1. Or are you ignorant, brothers; for I speak to those who know the Law; that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives?                                               

 Picking up from Romans six Paul continues in his train of thought here in Romans seven. Paul is speaking to the the Christians who are in Rome and also to the Jews who see Jesus as the one they have been waiting on (Their Messiah), The law he is speaking about is not the Roman laws but the law of Moses. With the christians now able to intermingle with these Jewish believers they were probably taught some about the Law of Moses from them.       

2.For the married woman was bound by law to the living husband. But if the husband is dead, she is set free from the law of her husband.1 Cor. 7:39           

3. So then if, while her husband lives, she is married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress. But if the husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is no adulteress by becoming another man’s wife.

Matt. 5:32; 19:3-9; 1 Cor. 7:39

Paul is metaphorically using the law of marriage to show how Christ’s death freed us from the death penalty of the law. The term law shows that it offers condition for binding (chained to), A woman cannot marry another man as long as her husband is alive (According to the law). This would make her an adultress. When her husband dies she is set free from the law and is no longer considered an adulteress if she marries another man. Death is taken here in the literal sense (Not meaning dead in Christ, but physically dead).                                                                                                                          

4. So, my brothers, you also have become dead to the law by the body of Christ so that you should be married to Another,even to Him raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit to God. Rom. 4:25

  We are dead to the law because Christ has come and died. He has taken the penalty of death for all of us. Thru Jesus’s death and resurrection we are now free from the death penalty of the law. And if we are baptized we now have the fruit of everlasting life instead of death.  By comparison, he explains that “you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ …” (Romans 7:4). Notice that Paul does not say that the law is dead. Rather, we become dead to the law (the penalty for sin is death according to the law),on repentance. That is, the law’s claim on our life as the penalty for breaking it is considered met through Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death in our place. Paul’s point is that, like the woman released from the specific law binding her to her former husband, we through Jesus’ death may be released from the law’s specific requirement of death for past sins. We are now married to Christ As and as a response to our marriage through baptism “we should bear fruit to God,” in contrast to bearing “fruit to death” (Romans 7:4-5).

5. For when we were in the flesh, the passions of sin worked in our members through the law to bring forth fruit to death.

  The relationship we have with the world ends with death, the law provides a path for understanding that the law is not what causes death, it is giving us guidance so that you can have life. When we were dead in Christ, (Meaning we didn’t have Christ Jesus living in us, or the Spirit), the law revealed to us the sinful nature of the flesh, which brought forth bad fruit that we may die.

6.But now we having been set free from the Law, having died to that in which we were held, so that we serve in newness of spirit and not in oldness of the letter. Rom. 2:29; 2 Cor. 3:6

  The old man has been set free from the penalty of the law that held us captive to the sin nature, leading us to death. Now that the Spirit dwells in us we are no longer held captive by the flesh, and from it’s condemnation of death for our past sins.for the flesh is now dead in us, and the Spirit now lives in us, so we can now resist the temptation to sin, and overpower the weakness of our fleshly nature through the power of the Holy Spirit.

7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Let it not be said! But I did not know sin except through the law. For also I did not know lust except the law said, You shall not lust. Rom. 3:20; Ex. 20:17

The law itself is not bad. If it weren’t for the law we would not know good from evil. The law is a guide of right from wrong. Without the law we would not know sin. 

8.But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, worked in me all kinds of lust. For apart from law, sin was dead. Rom. 4:15

  We don’t understand what we were doing was bad, until the law revealed that sin was bad. the law didn’t kill us, it showed what does kill us (SIN). The commandment made it possible for sin to reveal itself to us, and manifest the evil desires of the flesh, The law defines sin, for without the law there is no sin.

9. For I was alive without the law once. But when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.

  Paul is saying I learned that if I keep sinning only death would come. Before there was the law I was alive, because I didn’t know sin. Once I was told, “Thou shalt not” sin came into being and I was dead (The penalty for sin is death),in the flesh, or if you will? The carnal mind.

10.And the commandment, which was to life, was found to be death to me.                Rom. 18:5

  And thus. the commandment, which was designed to give life through the keeping of it. we found it to be unto death through breaking it.

11.For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me.

  The law gives us an understanding of what we are to keep, despite the fact that we are heading to death, but Christ took that penalty of death to Him. Before the commandment (The law), came, my sinful nature thought sin wasn’t bad (we were deceived),we had no conscience of good and bad. Therefore we were dead because The penalty for sin is death.

12.So indeed the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good. Ps. 19:8

  The law and the commandment are both sacred, deserving deep respect. And the commandment is fair, Righteous, pure and honorable. The law shows us what is just and good.

13. Then has that which is good become death to me? Let it not be! But sin, that it might appear to be sin, working death in me by that which is good; in order that sin might become exceedingly sinful by the commandment.

That what is good does not bring about death. Whereas the commandment make me realize how bad sin is. The more we look into God’s law the more we should understood how sinful sin is. And the more we realize the difference between being righteous and being evil.

14.For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.                                                                                                                         Rom 6:16

The word law means the Mosaic law (God’s law), the law is spiritual tells us what is good and right and just (Spiritually), and we are of the flesh, subject to sin. For the carnal mind is enmity against God and not subject to the law of God (Rom 8:7),  

15.For what I am doing, I do not understand; for what I will to do, that I do not practice, but what I hate, that I do.

  Our human tendencies never go away even after baptism, this will go on until the day we die. We have a hard time understanding why we can’t do the good that we want to do and keep doing The things that we hate to do, we keep doing them over and over. Gal. 5:17

16.If then I do that which I do not desire, I consent to the law that it is good.

  When we do the things we do not desire to do, it is the law that leads us to  recognizes right from wrong.

17. But now it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me.

  It is not the Spirit that makes us do wrong, but the flesh (The human nature), inside us.

18.For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwells no good thing. For to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I do not find.      Gen. 6:5; 8:21

   Nothing good can come from our flesh that is inside us, the flesh does not recognize what is good, or knows how to do good. The sinful things we desire are inside us. Through our baptism we know that God’s Spirit is present with us, but sometimes we stumble and can’t find the way to do good. Gal. 5:19-21

19.For the good things I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I do.                                                                                       Rom 7:15

  The good things that we want to do (According to the Spirit)we do not do them, but all the evil things we do not want to do, are the things I do.

20. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.                                                                      Rom 7:17

  If we do the things that we know we shouldn’t do (According to the Spirit), it is because of the sin nature (The Flesh) that dwells inside us. And not the Spirit.

21. I find then a law: when I will to do the right, evil is present with me.

  When we want to do good, there is this law that says to do good. but evil is there with us (in the flesh), at the same time.

22.For I delight in the Law of God according to the inward man;   Ps 1:2

  we should be pleased in our inner self that wants to do good according to the law of God.

23.but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin being in my members. Rom. 6:13; 19; Gal. 5:17

  There is also another law in my flesh that is at war with our spirit. This law is leading us to be a prisoner of sin, which is of the flesh and not the spirit.

24.O wretched man that Iam! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 1 Cor. 15:51, 52

  we are miserable in the flesh, because we are giving it everything that we have but we  still succumb to the sinful desires. I am so afflicted with these thoughts it brings me pain, whom can I turn to, to release me from this sinful body that leads to death? It is through the blood of Jesus Christ that saves me from my wretched self. Rom. 7:25

I thank God for the gift of Jesus Christ. I consciously serve God’s law through His spirit, but my flesh still serves the law of sin. It is through the blood of Jesus Christ that saves me from my wretched self.

1. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? Rom. 15; 3:8

Apparently Paul had been criticized by some that people could go on sinning so that God’s grace could increase, but this wasn’t the case at all; basically saying then that we could continue to break God’s law by sinning, so Paul empathically answers with a resounding no!

In the next verse.
Back in chapter three verse thirty one Paul tells us that the law is not made void through faith, but we establish the law. Rom. 3:31. and again
in Romans chapter three and seven Paul tells us that through the law is the knowledge of sin. He says that he wouldn’t had even known sin if it weren’t for the law, Rom. 3:20; Rom. 7:7

2. God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

God would not allow such thoughts. How can we keep living a sinful life if we symbolically put to death the old man of sin in our baptism.

3. Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Gal. 3:27, Col. 2:12

When we are fully submerged in the water in our baptism, we are symbolically dying with Christ at His crucifixion, who also killed sin in His death.

4. Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that just as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

In conclusion, we spiritually put the old man of sin in the grave. Just as God in all His glory (That is His radiant splendor or brilliance) raised up Jesus from the dead. We who died with Christ spiritually in our baptism should also walk in the spirit of righteousness. Righteousness is the only way I can describe what we should be like when we “walk in the newness of life.” 

5.  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection, Phil. 3:10

As we were spiritually buried together with Christ, (in the likeness of  him), just as He rose from the dead, we to will one day be raised from the dead in spirit, as Christ is, not of the flesh. 

6. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

Gal. 2:20; 5:24; 6:14

Having this knowledge that the old man of sin was put to death just as Christ was killed on the cross. Our fleshly body of sin could be killed. Then we should no longer be a slave to sin.

7. For he that is dead is freed from sin. 1 Pet. 4:1

We, who symbolically died with Christ at our baptism were freed from the death penalty (According to God’s law), of sin. As long as we go to God, confess our sins to Him, ask for forgiveness and then repent. He is true and just to forgive.                                                                     Rom 5:14-21; 1 John 1:9

8. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:                                                                                                                          2 Tim. 2:11

9. Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dies no more; death hath no more dominion over him. Rev. 1:18

When we get baptized we believe that just as the old man of sin was spiritually put to death (As Christ killed sin in the flesh), we know also that as Christ was raised from death (Defeating sin), That we to are free from the death penalty of sin according to the law of God. And we to will be raised from the dead at the resurrection into a spirit body at that time, in the twinkling of an eye.

10. For the death that he died, he die to sin once for all; but the life that he lives he lives to God.

When Jesus died He died only once for all peoples sins, past, present and future, but now He lives with God, and sits at His right hand to this day and forever more Doing God’s will.

11. Likewise  you also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Rom. 6:2; 7:4,6

So to we should consider ourselves to be dead spiritually to the sin nature, but alive to God through the death of Jesus Christ.

12. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Ps. 19:13

Do not let sin rule over your fleshly body so much so, that you become a slave to sin, and all the lustful desires of the flesh. Keep walking in that newness of life. And when you do sin, go to God and confess your sins to Him. 1 John 1:9

13. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. R Rom. 7:5; Rom.12:1

Do not let your fleshly body be used to commit everything that goes against the will of God, His law and His righteousness, but offer up your body to God as a person who is alive spiritually from the death penalty of sin, and live your life according to the will of God.

14. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. Rom. 10:4; Gal. 3:13; Gal. 5:18

The penalty for transgression God’s law is death, but Christ came and died so that we are no longer under the law of Death for our sins but freed from them by the grace of God. Paul in no way says that the law is done away with, or as many say, “Nailed to the cross.” Jesus Christ said Himself that not one jot or tittle shall pass from the law until heaven and earth pass away (Matt. 5:18).You are not under the death penalty for your sins, according to the law of God, because, Through the kindness (Grace) of God, who sent His only son to take my place for my sins, and died for my sins.  Romans 5:15-21

Rom 6:15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Rom. 6:1; Rom. 7:7

Just because God showed His kindness to us by sacrificing His only son for us, it does not give us the liberty (Freedom) to keep on sinning.

16. Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to be, you are that one’s slave whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leadingto righteousness. 2 Pet. 2:19

If you decide to obey the lusts of the flesh, and willfully keep sinning, then you are in essence a slave to sin, which will only bring death to you, but if you obey God and His Laws then you become a slave to righteousness and this gives you eternal life.

17. But God be thanked that though you were the slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 2 Tim. 1:13

-Even though I was once a slave to sin and the death penalty that it brought, I thank God that through His Spirit I now obey His laws, That is, His laws that are still in effect after Christ came and died for our sins, Sacrifices are no longer required under the New Covenant, for Christ Died once for all (Heb. 7:27), and I am now free from the penalty of death through my sins, past, present and future.

18. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. John. 8:32

Since I am free from the penalty of death for my sins (According to God’s law), I am now obedient to the law of God and His righteousness.

19. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you have presented your members servants as slaves of uncleanness and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.

Because of the weakness of our flesh, we had given our bodies to practice all that is unclean and sinful. In the same way we gave ourselves to sin. We should now give our life over to doing what is right according to the law of God, and become Holy; as God is holy.

20. For when you were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. Rom. 6:11; John 8:34

When I obeyed the lust of the flesh to sin, I was unable to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord.

21. What fruit had you then in those things whereof you are now

ashamed? for the end of those things is death. Rom. 1:32; Rom. 7:5

Did any good come from being slaves to sin which made me ashamed of doing those things? For all those sinful things only brought me eternal death according to the law of God.

22. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, you have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

Now that I am free from the death penalty of being sinful, and have become obedient servants to God, I am bearing good fruit which produces holiness and in turn gives me everlasting life.

23. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God Is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Eph. 2:8-9

According to the law of God; the penalty for sin is death eternal, but through God’s grace I have eternal life through the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

1 I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the holy Spirit,
2 that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. Rom. 10:1 3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, Deut. 28:15 4 who are Israelites, to who pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, and the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; 5 of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen. 6 but it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel,
7 nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.” Gen. 21:12; John. 8: 37-40 8 That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. 9 For this is the word of the promise: “At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son.” Gen. 18:10; Gen. 18:14 10 And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac
11 (For the children not yet being born, nor have done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to the election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), Rom. 8:28 12 it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.” Gen. 25:23
13 As it is written, Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”
14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! Deut. 32:4
15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion. Ex. 33:19 16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. John. 1:13 17 For the scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show my power in you, and that my name may be declared in all the earth.”
18 Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills and whom He wills He hardens. Ex. 14:21
19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?” 2 Chro. 20:6
20 But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to Him who formed it. “Why have you made me like this?”
21 Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? 2 Tim. 2:20 22 What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 1 Pet. 2:8
23 and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory,
24 even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
Rom. 3:29; Rom. 8:28
25 As He says also in Hosea:

“I will call them My people,
who were not My people,
And her beloved, who was not
beloved.” Hos. 2:23

26“And it shall come to pass in
the place where it was said
to them, Hos. 1:10
‘You are not My people.’
There they shall be called
sons of the living God.”
27 Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel. Is. 10:22-23

“Though the number of the
children of Israel be as the
sand of the sea,
The remnant will be saved.

28 For He will finish the work
and cut it short in
righteousness.
Because the Lord will make a
short work upon the
earth.”
29 And as Isaiah sad before:

“Unless the Lord of Sabaoth
had left us a seed, Is. 1:9
We would have become like
Sodom
And we would have been
made like Gomorrah.”

30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; Rom. 1:17; Rom. 3:21; Rom. 4:11; Rom. 10:6

31 but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Rom. 10:2-4
32 Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone.
33 As it is written: Is. 8:14; Is. 28:16

“Behold, I lay in Zion a
stumbling stone and rock of
offense,
And whoever believes on Him
will not be put to shame.

                                                       Genesis chapter 47

1.  Then Joseph went and told Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers, their flocks and their herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; and indeed they are in the land of Goshen.”  46:28                                 2.  And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh.      Acts 7:13                                                                                                                     

   Joseph appears to the Pharaoh first, ahead of his own father and his family. he Lets the Pharaoh know that they are already in the land of Goshen, for the Pharaoh told Joseph earlier that he would give them the good of the land; At this time Goshen was the best of the land, so this is where Joseph took them in hopes that the Pharaoh would let them stay there, but he still needs the Pharaoh s approval. Goshen is located in the Northeastern nile delta area of Egypt, it was also known as “The Land of Rameses” this was a very fertile land perfect for crops and livestock. We do not know what brothers Joseph presented to the Pharaoh, but they are to be representatives of the family, so one would assume that they were the brothers who could best represent the family in a good light to the Pharaoh. 

3.  Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh,”Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers”                                                                                                                         46:33, 34                                            4.  And they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to dwell in the land, because your servants have no pasture for their flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.”     

  Just as Joseph suspected the Pharaoh inquires of the brothers  of their occupation, and the brothers answer as Joseph instructed them, albeit not word for word (Gen. 46: 33,34), and they ask for the Pharaohs permission to live in the land of Goshen.  Joseph has yet to present his father Jacob to the Pharaoh.                                                                                                                                                           

5.  Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to you.                                                                                                                                       6.  “The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know any competent men among them make them chief herdsmen over my livestock.”       

