Genesis 43

Genesis 43

Genesis 43:1 Now the famine was heavy in the land.

Genesis 43:2 And when they had eaten the grain that they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again, purchase us a little food.”

Genesis 43:3 But Judah said to him, “The man gravely warned us, saying, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’

Genesis 43:4 If you send our brother with us, we will go down and purchase food for you.

Genesis 43:5 But if you do not send him, we will not go down, because the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face, unless your brother is with you.'”

Genesis 43:6 Israel said, “Why did you treat me so poorly as to tell the man that you had another brother?”

Genesis 43:7 They replied, “The man questioned us suspiciously about ourselves and our kin, and this is what he said, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ What we said to him was in answer to these questions. Could we in any way have known that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”

Genesis 43:8 And Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy with me, and we will get up and go, so that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones.

Genesis 43:9 I will be a pledge of his safety. From my hand you will require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me absorb the failure all the days.

Genesis 43:10 If we had not postponed going, we would have come back twice now.”

Genesis 43:11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be this way, then do this: take some of the choice products of the land in your bags, and carry a gift down to the man, a little balm and a little honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds.

Genesis 43:12 Take double the money with you. Carry back with you the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks. Maybe it was an oversight.

Genesis 43:13 Take also your brother, and get up, go again to the man.

Genesis 43:14 May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, and may he send back your other brother and Benjamin. And as far as I am concerned, if I am to become childless, I will be childless.”

Genesis 43:15 So the men took this gift, and they took twice the money with them, and Benjamin. They got up and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.

Genesis 43:16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal and prepare it, because the men are to dine with me at noon.”

Genesis 43:17 The man did what Joseph told him and brought the men to Joseph’s house.

Genesis 43:18 But the men were afraid because they had been brought to Joseph’s house, and they said, “It is because of the money, which had been replaced in our sacks the first time, that we are being brought in, so that he may attack us and fall upon us to make us slaves and seize our donkeys.”

Genesis 43:19 So they approached the steward of Joseph’s house and spoke with him at the door of the house,

Genesis 43:20 and said, “Oh, my lord, we came down the first time to purchase food.

Genesis 43:21 But when we came to the lodging place we opened our sacks and noticed each man’s money in the mouth of his sack, our money in full measure. So, we have brought it again with us,

Genesis 43:22 and we have brought other money down with us to purchase food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.”

Genesis 43:23 He replied, “Peace be to you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has put treasure in your sacks for you. I received your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.

Genesis 43:24 And after the man had brought the men into Joseph’s house and given them water, and they had washed their feet, and after he had given their donkeys fodder,

Genesis 43:25 they prepared the gift for Joseph’s coming at noon, because they heard that they would eat their meal there.

Genesis 43:26 When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the gift that they had with them and bowed down to him to the ground.

Genesis 43:27 And he asked about their welfare and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”

Genesis 43:28 They said, “Your slave our father is alright; he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves.

Genesis 43:29 And he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me? God favor you, my son!”

Genesis 43:30 Then Joseph hurried out, because his emotion grew warm for his brother, and he sought a place to cry. And he entered his chamber and cried there.

Genesis 43:31 Then he washed his face and came out. And after controlling himself he said, “Serve the food.”

Genesis 43:32 They served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat with the Hebrews, because that is repulsive[1] to the Egyptians.

Genesis 43:33 And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth. And the men looked at one another in shock.

Genesis 43:34 Portions were taken to them from Joseph’s table, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. And they drank and were cheerful with him.

[1] תּוֹעֵבָה = repulsive. Genesis 43:32; 46:34.

Genesis 43 quotes:

“The ten came to dinner. What was their reaction to all this? “And the men were afraid…” (Genesis 43:18). Often one’s initial reaction to any work of God is fear. When good things are happening to us, or strange coincidences, are we afraid? We may say to ourselves, “There’s an unseen, higher power at work here.” The fear of God makes us reflect on our lives.”

Kendall, R. T. God Meant It for Good. MorningStar Publications, 1988. p. 126.

“As a final test, when his brothers are ready to leave, Joseph again has money put into the grain sacks, and his own silver cup put into Benjamin’s sack. After the brothers leave, Joseph sends his steward to catch up with them, search them, and accuse them of theft. The steward is ordered to say that Joseph’s sil¬ ver cup is missing, and sure enough, the evi¬ dence is discovered in Benjamin’s sack. Judah makes an eloquent plea to be punished and de¬ tained instead of Benjamin. Joseph can’t bear to hide his identity any longer and finally re¬ veals himself to his brothers in a heart-wrench¬ ing scene.”

McFarland, Alex. Stand: Seeking the Way of God. Tyndale House, 2009. p. 13.

“Before sending his sons on another trip to Egypt Jacob prayed that God Almighty (El Shaddai) would keep them and supply every need (Genesis 43:14). This is the Name by which Isaac blessed Jacob (Genesis 28:3) and the Name whereby God _ identified Himself when He appeared to Jacob and blessed him (Genesis 35:11). Its root, the Hebrew word for “breast,” Shaddai means allsufficient nourisher or bountiful provider. This name assures us that God is “more than enough” in our times of need.”

McQuay, Earl P. Joseph: Seeing God in the Worst of Times. Acćent Books, 1989. p. 89.