Joseph instructs his steward to fill his brothers' sacks with food and secretly places his silver cup in Benjamin's sack to test their loyalty. After the brothers are accused of theft and must return in distress, Judah pleads for mercy for Benjamin, demonstrating their growth in character. The narrative reveals themes of forgiveness, repentance, and the complexity of familial relationships.

1. GE ESIS 44 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
A Silver Cup in a Sack
1 ow Joseph gave these instructions to the
steward of his house: “Fill the men’s sacks with as
much food as they can carry, and put each man’s
silver in the mouth of his sack.
BAR ES, "Gen_44:1-5
And my cup. - Besides returning each man’s money as before, a silver cup of
Joseph’s is put in Benjamin’s bag, after which, when daylight comes, they are dismissed.
They are scarcely out of the town when Joseph’s steward is ordered to overtake them,
and charge them with stealing the cup. “And whereby indeed he divineth.” Divining by
cups, we learn from this, was a common custom in Egypt (Herodotus ii. 83). It is here
mentioned to enhance the value of the cup. Whether Joseph really practised any sort of
divination cannot be determined from this passage.
GILL, "And he commanded the steward of his house,.... Whom the Targum of
Jonathan again calls Manasseh, the eldest son of Joseph:
saying, fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry; this he
ordered out of his great affection for them, and that his father and his family might have
sufficient supply in this time of famine:
and put every man's money in his sack's mouth; not that which had been put into
their sacks the first time, for the steward acknowledged his receipt of it, but what they
had paid for their present corn, they were about to carry away.
HAWKER, "The interesting narrative of the Patriarchal history is still prosecuted
through this Chapter. The brethren of Joseph having purchased corn and laden their
cattle, take their leave of Joseph to return to their father. But Joseph, wishing to detain

2. them, having ordered his steward secretly to put their money in the mouth of their sacks,
and his silver cup in the bag of Benjamin; soon after their departure from the city sends
his steward after them to charge them with this breach of honesty. Their sacks are
examined, and the cup being found, they all return to Egypt in the greatest sorrow and
distress imaginable. In this state when brought before Joseph, Judah becomes the
mouth of the rest; and unconscious before whom he spoke, he feelingly represents the
history of his family in the several incidents of it: describes the supposed death of
Joseph: the distress of his father which was now again renewed in parting with
Benjamin; offers himself as a bond-slave forever, rather than that Benjamin should be
detained; and concludes with praying Joseph for mercy, that the grey hairs of his father
may not be brought down with sorrow to the grave.
Gen_44:1
Is there not a spiritual lesson here! Are not the ministers and stewards of GOD’S
mysteries to fill the hungry and to supply the thirsty: and that without money and
without price? See 1Co_4:1.
HE RY 1-5, "Joseph heaps further kindnesses upon his brethren, fills their sacks,
returns their money, and sends them away full of gladness; but he also exercises them
with further trials. Our God thus humbles those whom he loves and loads with benefits.
Joseph ordered his steward to put a fine silver cup which he had (and which, it is likely,
was used at his table when they dined with him) into Benjamin's sack's mouth, that it
might seem as if he had stolen it from the table, and put it here himself, after his corn
was delivered to him. If Benjamin had stolen it, it had been the basest piece of
dishonesty and ingratitude that could be and if Joseph, by ordering it to be there, had
designed really to take advantage against him, it had been in him most horrid cruelty
and oppression; but it proved, in the issue, that there was no harm done, nor any
designed, on either side. Observe,
I. How the pretended criminals were pursued and arrested, on suspicion of having
stolen a silver cup. The steward charged them with ingratitude - rewarding evil for good;
and with folly, in taking away a cup of daily use, and which therefore would soon be
missed, and diligent search made for it; for so it may be read: Is not this it in which my
lord drinketh (as having a particular fondness for it), and for which he would search
thoroughly? Gen_44:5. Or, “By which, leaving it carelessly at your table, he would make
trial whether you were honest men or no.”
JAMISO , "Gen_44:1-34. Policy to stay his brethren.
And Joseph commanded the steward — The design of putting the cup into the
sack of Benjamin was obviously to bring that young man into a situation of difficulty or
danger, in order thereby to discover how far the brotherly feelings of the rest would be
roused to sympathize with his distress and stimulate their exertions in procuring his
deliverance. But for what purpose was the money restored? It was done, in the first
instance, from kindly feelings to his father; but another and further design seems to have
been the prevention of any injurious impressions as to the character of Benjamin. The
discovery of the cup in his possession, if there had been nothing else to judge by, might
have fastened a painful suspicion of guilt on the youngest brother; but the sight of the

3. money in each man’s sack would lead all to the same conclusion, that Benjamin was just
as innocent as themselves, although the additional circumstance of the cup being found
in his sack would bring him into greater trouble and danger.
K&D, "The Test. - After the dinner Joseph had his brothers' sacks filled by his
steward with corn, as much as they could hold, and every one's money placed inside; and
in addition to that, had his own silver goblet put into Benjamin's sack.
CALVI , "1.And he commanded the steward of his house. Here Moses relates how
skillfully Joseph had contrived to try the dispositions of his brethren. We have said
elsewhere that, whereas God has commanded us to cultivate simplicity, we are not to
take this, and similar examples, as affording license to turn aside to indirect and
crafty arts. For it may have been that Joseph was impelled by a special influence of
the Spirit to this course. He had also a reason, of no common kind, for inquiring
very strictly in what manner his brethren were affected. Charity is not suspicious.
Why, then, does he so distrust his brethren; and why cannot he suppose that they
have anything good, unless he shall first have subjected them to the most rigid
examination? Truly, since he had found them to be exceedingly cruel and
perfidious, it is but an excusable suspicion, if he does not believe them to be changed
for the better, until he has obtained a thorough perception and conviction of their
penitence. But since, in this respect, it is a rare and very difficult virtue to observe a
proper medium, we must beware of imitating the example of Joseph, in an austere
course of acting, unless we have laid all vindictive feelings aside, and are pure and
free from all enmity. For love, when it is pure, and exempt from all turbid influence,
will best decide how far it is right to proceed. It may, however, be asked, “If the sons
of Jacob had been easily induced to betray the safety of Benjamin, what would
Joseph himself have done?” We may readily conjecture, that he examined their
fidelity, in order that, if he should find them dishonest, he might retain Benjamin,
and drive them with shame from his presence. But, by pursuing this method, his
father would have been deserted, and the Church of God ruined. And certainly, it is
not without hazard to himself that he thus terrifies them: because he could scarcely
have avoided the necessity of denouncing some more grievous and severe
punishment against them, if they had again relapsed. It was, therefore, due to the
special favor of God, that they proved themselves different from what he had
feared. In the meantime, the advantage of his examination was twofold; first,
because the clearly ascertained integrity of his brethren rendered his mind more
placable towards them; and secondly, because it lightened, at least in some degree,
the former infamy, which they had contracted by their wickedness.

4. COFFMA , "Verses 1-3
"And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks with
food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in his sack's mouth.
And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his grain
money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. As soon as the
morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses."
Why did Joseph order the actions related here? It is agreed by many that his
purpose was that of finding out whether or not his brothers had in any manner
changed from the heartless hatred of their father's favorite son as evidence in their
sale of Joseph so long ago. The fine point of the trial Joseph arranged for them was
just this: If given the opportunity, would the brothers abandon Benjamin, with a
perfectly valid excuse, and, ignoring the grief and distress of their aged father,
abandon their brother and return home without him? Everything in the procedure
here exhibits that purpose. Even the special partiality shown to Benjamin at the
preceding banquet fitted into this purpose of testing the true attitude of the
brothers.
CO STABLE, "Verses 1-5
That Joseph practiced divination is not clear from Genesis 44:5 or Genesis 44:15. He
may have, but this seems inconsistent with his character as a man of faith in
Yahweh. It also seems unlikely since Joseph had the gift of interpreting dreams
(divine revelations) from God. If anyone needed to resort to divination it would not
have been Joseph. Some interpreters, however, believe Joseph"s claim was just part
of his ruse. [ ote: E.g, Waltke, Genesis , p559; and Mathews, Genesis 11:27-50:26 ,
p799.] The first statement made by Joseph"s servant may have been a lie ( Genesis
44:5). The second statement made by Joseph did not claim to practice divination (
Genesis 44:15). Joseph said that such a person as he could do it. Leon Wood
believed that Joseph meant that he had information not available to ordinary
people. The Hebrew verb in both Genesis 44:5; Genesis 44:15 is nahash (to whisper,
mumble formulations, prophesy), not qasam, the word normally translated "to
divine." [ ote: Wood, The Prophets ..., pp32-33.] These references to divination
seem intended to impress Joseph"s brothers with the value of the cup that had
disappeared. The Hebrew word translated "cup" here, gabia", refers to a chalice or
goblet, not to a common drinking cup, a kos. The brothers inferred that Joseph used
it for purposes other than simply drinking.

5. GUZIK, "A. Joseph sends them on their way.
1. (1-5) Joseph puts money in his brothers bags again.
And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the mens sacks with food,
as much as they can carry, and put each mans money in the mouth of his sack. Also
put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his grain
money. So he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. As soon as the
morning dawned, the men were sent away, they and their donkeys. When they had
gone out of the city, and were not yet far off, Joseph said to his steward, Get up,
follow the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, Why have you repaid evil
for good? Is not this the one from which my lord drinks, and with which he indeed
practices divination? You have done evil in so doing.
a. As soon as the morning dawned, the men were sent away: The brothers left Egypt
in high spirits. They were treated well, had their sacks full of grain, and Simeon was
out of prison. Their father Jacobs fear of something horrible happening would not
be fulfilled.
b. Also put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his
grain money: As before, the grain sacks of the brothers are topped off by the money
they paid for the grain, but this time, Joseph has his special silver cup put in the
sack of Benjamin.
c. Why have you repaid evil for good? Some wrongly think that Joseph did this
simply to use his position of power to torment his brothers in revenge for their
cruelty towards him. Yet knowing the character of Joseph, this wasnt the case.
Guided by the hand of God, Joseph tested the hearts of his brothers and brought
them to complete repentance.
d. He indeed practices divination: We know from other sources that ancients did use

6. sacred cups as divination devices. It is possible Joseph did also, because there was
not yet specific revelation from God that such a practice was forbidden. Yet, it was
not Joseph who said he used the cup for divination, but his servant, who may have
wrongly assumed Josephs spiritual insight and wisdom were more due to this cup
than to his relationship with the living God.
BI 1-15, "The cup was found in Benjamin’s sack
The trials of the innocent
I. That there is sorrow, and sorrow on a vast scale, is a great fact—a fact both too patent
and too painful to be gainsaid. Joseph put the cup in the sack to try his brothers’ faith,
love, and loyalty to their father.
1. Sorrow was sent into the world as a preventive of greater sorrow.
2. Sorrow gives occasion for the exercise of many an else impossible virtue.
3. This would be a lame excuse indeed if it stood alone. But grief is our schoolmaster
to bring us to Christ.
4. When we remember our sins, we wonder, not that life has had so many sorrows,
but that it has had so few.
II. Why should sorrow so often smite us in the most sensitive place? or, to take up the
parable of the text—
1. Why should the cup be in Benjamin’s sack? Just because it is Benjamin’s, we reply.
The very thing that leads God to smite at all, leads Him to smite you here. God takes
away earthly pleasure, and thus helps you to remember your sin and repent of it.
2. The cup was put there to bring them to a better mind ever after.
3. It was put there to give Joseph the opportunity of making himself known to his
brethren.
4. It was put there to lead them out of the land of famine into the land of plenty.
From this we may learn three lessons:
(1) Learn to think more kindly of God and His dispensations, as you see how
much reason you have to expect sorrow, how little right to look for joy;
(2) Learn the lesson the lesser sorrows are meant to teach, lest you need the
greater;
(3) Take care lest you not only lose the joy, but lose the good the loss of joy was
meant to give. (J. B. Figgis.)
The final trial of Joseph’s brethren
I. THE SEVERITY OF THE TRIAL.
1. It was unexpected.
2. It exposed them to the agony of suspense between hope and fear.

7. 3. They were conscious of innocence.
4. The trial touched them in the sorest place.
5. The bringing them into their present difficulty seemed to have the sanction of
religion.
6. They regard their case as hopeless.
II. THE PURPOSE OF THE TRIAL.
1. To stir up their consciences to the depths.
2. To show whether they were capable of receiving forgiveness. (T. H.Leale.)
Joseph puts his brethren to the test
I. THY. TEST TO WHICH JOSEPH EXPOSED HIS BRETHREN. There is at first sight
an apparent wantonness in the manner in which this was applied; but looking deeper we
see some motives for such a mode of action.
1. Probably it was designed as a kind of penalty for their former deeds. Joseph had
been basely treated. Though he forgave his injurers, yet it was good for them to see
their crime and feel it. His was not mere maudlin compassion; he desired first to
bring them to repentance, and then he was ready and willing to forgive. And in this
he is a type of God; God is the infinitely Forgiving One, but the Just One besides.
2. And a second motive which may be assigned for Joseph’s conduct is that perhaps
it was to compel them to feel that their lives were in his power. They are humbled to
the dust before him by the test. Now, in assigning to him such a natural motive, we
are not showing his conduct as anything superhuman. It was magnanimous, but yet
mixed with the human. Everything that man does has in it something of evil; even
his best actions have in them something that will not bear the light of day.
3. Again, Joseph may have wished to test his brethren’s capability of forgiveness.
II. THE CONDUCT OF JOSEPH’S BRETHREN UNDER THE TEST.
1. Judah cannot prove that his brother is not guilty, neither can he believe that he is
guilty; he therefore leaves that question entirely aside. Instead of denying it, in
modem language he showed cause why the law should not be put in force against
him.
2. We next notice the pathos of that speech (Gen_44:20).
3. Let us learn, in conclusion, that even in the worst of mankind there is something
good left. Judah was by no means an immaculate man; but from what a man was,
you cannot be certain what he is now. Here were men virtually guilty of the sin of
murder, really guilty of cupidity in selling their brother; but years after we find in
them something tender still, love for their father and compassion for their brother. It
is this spark of undestroyed good in man that the Spirit of Christ takes hold of; and
he alone who is able to discover this in the hearts of the worst, he alone will be in this
world successful in turning sinners to God. (F. W. Robertson, M. A.)
Analogies

8. 1. We see a striking analogy between the conduct of Joseph towards his brother
Benjamin, and that of Jesus towards His people. “Whom I love, I rebuke and
chasten.” The Lord often brings us into difficulties that He may detain us, as I may
say, from leaving Him. Were it not for these, He would have fewer importunate
applications at a throne of grace than He has. He does not afflict willingly or from
His heart; but from necessity, and that He may bring us nearer to Him.
2. We also see a striking analogy between Joseph’s conduct towards his brethren,
and that of the Lord towards us. In all he did, I suppose, it was his design to try
them. His putting the cup into Benjamin’s sack, and convicting him of the supposed
guilt, would try their love to him, and to their aged father. Had they been of the same
disposition as when they sold Joseph, they would not have cared for him. But,
happily, they are now of another mind. God appears to have made use of this
mysterious providence, and of Joseph’s behaviour, amongst other things, to bring
them to repentance. And the cup being found in Benjamin’s sack, would give them
occasion to manifest it. It must have afforded the most heartfelt satisfaction to
Joseph, amidst all the pain which it cost him, to witness their concern for Benjamin,
and for the life of their aged father. This of itself was sufficient to excite, on his part,
the fullest forgiveness. Thus God is represented as looking upon a contrite spirit, and
even overlooking heaven and earth for it (Isa_66:1-2). Next to the gift of His Son, He
accounts it the greatest blessing He can bestow upon a sinful creature. Now, that on
which He set so high a value, He may be expected to produce, even though it may be
at the expense of our present peace. Nor have we any cause of complaint, but the
contrary. What were the suspense, the anxiety, and the distress of Joseph’s brethren,
in comparison of that which followed? And what is the suspense, the anxiety, or the
distress of an awakened sinner, or a tried believer, in comparison of the joy of faith,
or the grace that shall be revealed at the appearing of Jesus Christ? It will then be
found that our light affliction, which was but for a moment, has been working for us
a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. (A. Fuller.)
The cup in the sack
I. THE PRIVATE COMPLAINT.
1. Its nature. All” the money to be returned, and the silver cup to be placed in the
sack belonging to Benjamin. It may seem strange that the steward was to charge
them with stealing a cup wherein Joseph divined (if indeed the cup was not used for
that purpose, as we believe), knowing that Joseph was a servant of God. We may not,
with the higher standard of morality of these Christian times, approve this pretence;
but it is in keeping with the whole transaction, which is a feint throughout.
2. Motive. Doubtless to test the feeling of the rest towards Benjamin. Did they envy
this favourite as they did the other? If so, it was very likely that on being overtaken
they would abandon the man with whom the cup was found—Benjamin—to his fate.
Make no effort to procure his release. Return home without him, as they had once
gone without Joseph. Before he proceeded further in helping his family in the
famine, he would see if they had improved morally all these years.
II. THY OBNOXIOUS CHARGE. The confidential servant having received the
command, but most likely being ignorant of all his master’s plans and of the relation of
these guests, proceeds to put it in execution.
1. The brethren set off. Their journey. How unlike the last, when they were full of

9. perplexity, and had left Simeon behind. Now they talk of their good treatment, and
are accompanied by Simeon, and that Benjamin whom they had feared to lose.
2. They are pursued. Their astonishment at seeing the steward, who Gen_43:28) had
not long before spoken assuring words, hastening after them.
3. The charge. The steward faithfully, but to their great amazement, repeats the
command of his master.
4. Their indignant denial, Such conduct would be opposed to the will of God (Gen_
43:7). The idea was inconsistent with their proved honesty (Gen_43:8). They are
quite willing to abide by the results of search. And that the punishment should be
greater than hinted.
III. THE APPALLING DISCOVERY.
1. The search commences. They are willing. The steward begins as far as possible
from where he knows it is concealed. Thus they do not suspect him of any complicity,
and their confidence increases as he proceeds.
2. They see Benjamin’s sack opened, and there, shining in all its beauty, is the cup!
What could they think, or say, or do? They did not suffer Benjamin to return alone.
The test was successful. There was another discovery—an altered feeling towards the
old man and his favourite son. This discovery Joseph made.
3. They could only regard it as a plot of some one—perhaps the Lord of Egypt—to
find a pretext for keeping them in bondage. What would become now of their father,
and their wives and little ones. Learn:
I. That our religion admits not of pretences.
II. The time of confidence may be the hour of peril. (J. C. Gray.)
Money in the sack
Frederick, King of Prussia, one day rung his bell, and nobody answering, he opened his
door, and found his page fast asleep in an elbow chair. He advanced towards him and
was going to awaken him, when he perceived part of a letter hanging out of his pocket.
His curiosity prompting him to know what it was, he took it out and read it. It was a
letter from this young man’s mother, in which she thanked him for having sent her a
part of his wages to relieve her misery; and finished with telling him that God would
reward him for his dutiful affection. The king, after reading it, went back softly into his
chamber, took a bag full of ducats, and slipped it with the letter into the page’s pocket.
Returning to the chamber, he rang the bell so loudly, that it awakened the page, who
instantly made his appearance. “You have had a sound sleep,” said the king. The page
was at a loss how to excuse himself; and putting his hand into his pocket by chance, to
his utter astonishment, he there found a purse of ducats. He took it out, turned pale, and
looking at the king, shed a torrent of tears without being able to utter a single word.
“What is that,” said the king, “what is the matter?” “Ah, sire,” said the young man,
throwing himself on his knees, “somebody seeks my ruin! I know nothing of this money
which I have just found in my pocket.” “My young friend,” replied Frederick, “God often
does great things for us, even in our sleep. Send that to your mother; salute her on my
part, and assure her that I will take care of both her and you.” (Moral and Religious
Anecdotes.)