   Pharaoh Accepts the brothers request to live in Goshen. He even says to the brothers, “The land of Egypt is before you” as if to say if you like you may settle wherever you want in Egypt  not just Goshen. Again, as Joseph the Pharaoh tells Joseph if any of his brothers are competent, that he should put them in charge of his Livestock.  Now the Pharaoh did not live in Goshen, I say this because we keep seeing that Joseph, the Pharaoh, and even the brothers all keep saying, “in the land of Goshen” speaking of a region of Egypt they were not in at this time. If they were in Goshen while being presented to the Pharaoh, they would have said something like we are here in Goshen, or just we are already here in Goshen.  If Joseph had made some of his family administrators over the Pharaohs livestock this would have separated them from the family, and fearfully from the Almighty God of their forefathers eventually. This said, in my opinion Joseph did not make any of his brothers chief herdsmen over the Pharaohs livestock.                                                                                                                                                                 

7.  Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and set him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.                                                                                                                               

    the Patriarch of the family is now being presented to the Pharaoh. These two men are probably the most important men in Joseph’s life up to this point. Pharaoh cannot replace Joseph s true father, but he has been the only father like figure in his life for the past twenty two years. these two probably have great respect for one another at this time: Since the Pharaoh described Joseph as a man who has the spirit of God, with wisdom that surpasses all the wisest in Egypt (Gen. 41:39), he must esteem Jacob to have this same spirit of God in him. Jacob on the other hand looks to the Pharaoh with great appreciation that God would put such a man of all people (The king/ God of Egypt), to watch over his son all these years. We read that Jacob blesses the Pharaoh, but does not tell us how he blessed him: “And without all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better.” (Heb. 7:7), by all accounts such blessing as this would seem disrespectful to someone like the Pharaoh who is considered a god to his people, but because of who his son is, and because the Pharaoh looks upon Jacob and Joseph as men who have the Spirit of God with them this blessing would be appropriate. As we read the account of Jacob s death in chapter fifty, we see there was a great mourning for him, not only by all his descendants but also by the people of Egypt. The Egyptians mourned Jacob s death for seventy days, and then afterwards The Pharaoh himself sends elders of not only his house but of all of Egypt with Joseph and his family to the land of Canaan to bury his father. Moses writes (Inspired by God),  The mourning was a great and very sore lamentation  the people of canaan described it as a “grievous mourning to the Egyptians.” Think not that the blessing Jacob gives to Pharaoh is received with distaste or disregard, on the contrary it is received  with honor and respect.

8.  Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How old are you?”                                                                      9.  And Jacob said to Pharaoh, ” The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.”                                                           25:7; 35:28                    10. So Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.  v.7                     

  “Few and evil have been the days of my life,” Jacob s grandfather Abraham lived to the ripe old age of one hundred and seventy five years, and Jacob’s Father Isaac lived to one hundred eighty years old. Jacob has not reached the age of his fathers, and the years of his life  have been filled with evil for the most part. Some of the evil he has brought on himself, from the stealing of the birthright of his brother Esau thru trickery and deceit, to also deceiving his own father in his old age; this time to steal the blessings of  his brother Esau from their father Isaac (Gen 25: 29-34, 27:1-36). Then Evil was brought up Jacob by his mom s brother: Laban the Syrian, who gave Jacob a taste of his own medicine, in which he tricked Jacob through deception, for the marriage of his daughter Rachel (the woman he loved the most), Jacob ended up spending twenty years of his life serving Laban the Syrian because of his love for Rachel, when he should have only served Laban seven years for her hand in marriage (Gen. 29:18-25, 31: 38-41). Then there was the evil that was brought upon him by his own sons, Rueben his firstborn who defiled his bed by sleeping with Jacob’s concubine Bilhah (Gen. 35:22), His next two oldest sons brought shame upon the name of Israel by their own deceit, and the blood which they spilled, once again through trickery and deceit, by the killing of Hamor, and his son Shechem (Gen. 34: 25, 26, 30), Jacob had to flee the land for fear that his whole family would be killed because of the actions of Simeon and Levi. Then, finally, probably the worst deceit his sons could have done to their father: The selling of Joseph to the Midianites because of their jealousy of their brother, and then telling their father Jacob that Joseph had been killed by a wild beast. Yes, few and evil have been the days of Jacob’s life, yet thru it all God was with him every step of the way, encouraging him, protecting him, blessing him with all he had, and all the while humbling him. It is when we are humbled before God that He can truly work with us. Humility is the beginning of building a relationship with our Creator God, in the depths of our humility, when we have nowhere, or no one to turn to, we will come to God in that humility with an obedient heart, ready to succumb to His will. when we search out His will, we start to understand who He is. In this understanding our faith grows stronger every day, knowing that He will be there for us thru thick and thin, He will never forsake us, He is always near, even though we cant see Him, He watches over us from above, leading us into the light of truth, sincerity, and love, for He is Love, His whole being His existence is Love. Jacob once made a promise to the Lord, that if He would feed, clothe, protect him, and return him to his father in peace, then the Lord would be his God (Gen. 28:20, 21), The Lord never answered Jacob that night, but He did all that Jacob asked, yet it wasn’t until God humbled Jacob to the point that he was willing to obey Him, that he became a servant of God and a follower. And at the resurrection God will say to Jacob, and to all His children, “Welcome child, thy true and faithful servant, come into the kingdom, and I will give you rest.” 

11.  And Joseph situated his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.                                                                                                                                     12.  Then Joseph provided his father, his brothers and all his father’s household with bread, according to the number in their families.                           

    God sent Joseph ahead of Israel so that he could prepare a place for them, for this particular moment in time to preserve and save their lives (Gen. 45:5-7), Thus saith the Lord, “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2, 3), Joseph being a type of Jesus has prepared a place for his people, and will be the provider of the bread of life, in this temporary place for which they are strangers in a land that is not theirs, but the bread Joseph offers can only sustain man for a little while, for “as it is appointed to men once to die,” (Heb 9:27), and not of the spirit, but a foreshadow of better things to come: The One whom the Father will send down from Heaven, this will be the bread of life, and whoever eats of this bread will never die, but have everlasting life ( John. 6:50, 51), and He will take us (His elect). out of this world in which we are strangers in, and we will be with Him and the Father in a place that was prepared for us by the Lamb of God, no longer a stranger, but like a child at home.

13.  Now there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine.                                                                                                                            41:30, 54, 57                   14.  And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land in Egypt and in the land of Canaan, for the grain which they bought; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house.        41:56                                                                         

   By this time the famine has been in the land for at least five years, with two years left before the end of the seven year famine. If we read the following verses 15-19 we are told that the first year after the money ran out, they came back the second year (The sixth year), and sold all their livestock. At the end of that year is when Joseph bought up all the land of Egypt, moved the people into the cities, and gave them seed to sow the fields. So the famine had to be coming into the end of its seven years, otherwise they would not be able to sow seed for the harvest.

15.  So when the money failed in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us bread, for why should we die in your presence? For the money has failed.”                                                                          16.  Then Joseph said, “Give your livestock, and I will give you bread for your livestock, if the money is gone.”                                                                                                  17.  So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the cattle of the herds, and for the donkeys. Thus he fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year.                                                                                                                                                                                 

   Verse fifteen tells us that when all the money in Egypt and Canaan the Egyptians came to Joseph. There is no mention that the Canaanites also came to Joseph. the reason for this is because the Canaanites do not fit the narrative of the biblical story when it does not relate to the nation of Israel, and the people therein. The bible (God’s word), is a story about the promised seed in which all nations of the earth are blessed, which began in the garden when God told Satan that Eve’s seed would bruise his head (satan), and he would bruise his heel (Meaning Jesus s heel), This is the final time we see mention of the Canaanites during the time of famine. Only the Egyptians give their livestock to Joseph in exchange for bread. As far as Joseph taking the livestock of the Egyptians in exchange for bread on the surface appears to be very draconian, but as we go deeper into our understanding as to why Joseph dealt with the Egyptians the way he did, we see that his intention was to preserve life, just as he understood why he was sold into slavery to begin with (Gen. 45:5): The Egyptians were told of the famine that was to come to the land after the seven years of plenty, and Joseph advised them to store up enough bread during the seven years of plenty to sustain them during the seven years of famine. As we read here the people either did not store up enough bread due to mismanagement, or because they did not take Joseph and the Pharaoh seriously. If they had they wouldn’t have to come to him now for bread. understanding this, he knew that the people would not take care of the livestock and hoard the bread for themselves. Then when the famine ended they would have no livestock to till the land, fertilize it, or transport the harvest. And since Joseph comes from a family whose livelihood is raising livestock, they have the expertise and enough people to take care of such an enormous task of tending to all the livestock of Egypt, besides their own livestock. And remember the Pharaoh told Joseph that if there were any in his family that were capable, to put them in charge of his own livestock (Gen. 47:6), I am reminded of the account of Jacob himself; how he made his father in law Laban profit tremendously when he took care of his sheep, and when he a separated his sheep and goats from Laban’s sheeps and goats, and his flocks doubled in size and were without blemish (Gen. 30:27-30, 35-43), this same man raised his children and taught them all he knew about the life of a shepherd. 

 18.  When that year had ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is gone; my lord also has our herds of livestock. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands.                                                                                                                                   19.  “Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land?  Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants of Pharaoh; give us seed, that we may live and not die, that the land may not be desolate.  43:8                     

  Another year has passed since the Egyptians sold all their cattle to Joseph for the Pharaoh. We are now in the final year of the famine, and the Egyptians ask Joseph to give them seed that they may live and not die. There would be no need to ask for seed to grow crops unless the time of the famine is coming to an end, and the rains will return to irrigate the land. The Egyptians have run out of money, and livestock to purchase bread from Joseph, so they offer all they have left: their land and their own bodies for a years worth of food. 

20.  Then Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every man of the Egyptians sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh’s                                                                                                                          21.  And as for the people, he moved them into the cities, from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other end.                                                                                           22.  only the land of the priests he did not buy; for the priests had rations allotted to them by Pharaoh, and they ate their rations which Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their lands.    Ezra 7:24                                               

  Joseph  buys the land and the people, which became Pharaoh’s. What Joseph does with the people is to move them out of the countryside and into the cities. If the people are gathered closer together it will be easier to take care of and manage them since all the grain that is stored up is in the cities. Notice the priests of Egypt have never come to Joseph for bread during the whole famine. The religion of the Egyptians during this time were a  precursor to the Levitical preisthood in many ways. According to the Ancient History Encyclopedia  The Pharaoh himself  is considered a god and a  high priest to all the gods of Egypt, and part of his duties were to build temples for the many gods the Egyptians worshipped, he would decide how the priest were to worship this god or that god with their rituals and ceremonies. The priests sole duty was to carry out the many daily activities of caring for the temple, in rituals, ceremonies, cleansing of the gods, changing and purifying the clothes of the god, This according to the Albany institute of history and art.  Because of this the priest were allotted their rations of food by the Pharaoh, and they in a sense did not own the land because the land was used to build a temple for their gods.

23.  Then Joseph said to the people, “Indeed I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land.       24.  “And it shall come to pass in the harvest that you shall give one fifth to Pharaoh. Four fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and for your food, for those of your households and as food for your little ones.”                                 25.  So they said, “You have saved our lives; let us find favor in the sight of my lord, as we will be Pharaoh’s servants.”                                                                               26.  And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have one fifth, except for the land of the priests only, which did not become Pharaoh’s                                                                                                                         

  It appears that before the famine the people of Egypt owned their land outright (probably thru inheritance), the priest also had their own lands as well as did the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh however did allot the priest their portion of food for their service to the temples. Up until Joseph s time there seems to be no kind of taxation levied upon the Egyptians that was paid to the Pharaoh or the priest.  Joseph did not forcibly take the lands from the people, nor did he put them in bondage as slaves. The Egyptians offered sell themselves as servants not subjects, And their land willingly for food. After the famine ended Joseph let the people move back to their lands only asking that one fifth of their harvest be given to Pharaoh, and they were able to keep the other four fifths for themselves and their family. In my opinion Joseph is fair and just in the way he treated the Egyptians throughout this time of famine. We never see mentioned that the people of Egypt felt they were treated badly by Joseph, on the contrary they praised him for saving their lives, and by all accounts he was well loved by the Egyptians. Just look at how they paid respect to Jacob upon his death in 
Egypt, this is a testament to how much Joseph meant to the people of Egypt.

27.  So Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly.                                            28.  And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the length of Jacob’s life was one hundred and forty-seven years.  vv. 8, 9                                        29.  When the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Now if I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt,                                                                                                      24:2; 49:29-32                    30.  “but let me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.” And he said, “I will do as you have said.”                                31.  Then he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him. So Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed.  

  Joseph took great care of his father, and brothers and all their children, and their children’s children. It is never mentioned that they ever had to sell their livestock or property or anything to survive the famine, or even to give a fifth of their harvest to the Pharaoh after the famine. Joseph holds no grudges upon his brothers for how they treated him when he was younger, he saw the remorse in their hearts when he tested them when they would come and buy food from him when they didn’t know who he was. If he ever had any bitterness towards his brothers I  think Judah’s plea to him, (not knowing who Joseph was), showed great remorse on Judah s part, and overhearing the brothers speak amongst themselves, how they were saying that God was punishing them for what they did to Joseph, displayed that ever since they sold their brother into slavery haunted them the whole time leading up to the famine Gen. 42: 21-23, 44:16-34). In verse twenty nine when Jacob’s time to die drew near he states to Joseph, “If I have found favor in your sight’ put your hand under my thigh and deal kindly and truly with me’ and bury me in the burial place of my fathers.” after Joseph swore this we read in verse thirty one that Jacob bowed himself at the head of the bed, leading me to believe that this was the fulfillment of Joseph’s dream back when he was seventeen that Jacob would bow to Joseph(Gen. 37:9,10). Jacob was one hundred thirty seven years old when he entered into Egypt. He lived in Egypt for seventeen years until his death. 

 1. So Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 26:24, 25                                               2. Then God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” And he said, “Here I am.”                                                                                                              3. So He said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. Deut. 26:5                                            4. “I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again: and Joseph will put his hands on your eyes” 50:1                       

    Beer-sheba has much significance in the lives of the patriarchs; Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Abraham made a covenant with king Abimelech. In this covenant Abraham gave king Abimelech seven ewe lambs as a witness that he dug the well (Which was the contention for the reason of making the covenant), and Abraham named the place Beer-sheba (H844), (which lies in the Negev desert). After this Abraham planted a tree there and called on the Lord. (Gen. 21:28-33) Later on when  Abraham  willingly  obeyed God to offer up his only son Isaac (That of his and Sarah s), to the Lord,  God  blessed Abraham, that He would multiply his seed as much as the sands of the seashore, and of his seed the nations of the earth would be blessed (Gen. 22:16-18), After these blessing Abraham returned to his men, and together they went to Beer-sheba, and Abraham lived there. (Gen 22:19). After Abraham died the Philistines covered all the wells in the area that he had dug during his lifetime. Isaac had many contentions with king Abimelech because he had grown mighty so Isaac moved on to Gerar, where again he had contentions with the  herdsmen of Gerar over the wells which Abraham first dug, and then Isaac reopened. After Isaac dug a well that he had no contentions with, he went to Beer-sheba, and on the first night there the Lord appeared to him and reaffirmed the covenant He made with his father Abraham: Blessing him saying He will multiply his seed for His servants Abraham’s sake (Gen. 24:25), So Isaac built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord and he dug a well in Beer-sheba and Isaac named the well Shebah Meaning Oath and or seven (H7656)  which is why the city is called Beer-sheba to this day. Both Abraham and Isaac named the city Beer-Sheba after their covenants with King Abimelech of Gerar. And now,  before Jacob went into Egypt he went to Beer-sheba and offered sacrifices to the Lord, and the Lord appeared to him in a vision; just as He did years earlier to his father Isaac. assuring him not to fear going into Egypt because He would be with him, make of him a great nation (Just as the Lord promised Isaac), in which He would multiply his seed for Abraham’s sake. During the time of the patriarchs it appears to me that Beer-sheba was “THE” place of worship to the one true God. eventually though we know that Gods temple would be in Jerusalem (Beginning with the time of King David), where He would be, and will always be worshipped from now till forever and evermore.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                5. Then Jacob arose from Beersheba: and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives, in the carts which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.                                                                                                                                              6. So they took their livestock and their goods, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants went with him. 15:13                                                                                                                                                          7. His sons and his sons’ sons, his daughters, and his sons’ daughters and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt. Ex. 1:1-5                                   

  After awakening from his visions Jacob his family, and his extended family begin their journey to Egypt. Being assured by God about his fate and that of his descendants, he journeys to Egypt to once again embrace his long lost son Joseph whom he thought was dead. two generations of Jacob’s descendants goes down to Egypt with him to make a great nation; as God promised him. by the time his descendants leave Egypt we see that this small group of people had grown tremendously to 600,000 men apart from the little ones,not including the women (Exo. 12:37). The promise of making a great nation goes all the way back to the patriarch Abraham, who never saw this promise fulfilled, and neither will Jacob, but by faith they believed and journeyed on seeing the promise afar off (Heb. 11:13). We who are of the faith, and joint heirs in the promise,  too must confess that we are also strangers in a strange land, and a strange world, knowing that the land of milk and honey may not come in our lifetime, but at God’s appointed time. So we keep faith and hope alive just as the patriarchs, and through our Lord Jesus Christ who says “follow me” you will have treasures in heaven (Mark. 10:21, Luke. 9:23). 

