the Week of Proper 6 / Ordinary 11
free while helping to build churches and support pastors in Uganda.
Click here to learn more!
Read the Bible
American Standard Version
Genesis 43:20
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- AmericanEncyclopedias:
- CondensedParallel Translations
and said, "Oh, my lord, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:
And said, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:
And they said, "Please, my lord, we surely came down once before to buy food,
They said, "Master, we came here once before to buy food.
They said, "My lord, we did indeed come down the first time to buy food.
and said, "Oh, my lord, we indeed came down here the first time to buy food;
and said, "Oh, my lord, we indeed came down the first time to buy food,
And said, Oh syr, we came in deede down hither at the first time to bye foode,
and they said, "Oh, my lord, we indeed came down the first time to buy food,
"Sir, we came to Egypt once before to buy grain.
"Please, my lord, the first time we indeed came down to buy food;
and said, Ah! my lord, we came indeed down at the first to buy food.
They said, "Sir, I promise this is the truth. The last time we came, we came to buy food.
and said, "Oh, my lord, we came down the first time to buy food.
And said, We beseech you, O our lord, we truly came down at the first time to buy grain;
"If you please, sir, we came here once before to buy food.
They said, “My lord, we really did come down here the first time only to buy food.
And they said, Oh my lord, coming we came down to buy food.
and sayde: Syr, we came downe at the first to bye foode,
And said, O my lord, we only came down the first time to get food;
And sayde: oh sir, we came downe hyther at the fyrst tyme to bye foode.
and said: 'Oh my lord, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food.
And said, O Sir, we came indeed downe at the first time to buy food.
saying, We pray thee, Sir; we came down at first to buy food.
and said, Oh my lord, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:
"Please, sir," they said, "we really did come down here the first time to buy food.
Lord, we preien that thou here vs; we camen doun now bifore that we schulden bie metis;
and say, `O, my lord, we really come down at the commencement to buy food;
and said, Oh, my lord, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:
And said, O sir, we came down indeed at the first time to buy food:
and said, "Oh, my lord, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:
and said, "O sir, we indeed came down the first time to buy food;
"Sir," they said, "we came to Egypt once before to buy food.
They said, "O, my lord, we came here the first time to buy food.
They said, "Oh, my lord, we came down the first time to buy food;
and said, May it please my lord! We, did indeed come down, at the beginning to buy food.
They said: Sir, we desire thee to hear us. We came down once before to buy food:
and said, "Oh, my lord, we came down the first time to buy food;
and said, "Oh, my lord, we indeed came down the first time to buy food,
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
we came indeed down: Heb. coming down we came down, Genesis 43:3, Genesis 43:7, Genesis 42:3, Genesis 42:10, Genesis 42:27, Genesis 42:35
Reciprocal: Genesis 43:2 - General 1 Kings 3:17 - O my lord
Cross-References
And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy grain from Egypt.
And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.
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 it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack: and when they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were afraid.
And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.
And they said, The man asked straitly concerning ourselves, and concerning our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we in any wise know that he would say, Bring your brother down?
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And said, O sir,.... Or, "on me, my lord" a, one said in the name of the rest, perhaps Judah, on me let the blame lie, if guilty of rudeness in making our address to thee; or as the Vulgate Latin version, "we pray, sir, that thou wouldest hear us"; and so Jarchi and Aben Ezra say the phrase is expressive of beseeching, entreating, and supplicating:
we came indeed down at the first time to buy food; not to spy the land but to buy corn, and not to get it by fraud or tricking but by paying for it the price that was required.
a ×× ××× × "in me Domine mi", Montanus.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
- Joseph and His Eleven Brethren
11. ×××©× debash, âhoney,â from the bee, or sirup from the juice of the grape. ××× ×× boÌtÌ£en, âpistachio nuts.â ש××§× shaÌqeÌd, âalmond tree;â related: âawake.â The tree is also called ××Ö¼× luÌz. Some refer the former to the fruit, the latter to the tree.
The eleven brothers are now to bow down before Joseph.
Genesis 43:1-10
The famine was severe. The pressure began to be felt more and more. The twelve households had at length consumed all the corn they had purchased, and the famine still pressed heavily upon them. Jacob directs them to return. âAnd Judah said.â Reuben had offended, and could not come forward. Simon and Levi had also grieved their father by the treacherous slaughter of the Shekemites. Judah therefore, speaks. âIs your father yet alive?â âHave ye a brother?â These questions do not come out in the previous narrative, on account of its brevity. But how pointed they are, and how true to Josephâs yearnings! They explain how it was that these particulars came out in the replies of the brothers to Joseph. For the charge of being spies did not call for them in exculpation. Judah now uses all the arguments the case would admit of, to persuade his father to allow Benjamin to go with them. He closes with the emphatic sentence, If I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me have sinned against thee all my days; that is, let me bear the blame, and of course the penalty of having sinned against thee in so tender a point. Both Judah and his father knew that this was a matter that touched the interest of the former very deeply. Reuben was bearing the blame of a grievous sin, and had no hope of the birthright. Simon and Levi were also bearing blame, and, besides, had not the natural right, which belonged only to Reuben. Judah came next, and a failure in securing the safe return of Benjamin might set him also aside. He undertakes to run this risk.
