†. Gen 42:15-17 . . By this you shall be put to the test: unless your
youngest brother comes here, by Pharaoh, you shall not depart from
this place! Let one of you go and bring your brother, while the rest of
you remain confined, that your words may be put to the test
whether there is truth in you. Else, by Pharaoh, you are nothing but
spies! And he confined them in the guardhouse for three days.
During those three days the brothers must have felt like they were in a
purgatory as they endured unbearable anxiety while conferring amongst
themselves about their current state of affairs. They were no doubt positive
that Jacob would never allow his favorite little boy to be taken down to
Egypt where this obtuse Egyptian big shot just might lock him up with the
others so that in the end, all surviving eleven of Jacob's sons would never be
seen again.
†. Gen 42:18-20a . . On the third day Joseph said to them: Do this
and you shall live, for I am a God-fearing man. If you are honest
men, let one of your brothers be held in your place of detention,
while the rest of you go and take home rations for your starving
households; but you must bring me your youngest brother, that
your words may be verified and that you may not die.
This reversal of terms couldn't have done anything other than to reinforce
the brothers' fears that not only was this Egyptian big shot obtuse, but also
unpredictable.
Turning loose nine of the ten men would be dumb because, militarily,
sacrificing one to save nine is an acceptable loss. Joseph's excuse for this
obvious military blunder is that he's a "God-fearing" man; viz: just in case
their story is true, he didn't want to be responsible for the starvation of
innocent families.
Joseph had the advantage of knowing far more about their family than they
dreamed. As it turned out, Jacob would have gladly sacrificed the brother
who will be chosen to remain behind in order to protect Benjamin, except
that to not return, meant certain starvation; and no doubt Joseph easily
foresaw Jacob's dilemma in that matter. He really had them in a catch-22.
†. Gen 42:20b . . And they did accordingly.
The men agreed to Joseph's terms, but not without going around the room
about it first. These guys are dumber than a stack of bricks. They discussed
their current predicament, and their consciences, all within Joseph's hearing.
(Never assume foreigners don't know your language just because they
aren't speaking it.)
†. Gen 42:21-23 . .They said to one another: Alas, we are being
punished on account of our brother, because we looked on at his
anguish, yet paid no heed as he pleaded with us. That is why this
distress has come upon us. Then Reuben spoke up and said to them:
Did I not tell you, do no wrong to the boy? But you paid no heed.
Now comes the reckoning for his blood. They did not know that
Joseph understood, for there was an interpreter between him and
them.
Apparently the interpreter had been either dismissed and/or sent on an
errand and left Joseph guarding the men by himself while they deliberated
amongst themselves.
Isn't it interesting that those men carried the guilt of their treatment of
Joseph all those 21 years that he was away from home? This probably
wasn't the first time they blamed their bad luck on Joseph. Probably every
time one of them hit his thumb with a hammer, or bumped his head on a
shelf, he thought of Joseph. Those men's minds hadn't enjoyed a moments
peace since the day the slave traders carted their kid brother off to the big
unknown in Egypt. At night, when the demons come, their minds would once
and again, for the Nth time, rehearse his awful wailing and begging down in
that hole, and see the pain on his face, a pain that was burned into their
memories like a rancher's cattle brand. No doubt those poor guys all
suffered from recurring nightmares about the incident too.
All those 21 years, Jacob hadn't stopped grieving for Joseph; so that every
morning, those guys were treated to the sight of their father all blue and
depressed at the loss of his favorite boy. Those poor guys. It was impossible
to forget Joseph with their dad moping around all the time in a sorrowful
state to remind them.
†. Gen 42:24a . . He turned away from them and wept.
Genesis offers no explanation whatsoever for Joseph's weeping; and I half
suspect it's because unless somebody has actually themselves lived through
an experience similar to his, then there is just no way even the brightest of
Bible students can fully relate to what Joseph was feeling at that moment no
matter how skillfully the best writers on earth tried to explain it. His weeping
wasn't a matter of the mind; no, it was a matter of the heart; and
oftentimes those kinds of matters can't be put into words by the very people
themselves who are awash with those kinds of emotions.
Joseph certainly had no good reason to feel any particular bonding with his
brothers. If anything, he should be feeling totally disconnected from them.
They were never his friends, and not once did anything good by him; the
rather, he was disowned in his own home by the very people who by all
rights should have loved and supported him the most. Although Joseph grew
up with big brothers, he didn't, if you know what I mean. His only trusty
companions at home were his dad Jacob, and his kid brother Benjamin; and
it seems clear to me that it's for their sakes alone that he's tolerating these
ten felons for even another minute. It must have taken a Herculean effort on
Joseph's part to restrain his natural impulses to order their bodies
immediately gibbeted and set out for the vultures.
†. Gen 42:24b . . Returning, he talked some more with them. He then
chose Simeon from among them and had him shackled in their sight.
Simeon was next in the line of seniority of the ten brothers (Gen 29:31-33).
Since Rueben had shown some good colors back at the pit in chapter 37, the
lot fell to Simeon; and it was a good choice since he and his brother Levi had
so far shown themselves to be the cruelest among the brothers in the matter
of Dinah back in chapter 34. Let's just give Simeon a taste of mortal fear for
a change and see how he likes it.
