MPV Commentary

1. When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he realized it through common rumor. His own family and those of his sons had suffered greatly from the scarcity, and as the famine worsened, even men who had previously shown initiative and spirit were becoming despondent. God would not intervene miraculously when natural means of preservation were available.

5. The famine was also affecting the land of Canaan, where the tropical rains that swell the Nile are also experienced. As a result, numerous caravans from Canaan poured over the desert to Egypt in search of grain, including "the sons of Israel," who were compelled to undertake a journey they strongly disliked due to painful associations.

6. Joseph was now the governor, at the height of his power and influence. He directed the sales of grain, as it would be impossible for him to attend every location personally. It is likely that he personally supervised the storehouses near the Canaan border because that area was most exposed and he anticipated receiving messengers from his father's household.

7-8. When Joseph's brothers arrived and bowed down before him, their prophetic dreams (Genesis 37:5-11) were being fulfilled, and the brutal treatment they had inflicted on Joseph had ultimately led to the very outcome they had sought to prevent (Isaiah 60:14; Revelation 3:9).

7, 8. Joseph recognized his brothers but they did not recognize him. This was not surprising, as he was a young boy when they parted ways, and now he wore official robes while they were in their usual attire.

9-10. Joseph spoke roughly to them, making himself appear strange, in order to elicit information about the state of his father's family and to bring his brothers to a sense of guilt for their past actions against him.

11-14. "You are spies," Joseph accused them, a common suspicion entertained towards strangers in Eastern countries even today. However, Joseph knew they were not spies, and he has been criticized for cruel dissimulation in imputing this character to them. Yet, as a ruler, he was acting on the principle of using parables or fictitious stories to promote a good end.

15. By the life of Pharaoh, Joseph swore an oath, a common practice in Western Asia where one would swear by the king's life. However, we are taught to regard such expressions as oaths (Matthew 5:34; James 5:12).

17-24. After three days of confinement, Joseph released his brothers, and they reflected on their past actions, recognizing God's retributive justice pursuing them in a foreign land.

24. He took Simeon into custody, likely because he had been the chief instigator of the outrage against Joseph.

25-28. Joseph ordered that their sacks be filled with grain and that each man's money be returned. This private generosity was not an infringement on his duty as governor but rather a discretionary power he exercised to enrich the king's treasury.

27. At an inn, or a station for resting beasts of burden, one of Joseph's brothers discovered his money in their sack, which threw them into greater perplexity than ever before.

35. As they emptied their sacks, they found that each man's money was still present, indicating that they had been silent about the discovery at the previous stop to avoid blame from their father.

36. "You have bereaved us," one of the brothers exclaimed, showing how difficult it is for even a good person to submit to God's course without complaint.

37. Reuben offered to give his two sons as collateral if he did not bring Benjamin back to Joseph, a thoughtless and unwarrantable condition that Jacob would never seriously consider accepting.