Genesis 43.15-25-Joseph Invites Brothers to Lunch and They Speak with His Steward
Sunday February 11, 2007
Genesis: Genesis 43:15-25-Joseph Invites Brothers to Lunch and They Speak with His Steward
Lesson # 279
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 43:1.
This morning we will continue with our study of Genesis 43, which contains the record of the second journey of Joseph’s brothers to Egypt.
On Wednesday evening we noted the first ten verses of Genesis 43, which records Judah negotiating with his father for a return to Egypt with Benjamin in order to secure the release of Simeon who was still imprisoned at the time in Egypt as well as to buy grain to for their starving family.
On Thursday evening we studied Genesis 43:11-14 and see Israel operating in faith and agreeing to send Benjamin back to Egypt along with his other sons.
This morning we will study Genesis 43:15-25, which records Joseph’s brothers arriving in Egypt with Benjamin and having a conversation with Joseph’s house steward regarding the silver that was returned to them without their knowledge.
Genesis 43:1, “Now the famine was severe in the land.”
Genesis 43:2, “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.’”
Genesis 43:3, “Judah spoke to him, however, saying, ‘The man solemnly warned us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’”
Genesis 43:4, “If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food.”
Genesis 43:5, “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.’”
Genesis 43:6, “Then Israel said, ‘Why did you treat me so badly by telling the man whether you still had another brother?’”
Genesis 43:7, “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'?’”
Genesis 43:8, “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.’”
Genesis 43:9, “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.”
Genesis 43:10, “For if we had not delayed, surely by now we could have returned twice.”
Genesis 43:11, “Then their father Israel said to them, ‘If it must be so, then do this: take some of the best products of the land in your bags, and carry down to the man as a present, a little balm and a little honey, aromatic gum and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds.’”
Genesis 43:11, “Then their father Israel said to them, ‘If it must be so, then do this: take some of the best products of the land in your bags, and carry down to the man as a present, a little balm and a little honey, aromatic gum and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds.’”
Genesis 43:12, “Take double the money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was a mistake.”
Genesis 43:13-14, “Take your brother also, and arise, return to the man and may God Almighty grant you compassion in the sight of the man, so that he will release to you your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.’”
Genesis 43:15, “So the men took this present, and they took double the money in their hand, and Benjamin; then they arose and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.”
“The men” refers Gad, Asher, Dan, Naphtali, Reuben, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin.
“Present” is the noun minchah (hj*n+m!) (min-khaw), which denotes not only a gift given with the intent to please the lord of Egypt but also, is restitution and according to Genesis 43:11 included the following items: balm, honey, aromatic gum and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds.
Just as Jacob offered restitution to Esau so he is offering restitution to the lord of Egypt since the silver with which his sons purchased grain from him had somehow been returned to them.
Therefore, to make amends or to offer restitution for what could very easily be construed as a theft, Israel wisely offers restitution to the lord of Egypt.
The statement “They took double the money in their hand” was further restitution and would cover the silver found in the sacks plus the silver needed for the new purchase.
The fact Israel permits Benjamin to go with his other sons to Egypt reveals that he is walking by faith and surrendering to the will of God.
The fact that Israel offered restitution and even prayed indicates that he was not paralyzed by fear and was not sinning but rather was meeting his fear of losing Benjamin with practical common sense and prayer.
Fear is not sin but becomes sin when we do not turn to God in prayer to overcome that fear and do not claim the promise of divine protection.
Israel met his fear and anxiety with prayer and claimed the promises that God had made to him in the past of the divine presence, protection and prosperity.
Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
Genesis 43:16, “When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to his house steward, ‘Bring the men into the house, and slay an animal and make ready; for the men are to dine with me at noon.’”
The moment Joseph saw Benjamin he knew that his half-brothers had changed over the past twenty years like himself in that they did not treat his full brother Benjamin as they treated him twenty years before and thus they demonstrated to him that they were in fact what they claimed to be, namely, honest men.
That Benjamin was alive coupled with the fact that they acknowledged their guilt in prison for their cruel treatment of himself twenty years before, convinced Joseph that a reconciliation with his brothers was indeed a real possibility.
Therefore, he gave his house steward orders to prepare lunch for these ten Hebrew men, at which time he would join them.
Joseph does “not” make contact with his brothers as indicated in that the text says, he merely, “saw” them and then gave orders to his stewards to prepare a meal for him and his brothers at noon.
Evidently, Joseph gave orders to his subordinates to keep an eye out for ten Hebrew men, who no one knew were in fact his brothers.
One can only imagine what Joseph must have felt when he saw his only full brother Benjamin for the first time in twenty years who was only a little child when Joseph was seventeen and sold into slavery.
Genesis 43:17, “So the man did as Joseph said, and brought the men to Joseph's house.”
Genesis 43:18, “Now the men were afraid, because they were brought to Joseph's house; and they said, ‘It is because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time that we are being brought in, that he may seek occasion against us and fall upon us, and take us for slaves with our donkeys.’”
Joseph’s brothers concluded that Joseph’s invitation would enslave them and impound their possessions because they are singled out from the other buyers of grain.
