Old Testament Commentary - Genesis 44

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 44 Joseph arranges to stop the return of his brethern to Canaan—Judah offers himself in place of Benjamin for their father's sake.	Joseph further proves and tests his brothers by arranging to stop their return to Canaan in blaming Benjamin for theft—Judah finally humbles himself in meekness and offers himself in place of Benjamin showing forth his true deep seeded love for Jacob, his father's sake, yet he holds on to the lie of Joseph's fate, still showing forth the mix which is in him.
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^a. 2 And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his corn money^a. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.	1^a put every man's money in his sack's mouth If Joseph's intent was to hide the money from his brother's finding it, he would have not placed it where it was so readily available to anyone's inspection, including a precautionary inspection by even his brothers. Had the first return of money taught the brothers anything? Were they honest in their natures enough to first assure themselves that the same 'mistake' had not been made again, preventure they might be found to be dishonest and suffer that guilt of not paying for their goods again? Perhaps one or two did check the mouth of their sacks, even if for nothing but a mouth of grain to chew. Had not one found the money again returned in their sacks a second time? And if so, was not one of them honest enough to return and honestly explain their fear of an error again being made? 2^a put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his corn money If any had found the money returned or had thought to check, they might have sounded the word to the others and then found such in every sack and found the cup in Benjamin's even before Joseph's servants caught up with them. What then? Evendently they were either bluffing to offer to search all the sacks or they for the most part did not know of the situation which had occured 'again'. Might one have at least have known and kept it quieted to himself and suffered in mounding guilt as the facts came out? And it that one so knew, cared he so little that he would allow the sacks to be searched with Benjamin as risk? Or was Benjamin still the least of their worries in terms of their own personal concerns for themselves, perhaps knowing for a surety that the 'cup' was not in their own sack or sacks?	1^a TG Jesus Christ, Appearances, Antemortal 2^a Josh. 5:13; TG Angels ^b 3 Ne. 11:19; Ether 6:12; TG Courtesy 3^a JST Gen. 18:3 ...brethren... 4^a TG Washing ^b TG Hospitality 5^a OR sustain... ^b Gen. 19:8
3 As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses. 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?^a 5 Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing.	4^a Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good? This was a question not just to be asked of the current situation, but of the events years past when Joseph did nothing but good toward his brothers and they through their envy and jealousy and self ambitions of self aggrandizement, had first plotted his death and then sold him to become a slave to the Egyptians. Would not all the old guilts have also once again arisen in them from such an accusation which cut them not only in the present but deep within themselves from the past?	1^a TG Jesus Christ, Appearances, Antemortal 2^a Josh. 5:13; TG Angels ^b 3 Ne. 11:19; Ether 6:12; TG Courtesy 3^a JST Gen. 18:3 ...brethren... 4^a TG Washing ^b TG Hospitality 5^a OR sustain... ^b Gen. 19:8
6 ¶ And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these same words. 7 And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing: 8 Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks' mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord's house silver or gold? 9 With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen^a.	9^a With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen This seemingly proclamation of inocence thats on a very ominous air if in fact any one of the brothers actually knew or even suspected the truth of the matter. It assured that Jacob would have not heir, especialy not Benjamin, if one had ascertained that it was in Benjamin's sack. And it did not entirely cut off the rest, for a 'bondsmen' was not exactly the same as a slave and what would be better? If not able to rule in Jacob's house but to be cast out because of returning without Benjamin or to at least serve in Egypt where there was food and live to be found and under the state of a bondmen to perhaps agains earn one's own freedom after the debt was paid.	1^a TG Jesus Christ, Appearances, Antemortal 2^a Josh. 5:13; TG Angels ^b 3 Ne. 11:19; Ether 6:12; TG Courtesy 3^a JST Gen. 18:3 ...brethren... 4^a TG Washing ^b TG Hospitality 5^a OR sustain... ^b Gen. 19:8
10 And he said, Now also let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be my servant; and ye shall be blameless. 11 Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack. 12 And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.		1^a TG Jesus Christ, Appearances, Antemortal 2^a Josh. 5:13; TG Angels ^b 3 Ne. 11:19; Ether 6:12; TG Courtesy 3^a JST Gen. 18:3 ...brethren... 4^a TG Washing ^b TG Hospitality 5^a OR sustain... ^b Gen. 19:8
13 Then they ^arent their clothes^a, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city.	13^a Then they rent their clothes Every man's sack was searched, and though the search was initiated to find the silver cup, with the 'double' money of each in the top mouth of their sacks, every one was found to have had their money supposedly paid, now again in their own possession. Did they then all rent their clothes for the sake of just Benjamin, or was each not under the suspision of theft and the guilt of being judged. Had they preceived in their minds that justice had finally cuaught up with them in a mysterious manner for what they had once so wickedly done to their brother Joseph?
