probably indicates logical consequence, as well as temporal sequence.

[43:14]  ²⁴ sn Several Jewish commentators suggest that the expression your other brother refers to Joseph. This would mean that Jacob prophesied unwittingly. However, it is much more likely that Simeon is the referent of the phrase “your other brother” (see Gen 42:24).

[43:14]  ²⁵ tn Heb “if I am bereaved I am bereaved.” With this fatalistic sounding statement Jacob resolves himself to the possibility of losing both Benjamin and Simeon.

[43:15]  ²⁶ tn Heb “they arose and went down to Egypt.” The first verb has an adverbial function and emphasizes that they departed right away.

[43:17]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the man.” This has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun “he” for stylistic reasons.

[43:17]  ²⁸ sn This verse is a summary statement. The next verses delineate intermediate steps (see v. 24) in the process.

[43:18]  ²⁹ tn Heb “over the matter of.”

[43:18]  ³⁰ tn Heb “in the beginning,” that is, at the end of their first visit.

[43:18]  ³¹ tn Heb “to roll himself upon us and to cause himself to fall upon us.” The infinitives here indicate the purpose (as viewed by the brothers) for their being brought to Joseph’s house.

[43:18]  ³² tn The word “take” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[43:20]  ³³ tn The infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the finite verbal form.

[43:20]  ³⁴ tn Heb “in the beginning” (see the note on the phrase “last time” in v. 18).

[43:21]  ³⁵ tn Heb “in its weight.”

[43:21]  ³⁶ tn Heb “brought it back in our hand.”

[43:23]  ³⁷ tn Heb “and he said, ‘peace to you.’” Here the statement has the force of “everything is fine,” or perhaps even “calm down.” The referent of “he” (the man in charge of Joseph’ household) has been specified in the translation for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged for stylistic reasons.

[43:23]  ³⁸ sn Your God and the God of your father…This is the first clear reference in the story to the theme of divine providence – that God works through the human actions to do his will.

[43:23]  ³⁹ tn Heb “your money came to me.”

[43:24]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “the man.”

[43:25]  ⁴¹ tn The construction uses the infinitive construct after the preposition, followed by the subjective genitive.

[43:25]  ⁴² tn The action precedes the action of preparing the gift, and so must be translated as past perfect.

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

[43:26]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “into the house.”

[43:27]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “concerning peace.”

[43:28]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “and they bowed low and they bowed down.” The use of synonyms here emphasizes the brothers’ humility.

[43:29]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “and he lifted his eyes.” The referent of “he” (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[43:29]  ⁴⁸ sn Joseph’s language here becomes warmer and more personal, culminating in calling Benjamin my son.

[43:30]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “for his affection boiled up concerning his brother.” The same expression is used in 1 Kgs 3:26 for the mother’s feelings for her endangered child.

[43:30]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “and he sought to weep.”

[43:31]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “and he controlled himself and said.”

[43:32]  ⁵² tn Heb “them”; the referent (Joseph’s brothers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[43:32]  ⁵³ tn Or “disgraceful.” The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “abomination”) describes something that is loathsome or off-limits. For other practices the Egyptians considered disgusting, see Gen 46:34 and Exod 8:22.

[43:32]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “and they set for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians who were eating with him by themselves, for the Egyptians are not able to eat food with the Hebrews, for it is an abomination for the Egyptians.” The imperfect verbal form in the explanatory clause is taken as habitual in force, indicating a practice that was still in effect in the narrator’s time.

[43:33]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth.”

[43:33]  ⁵⁶ sn The brothers’ astonishment indicates that Joseph arranged them in this way. They were astonished because there was no way, as far as they were concerned, that Joseph could have known the order of their birth.

[43:34]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “and he lifted up portions from before his face to them.”

[43:34]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “and they drank and were intoxicated with him” (cf. NIV “drank freely with him”; NEB “grew merry”; NRSV “were merry”). The brothers were apparently relaxed and set at ease, despite Joseph’s obvious favoritism toward Benjamin.

[5:2]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “my heart.” The term לִבִּי (livvi, “my heart”) is a metonymy of association for emotions (e.g., Prov 15:13; Song 3:11) or thoughts (e.g., Ps 90:12; Prov 18:15) or a synecdoche of part for the whole. If this verse is introducing a dream sequence in 5:2-8, this is a metonymy for the Beloved’s thoughts in her dream: “I was sleeping but my mind was dreaming.” If this verse depicts the Beloved beginning to doze off to sleep – only to be awakened by his knocking at her door – then it is a synecdoche of part for the whole: “I was about to fall asleep when I was suddenly awakened.”