10. Grace unknown in the heart
A child of God may have the kingdom of grace in his heart, yet not know it. The cup was
in Benjamin’s sack, though he did not know it was there; thou mayest have faith in thy
heart, the cup may be in thy sack though thou knowest it not. Old Jacob wept for his son
Joseph, when Joseph was alive; thou mayest weep for grace, when grace may be alive in
thy heart. The seed may be in the ground, when we do not see it spring up; the seed of
God may be sown in thy heart, though thou dost not perceive the springing up of it.
Think not grace is lost because it is hid. (T. Watson.)
Divining cups
The Ancient Egyptians, and still more, the Persians, practised a mode of divination from
goblets. Small pieces of gold or silver, together with precious stones, marked with
strange figures and signs, were thrown into the vessel; after which, certain incantations
were pronounced, and the evil demon was invoked; the latter was then supposed to give
the answer, either by intelligible words, or by pointing to some of the characters on the
precious stones, or in some other more mysterious manner. Sometimes the goblet was
filled with pure water, upon which the sun was allowed to play; and the figures which
were thus formed, or which a lively imagination fancied it saw, were interpreted as the
desired omen—a method of taking auguries still employed in Egypt and Nubia. The
goblets were usually of a spherical form; and for this reason, as well as because they were
believed to teach men all natural and many supernatural things, they were called
“celestial globes.” Most celebrated was the magnificent vase of turquoise of the wife
Jemsheed, the Solomon among the ancient Persian kings, the founder of Persepolis; and
Alexander the Great, so eager to imitate Eastern manners, is said to have adopted the
sacred goblets also. (M. M. Kalisch, Ph. D.)
TRAPP, "Gen_44:1 And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men’s
sacks [with] food, as much as they can carry, and put every man’s money in his sack’s
mouth.
Ver. 1. And he commanded the steward.] Peccata extrinsecus radere, et non intrinsecus
eradicare, fictio est, saith Bernard. Humiliation for sin must be sound and soaking, or
else it is to no purpose. Hypocrites "hang down their heads as a bulrush," {Isa_58:5}
while some storm of trouble is upon them; but in a fair sunshine day, they lift up their
heads as upright as ever. Something they do about sin, but nothing against it. As
artificial magic seem to wound, but do not; or as players seem to thrust themselves
through their bodies, but the sword passeth only through their clothes. This Joseph well
knew; and therefore, that his brethren might make sure work, and have their hearts
leavened and soured (as David’s was, Psa_73:21) with the greatness of godly sorrow;
that they might mourn as men do in the death of their dearest friends; {Zec_12:10} that
their sorrow might be "according to God" ( ç êáôá Yåïí ëõðç , 2Co_7:10), deep and daily,
like that sorrow, 2Sa_13:36; that waters of Marah might flow from their eyes, and their
hearts fall asunder in their bosoms like drops of water; he puts them to one more
grievous fright and agony before he makes himself known unto them. And this was a
high point of heavenly wisdom in him. For had he presently entertained and embraced

11. them as his brethren, they would sooner have gloried of their wickedness than repented
of it. Neither would a little repentance serve for a sin so ingrained, and such a long time
lain in. Their hearts were woefully hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, their consciences
festered: and had it been fit for him to break their bones before they were set; and lap up
their sores before they were searched? "Repent ye," saith St Peter to those that had
crucified Christ, and were now "pricked in their hearts." {Act_2:37-38} He saith not, "Be
of good cheer, your sins are forgiven," now that you feel some remorse for them; but,
Stay a while upon the work of repentance, and be thorough in it; leave not circumcising
your hearts, till you find them as sore as the Shechemites felt their bodies the third day.
And this the apostle said to such as already felt the nails wherewith they had crucified
Christ sticking fast in their own hearts and piercing them with horror. Take we heed of
laying cordials upon full and foul stomachs: "the feeble minded" only are to be
"comforted," such as are in danger to be swallowed up with grief. But some men’s stains
are so inveterate, that they will hardly be got out till the cloth be almost rubbed to pieces.
Put every man’s money in his sack’s mouth.] Should they not have been content that
their sacks were filled with corn, though there had not been money in the mouth of
them? And should not we also rest satisfied with our many mercies? &c.
2 Then put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of
the youngest one’s sack, along with the silver for
his grain.” And he did as Joseph said.
CLARKE, "Put my cup in the sack’s mouth of the youngest - The stratagem of
the cup seems to have been designed to bring Joseph’s brethren into the highest state of
perplexity and distress, that their deliverance by the discovery that Joseph was their
brother might have its highest effect.
GILL, "And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the
youngest,.... Benjamin; this he ordered to be done, partly to put him in apparent
danger, and try how his brethren would behave towards him in such circumstances, and

12. thereby know how they stood affected to him; and partly that he might have an excuse
for retaining him with him. This cup was valuable both for the matter of it, being of
silver, and for the use of it, being what Joseph himself drank out of: and by the word
used to express it, it seems to have been a large embossed cup, a kind of goblet, for it has
the signification of a little hill. Jarchi says it was a long cup, which they called
"mederno". The Septuagint render it by "condy", which is said to be a Persian word, and
a kind of an Attalic cup, that held ten cotylae (g), or four or five quarts, and weighed
ninety ounces; but a cup so large seems to be too large to drink out of:
and his corn money; what he had paid for his corn:
and he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken; put every man's
money in the mouth of his sack, and his silver cup with the corn money into Benjamin's
sack.
JAMISO , "put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack’s mouth — It was a large
goblet, as the original denotes, highly valued by its owner, on account of its costly
material or its elegant finish and which had probably graced his table at the sumptuous
entertainment of the previous day.
K&D 3-6, "Then as soon as it was light (‫ּור‬‫א‬, 3rd pers. perf. in o: Ges. §72, 1), they
were sent away with their asses. But they were hardly outside the town, “not far off,”
when he directed his steward to follow the men, and as soon as he overtook them, to say,
“Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good? Is it not this from which my lord drinketh,
and he is accustomed to prophesy from it? Ye have done an evil deed!” By these words
they were accused of theft; the thing was taken for granted as well known to them all,
and the goblet purloined was simply described as a very valuable possession of Joseph's.
‫שׁ‬ ַ‫ח‬ָ‫:נ‬ lit., to whisper, to mumble out formularies, incantations, then to prophesy,
divinare. According to this, the Egyptians at that time practised λεκανοσκοπίη or
λεκανοµαντεία and ᆓδροµαντεία, the plate and water incantations, of which Jamblichus
speaks (de myst. iii. 14), and which consisted in pouring clean water into a goblet, and
then looking into the water for representations of future events; or in pouring water into
a goblet or dish, dropping in pieces of gold and silver, also precious stones, and then
observing and interpreting the appearances in the water (cf. Varro apud August. civ. Dei
7, 35; Plin. h. n. 37, 73; Strabo, xvi. p. 762). Traces of this have been continued even to
our own day (see Norden's Journey through Egypt and Nubia). But we cannot infer with
certainty from this, that Joseph actually adopted this superstitious practice. The
intention of the statement may simply have been to represent the goblet as a sacred
vessel, and Joseph as acquainted with the most secret things (Gen_44:15).
CALVI , "2.And put my cup, the silver cup. It may seem wonderful that,
considering his great opulence, Joseph had not rather drunk out of a golden cup.
Doubtless, either the moderation of that age was still greater than has since
prevailed, and the splendor of it less sumptuous; or else this conduct must be

13. attributed to the moderation of the man, who, in the midst of universal license, yet
was contented with a plain and decent, rather than with a magnificent style of
living. Unless, perhaps, on account of the excellence of the workmanship, the silver
was more valuable than gold: as it is manifest from secular history, that the
workmanship has often been more expensive than the material itself. It is, however,
probable, that Joseph was sparing in domestic splendor, for the sake of avoiding
envy. For unless he had been prudently on his guard, a contention would have
arisen between him and the courtiers, resulting from a spirit of emulation.
Moreover, he commands the cup to be enclosed in Benjamin’s sack, in order that he
might claim him as his own, when convicted of the theft, and might send the rest
away: however, he accuses all alike, as if he knew not who among them had
committed the crime. And first, he reproves their ingratitude, because, when they
had been so kindly received, they made the worst possible return; next, he contends
that the crime was inexpiable, because they had stolen what was most valuable to
him; namely, the cup in which he was accustomed both to drink and to divine. And
he does this through his steward, whom he had not trained to acts of tyranny and
violence. Whence I infer, that the steward was not altogether ignorant of his
master’s design.
BE SO , "Genesis 44:2. Put my cup, the silver cup — Probably a large cup of
great value, and much used by Joseph; in the sack’s mouth of the youngest —
Hereby, it seems, Joseph meant to try his brethren’s affection to Benjamin, whether
they would assist him in his extremity, and also their regard for their father,
whether they would willingly give up and leave in confinement his favourite son.
Had they hated Benjamin as they had Joseph, and been influenced by the same
unfeeling disposition as they formerly were toward their father, they certainly
would have discovered themselves on this occasion: and no doubt Joseph would
have taken his measures in dealing with them accordingly.
ELLICOTT, "(2) Put my cup . . . —Rather bowl, as it signifies a large round vessel
from which the wine was poured into the drinking cups. Joseph’s purpose
apparently was to detain no one but Benjamin, and it was only when Judah spake so
very nobly, and pointed out that Jacob’s heart would be broken with grief if he lost
the one remaining son of Rachel, made more dear to him by his brother’s fate, that
he determined to give a home to them all. He naturally supposed that his father had
long since ceased to grieve for himself, and probably even hoped to prevail upon
him subsequently to join him in Egypt. But when Judah offered himself for slavery
rather than that his father should suffer the grief of seeing them return without

14. Benjamin, Joseph understood that Jacob’s anguish would be great beyond
endurance, and he also became aware that his brethren were no longer as heartless
as they had shown themselves of old.
(5) Whereby he divineth.—Cup divination was common in Egypt in ancient times,
and was a kind of clairvoyance, the bowl being partly filled with water, and the eye
of the diviner fixed upon some one point in it till, wearied with gazing, a state of half
stupor was induced, during which the mind, freed from the control of reason, acted
in a manner parallel to its operation in dreams. The same effect can be produced by
gazing intently on a globe of glass, and other such things. In Genesis 44:15, Joseph
asserts that he practised this art, and innocently. Though used now generally for
imposture, there is in clairvoyance a real physical basis, which would be
inexplicable in an unscientific age; and the genuine piety and goodness of Joseph
would not raise him above the reach of the superstitions of his time.
3 As morning dawned, the men were sent on their
way with their donkeys.
EXPOSITORS DICTIO ARY OF TEXTS, "Temperament and Grace
Genesis 44:3-4
A man"s reputation after death is a very haphazard thing. History is full of minor
characters of whom after ages have formed a very definite, but possibly wholly
wrong idea, based on some single and perhaps insignificant incident in their career,
or a chance remark upon them. The same thing may even happen in lifetime:

15. sometimes a man or woman carries about through mature years a wholly false
character, founded on some irrelevant thing they did or said in childhood, and
which is the only thing their circle of friends remember them by. One wonders, is
this the case of Reuben, son of Jacob, who has carried down the ages the burden of a
name for "instability".
I. But first, are we sure what his father meant by "unstable as water"? I fancy most
of us think he referred to the weak and yielding nature of that element. We are
wrong. He meant "boiling over like water". He was thinking of a caldron placed on
a fire of desert thorns. The blaze of the quick fuel heats the pot and suddenly the
water bubbles up; as suddenly the treacherous fuel gives out, and the boiling water
drops again, flat, silent, chill. What Jacob meant to say of Reuben by this gipsy
metaphor was that he was a spirit which boiled up readily and as readily grew cold.
We may safely take it that in Reuben we have the type of what we call the impulsive
Prayer of Manasseh , with the merits and the defects of that temperament.
II. It has struck me that there is a Reuben also in the ew Testament. This ew
Testament Reuben is not a shepherd but a fisherman, but he is generous, warm-
hearted, strong in impulse, weak in constancy, he boils up and he falls cold. Peter is
Reuben in temperament: yet Reuben was a moral failure, "he could not excel,"
while Peter was a saint and did excel.
III. The moral I desire to fix on the Old Testament story is that whatever be our
temperament, too fast like Reuben"s, or too slow like some others, Christ can so
remake us that we shall not be failures in life. I do not mean that Christ alters our
temperaments. He did not alter Peter"s. The dissimilation at Antioch, the tradition
of Peter"s flight from persecution at Rome and his return to die, tell us that he was
in natural make the same man. But the power of Christ recovered him as surely as
he fell.
—J. H. Skrine, The Heart"s Counsel, p85.
References.—XLIV.—F. W. Robertson, otes on Genesis , p161. XLV:1-5.—
Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xliii. o2516. XLV:1-15.—A. Maclaren, Expositions of

16. Holy Scripture— Genesis , p260. XLV:3.—R. C. Trench, Sermons ew and Old,
p37. G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p370. H. Melvill, Penny Pulpit, o1488 , p41.
XLV:3-5.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. viii. o449. Genesis 45:4
"The true tears are those which are called forth by the beauty of poetry; there must
be as much admiration in them as sorrow. They are the tears which come to our
eyes... when Joseph cries out, "I am Joseph, your brother, whom ye sold into
Egypt". Who does not feel that the man who wrote that was no shallow rhetorician,
but a born man of genius, with the true instinct for what is really admirable?"
—M. Arnold, in his Essay on Tarbert.
References.—XLV:4.—S. Baring-Gould, Village Preaching for a Year, vol. ii. p78.
4 They had not gone far from the city when
Joseph said to his steward, “Go after those men at
once, and when you catch up with them, say to
them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil?
GILL, "And when they were gone out of the city, and not yet far off,.... Which

17. perhaps was Tanis, the Zoan of the Scriptures; see Eze_30:14, margin:
Joseph said unto his steward, up, follow after the men; who no doubt was ready
provided with men and horses, to go out and pursue when Joseph should give the
orders, he being privy to Joseph's intentions, and with whom the scheme was concerted,
and the secret was. Joseph appears to have been up very early this morning, and had
observed the exact time of his brethren's departure, and guessed whereabouts they
might be when he sent his steward, and others after them; for it can hardly be thought
he was sent alone after eleven men, and to charge them with a theft, and bring them back
again:
and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, wherefore have ye
rewarded evil for good? in taking away the silver cup, when they had been so kindly
and bountifully entertained. This he was to represent as base ingratitude, as it would
have appeared, had it been fact. In much such manner was Esop used by the inhabitants
of Delphos; they, being displeased with him, put a sacred cup or vial into his bags, which
he, being ignorant of, went on his way towards Phocis; and they ran after him, and
seized him, and charged him with sacrilege (h).
JAMISO , "When they were gone out of the city ... Joseph said unto his
steward — They were brought to a sudden halt by the stunning intelligence that an
article of rare value was missing from the governor’s house. It was a silver cup; so strong
suspicions were entertained against them that a special messenger was despatched to
search them.
COFFMA , "Verses 4-6
"And when they were gone out of the city, and were not yet far off, Joseph said unto
his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto
them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good? Is not this that in which my lord
drinketh, whereby he indeed divineth? ye have done evil in so doing. And he
overtook them, and he spake unto them these words."
"And when they were gone out of the city ..." Willis said, "Unfortunately it is
impossible to know what city in Egypt is intended here."[4] Although our curiosity
would be gratified by having such information, it is characteristic of the divine
writings to ignore many things that men would have considered important. It is
wrong, however, to make the omission of the name of the city where these events
happened an excuse for supposing "some different tradition" is involved, at
variance with the frequent mention of place-names connected with the life of Jacob,
such as Bethel, Shechem, etc. Keller noted that, "The story of Joseph, like so much

18. of what the Bible relates, has received the most astonishing confirmation."[5]
Joseph had taken his steward into his confidence, as indicated when the steward
gave permission for all the brothers except Benjamin to return to Canaan.
One of the points of interest here is the matter of that silver cup and Joseph's use of
it for "divination." "Whether Joseph is conceived of as really practicing divination,
or only wishing his brothers to think so, does not appear."[6] Many have mentioned
the various ways of divination by means of a cup. Sometimes, "Such a divination
cup was filled with water, then oil was poured on the water; and the future was
predicted on the basis of the forms that appeared on the surface."[7]
"Mesopotamian sources indicate that ... water was poured into oil, or fragments of
silver and gold were dropped into water or oil, and a priest or diviner read the
message in the way the globules arranged themselves."[8] Dummelow gave the name
of this type of magic as "hydromancy."[9] Regarding the question, whether or not
Joseph actually practiced such a thing, we do not consider it out of reason that he
actually did so. After all, his mother Rachel stole the false gods of her father, and we
have already noted that the evidence in this part of Genesis points to a significant
spiritual drift away from the truth in Joseph himself.
PETT, "Verses 4-6
‘And when they had left the city and were as yet no great distance Joseph said to his
steward, “Up, follow after the men, and when you overtake them say to them, “Why
have you rewarded evil for good? Is not this cup the one in which my lord drinks,
and by which indeed he divines? You have done evil in so doing.” And he overtook
them and spoke to them these words.’
Joseph now sends his steward after the brothers to call them to task because of the
cup. It is stressed that the cup is a special one, for it not only has a use for drinking
but it is also his divining cup. It is thus a sacred object and the penalty for such a
theft is death (compare 31:30-32). Whether Joseph actually used the cup for this
purpose we do not know, but every great man in Egypt would have his divining cup.
The divining would be carried out by specialists. Divining with a cup was a common
practise in the ancient world. Small objects were placed in the cup and the future
was deduced by the effect produced on the liquid.