14 ¶ And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house; for he was yet there: and they ^afell before him on the ground. 15 And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done?^a wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine? 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. 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. God Hath Found Out the Iniquity of Thy Servants Note that under the circumstances Judah, the prime instigator, is making a confession before God, that God has found out their iniquities, as if one can hide such from God in the first place. And while Judah, with out the age old specifics, is finally recognizing the guilt which is truely upon each of them with the exception of Benjamin, though he includes him also. Joseph on the other hand, based upon his response is still just considering the matter of the silver cup and only the pretended guilt of Benjamin, the truely only inocent one amongst them.	15^a What deed is this that ye have done? Notice that Joseph's accusation is not particular to just one but unto all of the brothers. It would seem that indeed all were now under accusation of theft of not only the cup but the double money found in the mouth of every man's sack. 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 How much like the roll of the Savior this situation is. The one who inocently bore the sin and guilt of all the others was to be made the Servant, and the others were to be allowed, according to their individual circumstance, to return 'sinless' or 'guilty' back to their Father, whoever or which ever that Father might be, Satan or God the Eternal Father of our Spirits. When the Lord stands in final judgement of our final determination, will be have so lived and prepared ourselves to return to Heaven or in short Hell. To which 'Father' will we return to? Will we have served Satan and made him our Father. Or will we have repented of our sins and come unto Christ and enabled ourselves to return unto the Father of our Spirits and live?
18 ¶ Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my ^alord^a, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine ^banger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh.	18^a Oh my lord In this pronouncement before Joseph, Judah unwitingly has just proclaimed the truth of the matter, that Joseph indeed is the firstborn chosen of Jacob and not Judah. Despite the Jewish record keeps who will eventually proclaim that Judah has prevailed over all of this brethren, the fact is as stated by Judah here, all of the tribes of Israel are under the hand of Joseph as the firstborn (Jeremiah 31:9) in Israel not Judah. And it is through Joseph that the blessings were and have been preserved (D&C 27:10) not Judah. Judah was not the worthy seed of the promised and blessings of the covenant. And though through the surrogate parenthood of Obed performed by Boaz, that is not the legal and rightful line of the first born. Obed was, by the Law of God, the legal and rightful son and heir, the firstborn of Mahlon and the only son of the house of Elimelech, that family of Ephrathites or Ephraimites who lived in Bethlehem, the city of the tomb of Rebekah, the true Mother of Israel. By blood was Christ of the Jews and it is that blood of corruption which was shed and spilt. But it was by the rights of the blessings of the covenants which came by the heirship of Ephraim that the Lord had his earthly right to the priesthood and position of being the rightful heir of the covenant of the firstborn. He being the firstborn in every since, of the Father in the spirit, and the first and only begotten of the Father in the flesh, and further through the 'adoption' of Joseph the Carpenter and as Mary his mother, the firstborn of the heirship of the covenant in every respect as to earthly compliance that all righteousness might be fulfilled in him according to the letter of the law, the Law of Moses, that Law of God which indeed establishes Jesus Christ the true hier of the blessings of the covenant of God through the fathers, from Adam to Noah, from Abraham to Jacob, Joseph, and from Ephraim though Nun, Joshua, Elimelech, and Mahlon, the rightful heirship line of the Firstborn of Israel. 18^b For thou art as Pharaoh While Joseph is not God, just as Pharaoh was the image of God to the Egyptians, so Judah also unwittingly sets out that in this parallelism of foreshadow, Joseph is as God, and they are being so judged by him which judgement Joseph does set out upon them.
19 My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother? 20 And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old ^aman, 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. 21 And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him. 22 And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should leave his father, his father would die. 23 And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest ^abrother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more. 24 And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. 25 And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food. 26 And we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down: for we may not see the man's face, except our ^ayoungest brother be with us.
27 And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons: 28 And the one went out from me^a, and I said, Surely he is ^atorn in ^bpieces^b; and I saw him not since: 29 And if ye ^atake this also from me, and mischief befall ^bhim, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. 30 Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is ^abound up in the lad's life; 31 It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with ^asorrow to the grave. Oh, the Tangled Web Oh the Tangled Web We Weave, When Once We Practice to Deceive. Judah's half truths and lies still prevail as he pleads before Joseph, not know that it is Joseph to whom he speaks who knows the truth of the matter.	28^a the one went out from me According to Jewish history, Jacob knew more and understood more about the fate of Joseph than that he was just killed by an animal. Thus when Jacob states it in a manner that Joseph had 'went out from him' and not returned, Judah will quickly point out the lie of the matter that he did perpeturate then and is still perpetuating even standing directly before Joseph now. 28^b and I [Judah] said, Surely he is torn in pieces Here Judah makes it known to Joseph that it was indeed Judah who continued to perpetuate the lie of Joseph's dissapence unto Jacob, and that he was and still is in charge as the chief instegator of the crime. Judah is still the one foremost to perpetuate the lie and is still covering up sin rather than repenting of it. The object lesson to be learned is that the truth will out and all lies come to the surface.
32 For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the ^ablame to my father for ever.^a 33 Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren. 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.	32^a If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever. Though Judah nor even perhaps Joseph considered it as such, perhaps Judah just pronounced his own unrepentent judgement upon himself. Judah does not return Benjamin to Jacob. Joseph keeps him with him in Egypt. In returning to Jacob, Judah will have to tell a more truthful rendition and possibly repent of his treatmentof Joseph else for sure Judah would face the fate of bearing the blame to my Father, at least for sure before our Father in Heaven, for ever. Not being Judah's judge, that will be left between Judah and God as to whether Judah ever was able to bring himself full square with the truth and truly and honestly repent before God and man once and for all. At this particular time before Joseph, Judah is still covering sin and telling his lies about it.