8. Now these were the names of the children of Israel, Jacob and his sons, who went to Egypt: Reuben was Jacob’s first born. 29:32                                                         9.The sons of Reuben were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.                                             

(H7205)
ראוּבן
re’ûbên
BDB Definition:
Reuben = “behold a son”
1) the eldest son of Jacob by Leah
2) the tribe descended from Reuben
3) the territory inhabited by the tribe of Reuben                                            

(H2585)
חנוך
chănôk
BDB Definition:
Hanoch = “dedicated”
5) the eldest son of Reuben (noun proper masculine)

(H6396)
פּלּוּא
pallû’
BDB Definition:
Pallu or Phallu = “distinguished”
1) the 2nd son of Reuben, father of Eliab, and progenitor of a family of Israel

(H2696)
חצרון
chetsrôn
BDB Definition:
Hezron = “surrounded by a wall”
1) a son of Reuben (noun proper masculine)

(H3756)
כּרמי
karmı̂y
BDB Definition:
Carmi = “my vineyard”
1) the 4th son of Reuben and progenitor of the Carmites

  Verses eight thru twenty seven list the sons of Jacob and their sons. Interestingly in verse eight it say, ” Now these were the names of the children of Israel, Jacob and his sons,” The only commentary I found referring to this is “Gill’s Exposition Of the Entire Bible: which reads as such:

  Not meaning precisely Jacob’s seed and offspring, but the body of the people of Israel, as they were when they went into Egypt, including Jacob himself.                                                                                                                                           

  I would add to his commentary that when we see Israel mentioned instead of Jacob; the scriptures are usually referring to the nation of Israel but not always, and not the man Jacob. The sons of Jacob in verse eight refer to only his sons. Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob through his first wife Leah (the oldest of the two daughters of Laban the Syrian (Gen. 29: 16,32; 35:23),  Reuben had a total of four sons who went into Egypt as part of the nation of Israel: God told Jacob He would make a great nation while they are in Egypt in verse three of this chapter. Hanoch is the eldest of the four sons and Carmi is the youngest. Reuben lost his birthright of the firstborn male in whom the seed which all nations would be blessed through our Lord Jesus Christ, because he laid with his father Jacob s concubine Bilhah and defiled his father’s bed. (Gen. 35:22; 49:4).

10. The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman.                                                                                           

(H8095)
שׁמעון
shim‛ôn
BDB Definition:
Simeon or Shimeon = “heard”
1) the 2nd son of Jacob by his wife Leah and progenitor of the tribe of Simeon

(H3223)
ימוּאל
yemû’êl
BDB Definition:
Jemuel = “day of God”
1) the eldest son of Simeon

(H3226)
ימין
yâmı̂yn
BDB Definition:
Jamin = “right hand”
1) the 2nd son of Simeon; founder of the family of Jaminites

(H161)
אהד
‘ôhad
BDB Definition:
Ohad = “united”
1) son of Simeon and grandson of Jacob

(H3199)
יכין
yâkı̂yn
BDB Definition:
Jachin = “He will establish”
1) the 4th son of Simeon and founder of the family of Jachinites (noun proper masculine)

(H6714)
צחר
tsôchar
BDB Definition:
Zohar = “tawny”
3) one of the sons of Simeon; also ‘Zerah’

(H7586)
שׁאוּל
shâ’ûl
BDB Definition:
Saul or Shaul = “desired”
3) a son of Simeon

Simeon was the second son of Jacob, born by his wife Leah. Simeon had five sons that came with him and Jacob into the land of Egypt from his wife whose name is not mentioned. However Simeon had a sixth son (Shual), who also went into Egypt as the nation of Israel, but Shual is mentioned as 
“The son of a Canaanite woman” which tells me he did not come from the same mother as the rest of his step-brothers did. Simeon, being the second born son of Leah should have had the birthright blessing handed down to him because of Reuben s sin, but he to was not found worthy because he had blood on his hands by the sword. Simeon and his younger brother Levi deceived King Hamor, his son Shechem, and all the men of the kingdom and slew all the males by the sword to avenge their sister Dinah (Gen. 35: 14-16, 25, 26), In my opinion it is because of this act  why he to could not carry on the birthright blessings of the promised seed. Jacob even speaks of this bloody act when he calls all his sons together to bless them and tell them of their individual fates in the last days (Gen. 49: 5-7).

Adam Clarke s commentary:                                                                                                 It was diabolical in Jacob’s sons to slay a whole tribe for the offense of one man, and especially as that one had offered to make all the restitution in his power. They required that Hamor, Shechem, and all their subjects should be circumcised before they could conscientiously consent to give their sister to Shechem in marriage. This required conformity was made the cloak of the most base and infamous designs. The simple unsuspecting Shechemites agreed to the proposal; and when rendered by this religious rite incapable of defending themselves, they were basely murdered by Simeon and Levi, and their city destroyed. Jacob, to his great honor, remonstrated against this barbarous and bloody act, committed apparently under the sanction of religion; and God showed his abhorrence of it by directing the patriarch, in his dying moments, to proscribe them from the blessings of the covenant, so that they barely retained a name among the tribes of Israel, being in general small, and ever disreputable, except merely in the service of the sanctuary, in which Levi was employed.

  It is mentioned that Shaul is the son of a Canaanite woman. there are many theories as to why this is mentioned in verse ten. but they are just theories. It is never explained in the Scriptures why this is mentioned. One theory is that shaul is Jacob’s grandson; the son of Dinah who was defiled by Shechem. The Jewish Midrash (which is basically Jewish myth), says that when Simeon came to take Dinah back, she made him marry her because she was pregnant with Shechems son. Because Dinah was already married to Shechem is why she is considered a Canaanite woman. In my opinion, by definition this would not be incest as long as they do not ever lay with one another and nowhere in scriptures do we see this mentioned either. the scriptures say that Simeon and Levi killed Hamor (Shechem s father), and they and took Dinah out of Shechems house. The Midrash says that it was Simeon who killed Shechem, since the Midrash is myth I cannot agree with their theory here, I must go by the scriptures (which I believed to be God breathed), and the only true source of information. Nowhere in the scriptures does it ever say that Simeon is the one who killed Shechem. So, in my humble opinion, It does make sense that Simeon (Being the oldest of the two brothers), would be responsible for Dinah, and the bringing up of her son if indeed she was with child at the time her husband Shechem was killed. There is now law as to the brothers responsibility in this instance, The only law is about two brothers dwelling together and one dies leaving his wife without child and what the responsibility is of the brother who is alive (Deut. 25:6), Which is detailed in the book of Ruth. I want to emphasize again that all this is theory and myth, the scriptures do not explain what is meant, “Shaul the son of a canaanite woman” Simeon is the Second born son of Jacob by his wife Leah. Because of his murderous act, he to is passed over to have the birthright blessing of the seed in which all nations of the earth would be blessed. 

11. The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 29:34                             

(H3878)
לוי
lêvı̂y
BDB Definition:
Levi = “joined to”
1) the 3rd son of Jacob by Leah and progenitor of tribe of Levites

(H1648)
גּרשׁום / גּרשׁון
gêreshôn / gêreshôm
BDB Definition:
Gershon or Gershom = “exile”
1) firstborn son of Levi born before Jacob’s family went to Egypt

(H6955)
קהת
qehâth
BDB Definition:
Kohath = “assembly”
1) the 2nd of the 3 sons of Levi and progenitor of a family in the tribe of Levi

(H4847)
מררי
merârı̂y
BDB Definition:
Merari = “bitter”
1) the 3rd son of Levi and head of a Levitical family

 Levi was the third born son of Jacob by his wife Leah. Levi had three sons that came with him and Jacob into the land of Egypt. It is thru him where the levitical priesthood is formed starting with Aaron, brother of Moses. once again he to is passed over to have the birthright blessing of the promised seed thru which all nations of the earth would be blessed, because of his participation with his brother Simeon in the killing of Shechem and his father king Hamor. Levi had three sons of the nation of Israel who went into Egypt with Jacob.

12. The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (But Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. 29:35; 38:3-10                                                                                                             

(H3063)
יהוּדה
yehûdâh
BDB Definition:
Judah = “praised”
1) the son of Jacob by Leah
2) the tribe descended from Judah the son of Jacob
3) the territory occupied by the tribe of Judah

(H6147)
ער
‛êr
BDB Definition:
Er = “awake”
1) the eldest son of Judah
2) son of Shelah and grandson of Judah

(H209)
אונן
‘ônân
BDB Definition:
Onan = “strong”
1) second son of Judah, slain by God for not fulfilling the levitical requirement to beget a child with the wife of a dead, childless brother

(H7956)
שׁלה
shêlâh
BDB Definition:
Shelah = “a petition”
1) the youngest son of Judah

(H6557)
פּרץ
perets
BDB Definition:
Perez or Pharez = “breach”
1) twin son with Zarah of Judah by Tamar and ancestor of two families of Judah, the Hezronites and Hamulites; from the Hezronites came the royal line of David and Christ.

(H2696)
חצרון
chetsrôn
BDB Definition:
Hezron = “surrounded by a wall”
1) a son of Reuben (noun proper masculine)
2) a son of Pharez and grandson of Judah (noun proper masculine)
3) a place in the extreme south of Judah (noun proper locative)

  Judah is the fourth son of Jacob born of Leah his first wife, oldest daughter of Laban the Syrian. Judah had three sons that came with him and Jacob into Egypt. It is thru Judah s seed in which all the nations of the earth will be blessed (Gen. 49:10). Perez is the fourth son of Judah, and It is thru his seed  that all nations of the earth will be blessed. Just as Judah was the fourth born of Jacob, Perez is also the fourth son of Judah. Er who was the first born son of Judah, was wicked in the sight of the Lord and God killed him (Gen. 38:7), And so the seed should have been passed onto Judah’s second born Onan, Onan was to marry Er’s wife Tamar but he refused to plant his seed in her and the Lord killed him as well (Gen. 38: 8,9), Judah promised Tamar that when his youngest son Shelah would be of age that he would give him to her in order to pass on the seed of his brother Er, but when that time came Judah forgot that promise, and Tamar grew weary so she plotted against Judah to have him plant his seed into her unbeknownst to Judah. Tamar had twin sons Perez and Zerah (Gen. 38: 11-30), Perez came out first so the promised seed in which all nations of the earth would be blessed was passed onto him. Perez’s Son Hezron is the one whom the promised seed would be handed down to. Scriptures do not say if Hezron was Perez’s first born or second. 

13. The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puvah, Job, and Shimron. 30:18                   

(H3485)
ישּׂשׂכר
yiśśâśkâr
BDB Definition:
Issachar = “there is recompense”
1) the 9th son of Jacob and the 5th by Leah his first wife and the progenitor of a tribe by his name (noun proper masculine)                                                                          2) a Korahite Levite and the 7th son of Obed-edom and doorkeeper to the temple n pr coll                                                                                                                                    3) the tribe descended from Issachar the son of Jacob (noun proper collective)

(H8439)
תּולע
tôlâ‛
BDB Definition:
Tola = “worm”
1) the 1st born of Issachar and progenitor of the family of Tolaites

(H6312)
פּוּה / פּוּאה
pû’âh / pûvvâh
BDB Definition:
Puah or Pua or Phuvah = “splendid”
1) son of Issachar
1a) also ‘Pua’ and ‘Phuvah’

(H3102)
יוב
yôb
BDB Definition:
Job = “persecuted”
1) the 3rd son of Issachar also called ‘Jashub’

(H8110)
שׁמרון
shimrôn
BDB Definition:
Shimron = “watch-height”
1) 4th son of Issachar and the progenitor of the family of Shimronites (noun proper masculine)

  Issachar is the ninth son of Jacob born of Leah his first wife.  Issachar had four sons that came with him and Jacob into Egypt. Issachar son Job is not the same Job as in the book of Job. We are told in the book of Job that he was a perfect and upright man who lived in the land of Uz, which is located in southern Iraq (Job. 1:1). Also the Strongs and BDB # for Job is different from the Son of Issachar:      (H347)
איּוב
‘ı̂yôb
BDB Definition:
Job = “hated”
1) a patriarch, the subject of the book of Job

14. The sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. 30:20                               1

(H2074)
זבוּלן / זבלוּן / זבוּלוּן
zebûlûn / zebûlûn
BDB Definition:
Zebulun = “exalted”
1) the 10th of the sons of Jacob, 6th and last of Leah; progenitor of Zebulun (noun proper masculine)
2) the tribe descended from Zebulun (noun proper masculine)
3) the land allocated to the tribe of Zebulun (noun proper locative)

(H5624)
סרד
sered
BDB Definition:
Sered = “fear”
1) the 1st son of Zebulun

(H356)
אילן / אלון / אילון
‘êlôn / ‘êylôn
BDB Definition:
Elon = “terebinth, mighty”
2) second son of Zebulun

(H3177)
יחלאל
yachle’êl
BDB Definition:
Jahleel = “God waits”
1) the 3rd of the 3 sons of Zebulun; founder of the family of the Jahleelites

  Zebulun is the tenth son of Jacob s and the  sixth and last son born from his wife Leah. He had three sons that went with him and Jacob into the land of Egypt.

15. These were the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Padan Aram,with his daughter Dinah. All the persons, his sons and his daughters were thirty three. 35:23                                                                                                         

  (H3812)
לאה
lê’âh
BDB Definition:
Leah = “weary”
1) daughter of Laban, first wife of Jacob, and mother of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah

 If you count all the sons of leah, and their sons, along with Dinah you only come to thirty two people. The last and final person who is not listed here is the daughter of Levi, Jochebed. she was conceived in Canaan but born in Egypt (Num. 26:59), in Rabbi Rashi’s commentary  on this verse he describes Jochebed as being born “Between the Walls,” Meaning that Jochebed was conceived in Canaan but was born in Egypt. 

Rabbi Rashi:                                                                                                                                      thirty-three: But if you count them individually, you find only thirty-two. This [missing one] is Jochebed, who was born between the walls when they entered the city, as it is said: “whom she bore to Levi in Egypt” (Num. 26:59). Her birth was in Egypt, but her conception was not in Egypt. 

  This has great significance to me, as it should to all in this modern day. You see, since God counts Jochebed as one who entered into Egypt with Jacob and his family, then it is more proof that life begins before birth. Although Jochebed was still in the womb God sees her as a living, breathing being, worthy of being counted with the living  ( Isaiah. 49:1, Jer. 1:5). One more note here;  is this the Jochebed who is the mother of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam? We don’t know the age of Jochebed was when she gave birth to Moses, so it is hard to determine. If so this would make it hard for this man to determine and prove that the Hebrews were afflicted for the 400 years God told Abraham that his descendants would be in that strange land and be afflicted. (Gen 15:13)

(H3115)
יוכבד
yôkebed
BDB Definition:
Jochebed = “Jehovah is glory”
1) the daughter of Levi, wife and at the same time aunt of Amram, and the mother of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam

16. The sons of Gad were Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. 30:11                                                                                                                                               

(H1410)
גּד
gâd
BDB Definition:
Gad = “troop”
1) seventh son of Jacob by Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid, and full brother of Asher.
2) the tribe descended from Gad

(H6837)
צפיון
tsiphyôn
BDB Definition:
Ziphion = “lookout”
1) a son of Gad and progenitor of the family of Zephonites
1a) also ‘Zephon’

(H2291)
חגּי
chaggı̂y
BDB Definition:
Haggi = “festive”
1) second son of Gad (noun proper masculine)
2) descendants of Haggi, a Gadite (adjective)

(H7764)
שׁוּני
shûnı̂y
BDB Definition:
Shuni = “fortunate”
1) son of Gad and progenitor of the family of Shunites

(H675)
אצבּן / אצבּון
‘etsbôn
BDB Definition:
Ezbon = “hasting to discern: I will be enlargement”
1) a son of Gad

(H6179)
ערי
‛êrı̂y
BDB Definition:
Eri = “watchful”
1) son of Gad and progenitor of the family of Erites

(H722)
ארודי
‘ărôdı̂y
BDB Definition:
Arodi or Arodites = “I shall subdue: I shall roam”
1) descendants of Arod

(H692)
אראלי
‘ar’êlı̂y
BDB Definition:
Areli = “lion of God”
1) a son of Gad
2) those of the family of Areli (paternal adjective – Arelites)

    Gad is the seventh son of Jacob, The firstborn son of Zilpah (Leah’s handmaid), Gad had seven sons that went into Egypt with him and Jacob.

