Genesis 43:17

Christian Standard Bible ®

The man did as Joseph had said and brought them to Joseph’s house.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
The man did as Yosef commanded, and the man brought the men to Yosef's house.

King James Version
And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph's house.

Lexham English Bible
And the man did as Joseph had said, and the man brought the men into the house of Joseph.

New Century Version
The servant did as Joseph told him and brought the men to Joseph's house.

New English Translation
The man did just as Joseph said; he brought the men into Joseph's house.

Amplified Bible
So the man did as Joseph said, and brought the men to Joseph's house.

New American Standard Bible
So the man did as Joseph said, and brought the men to Joseph's house.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And the man did as Ioseph bad, & brought the men vnto Iosephs house.

Legacy Standard Bible
So the man did as Joseph said and brought the men to Joseph's house.

Contemporary English Version
The servant did as he was told and took the brothers to Joseph's house.

Complete Jewish Bible
The man did as Yosef ordered and brought the men into Yosef's house.

Darby Translation
And the man did as Joseph had said; and the man brought the men into Joseph's house.

Easy-to-Read Version
The servant did as he was told. He brought the men into Joseph's house.

English Standard Version
The man did as Joseph told him and brought the men to Joseph's house.

George Lamsa Translation
And the servant did as Joseph had told him; and brought the men into Josephs house.

Good News Translation
The servant did as he was commanded and took the brothers to Joseph's house.

Literal Translation
And the man did as Joseph said. And the man brought the men into Joseph's house.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the man dyd as Ioseph bad him, & brought the men in to Iosephs house.

American Standard Version
And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men to Joseph's house.

Bible in Basic English
And the servant did as Joseph said, and took the men into Joseph's house.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the man did as Ioseph bad, and brought them into Iosephes house.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph's house.

King James Version (1611)
And the man did as Ioseph hade: and the man brought the men into Iosephs house.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the man did as Joseph said; and he brought the men into the house of Joseph.

English Revised Version
And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph's house.

Berean Standard Bible
The man did as Joseph had commanded and took the brothers to Joseph's house.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
He dide as it was comaundid, and ledde the men in to the hows;

Young's Literal Translation
And the man doth as Joseph hath said, and the man bringeth in the men into the house of Joseph,

Update Bible Version
And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men to Joseph's house.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the man did as Joseph commanded: and the man brought the men into Joseph's house.

World English Bible
The man did as Joseph commanded, and the man brought the men to Joseph's house.

New King James Version
Then the man did as Joseph ordered, and the man brought the men into Joseph's house.

New Living Translation
So the man did as Joseph told him and took them into Joseph's palace.

New Life Bible
So the man did what Joseph said, and brought the men to Joseph's house.

New Revised Standard
The man did as Joseph said, and brought the men to Joseph's house.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
So the men did as Joseph had said, and the man brought the men into Joseph's house,

Douay-Rheims Bible
He did as he was commanded, and brought the men into the house.

Revised Standard Version
The man did as Joseph bade him, and brought the men to Joseph's house.

THE MESSAGE
The steward did what Joseph had said and took them inside. But they became anxious when they were brought into Joseph's home, thinking, "It's the money; he thinks we ran off with the money on our first trip down here. And now he's got us where he wants us—he's going to turn us into slaves and confiscate our donkeys."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
So the man did as Joseph said, and brought the men to Joseph's house.

Contextual Overview

¹⁵The men took this gift, double the amount of silver, and Benjamin. They immediately went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph. ¹⁶When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to his steward, “Take the men to my house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, for they will eat with me at noon.” ¹⁷The man did as Joseph had said and brought them to Joseph’s house.¹⁸But the men were afraid because they were taken to Joseph’s house. They said, “We have been brought here because of the silver that was returned in our bags the first time. They intend to overpower us, seize us, make us slaves, and take our donkeys.” ¹⁹So they approached Joseph’s steward and spoke to him at the doorway of the house. ²⁰They said, “My lord, we really did come down here the first time only to buy food. ²¹When we came to the place where we lodged for the night and opened our bags of grain, each one’s silver was at the top of his bag! It was the full amount of our silver, and we have brought it back with us. ²²We have brought additional silver with us to buy food. We don’t know who put our silver in the bags.” ²³Then the steward said, “May you be well. Don’t be afraid. Your God and the God of your father must have put treasure in your bags. I received your silver.” Then he brought Simeon out to them. ²⁴The steward brought the men into Joseph’s house, gave them water to wash their feet, and got feed for their donkeys.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the man did as Joseph bade: and the man brought the men into Joseph's house. Showed them the way to it, and introduced them into it, and led them into some apartment in it, and ordered every thing to be got ready for dinner as his master had bid him, being a diligent and faithful servant: at old Cair is shown to travellers y the house of Joseph in the tower, and a very surprising well, said to be made by him, and here, they say; the granaries were, in which the corn was laid up.

y Radzivil, Thevenot, Le Brun & Lucas apud Jablonski de Terra Goshen, Dissert. 5. sect. 6.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

- Joseph and His Eleven Brethren

11. דבשׁ d^ebash, “honey,” from the bee, or sirup from the juice of the grape. בטנים bôṭ^en, “pistachio nuts.” שׁקד shâqêd, “almond tree;” related: “awake.” The tree is also called לוּז lûz. 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. “And Judah said.” 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. “Is your father yet alive?” “Have ye a brother?” These questions do not come out in the previous narrative, on account of its brevity. But how pointed they are, and how true to Joseph’s 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. “The best of the land” - the sung or celebrated products of the land. “A little honey.” 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. “Nuts.” These are supposed to be pistachio nuts, from the pistacia vera, a tree resembling the terebinth, a native of Anatolia, Syria, and Palestine. “Almonds.” 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. “Other silver;” not double silver, but a second sum for the new purchase. “God Almighty” - 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. “If I am bereaved, I am bereaved.” This is the expression of acquiescence in whatever may be the will of Providence. “Double silver,” - what was returned and what was to pay for a second supply of corn.

Genesis 43:16-18

The invitation into Joseph’s house fills the brothers with alarm. “Saw with them Benjamin.” 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. “Brought the men to Joseph’s house.” 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 Joseph’s house to lay aside their fears, and prepare their present. “Spake to him at the door of the house.” This was, of course, before they entered. “When we came to the inn.” The relater is prone to lump matters in the narration, for the sake of brevity. They began to “open their bags” at the first lodging-place, and finished the process at the last when they got home. Other silver. This explains the phrase “second silver” in Genesis 43:12. “Peace be to you.” 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. “He brought out unto them Simon.” 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 “make ready their present.”

Genesis 43:26-34

They are now entertained by Joseph. They brought the present, and made a lowly obeisance before him. “They bent the head.” See Genesis 24:26. “God be gracious unto thee, my son.” 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. “And Joseph hastened away.” 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. “They set for him by himself.” 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. “That is an abomination to the Mizrites.” For the Hebrews partook of the flesh of kine, both male and female.

But Herodotus informs us (ii. 41), that “male kine, if clean, are used by the Egyptians, but the females they are not allowed to sacrifice, since they are sacred to Isis.” And he adds that “a 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.” They considered all foreigners unclean, and therefore, refused to eat with them (see Rawlinson’s 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 Egypt’s sultan a man of wonder. “Benjamin’s mess.” 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. “And were merry.” 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.