Genesis 45:7-8

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 45:1-15

Judah and his brethren were waiting for an answer, and could not but be amazed to discover, instead of the gravity of a judge, the natural affection of a father or brother. I. Joseph ordered all his attendants to withdraw, Gen. 45:1. The private conversations of friends are the most free. When Joseph would put on love he puts off state, and it was not fit his servants should be witnesses of this. Thus Christ graciously manifests himself and his loving-kindness to his people, out of the sight... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 45:7

And God sent me before you ,.... This he repeats to impress the minds of his brethren with a sense of the good providence of God in bringing him to Egypt before them, to make provision for their future welfare, and to alleviate their grief, and prevent an excessive sorrow for their selling him into Egypt, when by the overruling hand of God it proved so salutary to them: to preserve you a posterity in the earth ; that they and theirs might not perish, which otherwise, in all human... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 45:8

So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God ,.... Which is to be understood not absolutely, as if they had no concern at all in sending him thither; they sold him to the Ishmaelites, who brought him down to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar, and so were instrumental in his coming to Egypt; but comparatively, it was not they so much as God that sent him; whose providence directed, disposed, and overruled all those events, to bring Joseph to this place, and to such an high station, to... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 45:8

He hath made me a father to Pharaoh - It has already been conjectured that father was a name of office in Egypt, and that father of Pharaoh might among them signify the same as prime minister or the king's minister does among us. Calmet has remarked that among the Phoenicians, Persians, Arabians, and Romans, the title of father was given to certain officers of state. The Roman emperors gave the name of father to the prefects of the Praetorium, as appears by the letters of Constantine to... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 45:8

Verse 8 8.So now, it was not you that sent me hither. This is a remarkable passage, in which we are taught that the right course of events is never so disturbed by the depravity and wickedness of men, but that God can direct them to a good end. We are also instructed in what manner and for what purpose we must consider the providence of God. When men of inquisitive minds dispute concerning it, they not only mingle and pervert all things without regard to the end designed, but invent every... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 45:1-15

Joseph's discovery of himself to his brethren. I. THE ANNOUNCEMENT . " I am Joseph, whom ye sold into Egypt." 1. How it was made . 2. How it was received . II. THE COMMISSION . 1. To carry an invitation . "Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, and tarry not." 2. To deliver a promise . "And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen," and "there will I nourish... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 45:1-15

Darkness turned into light. Joseph's revelation of himself to his brethren in the atmosphere of the purest brotherly affection and grateful acknowledgment of Divine goodness. Only small natures are ashamed of tears. At first the men who had a great sin upon their consciences were only troubled at the presence of their injured brother, but soon the free and full manifestation of his love turns all their fears into rejoicing. Joseph wept for joy at their return to him, and they were... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 45:4-13

And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. It is probable they had instinctively shrunk from his presence on learning the astounding fact that he was Joseph, but felt reassured by the kindly tone of Joseph's words. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt . It was impossible to evade allusion to their early wickedness, and this Joseph does in a spirit not of angry upbraiding, but of elevated piety and tender charity. Now... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Genesis 45:1-28

- Joseph Made Himself Known to His Brethren10. גשׁן gôshen, Goshen, Gesem (Arabias related perhaps to גשׁם geshem “rain, shower”), a region on the borders of Egypt and Arabia, near the gulf of Suez.The appeal of Judah is to Joseph irresistible. The repentance of his brothers, and their attachment to Benjamin, have been demonstrated in the most satisfactory manner. This is all that Joseph sought. It is evident, throughout the whole narrative, that he never aimed at exercising any supremacy over... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Genesis 45:6-7

Genesis 45:6-7 . Five years there shall be neither earing (an old English word for ploughing, which is the meaning of the Hebrew) nor harvest That is, except in a few places near the river Nile; for, understanding from Joseph that the famine would be of long continuance, and that their labour and seed, which they could ill spare, would be lost, people would neither plough nor sow, and, of course, could not reap. To preserve you a posterity in the earth That you and your children might... read more

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