Genesis 44

Genesis 44:1

It all begins with God An EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary (2800 word vocabulary) on the Book of Genesis www.easyenglish.info Marie Wetherill and Keith Simons This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.

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Chapter 44 Joseph tests his brothers v1 Then Joseph gave orders to the *steward of his house. Joseph told him, ‘Fill the men’s sacks with as much food as they can carry. And put each man’s money back at the top of his sack.’ v2 Joseph had a special cup that someone had made from silver. Joseph then told the *steward, ‘Put the cup at the top of the youngest brother’s sack. And put his money there too.’ The *steward did as Joseph ordered.

v3 As soon as daylight came, the *steward sent the brothers off with their *donkeys. v4 The brothers were only a little way out of the city. Then Joseph told his *steward to go. Joseph told him to follow the brothers. He said, ‘Go faster than them, so you catch up with them. And, when you catch up with them, say, “You have done an evil thing, when we behaved well towards you. You have stolen my *lord’s special cup that someone made from silver. v5 My *lord drinks from this cup. He also tries to discover things about the future from it. You did a wrong thing when you stole it.” ’

v6 The *steward went faster than the brothers, so that he caught up with them. He said what Joseph had ordered. v7 The brothers answered, ‘My *lord should not say such things! We, his servants, would never do that thing. v8 Look! We brought back the money that we found in our sacks. We brought it even from Canaan. So we would not steal gold or silver from your *lord’s house. v9 Let us suppose that you find the cup with someone among us. Then that man shall die. The rest of us will be my *lord’s slaves.’

v10 The *steward said, ‘Let it be as you say. The man who has the cup shall be my slave. The rest of you will be without blame.’

v11 Then every man quickly lifted his sack and he put it on the ground. Each man opened his sack. v12 The *steward searched. He started with the oldest brother and he finished with the youngest one. The *steward found the cup in Benjamin’s sack. v13 Then the brothers tore their clothes. Each man loaded his *donkey and they all went back to the city.

v14 Joseph was still in his house when Judah and his brothers came back there. The brothers threw themselves to the ground in front of him. v15 Joseph said to them, ‘Why have you done this wrong thing? You should know that I am able to discover things.’

v16 Judah said, ‘There is nothing that we can say. We cannot say anything. We cannot prove that we did not steal. God has shown that your servants are guilty. Look! We are all my *lord’s slaves. That includes the man that had the cup.’

v17 Joseph said, ‘I could never do that. Only the man in whose hand you found the cup will become my slave. You other men can go in peace to your father.’

v18 Then Judah went near Joseph and Judah said this: ‘Oh my *lord, please let your servant speak freely to my *lord. Please do not be angry with your servant. You are as great as *Pharaoh himself. v19 My *lord asked us, his servants, whether we had a father or a brother. v20 We told my *lord that we have a father. He is an old man. We have a young brother. He was born to my father when my father was an old man. The boy’s brother is dead. The boy is the only one that remains from his mother’s children. His father loves him very much.

v21 Then you asked your servants to bring our brother down to you, so that you could see him. v22 We told my *lord that the boy could not leave his father. If the boy left him, his father would die. v23 Then you said to us, your servants, ‘You will never see me again if you do not bring down your youngest brother with you.’ v24 We went back to my father, your servant. We told him what my *lord had said.

v25 Our father asked us to go again, in order to buy a little food. Then we told him that we could not come down. v26 We told him this: We could come down only if our youngest brother was with us. Then we could come down. We could not meet the man unless our youngest brother was with us.

v27 Then my father, your servant, said this to us: As we knew, his wife had two sons. v28 My father said that one son went out. He has never seen that son since. It was certain that an animal tore the son to pieces. v29 My father told us this: If we took this son away, this son too might die. Then my father would be very sad. And that would cause him to die, since he is an old man. So in that way we, your servants, would have killed him.

v30-31 Therefore, let us suppose that I go back to your servant my father without the boy. Then my father will die, because he lives only for this boy. My father will die because he will be so sad. So in that way your servants will have killed our father, your servant. v32 I, your servant, promised this to my father: I said, “If I do not bring the boy back to you, you can consider me guilty all my life.”

v33 Now therefore, please let me stay as my *lord’s slave instead of the boy. Let the boy go home with his brothers. v34 I cannot go back to my father without the boy. I am afraid to see how much my father would suffer.’

Joseph’s plan to test his brothers was a simple plan. But it was also very clever.

In chapter 37, Jacob had given the *birthright to Joseph. Joseph’s brothers were jealous and they hated him. So, they sold him to be a slave when they had the opportunity.