[5:2]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “but my heart was awake.” Scholars have interpreted 5:2a in two basic ways: (1) The Beloved had been asleep or was just about to fall asleep when she was awakened by the sound of him knocking on the door of her bedroom chambers. The term לִבִּי (livvi, “my heart”) is a synecdoche of part for the whole: “my heart” = “I.” The participle עֵר (’er) functions verbally, describing a past ingressive state: “was awakened.” The line would be rendered: “I was sleeping when I (= my heart) was awakened.” (2) The Beloved was sleeping, but her mind was dreaming (in her dream she heard him knocking on her door). In this case, לִבִּי (“my heart”) is a metonymy of association for the thoughts (e.g., Ps 90:12; Prov 18:15) and emotions (e.g., Prov 15:13; Song 3:11) she experienced during her dream: “my heart” = “my mind.” The participle עֵר functions verbally, describing a past progressive state: “was awake.” The line could be nuanced, “I was asleep, but my mind was dreaming.” Many translations adopt this approach: “I was asleep but my heart waketh” (KJV), “I was asleep but my heart was awake” (NASB, NIV), and “I was asleep, but my heart was wakeful” (NJPS).

[5:2]  ⁶¹ sn The noun קוֹל (qol, literally, “sound, noise, voice”) is used as an exclamation: “Listen!” or “Hark!” (e.g., Gen 4:10; Isa 13:4; 40:3; 52:8; Jer 3:21; 4:15; 10:22; 31:51; 50:28; 51:54; Mic 6:9; Zeph 1:14; 2:14; Song 2:8; 5:2) (HALOT 1085 s.v. קוֹל 8b; BDB 877 s.v. קוֹל 1.f; Joüon 2:614 §162.e; GKC 467 §146.b). The term often refers to a loud or unexpected sound that arrests the attention of a character in a narrative. The speaker/writer uses it as a rhetorical device to dramatically portray his/her own startled reaction to an unexpected sound that called his/her attention. The Beloved is startled from her sleep by the unexpected sound of him loudly knocking at her bedroom door late at night.

[5:2]  ⁶² sn The phrase קוֹל דּוֹדִי (qol dodi, “Listen! My lover …!”) that introduces this scene in 5:2-8 is the exact same phrase used in 2:8 to introduce the courtship section 2:8-11. In 2:8-11, the Beloved was excited about his unexpected arrival; however, in 5:2-8 she is apathetic about his unexpected approach. One should not miss the dramatic contrast between the Beloved’s eagerness to see her lover in 2:8-11 and her apathy about his approach on this evening in 5:2-8. The repetition of קוֹל דּוֹדִי (“Listen! My lover …!”) in 2:8 and 5:2 is designed to draw out the parallels and contrasts between 2:8-11 and 5:2-8.

[5:2]  ⁶³ sn The participle דוֹפֵק (dofeq) connotes present progressive or iterative action. The verb דָּפַק (dafaq, “to knock, pound, beat”) occurs only three times in biblical Hebrew, twice in reference to knocking at a door (Judg 19:22; Song 5:2) and once of beating cattle in order to drive them along (Gen 33:13). The Qal stem depicts the normal action of knocking at a door, while the Hitpael denotes a more intensive pounding, e.g., Qal: “to knock at the door” (Song 5:2) and Hitpael: “to beat violently against the door” (Judg 19:22) (HALOT 229 s.v. דפק; BDB 200 s.v. דָּפַק). The same connotations are seen in Mishnaic Hebrew, e.g., the verbs דָּפַק and דְּפַק (dÿfaq), “to knock at the door” (Jastrow 317 s.v. דָּפַק), and the nouns דּוֹפֵק “door frame (= what someone knocks on), movable tomb stone,” and דּוֹפְקָנִין (dofÿqanin, “knockers”; Jastrow 287 s.v. דּוֹפְקָנִין). The collocation of the verb פתח “to open” a door (HALOT 986-87 s.v. פתח; BDB 835 s.v. פָּתַח) clearly suggests that he is at the Beloved’s bedroom door.

[5:2]  ⁶⁴ tn The phrase “at the door” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[5:2]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “Open to me!” Alternately, “Let me in!” The imperatival form of פִּתְחִי (pitkhi, “to open”) connotes a polite, but earnest request. The verb פָּתַח (patakh) refers to the action of opening various objects, e.g., sack (Gen 42:27), skin bottle (Judg 4:19), hamper (Exod 2:6), pit (Exod 21:33), mouth of a cave (Josh 10:22), grave (Ezek 37:12, 13), city gates (Neh 13:19; Isa 45:1), gate of a land (Nah 3:13), window (2 Kgs 13:17). When used with the accusative דֶּלֶת (delet, “door”), it refers to opening a door (e.g., Judg 3:25; 19:27; 1 Sam 3:15; 2 Kgs 9:3, 10; 2 Chr 29:3; Job 31:32) (HALOT 986-87 s.v. פתח; BDB 835 s.v. פָּתַח). Although the object דֶּלֶת (“door”) is here omitted, a bedroom door is clearly in mind in 5:2, as indicated by the collocated verb דָּפַק (dafaq, “to knock on a door”) in the preceding line. Translators have often rendered this line woodenly: “Open to me!” (KJV, NASB, NIV); however, NJPS nuances it well: “Let me in!”

[14:37]  ⁶⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[9:32]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “weighed down with sleep” (an idiom).

[9:32]  ⁶⁸ tn Or “after they became fully awake,” “but they became fully awake and saw.”

[22:45]  ⁶⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[22:45]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “from grief.” The word “exhausted” is not in the Greek text, but is implied; the disciples have fallen asleep from mental and emotional exhaustion resulting from their distress (see L&N 25.273; cf. TEV, NIV, NLT).