And Joseph said unto them, that is it that I spake unto you, saying, ye are spies. This proves it, at least gives strong suspicion of it; since at first they seemed to speak of themselves, as if they were the only sons of one man and there were no more, now they speak of twelve, and make mention of one being at home with his father; but seeing he sent so many of them, why not all? why should one only be left at home? read more
Hereby ye shall be proved ,.... Whether spies, or not, namely, by producing their youngest brother, said to be at home with his father: by the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither : the phrase, "by the life of Pharaoh", seems to be the form of an oath, as it was common with many nations, especially with the Scythians, who used to swear by the royal throne F1 Herodot. Melpomene, sive, l. 4. c. 68. , and the Romans, in later times, by... read more
Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother ,.... He proposes that one of them might be sent by them to their father's house, and bring, Benjamin down to Egypt: and ye shall be kept in prison ; the rest of them till he came: that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you ; by this it would be seen whether they were men of truth and honesty or not; and should their brother be brought they would appear to be good men and true: or else, by the life of Pharaoh,... read more
And he put them all together into ward three days. In order to consult together, and agree who should be sent to fetch their brother; and which it seems probable in this length of time they could not agree upon, no one caring to be the bringer of such evil tidings to their father. read more
And Joseph said unto them the third day ,.... His heart yearning towards them, though he put on such an appearance; finding they could not come to an agreement among themselves who should go on the errand, he thought fit to recede from his former order, and to give them another: this do, and live : meaning what he was about to say to them, which if they punctually observed and performed, it would be the means of saving their lives: for I fear God ; and therefore would not do either... read more
If ye be true men ,.... As you say you are: let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison ; agree among yourselves which of you (for one of you must) remain in prison where you are: and the rest being set at liberty: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses ; Joseph, though he dealt with them after this manner to get what knowledge he could of his family, and to get sight of his brother, yet was concerned for the good of them and theirs, lest they should be... read more
But bring your youngest brother unto me ,.... Upon their return for more corn: so shall your words be verified ; that they were true men, and had no ill design upon the land, but were come only to buy corn: and ye shall not die ; as spies, which they were otherwise threatened with; and as it is customary in all nations to put such to death when found out: and they did so ; they left one of their brethren behind; they carried corn to their houses or families in Canaan, and brought... read more
And they said one to another ,.... Before they went out of the prison, at least while in the presence of Joseph: we are verily guilty concerning our brother ; meaning Joseph, whom they had sold for a slave, and who they supposed was dead through grief and hard servitude; and now being in trouble themselves, it brings to mind the sin they had been guilty of, which, though committed twenty two years ago, was still fresh in their memories, and lay heavy on their consciences; for length of... read more
And Reuben answered them ,.... Being the eldest, and who had been most concerned for the life of Joseph, and most tender and careful of him: saying, spake I not unto you, saying, do not sin against the child , and ye would not hear ? it seems by this that Reuben endeavoured to dissuade his brethren from selling Joseph, when they first proposed it, to which they would not attend; since it is certain they did hearken to him as not to kill him directly, as they first consulted, and they... read more
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John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 42:13
And they said, thy servants are twelve brethren ,.... Or rather, "were twelve", since one afterwards is said not to be: the sons of one man in the land of Canaan ; of Jacob, who dwelt there; this is said with the same view as before, to show the improbability of their being spies: and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father : meaning Benjamin, whom Joseph was eager to hear of, and no doubt was glad to hear he was alive, and his father also, and that they were both... read more