“Genesis 43:1-10”

Friday, April 10, 2020

“Now the famine was severe in the land. So it came about when they had finished eating the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, ‘Go back, buy us a little food.’ Judah spoke to him, however, saying, ‘The man solemnly warned us, “You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.” If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. But if you do not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, “You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.”’ Then Israel said, ‘Why did you treat me so badly by telling the man whether you still had another brother?’ But they said, ‘The man questioned particularly about us and our relatives, saying, “Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?” So we answered his questions. Could we possibly know that he would say, “Bring your brother down”?’ Judah said to his father Israel, ‘Send the lad with me and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, we as well as you and our little ones. I myself will be surety for him; you may hold me responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame before you forever. For if we had not delayed, surely by now we could have returned twice.’”

---End of Scripture verses---

“Now the famine was severe in the land.” (verse 1) Jacob had flatly refused to allow Benjamin to leave his side, even at the adamant pleas, offers and insistence of his eldest son. But the prospect of starvation has a way of changing the convictions of even the most stubborn-minded of men, and Jacob’s sons bided their time until the second trip to Egypt became an absolute necessity. After “they had eaten up the grain which they had brought from Egypt” (verse 2), the time for any further delays had ended, along Jacob’s resistance to turning loose of Benjamin.

“Their father said to them, ‘Go back, buy us a little food.’” (verse 2) This was the moment the brothers were waiting for, and Judah seized upon the opportunity to step up to the forefront and take the lead in family matters. “But Judah spoke to him, saying, ‘The man solemnly warned us, “You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.”’” (verse 3) Judah…is the spokesman from now on; Reuben is not heard from again, even though he is the first-born. The incident described in 35:22 shows that he has long been discredited.” (Nahum Sarna)

“But if you do not send him, we will not go down…” (verse 5) The demands that Judah made of his father amounted to no less than an ultimatum, but in actuality it was the only satisfactory solution to their specific quandary. They could not eat if they were unwilling to travel back to Egypt, and they dare not return to Joseph for food if they didn’t have Benjamin with them. “The man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’” No Benjamin, no Egypt, no food.

“And Israel said, ‘Why did you treat me so badly by telling the man whether you still had another brother?” (verse 6) Jacob’s life was so wrapped up in the life of his youngest son (Genesis 44:30) that he could not distinguish where his life ended and Benjamin’s life began. Just the mere mention of the young man’s existence to Joseph was taken by Jacob as a personal affront. It is remarkable how such a wonderful gift as love can foster such intense feelings of obsession, terror and calamity. It is obvious that Jacob’s love for his son at least bordered on the unhealthy, but then again, it is difficult to control such profound sensations of affection, and harder still to keep them from controlling us.

“But they said, ‘The man questioned particularly about us and our relatives, saying, “Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?” So we answered his questions.’” (verse 7) “The report now given by the brothers to their father does not correspond to the account of the interrogation in chapter 42, where the brothers appeared to offer unsolicited information about themselves quite freely (vv. 11,13). However, from 44:19 it is clear that Joseph had indeed asked the specific questions referred to here. Accordingly, it must be assumed that chapter 42 represents a very abbreviated account.” (Nahum Sarna)

“I myself will be surety for him; you may hold me responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame before you forever.” (verse 9) “To underline the seriousness with which he is willing to assume the guardianship of Benjamin, Judah employs two distinct legal idioms.” (Nahum Sarna) As “surety” Jacob put forth his own life as a guarantee for the return of Benjamin. To be held “responsible” meant that Jacob would be completely accountable for anything that might go wrong. “In Genesis 42:37 Reuben had been ready to pledge the lives of his two sons for Benjamin’s safety. Here Judah is ready to pledge his own life; see Genesis 44:32.” (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges)

“For if we had not delayed, surely by now we could have returned twice.” (verse 10) This may have been hyperbole on Jacob’s part, but if his words are to be taken literally, Jacob had been forestalling for a full month in his unwillingness to allow his sons to return to Egypt with Benjamin. Whether exaggeration or not, Judah was telling his dad to get a move on and urging him to not waste another second of the precious time that was rapidly ticking away from them.

Please read Genesis 43:11-15 for tomorrow.

Have a wonderful day!

-Louie Taylor

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