19. TRAPP, "Gen_44:4 [And] when they were gone out of the city, [and] not [yet] far
off, Joseph said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost
overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good?
Ver. 4. Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good?] This, blind nature saw to be the
sum of all sins. Ingratum dixeris, omnia dixeris. Some vices are such as nature
smiles upon, though frowned at by divine justice; not so this. Hercules is much
condemned by the heathens for killing his schoolmaster Linus; Alexander, for doing
the like by his friend Clitus; ero, by his tutor Seneca: Muleasses, king of Tunis, is
cried out on, for torturing to death the Manifet and Mesnar, by whose means
especially he had aspired to the kingdom. {a} Philip, king of Macedonia, caused a
soldier of his, that had offered unkindness to one that had kindly entertained him, to
be branded in the forehead, with these two words; Hospes ingratus. Unthankfulness
is a monster in nature, a solecism in manners, a paradox in divinity, a parching
wind to dry up the fountain of further favour. Benjamin’s five fold mess was no
small aggravation to the theft here laid to his charge. {b}
5 Isn’t this the cup my master drinks from and
also uses for divination? This is a wicked thing
you have done.’”
CLARKE, "Whereby - he divineth? - Divination by cups has been from time
immemorial prevalent among the Asiatics; and for want of knowing this, commentators

20. have spent a profusion of learned labor upon these words, in order to reduce them to
that kind of meaning which would at once be consistent with the scope and design of the
history, and save Joseph from the impeachment of sorcery and divination. I take the
word ‫נחש‬ nachash here in its general acceptation of to view attentively, to inquire. Now
there has been in the east a tradition, the commencement of which is lost in immemorial
time, that there was a Cup, which had passed successively into the hands of different
potentates, which possessed the strange property of representing in it the whole world,
and all the things which were then doing in it. The cup is called jami Jemsheed, the cup of
Jemsheed, a very ancient king of Persia, whom late historians and poets have
confounded with Bacchus, Solomon, Alexander the Great, etc. This Cup, filled with the
elixir of immortality, they say was discovered when digging to lay the foundations of
Persepolis. The Persian poets are full of allusions to this cup, which, from its property of
representing the whole world and its transactions, is styled by them jam jehan nima, “the
cup showing the universe;” and to the intelligence received by means of it they attribute
the great prosperity of their ancient monarchs, as by it they understood all events, past,
present, and to come. Many of the Mohammedan princes and governors affect still to
have information of futurity by means of a cup. When Mr. Norden was at Derri in the
farthest part of Egypt, in a very dangerous situation, an ill-natured and powerful Arab, in
a threatening way, told one of their people whom they sent to him that “he knew what
sort of people they were, for he had consulted his cup, and found by it that they were
those of whom one of their prophets had said, that Franks (Europeans) would come in
disguise; and, passing everywhere, examine the state of the country; and afterwards
bring over a great number of other Franks, conquer the country, and exterminate all.” By
this we see that the tradition of the divining cup still exists, and in the very same country
too in which Joseph formerly ruled. Now though it is not at all likely that Joseph
practiced any kind of divination, yet probably, according to the superstition of those
times, (for I suppose the tradition to be even older than the time of Joseph),
supernatural influence might be attributed to his cup; and as the whole transaction
related here was merely intended to deceive his brethren for a short time, he might as
well affect divination by his cup, as he affected to believe they had stolen it. The steward
therefore uses the word ‫נחש‬ nachash in its proper meaning: Is not this it out of which my
lord drinketh, and in which he inspecteth accurately? Gen_44:5. And hence Joseph says,
Gen_44:15 : Wot ye not - did ye not know, that such a person as I (having such a cup)
would accurately and attentively look into it? As I consider this to be the true meaning, I
shall not trouble the reader with other modes of interpretation.
GILL, "Is not this it, in which my lord drinketh,.... Which was for his own
particular use, and so the more ungrateful in them to take it:
and whereby indeed he divineth? according to our version and others, Joseph is
here represented by his steward as a diviner or soothsayer, and so he might be thought
to be by the Egyptians, from being such an exact interpreter of dreams, foretelling things
to come, and that he made his divinations by the silver cup; and we are told that the
Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Egyptians, used to fill basins with water, in which they put
plates of silver and precious stones, marked with certain characters, and pronouncing
certain words, called to the devil, who uttered a voice in the water like an hissing, and
returned answers to the things inquired about (i): a like practice is used by the Africans
now (k); which method Andronicus took to know who would be his successor, but was

21. reckoned among the most infamous and scandalous parts of the magic art (l) wherefore,
as Joseph never practised any thing of this kind, so neither would he dissemble, or make
as if he did; though it must be owned that the Arabs (m) in Egypt at this day pretend to
consult with the cup and divine by it: but the words will bear another version and sense,
for it may signify to tempt, to try, to make an experiment, and by experience to know a
thing, as in Gen_30:27; and so the Arabic version, "and indeed he hath tried you by it":
so Aben Ezra interprets it of his trying of them by it, whether they were thieves or not,
whether they were a parcel of light fingered filching fellows: the cup, he pretends, was
set before them, and he turned himself another way, either Joseph or the steward, and
they took the opportunity of carrying it off; or else, as others think, he tried them by
drinking in it very freely and liberally, what sort of men they were, how they would
behave themselves in their cups, when truth is commonly spoke, the wit being out when
the wine is in: but of these two senses the former is to be preferred; though it seems best
of all to understand this not of the cup as the instrument by which he tried, searched,
and inquired into things, but as the object searched after and inquired of; for the word
signifies to inquire, and make a strict observation of things, and thereby make shrewd
guesses and conjectures, as in 1Ki_20:33; and so the sense is, either according to R.
Jonah (n), that his master would diligently inquire of the soothsayers concerning it, in
order to find out who took it away, and so Ben Melech; for the words may be rendered,
"for which he certainly makes", or has made, or will make "divination", which agrees
with Gen_44:15; for if the cup was gone, how could he make divination with it? it must
be for it; or indeed they might well conclude themselves, that as such a thing would soon
be missed, diligent inquiry would be made after it, and it would be at once conjectured
that it was taken away, not by any of the household, but by those strangers that had
dined with Joseph; and a man of his sagacity and penetration would soon find it out, and
therefore it was madness and folly to do such an action, and think to get off clear:
ye have done evil in so doing: both a mad and foolish action, and a base, wicked, and
ungrateful one, as well as what was infamous and scandalous; for nothing was reckoned
more so than for a guest at a prince's table to carry away a cup, or anything of that kind,
with him: so Claudius the Roman emperor, a guest of his, the day before, having taken
away a golden cup, as was supposed, ordered an earthen one to be put in its place (o),
which was a putting him to public shame and reproach: Dioxippus the Athenian, being
at table with Alexander the great, a golden cup was taken away privately, by some that
envied him; and the hint being given as if he had done it, all eyes were turned on him as
the thief, which he could not bear, but went out, and wrote a letter to the king, and then
killed himself (p).
HE RY, ". How the pretended criminals were pursued and arrested, on suspicion of
having stolen a silver cup. The steward charged them with ingratitude - rewarding evil
for good; and with folly, in taking away a cup of daily use, and which therefore would
soon be missed, and diligent search made for it; for so it may be read: Is not this it in
which my lord drinketh (as having a particular fondness for it), and for which he would
search thoroughly? Gen_44:5. Or, “By which, leaving it carelessly at your table, he
would make trial whether you were honest men or no.”
JAMISO , "Is not this it in which my lord drinketh — not only kept for the
governor’s personal use, but whereby he divines. Divination by cups, to ascertain the

22. course of futurity, was one of the prevalent superstitions of ancient Egypt, as it is of
Eastern countries still. It is not likely that Joseph, a pious believer in the true God,
would have addicted himself to this superstitious practice. But he might have availed
himself of that popular notion to carry out the successful execution of his stratagem for
the last decisive trial of his brethren.
CALVI , "5.Whereby indeed, he divineth (171) This clause is variously expounded.
For some take it as if Joseph pretended that he consulted soothsayers in order to
find out the thief. Others translate it, “by which he has tried you, or searched you
out;” others, that the stolen cup had given Joseph an unfavorable omen. The
genuine sense seems to me to be this: that he had used the cup for divinations and
for magical arts; which, however, we have said, he feigned, for the sake of
aggravating the charge brought against them. But the question arises, how does
Joseph allow himself to resort to such an expedient? For besides that it was sinful
for him to profess augury; he vainly and unworthily transfers to imaginary deities
the honor due only to divine grace. On a former occasion, he had declared that he
was unable to interpret dreams, except so far as God should suggest the truth to
him; now he obscures this entire ascription of praise to divine grace; and what is
worse, by boasting that he is a magician rather than proclaiming himself a prophet
of God, he impiously profanes the gift of the Holy Spirit. Doubtless, in this
dissimulation, it is not to be denied, that he sinned grievously. Yet I think that, at
the first, he had endeavored, by all means in his power, to give unto God his due
honor; and it was not his fault that the whole kingdom of Egypt was ignorant of the
fact that he excelled in skill, not by magical arts, but by a celestial gift. But since the
Egyptians were accustomed to the illusions of the magicians, this ancient error so
prevailed, that they believed Joseph to be one of them; and I do not doubt that this
rumor was spread abroad among the people, although contrary to his desire and
intention. ow Joseph, in feigning himself to be a stranger to his brethren, combines
many falsehoods in one, and takes advantage of the prevailing vulgar opinion that
he used auguries. Whence we gather, that when any one swerves from the right line,
he is prone to fall into various sins. Wherefore, being warned by this example, let us
learn to allow ourselves in nothing except what we know is approved by God. But
especially must we avoid all dissimulation, which either produces or confirms
mischievous impostures. Besides, we are warned, that it is not sufficient for any one
to oppose a prevailing vice for a time; unless he add constancy of resistance, even
though the evil may become excessive. For he discharges his duty very defectively,
who, having once testified that he is displeased with what is evil, afterwards, by his
silence or connivance, gives it a kind of assent.

23. BE SO , "Genesis 44:5. Whereby indeed he divineth — The original word may be
rendered, For which he would search thoroughly, or, Concerning which he would
certainly divine, or make trial and discovery. As if he had said, Did you think that
you could deceive my master? Did you not know that he could divine and discover
secret things, whence he hath both his name and preferment? And this cup being
much prized and used by him, you might easily think that he would use his art to
recover it. You have done evil — Very evil, have acted unjustly, unthankfully, and
foolishly in so doing.
COKE, "Genesis 44:5. Whereby indeed he divineth— This cup, which the
Septuagint call κονδυ, kondu, the AEgyptian name for a cup, was a goblet or bowl,
it is thought, with a great belly. It is plain, this was a cup used for common
purposes; for the steward says, is not this it in which my lord drinketh? It is evident
also, from Genesis 44:15 that to divine signifies to know or foretel things which are
beyond the reach of common understandings: it is therefore probable, that there
was some sort of divination by cups then in use among the AEgyptians. The Greeks
and Romans, who had much of their religion from AEgypt, practised this method of
divination, particularly, by observing the sparkling of the wine in their libations. It
does not however follow, that Joseph really practised any such art; the steward may
be supposed only to ask this question, to make the brethren think that he did so;
and perhaps, from his being a known interpreter of dreams, the people might fancy
that he was skilled in divination. Some interpreters, of good authority, think, that as
the original word sometimes signifies simply to try, or make experiment, ch. Genesis
30:27. 1 Kings 20:33 the passage might be expounded thus, and whereby indeed he
would make trial, namely, of your honesty. Others, who refer the word it, not to the
cup, but to the theft, would read, will he not, by making trial, search it out? i.e.. do
you imagine that your theft can be concealed from one who is so sagacious in
discovering secrets? But as Joseph, in the 15th verse, speaks in the character of an
AEgyptian, still desirous to conceal himself from them, I should rather think he
refers to some custom or method of divination among the AEgyptians. The author of
Observations on Passages of sacred Scripture observes, that "when Mr. orden was
at Derri, in the farther part of AEgypt, or rather in ubia, in a very dangerous
situation, from which he and his company endeavoured to extricate themselves by
exerting great spirit; a spiteful and powerful Arab told one of his people whom they
sent to him in a threatening way, that he knew what sort of people they were; that
he had consulted his cup, and had found by it that they were those, of whom one of
their prophets said, that Franks would come in disguise, and, passing every where,
examine the state of the country, and afterwards bring over a great many other
Franks, conquer the country, and exterminate them all." ord. Voy. vol. 2: p. 150.

24. TRAPP, "Gen_44:5 [Is] not this [it] in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed
he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing.
Ver. 5. And whereby indeed he divineth.] Junius reads it thus - Et nonne ipse
experimento certo didicerit per illum, quales sitls? q.d., Hath he not by this fact of
yours, found out your fraud and false dealing; whereby ye have hitherto sought to
delude him? Is it not plain ye are spies and naughty-packs? The Jerusalem Targum
seemeth to tax Joseph here for a soothsayer; or, at least, a seeker to such; which God
forbade. {Deu_18:10} Calvin also thinks he did grievously offend in pretending to be
such a one; and did impiously profane the gift of the Spirit in professing himself a
magician. But, pace tanti viri, this is too heavy a censure, and a forcing of the text,
saith Junius. All that Joseph did was to sift his brethren, and to try their affection to
Benjamin. And if he took upon him to be a diviner, he did it not seriously; but made
use of that conceit the vulgar had of him: like as St Paul made use of that
superstitious custom among the Corinthians, of baptizing over the dead, to prove
the resurrection. {a}
6 When he caught up with them, he repeated these
words to them.
BAR ES, "Gen_44:6-12
The cup is found in Benjamin’s bag. “Spake unto them these words.” The words of
Joseph, supplying of course the mention of the cup which is expressed in the text only by
the pronoun this. “We brought back to thee.” Silver that we might have retained, and to
which you made no claim when we tendered it, we brought back. How or why should we
therefore, steal silver? “Now also according to your words let it be.” He adopts their
terms with a mitigation. He with whom the cup is found shall become a slave for life, and
the rest be acquitted. The steward searches from the oldest to the youngest. The cup is

25. found where it was put.
GILL, "And he overtook them,.... Their asses being laden with corn could not travel
very fast, and he and his attendants being mounted on swift horses:
and he spake unto them these same words; that Joseph had ordered him to say,
and so what follows particularly, Gen_44:10.
JAMISO , "he overtook them, and he spake ... these words — The steward’s
words must have come upon them like a thunderbolt, and one of their most
predominant feelings must have been the humiliating and galling sense of being made so
often objects of suspicion. Protesting their innocence, they invited a search. The
challenge was accepted [Gen_44:10, Gen_44:11]. Beginning with the eldest, every sack
was examined, and the cup being found in Benjamin’s [Gen_44:12], they all returned in
an indescribable agony of mind to the house of the governor [Gen_44:13], throwing
themselves at his feet [Gen_44:14], with the remarkable confession, “God hath found
out the iniquity of thy servants” [Gen_44:16].
CO STABLE, "Verses 6-13
The brothers" promise was not only rash but foolish since the contents of their
sacks had surprised them previously ( Genesis 44:9). Years earlier Laban had
searched through Jacob"s possessions for his teraphim that remained hidden in
Rachel"s tent. Jacob had rashly pronounced a death sentence on the guilty person
(cf. Genesis 31:23; Genesis 31:25; Genesis 31:33; Genesis 31:35). ow the Egyptians
searched for Joseph"s cup of divination and found it in the sack of Benjamin,
Rachel"s son. The brothers here also rashly pronounced a death sentence on the
guilty person.
Joseph"s steward did not hold the brothers to their promise but simply stated that
the "guilty" person would become a slave ( Genesis 44:10). Joseph had set his
brothers up with a perfect excuse to abandon Benjamin and free themselves from
slavery.
Tearing one"s clothing was a sign of great personal distress in the ancient ear East
( Genesis 44:13; cf. Genesis 37:29). Here it expressed the brothers" sincere agony at
the prospect of having to turn Benjamin over to the Egyptians and return to Jacob
only to break his heart. They tore their clothes in anguish, as Jacob had done when

26. he received news of Joseph"s apparent death ( Genesis 37:34). The brothers did not
suspect that they were the victims of fraud any more than Jacob did when his sons
gave him Joseph"s bloody coat. [ ote: Hamilton, The Book . . . Chapters18-50 ,
p564.]
"That all the brothers suffered such distress is a telling sign of the new sense of
unity they had developed. They had already been informed that the innocent will be
released ( Genesis 44:10). Moreover, that they all return to Egypt underscores their
commitment to Benjamin. The brothers are of one accord without any grumbling or
dissent. ... They were guilty [previously] but did not show remorse; now they are
innocent and demonstrate deepest agony." [ ote: Mathews, Genesis 11:27-50:26 ,
p800.]
GUZIK, " (6-10) The brothers claim they are innocent of theft.
So he overtook them, and he spoke to them these same words. And they said to him,
Why does my lord say these words? Far be it from us that your servants should do
such a thing. Look, we brought back to you from the land of Canaan the money
which we found in the mouth of our sacks. How then could we steal silver or gold
from your lords house? With whomever of your servants it is found, let him die, and
we also will be my lords slaves. And he said, ow also let it be according to your
words; he with whom it is found shall be my slave, and you shall be blameless.
a. Far be it from us that your servants should do such a thing: The brothers
confidently stated they did not have the cup. This showed that they had a healthy
trust in each other. If they did not trust each other they would have immediately
wondered which brother stole the cup.
b. With whomever of your servants it is found, let him die, and we also will be my
lords slaves: They were so confident they did not have the cup (and trusted each
other so much), they declared the thief should be killed and all the others taken as
slaves.

27. c. ow also let it be according to your words; he with whom it is found shall be my
slave: Joseph did not repeat their offer of a death sentence because he wanted no
bloodshed. Joseph had a plan for agreeing with the brothers suggestion that the
guilty parties be taken as slaves.
7 But they said to him, “Why does my lord say
such things? Far be it from your servants to do
anything like that!
GILL, "And they said unto him, wherefore saith my lord these words?.... One
of them, in the name of the rest, perhaps Judah, made answer, as astonished at the
charge laid against them, suggesting that there was not the least foundation for it, and
were quite surprised to hear anything of this kind alleged against them:
God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing; expressing the
utmost detestation of such a fact, as being what they could never be guilty of.
HE RY, "How they pleaded for themselves. They solemnly protested their
innocence, and detestation of so base a thing (Gen_44:7), urged it as an instance of their
honesty that they had brought their money back (Gen_44:8), and offered to submit to
the severest punishment if they should be found guilty, Gen_44:9, Gen_44:10.
III. How the theft was fastened upon Benjamin. In his sack the cup was found to
whom Joseph had been particularly kind. Benjamin, no doubt, was ready to deny, upon
oath, the taking of the cup, and we may suppose him as little liable to suspicion as any of
them; but it is in vain to confront such notorious evidence: the cup is found in his
custody; they dare not arraign Joseph's justice, nor so much as suggest that perhaps he
that had put their money in their sacks' mouths had put the cup there; but they throw
themselves upon Joseph's mercy. And,

28. K&D, "In the consciousness of their innocence the brethren repelled this charge with
indignation, and appealed to the fact that they brought back the gold which was found in
their sacks, and therefore could not possibly have stolen gold or silver; and declared that
whoever should be found in possession of the goblet, should be put to death, and the rest
become slaves.
CALVI , "7.And they said unto him. The sons of Jacob boldly excuse themselves,
because a good conscience gives them confidence. They also argue from the greater
to the less: for they contend, that their having voluntarily brought back the money,
which they might with impunity have applied to their own use, was such a proof of
their honesty, as to make it incredible that they should have been so blinded by a
little gain, as to bring upon themselves the greatest disgrace, together with
immediate danger of their lives. They, therefore, declared themselves ready to
submit to any punishment, if they were found guilty of the theft. When the cup was
discovered in Benjamin’s sack, Moses does not relate any of their complaints; but
only declares, that they testified the most bitter grief by rending their garments. I do
not doubt that they were struck dumb by the unexpected result; for they were
confounded, not only by the magnitude of their grief, but by perceiving themselves
to be obnoxious to punishment, for that of which their conscience did not accuse
them. Therefore, when they come into the presence of Joseph, they confess the
injury, not because they acknowledge that the crime has been committed by them,
but because excuse would be of no avail; as if they would say, “It is of no use to deny
a thing which is manifest in itself.” In this sense, they say that their iniquity has
been found out by God; because, although they had some secret suspicion of fraud,
thinking that this had been a contrivance for the purpose of bringing an unjust
charge against them, they choose rather to trace the cause of their punishment to the
secret judgment of God. (172) Some interpreters believe that they here confessed
their crime committed against Joseph; but that opinion is easily refuted, because
they constantly affirm that he had been torn by a wild beast, or had perished by
some accident. Therefore, the more simple meaning is that which I have adduced;
that although the truth of the fact is not apparent, yet they are punished by God as
guilty persons. They do not, however, speak hypocritically; but being troubled and
astonished in their perplexed affairs, there is nothing left for them but the
consciousness that this punishment is inflicted by the secret judgment of God. And I
wish that they who, when smitten by the rod of God, do not immediately perceive
the cause, would adopt the same course; and when they find that men are unjustly
incensed against them, would recall to mind the secret judgments of God, by which
it becomes us to be humbled. Moreover, whereas Judah speaks in the name of them
all, we may hence infer, that he had already obtained precedence among his
brethren. And Moses exhibits him as their head and chief, when he expressly states
that he and the rest came. For though the dignity of primogeniture had not yet been

