And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? — i.e. either reading the words as a question, Should I arrogate to myself what obviously belongs to Elohim, viz; the power and right of vengeance (Calvin, Kalisch, Murphy, 'Speaker's Commentary'), or the power to interfere with the purposes of God? (Keil, Rosenmüller); or, regarding them as an assertion, I am in God's stead, i.e. a minister to you for good (Wordsworth). read more
But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good (literally, and ye were thinking or meditating evil against me ; Elohim was thinking or meditating for good, i.e. that what you did should be for good), to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive ( vide Genesis 45:5 ). read more
Intended bane an unintentional boon. "Ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good." Joseph must have been deeply pained by the mistrust of his brethren. They implied that it was only out of consideration for his father that he had been kind to them. Yet Joseph had forgiven them. They could not so easily believe in the forgiveness; just as man now is forgiven by God, but he has the greatest difficulty in believing in the reconciliation. Joseph's brethren sent a messenger unto... read more
Now therefore (literally, and now) fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. Thus he repeats and confirms the promise which he had originally made to them when he invited them to come to Egypt ( Genesis 45:11 , Genesis 45:18 , Genesis 45:19 ). And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them —literally, to their hearts (cf. Genesis 34:3 ). read more
And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years. Wordsworth notices that Joshua, who superintended the burial of Joseph in Shechem, also lived 110 years. Joseph's death occurred fifty-six years after that of Jacob. read more
And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation:—i.e . Ephraim's great-grandchildren (Kalisch, Lange), or Ephraim's great-great-grandsons (Keil, Murphy), which perhaps was not impossible, since Ephraim must have been born before Joseph's thirty-seventh year, thus allowing at least sixty-three years for four generations to intervene before the patriarch's death, which might be, if marriage happened early, say not later than eighteen— the children also of Machir the son of... read more
And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God (Elohim) will surely visit you ,—literally, visiting will visit you, according to his promise ( Genesis 46:4 )— and bring you out of this land unto the land which he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, —as his father had done of him ( Genesis 47:31 ),— saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence . The writer to the Hebrews ( Genesis 11:22 )... read more
So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old (literally, a son of a hundred and ten years ) , and they ( i.e. the children of Israel) embalmed him ( vide on Genesis 50:2 ), and he was put in a coffin (or chest, i.e. a mummy case, which was commonly constructed of sycamore wood) in Egypt , where he remained for a period of 360 years, until the time of the Exodus, when, according to the engagement now given, his remains were carried up to Canaan, and solemnly... read more
The lessons of a life. Joseph's life remarkable for the variety of his experience, and for the consistency of his character through all. A man full of human sympathy, who also walked with God. Here the charm of his history. We can thoroughly enter into his feelings. In his boyhood, deservedly loved by his father, and on that very account hated by his brethren ( 1 John 3:13 ); in his unmerited sufferings; in his steadfast loyalty to God and to his master; in his exaltation, and the... read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 50:18
And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants . Both the attitudes assumed and the words spoken were designed to express the intensity of their contrition and the fervor of their supplication. read more