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Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Genesis 42:1-38

- Joseph and Ten of His Brethren1. שׁבר sheber, “fragment, crumb, hence, grain.” בר bar “pure,” “winnowed,” hence, “corn” (grain).6. שׁליט shallı̂yṭ, “ruler, governor, hence,” Sultan. Not elsewhere found in the Pentateuch.25. כלי kelı̂y, “vessel,” here any portable article in which grain may be conveyed. שׂק śaq, “sack,” the very word which remains in our language to this day. אמתחת 'amtachath “bag.”Twenty years, the period of Joseph’s long and anxious waiting, have come to an end. The dreams... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Genesis 42:1-38

Joseph and his brothers (42:1-45:28)When Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to buy grain, Joseph recognized them but they did not recognize him (42:1-8). Rather than make himself known to them immediately, Joseph decided to test them to see if they had experienced any change of heart over the years. Joseph was not looking for revenge. His apparently harsh treatment of them, mixed with kindness, was designed to stir their consciences. They realized they were being punished for their unjust... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 42:26-28

"And they laded their asses with their grain, and departed thence. And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the lodging-place, he espied his money; and, behold, it was in the mouth of his sack. And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored; and lo, it is even in my sack: and their heart failed them, and they turned trembling one to another saying, What is this that God hath done unto us?"The mention here of only one of the brothers finding his money, and later of... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 42:26

Genesis 42:26. They laded their asses— Some have inferred from this and the following verse, that they had only ten asses with them, an ass to each man: but the expression would lead one as much to believe, that they had only ten sacks, a sack on each ass, which would have been so small a quantity as would not have supplied their asses with provender during their journey into Canaan. It is most likely they had several other beasts of burden as well as servants in their train; and that they were... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Genesis 42:27

27. inn—a mere station for baiting beasts of burden. he espied his money—The discovery threw them into greater perplexity than ever. If they had been congratulating themselves on escaping from the ruthless governor, they perceived that now he would have a handle against them; and it is observable that they looked upon this as a judgment of heaven. Thus one leading design of Joseph was gained in their consciences being roused to a sense of guilt. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 42:25-28

Joseph restored his brothers’ money to them out of the goodness of his heart. His gracious act would satisfy their needs but also cause them to search their souls further as they contemplated the implications of their good fortune. When they first discovered the money in one of their sacks, they regarded what God was doing to them as divine punishment (Genesis 42:28). This is the first time in the story that the brothers mentioned God. Their aroused consciences saw God at work behind what they... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 42:1-38

The First Visit of Joseph’s Brethren to Egypt1. When Jacob saw] The caravans which travelled from Egypt to Syria would bring the news to Hebron. 3. Dr. Thomson, in ’The Land and the Book,’ says he has often met large parties with their donkeys going from Palestine to Egypt in time of drought for food. Jacob’s sons no doubt took servants with them and many asses.8. Joseph, now a middle-aged man, was dressed as an Egyptian, and spoke in Egyptian through an interpreter (Genesis 42:23). His... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Genesis 42:27

(27) In the inn.—Heb., lodging-place, literally, place to pass the night. It is quite possible that on a route frequented by numerous caravans there were places where a certain amount of protection for the beasts of burden and their attendants had been provided, either by the rulers, or by benevolent people. But Joseph’s brethren would find there at most only walls and water. “The one” who opened his sack is said by tradition to have been Levi. At the end of the verse this sack is called by... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Genesis 42:1-38

The Fear of God Genesis 42:18 No one could say this with more confidence than Joseph, all whose actions were evidently inspired and governed by genuine piety. He seems to have used this language as a pledge of honourable and just dealing with those who were completely within his power. I. What does the Fear of God Involve? ( a ) A conviction of God's existence. Without this man is little better than the brutes that perish, to whom an unseen and Superior Being remains unknown, through the... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Genesis 42:1-38

VISITS OF JOSEPH’S BRETHRENGenesis 42:1-38; Genesis 43:1-34; Genesis 44:1-34"Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good."- Genesis 50:19-20.THE purpose of God to bring Israel into Egypt was accomplished by the unconscious agency of Joseph’s natural affection for his kindred. Tenderness towards home is usually increased by residence in a foreign land; for absence, like a little death, sheds a halo round those separated from us.... read more

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