17. The sons of Asher were Jimnah, Ishuah, Isui, Beriah, and Serah, their sister, and the sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel. 30:13                             

(H836)
אשׁר
‘âshêr
BDB Definition:
Asher = “happy”
1) son of Jacob and Zilpah
2) the tribe descended from Asher

(H3232)
ימנה
yimnâh
BDB Definition:
Imna or Imnah or Jimnah = “right hand”
1) the 1st born son of Asher (noun proper masculine)

(H3438)
ישׁוה
yishvâh
BDB Definition:
Ishuai or Isuah = “he will resemble”
1) the 2nd son of Asher

(H3440)
ישׁוי
yishvı̂y
BDB Definition:
Ishui or Ishuai or Isui or Jesui = “he resembles me”
2) the 3rd son of Asher and founder of the family of Ishuaites

(H1283)
בּריעה
berı̂y‛âh
BDB Definition:
Beriah = “with a friend”
1) a son of Asher

(H8294)
שׂרח
śerach
BDB Definition:
Serah = “the prince breathed”
1) daughter of Asher
1a) also ‘Sarah’

(H2268)
חבר
cheber
BDB Definition:
Heber = “comrade”
2) grandson of Asher from whom came the Heberites

(H4439)
מלכּיאל
malkı̂y’êl
BDB Definition:
Malchiel = “my king is God”
1) the son of Beriah and grandson of Asher

  Asher is Jacob’s eighth son and the second son of Zilpah (Leah s handmaid), Asher had a total of four sons, one daughter, and two grandsons that came with him and Jacob into Egypt.

18. These were the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and these she bore to Jacob: sixteen persons                                                             

  Leah gave Zilpah to Jacob as his wife, to bare him more sons when she could no longer concieve children to him. Zilpah was giving to Jacob as his wife after Rachel (the wife who Jacob loved the most), gave her handmaid Bilhah to Jacob to be his wife and she bore Jacob two sons. Leah also Gave Zilpah to Jacob as his wife in the hopes that Jacob would finally love her the way he loved Rachel (Leah s sister), and hopefully even more so. 

19. The sons of Rachel, Jacobs wife, were Joseph and Benjamin. 35:24              20. And to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of on, bore to him.           41: 50-52                                                                                                                                         

   (H7354)
רחל
râchêl
BDB Definition:
Rachel = “ewe”
1) daughter of Laban, wife of Jacob, and mother of Joseph and Benjamin         The same as (H7353); Rachel, a wife of Jacob: – Rachel.

(H3130)
יוסף
yôsêph
BDB Definition:
Joseph = “Jehovah has added”
1) the eldest son of Jacob by Rachel                                                                                 Future of (H3254); let him add (or perhaps simply active participle adding)

(H621)
אסנת
‘âsnath
BDB Definition:
Asenath = “belonging to the goddess Neith”
1) the wife of Joseph

(H4519)
מנשּׁה
menashsheh
BDB Definition:
Manasseh = “causing to forget”
1) the eldest son of Joseph and progenitor of the tribe of Manasseh
1a) the tribe descended from Manasseh
1b) the territory occupied by the tribe of Manasseh

(H669)
אפרים
‘ephrayim
BDB Definition:
Ephraim = “double ash-heap: I shall be doubly fruitful”
1) second son of Joseph, blessed by him and given preference over first son, Manasseh
2) the tribe, Ephraim
3) the mountain country of Ephraim
4) sometimes used name for the northern kingdom (Hosea or Isaiah)
5) a city near Baal-hazor
6) a chief gate of Jerusalem

  Scriptures say Jacob loved Joseph more than all his children because “he was the son of his old age” (Gen. 37:3), in my opinion I would like to add that because Joseph was the firstborn son of Rachel (whom he loved more than all his wives), was another reason why he loved Joseph more than the other children. When Jacob was nearing his death he honored his son Joseph with great blessing upon his sons Manasseh and Ephraim. Jacob said, “Let my name be on them”(Gen 48:16). I will go more into greater detail what this means in my commentary on Genesis chapter 48:16.

21. The sons of Benjamin were Belah, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard,                                                                                 

(H1144)
בּנימין
binyâmı̂yn
BDB Definition:
Benjamin = “son of the right hand”
1) Jacob’s and Rachel’s youngest son, Joseph’s full brother

(H1106)
בּלע
bela‛
BDB Definition:
Bela = “destruction”
2) first son of Benjamin (noun proper masculine)

(H1071)
בּכר
beker
BDB Definition:
Becher = “young camel”
2) a son of Benjamin

(H788)
אשׁבּל
‘ashbêl
BDB Definition:
Ashbel = “a man in God: a man of Baal: fire of Bel: I will make a path”
1) second son of Benjamin

(H1617)
גּרא
gêrâ’
BDB Definition:
Gera = “a grain”
1) a son of Benjamin
2) a son of Bela and grandson of Benjamin
3) any member of the Gera family of the Benjamite tribe

(H5283)
נעמן
na‛ămân
BDB Definition:
Naaman = “pleasantness”
1) son of Bela of the family of Benjamin; he was among the family of Jacob that went down to Egypt

(H278)
אחי
‘êchı̂y
BDB Definition:
Ehi = “my brother”
1) son of Benjamin

(H7220)
ראשׁ
rô’sh
BDB Definition:
Rosh = “head”
1) a son of Benjamin

(H4649)
מפּים
mûppı̂ym
BDB Definition:
Muppim = “serpent”
1) a Benjamite and one of the 14 descendants of Rachel who belonged to the original colony of the sons of Jacob in Egypt
1a) also ‘Shupham’

(H2650)
חפּים
chûppı̂ym
BDB Definition:
Huppim = “protected”
1) the head of a Benjamite family

(H714)
ארדּ
‘ard
BDB Definition:
Ard = “I shall subdue”
1) son of Benjamin
2) grandson of Benjamin

   Benjamin was the second born of Rachel, and last son of hers and Jacobs. Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin. she originally name him Benoni, meaning son of my sorrow:

(H1126)
בּן־אוני
beṅ’ônı̂y
BDB Definition:
Ben-oni = “son of my sorrow”
1) the name given to Benjamin by Rachel

  But that only reminded Jacob of the tragedy that happened at the birth of Benjamin, so Jacob renamed him Benjamin (Son of my right hand). He had ten sons that went into Egypt with him and Jacob. However it must be explained that not all the ten sons were Benjamins direct descendant only three were. if we notice the BDB definitions of these sons some were his grandsons. In first chronicles 7:6 we see that only Bela, Becher, and Jediael, are listed as his sons (1 chr 7:6), Jediael could  also be the name of Ashbel:

(H3043)
ידיעאל
yedı̂y‛ă’̂ êl
BDB Definition:
Jediael = “God makes known”
1) a chief patriarch of the tribe of Benjamin; maybe the same as ‘Ashbel’

  When we look at the BDB definition of Ard we see that he is defined as  1) son of Benjamin, 2) grandson of Benjamin. And in Numbers 26:6 he is described as a son of Bela and family group of the Ardites. Huppim is only defined as the head of a Benjamite family, and Muppim is defined as also being known as Shupham and as one of the 14 descendants of Rachel who belonged to the original colony of the sons of Jacob in Egypt. neither of these two men are defined as direct descendants of Benjamin. Rosh is defined as “a son of Benjamin,” yet he is not listed in numbers 26:38-41 or in  1 Chronicles 7:6-12 as  a son, grandson or descendants of Benjamin ( 1 chr 7:6-12). Ehi is defined as “Son of Benjamin.” and like Rosh he is not listed in numbers 26:38-41, or 1 chronicles 7:6-12. Naaman is defined as “son of Bela of the family of Benjamin; he was among the family of Jacob that went down to Egypt” and in numbers 26:6 he is described as a family group of the Naamanites. however Naaman is not described in 1 chronicles 7:6-12 as a son of Bela. Gera is defined as  1) a son of Benjamin, 2) a son of Bela and grandson of Benjamin. In both numbers 26:38-41, and 1 Chronicles 7:6-12 Gera is not listed as either a son of Bela or of any family group of Bela. Ashbel is defined as the second son of Benjamin. He is also listed in Numbers 26: 38 as the family group from the tribe of Benjamin, of the Ashbelites. in 1 Chronicles 7:6 we see a man by the name of Jediael who is defined as maybe being the same as Ashbel (H3043). Becher is defined as a son of Benjamin. In Numbers 26:38-41 Becher is not counted in the census of men, yet in 1 chronicles 7:6 he is listed as a son of Benjamin by the name of Becker. And finally Bela is defined as the firstborn son of Benjamin who is counted in the census in Numbers 26:38, and as a son of Benjamin in            1 Chronicles 7:6. This makes no sense at all for the most part as to who were the direct sons of Benjamin, and who were his grandsons.  Adam Clarke’s commentary I think sums it up the best:

  The sons of Benjamin; Bela, and Becher and Jediael – In Gen_46:21, ten sons of Benjamin are reckoned; viz., Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Eri, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. In Num.26:38, etc., five sons only of Benjamin are mentioned, Bela, Ashbel, Ahiram, Shupham, and Hupham: and Ard and Naaman are there said to be the sons of Bela; consequently grandsons of Benjamin. In the beginning of the following chapter, five sons of Benjamin are mentioned, viz., Bela, Ashbel, Aharah, Nohah, and Rapha; where also Addar, Gera, Abihud, Abishua, Naaman, Ahoah, a second Gera, Shephuphan, and Huram, are all represented as grandsons, not sons, of Benjamin: hence we see that in many cases grandsons are called sons, and both are often confounded in the genealogical tables. To attempt to reconcile such discrepancies would be a task as endless as it would be useless. The Rabbins say that Ezra, who wrote this book, did not know whether some of these were sons or grandsons; and they intimate also that the tables from which he copied were often defective, and here we must leave all such matters.

   I would like to insert my opinion here in regards to the three sons Rosh, Ehi, and Gera, and why they might not be listed in either Numbers or one Chronicles. Maybe while they were in Egypt they started to worship the gods of Egypt so bad, that they were too far gone in their walk with God that He removed their names and all their descendants from the nation of Israel, so that there were no descendants left to be counted or even mentioned as sons of Benjamin. This would not be the only time where we have seen God do this ( 1 Sam 2:31, 34,  Ezek 13:9).  

22. These were the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob: fourteen persons in all.                                                                                                                                             

  As explained in Adam Clarke’s commentary above, grandsons are counted as sons we see this in the account with Rachel’s own father Laban the Syrian who considered the sons of Rachel and Jacobs as his own sons (Gen. 31:26-28).

23. The son of Dan was Hushim.                                                                                      24. The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.                      25. These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and she bore these to Jacob: seven persons in all.                                                     

(H1835)
דּן
dân
BDB Definition:
Dan = “a judge”
1) the 5th son of Jacob, the 1st of Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid (noun proper masculine)
2) the tribe descended from Dan, the son of Jacob (noun proper masculine)
3) a city in Dan, the most northern landmark of Palestine (noun proper locative)

H2366
חשׁם / חשׁים / חוּשׁים
chûshı̂ym / chûshim
BDB Definition:
Hushim = “who makes haste”
3) descendants of Dan (noun proper masculine)

(H5321)
נפתּלי
naphtâlı̂y
BDB Definition:
Naphtali = “wrestling”
1) the 5th son of Jacob and the 2nd by Bilhah the handmaid of Rachel (noun proper masculine)
2) the tribe descended from Naphtali the son of Jacob (noun proper masculine)
3) the territory assigned to the tribe of Naphtali (noun proper locative)

(H3183)
יחצאל
yachtse’êl
BDB Definition:
Jahzeel = “God divides”
1) the 1st of the 4 sons of Naphtali and founder of the family of Jahzeelites

(H1476)
גּוּני
gûnı̂y
BDB Definition:
Guni = “my defender (?)”
1) a son of Naphtali and founder of the family of Gunites

(H3337)
יצר
yêtser
BDB Definition:
Jezer = “forming”
1) the 3rd son of Naphtali and the founder of the family of Jezerites

(H8006)
שׁלּם
shillêm
BDB Definition:
Shillem = “repaid”
1) son of Naphtali

 Bilhah was Rachel’s handmaid whom her father Laban the Syrian gave to her. Rachel Gave Bilhah to Jacob as his wife so she could bear him children that Rachel had not been able to do up to that time. Rachel said, “she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.” she was jealous that her sister Leah had already bore Jacob four sons of her own (Gen. 30: 1-3), Bilhah had a second son and Rachel  named him Naphtali. Rachel’s Handmaid Bilhah had two sons, and five grandsons  in all that came into Egypt with Jacob. 

26. All the persons who went with Jacob to Egypt, who came from his body, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, were sixty-six persons in all.                                              27. And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two persons. All the persons of the house of Jacob who went to Egypt were seventy. Ex. 1:1-5                                                                                                                                               

  If you count all the sons of Leah, and their sons, along with Dinah you only come to thirty two people, then Jochebed who was conceived in Canaan but was born between the walls (Ref. vs. 15 commentary) makes thirty three. these were the literal bloodline children of Leah. Leah’s Handmaid Zilpah had a total of sixteen persons from her bloodline that came into Egypt. Then we have Rachel who brought fourteen persons of her bloodline that came with her into Egypt. And finally Rachel’s handmaid Bilhah brought a total of seven persons of her bloodline that came down into Egypt with her. this comes to a total of seventy. According to Rabbi Rashi Jochebed, Joseph, his sons Manasseh and Ephraim are excluded in this verse.                                                 

  Rabbi Rashi:                                                                                                                                            All the souls coming…with Jacob: Who left the land of Canaan to come to Egypt. Now this [word] הַבָּאָה (To come) is not the past tense but the present tense, similar to “In the evening she would come (בָאָה)” (Esther 2:14), and like “and behold, his daughter Rachel is coming (בָּאָה) with the sheep” (Gen. 29:6). Therefore, its accent is below (i.e., at the end of the word), on the “aleph,” because when they left to come from the land of Canaan, they were only 66 [excluding Jochebed, Joseph, and his two sons]. The second [instance of הַבָּאָה, however,]“all the souls of the house of Jacob who came (הַבָּאָה) to Egypt were seventy,” is in the past tense; therefore, its accent is above (i.e., on an earlier syllable), on the “Beth,” because when they came there they were seventy, for there they found Joseph and his two sons, and Jochebed was added to them between the walls.

28. Then he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out before him the way to Goshen. And they came to the land of Goshen. 47:1                                 

   Judah, the one from whom the promised seed in which all nations would be blessed goes ahead of Israel to prepare the way to Goshen (the land of plenty), during this time. The Pharaoh himself tells Joseph to take his family to Goshen “the best of the land” in all of Egypt (Gen 47:6). In my opinion we have the symbolic figures of The Pharaoh, who was God like in his time, Judah; the one in whom the promised seed will come from, and Joseph the Type of Jesus are foreshadowing things to come. Sidebar here (I am in no way trying to put The Pharaoh on Equal footing as the Great Creator God of the universe, the sun, moon and stars, and of all living kind), I am trying to look at this verse in a spiritual aspect, and a foreshadow of things to come. Another sidebar here I have to make mention: When I do my studies I always have what to me is spiritual music playing on low volume, and the song that just started is ”             A Home On The Meadow“, from the movie “How The West Was Won” if you know the song or listen to the lyrics you will see how profound it is to hear this at this moment. To me It is living proof that God exist and He is speaking to me, leading me in this study. It’s another one of those moments in my studies that I feel God’s presence and it is an awesome! feeling. I had to stop and just listen and take it in….. So Joseph has become like a son to Pharaoh. We can go back to Genesis chapter forty one to see the Pedestal that the Pharaoh set Joseph on (Gen. 41:39-44), Pharaoh being god like Sets Joseph on his second chariot, might I suggest he rides on the right hand of the Pharaoh (Just as Jesus Sits on the right hand of God to this day), Joseph rides through Egypt with the people crying “Bow The Knee”….. “Hosanna the most highest” (Matt 21:9.15, Mark 11:9,10; John 12:13). Judah, foreshadowing things to come; “the lion’s whelp,”(Gen. 49:9), goes ahead of Israel, and unto him to gather the people together “until Shiloh comes” (Gen. 49:10), to meet his Brother Joseph, symbolic of the Messiah, Who has gone before Israel to prepare a place for them; “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, so that where I am, you may be also.” (John. 14:2,3), Pharaoh being a father figure to Joseph is symbolic of Jesus saying “In my Father’s house” Who told Joseph to settle his people in the best of the land. 

