The First Book of Moses, called Genesis
Genesis 45
Chapter XLV · Vol. I, pp. 288–289
1 Joseph maketh himself known to his brethren. 5 He comforteth them in God's providence. 9 He sendeth for his father. 16 Pharaoh confirmeth Joseph's invitation. 21 Joseph furnisheth them for their journey, and exhorteth them to concord. 25 Jacob is revived with the news.
1 Then Joseph acould not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Causeb every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.
a ch. 43.30,31.
2 And he cwept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.
c Heb. gave forth his voice in weeping, Nu. 14.1.
3 And Joseph said unto his brethren, dI am Joseph: doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him: for they were troublede at his presence.
d Ac. 7.13; 9.5. Mat. 14.27.
e Or, terrified, as Zec. 12. 10. Re. 1. 7. Sense of guilt, fear of punishment, and the strangeness of the event, quite confounded them.
4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I fam Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
f ch. 37.28.
5 Now therefore be gnot grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: hfor God did send me before you to preserve life.3
g Is. 40.2. 2 Co. 2.7,11.
A.M. 2298. B.C. 1706.
h ch. 50.20. Ps. 105.16,17. 1 Sa. 1.19. 2 Sa. 12.12; 16.10; 17.14. Job 1.21. Ac. 2.24; 4.27,28.
3 Joseph's brethren sold him out of envy and hatred, how then does Joseph say that God did send me? simply because it was true. God can compel the wickedness and wrath of man to accomplish his purposes, Ps. 76. 10; and while man acts from a wicked motive, God employs his service to accomplish his own gracious purposes. See Ac. 2. 23. But if man's wickedness finally accomplish God's purposes, are they neither to be grieved for nor angry with their sins? this is not Joseph's meaning; he merely advises, 'be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves:' such sorrow of the world worketh death, wherefore he immediately turns their attention from themselves to the sovereign providence of God which might through grace produce that 'godly sorrow that worketh repentance to salvation,' 2 Co. 7.10.—C.
6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land; and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8 So now, it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a ifather to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
i ch. 41.40,44,45. Ps. 105.21,22. Ju. 17.10.
9 Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:
10 And thou shalt dwell kin the land of Goshen,4 and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast:
k ch. 46.34; 47.1,4,6.
4 Goshen seems to have been the most eastern part of Lower Egypt, lying towards Arabia, and in the neighbourhood of the Red Sea. It was selected by Joseph, both as lying near to his father (about 120 miles from Hebron), and as peculiarly suited for a race of shepherds; the land being elevated above the annual overflowing of the Nile, yet so well supplied with streams and springs as to afford abundant pasture for herds.—C.
11 And there lwill I nourish thee, (for yet there are five years of famine;) lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.
l ch. 47.6,12. 1 Ti. 5.4.
12 And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin,5 that it is mmy mouth that speaketh unto you.
5 Probably from their distinctive likeness to their mother.—C.
m Not as ch. 42.23.
13 And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste, and nbring down my father hither.
n Ac. 7.14.
14 And ohe fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
o ch. 29.11; 33.4.
15 Moreover, he pkissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.
p See on ch. 29. 11. His kindness encouraged them to talk freely.
16 And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come. And it pleased Pharaoh well,6 and his servants.
6 Heb. was good in the eyes of Pharaoh.
17 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan,
18 And take your father, and your households, and come unto me; and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the qfat of the land.
q ch. 47.6. De. 32.14. Ps. 147.14,81.16.?
19 Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you rwaggons7 out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.
r ver. 27; ch. 46.5.
7 These 'waggons,' or 'carts,' were drawn by oxen, and were at that early period peculiar to Egypt. War chariots were used in Canaan, but they were entirely different in construction from those employed for the conveyance of goods. Figures of such carts are found on some of the most ancient monuments.—P.
20 Also sregard not your stuff: for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.
A.M. 2298. B.C. 1706.
s Heb. let not your eye spare, &c. De. 7.16; 19.13. Eze. 7.4,9.