Genesis 43:11-15
Jacob at length reluctantly sends Benjamin with them. He employs all means, as is usual with him, of securing a favorable result. âThe best of the landâ - the sung or celebrated products of the land. âA little honey.â Palestine abounded with bee honey. A sirup obtained by boiling down the juice of the grape was also called by the same name, and formed an article of commerce. âNuts.â These are supposed to be pistachio nuts, from the pistacia vera, a tree resembling the terebinth, a native of Anatolia, Syria, and Palestine. âAlmonds.â The almond tree buds or flowers earlier in the spring than other trees. It is a native of Palestine, Syria, and Persia. For the other products see Genesis 37:25. âOther silver;â not double silver, but a second sum for the new purchase. âGod Almightyâ - the Great Spirit, who can dispose the hearts of men as he pleases. Jacob looks up to heaven for a blessing, while he uses the means. âIf I am bereaved, I am bereaved.â This is the expression of acquiescence in whatever may be the will of Providence. âDouble silver,â - what was returned and what was to pay for a second supply of corn.
Genesis 43:16-18
The invitation into Josephâs house fills the brothers with alarm. âSaw with them Benjamin.â This was an unspeakable relief to Joseph, who was afraid that his full brother, also the favorite of his father, might have incurred the envy and persecution of the brothers. âBrought the men to Josephâs house.â This he eventually did, but not until after the conference between him and them took place. The men were afraid of a plot to rob them of their liberty and property.
Genesis 43:19-25
They are encouraged by the steward of Josephâs house to lay aside their fears, and prepare their present. âSpake to him at the door of the house.â This was, of course, before they entered. âWhen we came to the inn.â The relater is prone to lump matters in the narration, for the sake of brevity. They began to âopen their bagsâ at the first lodging-place, and finished the process at the last when they got home. Other silver. This explains the phrase âsecond silverâ in Genesis 43:12. âPeace be to you.â Be at rest. All is well. Your God. The steward of Joseph expresses himself as one who fears and trusts God, the God of the Hebrews, who had displayed his omniscience and omnipotence in Egypt. âHe brought out unto them Simon.â While they still linger at the entrance, the considerate steward bethought himself of bringing out Simon to them, which reassured their hearts, and induced them to enter willingly. He now succeeds therefore, in bringing them in, and then bestows upon them the usual attentions of Eastern hospitality. They now âmake ready their present.â
Genesis 43:26-34
They are now entertained by Joseph. They brought the present, and made a lowly obeisance before him. âThey bent the head.â See Genesis 24:26. âGod be gracious unto thee, my son.â His kind treatment of Benjamin, on whose presence he had so much insisted, was calculated to reassure the brothers. The latter was born in his thirteenth year, and therefore, he was entitled to assume the paternal style in regard to him. Joseph still appeals with a natural and unconstrained reverence to his own God. âAnd Joseph hastened away.â The little touch of tenderness he had involuntarily thrown into his address to Benjamin, is too much for his feelings, which yearn toward his brother, and he is obliged to retreat to his chamber to conceal his tears and compose his countenance. âThey set for him by himself.â As the governor, or as connected by affinity with the priestly caste, Joseph does not eat with the other Egyptians. The Egyptians cannot eat with the Hebrews. âThat is an abomination to the Mizrites.â For the Hebrews partook of the flesh of kine, both male and female.
But Herodotus informs us (ii. 41), that âmale kine, if clean, are used by the Egyptians, but the females they are not allowed to sacrifice, since they are sacred to Isis.â And he adds that âa native of Egypt will not kiss a Greek, use his knife, his spit, or his cauldron, or taste the flesh cut with a Greek knife.â They considered all foreigners unclean, and therefore, refused to eat with them (see Rawlinsonâs Herodotus on p. q.). They sat in his presence; arranged according to the order of their birth, to their great amazement. Egypt was to them a land of wonders, and Egyptâs sultan a man of wonder. âBenjaminâs mess.â The honored guest was distinguished by a larger or daintier portion of the fare (1 Samuel 9:23-24; Homer, ii. 7,321). A double portion was assigned to the Spartan kings. The fivefold division was prominent in Egyptian affairs Genesis 41:34; Genesis 45:22; Genesis 47:2, Genesis 47:24, Genesis 47:26. âAnd were merry.â They drank freely, so as to be exhilarated, because their cares were dissipated by the kindness they were receiving, the presence of Simon, and the attention paid to Benjamin.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Genesis 43:20. O sir, we came indeed - to buy food — There is a frankness now in the conduct of Joseph's brethren that did not exist before; they simply and honestly relate the whole circumstance of the money being found in their sacks on their return from their last journey. Afflictions from the hand of God, and under his direction, have a wonderful tendency to humble the soul. Did men know how gracious his designs are in sending such, no murmur would ever be heard against the dispensations of Divine Providence.