29. So Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; and he presented himself to him, and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while.                                                                                                                          30. And Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, because you are still alive.”                                                                                                 

  It has been twenty one years since Joseph has seen his father. He is now thirty nine years old  and Jacob is one hundred and thirty years of age (Gen 47:9), The name Israel is used here and not Jacob. Israel (H3478)    BDB’s definition means “God prevails”, or the Strongs the definition is, “he will rule as God” Jacob’s first and real name is used in some verses and then at times he is introduced as Israel. As I have previously stated; the name Israel is used sometimes to distinguish between the nation of Israel, and the person Israel. In my opinion There has to be a spiritual aspect to the reason the name Israel is mentioned here: Joseph told his brothers once not to be grieved or angry with themselves for selling him into slavery because God sent him into Egypt to preserve their lives (Gen. 45: 5-8), And later on Joseph tells his brothers, ” you thought evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Gen. 50: 20), And God “has prevailed,” as He always will. God changed Jacob’s name to Israel meaning prevailer with God. Joseph came to Egypt first, as a type of first fruit of the Israeli nation, to preserve life for not only the nation of Israel, but the Egyptians, and the Canaanites (Gen. 47: 13,25).  Jesus Christ came as our first fruit, to preserve life for all the nations of the world, the only begotten Son of God the Father, in whom all the nations of the earth will be blessed, He sits at the right hand of God to this day and forevermore. When Joseph saw Israel his father he wept and now he is glorified with his father never to be separated again. Would it be a reach to compare Joseph with that of our Lord Jesus Christ (who was in the earth for three days separated from the Father), When he rose and was accepted by the Father, that he to embraced him and wept on his neck? When in the last hour of His life He cried out, ” Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? That is, My God, My God, why have You forsaken me? And he was elated to be with the Father once again. Joseph, being a type of the Lord had these same feelings, maybe there was a time when Joseph felt forsaken, if not by his father but by the nation of Israel (the sons of Israel), and they lived the remainder of their lives together on this earth, and will be together forevermore in the kingdom.

31. Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘My brothers and those of my father’s house who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. 47:1                                                    32. And the men are shepherds, for their occupation has been to feed livestock; and they have brought their flocks, their herds, and all that they have.’ 47:3                                                                                                                                   

    Back in The previous chapter Joseph tells his brothers to bring his father, That they, there sons, and their sons, sons, their herds, and flocks, will dwell in the land of Goshen so that they will be near to him (Gen. 45: 9,10), Joseph has now lived in Egypt for over twenty years and he has become very familiar with their customs, and the ways of the Pharaoh. Joseph tells them that he will go speak with the Pharaoh and tell him that they are shepherds and their occupation is to tend to the all the livestock, which is what they truly are, but Joseph wants to emphasize to the Pharaoh so as let him know that his family has no other experience in other occupations for fear that if they had other experience in other fields the Pharaoh would take those with other experience away from the family to go and serve the Pharaoh elsewhere. this would in turn graft those Israelites into the ways of the Egyptians with all their forms of idol worship, and turn them away from the God of their fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. As well will see in the next chapter the Pharaoh does say to Joseph that if there are any in his family who are of ability to make them administrators of his (Pharaoh s), livestock and all that is his (Gen. 47:6). Notice in verse thirty two Joseph says he will tell the Pharaoh that all they know is to tend to the livestock, feed them and nothing else. In my opinion the brothers of Joseph are just as educated as him in many things besides just tending to livestock. Remember when Joseph tells them of his dreams that they to had the gift from God of interpreting dreams (Gen. 37: 6-10), which is exactly how Joseph came to prominence in Egypt. If the Pharaoh new this undoubtedly he would take the brothers, place them in the priesthood of the Egyptians, and be taught all forms of Idol worship and everything else that is an abomination to God. As long as the house of Israel were close to Joseph, he could make sure that they would not be tempted by the pagan practices of the Egyptians; after all, he is second to Pharaoh, they have no choice but to bow to his authority, as well as making sure the Egyptians in his household would not tempt them either.

33. “So it shall be, when Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’ 47:2, 3                                                                                                                                                      34. “That you shall say, “Your servants’ occupation has been with livestock from our youth even till now, both we and also our fathers,’ that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.” 43:32; 47:3

   The Egyptians worshipped many gods, and animals such as sheep and oxen were sacred to the Egyptians. From previous experiences with the shepherds of Phoenicia, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, and Syria, who had come into the land some couple hundred years earlier, knew that they sacrificed and ate certain animals the Egyptians held sacred. This is why shepherds were considered an abomination to the Egyptians (Exo. 8:25, 26).

Do This In Remembrance Of Me

   There is a man who is making a list and checking it twice,                             looking to see who has been naughty or nice.                                                   He is writing down those names in a book.. the book of life                               And whatever you may ask in My name, that I will do,                                         so that the Father may be glorified in the Son, He proclaimed.                         Don’t teach the children to ask the man in the suit,                                         teach them of the real Man who came for me and you.                                        He said to do this in remembrance of Him as broke the bread,                    and not His birthday as many have have been led.                                          The Father reveals to us His son,                                                                      revealed in His Holy days for each and every one.                                          These we should proclaim for the world to hear,                                              And as the Father commanded, “These are my Holy days,”                          you should celebrate them from year to year.                                                  Jesus is our Passover, and as He broke the bread,                                          “Do this in remembrance of me” is what He said.                                            Paul tells us, “To keep the Feast with sincerity and truth,                                    not with wickedness and malice,” that destroys the youth.                            The room was filled with the Holy Spirit for those who were lost,                this was giving to all on the day of Pentecost.                                                    He said I must go to My Father above,                                                                But when I do the comforter will come and you will know My love.        When I return the trumpet will sound for all to hear,                                    And the Dead in Christ will rise first when He appears.                                This is the Feast of Trumpets that God proclaimed,                                        “These are my Feast,’ the Feast of the Lord” for all to proclaim!                     not some tradition created by man,                                                                    But God’s Holy days revealing His plan.                                                        Satan will finally be cast away to that bottomless pit,                                    bearing the sins of the world that he alone deceived us all to commit.      This Feast of the Lord is called,”The Day of Atonement”                              Proclaim this Feast throughout the land,                                                          Shout it from the rooftops, “  satan has been cast away!’
Jesus has returned and He is here to stay”                                                         He will return first to rule and reign,                                                                  for a thousand years… God exclaims!                                                                      called The Feast of Tabernacles, a Holy day of the Lord.                                    A Holy convocation we should keep,                                                                  For seven days we should rejoice and be merry!                                              Those who hear His voice, these are His sheep.                                                His words are true and faithful, you can count on it,                                      and He is true and faithful to His word, this is His covenant.                        What about those who had never known the Lord since the time of Adam  until the Great White Throne Judgement day,                                                  God is love and He will not cast them away.                                                    They will rise at their appointed time for they are only asleep,                  their spirit has been with the Lord for Him to keep.                                    Waiting for their time to be given salvation,                                                      God is Love and He has not forgotten them.                                                      He wishes that none should perish,                                                                      Because each and everyone of them he has always cherished.                    This is a hard pill for most to swallow,                                                                but even the most wicked of the world Will be granted mercy,                      for God is Love if they would just repent,                                                              and accept Him…whom the Father had sent.                                                    The Eighth day, the last and final Feast,                                                    Fulfilling God’s plan for all,                                                                                    from the highest to the least.                                                                                These are the Holy Days which God proclaimed!                                                “The Feast of the Lord” who goes by many names.                                         They worship Me in vain, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men, asking a man in a red suit for things he has no power to give,          Instead of asking our Father in the name of Jesus…                                      The one who came and died, but now lives.

1  Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood before him, and he cried out, “Make everyone go from me!” So no one stood with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers.                                                                        2  And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of the pharaoh heard it.          VV 14, 15; 42:24                                                                                                                                  3  Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph; does my father still live?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence.                                                                                                                                    43:27; acts 7:13               4  And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near me.” So they came near. Then he said, “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.                                                                                                                                  37:28; 39:1; Ps. 105:17                    5  “But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.                                                                                                         

  Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13), Jamieson Fausset Brown s commentary on Jesus’s words here in John, I believe portrays Judah’s love for his father and his brother Benjamin, so much so that Joseph himself feels Judah’s (Pain which he portrayed in the previous chapter), and cannot contain himself any longer. 

Jamieson Fausset Brown:                                                                                                                   The emphasis lies not on “friends,” but on “laying down his life” for them; that is, “One can show no greater regard for those dear to him than to give his life for them, and this is the love ye shall find in Me.”

   Joseph to shares this same affection for his father, Benjamin, and all his brothers. He cannot let this charade go on. This is a personal moment for Joseph and his brothers. He empties the room of everyone except for his brothers so he can reveal himself to them. Joseph cries out in front of his brothers  so loudly that it echoes throughout the whole house of Pharaoh for all to hear. “I am Joseph; does my father still live?” Joseph asks in agony! But his brothers are disturbed, maybe by unbelief that it is truly Joseph their brother whom they sold into slavery. So Joseph gathers them close to his bosom and comforts them so that they are not troubled by the events that are unfolding right before their eyes.                                                                                                                                                               It would be remiss of me not to comment on the more spiritual nature of these verses, and the foreshadowing of the coming Messiah and His relationship to Israel in His first coming, and yes even in the second coming. Just as Joseph’s  brothers do not recognize who he is, so to did the people of Israel (more importantly the Pharisees and Sadducees), not know that Jesus Christ was the one whom the prophets of old had spoken; of the coming Messiah whom God sent the first time to preserve life everlasting for them and all the nations of the earth. When Joseph ask his brothers to come near to him to comfort them I personally am reminded of Jesus crying out to Jerusalem: Jerusalem! Jerusalem! the one killing the prophets, and stoning those having been sent to her; how often I desired to gather your children in the way a hen gathers her brood under the wings, and you did not desire it. Joseph has probably been waiting a long time for this day to come. At least two years (When they first came during the famine), which would have been like a lifetime to him, or maybe even sooner, before he was sold into slavery and had those dreams long ago (Gen. 37:5, 9), back then he was like an outsider to them even though he was their half brother, but they were jealous of him because he was their fathers favorite. When Jesus returns the second time the whole house of Israel will mourn when the scales are lifted and their eyes are opened to the fact that they did indeed kill their Messiah in his first coming (Zech. 12:10-14; 13:6). Upon seeing Joseph the second time in as many years they have to be comforted by him because they feel grieved in their heart for what they had done to him years ago.

6  “For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.                         

  Two years have passed since the famine began. There has been either none, nor any sufficient amount of rain in which to prepare the soil for planting seed. This would now put Joseph at the age of thirty nine (Gen. 41:46), since the seven years of plenty have thus passed.

7  “And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.    v. 5; 50:20                                       

   Joseph was the deliverer for the nation of Israel, who brought them up from out of the land of Canaan and into Egypt during the great famine. Four hundred years later Moses would be the deliverer  who will take Israel out of the bondage of Egypt (Acts 7:35), and Jesus Christ is the long awaited deliverer in whom it was prophesied would save Israel and turn away all ungodliness from the house of Jacob (Is. 59:20,21;  Rom. 11:26). God Himself has always sent a deliverer to His people, and as Abraham said long ago to his son Isaac when he went to offer him up to God, “The Lord will provide for Himself a Sacrifice” For His name’s sake (Ps. 79:9; 106:7, 8;).

8  “So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.                                                                                                                             

   It was during the time when Joseph interpreted the Pharaoh’s dreams correctly, that he was put in charge of all the household of the Pharaoh (Gen. 41: 39-44), This is what’s meant when Joseph says to his brothers that the Pharaoh made him father and lord of all his house, and ruler of all the land of Egypt.

9  “Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, “Thus says your son Joseph: God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not tarry.        v. 26            10  “You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children’s children, your flocks and herds, and all that you have.                                                                                                                                                        11  “There I will provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for there are still five years of famine.”‘                                12  “And behold, your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my mouth that speaks to you.     42:23                                                                             

    Joseph sends a message to his father thru the brothers to tell him he is alive and that God (the God of Abraham, Isaac and himself), has been with Joseph all this time, has blessed him tremendously in the land of Egypt, and made him ruler there. Joseph goes on to say to his father to come near to me and do not hesitate. again he says in his message to his father you shall be near me and you shall dwell in the land of Goshen. The Strongs number (H1657) and BDB definition for Goshen literally means drawing near. Then (In my opinion), Joseph’s message is now addressed to all of them beginning in verse ten. And it is an assurance to all of them that Joseph holds no ill will towards them, and has forgiven them for what they had done to him over twenty years ago. Even If verse ten is speaking to his father alone, then he is including his brothers to come and draw near him as well because in verse ten he states; “You, your children, your children’s children (which would include the brothers). Imagine the sigh of relief and the heavy burden that each and everyone of them have been carrying on their shoulders all theses years. “Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt 11:28). I like how the ISV bible reads, I believe it is fitting for the context here: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and loaded down with burdens, and I will give you rest.”  Another example of Joseph being a foreshadow of the coming Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ. Continuing on in verse eleven Joseph says; “There (The land of Goshen), “I will provide for you” it would be remiss of me if I didn’t comment on these few words, it is from these words that have impacted me spiritually so much since I first truly understood the meaning behind them. It was approximately one hundred fifty years earlier that Josephs grandfather Abraham uttered these same words almost verbatim; as he went to offer up his son, his only son, of his wife Sarah, to Isaac when Isaac said; “My father!” Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham replied to the lad; “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” (Gen. 22:7,8), in this instance (As Joseph himself stated); “God sent me before you to preserve life.” (Verse five), “So now it was not you who sent me here, but God” (Verse eight), The Lord sacrificed Joseph from his family so that he could provide for them, in this particular time of famine, and preserve their life for everlasting. (pick up at verse twelve on next study)

13  “So you shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and all that you have seen; and you shall hurry and bring my father down.”                                                  14  Then he fell on his brother benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck.                                  vv. 2, 15                                                                                              15  Moreover he kissed all his brothers and wept over them, and after that his brothers talked with him.                                                                                                 

   Joseph has longed to see his father once more. there probably hasn’t been a day that passed in which he didn’t think about him. in the beginning of this chapter one of the first things he asks his brothers is if his father was still alive and well. By now Jacob is one hundred and thirty years old (Gen 47:9). Benjamin is Josephs only full brother, and the one he loved the most. So it is only fitting that he embraces him first. Afterwards Joseph kisses all his brothers and weeps over them. Just as Joseph embraces all his brothers under his arms it comes to mind when Jesus cried out to Jerusalem, and how he wanted to gather them together under his wings a a hen gathers her brood ( Mat 23:37, Luke 13:34),”O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to her, how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you would not! ” Joseph has always loved his brothers and wanted to embrace them, even when they treated him as an outcast among them growing up.

16 Now the report of it was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, “Joseph’s brothers have come.” So it pleased Pharaoh and his servants well.                              17  And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: Load all your animals and depart; go to the land of Canaan.                                                                    18  ‘Bring your father and your households and come to me; I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land. 27:28; 47:6    19  ‘ Now you are commanded-do this: Take carts out of the land of Egypt for your little ones and your wives; bring your father and come.                                                  20  ‘Also do not be concerned about your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.'”     

