Genesis 43:1-15

Judah evidently took the lead and spoke for his brothers because Jacob had already refused Reuben (Genesis 42:37-38), Simeon was in Egypt, and Levi had previously forfeited his father’s confidence (ch. 34). As Reuben had done (Genesis 42:37), Judah offered to bear responsibility in Jacob’s place, but in contrast to Reuben, Judah took personal responsibility for Benjamin’s safety (Genesis 43:9). From this point on, Judah becomes the leader of Jacob’s sons (cf. Genesis 49:8-10; Matthew 1:2; Matthew 1:17; Luke 3:23; Luke 3:33).

Facing a crisis like his meeting with Esau (chs. 32-33), Jacob again prepared a lavish present to appease "the man," Joseph (cf. Proverbs 18:16).

"Jacob has no guarantee El Shaddai will do anything. His if I am to be bereaved, bereaved I shall be is the same construction as Esther’s ’if I perish, I perish’ (Esther 4:16) . . ." [Note: Hamilton, The Book . . . Chapters 18-50, p. 545. See also S. B. Berg, The Book of Esther: Motifs, Themes, and Structure, pp. 123-42, for linguistic and thematic parallels between the Esther story and the Joseph story.]

Compare also Rebekah’s complaint when she thought she might lose both Jacob and Esau (Genesis 27:45).

"The ’and Benjamin’ [Genesis 43:15] hangs like the resigned sigh of a father trapped between the need to live and the possibility of a life made utterly empty through another loss." [Note: W. L. Humphreys, Joseph and His Family: A Literary Study, p. 45.]