29. conferred upon him, by the solemn judgment of his father, yet it was intended for
him. Certainly, in taking the post of speaker for the rest, his authority appears in his
language. Again, it is necessary to recall to memory, in reference to the language of
Joseph, what I have before said, that although at first he had endeavored to ascribe
the glory to God, he now sins in pretending that he is a soothsayer or diviner. Some,
to extenuate the fault, say that the allusion is, not to the art of augury, but to his skill
in judging; there is, however, no need to resort to forced expositions for the sake of
excusing the man; for he speaks according to the common understanding of the
multitude, and thus foolishly countenances the received opinion.
COFFMA , "Verses 7-10
"And they said unto him, Wherefore speaketh my lord such words as these? Far be
it from thy servants that they should do such a thing. Behold, the money which we
found in our sack's mouths, we brought unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how
then should we steal out of thy lord's house silver and gold? With whomsoever of
thy servants it be found, let him die, and we will be my lord's bondmen. And he
said, ow also let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be
my bondman; and ye shall be blameless."
An essential part of Joseph's trap so carefully laid for the brothers was that of
providing them an excellent chance to abandon Benjamin and return to Jacob
without him. The steward was in on the arrangements, and therefore, he modified
their words by granting immediate freedom for all of them except the one with
whom the cup should be found.
The brothers, of course, vigorously protested their innocence, for it was based upon
what they were certain was the truth. We are not told whether or not they believed
in Benjamin's guilt, but, apparently, they attributed the disaster as, in some strange
manner, a visitation of God Himself upon them for their sins. One cannot fail to
appreciate the shock and consternation which came to the brothers, as related in the
next verses.
TRAPP, "Gen_44:7 And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my lord these words?
God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing:

30. Ver. 7. God forbid that thy servants should do.] Rapine and robbery was ever
condemned amongst very heathens, and severely punished. Tamerlane, in his
expedition against Bajazet, took such order with his soldiers that none were injured;
insomuch, that if a soldier had but taken an apple, or other thing of like value from
any man, he died for it. One of his soldiers having taken a little milk from a country
woman, and she thereof complaining, he ripped up his stomach; where when he
found the milk, he contented the woman and sent her away, who had otherwise died
for her false accusation. {a}
8 We even brought back to you from the land of
Canaan the silver we found inside the mouths of
our sacks. So why would we steal silver or gold
from your master’s house?
GILL, "With whomsoever of thy servants it be found,.... The silver cup:
both let him die; which was rashly said, since they might have thought the cup might
be put in one of their sacks unknown to them, as their money had been before; and
besides, death was a punishment too severe for such a crime, and therefore is by the
steward himself moderated; but this they said the more strongly to express their
innocence:
and we also will be my lord's bondmen; his servants, as long as they lived: this was
likewise carrying the matter too far, and exceeding all bounds of justice, which could
only require satisfaction of the offender.
BE SO , "Genesis 44:8-9. How then should we steal, &c. — It is not probable that
we, who restored that which it was in our power to keep, and to conceal without any
danger, should steal that which was likely to be discovered with so much shame and

31. hazard to ourselves. With whomsoever it is found, let him die — They suspected no
fraud, and were so conscious of their innocence, that they consented to suffer the
severest punishment, if found guilty. Their offer, however, was rash and
inconsiderate.
COKE, "Genesis 44:8. Behold, the money— Joseph's brethren urge, as a good proof
of their honesty, and of the improbability of the charge laid against them, that it
could never be supposed that they, who so faithfully restored the money found in
their sacks, which they might so easily have concealed, would scandalously pilfer
what was of so much less value, and which might be so easily discovered. Conscious
of their innocence, they make the most confident, though incautious proposal; for,
having been so strangely deceived with respect to the money found in their sacks,
they ought to have been slower, at least, in the present case; see Genesis 44:9.
9 If any of your servants is found to have it, he
will die; and the rest of us will become my lord’s
slaves.”
GILL, "With whomsoever of thy servants it be found,.... The silver cup:
both let him die; which was rashly said, since they might have thought the cup might
be put in one of their sacks unknown to them, as their money had been before; and
besides, death was a punishment too severe for such a crime, and therefore is by the
steward himself moderated; but this they said the more strongly to express their

32. innocence:
and we also will be my lord's bondmen; his servants, as long as they lived: this was
likewise carrying the matter too far, and exceeding all bounds of justice, which could
only require satisfaction of the offender.
ELLICOTT, "(9-13) Let him die.—Joseph’s brethren, conscious of their innocence,
deny the theft, and, like Jacob when accused of stealing the teraphim (Genesis
31:32), declare that the guilty person shall die, and the rest be made slaves; readily
too they consent to be searched, and take their travelling-bags from off the asses on
which they were riding. The steward, who knew where the bowl was, answers that
only the man in whose bag it is found shall be punished, and that not by death but
by slavery. Beginning with Reuben’s bag, the money is found, but this the steward
makes light of; he then takes the next, and as each brother sees that he has with him
more than he knew of, their minds must have been filled with confusion and terror.
They would be liable to slavery for taking the money, but when the bowl is found in
Benjamin’s possession all hope was gone, and they rent their clothes in
uncontrollable grief.
10 “Very well, then,” he said, “let it be as you say.
Whoever is found to have it will become my slave;
the rest of you will be free from blame.”
GILL, "And he said, now also let it be according unto your words,.... Not
according to the full extent of their words, but according to a part of them; that be only
should be a servant that was found guilty; so moderating the punishment which they had
fixed, and were willing to submit to, and therefore could not object to what he next
proposes:

33. he with whom it is found shall be my servant; speaking in the name of Joseph,
whom he represented, and who had directed him what to say:
and ye shall be blameless; acquitted of the charge, and pronounced innocent, and let
go free.
K&D, "The man replied, “Now let it be even (‫ם‬ַ placed first for the sake of emphasis)
according to your words: with whom it is found, he shall be my slave, and ye (the rest)
shall remain blameless.” Thus he modified the sentence, to assume the appearance of
justice.
COKE, "Genesis 44:10. Let it be according unto your words— There appears a
contradiction in this translation; the steward offering to accept their terms, and yet
immediately proposing different ones; compare the ninth verse. Calmet is for
rendering the verse thus: Certainly at present it would be just to treat you according
to your own words; but he only who hath committed the theft, shall be my slave; I
will take no advantage; the rest of you shall be blameless.
PETT, "Verse 10
‘And he said, “Let it now be as you have said. He with whom it is found shall be my
bondman, and you shall be blameless.’
“As you have said.” ot in the detail but in the fact of punishment. The servant
lessens the sentence. Joseph does not want to drive his brothers too far. The guilty
man will become a bondman and the rest will be seen as blameless and can go free.
This was not in accordance with ancient practise which demanded collective
responsibility. Those who consorted with a guilty man were themselves seen as
guilty, as the brothers had themselves admitted.
11 Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the
ground and opened it.

34. GILL, "Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground,.... To
be opened and examined, and this they did in all haste, as having a clear conscience, and
being confident that nothing could be found upon them, and desirous of having the
affair issued as soon as possible, that the steward might have full satisfaction, and they
proceed on in their journey:
and opened every man his sack; showing neither reluctance nor fear, being
conscious of their innocence.
K&D, "They then took down their sacks as quickly as possible; and he examined
them, beginning with the eldest and finishing with the youngest; and the goblet was
found in Benjamin's sack. With anguish and alarm at this new calamity they rent their
clothes (vid., Gen_37:34), loaded their asses again, and returned to the city. It would
now be seen how they felt in their inmost hearts towards their father's favourite, who
had been so distinguished by the great man of Egypt: whether now as formerly they were
capable of giving up their brother, and bringing their aged father with sorrow to the
grave; or whether they were ready, with unenvying, self-sacrificing love, to give up their
own liberty and lives for him. And they stood this test.
COFFMA , "Verses 11-13
"Then they hasted, and took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened
every man his sack. And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left off at the
youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. Then they rent their clothes,
and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city."
The brothers met the situation with full honor and filial devotion to the wishes of
their aged father. Instead of returning without Benjamin, they accepted the plight of
their brother as their very own, tore their clothes, and together returned to the city
to face the consequences.
GUZIK, "(11-13) The cup is found in Benjamins sack.

35. Then each man speedily let down his sack to the ground, and each opened his sack.
So he searched. He began with the oldest and left off with the youngest; and the cup
was found in Benjamins sack. Then they tore their clothes, and each man loaded his
donkey and returned to the city.
a. The cup was found in Benjamins sack: The reaction of the brothers showed that
for them, this was the worst thing imaginable. ot only was the cup found among
them, but that it was in Benjamins sack - their fathers favorite son, the one he
worried about the most. ow Benjamin was sentenced to a life of slavery in Egypt, if
not death.
b. Each man loaded his donkey and returned: When Joseph was taken as a slave the
brothers allowed him to go and thought nothing of it. ow they were willing to
stand with Benjamin as he faced slavery or death. This demonstrated a significant
change in the heart and attitude of Josephs brothers.
PETT, "Verse 11-12
‘Then they acted hurriedly and every man took his sack to the ground, and every
man opened his sack. And he searched and began at the eldest and finished at the
youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.’
The search is described. They act with the speed of the innocent and each opens his
sack. The silver found in each sack is passed over without comment. The servant is
not interested in it, he knows exactly what he is looking for and where to find it. The
brothers, watching in a daze are mute. They have become used to finding silver in
their sacks. Perhaps, as they see it, it also begins to dawn on them that the cup will
also be found. They know now that they are simply the victims of a determined
effort to destroy them.
The writer balances his work well. To comment on the silver would be to draw out
the situation too much and to overload the narrative. The servant has already
previously accepted that any silver in their sacks comes from God (Genesis 43:23).
o one pretends it is important. All know that what matters is the silver cup. That is

36. a different matter. And everyone but the brothers know where it is.
So the servant proceeds with his search. It is all really a charade. He knows exactly
where to find it, he put it there himself. And at length he produces it from
Benjamin’s sack.
12 Then the steward proceeded to search,
beginning with the oldest and ending with the
youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin’s
sack.
GILL, "And he searched,.... To the bottom of them, not content to look into the
mouth of them being opened, but rummaged them, and searched deeply into them to
find the cup, which was the thing charged upon them he was solicitous to find; as for the
money in the sack's mouth he took no notice of that, nor is there any mention of it:
and began at the oldest; at Reuben, as the Targum of Jonathan expresses it: the
steward might know their different ages in course, by the order in which they were
placed at Joseph's table when they dined with him:
and left off at the youngest; at Benjamin, he ended his scrutiny with him; this
method he took partly to hold them in fear as long as he could, and partly to prevent any
suspicion of design, which might have been entertained had he went directly to
Benjamin's sack:

37. and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack; where the steward himself had put it,
and as it is usually said, they that hide can find.
SBC, "I. That there is sorrow, and sorrow on a vast scale, is a great fact—a fact both too
patent and too painful to be gainsaid. Joseph put the cup in the sack to try his brothers’
faith, love, and loyalty to their father. (1) Sorrow was sent into the world as a preventive
of greater sorrow. (2) Sorrow gives occasion for the exercise of many an else impossible
virtue. (3) This would be a lame excuse indeed if it stood alone. But grief is our
schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. (4) When we remember our sins, we wonder, not that
life has had so many sorrows, but that it has had so few.
II. Why should sorrow so often smite us in the most sensitive place? or, to take up the
parable of the text, (1) Why should the cup be in Benjamin’s sack? Just because it is
Benjamin’s, we reply. The very thing that leads God to smite at all, leads Him to smite
you here. God takes away earthly pleasure, and thus helps you to remember your sin and
repent of it. (2) The cup was put there to bring them to a better mind ever after. (3) It
was put there to give Joseph the opportunity of making himself known to his brethren.
(4) It was put there to lead them out of the land of famine into the land of plenty. From
this we may learn three lessons: (a) Learn to think more kindly of God and His
dispensations, as you see how much reason you have to expect sorrow, how little right to
look for joy; (b) learn the lesson the lesser sorrows are meant to teach, lest you need the
greater; (c) take care lest you not only lose the joy, but lose the good the loss of joy was
meant to give.
J. B. Figgis, The Preacher’s Lantern, vol. ii., p. 694.
TRAPP, "Gen_44:12 And he searched, [and] began at the eldest, and left at the youngest:
and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.
Ver. 12. And he searched, and began at the eldest.] The better to avoid suspicion, for he
knew well enough where to find the cup. So Jonadab, Amnon’s carnal friend but
spiritual enemy, could tell David that not all the king’s sons, as the report ran, but
Amnon only was slain by Absalom. The devil also when he hath conveyed his cups into
our sacks, his goods into our houses, - as the Russians use to deal by their enemies, and
then accuse them of theft, - his {a} injections into our hearts, if we fancy them never so
little, will accuse us to God, and claim both them and us too for his own.
And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.] Sacco soluto apparuit argentum, saith
Ambrose. When God comes to turn the bottom of the bag upward, all will out. Sin not,
therefore, in hope of secrecy; on the fair day, at the last day, all packs shall be opened.
ISBET, "THE CUP DISCOVERED
‘The cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.’

38. Genesis 44:12
The cup was discovered, and now the brethren, with heavy hearts, went back to
Joseph. It must have seemed to them like an uneasy dream, though they could not
foresee what the awaking would be. And then on their return, and when they stand
in Joseph’s presence, Judah makes his defence of his brethren. It is a pathetic and a
powerful speech, for out of the fulness of the heart the mouth is speaking. Its
wisdom is shown in its silence about the cup; its earnestness in its unstudied
simplicity. Dying Jacob had good reason to say, ‘Judah, thou art he whom thy
brethren shall praise’ (Genesis 49:8). Should we not remember, too, what the ew
Testament writer tells us, that our Lord sprang out of Judah (Hebrews 7:14), for
our Lord also, like Judah in this story, made intercession for the transgressors, and
became surety for them?
I. First, then, let us note the strategy of love. Had Joseph willed it, nothing would
have been easier than to have revealed himself to his brethren at the first. Indeed,
we may wonder sometimes that at the very outset he did not speak one word and
close the matter. But had he done so, we should have lost an exquisite story, and the
loss would have left the world of childhood poorer; and had he done so, he could
never have been certain of the tone and temper of his brothers’ hearts. All this delay
and concealment and confusion was not the idle whim of a great potentate; far less
was it the dark and cunning artifice that so often distinguishes oriental hate; the
beauty of the strategy lay in this, that it was all the strategy of love, and was meant
to discipline and to reveal the hearts that had played such a part of treachery at
Dothan. In all true love there is strategy like that. There is no passion so ingenious
as love. If God is love, and if God hideth Himself (Is. Genesis 45:15), we may expect
to light on love doing the same. And the reserve of love, and its sweet ingenuity, and
its intermediate roughness before disclosure, are all intended (as were the plans of
Joseph) to reveal the depths of the beloved’s heart.
II. ext note how the brothers associate slavery and death with sin. When the
steward overtook the brothers, and told them of the theft of Joseph’s cup, we can
readily picture their utter incredulity that any of their number should be guilty.
They protested that it was quite impossible—let their own past conduct be taken as
their witness; but then they added, ‘With whomsoever of thy servants it be found,
both let him die, and we also will be my lord’s bondmen’ (v. 9). ow that quick
response is worthy of attention, for it sprang from the heart, and was ratified by all.
And it implies that in these early ages, and when the light of heaven was but dimly
shining, men had already grasped this fearful truth that salvery and death are

39. linked with sin. They felt, though they could not have explained their feelings, that
these were the penalties that must follow wrong-doing. And we need hardly be
reminded that this dawning sense of the connection of slavery and death with sin, is
insisted on, with awful emphasis, in the gospel that centres in the death on Calvary.
One of the early fathers of the Church spoke of the mind being naturally Christian.
He meant that there was that within the heart which responded to the appeal of
revelation. And this is true, for the most mysterious doctrines that have been given
us in the Gospel of Christ Jesus, come to us, somehow, in familiar garb, and are
recognised in the secrets of the soul.
III. ext note how sin committed long ago will rise to trouble us. Amid the palaces
of Egypt the memories of Dothan vividly revived. At home, in the quiet days of
peace and plenty, it may be that Joseph was seldom thought upon. But famine came,
and with the famine trouble, and all the dark experiences of Egypt, and the
conscience of the brethren awoke, and they remembered the dark deed of long ago.
Let none of us think that we can do that which is wrong, and then forget it
absolutely and utterly. The ‘whirligig of time brings its revenges,’ and the sin we
thought to be dead is only sleeping. Sometimes it rises before us in our after days, as
it rose before the brethren of Joseph; always it will rise up in that great hour when
we shall be judged of the deeds done in the body. How wise it is, then, and what an
urgent duty, to look (every day that we live) to Jesus crucified, and not only in song
but in deed, to ‘lay our sins on Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God.’
IV. Then, lastly, observe that the brothers were changed men. They were tried and
tested, and were not found wanting. The stratagems of Joseph were rewarded, for
he discovered all that he longed to find. At Dothan they had betrayed their
brother—Joseph had been deserted there. Were the men still unchanged, and would
they now desert Benjamin? And would they go home once more with some trumped-
up story to Jacob? ‘They rent their clothes,’ we read, ‘and laded every man his ass,
and returned to the city’ (v. 13). There must be no deserting of a brother now. They
would stand by Benjamin through thick and thin. They were altered men, repentant
of their past, alive now to the meaning of true brotherhood. It was this that Joseph
was so keen to find, and having found it, he proclaimed himself.
Illustration

40. ‘It must have required extraordinary tenacity of purpose for Joseph to make his
brethren suffer like this, but he dared to enforce the ordeal because he so clearly
saw its necessity, the result to which they were coming, and for which they were
being prepared. What a revelation this is of the reasons for the sorrows through
which we have to pass! Jesus is behind them all, determining each, its duration and
character and intensity. He sits as a refiner of silver. He dares to make us suffer to
rid us of sin and to prepare us for a solid blessedness which shall last through all the
sunny years that await us. But what pain it costs Him to give us pain! Like Joseph,
He often turns aside to weep. And like Judah, He pleads for us in the presence of
God.’
13 At this, they tore their clothes. Then they all
loaded their donkeys and returned to the city.
BAR ES, "Gen_44:13-17
“They rent their garments;” the natural token of a sorrow that knows no remedy. “And
Judah went.” He had pledged himself for the safety of Benjamin to his father. And he
was yet there; awaiting no doubt the result which he anticipated. “They fell before him
on the earth.” It is no longer a bending of the head or bowing of the body, but the
posture of deepest humiliation. How deeply that early dream penetrated into the stern
reality! “Wot ye not that such a man as I doth certainly divine?” Joseph keeps up the
show of resentment for a little longer, and brings out from Judah the most pathetic plea
of its kind that ever was uttered. “The God,” the great and only God, “hath found out the
iniquity of thy servants;” in our dark and treacherous dealing with our brother. “Behold,
we are servants to my lord.” He resigns himself and all to perpetual bondage, as the
doom of a just God upon their still-remembered crime. “He shall be my servant; and ye,
go up in peace to your father.” Now is the test applied with the nicest adjustment. Now is
the moment of agony and suspense to Joseph. Will my brothers prove true? says he
within himself. Will Judah prove adequate to the occasion? say we. His pleading with his
father augured well.