  In my opinion Joseph has become like a son to the Pharaoh. there was probably a time when Joseph told the Pharaoh about where he came from and his family back in Canaan, and Joseph might have expressed his sorrow about missing his father and brothers. This said, just as any father would grieve with their sons when they are sad, and rejoice with them when they are happy. The Pharaoh is happy for Joseph that his brothers have come to him. I can only imagine when the Pharaoh sees Joseph he sees a joy in his countenance that he has never before seen. He sees a man who has new life in him for the first time since he has been in Egypt. Undoubtedly, ever since his brothers first came to Egypt, Joseph hasn’t been the same person. He has probably been going over many scenarios in his head as to what to make of his brothers appearance, what to do about it, and how his father has been over the past 20 years. Joseph lives ! he has a new breath of life, and a purpose (That he will reveal to his brothers later on), as to why his life has gone the way it has. Joseph has done so much for the Pharaoh and his people, and now he wants to reward him for this. So he commands that Joseph bring his whole family into the land, and to take carts from Egypt to make the journey easier. twice he says “Bring your father” The children of Israel will live in the best lands of Egypt, and have the riches of Egypt in their hands. And I believe the Pharaoh too is excited about meeting the father of the one who saved Egypt from famine and destruction.                                            

 

21 Then the sons of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them carts, according to the command of Pharaoh, and he gave them provisions for the journey.      46:5        22  He gave to all of them, to each man, changes of garments; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of garments.                                                                                                                                                                                            23  And he sent to his father these things: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and food for his father for the journey.                                                                                                              24  So he sent his brothers away, and they departed; and he said to them, “See that you do not become troubled along the way.”                                             

The Brothers of Joseph all received new clothing, as well as provisions, and donkeys to carry all the goods that the Pharaoh commanded Joseph to give them. But to Benjamin Joseph also gave three hundred pieces of silver, and not just one change of clothing but five. The reason for this is obvious: Benjamin was Joseph true brother, they shared the same Father and mother. All of Joseph s other brothers were only stepbrothers: born of the same father but different mothers. Joseph also sent plenty of provisions for his father (Jacob/Israel), for him and his family’s journey to Egypt. Now the last thing, and probably the most significant of these verses is Joseph’s instructions to his brother to not to be troubled along the way. There are many things the brothers could be troubled with: for one they could go back and forth with one another on how they each individually treated Joseph when they threw him in the well, and sold him off to the merchants as a slave. Rueben could try to justify himself because he was the only brother who told them not to kill Joseph;he was against this action, Rueben wanted to throw Joseph into a pit so that he could later on rescue him and return Joseph to his father (Gen 37:22), and Judah to could say to them; “All of you wanted to kill him even after Reuben said not to, Even after Reuben left you still wanted to kill him, but I rescued Joseph from your hands and convinced all of you to sell him to the Midianites.” And what would all the brothers response be to all that? “Both of your hands are not innocent because you still lied to our father about the fate of Joseph when we took his tunic back to him and said Joseph must have been killed by a wild beast (Gen 37:31-34). The only innocent one would be Benjamin, because he was not there when the brothers conspired against Joseph, And as the brothers argued among themselves Benjamin would have overheard this not knowing the true fate of his brother Joseph up until this time. The main reason for this discontent among the brothers would be their concern that these past sin would be revealed to their father Jacob, and how he would act towards them after discovering the deceit his sons pulled upon him. “Oh what a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive.” Joseph knew the brothers would argue among themselves about who was guilty or innocent, and what would they tell their father upon returning to the land of Canaan? would they keep up with the deception, or would they come clean? And if they didn’t come clean would Joseph tell his father what the brothers did to him when he comes into Egypt? The scriptures do not tell us how Jacob finds out, but it does tell us that he did indeed discover the truth of what they had done to Joseph. We read in Genesis chapter fifty, after the death of Jacob, that the brothers sent a message to Joseph telling him that his father asked  Joseph to forgive them for their sins against him (Gen 50:16, 17). Now for the sake of my work  here I must add that in the Jewish bible (Rashis’s commentary says that Jacob never gave such a command and that the brothers altered the facts to save peace:

Rashi:  Your father commanded:                                                                                             They altered the facts for the sake of peace. Jacob gave no such command, since he did not suspect Joseph. — [From Yeb. 65b, Tanchuma Toledoth 1].

  None of the famous commentators have anything to say on the subject of whether or not Jacob discovered the truth about his sons. In my humble opinion; Jacob was a wise man of his age, even if he initially believed his sons at first, after finding out that Joseph was alive he had to have his suspicions, wouldn’t he have inquired to Joseph about what happened to him, how did he come to such prominence? Wouldn’t Jacob had said to him: But your brothers brought your tunic shredded, full of blood, I surely thought you were dead”and would Joseph lie to his father so save his brothers? I think Joseph, being Christ like would not have lied to his father for the sake of the brothers. Wouldn’t that be bearing false witness? I leave it to the reader to decide. 

25  Then they went up out of Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan to Jacob their father.                                                                                                                                       26  And they told him, saying, “Joseph is still alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt.” And Jacob’s heart stood still, because he did not believe them.                 v. 9                                                                                                                              27  But when they told him all the words which Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived.                                                                                                                        28  Then Israel said, “It is enough. Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.” 

Jacobs spirit has been grieving since he first saw the tunic he gave to Joseph, all torn to shreds, believing he has been dead all this time (Gen 37:35), It’s not until he sees all the carts full of supplies that his spirit is lifted again and he rejoices at the news. Jacob is now over one hundred years old, his body weak, but it won’t stop him from seeing his son once again before he dies.        

43

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 each man’s money in the mouth of his sack.                                                                                                                        2  “Also put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his grain money.” So he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.                      v. 12; 42:25                                                                                                  3  As soon as the morning dawned, the men were sent away, they and their donkeys.                                                                                                                                            4  When they had gone out of the city, and were not yet far off, Joseph said to his steward, “Get up, follow the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good?                                                                        5  ‘Is not this the one from which my lord drinks, and with which he indeed practices divination? You have done evil in so doing.'”                                             

  Once again I see Jesus Christ, the Passover, and the new covenant, symbolized by the cup that Joseph tells the steward of his house to put in Benjamin’s mouth sack. Not just verses 0ne thru five show the significance of the cup, and how it pertains to the future of the New Covenant, but the following verses speaks loudly of how we are to observe the New Covenant passover in a worthy manner. As I will explain in more detail in the verses to come when appropriate. Joseph here uses his silver cup as a tool in which to test his brothers, and see if they are truly remorseful for what they had done to him. By putting the cup in Benjamin’s sack; Being the only surviving son of Jacob and his wife Rachel (as far as Jacob and his brothers know), Joseph will see if the brothers hearts have changed over the course of time. Hoping that this will bring back to memory what they did to him, and in turn feel guilty for the sins they committed against Joseph, his father and of God Himself. As Jesus said in the New Covenant: take, drink, for this cup is for the remission of sins (Matt. 26: 27,28). Can the brothers ever escape the guilt that lies within each of them for these sins? In Jesus Christ’s shed blood all sins are forgiven for those who believe, and as we will See, Joseph being a type of Jesus, will forgive his brothers for what they had done. And this cup, in these verses, tells of a future time (Divination, if you will), in which all sins will be forgiven, and the blood of Jesus will no longer be on them (The sons of Israel, and the Israeli nation as a whole), and their descendants (Gen 37:26,27; Matt 27:24, 25).

6 So he overtook them, and he spoke to them these same words.                        7  And they said to him, “Why does my lord say these words? Far be it from us that your servants should do such a thing.                                                                  8  “Look, we brought back to you from the land of Canaan the money which we found in the mouth of our sacks. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house?”                                                                                                        9  “With whomever of your servants it is found, let him die, and we also will be my lord’s slaves.”                                                                                                                  10  And he said, “Now also let it be according to your words; he with whom it is found shall be my slave, and you shall be blameless.”                                            11  Then each man speedily let down his sack to the ground, and each opened his sack.                                                                                                                             12  So he searched. He began with the oldest and left off with the youngest; and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.      42:4, 38; 43:13, 14                            13  Then they tore their clothes, and each man loaded his donkey and returned to the city.                                                                                                                   

  The brothers, unaware of being set up for a crime they know in their hearts they had not committed, speak with great confidence of their innocence to the Servant of Josephs. So confident they are, that they are willing to go so far as to tell the servant, “if you find the cup in the sack of one of ours, then let that persons whose sack the cup was found in die, and the rest of us will be your lords slave.” The servant replies, that only the one who has the cup will be his lord’s slave and the rest of them can go back to their homeland blameless. The servant searches all the brothers sacks finding nothing, until he comes to the last brother (The youngest of them), Benjamin, and there the cup is found ! this is their worst nightmare ! Their fathers greatest fear of losing his youngest son (the son of Rachel the woman whom he loved most of all), if he were to let him go down to Egypt, has come true. The tearing off of the clothes back then was a show of great sorrow and distress. Judah himself promised his father that he would take care of Benjamin, and if anything should happen to him then he (Jacob), could blame Judah forever (Gen. 43:8, 9),  Not just Judah, but Reuben went so far as to tell his father that if anything were to happen to Benjamin, then Jacob could  kill Reubens two sons (Gen. 42:37), so all of the brothers don’t hesitate, they saddle up their donkeys and go back to Egypt along with Benjamin. None of them could bear the shame of going back to Canaan without Benjamin. What they did to Joseph twenty years earlier has haunted them since, they even said as much when having to leave Simeon behind after Joseph accuses them of being spies on their first journey to Egypt (Gen. 42:21,22 ). Jacob told his sons that if anything would happen to Benjamin on his trip to Egypt, that they would send him to his grave a very sad old man, by bringing such sad news back to him (Gen. 42:38), The brothers would rather die than have to break their fathers heart. 

14  So Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, and he was still there; and they fell before him on the ground.  37:7, 10; 42:6; 43:26, 28                              15  And Joseph said to them, “What deed is this you have done” Did you not know that such a man as I can certainly practice divination?”                               

  Joseph (The type of Jesus), asks the brothers: “Did you not know that a man such as I can practice divination?” I ask of myself to the reader; did not Jesus Christ Himself, on the night of the passover, in a sense give a divination of himself? one in which He uses a “CUP” of wine to symbolize His blood that would be shed for the remission of sins (Matt. 26:27,28; Mark. 14:23,24; Luke. 22:20,21), In luke’s account We are told that Jesus even foretells of the one who is to betray Him is sitting at the table with them. The Webster’s dictionary defines divination as a foretelling of future events, or discovering things secret or obscure, by the aid of superior beings, or by other than human means:

Webster’s definition:  
DIVINATION, n. [L., to foretell. See Divine.] 

  1. The act of divining; a foretelling future events, or discovering things secret or obscure, by the aid of superior beings, or by other than human means. The ancient heathen philosophers divided divination into two kinds, natural and artificial. Natural divination was supposed to be effected by a kind of inspiration or divine afflatus; artificial divination was effected by certain rites, experiments or observations, as by sacrifices, cakes, flour, wine, observation of entrails, flight of birds, lots, verses, omens, position of the stars, &c.

  Joseph doesn’t say for certainty that he does practice divination, he only asks the question to his brothers. However, I see this verse as another example of Joseph as a type of Jesus, (the one who on many occasions foretells of events to come, during His time and in the future, thru divine acts of both artificial, and natural divination).

16  Then Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how shall we clear ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants; here we are, my lord’s slaves, both we and he also with whom the cup was found.”                                                                                                                            17  But he said, “Far be it from me that I should do so; the man in whose hand the cup was found, he shall be my slave. And as for you, go up in peace to your father.”                                                                                                                           

  Judah (The one from whom the seed comes from, in that all nations will be blessed), Is the one who speaks to Joseph (The type of Jesus), on behalf of all the brothers, Confessing to Joseph that God has found out their iniquity. No one can hide their sins from God, for he is all knowing, all seeing, omnipresent. One day we will all stand before our Father and give an account for our sins. As Judah rightfully says: “What shall we say to my Lord? What shall we speak? I put it to the reader that we have no excuse for our sins, and we shouldn’t even attempt to explain them away, we should just humble ourselves on that day, and confess them to God. For The Lord God is a very loving merciful God, full of grace, He is true and faithful to His word to forgive us, and we must have faith in Him, that if we confess, and repent of our sins He will blot them out and remember them no more Exo. 32:32,33; Ps. 51:1-9;). Judah tells Joseph that all the brothers (the ones who wronged Joseph years ago), will be his slave, along with the one who stole the cup (Benjamin). Joseph, being a type of Jesus says to Judah, “Far be it from me that I should do so” so as to say: the man in whose hand the cup was found (the one who sinned against me), shall be my slave. And he points the other brothers who sinned against God to their father. Just as Jesus always points us to the Father, as if to say Joseph wants his brothers to confess to their father (Jacob), for their sins against him, God, and Joseph.

18  Then Judah came near to him and said: “O my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord’s hearing, and do not let your anger burn against your servant; for you are even like Pharaoh.                                                 

   In Egypt the Pharaoh was considered a god. Judah is saying to the Pharaoh that you Joseph are god like, just as the Pharaoh of Egypt. 

19  “My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’        20  “And we said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, who is young; his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him.’     37:3; 42:4                                          21  “Then you said to your servants, “Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.’   42:15, 20                                                                                                      22  “And we said to my lord, “The lad cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’                                                                  23  “But you said to your servants, “Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall see my face no more.’     43:, 5                                            24  “So it was, when we went up to your servant my father, that we told him the words of my lord.                                                                                                                   25  “And our father said, “Go back and buy us a little food.’  43:2                         26  “But we said,  “We cannot go down; if our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down; for we may not see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’                                                                                                    27  “Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons;      35:16-18                                                                                                          28  ‘and the one went out from me, and I said, “Surely he is torn to pieces”; and I have not seen him since.           37:31-35                                                                    29  ‘But if you take this one also from me, and calamity befalls him, you shall bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.’        42:38                      30  “Now therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the lad is not with us, since his life is bound up in the lad’s life,                                              31  “it will happen, when he sees that the lad is not with us, that he will die. So your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father with sorrow to the grave.                                                                                                          32  “For your servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father forever.                         43:9                                                                                                            33  “Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad as a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers.                                          34  “For how shall I go up to my father  if the lad is not with me, lest perhaps I see the evil that would come upon my father?”  

   Judah promised his father that if anything were to happen to Benjamin that he would be surety for him. Judah exclaims to his father, you can blame me and me only, forever; if We do not bring him back to you safe and sound (Gen. 43: 8, 9 ) Judah speaks on behalf of Benjamin, making intercession for him, ready to carry the responsibility of Benjamin on his shoulders alone. This has to have a profound impact on the lives of both Joseph and Benjamin. As we will see in the next chapter this cuts right to the heart of Joseph. To see his older brother stand up for Benjamin in this way shows Joseph that Judah’s heart is in the right place. It was Judah who first suggested to the other brothers to sell Joseph to the traders instead of killing him, so that they could profit from the sale and not be guilty of killing him (Gen. 37: 26, 27 ), Now Judah is once again the intercessor for one of his brothers. Hearing his brother speak on behalf of Benjamin may have Joseph reflecting , looking back to when he was sold into slavery. Joseph may have heard the conversation way back then as Judah convinced his brothers to sell him off, and if this is the case then Joseph now  sees Judah’s heart with a little more clarity, and understanding of why he did what he did some twenty odd years ago (For the other brothers wanted to kill him), This has to cut right to the heart of Joseph as these words are spoken to him. One could imagine the countenance of Judah as he is speaking, his head bowed to the ground, broken, crackling words coming out of his mouth as he pours out his emotions to Joseph, pleading with all his heart for Joseph not to make him go back to his father and face him without Benjamin. What about Benjamin? He is but an ear shod away as he hears his brother pleading for his life, willingly ready to take his place for a sin that he knows he did not commit. Benjamin knows he didn’t steal the cup and is undoubtedly confused how it got in the mouth of his sack. As far as Judah is concerned, he thinks Benjamin is guilty, and Benjamin knows this, yet He sees his brother (Who is innocent of this sin), ready to take this sin upon his shoulder, just as the descendant of his seed (Jesus Christ), took the sins of the world upon his shoulders, who sits at the right hand of God to this day, making intercession to the Father on our behalf (Matt. 1:20,21; Matt. 26:28; Heb. 9:28; 10:12;  1 Jn. 2:2). This forms a bond between Judah and Benjamin for their life, and their descendants: Upon entering into the promised land after four hundred years of captivity, The land inherited of the descendants of Benjamin, is in the heart of Judah’s land inheritance. Even after the breakup of the twelve tribes of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin stays forever bonded together with the tribe of Judah. In my opinion it is because of Judah’s actions here why these two tribes are so closely knitted together.

 

43

1  Now the famine was severe in the land.  112:10; 26:1; 41:56                                    2  And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go back, buys us a little food.”         42:2                                                                                                                                3  But Judah spoke to him, Saying, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’                                    4  “If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food.              5  “But if you will not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.'”                                6  And Israel said, “Why did you deal so wrongfully with me as to tell the man whether you had still another brother?”                                                                  7  But they said, “The man asked us pointedly about ourselves and our family, saying, “Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ And we told him according to these words. Could we possibly had known he would say, “Bring your brother down’?”

