Free Bible Commentary
“Genesis 42:18-28”
Categories: Genesis“Now Joseph said to them on the third day, ‘Do this and live, for I fear God: if you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined in your prison; but as for the rest of you, go, carry grain for the famine of your households, and bring your youngest brother to me, so your words may be verified, and you will not die.’ And they did so. Then they said to one another, ‘Truly we are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen; therefore this distress has come upon us.’ Reuben answered them, saying, ‘Did I not tell you, “Do not sin against the boy”; and you would not listen? Now comes the reckoning for his blood.’ They did not know, however, that Joseph understood, for there was an interpreter between them. He turned away from them and wept. But when he returned to them and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes. Then Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain and to restore every man’s money in his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. And thus it was done for them. So they loaded their donkeys with their grain and departed from there. As one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the lodging place, he saw his money; and behold, it was in the mouth of his sack. Then he said to his brothers, ‘My money has been returned, and behold, it is even in my sack.’ And their hearts sank, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, ‘What is this that God has done to us?’”
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“Do this and live, for I fear God.” (verse 18) On the “third day” of their imprisonment, not one of Joseph’s brothers had volunteered to go forth and retrieve their younger brother Benjamin (verse 15). Either from a change of heart or a willingness to compromise, Joseph suggested a course of action more agreeable to his brothers and to his own God-fearing conscience. He certainly did not want the remainder of his family and relatives back home in the land of Canaan to starve to death, and he truly intended to do no harm to the brothers that had inflicted so much harm upon him. Fortunately for them, Joseph knew there was a much Higher Power than one in such a lofty position as himself, and he answered to Him first and foremost, and ultimately and forever. When he told his brothers he feared God, through his Egyptian interpreters, he used the familiar term “Elohim”. It would have relieved and assured them to know that even such a great leader in the heathen land of their imprisonment worshiped and honored the same true God of heaven as they did.
“If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined in your prison…” (verse 19) Instead of requiring all but one to remain imprisoned until Benjamin was retrieved as he had originally demanded, Joseph allowed all but one to leave. To extend his generosity even farther, he furnished them with a rich supply of “grain for the famine” to feed their “households”. The hard exterior that Joseph had erected around his soft and kind heart had begun to crumble, and the avalanche of compassion must have left his brothers’ heads swimming in a combination of confusion and appreciation. Even still, Joseph continued to demand: “Bring your youngest brother to me, so your words may be verified, and you will not die.” (verse 20) “Joseph has forced the brothers into a position in which they have no choice but to bring Benjamin in order to avoid dying of hunger.” (Nahum Sarna)
“Truly we are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen; therefore this distress has come upon us.” (verse 21) Jacob’s sons had come to the collective conclusion that their guilt from abusing their younger brother all those years ago had finally caught up with them, and they would be forced to pay a dear price for it. The guilt that had been simmering in the recesses of their consciences had finally bubbled to the surface because of their present turmoil, and their current distress had finally pushed to the forefront an awareness of and appreciation for the “distress” of Joseph’s “soul when he had pleaded” to no avail with their calloused hearts for mercy.
“Reuben answered them, saying, ‘Did I not tell you, “Do not sin against the boy”; and you would not listen?’” (verse 22) Reuben essentially tells his brothers, “I told you so!” He reminded them of his urgent appeals to spare Joseph’s life recorded in Genesis 37:21-22: “‘Let us not take his life.’ Reuben further said to them, ‘Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay hands on him’—that he might rescue him out of their hands, to restore him to his father.” The fact that Reuben added “Now comes the reckoning for his blood,” clearly demonstrated his belief that Joseph was dead, and that, whether directly or indirectly, they were the responsible parties.
“They did not know, however, that Joseph understood…” (verse 23) The brothers were completely unaware that Joseph was very much alive and standing in their midst, and that he could hear and understand everything they were saying. Their poignant words cut him to the quick and brought tears to his mournful eyes, but he turned away and hid his raw emotions and sympathy for his brothers’ anguish (verse 24). To demonstrate that Joseph’s threat was to be taken seriously and he was not a man to be trifled with, “he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes” (verse 24). The reasoning behind Joseph singling out Simeon for detainment is not divulged.
“Then Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain and to restore every man’s money in his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey.” (verse 25) “Did Joseph mean to test their integrity or intensify the psychological pressure? His motivation here is unclear.” (Nahum Sarna) Whether it achieved Joseph’s desired purpose or not, the discovery of the money bags in their grain sacks caused “their hearts” to sink, “and they turned trembling to one another…” (verse 28) “They were afraid that more evil was coming upon them…and that this was a scheme laid to entrap them, and that they should be pursued and seized, and fetched back, and charged with a fraud and trick, as going off with their corn without paying for it.” (Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible) Convinced this was another indication of the Divine displeasure, the brothers wondered aloud: “What is this that God has done to us?” (verse 28)
Please read Genesis 42:29-38 for tomorrow.
Have a blessed day!
-Louie Taylor