41. GILL, "Gen_44:13-17
“They rent their garments;” the natural token of a sorrow that knows no remedy. “And
Judah went.” He had pledged himself for the safety of Benjamin to his father. And he
was yet there; awaiting no doubt the result which he anticipated. “They fell before him
on the earth.” It is no longer a bending of the head or bowing of the body, but the
posture of deepest humiliation. How deeply that early dream penetrated into the stern
reality! “Wot ye not that such a man as I doth certainly divine?” Joseph keeps up the
show of resentment for a little longer, and brings out from Judah the most pathetic plea
of its kind that ever was uttered. “The God,” the great and only God, “hath found out the
iniquity of thy servants;” in our dark and treacherous dealing with our brother. “Behold,
we are servants to my lord.” He resigns himself and all to perpetual bondage, as the
doom of a just God upon their still-remembered crime. “He shall be my servant; and ye,
go up in peace to your father.” Now is the test applied with the nicest adjustment. Now is
the moment of agony and suspense to Joseph. Will my brothers prove true? says he
within himself. Will Judah prove adequate to the occasion? say we. His pleading with his
father augured well.
BE SO , "Genesis 44:13-14. They rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass,
&c. — othing can be more moving than this verse. ever was there a more striking
picture drawn in words. Whole passages on the subject would not have affected the
mind so much. These two or three words have a greater effect than the most
pompous description of their amazement and trouble. Imagination supplies all the
circumstances to us, and we see them before our eyes returning to the city, with
silent sorrow, dreadful fear, the utmost confusion and perplexity, wholly at a loss
what to say or do. They fell before him on the ground — Here again Joseph’s dream
was fulfilled; but it must needs affect him greatly to see his brethren thus covered
with shame and rent with anguish.
COKE, "Genesis 44:13. Rent their clothes— Loniginus lays it down in his Treatise
on the Sublime, that one of the first means to attain it, is an accurate and judicious
choice of the most suitable circumstances. We cannot have a higher instance of this
excellence, than in that striking circumstance in the present narration, which fills
the mind with a vast series of ideas: they rent their clothes, says Moses, by which
single expression he paints their anguish and confusion, in more lively colours than
could have been done by an enumeration of every circumstance indicating grief.
PETT, "Verse 13
‘Then they tore their clothes and every man loaded his ass and returned to the city.’
The joy of freedom and success has gone. They accepted that the verdict of guilty

42. was a foregone conclusion. ‘They tore their clothes’, an accepted way of conveying
despair and sorrow. And their minds were numb. They could not understand what
had happened. But they knew what it meant. Did they believe Benjamin was guilty?
Probably not. The cup had appeared in some strange way just like the silver. They
simply accepted that fate was against them.
TRAPP, "Gen_44:13 Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and
returned to the city.
Ver. 13. Then they rent their clothes.] In token of the rending of their hearts for
their sins, which now had found them out, and they their sins: for misery is the best
art of memory; being like to that helve Elisha cast into the waters, which fetched up
the iron in the bottom. Conscience is like a looking glass, which while it lieth all
covered with dust, showeth not a man his natural visage: but when it is wiped, then
it makes the least blemish appear. ever till now could we hear these men confess.
ow, what shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? saith Judah, the
Confessor - so his name signifieth. Or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found
out the iniquity of thy servants. ot this, that they were now charged with (for why
should they be false to their own innocency?); but their cruelty to Joseph, and other
like foul offences; for the which God in his just judgment had now brought them to
condign punishment. How could Joseph hold, when he heard all this; and not cry
out, as Paul did, in a like case, to his disconsolate Corinthians:
“Though I made you sorry with a letter" (with a cup), "I do not repent, though I did
repent: for I perceive that this same epistle" (cup) "hath made you sorry, though it
were but for a season. ow I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye
sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might
receive damage by us in nothing … For behold this self-same thing, that ye
sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it hath wrought in you, yea, what
apology, {a} yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea,
what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear
in this matter.” {2Co_7:8-11}

43. 14 Joseph was still in the house when Judah and
his brothers came in, and they threw themselves
to the ground before him.
GILL, "And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house,.... Judah is
particularly mentioned because he was the principal spokesman, and was chiefly
concerned for the safety of Benjamin, being his surety:
for he was yet there; Joseph was yet at his own house, was not as yet gone to the
granaries, to look after the affairs of the corn, and the sale and distribution of it, but was
waiting for the return of his brethren, which he expected quickly:
and they fell before him on the ground; not only in a way of reverence, again
fulfilling his dream, but as persons in the utmost distress and affliction, throwing
themselves at his feet for mercy.
K&D, "Result of the Test. - Gen_44:14-17. With Judah leading the way, they came
into the house to Joseph, and fell down before him begging for mercy. Joseph spoke to
them harshly: “What kind of deed is this that ye have done? Did ye not know that such a
man as I (a man initiated into the most secret things) would certainly divine this?” ‫שׁ‬ ֵ‫ח‬ִ‫נ‬
augurari. Judah made no attempt at a defence. “What shall we say to my lord? how
speak, how clear ourselves? God (Ha-Elohim, the personal God) has found out the
wickedness of thy servants (i.e., He is now punishing the crime committed against our
brother, cf. Gen_42:21). Behold, we are my lord's slaves, both we, and he in whose
hand the cup was found.” But Joseph would punish mildly and justly. The guilty one
alone should be his slave; the others might go in peace, i.e., uninjured, to their father.
COFFMA , "Verses 14-17
"And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house; and he was yet there: and
they fell before him on the ground. And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this

44. that ye have done? know ye not that such a man as I can divine? And Judah said,
What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear
ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord's
bondmen, both we, and he also in whose hand the cup is found. And he said, Far be
it from me that I should do so: the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be
my bondman; but as for you, get you up in peace unto your father."
Joseph was thoroughly testing his brothers. Here they had the opportunity to leave
Benjamin and return to their father; but this they resolutely refused to do.
"Judah and his brethren ..." The priority and leadership of Judah are well-
established at this point. He is the one to whom all of them looked.
"They bowed themselves to the ground ..." This is another fulfillment of the dream
that Joseph had dreamed so long ago.
"God hath found out the wickedness of thy servants ..." Judah by this could not
have meant that they were in any manner guilty as charged with reference to the
cup. The thing that had haunted the guilty brothers for twenty years was their
sinful, unmerciful hatred of their brother Joseph; and time had in no manner
healed their guilty hearts. Their wicked act still seared and burned in their souls,
and, therefore, in the present disaster, Judah confessed their guilt (in principle) and
accepted the horrible penalty threatening them even as the penitent thief on Calvary
had done, "as the just reward of our deeds!" This was a plateau of spiritual
perception far above anything that Joseph could have expected of his brothers.
There would even yet be a climax in this moving drama:
COKE, "Genesis 44:14. Judeah and his brethren— Judah, though not the eldest, is
mentioned first, as being the principal actor in this scene, and as having particularly
engaged with Jacob for Benjamin. It must have been peculiarly affecting to Joseph
to have seen his brethren thus prostrate before him, covered with shame, and
throwing themselves upon his mercy. Judah speaks with a pathetic energy, Genesis
44:16 what shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear
ourselves? nothing can be more natural, eloquent, or expressive of perturbation of

45. mind, than these broken sentences.
CO STABLE, "Verses 14-17
Judah acted as spokesman because he had promised Jacob that he would take
responsibility for Benjamin"s safety ( Genesis 44:16; cf. Genesis 43:8-9). Judah
regarded this turn of events as divine condemnation for the brothers" treatment of
Joseph and Jacob years earlier. [ ote: See D. Daube, Studies in Biblical Law,
pp248-55; and Sternberg, p306.] Really it was divine discipline that God designed to
produce repentance. Judah did not try to get rid of the privileged son this time.
Instead he volunteered to share his fate at great personal sacrifice.
Joseph allowed Judah and the other brothers to depart and return home without
Benjamin ( Genesis 44:17). However Judah"s refusal to do so demonstrated the
sincerity of the brothers" repentance.
GUZIK, " (14-17) Judah commits himself and all the brothers to stick with
Benjamin, even as slaves in Egypt.
So Judah and his brothers came to Josephs house, and he was still there; and they
fell before him on the ground. And Joseph said to them, What deed is this you have
done? Did you not know that such a man as I can certainly practice divination?
Then Judah said, What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how shall
we clear ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants; here we are,
my lords slaves, both we and he also with whom the cup was found. But he said, Far
be it from me that I should do so; the man in whose hand the cup was found, he
shall be my slave. And as for you, go up in peace to your father.
a. They fell before him on the ground: This demonstrated that the brothers were
desperate to gain favor with the Egyptian official to obtain the release of Benjamin.
They knew it was a genuine disaster to lose Benjamin and to bereave their father.

46. b. God has found out the iniquity of you servants: With these words, Judah revealed
Gods work among the brothers. In Judahs mind, the bothers were now destined to
live the rest of their lives as slaves in Egypt because they sold Joseph as a slave some
20 years before.
i. The brothers were innocent of the sin of stealing the cup but were guilty of far
greater sins. In the same way, we might take pride because we are innocent of some
sin or another, yet we are guilty of far greater. You cant hide from your sin. Time
does not erase the guilt of your sin; only the blood of Jesus can.
ii. This resignation to slavery in Egypt was all the more significant considering these
were middle-aged men who came from lives of relative privilege, wealth, and status.
c. Here we are, my lords slaves, both we and he also with whom the cup was found:
With these words Judah insisted that the brothers would stick by Benjamin, though
he was the favored and more greatly blessed son. If they quickly abandoned
Benjamin it would show little change of heart from 20 years ago, when they
abandoned Joseph.
i. There was a purpose for this even in Benjamin. Benjamin was most innocent of
all, yet he still needed to be purged of all self-confidence and brought low.
PETT, "Verse 14
‘And Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, and he was still there. And
they fell on the ground before him. And Joseph said, “What is this deed that you
have done? Do you not realise that such a man as I can indeed divine?”
As in a nightmare the brothers return to the house where they had spent the
previous day in such jollity and relief. And hopelessly they abase themselves before
him. Any fight has gone out of them.
Judah is mentioned individually because he is the one who has taken responsibility

47. for Benjamin and will be the key player in what follows. But Reuben has fallen into
the background and it would seem that for whatever reason Judah is now seen as
the leader (compare Genesis 43:3; Genesis 46:28).
Joseph professes to be scandalised, and declares that they must recognise that he is a
man who sees through things. He is no ordinary man, he can see what others cannot
see. He can ‘divine’. It is possible that he has a small doubt about whether the
brothers might be beginning to get suspicious about all the ‘coincidences’ and is
trying to counter it by explaining how he has been able to act with such accuracy,
but he need not have worried. They are far too overwhelmed to even think in those
terms.
15 Joseph said to them, “What is this you have
done? Don’t you know that a man like me can
find things out by divination?”
GILL, "Genesis 44:15
And Joseph said unto them, what deed is this ye have done?.... An action so
wicked, base, and ungrateful, attended with such aggravated circumstances, that it can
scarcely be said how bad a one it is, and may be well wondered at, that men who had
received such favours could ever be guilty of; this he said, putting on a stern
countenance, and seemingly in great anger and wrath:
wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine? either that he could divine
himself, though not by the cup, of which here no mention is made, but in some other
way used by the Egyptians; or that he had diviners with him, as Aben Ezra, with whom
he could consult, to find out the person that took the cup; or surely they must needs
think that such a man as he, who had such great knowledge of things, natural and
political, and whose name was Zaphnathpaaneah, a revealer of secrets, would be able to
search into and find out an affair of this kind; See Gill on Gen_41:45; and they might
well conclude, that a man so sagacious and penetrating would easily conjecture who

48. were the persons that took away his cup, even the strangers that had dined with him so
lately, and therefore could never expect to go off with it.
16 “What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied.
“What can we say? How can we prove our
innocence? God has uncovered your servants’
guilt. We are now my lord’s slaves—we ourselves
and the one who was found to have the cup.”
CLARKE, "What shall we say, etc. - No words can more strongly mark confusion
and perturbation of mind. They, no doubt, all thought that Benjamin had actually stolen
the cup; and the probability of this guilt might be heightened by the circumstance of his
having that very cup to drink out of at dinner; for as he had the most honorable mess, so
it is likely he had the most honorable cup to drink out of at the entertainment.
GILL, "And Judah said, what shall we say unto my lord? what shall we
speak?.... Signifying that they were nonplussed, confounded, knew not what to say; they
could not acknowledge guilt, for they were not conscious of any, and yet could not deny
the fact, the cup being found on one of them; and though they might have a suspicion of
fraud, yet were afraid to speak out what they suspected, and therefore were at the utmost
loss to express themselves:
or how shall we clear ourselves? to assert their innocence signified nothing, here
was full proof against them, at least against their brother Benjamin:
God hath found the iniquity of thy servants; brought it to their remembrance,
fastened the guilt of it on their consciences, and in his providence was bringing them to
just punishment for it; meaning not the iniquity of taking away the cup, which they were
not conscious of, but some other iniquity of theirs they had heretofore been guilty of,
and now God was contending with them for it; particularly the iniquity of selling Joseph;
this was brought to their minds before, when in distress, and now again, see Gen_42:21,
behold, we are my lord's servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup

49. is found; hereby fulfilling his dream more manifestly than ever; for, by bowing down to
the earth to him, they might be thought to do no other than what all did, that came to
buy corn of him; but here they own themselves to be his servants, and him to be lord
over them, and to have dominion over them all, and them to be his slaves and bondmen.
HE RY, "IV. Here is their humble submission, Gen_44:16. 1. They acknowledge the
righteousness of God: God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants, perhaps referring
to the injury they had formerly done to Joseph, for which they thought God was now
reckoning with them. Note, Even in those afflictions wherein we apprehend ourselves
wronged by men yet we must own that God is righteous, and finds out our iniquity. 2.
They surrender themselves prisoners to Joseph: We are my lord's servants. Now
Joseph's dreams were accomplished to the utmost. Their bowing so often, and doing
homage, might be looked upon but as a compliment, and no more than what other
strangers did; but the construction they themselves, in their pride, had put upon his
dreams was, Shalt though have dominion over us? (Gen_37:8), and in this sense it is
now at length fulfilled,; they own themselves his vassals. Since they did invidiously so
understand it, so it shall be fulfilled in them.
V. Joseph, with an air of justice, gives sentence that Benjamin only should be kept in
bondage, and the rest should be dismissed; for why should any suffer but the guilty?
Perhaps Joseph intended hereby to try Benjamin's temper, whether he could bear such a
hardship as this with the calmness and composure of mind that became a wise and good
man: in short, whether he was indeed his own brother, in spirit as well as blood; for
Joseph himself had been falsely accused, and had suffered hard things in consequence,
and yet kept possession of his own soul. However, it is plain he intended hereby to try
the affection of his brethren to Benjamin and to their father. If they had gone away
contentedly, and left Benjamin in bonds, no doubt Joseph would soon have released and
promoted him, and sent notice to Jacob, and would have left the rest of his brethren
justly to suffer for their hard-heartedness; but they proved to be better to Benjamin than
he feared. Note, We cannot judge what men are by what they have been formerly, nor
what they will do by what they have done: age and experience may make men wiser and
better. Those that had sold Joseph would not now abandon Benjamin. The worst may
mend in time.
JAMISO 16-34, "Judah said, What shall we say? — This address needs no
comment - consisting at first of short, broken sentences, as if, under the overwhelming
force of the speaker’s emotions, his utterance were choked, it becomes more free and
copious by the effort of speaking, as he proceeds. Every word finds its way to the heart;
and it may well be imagined that Benjamin, who stood there speechless like a victim
about to be laid on the altar, when he heard the magnanimous offer of Judah to submit
to slavery for his ransom, would be bound by a lifelong gratitude to his generous
brother, a tie that seems to have become hereditary in his tribe. Joseph’s behavior must
not be viewed from any single point, or in separate parts, but as a whole - a well-thought,
deep-laid, closely connected plan; and though some features of it do certainly exhibit an
appearance of harshness, yet the pervading principle of his conduct was real, genuine,
brotherly kindness. Read in this light, the narrative of the proceedings describes the
continuous, though secret, pursuit of one end; and Joseph exhibits, in his management
of the scheme, a very high order of intellect, a warm and susceptible heart, united to a

50. judgment that exerted a complete control over his feelings - a happy invention in
devising means towards the attainment of his ends and an inflexible adherence to the
course, however painful, which prudence required.
CALVI , "16.Behold, we are my lord’s servants. They had before called themselves
servants through modesty; now they consign themselves over to him as slaves. But in
the case of Benjamin they plead for a mitigation of the severity of the punishment;
and this is a kind of entreaty, that he might not be capitally punished, as they had
agreed to, at the first. (173)
BE SO , "Genesis 44:16. And Judah said, &c. — Judah speaks in this cause, as
being one of the eldest, and a person of most gravity and readiness of speech, and
most eminently concerned for his brother; and nothing can be more affecting than
what he advances on this occasion. God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants
— Though the cup was found only in Benjamin’s sack, yet he speaks of himself and
the rest as guilty, being his brothers, and in company with him. But, probably, he
refers rather to their sins in general, for which, he meant to signify that God was
now punishing them, and to the injury which they had done Joseph in particular.
Even in those afflictions wherein we apprehend ourselves to be wronged by men, yet
we must own that God is righteous, and finds out our iniquity. We cannot judge
what men are, by what they have been formerly, nor what they will do, by what they
have done. Age and experience may make men wiser and better. They that had sold
Joseph, yet would not abandon Benjamin.
COKE, "Genesis 44:16. God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants— There is
no doubt from the context, that Judah here speaks of the iniquity of the fact in
question, which he confesses, and speaks of as the iniquity of them all, though one
only was guilty. Josephus understands it in this sense, though many commentators,
without sufficient reason I think, explain it of their owning the justice of God in thus
punishing them for their former cruelty to Joseph.
REFLECTIO S.—After their hospitable entertainment their fears are over, their
beasts loaded, and home they are travelling, little suspecting the danger which seems
to threaten them. An express arrives, charges them with a theft, as ungrateful as
barefaced; they deny it solemnly; search is made, the cup is found on Benjamin, and
he is arrested: they dare not leave their brother, nor make any plea to excuse him.
They regard God's hand in the affliction, and return to yield themselves up servants

51. to Joseph. Thus, 1. They most eminently fulfilled their own prediction, Shalt thou
have dominion over us? They are not only suitors for favour, but bondsmen for life.
2. They shewed that regard for Benjamin, and that concern for Jacob, which Joseph
wished. ote; Though once bad, it may not be always so. God can change men's
hearts, and make them the reverse of what they have been.
PETT, "Verse 16
‘And Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What words can we use? Or how
shall we clear ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants. Behold,
we are my lord’s bondmen, both we and also he in whose sack the cup was found.”
Judah speaks up for them all. On their behalf he accepts that they have no
argument. The cup has been found. There is little point in arguing innocence.
“God has found out the iniquity of your servants.” This is not so much an admission
of guilt as a surrender to the past. It is probable that he has in mind what they had
done to their long lost brother. He recognises that they are now being punished for
that. The impossible circumstance in which they now find themselves can only be
due to God’s long arm which has reached out into the future to punish them. He has
found them out. Whatever the circumstance as regards the cup they are not
innocent, as they all know. So they accept the inevitable.
It is noteworthy that they do not refer back to the steward’s promise that only the
guilty one should be accountable (Genesis 44:10). They accept their collective guilt
and do not dream of going back without Benjamin. Besides the steward may not
have been speaking for his lord and this is no time for arguing fine points before this
great lord. And the fact is that they have just given up.
BI 16-34, "And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord?
Judah’s intercession
I. IT WAS ABLE.
II. IT WAS NOBLE.
III. IT GAVE PROMISE OF FUTURE GREATNESS,
IV. IT SUGGESTS SOME FEATURES OF OUR LORD’S INTERCESSION FOR US.

