the Sixth Week after Easter
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Chinese Union (Simplified)
创世记 44:10
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管家說:“現在就照你們的話作吧,只是在誰那裡搜出來,誰就要作我的奴僕,其餘的人都沒有罪。”
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
he with whom: Genesis 44:17, Genesis 44:33, Exodus 22:3, Matthew 18:24, Matthew 18:25
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And he said, now also [let] it [be] according unto your words,.... Not according to the full extent of their words, but according to a part of them; that be only should be a servant that was found guilty; so moderating the punishment which they had fixed, and were willing to submit to, and therefore could not object to what he next proposes:
he with whom it is found shall be my servant; speaking in the name of Joseph, whom he represented, and who had directed him what to say:
and ye shall be blameless; acquitted of the charge, and pronounced innocent, and let go free.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
- The Ten Brothers Were Tested
Joseph has had the satisfaction of seeing his brother Benjamin safe and well. He has heard his brothers acknowledging their guilt concerning himself. He resolves to put their attachment to Benjamin, and the genuineness of their change of disposition, to a test that will at the same time expose Benjamin to no hazard.
Genesis 44:1-5
And my cup. - Besides returning each manâs money as before, a silver cup of Josephâs is put in Benjaminâs bag, after which, when daylight comes, they are dismissed. They are scarcely out of the town when Josephâs steward is ordered to overtake them, and charge them with stealing the cup. âAnd whereby indeed he divineth.â Divining by cups, we learn from this, was a common custom in Egypt (Herodotus ii. 83). It is here mentioned to enhance the value of the cup. Whether Joseph really practised any sort of divination cannot be determined from this passage.
Genesis 44:6-12
The cup is found in Benjaminâs bag. âSpake unto them these words.â The words of Joseph, supplying of course the mention of the cup which is expressed in the text only by the pronoun this. âWe brought back to thee.â Silver that we might have retained, and to which you made no claim when we tendered it, we brought back. How or why should we therefore, steal silver? âNow also according to your words let it be.â He adopts their terms with a mitigation. He with whom the cup is found shall become a slave for life, and the rest be acquitted. The steward searches from the oldest to the youngest. The cup is found where it was put.
Genesis 44:13-17
âThey rent their garments;â the natural token of a sorrow that knows no remedy. âAnd Judah went.â He had pledged himself for the safety of Benjamin to his father. And he was yet there; awaiting no doubt the result which he anticipated. âThey fell before him on the earth.â It is no longer a bending of the head or bowing of the body, but the posture of deepest humiliation. How deeply that early dream penetrated into the stern reality! âWot ye not that such a man as I doth certainly divine?â Joseph keeps up the show of resentment for a little longer, and brings out from Judah the most pathetic plea of its kind that ever was uttered. âThe God,â the great and only God, âhath found out the iniquity of thy servants;â in our dark and treacherous dealing with our brother. âBehold, we are servants to my lord.â He resigns himself and all to perpetual bondage, as the doom of a just God upon their still-remembered crime. âHe shall be my servant; and ye, go up in peace to your father.â Now is the test applied with the nicest adjustment. Now is the moment of agony and suspense to Joseph. Will my brothers prove true? says he within himself. Will Judah prove adequate to the occasion? say we. His pleading with his father augured well.
Verse 18-34
âAnd Judah came near unto him.â He is going to surrender himself as a slave for life, that Benjamin may go home with his brothers, who are permitted to depart. âLet thy servant now speak a word in the ears of my lord.â There is nothing here but respectful calmness of demeanor. âAnd let not thine anger burn against thy servant.â He intuitively feels that the grand vizier is a man of like feelings with himself. He will surmount the distinction of rank, and stand with him on the ground of a common humanity. âFor so art thou as Pharaoh.â Thou hast power to grant or withhold my request. This forms, the exordium of the speech. Then follows the plea. This consists in a simple statement of the facts, which Judah expects to have its native effect upon a rightly-constituted heart. We will not touch this statement, except to explain two or three expressions. A young lad - a comparative youth. âLet me set mine eyes upon himâ - regard him with favor and kindness. âHe shall leave his father and he shall die.â If he were to leave his father, his father would die. Such is the natural interpretation of these words, as the paternal affection is generally stronger than the filial. âAnd now let thy servant now abide instead of the lad a servant to my lord.â Such is the humble and earnest petition of Judah. He calmly and firmly sacrifices home, family, and birthright, rather than see an aged father die of a broken heart.