Free Bible Commentary
“Genesis 44:1-13”
Categories: Genesis“Then he commanded his house steward, saying, ‘Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack. Put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his money for the grain.’ And he did as Joseph had told him. As soon as it was light, the men were sent away, they with their donkeys. They had just gone out of the city, and were not far off, when Joseph said to his house steward, ‘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 which he indeed uses for divination? You have done wrong in doing this.”’ So he overtook them and spoke these words to them. They said to him, ‘Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing. Behold, the money which we found in the mouth of our sacks we have brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house? With whomever of your servants it is found, let him die, and we also will be my lord’s slaves.’ So he said, ‘Now let it also be according to your words; he with whom it is found shall be my slave, and the rest of you shall be innocent.’ Then they hurried, each man lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack. He searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. Then they tore their clothes, and when each man loaded his donkey, they returned to the city.”
---End of Scripture verses---
“Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack.” (verse 1) After the fulfilling night of food and festivities, Joseph’s brothers set out on the journey back home to Canaan with their bellies full, their grain sacks packed and their spirits high. Considering the surprise pulled on them on their previous trip home, you would think they would have at least been curious and cautious enough to open their grain sacks to see if anything unexpected might be found lying inside. But, after the warm reception and good will extended on the night before, they were completely unsuspicious of any further antics. Still, Joseph wasn’t quite ready to send them on their merry way and just forgive and forget the misdeeds of the past.
“Put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his money for the grain.” (verse 2) “The goblet serves both as a drinking vessel and as a divining instrument (v.5). The fact that we are told it is made of silver is not meant solely to emphasize its preciousness; the offense would be grave enough no matter what the composition of the goblet might have been. The main point here is that Hebrew kesef, ‘silver, money,’ is a key word, reiterated twenty times in the accounts of Joseph and his brothers in Egypt (chaps 42045). The brothers had sold Joseph into slavery for twenty pieces of silver (Gen. 37:28); now he harasses and tests them with silver.” (Nahum Sarna)
“They had just gone out of the city, and were not far off, when Joseph said to his house steward, ‘Up, follow the men; and…overtake them…’” (verse 4) Eager to bring the food and the good news back to their father, the brothers had packed up and departed for home at dawn’s first light (verse 3). But, no sooner than they had escaped the city limits, they were overtaken by Joseph’s house steward and falsely accused of theft. “Why have you repaid evil for good?” After all the generosity the master had shown by throwing them a feast and filling their grain sacks for free, how could their ungrateful hearts find the audacity to steal from him?!
“Is not this the one from which my lord drinks and which he indeed uses for divination?” (verse 5) “It is not stated that Joseph actually believes in divination. He wants the brothers to think he does. The technique of divining by means of a goblet is well known from the ancient world. It took various forms: the use of water (hydromancy), oil (oleomancy), or wine (oenomancy). The practitioner professed to be able to interpret either the surface patterns formed when a few drops of one liquid were poured onto another or the movement of objects floating on or sinking in the fluid. The aim of the exercise was to determine the future, to locate the source of trouble, or to apportion blame or credits, as in 30:27. The legislation in Deuteronomy 18:10 outlawed divination in Israel.” (Nahum Sarna)
“They said to him, ‘Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing.” (verse 7) The brothers were mortified that such an accusation would be leveled against them. They maintained their integrity but had no clue they were being toyed with and tormented because of past transgressions. “Behold, the money which we found in the mouth of our sacks we have brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house?” (verse 8) They made a lessor to the greater argument to substantiate their innocence. If they had been so honest as to return a trifling sum by comparison, it was unreasonable to accuse them of such substantial larceny.
“With whomever of your servants it is found, let him die, and we also will be my lord’s slaves.’” (verse 9) In their naiveté the brothers boldly professed their innocence by guaranteeing the death penalty for the guilty party and the forfeiture of their own freedom, but Joseph was only interested in detaining his full brother, Benjamin. The chief steward would enslave the guilty party and the rest would go free (verse 10), and began searching the men’s grain sacks, “beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest” (verse 12). “The steward adroitly manipulates the situation. One can easily imagine the rising self-confidence of the brothers after each successive search yielded nothing.” (Nahum Sarna) Until the last sack was opened by Benjamin and the silver goblet tumbled out and the brothers’ jaws collectively dropped to the ground!
“Then they tore their clothes, and when each man loaded his donkey, they returned to the city.” (verse 13) “The horror of their predicament leaves them speechless. They can only do what they caused their father to do years before (37:34).” (Nahum Sarna) No doubt they would have preferred the enslavement in Egypt that they had originally proposed to Joseph’s chief steward than to return to their father without his beloved Benjamin in their company!
Please read Genesis 44:14-17 for tomorrow.
Have a blessed day!
-Louie Taylor