52. V. IT SUGGESTS THE QUALITIES OF TRUE PRAYER. In true prayer the soul is stirred
to its depths. “I would give very much,” says Luther, “if I could pray to cur Lord God as
well as Judah prays to Joseph here; for it is a perfect specimen of prayer—the true
feeling there ought to be in prayer.” (T. H.Leale.)
Judah’s intercession
The whole of this intercession, taken together, is not one twentieth part of the length
which our best advocates would have made of it in a court of justice; yet the speaker
finds room to expatiate upon those parts which are the most tender, and on which a
minute description will heighten the general effect. We are surprised, delighted, and
melted with his charming parenthesis: “Seeing his life is bound up with the lad’s life.” It
is also remarkable how he repeats things which are the most tender; as, “when I come,
and the lad be not with us . . . it shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with
us . . . ” So also in describing the effect which this would produce: “When he seeth that
the lad is not with us, he will die; and we shall bring down the grey hairs of thy servant,
my father, with sorrow to the grave. And now, having stated his situation, he presumes
to express his petition. His withholding that to the last was holding the mind of his judge
in a state of affecting suspense, and preventing the objections which an abrupt
introduction of it at the beginning might have created. Thus Esther, when presenting her
petition to Ahasuerus, kept it back till she had, by holding him in suspense, raised his
desire to the utmost height to know what it was, and induced in him a predisposition to
grant it. And when we consider his petition, and the filial regard from which it proceeds,
we may say, that if we except the grace of another and greater Substitute, never surely
was there a more generous proposal! (A. Fuller.)
Joseph’s love, and Judah’s charge
I. BENJAMIN’S SURETY.
II. THE FRIENDLY BANQUET.
III. THE STRANGE STRATAGEM.
IV. THE ELOQUENT APPEAL. Judah makes a speech which is very natural, simple, and
pathetic. It is conciliatory towards Joseph. Joseph’s greatness, power, and high rank are
fully recognized (“Thou art as Pharaoh”). It is considerate in reference to the statements
about Jacob’s peculiar reasons for sorrow. It is courageous in its announcement of
Judah’s own responsibility, and of his readiness to be a substitute for his brother. And
all through the speech tenderness and sympathy are exhibited in a very simple but
touching manner. (W. S. Smith, B. D.)
Judah’s argument
To point out the force of this overwhelming argument requires a view of the human
mind, when, like a complicate machine in motion, the various powers and passions of it
are at work. The whole calamity of the family arising from obedience to the judge’s own
command; an obedience yielded to on their part with great reluctance, because of the
situation of their aged father; and on his part with stiff greater, because his brother was,
as he supposed, torn in pieces, and he the only surviving child of a beloved wife; and the

53. declaration of a venerable grey-headed man, that if he lose him it will be his death—was
enough to melt the heart of any one possessed of human feelings. If Joseph had really
been what he appeared, an Egyptian nobleman, he must have yielded the point. To have
withstood it would have proved him not a man, much less a man who “feared God,” as
he professed to be. But if such would have been his feelings even on that supposition,
what must they have been to know what he knew? It is also observable with what
singular adroitness Judah avoids making mention of this elder brother of the lad, in any
other than his father’s words. He did not say he was torn in pieces. No, he knew it was
not so! But his father had once used that language, and though he had lately spoken in a
manner which bore hard on him and his brethren, yet this is passed over, and nothing
hinted but what will turn to account. (A. Fuller.)
Judah’s intercession
I. HE REHEARSES THE PAST (Gen_44:18-29).
1. The speaker. Judah. Well that it was he. Had it been Reuben the proof of penitence
had not been so clear. It had been too much like the old Reuben Gen_37:22 with
Gen_42:22). It was Judah, and not like the old Judah (Gen_37:26-27). The last time
Joseph heard Judah speak of his father’s favourite was when he (Joseph) was in the
pit, and Judah, on the edge, was proposing to sell him into Bondage. Now he
intercedes to save Benjamin from bondage.
2. The subject. He
(1) recalls the former visit, and the conversation of that time (Gen_42:18-20).
He then
(2) proceeds to remind Joseph of his command (Gen_42:21), but for which they
had not brought their brother. Of their expostulations (Gen_42:22) and of his
firmness of purpose (Gen_42:23). He then drew the portrait of the old man,
described the long time they bore the pangs of hunger before Jacob at last would
suffer Benjamin to go; and, having hinted at the loss of one other son, repeated
the final words of the old man (Gen_42:29).
II. HE PICTURES THE FUTURE. This he was the better able to do, from his memory of
a former occasion. That picture of sorrow and wail of agony had ever since haunted him.
It might be repeated with still more painful consequences. It might hasten the death of
his father. He records, without a censure, the endearing union of the old father and his
younger brother. There was one life between them. The death or loss of Benjamin might
be the death of the father. He relates that he had become a surety for the safe return of
the lad. As he thus earnestly and most pathetically pleads for the release of Benjamin,
what feelings must have risen in the mind of Joseph. Chiefly of joy that Judah was so
changed; but also of attachment to a father who had mourned his own supposed death
so long and truly.
III. HE PROPOSES A COMPROMISE.
1. Its nature. If one must be held in bondage for this supposed crime, let it be
himself, who is confessedly innocent, in place of Benjamin, whose guilt is assumed.
Judah has wife and children at home, yet will leave all rather than abandon his
brother. He will be henceforth a slave, if only Benjamin may be free. Was ever love
like this? “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his

54. friends” (Joh_15:13; see especially Rom_5:6-8).
2. The motive. To spare his father all needless pain, he would accept the position of
being less loved than Benjamin. His father might grieve at his loss, as he had at
Simeon’s, but the loss of Benjamin would affect him more.
3. The result. The test had proved to Joseph that Judah repented the past. It was a
happy discovery. What can give greater joy to a brother than to see a right moral
change in a brother? Learn:
1. Fearlessly to take the side of the innocent and the aged.
2. To bring forth fruit meet for repentance.
3. Not to be ashamed of an honourable change of heart and mind.
4. To love and honour Him who became a surety for us. (J. C. Gray.)
TRAPP, "Gen_44:16 And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we
speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy
servants: behold, we [are] my lord’s servants, both we, and [he] also with whom the
cup is found.
Ver. 16. What shall we say, &c.] An ingenuous and penitent confession, joined with
self-loathing and self-judging; teaching us how to confess to God.
“Sit simplex, humilis, confessio, pura, fidelis,
Atque frequens, nuda, et discreta, lubeas, verecunda,
Integra, secreta et lachrymabilis, accelerata,
Fortis, et accusans, et se punire parata.”
These sixteen conditions were composed in these verses by the Schoolmen. And such
a confession is the sponge that wipes away all the blots and blurs of our lives. {1Jn_
1:7} Never any confessed his sin in this sort to God, but went away with his pardon.
Wot ye what, - quoth King Henry VIII. to the Duke of Suffolk, concerning Stephen
Gardiner, when he confessed his Popery, for which he should have been, the morrow
after, sent to the Tower, - he hath confessed himself as guilty in this matter, as his
man; and hath, with much sorrow and pensiveness, sued for my pardon: and you
know what my nature and custom hath been in such matters, evermore to pardon
them that will not dissemble, but confess their fault. {a} How much more will God!

55. 17 But Joseph said, “Far be it from me to do such
a thing! Only the man who was found to have the
cup will become my slave. The rest of you, go back
to your father in peace.”
GILL, "And he said, God forbid that I should do so,.... This would be doing an
unjust thing, Joseph suggests, should he take them all for bondmen, for the offence of
one:
but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; not die,
as they had supposed, but become his servant:
and as for you, get ye up in peace unto your father; they had leave, yea, an order
to return to their father in the land of Canaan, with their corn and cattle, in peace and
plenty; there being no charge against them, nor would any hurt or damage come to
them: this Joseph said to try their affection to their brother Benjamin, and see whether
they would leave him to distress, and then he should know better how to conduct both
towards him and them.
HAWKER, "Reader! attend to every minute circumstance in this intercession of
Judah’s, for in it there is a representation of a greater than Judah. Observe, before he
opened his mouth he came near. Our Almighty Judah, in his glorious character as our
intercessor, is said to be in the midst of the throne; Rev_5:6. Observe also how suitable a
type Judah was of JESUS, for our LORD sprang out of Judah. Heb_7:14. Observe also,
how evident the marks of inspiration are in this whole address. Surely he that made
man’s mouth gave the matter also. Exo_4:10-11. And Reader, do not overlook, that, as
Joseph became the type of JESUS as our governor and judge: so Judah is a type of
JESUS as our surety and intercessor. It is your happiness and mine, that he who is here,
after to come to be our judge is also coming as our Saviour: Php_3:20.

56. CALVI , "17.God forbid that I should do so (174) If Joseph intended to retain
Benjamin alone, and to dismiss the others, he would have done his utmost, to rend
the Church of God by the worst possible dissension. But I have previously shown
(what may also be elicited from the context) that his design was nothing else than to
pierce their hearts more deeply. He must have anticipated great mischief, if he had
perceived that they did not care for their brother: but the Lord provided against
this danger, by causing the earnest apology of Judah not only to soften his mind, but
even to draw forth tears and weeping in profusion.
ELLICOTT, "(17) God forbid.—Heb., far be it from me to do so. Joseph passes
over the money found in their sacks, and which he had intended as a gift to help
them in the remaining years of famine, but expresses his determination to keep
Benjamin as a slave. Had they been as hardhearted as when they sold him into
slavery, they would readily have gone away, leaving their brother to his fate. But
they had changed, and therefore they earnestly exert themselves for his deliverance,
though they must have felt it to be an almost hopeless task. They would feel sure of
Benjamin’s innocence, but they would also remember that the previous day Joseph
had shown him the utmost honour; and this would be a proof to them that for some
reason or other the Egyptian governor had taken a fancy to him, and determined to
have him in his service; and that therefore he had contrived this wicked scheme.
PETT, "Verse 17
‘And he said, “God forbid that I should do so. The man in whose hand the cup was
found, he shall be my bondman. But as for you, get up in peace to your father.” ’
Joseph is thoroughly testing them out. What will they do about Benjamin? Will they
sacrifice him like they sacrificed Joseph previously? He tells them that only the
guilty man would be punished. The remainder go free. He will see if they will now
return home and save their own lives and inform their father that sadly he has lost
another son. But these men are no longer what they once were.
The words of Joseph raise a spark in Judah’s heart. This man is clearly no harsh
avenger. He is almost reasonable. Perhaps then he will listen to a plea. So he
approaches closer to him, no doubt abasing himself to the ground, and prepares to
put his case. But he recognises that his approach and suggestion might well give
great offence to one who has shown such mercy.

57. TRAPP, "Gen_44:17 And he said, God forbid that I should do so: [but] the man in
whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in
peace unto your father.
Ver. 17. But the man in whose hand, &c.] This was the heat that Joseph shot at in all
this interdealing with them, - to try the truth of their love to Benjamin, and whether
they would stick to him in his utmost peril God hath like ends in afflicting his
children. "The king of Babylon stood at the parting way, at the head of the two
ways, to use divination." {Eze_21:21} So doth God. He knows that the best divining
of men is at the parting way; there every dog will show to what master he belongs.
God shoots at his servants for trial, as men shoot bullets against armour of proof,
not to hurt it, but to praise it.
18 Then Judah went up to him and said: “Pardon
your servant, my lord, let me speak a word to my
lord. Do not be angry with your servant, though
you are equal to Pharaoh himself.
BAR ES, "Verse 18-34
“And Judah came near unto him.” He is going to surrender himself as a slave for life,
that Benjamin may go home with his brothers, who are permitted to depart. “Let thy
servant now speak a word in the ears of my lord.” There is nothing here but respectful
calmness of demeanor. “And let not thine anger burn against thy servant.” He intuitively
feels that the grand vizier is a man of like feelings with himself. He will surmount the
distinction of rank, and stand with him on the ground of a common humanity. “For so
art thou as Pharaoh.” Thou hast power to grant or withhold my request. This forms, the
exordium of the speech. Then follows the plea. This consists in a simple statement of the
facts, which Judah expects to have its native effect upon a rightly-constituted heart. We
will not touch this statement, except to explain two or three expressions. A young lad - a
comparative youth. “Let me set mine eyes upon him” - regard him with favor and
kindness. “He shall leave his father and he shall die.” If he were to leave his father, his

58. father would die. Such is the natural interpretation of these words, as the paternal
affection is generally stronger than the filial. “And now let thy servant now abide instead
of the lad a servant to my lord.” Such is the humble and earnest petition of Judah. He
calmly and firmly sacrifices home, family, and birthright, rather than see an aged father
die of a broken heart.
CLARKE, "Thou art even as Pharaoh - As wise, as powerful, and as much to be
dreaded as he. In the Asiatic countries, the reigning monarch is always considered to be
the pattern of all perfection; and the highest honor that can be conferred on any person,
is to resemble him to the monarch; as the monarch himself is likened, in the same
complimentary way, to an angel of God. See 2Sa_14:17, 2Sa_14:18. Judah is the chief
speaker here, because it was in consequence of his becoming surety for Benjamin that
Jacob permitted him to accompany them to Egypt. See Gen_43:9.
“Every man who reads,” says Dr. Dodd, “to the close of this chapter, must confess that
Judah acts here the part both of the affectionate brother and of the dutiful son, who,
rather than behold his father’s misery in ease of Benjamin’s being left behind, submits to
become a bondman in his stead: and indeed there is such an air of candor and generosity
running through the whole strain of this speech, the sentiments are so tender and
affecting, the expressions so passionate, and flow so much from artless nature, that it is
no wonder if they came home to Joseph’s heart, and forced him to throw off the mask.”
“When one sees,” says Dr. Jackson, “such passages related by men who affect no art, and
who lived long after the parties who first uttered them, we cannot conceive how all
particulars could be so naturally and fully recorded, unless they had been suggested by
His Spirit who gives mouths and speech unto men; who, being alike present to all
successions, is able to communicate the secret thoughts or forefathers to their children,
and put the very words of the deceased, never registered before, into the mouths or pens
of their successors born many ages after; and that as exactly and distinctly as if they had
been caught, in characters of steel or brass, as they issued out of their mouths. For it is
plain that every circumstance is here related with such natural specifications, as if Moses
had heard them talk; and therefore could not have been thus represented to us, unless
they had been written by His direction who knows all things, fore-past, present, or to
come.”
To two such able and accurate testimonies I may be permitted to add my own. No
paraphrase can heighten the effect of Judah’s address to Joseph. To add would be to
diminish its excellence; to attempt to explain would be to obscure its beauties; to clothe
the ideas in other language than that of Judah, and his translators in our Bible, would
ruin its energy, and destroy its influence. It is perhaps one of the most tender, affecting
pieces of natural oratory ever spoken or penned; and we need not wonder to find that
when Joseph heard it he could not refrain himself, but wept aloud. His soul must have
been insensible beyond what is common to human nature, had he not immediately
yielded to a speech so delicately tender, and so powerfully impressive. We cannot but
deplore the unnatural and unscientific division of the narrative in our common Bibles,
which obliges us to have recourse to another chapter in order to witness the effects
which this speech produced on the heart of Joseph.

59. GILL, "Then Judah came near unto him,.... Being the spokesman of his brethren,
and the surety of Benjamin: he plucked up a spirit, put on courage, and drew nearer to
the governor, and with much freedom and boldness, and in a very polite manner,
addressed him:
and said, O my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's
ears; not admit him to private audience, or suffer him to whisper something to him, but
give him the hearing of a few words he had to say to him:
and let not thine anger burn against thy servant; do not be displeased with his
boldness, and the freedom he takes, but hear him patiently:
for thou art even as Pharaoh; next, if not equal in power and authority with him;
could exercise justice or show mercy, punish or release from punishment, at his
pleasure; and having leave granted him, he began his speech, and made the following
narrative.
HE RY 18-34, "We have here a most ingenious and pathetic speech which Judah
made to Joseph on Benjamin's behalf, to obtain his discharge from the sentence passed
upon him. Perhaps Judah was a better friend to Benjamin than the rest were, and more
solicitous to bring him off; or he thought himself under greater obligations to attempt it
than the rest, because he had passed his word to his father for his safe return; or the rest
chose him for their spokesman, because he was a man of better sense, and better spirit,
and had a greater command of language than any of them. His address, as it is here
recorded, is so very natural and so expressive of his present feelings that we cannot but
suppose Moses, who wrote it so long after, to have written it under the special direction
of him that made man's mouth.
I. A great deal of unaffected art, and unstudied unforced rhetoric, there is in this
speech. 1. He addresses himself to Joseph with a great deal of respect and deference,
calls him his lord, himself and his brethren his servants, begs his patient hearing, and
ascribes sovereign authority to him: “Thou art even as Pharaoh, one whose favour we
desire and whose wrath we dread as we do Pharaoh's.” Religion does not destroy good
manners, and it is prudence to speak respectfully to those at whose mercy we lie: titles of
honour to those that are entitled to them are not flattering titles. 2. He represented
Benjamin as one well worthy of his compassionate consideration (Gen_44:20); he was a
little one, compared with the rest of them; the youngest, not acquainted with the world,
nor ever inured to hardship, having always been brought up tenderly with his father. It
made the case the more pitiable that he alone was left of his mother, and his brother was
dead, namely, Joseph. Little did Judah think what a tender point he touched upon now.
Judah knew that Joseph was sold, and therefore had reason enough to think that he was
alive; at least he could not be sure that he was dead: but they had made their father
believe he was dead; and now they had told that lie so long that they had forgotten the
truth, and begun to believe the lie themselves. 3. He urged it very closely that Joseph had
himself constrained them to bring Benjamin with them, had expressed a desire to see
him (Gen_44:21), and had forbidden them his presence unless they brought Benjamin
with them (Gen_44:23, Gen_44:26), all which intimated that he designed him some
kindness; and must he be brought with so much difficulty to the preferment of a

60. perpetual slavery? Was he not brought to Egypt, in obedience, purely in obedience, to
the command of Joseph? and would he not show him some mercy? Some observe that
Jacob's sons, in reasoning with their father, had said, We will not go down unless
Benjamin go with us (Gen_43:5); but that when Judah comes to relate the story he
expresses it more decently: “We cannot go down with any expectation to speed well.”
Indecent words spoken in haste to our superiors should be recalled and amended. 4. The
great argument he insisted upon was the insupportable grief it would be to his aged
father if Benjamin should be left behind in servitude: His father loveth him, Gen_44:20.
This they had pleaded against Joseph's insisting on his coming down (Gen_44:22): “If
he should leave his father, his father would die; much more if now he be left behind,
never more to return to him.” This the old man, of whom they spoke, had pleaded
against his going down: If mischief befal him, you shall bring down my gray hairs, that
crown of glory, with sorrow to the grave, Gen_44:29. This therefore Judah presses with
a great deal of earnestness: “His life is bound up in the lad's life (Gen_44:30); when he
sees that the lad is not with us, he will faint away, and die immediately (Gen_44:31), or
will abandon himself to such a degree of sorrow as will, in a few days, make an end of
him.” And, lastly, Judah pleads that, for his part, he could not bear to see this: Let me
not see the evil that shall come on my father, Gen_44:34. Note, It is the duty of children
to be very tender of their parents' comfort, and to be afraid of every thing that may be an
occasion of grief to them. Thus the love that descended first must again ascend, and
something must be done towards a recompense for their care. 5. Judah, in honour to the
justice of Joseph's sentence, and to show his sincerity in this plea, offers himself to
become a bondsman instead of Benjamin, Gen_44:33. Thus the law would be satisfied;
Joseph would be no loser (for we may suppose Judah a more able-bodied man than
Benjamin, and fitter for service); and Jacob would better bear the loss of him than of
Benjamin. Now, so far was he from grieving at his father's particular fondness for
Benjamin, that he was himself willing to be a bondman to indulge it.
Now, had Joseph been, as Judah supposed him, an utter stranger to the family, yet
even common humanity could not but be wrought upon by such powerful reasonings as
these; for nothing could be said more moving, more tender; it was enough to melt a
heart of stone. But to Joseph, who was nearer akin to Benjamin than Judah himself was,
and who, at this time, felt a greater affection both for him and his aged father than
Judah did, nothing could be more pleasingly nor more happily said. Neither Jacob nor
Benjamin needed an intercessor with Joseph; for he himself loved them.
II. Upon the whole matter let us take notice, 1. How prudently Judah suppressed all
mention of the crime that was charged upon Benjamin. Had he said any thing by way of
acknowledgment of it, he would have reflected on Benjamin's honesty, and seemed too
forward to suspect that; had he said any thing by way of denial of it, he would have
reflected on Joseph's justice, and the sentence he had passed: therefore he wholly waives
that head, and appeals to Joseph's pity. Compare with this that of Job, in humbling
himself before God (Job_9:15), Though I were righteous, yet would I not answer; I
would not argue, but petition; I would make supplication to my Judge. 2. What good
reason dying Jacob had to say, Judah, thou art he whom they brethren shall praise
(Gen_49:8), for he excelled them all in boldness, wisdom, eloquence, and especially
tenderness for their father and family. 3. Judah's faithful adherence to Benjamin, now in
his distress, was recompensed long after by the constant adherence of the tribe of
Benjamin to the tribe of Judah, when all the other ten tribes deserted it. 4. How fitly
does the apostle, when he is discoursing of the mediation of Christ, observe, that our
Lord sprang out of Judah (Heb_7:14); for, like his father Judah, he not only made
intercession for the transgressors, but he became a surety for them, as it follows there