21 And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them waggons, according to the commandmentt of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way.
t Heb. mouth, ver. 19. Ec.? 8.2.
22 To all of them he gave each man uchanges of raiment: but to Benjamin he gave three hundred7 pieces of silver,8 and five changes of raiment.
u Ju. 14.12,19. 2 Ki. 5.5,22. Perhaps in those hot countries they more frequently changed their garments, and so needed more suits than we do.
7 About £37. 10s. sterling.
8 We can merely conjecture the amount of this present. Joseph, however, had been sold for twenty pieces, ch. 37. 28, so that it must be considerable. If the unit be the shekel, it is equal to 150 oz.—C.
23 And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with9 the good things of Egypt, and ten she-asses laden with corn and bread, and meat for his father by the way.
9 Heb. carrying.—Joseph gladly obeyed the king's command, and besides the chariots and provisions, sent to his father ten asses laden with the choicest commodities of Egypt; and so dismissed them with this kind charge, that they should not fall out by the way. With hearts full of joy they proceeded in their journey to Canaan, and were gladly received by their good old father, especially upon the return of his two sons Simeon and Benjamin, whom he scarce expected to have seen any more. But when they showed him the presents which Joseph had sent, and the chariots and carriages which were come to take him and his goods away, his spirit revived, his doubts and his fears vanished, and in an ecstasy of joy he cried out, 'It is enough! Joseph my son is yet alive; I will go and see him before I die.'—Stackhouse.
24 So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fallx not out by the way.1
x Heb. be not stirred, ch. 37.22; 42.21,22, on account of your usage of me, &c.
1 An admonition founded upon Joseph's knowledge of their character.—Note, What a lesson to families to 'dwell in unity,' and to the churches of Christ while on their journey to the spiritual Canaan, 'to be at peace amongst themselves,' yea, 'if it be possible, as much as lieth in us, to live peaceably with all men.'—C.
25 And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father,
26 And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart yfainted, for he believed them not.
y Lu. 24. 41. Ps. 126. 1. Job 29. 24. Between hope and doubt, excess of joy and fear of a mistake.
27 And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the waggons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived.
28 And Israel said, zIt is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.
z ch. 46.30. Lu. 2.28,29. I shall have lived long enough if I be so happy as to see Joseph alive.
Notes
Ver. 1, 4. He desired to conceal from the Egyptians the fault of his brethren, and the uncommon strength of his affection.
Ver. 5. Be not so immoderately grieved with yourselves as to overlook the hand of God in sending me hither to preserve your life, and the lives of many others in Egypt and the places about.
Ver. 6. Directed by Joseph, the Egyptians did not cultivate nor sow their fields during the famine, as they could expect no crop.
Ver. 8. God made him Pharaoh's chief counsellor and manager of his affairs; and he had the authority, power, and respect of a father with him.
Reflections.—My soul, let brotherly love continue; let no injuries received, no length of time, extinguish or abate it. Let me be tender-hearted, kindly affectioned, forgiving my injurious, my abusive, brethren, as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven me. Let me carefully conceal their faults from the world; and, to the utmost of my power, render them good for evil. In so doing I shall heap coals of fire on their head; I shall sting, yea, I shall melt their hearts. And let me carefully provide for the support and comfort of my aged parents. Following peace with all men, and keeping death always in my view, let me be such a comfort to them as may contribute to their leaving this world in a cheerful and a Christian like manner. But let me here behold, as in a glass, with what affection Jesus reveals himself, secretly reveals himself, unto his brethren of mankind, who have been his betrayers and murderers!—and how they are confounded, how they are love-melted at his presence! how encouraged by the gracious words, the exceeding great and precious promises, which proceed from his mouth! Let me behold what desire he and his Father have to place them with himself, in due time, in the best of the celestial abodes! how reviving the hopes of being for ever with the Lord, and seeing him as he is, are to the dying saints; and how agreeable the tokens of approaching death are to them on that account.