Even though the brothers feel remorse for what they had done to Joseph twenty some odd years ago, and deceived their father about it, they still have that deceptive heart in them. They lie to their father once more about what was said back n forth with Joseph, when he took Simeon and held him back until they return to him with Benjamin. Joseph never asked if their father was still alive, or if they had any other brothers that were not with them. It was out of fear for their own lives that the brothers told Joseph of their other brother Benjamin, and that they were all the sons of one man from the land of Canaan (Gen 42: 11-13). In verse six Jacob asks them point blank, “Why did you deal so wrongfully with me” In my opinion, accusing them of putting him in the position of having to give up his son Benjamin (The full brother of Joseph, and the only other son born of Rachel, the woman he loved the most), so that all of Israel would not die from starvation. Out of guilt for what they had done to Joseph years ago, they don’t want their father to hold them accountable for the fate of Simeon (whether dead or alive), and that of Benjamin, if anything were to happen to him. The guilt is already eating them alive for what they had done to Joseph, they cannot bear to have the fate of Benjamin upon their shoulders as well, so they twist around what was said when they were in Egypt. 

8  Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones.       42:2; 47:19                                                                                                            9  “I myself will be surety for him; from my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bare the blame forever.     42:37                                                                                                                10  “For if we had not lingered, surely by now we would have returned this second time.”        42:37; 44:32

  Judah, the fourth son born of Jacob, and the one with whom the promised seed (In which all nations on the earth shall be blessed), shall be handed down from, will put the burden upon his shoulders for all of Israel if anything were to happen to Benjamin. I have been seeing how Joseph has been a type of Jesus in his life, but now This time I see Judah portraying a type of Jesus in his actions. We are told in the scriptures that a child will be born and the weight of the world will be upon His shoulders (Isa. 9:6),it seems only fitting that Judah would be the one to bare the sins of Israel for what they had done to Joseph (a type of Jesus himself), a sacrifice of one for the preservation of many (Gen. 45: 5, 7). Judah ends by admonishing his father; that if he would have just listened to their plee earlier to take Benjamin to Egypt  they would have already been back with more grain, Simeon, and Benjamin, and they would not even be having this discussion.                                          

11  And their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best fruits of the land in your vessels and carry down a present for the man- a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds.                                                                                                                        12  “Take double money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight.                                                                                     42:25, 35                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Jacob has now come to the realization that if Benjamin must go with them to Egypt in order for their whole family to live then, “It must be so.” Jacob makes a kind gesture t0 the lord of Egypt, in hopes that he in turn will deal kindly with them. Jacob sends the best that their land has to offer (As a gift), of their harvest. Jacob also tells his sons to take twice the amount of money with them to purchase more grain, maybe at the chance that the price has gone up for the grain because the severity of the famine has grown even larger, making the grain priceless (So to speak). To show the lord of Egypt that the brothers are indeed honest men. Jacob also orders his sons to also take back all the money that was originally used to purchase the grain the first time (The money that was found in the mouth of their sacks upon returning from Egypt the first time).

13  “Take your brother also, and arise, go back to the man.     42:38                      14  “And may God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother and Benjamin. “If I am bereaved, I am bereaved!”

 Reluctantly Jacob tells his sons to take Benjamin with them and go back to the man in Egypt in hopes of securing grain for his family, securing the release of Simeon, and allow Benjamin to also come back with them. In my opinion; When Jacob states, “If I am bereaved, I am bereaved!” in my opinion is the same as when he said earlier, “If it must be so” However, meaning this time that if Simeon and Benjamin do not return with them, he will be bereaved (H7921), just as he is bereaved with the loss of his son Joseph years ago.  

 15  So the men took that present and Benjamin, and they took double money in their hand, and arose and went down to Egypt: and they stood before Joseph.                                                                       39:1; 46:3                                      16  When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of the his house, “Take these men to my home, and slaughter an animal and make ready; for these men will dine with me at noon.”      44:1                                            17  The man did as Joseph ordered, and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house.

   The brothers arrive in Egypt, to the place where Joseph oversees the day to day activities of his governance, in the morning hours. He was probably ecstatic to see his brother Benjamin (It must have been hard for him to contain himself), for the first time in over twenty years. Joseph still doesn’t reveal his true identity to them at this time. He tells his steward to go and prepare a meal (A feast if you will), for his brothers, and at noon they will dine together. But Joseph does not tell the brothers why they are being taken to his house.

18  Now the men were afraid because they were brought into Joseph’s house; and they said, “It is because of the money, which was returned in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may make a case against us and seize us, to take us as slaves with our donkeys.”                                              19  When they drew near to the steward of Joseph’s house, they talked with him at the door of the house,                                                                                                  20  and said, “O sir, we indeed came down the first time to buy food;   42:3    21  “but it happened, when we came to the encampment, that we opened our sacks, and there, each man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight; so we have brought it back in our hand.                              22  “And we have brought down other money in our hands to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.”

  Because the brothers do not know why they are being taken to Joseph’s house, they assume the worst. Once again they grow weary for fear of their lives: Ever since they first came to Egypt their lives have not been the same; From being accused of not being honest men, and being spies, to having one of their own brothers (Simeon), help captive until they can prove their innocence to the lord of Egypt (Joseph). Then having to go back home and  ask their father Jacob to trust them with the son he loves the most (After the supposed death of Joseph), by taking him back to Egypt in order to secure the release of Simeon. All the while, on their way back to Egypt with Benjamin they had to be thinking to themselves (If not discussing it with one another), about the money that was discovered in the mouth of their sacks; when they first left Egypt. They might have been  wondering to themselves if this lord of Egypt would believe they did not steal that money from them, and turn them into slaves. The brothers start making their case to Joseph’s steward beforehand so as to give a defense for themselves, in hopes that the steward would speak to Joseph on their behalf.

23  But he said, “Peace be with you, 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.                            42:24                                         

The steward calms the brothers down and tells them to not be afraid. The Egyptians worship many gods. Being that this is Joseph’s steward, I think it would be safe to assume he is very familiar with the God of Joseph. He has probably told the man about his God on more than one occasion. All the steward has to do is look at his masters (Joseph), own life and see that his God has blessed him tremendously. In my opinion, this steward was not one of the servants we read about in chapter forty two; when Joseph told his servants to put grain in the the bags of the brothers. If we look closely at chapter forty two verse twenty five, we read that Joseph told his servants to put the grain in the bags of the brothers, BUT! then in the next sentence we see that it is “HE” (Joseph), who is the one that put the money in their bags, and not his servants (Gen 42:25), this is why the Steward here tells the brothers that he had their money, and like Joseph it had to be their God that gave them the treasures in their sacks. Joseph (who was is in charge of all the Pharaoh’s possessions), had access to all of the money that was being brought in for the purchase of the grain, and it is he who gave the steward the money for the grain (in a roundabout way probably), and put the extra money in his brothers sacks.

24  So the man brought the men into Joseph’s house and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their donkeys feed.   18:4                        25  Then they made the present ready for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they heard they would eat bread there.

After assuring the brothers of their well being he brings them into Joseph’s house, gives them water to drink and to wash their feet, he also feeds their donkeys. The brothers are now feeling better about themselves because they have been told that they would eat with the lord of the house (Joseph), whom they still do not know  is Joseph. And they make ready the present that their father told them to put together and give to the lord of Egypt.

26  And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed down to him before the earth.                                               v. 28:37, 10; 42:6; 44:14                                                                          27  Then he asked them about their well-being, and said, “ Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”   42:11, 13                        28  And they answered, “Your servant our father is in good health; he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads down and prostrated themselves.   v.26                                                            

    The present which the brothers brought were a cache of spices, nuts honey, balm (Ointment for the skin), almonds, myrrh. It could be said that some of these gifts were known to be of high regard, and the best of the land of Canaan. These gifts could have touched a nerve with Joseph, reminding him of the days of old, when life was much simpler, the days of his youth (If you will), and a time of innocence lost. Top that off with the fact that the brothers bowed their heads to Joseph upon giving these gifts to him, would undoubtedly bring to memory the dreams he had long ago of just this scenario. (Gen 37:5-8), back then none of them could have dreamed (No pun intended), of how this dream could come to fruition. By this act of obeisance by his brothers, the picture is now becoming clearer to Joseph. Then when he inquires of his fathers well being, asking if he is still alive, the brothers Acknowledge to Joseph that their father is his servant, and by bowing their heads to Joseph one more time (All the brothers being present),bowing to him, thus fulfilling the second dream Joseph had of all his family bowing to him (Gen 37:9, 10). The dreams Joseph had back when he was seventeen are becoming more clear to him now, but In my opinion it will take some time still to make sense of it all. Right now he is with his brothers and does not have the time to go somewhere in private, meditate on what just happened, and in my opinion going to the Lord and inquire of Him about the deeper meanings of these dreams. As we will see later on Joseph does indeed come to a better understanding of what God Almighty had planned all along. 

29  Then he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your younger brother of whom you spoke to me?” And he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.”                                                                        30  Now his heart yearned for his brother; so Joseph made haste and sought somewhere to weep. And he went into his chamber and wept there.                                                             42:24; 45:1, 2, 14, 15                                                                             31  Then he washed his face and came out; and he restrained himself, and said, “Serve the bread.”                                                                                                         

   Joseph looks up and sees his brother Benjamin for the first time in over twenty years. This is his brother with whom they both share the same mother (Rachel), I believe because of this there is this special bond between the two.  Immediately Joseph ask God to bless him: to show favour to Benjamin and be kind to him. Joseph wanted so much to go to his brother, wrap his arms around him, and show his love for him. Instead Joseph runs away to his bedroom where he can be alone with his thoughts and cry. These tears were bittersweet: Tears of joy to see his brother once again, and tears of sadness, for Benjamin was just a boy when Joseph was sold into slavery, and now he is a young man. Those lost years of not seeing his brother growing up, being able to be a big brother to him, protecting him, bonding with him, nurturing him, and just being boys;doing the things boys do: getting into mischief, hunting, playing jokes on one another, wrestling around with each other, having friendly competitions amongst themselves, so on and so forth. All these things they never had a chance to share with one another. Scripture doesn’t say, but I would Imagine that Joseph probably got on his knees and went into prayer, thanking the Father above for the grace He has shown him. Afterwards, Joseph gathers himself, washes his face so that no one knows he had been crying, he restrains himself from going to Benjamin, wrapping his arms around him, and revealing who he is to all of them. Joseph has had plenty of time to think of how he wants to deal with his brothers when and if they return with Benjamin in order to free Simeon. At this juncture he is not ready. Maybe he is thinking that over the course of the dinner, and the conversation, he will gather more insight as to his brothers, how they treat one another, and what they will say about their father, or even himself. Where is their heart? Of course this is just my opinion for whatever it is worth.

32  So they set him a place by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves; because the Egyptians could not eat food with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians.                                                                         46:34; Ex 8:26                                                                   

   Apparently there were three tables set for dining: one for Joseph (Who ate by himself), probably because of his stature among the Egyptians. The second table was for Joseph’s brothers, and the third table was set for the Egyptians who ate with them. We are told in this verse that it was an abomination to the Egyptians to eat with the Hebrews. There are a couple reasons why it would be an abomination for the Egyptians to eat with the ?Hebrews: there was a time before Joseph in which shepherds (Also known as Hycsos), meaning king shepherds, who, according to Manetho (An Egyptian historian),  invaded and ruled Egypt for approximately two hundred and fifty nine years. According to Manetho, these Hycsos (King-shepherds), were very cruel to the Egyptians (Burning cities, massacring the people and selling them of to slavery). since the Hebrews were known as shepherds that word had a bad connotation to the Egyptians. The second reason why it may have been an abomination to eat with the Hebrews was because they sacrificed animals to God that the Egyptians themselves held sacred. Adam Clarke has this to say on the subject of why it would be an abomination for the Egyptians to eat at the same table with the Hebrews:

The Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews –                                                There might have been some political reason for this, with which we are unacquainted; but independently of this, two may be assigned. 1. The Hebrews were shepherds; and Egypt had been almost ruined by hordes of lawless wandering bandits, under the name of Hycsos, or King-shepherds, who had but a short time before this been expelled from the land by Amasis, after they had held it in subjection for 259 years, according to Manetho, committing the most wanton cruelties. 2. The Hebrews sacrificed those animals which the Egyptians held sacred, and fed on their flesh. The Egyptians were in general very superstitious, and would have no social intercourse with people of any other nation; hence we are informed that they would not even use the knife of a Greek, because they might have reason to suspect it had cut the flesh of some of those animals which they held sacred. Among the Hindoos different castes will not eat food cooked in the same vessel. If a person of another caste touch a cooking vessel, it is thrown away. Some are of opinion that the Egyptian idolatry, especially their worship of Apis under the figure of an ox, was posterior to the time of Joseph; ancient monuments are rather against this opinion, but it is impossible to decide either way. The clause in the Alexandrian Septuagint stands thus, Βδελυγμα γαρ εστιν τοις Αιγυπτιοις [πας ποιμην προβατων,] “For [every shepherd] is an abomination to the Egyptians;” but this clause is probably borrowed from Gen. 46:34, where it stands in the Hebrew as well as in the Greek. See Clarke on Gen. 46:34:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    1. Shepherds and feeders of cattle were usually a sort of lawless, free-booting bandits, frequently making inroads on villages, etc., carrying off cattle, and whatever spoils they could find. This might probably have been the case formerly, for it is well known it has often been the case since. On this account such persons must have been universally detested.
2. They must have abhorred shepherds if Manetho’s account of the hycsos or king-shepherds can be credited. Hordes of marauders under this name, from Arabia, Syria, and Ethiopia, (whose chief occupation, like the Bedouin Arabs of the present day, was to keep flocks), made a powerful irruption into Egypt, which they subdued and ruled with great tyranny for 259 years. Now, though they had been expelled from that land some considerable time before this, yet their name, and all persons of a similar occupation, were execrated by the Egyptians, on account of the depredations and long-continued ravages they had committed in the country.
3. The last and probably the best reason why the Egyptians abhorred such shepherds as the Israelites were, was, they sacrificed those very animals, the ox particularly, and the Sheep, which the Egyptians held sacred. Hence the Roman historian Tacitus, speaking of the Jews, says: “Caeso Ariete velut in contumelia Ammonis; Bos quoque immolatur, quem Aegyptii Apim colunt.” “They sacrifice the ram in order to insult Jupiter Ammon, and they sacrifice the ox, which the Egyptians worship under the name of Apis.” Though some contend that this idolatry was not as yet established in Egypt, and that the king-shepherds were either after the time of Joseph, or that Manetho by them intends the Israelites themselves; yet, as the arguments by which these conjectures are supported are not sufficient to overthrow those which are brought for the support of the contrary opinions, and as there was evidently an established religion and priesthood in Egypt before Joseph’s time, (for we find the priests had a certain portion of the land of Egypt which was held so sacred that Joseph did not attempt to buy it in the time of the famine, when he bought all the land which belonged to the people, Gen_47:20-22), and as that established priesthood was in all likelihood idolatrous, and as the worship of Apis under the form of an ox was one of the most ancient forms of worship in Egypt, we may rest tolerably certain that it was chiefly on this account that the shepherds, or those who fed on and sacrificed these objects of their worship, were an abomination to the Egyptians. 

 

33  And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth; and the men looked in astonishment at one another.                                                                                                                                    34  Then he took servings to them from before him, but Benjamins serving was five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him.       45:22

 

   The brothers were seated in the order of their age (from oldest to youngest), not by them, but by Joseph. He is the only one other than the brothers who would know the order by age. This is why it says the brothers looked in astonishment at one another. back home in the land of Canaan they would have sat in the same order. It appears to me that it is Joseph who serves the brothers their portions of the food, and not one of his servants. To his brother Benjamin (His full brother), born of the same mother (Rachel), he gave five times more than any other brother. By this act, Joseph is showing great honor to Benjamin, and the fact that it is five times greater than the others, places an exclamation of his importance to Joseph, among the other brothers. everyone drank and ate, and were in a very festive mood with one another.