61. (Gen_44:22), testifying therein a very tender concern both for his father and for his
brethren.
K&D 18-30, "But that the brothers could not do. Judah, who had pledged himself to
his father for Benjamin, ventured in the anguish of his heart to approach Joseph, and
implore him to liberate his brother. “I would give very much,” says Luther, “to be able to
pray to our Lord God as well as Judah prays to Joseph here; for it is a perfect specimen
of prayer, the true feeling that there ought to be in prayer.” Beginning with the request
for a gracious hearing, as he was speaking to the ears of one who was equal to Pharaoh
(who could condemn or pardon like the king), Judah depicted in natural, affecting,
powerful, and irresistible words the love of their aged father to this son of his old age,
and his grief when they told him that they were not to come into the presence of the lord
of Egypt again without Benjamin; the intense anxiety with which, after a severe struggle,
their father had allowed him to come, after he (Judah) had offered to be answerable for
his life; and the grievous fact, that if they returned without the youth, they must bring
down the grey hairs of their father with sorrow to the grave.
CALVI , "18.Let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word. Judah suppliantly asks
that leave may be given him to speak, because his narrative was about to be prolix.
And whereas nobles are offended, and take it angrily, if any address them with too
great familiarity, Judas begins by declaring that he is not ignorant of the great
honor which Joseph had received in Egypt, for the purpose of showing that he was
becoming bold, not through impertinence, but through necessity. Afterwards he
recites in what manner he and his brethren had departed from their father. There
are two principal heads of his discourse; first, that they should be the means of
bringing a sorrow upon their father which would prove fatal; and secondly, that he
had bound himself individually, by covenant, to bring the youth back. With respect
to the grief of his father, it is a sign of no common filial piety, that he wished himself
to be put in Benjamin’s place, and to undergo perpetual exile and servitude, rather
than convey to the miserable old man tidings which would be the cause of his
destruction. He proves his sincerity by offering himself as a surety, in order that he
may liberate his brother. Because ‫חטא‬ (chata) among the Hebrews, sometimes
signifies to be in fault, and sometimes to be under penalty; some translate the
passage, “I shall have sinned against my father;” or, “I shall be accused of sin;”
while others render it, “I shall be deemed guilty, because he will complain of having
been deceived by my promise.” The latter sense is the more appropriate, because,
truly, he would not escape disgrace and censure from his father, as having cruelly
betrayed a youth committed to his care.

62. BE SO , "Genesis 44:18-34. And Judah said — We have here a most pathetic
speech which Judah made to Joseph on Benjamin’s behalf. Either Judah was a
better friend to Benjamin than the rest, and more solicitous to bring him off; or he
thought himself under greater obligations to endeavour it than they were, because
he had passed his word to his father for his safe return. His address, as it is here
recorded, is so very natural, and so expressive of his present passion, that we cannot
but suppose Moses, who wrote it so long after, to have written it under the special
direction of Him that made man’s mouth. Indeed the whole speech is most
exquisitely beautiful, and perhaps the most complete piece of genuine and natural
eloquence to be found in any language. 1st, He addressed himself to Joseph with a
great deal of respect, calls him his lord, himself and his brethren his servants, begs
his patient hearing, and passeth a mighty compliment upon him, Thou art even as
Pharaoh — A person whose favour we desire, and whose wrath we dread, as we do
Pharaoh’s. 2d, He represented Benjamin as one well worthy of his compassionate
consideration; he was a little one, compared with the rest; the youngest, not
acquainted with the world, nor inured to hardship, having been always brought up
tenderly with his father. It made the case the more piteous that he alone was left of
his mother, and his brother was dead — amely, Joseph; little did Judah think
what a tender point he touched upon now. Judah knew that Joseph was sold, and
therefore had reason enough to think that he was not alive. 3d, He urged it closely
that Joseph had himself constrained them to bring Benjamin with them, had
expressed a desire to see him, had forbidden them his presence, unless they brought
him with them, all which intimated that he designed him some kindness. And must
he be brought with so much difficulty to the preferment of a perpetual slavery? Was
he not brought to Egypt in obedience, purely in obedience to the command of
Joseph, and would not he show him some mercy? 4th, The great argument he insists
upon was the insupportable grief it would be to his aged father, if Benjamin should
be left behind in servitude. His father loveth him, Genesis 44:20. Thus they had
pleaded against Joseph’s insisting on his coming down, Genesis 44:22. If he should
leave his father, his father would die — Much more, if he now be left behind, never
to return. This the old man of whom they spake had pleaded against his going
down: If mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs, that crown of
glory, with sorrow to the grave. This therefore Judah pressed with a great deal of
earnestness. His life is bound up in the lad’s life — When he sees that the lad is not
with us, he will faint away and die immediately, or will abandon himself to such a
degree of sorrow, as will, in a few days, make an end of him. And, lastly, Judah
pleads, that, for his part, he could not bear to see this: Let me not see the evil that
shall come on my father. 5th, Judah, in honour to the justice of Joseph’s sentence,
and to show his sincerity in this plea, offers himself to become a bondman instead of
Benjamin. Thus the law would be satisfied; Joseph would be no loser, for we may
suppose Judah a more able-bodied man than Benjamin; Jacob would better bear

63. that than the loss of Benjamin. ow, so far was he from grieving at his father’s
particular fondness for Benjamin, that he is himself willing to be a bondman to
indulge it.
ow, had Joseph been, as Judah supposed, an utter stranger to the family, yet even
common humanity could not but be wrought upon by such powerful reasonings as
these; for nothing could be said more moving, more tender; it was enough to melt a
heart of stone: but to Joseph, who was nearer akin to Benjamin than Judah himself,
and who, at this time, felt a greater passion for him and his aged father than Judah
did, nothing could be more pleasingly nor more happily said. either Jacob nor
Benjamin needed an intercessor with Joseph, for he himself loved them. Upon the
whole, let us take notice, 1st, How prudently Judah suppressed all mention of the
crime that was charged upon Benjamin. Had he said any thing by way of
acknowledgment of it, he had reflected on Benjamin’s honesty. Had he said any
thing by way of denial of it, he had reflected on Joseph’s justice; therefore he wholly
waives that head, and appeals to Joseph’s pity. 2d, What good reason dying Jacob
had to say, Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise; (Genesis 49:8;) for
he excelled them all in boldness, wisdom, eloquence, and especially tenderness for
their father and family. 3d, Judah’s faithful adherence to Benjamin, now in his
distress, was recompensed long after, by the constant adherence of the tribe of
Benjamin to the tribe of Judah, when all the other ten tribes deserted it.
ELLICOTT, "(18) Then Judah came near.—The power of Judah’s speech lies in the
facts themselves, which gain in pathos from being simply told; but the ending is
grand because of the speaker’s magnanimity. He offers to give up all that a man
holds dearest in order that his father may he spared a grief too heavy to bear. There
is, however, very considerable skill in the manner in which Judah shows that it was
at Joseph’s repeated urgency that they had brought Benjamin with them, while
omitting all mention of the fact that they had been falsely charged by him with being
spies.
COFFMA , "Verses 18-23
JUDAH'S I TERCESSORY PLEA

64. "Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh, my lord, let thy servant, I pray
thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy
servant; for thou art even as Pharaoh. My lord asked his servants, saying, Have yea
father, or a brother? And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and
a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his
mother; and his father loveth him. And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him
down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him. And we said unto my lord, The
lad cannot leave his father: for, if he should leave his father, his father would die.
And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down with
you, ye shall see my face no more."
COKE,"Genesis 44:18. Then Judah came near unto him— After the terrible
sentence which Joseph had passed, Genesis 44:17. Judah became more immediately
interested, and was concerned to plead the cause of his brother; and every man, who
reads to the close of this chapter, must confess, that Judah acts here the part both of
the faithful brother and dutiful son, who, rather than behold his father's misery, in
case of Benjamin's being left behind, submits to become a bondsman in his stead;
and, indeed, there is such an air of candour and generosity runs through the whole
strain of his speech; the sentiments are so tender and affecting, the expressions are
so passionate, and flow so much from artless nature, that it is no wonder, if they
came home to Joseph's heart, and forced him to throw off the mask, as we find he
does in the next chapter. The phrase, for thou art even as Pharaoh, signifies, for
thou art of power and authority equal to Pharaoh; and therefore thy anger is as
much to be dreaded, as even that of the king himself, Proverbs 19:12. Josephus and
Philo have both largely paraphrased this speech of Judah; but there needs nothing
more than a bare perusal of them to see the infinite superiority of that before us, in
which true nature speaks. Dr. Jackson's remarks upon it cannot be too well
observed: "When one sees," says he,* "such passages related by men, who affect no
art, and who lived long after the parties that first uttered them; we cannot conceive
how all particulars could be so naturally and fully recorded, unless they had been
suggested by his Spirit, who gives mouths and speech to men; who, being alike
present to all successions, is able to communicate the secret thoughts of forefathers
to their children, and put the very words of the deceased (never registered before)
into the mouths or pens of their successors for many generations after; and that, as
exactly and distinctly, as if they had been caught and written in characters of steel
or brass, as they issued out of their mouth. For it is plain, every circumstance is here
related with such natural specifications, as if Moses had heard them talk; and
therefore could not have been thus represented to us, unless they had been written

65. by His direction, who knows all things, as well fore-past, as present, or to come."
* On the Creed, b. i. c. 4.
REFLECTIO S.—Bitter was the distress which now harassed the minds of the sons
of Jacob. What shall they say? To confess the charge, were to acknowledge guilt
they did not believe; to deny it, were still more dangerous, as a reflection on the
governor's justice. In this dilemma, Judah, as most engaged, with rhetoric such as
distress and nature taught, addresses with humblest submission the supposed
offended ruler; and pleads with arguments, which, I doubt not, filled Joseph's
bosom with deeper agitation, than even Judah felt. Benjamin's youth, the only son
of a beloved mother; another brother he had, but dead; the aged father's life is
bound up in the darling boy; it was at his command he was brought with
reluctance; extorted from his father: should they return without him, death would
instantly seize the good old man, and they be accessary to it: himself had become
surety for the lad, and begs now to exchange; himself the bondsman, if Benjamin
might be free. The thought of his father's sorrow recurs upon him; he can never
think of seeing his face without the lad: he therefore casts himself upon the mercy of
the Judge, and waits with terrible suspense to receive that sentence, on which the
happiness or misery of Jacob's family depended. ote; 1. Every good child will
make his parent's comfort one great business of his life. 2. When we address a ruler,
title and honour are his due.
CO STABLE, "Verses 18-34
Judah explained the whole story. He did not try to hide or excuse the brothers"
guilt. This is the longest speech in Genesis. Key words are "servant" (10 times), "my
lord" (7 times), and "father" (13times).
" o orator ever pronounced a more moving oration." [ ote: Bush, 2:329.]
"I would give very much to be able to pray before our Lord God as well as Judah
prays here before Joseph. For this is a perfect pattern of prayer, yes, of the true
feeling which should be in a prayer." [ ote: Martin Luther, Luther"s Works,

66. 7:368.]
Jacob had not changed in that he still doted on his youngest son. However the
brothers had changed; they now loved their father and Benjamin. ote Judah"s
appeal to Jacob"s old age and Benjamin"s youth ( Genesis 44:20), descriptions
designed to stress each one"s vulnerability and so elicit Joseph"s pity. Judah
manifested concern for Jacob as well as Benjamin ( Genesis 44:31). Rather than
hating their father for favoring Joseph and then Benjamin, the brothers were now
working for his welfare. The supreme proof of Judah"s repentance, and the moral
high point of his career, was his willingness to trade places with Benjamin and
remain in Egypt as a slave ( Genesis 44:33-34; cf. John 15:13). This is the first
instance of human substitution in Scripture (cf. Genesis 22:13).
"A spiritual metamorphosis for the better has certainly taken place in Judah.... He
who once callously engineered the selling of Joseph to strangers out of envy and
anger is now willing to become Joseph"s slave so that the rest of his brothers, and
especially Benjamin [whom Jacob loved more than Judah], may be freed and
allowed to return to Canaan to rejoin their father." [ ote: Hamilton, The Book . . .
Chapters18-50 , p570.]
Jesus Christ, Judah"s descendant, demonstrated the same attitude.
"Jacob will crown Judah with kingship [ Genesis 49:10] because he demonstrates
that he has become fit to rule according to God"s ideal of kingship that the king
serves the people, not vice versa. Judah is transformed from one who sells his
brother as a slave to one who is willing to be the slave for his brother. With that
offer he exemplifies Israel"s ideal kingship." [ ote: Waltke, Genesis , p567.]
God teaches His people to be loyal to one another by convicting them of previous
disloyalty to get them to love one another unselfishly. Such self-sacrificing love is
essential for the leaders of God"s people.

67. GUZIK, "Judah intercedes for Benjamin.
1. (18-32) Judah tells Joseph the whole story from the beginning.
Then Judah came near to him and said: O my lord, please let your servant speak a
word in my lords hearing, and do not let your anger burn against your servant; for
you are even like Pharaoh. My lord asked his servants, saying, Have you a father or
a brother? And we said to my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his
old age, who is young; his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mothers
children, and his father loves him. Then you said to your servants, Bring him down
to me, that I may set my eyes on him. And we said to my lord, The lad cannot leave
his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die. But you said to
your servants, Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall see my
face no more. So it was, when we went up to your servant my father, that we told
him the words of my lord. And our father said, Go back and buy us a little food. But
we said, We cannot go down; if our youngest brother is with us, then we will go
down; for we may not see the mans face unless our youngest brother is with us.
Then your servant my father said to us, You know that my wife bore me two sons;
and the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn to pieces; and I have not
seen him since. But if you take this one also from me, and calamity befalls him, you
shall bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave. ow therefore, when I
come to your servant my father, and the lad is not with us, since his life is bound up
in the lads life, it will happen, when he sees that the lad is not with us, that he will
die. So your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father with
sorrow to the grave. For your servant became surety for the lad to my father,
saying, If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my
father forever.
a. Then Judah came near to him and said: Judahs impassioned appeal to Joseph is a
model of a heartfelt, desperate appeal.
i. Of Judahs speech, F.B. Meyer wrote: In all literature, there is nothing more
pathetic than this appeal. H.C. Leupold wrote, This is one of the manliest, most
straightforward speeches ever delivered by any man. For depth of feeling and
sincerity of purpose it stands unexcelled. Barnhouse called it the most moving

68. address in all the Word of God.
b. Surely he is torn to piecesI have not seen him since: With these carefully chosen
words, Judah did not say that Benjamins brother was dead - only that Jacob said,
Surely he is torn to pieces and that Judah had not seen him since.
c. When he sees that the lad is not with us, that he will die: 20 years before, Josephs
brothers showed a callous disregard of their father when they reported Josephs
supposed death (Genesis 37:31-33). Judah showed they were now greatly concerned
for the feelings and welfare of their father. This was more evidence of a change of
heart.
PETT, "Verse 18
‘The Judah came near to him and said, “Oh my lord, let your servant I pray you
speak a word in my lord’s ears. And do not let your anger burn against your servant
for you are as Pharaoh.”
Judah assures the great man that he recognises his greatness. Indeed he is
depending on it. He is surely great enough to listen to a case that a lesser man may
not be able to listen to. He is above accountability for he is as Pharaoh himself with
total power. He begs that he will listen patiently to what he has to say.
He probably feels he has little hope in succeeding, recognising that his words may
well bring wrath on himself, but he is determined to do what he can whatever the
cost. He does not know, as we do, that this is exactly what Joseph is waiting and
longing for.
TRAPP, "Gen_44:18 Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy
servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord’s ears, and let not thine anger burn
against thy servant: for thou [art] even as Pharaoh.
Ver. 18. For thou art even as Pharaoh.] This he saith the better to insinuate; for

69. great men love to hear of their honour, and are tickled with their great titles. Paulus
Jovius, writing of Pompey Colomia, Bishop of Reatino, saith, that when the said
bishop, by the means of many great personages, was reconciled again, and brought
into favour with the Pope, whom he had formerly offended; and that when they
signified so much unto him in a short letter, in whose superscription, Bishop of
Reatino, by chance, was left out; he receiving the letter, threw it away, and bade the
messenger go seek some other Pompeio, to whom the letter was directed.
19 My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a
father or a brother?’
GILL, "My lord asked his servants,.... The first time they came down to Egypt to
buy corn; he puts him in mind of what passed between them at that time:
saying, have ye a father or a brother? which question followed upon their saying
that they were the sons of one man, Gen_42:11.
PETT, "Verse 19-20
“My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’ And we said
to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a younger
one,’ and his brother is dead, and he is all that is left of his mother, and his father
loves him.”
Judah is now determined that the Man will realise the full position, for he knows it
is the only hope. Perhaps there is something in this Man who has been such an
enigma, that will move him to mercy. First then he establishes the position of the
young man in his father’s affections.
“A child of his old age.” One on whom in his old age he depended for personal care
and support, and the only son of his mother. Of course the Man will not realise how

70. important Rachel had been to Jacob, but Judah does.
20 And we answered, ‘We have an aged father,
and there is a young son born to him in his old
age. His brother is dead, and he is the only one of
his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.’
GILL, "And we said unto my lord, we have a father,.... Yet living in the land of
Canaan:
an old man; being one hundred and thirty years of age, Gen_47:9,
and a child of his old age; who was born when he was near an hundred years of age:
and
a little one; not in stature, but in age, being the youngest son, and much younger than
they: so they represented him, on that account, and because he was tenderly brought up
with his father, and not inured to business and hardship, and so unfit to travel:
and his brother is dead; meaning Joseph: so they thought him to be, having not
heard of him for twenty two years or more, and they had so often said he was dead, or
suggested as much, that they at length believed he was:
and he alone is left of his mother; the only child left of his mother Rachel:
and his father loveth him; being his youngest son, and the only child of his beloved
Rachel, and therefore most dear unto him.