Now, Joseph would give his brothers the opportunity to make Benjamin a slave. Benjamin had become Jacob’s favourite son. So, perhaps they were now jealous of Benjamin. Perhaps they wanted Benjamin to lose the *birthright too.

Joseph arranged the test well. The brothers really believed that the *Egyptians wanted to take Benjamin as a slave. And perhaps the brothers even thought that Benjamin deserved this, as a punishment.

In Genesis 43:9, Judah accepted responsibility for Benjamin’s safety. Judah was the brother who actually sold Joseph as a slave. But now, Judah’s attitudes had changed. Judah wanted to become a slave himself, so that Benjamin could be free. So now, Judah was both noble and humble. He offered to lose everything in order to rescue his brother. Notes on the verses Verses 1-4 Joseph wanted to pretend that Benjamin was a thief. Then, Joseph could see the reaction of the other brothers.

Verse 5 *Egyptians used to look into cups that they had just drunk from. They looked at the bottom of the cups. The wine would leave a pattern in the bottom of the cups. And the *Egyptians studied such patterns as a type of magic. A cup that someone used for that purpose would be very special. It would be much more important than an ordinary cup that people drank from. We do not think that Joseph really used his cup in that special way. God has told us not to do such things. Joseph continued to be loyal to God (Genesis 45:5-8). Instead, we think that Joseph was pretending to use magic. His brothers used to serve *idols (Genesis 35:2). So, perhaps they would be afraid when Joseph spoke about magic.

Verses 7-8 The brothers were sure that they were innocent. They had even tried to return the silver that they found in their sacks after the first journey.

Verses 9-10 It was polite for the brothers to offer more than they needed to. And it was polite for the *steward to refuse their offer.

Verse 12 This happened in the order of their ages, as in Genesis 43:33. Of course, this meant that the *steward looked in Benjamin’s sack last.

Verse 13 Usually, when people tore their clothes, they were very sad and very anxious. In that way, they were showing how bad they felt. This was the custom when a relative died. So, the brothers were acting as if Benjamin would die.

Verse 14 Judah was the leader of the brothers at that time because of his promise (Genesis 43:9). Earlier they had *bowed, because they respected Joseph. This time, they threw themselves to the ground. They did that because they were afraid. And they wanted *mercy.

Verse 15 We do not think that Joseph really used magic. He was using these words because of the effect that they would have on his brothers.

Verse 16 We do not know what Judah thought. Possibly he might have thought that Benjamin had really stolen the cup. But maybe Judah meant something else. Perhaps God was punishing the brothers because they had done evil things in their lives. Or perhaps God was punishing them because of what they had done to Joseph. Judah did not know that the whole situation was part of God’s plan.

Judah was very humble. He did not try to argue with Joseph. And Judah was polite. He again offered that all the brothers would suffer the punishment together. But, unlike in verse 9, he did not offer that Benjamin might die. Judah had promised to look after Benjamin.

Judah did not agree that the magic had proved Benjamin to be guilty. Instead, Judah said that God knew the truth. We do not know whether Judah really understood this.

Verse 17 Joseph was testing the brothers. He wanted to discover what they would do. Possibly the other brothers might leave Benjamin, so that they could save themselves. Joseph would discover whether they would do that. Or perhaps they would risk their own lives in order to save Benjamin.

Verse 18 Judah might have said nothing. Then, he and his brothers would be free. Only Benjamin would remain in Egypt, as a slave. In the past, Judah would have done that. But now his attitudes had changed.

Verses 19-26 Judah explained the events in chapters 42 and 43.

Verse 27 Judah was speaking as if Jacob had only one wife, Rachel. That would mean that Judah’s own mother (Leah) was a *concubine. And it would mean that Joseph always deserved the *birthright. If Joseph were dead, Benjamin would have the *birthright.

Verse 28 Judah thought that Joseph was dead (verse 20). But it seems that Jacob still had hope. However, he did not deny the evidence that the brothers had produced.

Verse 29-31 Joseph often asked the brothers about their father. And it seems that the *Egyptians respected old people (Genesis 47:8-9). So, Judah asked Joseph to save Benjamin because otherwise Jacob would suffer.

Verse 32 Judah told Joseph about Judah’s promise in Genesis 43:9. Now, Judah would do what he had promised to do. And Judah would do it, although it would ruin his own life.

Verses 33-34 Judah asked to become Joseph’s slave so that Benjamin could go free. Judah thought that he himself would never be a free man again. He showed great courage.

When Joseph heard this, he could not control his emotions. At last, the time had come for Joseph to tell his brothers who he really was.

© 2006, Wycliffe Associates (UK)

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

May 2006

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