42

1  When Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?”                                                                                      2  And he said, “Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down to that place and buy for us there, that we may live and not die.”  43:8; Acts 7:12 3  So Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt.                                  4  But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “Lest some calamity befall him.”   43:38; 44:12                                              5  And the sons of Israel went to buy grain among those who journeyed, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.    12:10; 26:1; Acts. 7:10                                   

As it was told in the previous chapter: the famine fell upon the face of the whole earth (Gen. 41:56), verse five seems to make it plain that the sons of Jacob traveled to Egypt with a caravan of people from all over Canaan, and not just by themselves. It might have been one of these caravans coming back from Egypt (Full of grain), that passed by the way of Jacob, where Jacob “saw” (H7200), these caravans going to and fro from Egypt, to purchase grain and bring back  to Canaan. In my opinion, it is one of these caravans that passes by Jacob on the way to Egypt to purchase grain, they stop to rest at his family’s encampment, where they tell their story to him and his sons about the abundance of grain in Egypt, In verse one Jacob asked his sons, “why do you look at one another?” As if to say to them, “We have seen these caravans going to Egypt with their sacks empty, and then come back months later full of grain.’ why do you quarrel amongst yourselves as to what to do?” So Jacob sends all his sons except for the youngest (and in his mind), the only Son left alive,who was born from the woman he loved the most in life (Rachel), with the exception of his mom Rebecca, or maybe even Deborah. (See my commentary on Deborah in Genesis chapter 35), for my explanation of why I include her as one of the women in Jacobs life that he holds near and dear to his heart). Jacob could not bear it if he lost Benjamin. The boy in whom his wife Rachel died giving birth to. Jacob loved Rachel so  much, and I can’t help but think that when he looks at Benjamin he sees Rachel. Rachel named Benjamin Ben-Oni (H1126), son of her sorrow, for until Benjamin’s birth Rachel was very sorrowful that she had not given Jacob more sons. So when Benjamin was born it took her sorrow away. However Jacob could not bare to call him by that name so he renamed him Benjamin (H1144), the son who sits at Jacob’s right hand. No way! would Jacob take the chance that the same evil that fell upon Joseph, would fall upon him as well.                                                                            Jacob makes the statement in verse two, “That we may live and not die” in regards to purchasing grain for them. This is a very interesting statement to me. I will leave it at that for now, and will discuss this in more detail in Genesis chapter forty three.

6  Now Joseph was Governor over the land; and it was he who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the earth.   v. 9; 37:5-11                                                                         

The referenced verses Gen. 37:5-11 take us back to the time when Joseph had his two dreams. As Joseph once asked,”Do not interpretations belong to God? (Gen. 40:8),  ” when Joseph told his brothers, and his father of the dreams he had, all of them rightfully interpreted the dreams of Joseph, but it is God who gave Joseph the dreams, and who gave the interpretation of them to him, his brothers and father. They asked Joseph, “Should you have dominion, or reign over us? Not only that, but in Joseph’s first dream, ironically enough, (or is it really ironic when we consider that it is God who is prophesying the future through his servant Joseph?), God used sheaves of grain in this dream to show how it would come about(That his brothers would bow down before him). It is because of the scarcity of Grain which caused them to come to Egypt in the first place.

7  Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he acted as a stranger to them and spoke roughly to them. Then he said to them, “Where do you come from?” and they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.”                  8  So Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.               

It has been at least twenty years since his brothers and he last saw each other. Joseph was a boy when they sold him into slavery, and now he has become a man. It wasn’t just the aging that caused his brothers not to recognize him but it was also the way he was dressed, his hair style, and even his countenance that made it impossible for his brothers to recognize him: The Egyptian leaders of the time wore wigs, put makeup on their faces (Just like women do), and because Joseph was second to the Pharaoh he probably wore a headdress called a Nemes, that was pleated. (See Eternal Egypt: clothing of ancient Egyptian Pharaoh),  Put  all this together and it would be impossible for his brothers to recognize him. And to top it off, the brothers bowed to Joseph with their faces to the earth. Joseph, as we will see is going to test his brothers. He does not identify himself to them right off; on the contrary, he speaks to them in a rough tone of voice, humbling them, so to speak.

9  Then Joseph remembered the dreams he had dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land!”  v.6; 37:5-11                                                                                                                       

Upon seeing his brothers bowing, (with thier faces to the earth), he then remembers his dreams of the brothers sheaves bowing to his sheave, and of the 11 stars, the sun, and moon, all bowing to him (Gen. 37:5-11). Joseph accuses them of being spies from another land, and then interestingly, he says  they have come to see the nakedness  of the land. It is interesting to me that Joseph uses the word “Nakedness” to describe what it is that his brothers have come to spy on. The Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon number for nakedness is (H6172), shame, disgrace, or uncleanliness,  are but a few definitions of this word. The word Nakedness is also derived from the Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon number (H6168), meaning to make bare, demolish, leave destitute. In the context of this verse, this definition would be more appropriate. I would propose to the reader that both definitions are appropriate here depending on which way you are looking at it. you could look at it in a figuratively manner, or in a causative sense. For the purpose of my studies, and the fact that the KJV+ uses the Strong’s number (H6172) to define this word, I will look at this word in a spiritually figurative manner. What is the shame, disgrace, or uncleanliness, that Joseph could be talking about? In my opinion it is the culture itself in which the Egyptians live in. They worship many gods and not the one true God. Joseph has been living in Egypt now for over 20 years  and he has seen firsthand the way the people of Egypt live. Take for instance the time when Potipher’s wife wanted to lay with him (Adultery), and then falsely accuse Joseph of attacking her (Breaking two of God’s commandments), Remember what Joseph said to her as she was seducing him, “How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Gen. 39:9). Because Joseph was married to the daughter of a priest of the sun god Ra, he probably witnessed many pagan rituals such as Idol worship (Which is also breaking the 2nd commandment of God), This had to disgust Joseph seeing these kind of practices. To him, this “WAS” unclean, shameful, and a disgrace to the God of his fathers Abraham and Jacob. Not only that, but the fact that the way he was dressed, in the manner of these unclean people, may have made him feel ashamed to be seen by his brothers and look as he did (his nakedness was exposed to them). There is nothing in the bible that supports my reasoning on why Joseph used this kind of terminology (Nakedness), it is just my way of looking at this verse in a more spiritual manner. I will leave it up to the reader to decide for themselves if there could be any validity to my comments on the subject.  

10  And they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food.”                                                                                                                                                  11  “We are all one man’s son’s; we are honest men; your servants are not spies!”                                                                                                                                                12  But he said to them, “No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land.”                                                                                                                                             

When Joseph was seventeen, and he told his brothers of his dreams, they asked in a mocking way, “Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us?” (Gen. 37:8),  by calling Joseph lord, and describing themselves as his servants, unbeknownst to them, they have answered their own question.                                                                                           The brothers tell Joseph that they are honest men. No! Joseph shouts back, in the back of his mind he is probably remembering how they treated him while he was in the well, and then sold him into slavery. No joseph will not let them off that easily, he will humble them before he reveals himself.

13  And they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and in fact the youngest is with our father today, and one is no more.”   44:20                                                                                                              14  But Joseph said to them, “It is as I spoke to you, saying, ‘You are spies!’    15  “In this manner you shall be tested: By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.                                      16  “Send one of you, and let him bring your brother; and you shall be kept in prison, that your words may be tested to see whether there is any truth in you; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies!”                                        17  So he put them all together in prison three days.  37:36; 39:20                         

    Joseph is going to test his brothers through his younger brother Benjamin. Joseph is not testing the brothers to see if they are spies. In my opinion he is testing their hearts. He tells them that one of them will go back and bring Benjamin to him while the others stay in prison. But he doesn’t choose which brother they will send, he will let them sit in prison for three days and let them decide amongst themselves which one should bring Benjamin back. Joseph is hoping that for these next three days they will have time to reflect, and think about what they did to him. When they sold Joseph to the merchants, the merchants were heading to Egypt to sale and trade. They must have known that Joseph would have been sold to the Egyptians. Now here they are, twenty years later in the same predicament they put Joseph in. I believe Joseph hopes that guilt and fear will weigh heavily on their minds. Guilt for what they did to him, and fear that one of them will have to go back, face their father, and tell him what has become of the others. And maybe worst of all, ask  his father Jacob to place Benjamin in his hands, and take him back to Egypt with him, so that all the others brothers would be allowed to come back home. The comment Jacob made in verse four, before he sent his ten sons to Egypt, that he would not let Benjamin go with them, “For fear that some calamity may befall him,” tells me that he has had his suspicions, or at least, did not trust that his sons would take care of Benjamin. Woe! to the one who would have to now go and face the wrath of his father alone.

18  Then Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this and live, for I fear God:  22:12; 31:42; Ex. 1:17; Prov. 1:7                                                                                                  19  “If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined to your prison house; but you, go and carry grain for the famine of your houses.          20  “And bring your youngest brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” And they did so.  v.34; 43:5; 44:23

After three days Joseph returns to his brothers and the first thing he says, “Do this and live, for I fear God.” Given them reassurance that if they just do what he tells them to do they will be fine, because he fears God so much, that if he were to not keep his word, God would bring his wrath down upon him. Instead of just one brother going to bring Benjamin back (like he first told them they would have to do), Joseph now tells them that it will be just the opposite, and only one will stay in prison, while the other nine brothers go back to the land of Canaan and bring Benjamin, and he reassures them one more time that if they do this they will live.

 

21  Then they said to one another,”We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore this distress has come upon us.”                                    22  And Rueben answered them, saying, “Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now required of us.”                                                                                                  23  But they did not know that Joseph understood them, for he spoke to them through an interpreter.                                                                                                  24  And he turned himself away from them and wept. Then he returned to them again, and talked with them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.   43:30; 45:1;, 2, 14, 15                                                     

We are not told in the scriptures of the full conversations between the brothers. Suffice is enough for what is revealed in the hearts of these men. Their guilt for the sin they committed against Joseph has probably been festering for a long time (Over twenty years), and it has now come to a head. The brothers confess their sins to one another not knowing that Joseph is the man they have been paying obeisance to all this time. The brothers acknowledge that the roosters have come home to roost, and feel that their blood must now be offered up to cover their sin (Heb. 10:5),true to God’s word; Our sins are so great in front of Him that it requires a payment of blood to wash them away (Heb 10: 10), Jesus’s precious blood has not been spilled yet, but Joseph is in the midst of them, ready to forgive them, for what they did to him, and as we will see, that he does indeed forgive them (Gen. 50: 15-21) Just as Jesus did when he hung from the tree on the great and terrible day (Luke 23:34), in the book of Luke it goes on to say that they parted his raiments, and cast lots for it. The brothers here stripped Joseph of his coat before putting him in the pit, and put blood on it to show their father, so as to try and hide their own sin, but just as the sacrifice of bulls and goats cannot take away our sins, the blood of the goat that the  brothers put on Joseph’s coat cannot take away the sin they committed against God (Heb 10:3,4).                                                                                                                                        Joseph cannot contain himself any longer, He must go away from them so he can pour his heart out in tears. Joseph returns to them and chooses Simeon as the scapegoat (If you will), who would  stay behind, and be the sacrifice for their sin, if they do not return again to Joseph accompanied with Benjamin. Maybe it was something the brothers said in their conversations between themselves that revealed Simeon as the instigator who provoked his brothers against Joseph, or it could have been that Joseph saw Simeon instigating and leading the way when they sold him into slavery. Simeon is known to be a man of cruelty and fierce anger (Gen. 49: 5-7). It was Simeon (along with his brother Levi), who instigated and lead his brothers to  deal treacherously with the people of Shechem when the prince of Shechem defiled their sister Dinah ( Gen. 34:25-29).

 

25  Then Joseph gave a command to fill their sacks with grain, to restore every man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. thus he did for them.                                                                                                                  26  So they loaded their donkeys with grain and departed from their.                27  But as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed at the encampment, he saw his money; and there it was, in the mouth of his sack.     v.35;  43:21,22                                                                                                                                28  So he said to his brothers, “My money has been restored, and there it is, in my sack!” Then their hearts failed them and they were afraid, saying to one another, “What is this that God has done to us?”                                                 

Joseph did not leave his brothers empty handed for their journey back home. Not only did he give them grain to take back to their family, but he also gave extra provisions for the trip, and to top that off, he secretly returned their money to them. On the way home one brother finds the money in his sack, and then Upon returning to the land of Canaan, and in the presence of their father, the brothers discovered the money in their sacks, they feared that God had done this to them, maybe as a payment of retribution for their sins. After all, how could the money still be in their possessions after being in prison for three days, never allowing an opportune time for one of them to take the money back? Only God could have done such a thing. They feared that Joseph (who they do not know is Joseph), would maybe punish Simeon, or come after them for stealing the money they gave to him, or both. 

29  Then they went to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them, saying:                                                                            30  “The man who is Lord of the land spoke roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.                                                                                                                     31  “But we said to him, “We are honest men; we are not spies.                              32  “We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is with our father this day in the land of Canaan.’                                      33  “Then the man, the Lord of the country, said to us, “By this I will know that you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, take food for the famine of your households, and be gone.                                                            34  “And bring your youngest brother to me; so I shall know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. I will grant your brother to you, and you may trade in the land.'”                                                                                                           

The brothers have been down this road once before: when they returned home without Joseph after selling him to the Ishmaelites. However this time is different, this time they are being truthful to their father about the fate of Simeon. Unlike the way they deceived their father, and hid the truth to him about Joseph. They were not honest men then, and in a sense they are still not fully honest with their father. In verse twenty one, the memory of how they treated Joseph long ago was resurfacing in their hearts and minds. With this in mind, it can only be haunting them even more so on their trip back from Egypt. You would think that out of the nine brothers, one of them would have the courage, and the conscience, to stop living a lie, and come clean with their father about Joseph when they returned home. But none did. They were silent on the matter (which is why I said earlier that they weren’t being fully honest with their father), “Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.” Joseph is a very wise man, and when he heard them confess their sin to one another about him, maybe he was hoping they would take that guilt back with them and finally confess to their father their sin. Maybe this is why Joseph changed his mind about how many would go back and return with Benjamin. And this could also be another explanation as to why he chose Simeon to stay behind (Knowing that he is an instigator and deceitful man), with him out of the picture, the brothers would be more apt to come clean with their father. But again they do not say a word about Joseph. Little do they know,  that one day it will come up and bite them in the butt! (John 8:32, 34).

35  Then it happened as they emptied their sacks, that surprisingly each man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.  v.27; 43:21, 22                                            36  And Jacob their father said to them,  “You have bereaved me: Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin. All these things are against me.”  43:14                                                                                               

Apparently only one brother discovered the money in his sack while they were on the road heading home. After discovering the money none of the other brothers went to see if they had money in their sack as well, Why? we don’t know, I will just leave it at that. By now they must be thinking to themselves that Simeon is dead” Jacob himself even says Simeon is no more, in the same context when speaking of Joseph’s fate. Jacob cannot bare the thought of sending Benjamin to Egypt thinking that it would be the last time he ever would see Benjamin, ALIVE! again.

37  Then Rueben spoke to his father, saying, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.”                                                                                                                                                 

Rueben (The eldest son), speaks up and offers up his own two sons life if he does not return with Benjamin. We must remember that it was Rueben who tried to save Joseph’s life when the other brothers wanted to kill him. Rueben is also the one who said to his brothers that Joseph’s blood is required of them because of what they did to him. The guilt that is consuming Rueben for the things he had done is eating him alive. even though he tried to keep his brothers from killing Joseph, and had no part in wanting to kill him, nor sell him off to the Ishmaelites, He feels guilty and ashamed for leaving Joseph in the pit, going away, and not taking Joseph with him. He also shares responsibility for deceiving his father in the cover up of what actually happened to Joseph. Ruben is just as guilty as the others and he knows it; so much so that he is willing to offer up his own two sons life if he does not return with Benjamin.

38  But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is left alone. If any calamity should befall him along the way in which you go, then you would bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.”  43:13, 14

All the pleading by Rueben does not convince Jacob to trust his sons. and decides not to send his them back to Egypt with Benjamin. Benjamin and Joseph are true brothers, born out of the womb of one woman (Rachel), The wife that Jacobs has always truly loved even though she is no longer alive. This is why Jacob states that Benjamin is alone. The other brothers were born from three different mothers, and therefore are only stepbrothers to Benjamin. It may even be that after Joseph’s death Benjamin becomes the son Jacob loves the most. After all the name Benjamin literally means “Son of the right hand (H1144), and this would turn the brothers jealousy of Joseph now to Benjamin. I personally think Jacob has never believed the story his sons told him about Joseph’s death. Knowing their jealousy of him, Jacob is fearful of what could happen to Benjamin if he was left to the demise of his other sons. When Joseph was presumed dead by Jacob, Jacob tore his clothes, his family tried to console him, yet he said to them, “For I will go down into the grave to my son mourning.” And his father wept for him.” (Gen. 37:35), Jacob has never gotten over the death of Joseph and still mourns his loss. Rachel has been gone for approximately thirty years now, after her death, the two sons she bore to him were his livelihood, the loves of his life (Not that he didn’t love his other sons), but Joseph and Benjamin he holds near and dear to his heart. Joseph is no more, if Benjamin were to die, Jacob himself would die, if not physically, mentally for sure. ” If any calamity should befall him along the way in which you go, then you would bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.” vs. 38  Jacob is pouring out his heart to his sons, and it is very telling of the affection he has for Benjamin and Joseph.