71. 21 “Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him
down to me so I can see him for myself.’
GILL, "And thou saidst unto thy servants, bring him down unto me,.... Judah
does not relate the reason of his order, which was to give proof that they were no spies,
but as if Joseph designed to show favour to Benjamin, as undoubtedly he did:
that I may set mine eyes upon him; not barely see him, as Aben Ezra interprets it,
though that would be, and was, very desirable by him, and agreeable to him; but he
desired to set his eyes upon him, not only for his own pleasure, but for the good of
Benjamin, as the Targum of Jonathan adds; he intimated that he should receive him
kindly, show favour unto him, and use him well: the Septuagint version is, "and I will
take care of him": Joseph's brethren had told him, that Benjamin was at home with their
father, who they suggested was afraid to let him go with them, lest evil should befall him;
wherefore to encourage him to let him go with them, Joseph promised to take care of
him, that no hurt should be done to him, but he should be provided with everything that
was proper and necessary; and this Judah improves into an argument with the governor
in favour of Benjamin, that since he desired his coming, in order to show him a
kindness, he hoped he would not detain him, and make a slave of him.
PETT, "Verses 21-23
“And you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me that I may set eyes on him.’
And we said to my lord, ‘The young man cannot leave his father, for if he should
leave his father, his father would die.’ And you said to your servants, ‘Unless your
youngest brother come down with you, you will see my face no more.’ ”
This is an expansion on the words in Genesis 42 but we must recognise that more
was said than was recorded there. The point is again to emphasis the importance of
the young man to his father. Without realising it Judah is showing how much he has
changed. ow his concern is not for himself but for his father, and he does not mind
about his father’s favouritism.

72. “That I might set my eyes on him.” In other words that he may show him favour.
ow he intends to show him anything but favour.
22 And we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave
his father; if he leaves him, his father will die.’
GILL, "And we said unto my lord, the lad cannot leave his father,.... That is,
his father will not be willing to part with him:
for if he should leave his father, his father would die; with grief and trouble,
fearing some evil was befallen him, and he should see him no more.
23 But you told your servants, ‘Unless your
youngest brother comes down with you, you will
not see my face again.’
GILL, "And thou saidst unto thy servants,.... In answer to the representation of
things made by them, and notwithstanding that:
except your youngest brother come down with you, you shall see my face no
more; which though not before related in the discourse, which passed between Joseph
and his brethren, in express terms, yet might be justly inferred from what he said; nay,
might be expressed in so many words, though not recorded, and as it seems plainly it
was, as appears from Gen_43:3.

73. 24 When we went back to your servant my father,
we told him what my lord had said.
GILL, "And it came to pass, when we came unto thy servant my father,.... In
the land of Canaan:
COFFMA , "Verses 24-29
"And it came to pass that when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him
the words of my lord. And our father said, Go again buy us a little food. And we
said, We cannot go down; if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down;
for we cannot see the man's face, except our youngest brother be with us. And thy
servant my father said unto me, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons: and the
one went out from me; and I have not seen him since: and if ye take this one also
from me, and harm befall him, ye will bring down my gray hairs to Sheol."
PETT, "Verses 24-26
“And it happened, when we came up to your servant my father we told him the
words of my lord, and our father said, ‘Go again, buy us a little food.’ And we said,
‘We cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us then we will go down. For
we cannot see the Man’s face except our youngest brother be with us.’ ”
This verse strongly confirms the suggestion that ‘The Man’ is an important title.
Judah would hardly have described the Egyptian Vizier simply as ‘the man’ when
speaking in his presence. Compare his obsequiousness elsewhere.

74. 25 “Then our father said, ‘Go back and buy a
little more food.’
GILL, "Genesis 44:25
And our father said,.... After some time, when the corn was almost consumed they
had bought in Egypt:
go again, and buy us a little food; that may suffice fill the famine is over; see Gen_
43:1.
26 But we said, ‘We cannot go down. Only if our
youngest brother is with us will we go. We cannot
see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is
with us.’
GILL, "And we said, we cannot go down,.... With any safety to their persons,
which would be in danger, or with any profit to their families, since their end in going
down to buy corn would not be answered:
if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down; let it be agreed to,
that Benjamin go along with us, to Egypt, and then no difficulty will be made of it:
for we may not see the man's face, except our youngest brother be with us;
the face of the great man, the governor of Egypt; for that this phrase, "the man", is not
used diminutively, but as expressive of grandeur, is clear, or otherwise it would never
have been made use of in his presence, and in such a submissive and polite speech as
this of Judah's.

75. 27 “Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know
that my wife bore me two sons.
GILL, "And thy servant my father said unto us,.... When thus pressed to let
Benjamin go with them:
ye know that my wife bare me two sons; Rachel, by whom he had Joseph and
Benjamin, and whom he calls his wife, she being his only lawful wife; Leah was imposed
upon him, Gen_29:20; and the other two were concubines, Gen_30:4.
K&D, "“That my wife bore to me two (sons):” Jacob regards Rachel alone as his
actual wife (cf. Gen_46:19).
PETT, "Verses 27-29
“And your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons,
and the one went out from me, and I said “Surely he is torn in pieces” and I have
not seen him since. And if you take this one also from me and mischief befall him,
you will bring down my grey hairs with sorrow to the grave (to sheol).’ ow
therefore when I come to your servant my father and the young man be not with us,
seeing that his life is bound up with the young man’s life, it will happen that, when
he sees the young man is not with us, he will die, and your servants will bring down
the grey hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to the grave.”
Judah recognises how important Benjamin is to Jacob, so important that if he loses
him he will die. He pleads with the Man to recognise his filial responsibility towards
an old man, something recognised by all races.
28 One of them went away from me, and I said,

76. “He has surely been torn to pieces.” And I have
not seen him since.
GILL, "And the one went out from, me,.... Being sent by him to see how his
brethren did, who were feeding his flocks at Shechem, and he had never returned to him
to that day:
and I said, surely he is torn in pieces; by some wild beast; this he said on sight of
his coat, being shown him all bloody:
and I saw him not since; now twenty two years ago; for though Joseph was not such
a great way off his father, especially if he was at Memphis, as some think; yet what
through his confinement as a servant in Potiphar's house, and then for some years in
prison, and through the multiplicity of business when advanced in Pharaoh's court, he
had no leisure and opportunity of visiting his father; and especially so it was ordered by
the providence of God that he should not, that he might be made known at the most
proper time for the glory of God, and the good of his family.
K&D, "‫ר‬ ַ‫ּמ‬‫א‬ָ‫,ו‬ preceded by a preterite, is to be rendered “and I was obliged to say,
Only (nothing but) torn in pieces has he become.”
29 If you take this one from me too and harm
comes to him, you will bring my gray head down
to the grave in misery.’
GILL, "And if ye take this also from me,.... His son Benjamin, as he perhaps
suspected they had taken Joseph, and made away with him:

77. and mischief befall him; either in Egypt, or on the road, going or returning, any ill
accident, especially death, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, or what may issue
in it:
ye shall bring my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave; it would be the means of
his death, and while he lived he should be full of sorrow and grief; see Gen_42:38.
30 “So now, if the boy is not with us when I go
back to your servant my father, and if my father,
whose life is closely bound up with the boy’s life,
GILL, "Now therefore, when I come to thy servant my father,.... That is, should
he return to him in the land of Canaan with the rest of his brethren:
and the lad be not with us; his brother Benjamin, so called here, and in the following
verses, though thirty years of age and upwards, see Gen_43:8,
seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life; he is as closely united to him in
affection, and is as dear to him as his own soul; quite wrapped up in him, and cannot live
without him; should he die, he must die too; see 1Sa_18:1; so it follows:
K&D, "“His soul is bound to his soul:” equivalent to, “he clings to him with all his
soul.”
TRAPP, "Gen_44:30 Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad
[be] not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad’s life;
Ver. 30. Seeing that his life is bound up.] God loved his Son Jesus infinitely more than
Jacob did Benjamin; he exalts his love far above that of any earthly parent; which is but
a spark of his flame, a drop of his ocean. And yet be freely parted with him, to certain
and shameful death, for our sakes. "God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son," &c. This is a Sic without a Sicut; there is nothing in nature whereby to
resemble it.

78. 31 sees that the boy isn’t there, he will die. Your
servants will bring the gray head of our father
down to the grave in sorrow.
GILL, "It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that
he will die,.... As soon as ever he sees us, without asking any question and observes
that Benjamin is missing he will conclude at once that he is dead, which will so seize his
spirits, that he will expire immediately:
and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant, our father,
with sorrow to the grave; as he said would be the case, Gen_44:29; and which would
be very afflicting to his sons to be the cause of it, and could not be thought of without the
utmost uneasiness and distress.
32 Your servant guaranteed the boy’s safety to
my father. I said, ‘If I do not bring him back to
you, I will bear the blame before you, my father,
all my life!’
GILL, "For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father,.... Which is

79. another argument used for the release of Benjamin, though he should be detained for
him, which he offers to be:
saying, if I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame unto my
father for ever; See Gill on Gen_43:9.
COFFMA , "Verses 32-34
"For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him
not unto thee, then shall I bear the blame to my father for ever. ow therefore, let
thy servant, I pray thee, abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the
lad go up with his brethren. For how shall I go up to my father, if the lad be not
with me? lest I see the evil that will come upon my father."
This is the pinnacle of the Joseph story. Here Judah stood forth as a willing sacrifice
to spare the life of his brother, and at a time when he might have supposed that
Benjamin could have been guilty. After all, the cup was in his sack. Right here was,
"the turning point in the relations between Joseph and his brethren."[10] In this
magnanimous action, Judah earned the right to supplant his brother Reuben as the
successor to the patriarchal birthright. It was this heart-breaking plea that opened
the fountain of tears in the heart of the long-lost brother then upon the throne of
Egypt.
What a transformation had occurred in the life of Judah! Standing before his very
eyes, Joseph saw that same hard-eyed brother who had once mercilessly sold him as
a slave into Egypt standing there pleading with all of his heart to be made a slave
forever in the place of Benjamin! Such a scene was never known before. Joseph's
heart was simply broken by it, and he burst into cries of weeping that were heard all
the way to the palace of Pharaoh. A more pathetic scene can hardly be imagined
than that shattering emotional storm that swept over the long-estranged brothers.
Judah was the hero of the reconciliation. o wonder Jesus Christ himself would be
called "The Lion of the Tribe of Judah." If ever a man earned the right to stand in
the ancestry of Jesus and to give his name as one of his titles, Judah did so in that
hallowed moment in the palace of Joseph.
Martin Luther said, "I would give very much to be able to pray to our Lord God as
well as Judah prayed to Joseph here."[11] It will be noted that in our quotation
above, we broke this long paragraph recording Judah's plea into four paragraphs

80. instead of only one as in the ASV. Skinner entitled these successive paragraphs thus:
The recital of the interview in which Joseph had insisted on Benjamin being
brought down.
A pathetic description of his father's reluctance to part with him, overcome only by
the harsh necessity of hunger.
A suggestion of the death stroke which their return without Benjamin would inflict
on their aged parent.
The speaker's personal request to be allowed to redeem his honor by taking
Benjamin's punishment upon himself.[12]
Josephus added to the Biblical record by affirming that, "All of Joseph's brothers
fell down before him weeping, and delivering themselves up to destruction for the
preservation of the life of Benjamin."[13] However, nothing in the sacred text even
hints of such a thing.
"His life is bound up in the lad's life ..." (Genesis 44:30). "This is a figure for
inalienable affection, as in 1 Samuel 18:1."[14]
The use of "lad" as a description of Benjamin "does not suggest that Benjamin was
a young boy at the time. Judah used the term as a word of endearment, and
naturally because he was several years older than Benjamin."[15] This is also the
explanation of Joseph's remark back in 43:29, where he called him, "My son."
Morris' comment on this passage is:

81. In this willingness to give his own life in place of his brother's, for the sake of his
father, Judah became a beautiful type of Christ, more fully and realistically than
even Joseph himself, who is often taken by Bible expositors as a type of Christ.
"Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we
ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."[16]
This comment by Morris is pertinent to the fact that the principal theme of all this
section of Genesis, beginning back in Genesis 37, is not Joseph at all, despite the
prominence he enjoys in the record. These chapters are the [~toledowth] of Jacob,
and it is the fortunes of the Chosen ation which appear so dramatically upon these
pages.
ELLICOTT, "(32-34) Thy servant became surety.—Judah first gives the reason
why he was especially bound to see to Benjamin’s welfare, but he adds to it the more
affecting argument that he could not bear to look upon his father’s anguish. And
with these moving words he ends his appeal, which to Joseph’s mind had carried the
conviction, first, that to separate Benjamin, even for a time from Jacob, would be an
act of extreme unkindness; and secondly, that his brethren were deserving not only
of pardon, but of love.
ISBET, "A BROTHER’S HEART
‘Thy servant became surety for the lad.’
Genesis 44:32
The brothers are once more before Joseph. He speaks ambiguously, on purpose to
try them. But the brethren do not give up, or desert, their young brother Benjamin.
Judah makes a speech which is very natural, simple, and pathetic.
I. It is conciliatory towards Joseph. Joseph’s greatness, power, and high rank are
fully recognised (‘Thou art as Pharaoh’). It is considerate in reference to the
statements about Jacob’s peculiar reasons for sorrow. It is courageous in its
announcement of Judah’s own responsibility, and of his readiness to be a substitute
for his brother. And all through the speech tenderness and sympathy are exhibited
in a very simple but touching manner.

82. How wonderful it is to discover the strong and noble emotions that slumber in the
hearts of the most ordinary of men! one who had known Judah familiarly would
have given him credit for this depth of human feeling or genuine eloquence. It
rushes up as the hot-springs do in certain spots of the earth, which are wrapt in
almost perpetual winter. But sorrow is a marvellous magician. It touches those
secret springs that lie in the souls of men, and calls them forth in their native
simplicity.
II. So we are brought to the moment before the mutual recognition and
reconciliation take place.
Joseph’s brethren are now thoroughly humbled. There is no boastfulness, no spite,
no envy in their bosoms now. Judah has acted nobly, and they have not deserted
either him or Benjamin. Joseph is therefore convinced of their sincerity, and of the
softening of their hearts, for clear proof of which he had waited.
He himself is full of pitifulness, and rejoices to perceive that they are very different
from what they had been when they sold him as a slave, years before.
The whole story teaches us how good a thing it is to be kindly, and pitiful, and
considerate—and how much of a family’s happiness and safety depends upon the
mutual affection of its members. And a friend in need is a friend indeed.
III. And does not this pleading of Judah for his brethren recall Christ’s for us all,
though there are vast differences? Remember how Jesus said, ‘I will pray the
Father, and He shall give you another Comforter.’ It was in response to the
intercessions which the Mediator made for us all, that the Holy Spirit was shed on
the Church. But, the parallel is even more complete, when in Joseph who had risen
from the low dungeon to the throne, and who used his exaltation to bless his
brethren, we see a type of Him who ascended up far above all heavens, that He
might fill things, that He might receive gifts, yea for the rebellious also; and
especially the gift of the Holy Spirit.

83. —Abp. Saumarez Smith.
Illustration
‘Trouble brought Judah near to Joseph, as it has often enough brought men to that
Elder Brother, whom they have so greatly wronged. The whole of this story casts a
strong light on God’s ways with us. The cup is often found in Benjamin’s sack,
where we should least expect to discover it; and the soul finds itself interwoven in an
inextricable maze of trouble, which has fallen on it as though from heaven, that it
may awake from its slumbers, and seek God. Then we come near to Him.’
PETT, "Verse 32
ow Judah comes to the nub of his argument. He has offered himself to his father as
a guarantee that the young man will go back. If he goes back without Benjamin he
will carry his own burden of guilt for ever, and be for ever guilty before his father.
This he cannot bear. So he pleads that the Man will let him take Benjamin’s
punishment. But he is not just thinking of himself. He is also thinking of the effect
on his father. He cannot bear to think of what it will do to his father.
Joseph sees here a different man from the one who callously sold him into slavery.
And that, together with the thought of his father’s sufferings and the love he has for
his family, determines him to bring the whole affair to an end.
33 “ ow then, please let your servant remain here
as my lord’s slave in place of the boy, and let the
boy return with his brothers.

84. GILL, "Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a
bondman to my lord,.... Being, as Jarchi observes preferable to Benjamin for
strength, for war, and for service: in this Judah was a type of Christ, from whose tribe he
sprung, who became the surety of God's Benjamins, his children who are beloved by
him, and as dear to him as his right hand, and put himself in their legal place and stead,
and became sin and a curse for them, that they might go free, as Judah desired his
brother Benjamin might, as follows:
and let the lad go up with his brethren; from Egypt to Canaan's land, to their
father there.
K&D, "Judah closed his appeal with the entreaty, “Now let thy servant (me) remain
instead of the lad as slave to my lord, but let the lad go up with his brethren; for how
could I go to my father without the lad being with me! (I cannot,) that I may not see the
calamity which will befall my father!”
GUZIK, "(33-34) Judah lays down his life for Benjamin and his father.
ow therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad as a slave to my
lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers. For how shall I go up to my father if
the lad is not with me, lest perhaps I see the evil that would come upon my father?
a. Please let your servant remain instead of the lad as a slave to my lord: Judah
dramatically offered to lay down his life for the sake of Benjamin. This was a
dramatic change from 20 years before when the brothers did not care about Joseph,
Benjamin, or even their father Jacob.
i. Judah distinguished himself as the one willing to be a substitutionary sacrifice, out
of love for his father and for his brethren.
b. How shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me: Judah was the one who
suggested selling Joseph 20 years earlier. (Genesis 37:26-27) Here he sensitively
offered to lay down his life for the favored brother. This display of sacrificial love
was another example of transformation in the brothers.

85. i. Moses was willing to offer himself for the salvation of Israel (Exodus 32:31-32),
and so was Paul (Romans 9:1-4). Sacrificial love is evidence of our transformation
(John 13:34).
ii. Through this chapter there is remarkable evidence of the changed hearts of
Josephs brothers.
They did not resent it when Benjamin was given the favored portion (Genesis 43:34)
They trusted each other, not accusing each other of wrong when accused of stealing
the cup (Genesis 44:9)
They stuck together when the silver cup was found. They did not abandon the
favored son and allow him to be carried back to Egypt alone (Genesis 44:13)
They completely humbled themselves for the sake of the favored son (Genesis 44:14)
They knew their predicament was the result of their sin against Joseph (Genesis
44:16)
They offered themselves as slaves to Egypt, not abandoning Benjamin, the favored
son, their brother (Genesis 44:16)
They showed due concern for how this might affect their father (Genesis 44:29-31)
Judah was willing to be a substitutionary sacrifice for his brother out of love for his
father and his brethren (Genesis 44:33)

86. 34 How can I go back to my father if the boy is
not with me? o! Do not let me see the misery
that would come on my father.”
GILL, "Genesis 44:34
For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me?.... Signifying
that he must abide in Egypt, and chose to do it, and could not go up to the land of
Canaan any more or see his father's face without Benjamin along with him, to whom he
was a surety for him:
lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father; see him die, or
live a life of sorrow worse than death: this he could not bear, and chose rather to be a
slave in Egypt, than to be the spectator of such an affecting scene. By this speech of
Judah, Joseph plainly saw the great affection which his brethren, especially Judah, had
for his father and his brother Benjamin, as well as the sense they had of their evil in
selling him, which lay uppermost on their minds, and for which they thought themselves
brought into all this trouble; wherefore he could no longer conceal himself from them,
but makes himself known unto them, which is the principal subject of the following
chapter.
TRAPP, "Gen_44:34 For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad [be] not with me?
lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father.
Ver. 34. For how shall I go up, &c.] Here love ascends, as fit it should. Judah, a man wise
and well spoken, prefers his father’s life before his own liberty. He could not live to see
the death of his aged father. A certain citizen of Toledo being condemned to die, his son
ceased not with prayers and tears to entreat that he might be put to death instead of his
father. This he obtained after much suit, and most gladly died for him. {a} At Gaunt in
Flanders, when a father and his son were condemned to die together, the earl, desirous
to make trial whether of the two were more loving, granted that he should live that
would cut off the other’s head. And after much ado between them, the father, by many
arguments, persuaded his son to be his executioner. {b}