They also remember the lord of Egypt’s harsh treatment of them on their first journey as well as the silver returned to them without their knowledge, not to mention they still felt guilty over their cruel treatment of Joseph.
They also probably knew that Egyptian officials such as Potiphar as we have seen in the past, kept dungeons in the basement of their homes.
Genesis 43:19-21, “So they came near to Joseph's house steward, and spoke to him at the entrance of the house, and said, ‘Oh, my lord, we indeed came down the first time to buy food, and it came about when we came to the lodging place, that we opened our sacks, and behold, each man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full. So we have brought it back in our hand.’”
Genesis 43:22, “We have also brought down other money in our hand to buy food; we do not know who put our money in our sacks.”
“Sack” is the noun `amtachath (tj^T^m+a^) (am-takh-ath), which means, “pack” and was placed in the mouth of the personal sacks of the brothers and appears to have been much like a wallet.
In Genesis 42:25, “sack” is the noun saq (qc^) (sak), which denotes a thick coarse cloth, usually dark in color and made mostly from goat’s hair, although camel’s hair was sometimes used and refers to the personal sackcloth bags of the brothers and were distinct from the earthenware containers.
In Genesis 42:27, we read where one of the brothers found his silver in the mouth of his `amtachath, “pack” whereas in Genesis 42:35, all the brothers found their silver in their saq, “personal sackcloth bags.”
In Genesis 42:27, one of the brothers opened his saq, “personal sackcloth bag” and saw his silver in the mouth of his `amtachath, “pack.”
Therefore, it appears that the silver was placed in the `amtachath, “pack,” which went inside the saq, which was the “personal sackcloth bags” of the brothers.
The brothers concluded that the lord of Egypt was about to make them slaves and impound their animals because of their silver that was returned to them without their knowledge in their personal sacks since they had obeyed the lord of Egypt’s command to bring Benjamin back.
Therefore, they attempt to explain to Joseph’s steward that they had not stolen the silver but rather that it was put back in the mouth of each of their packs without their knowledge and that they have brought it back with them in full.
The brothers use deferential language when speaking with Joseph’s house steward as indicated by their use of the expression “my lord.”
So in desperation they took the steward aside to explain how they had found their money in their sacks and that they had brought it with them to repay it.
Genesis 43:23, “He said, ‘Be at ease, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; I had your money.’ Then he brought Simeon out to them.”
“Be at ease” is composed of the noun shalom (<WLv^) (shaw-lome), “peace” is employed with preposition le (l+) (lamed), “to” and the 2nd person masculine plural pronominal suffix, “all of you” and so therefore, this expression literally means, “peace to all of you.”
In Genesis 43:23, the noun shalom refers to the absence of fear of the threat of harm, and thus a “sense of security.”
Therefore, the steward is saying to Joseph’s brothers to not be fearful for their personal security or lives and gives the reason why, which is that God through the instrumentality of Joseph and his steward put their silver back in their sacks.
The steward’s statement “Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks” marks a turning point in the relationship of Joseph and his brothers in that formerly the relationship was characterized by fear (See Genesis 42:21-22, 28, 35; 43:18) but now it will be marked by peace and reconciliation.
This statement also implies that the steward himself has been evangelized by Joseph since he has knowledge of the God of Joseph and his brothers and therefore, knew that Joseph and these Hebrew men were brothers.
“Treasure” is the noun matmon (omf+m^) (mat-mone), which refers any form of wealth, which is hidden since the word is derived from taman (m^f*) (taw-man), which means, “to hide.”
The steward sought to calm their fears by assuring them that he had received the money for their grain as indicated by his statement “I had your money” but he deliberately failed to mention that it was he, under Joseph’s orders, who also returned it.
The statement “I had your money” in the Hebrew text literally reads, “your silver came to me,” which is a legal formula confirming receipt of full payment.
To further assure them, he brought out Simeon and returned him to them but this was only to lull them into a false sense of relief since Joseph tests the brothers one final time as recorded in Genesis 44.
Therefore, we can see based upon a comparison of Joseph’s actions recorded in Genesis 44 with the steward’s actions here in Genesis 43 that the steward was privy to Joseph’s plan with regards to his brothers and that Joseph and these Hebrew men were in fact brothers.
The narrator, which is Moses under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, links the restoration of Simeon to the restoration of the silver and not to the return of Benjamin, which indicates that Joseph placed the silver back in their sacks in order to test their honesty.
The return of the silver in full demonstrated that they were indeed honest men and could be trusted by Joseph and thus reconciliation between them could take place.
Genesis 43:24, “Then the man brought the men into Joseph's house and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their donkeys fodder.”
Genesis 43:25, “So they prepared the present for Joseph's coming at noon; for they had heard that they were to eat a meal there.”
The brothers enter Joseph’s house now that their worst fears have been relieved and are treated with the usual acts of hospitality for honored guests and for their part they prepare their gift of restitution for Joseph.
Undoubtedly, the brothers put a great deal of effort into the preparation and presentation of the gift since the return of the silver had not made the impression that they had hoped for indicating to them that everything was now riding on how they handled this luncheon with the lord of Egypt.