Later, at home, neither Jacob nor the others will seem overly concerned that
Simeon was selected to be detained, and the total focus will be upon
Benjamin's safety rather than upon Simeon's rescue; in fact, Jacob will write
him off as dead. Apparently, Simeon wasn't all that appreciated by his own
family: and no wonder with that savage nature of his. They were probably
all, including Jacob, relieved to be rid of his company. Joseph's own lack of
popularity among his elder brothers was a natural friction stemming from old
fashioned sibling rivalry. But Simeon was just plain mean; while Joseph was
likely a pleasant sort of guy and easy to get along with. Difficult people
shouldn't be surprised when others around them spit on their graves.
Cont.
/
youngest brother comes here, by Pharaoh, you shall not depart from
this place! Let one of you go and bring your brother, while the rest of
you remain confined, that your words may be put to the test
whether there is truth in you. Else, by Pharaoh, you are nothing but
spies! And he confined them in the guardhouse for three days.
During those three days the brothers must have felt like they were in a
purgatory as they endured unbearable anxiety while conferring amongst
themselves about their current state of affairs. They were no doubt positive
that Jacob would never allow his favorite little boy to be taken down to
Egypt where this obtuse Egyptian big shot just might lock him up with the
others so that in the end, all surviving eleven of Jacob's sons would never be
seen again.
†. Gen 42:18-20a . . On the third day Joseph said to them: Do this
and you shall live, for I am a God-fearing man. If you are honest
men, let one of your brothers be held in your place of detention,
while the rest of you go and take home rations for your starving
households; but you must bring me your youngest brother, that
your words may be verified and that you may not die.
This reversal of terms couldn't have done anything other than to reinforce
the brothers' fears that not only was this Egyptian big shot obtuse, but also
unpredictable.
Turning loose nine of the ten men would be dumb because, militarily,
sacrificing one to save nine is an acceptable loss. Joseph's excuse for this
obvious military blunder is that he's a "God-fearing" man; viz: just in case
their story is true, he didn't want to be responsible for the starvation of
innocent families.
Joseph had the advantage of knowing far more about their family than they
dreamed. As it turned out, Jacob would have gladly sacrificed the brother
who will be chosen to remain behind in order to protect Benjamin, except
that to not return, meant certain starvation; and no doubt Joseph easily
foresaw Jacob's dilemma in that matter. He really had them in a catch-22.
†. Gen 42:20b . . And they did accordingly.
The men agreed to Joseph's terms, but not without going around the room
about it first. These guys are dumber than a stack of bricks. They discussed
their current predicament, and their consciences, all within Joseph's hearing.
(Never assume foreigners don't know your language just because they
aren't speaking it.)
†. Gen 42:21-23 . .They said to one another: Alas, we are being
punished on account of our brother, because we looked on at his
anguish, yet paid no heed as he pleaded with us. That is why this
distress has come upon us. Then Reuben spoke up and said to them:
Did I not tell you, do no wrong to the boy? But you paid no heed.
Now comes the reckoning for his blood. They did not know that
Joseph understood, for there was an interpreter between him and
them.
Apparently the interpreter had been either dismissed and/or sent on an
errand and left Joseph guarding the men by himself while they deliberated
amongst themselves.
Isn't it interesting that those men carried the guilt of their treatment of
Joseph all those 21 years that he was away from home? This probably
wasn't the first time they blamed their bad luck on Joseph. Probably every
time one of them hit his thumb with a hammer, or bumped his head on a
shelf, he thought of Joseph. Those men's minds hadn't enjoyed a moments
peace since the day the slave traders carted their kid brother off to the big
unknown in Egypt. At night, when the demons come, their minds would once
and again, for the Nth time, rehearse his awful wailing and begging down in
that hole, and see the pain on his face, a pain that was burned into their
memories like a rancher's cattle brand. No doubt those poor guys all
suffered from recurring nightmares about the incident too.
All those 21 years, Jacob hadn't stopped grieving for Joseph; so that every
morning, those guys were treated to the sight of their father all blue and
depressed at the loss of his favorite boy. Those poor guys. It was impossible
to forget Joseph with their dad moping around all the time in a sorrowful
state to remind them.
†. Gen 42:24a . . He turned away from them and wept.
Genesis offers no explanation whatsoever for Joseph's weeping; and I half
suspect it's because unless somebody has actually themselves lived through
an experience similar to his, then there is just no way even the brightest of
Bible students can fully relate to what Joseph was feeling at that moment no
matter how skillfully the best writers on earth tried to explain it. His weeping
wasn't a matter of the mind; no, it was a matter of the heart; and
oftentimes those kinds of matters can't be put into words by the very people
themselves who are awash with those kinds of emotions.
Joseph certainly had no good reason to feel any particular bonding with his
brothers. If anything, he should be feeling totally disconnected from them.
They were never his friends, and not once did anything good by him; the
rather, he was disowned in his own home by the very people who by all
rights should have loved and supported him the most. Although Joseph grew
up with big brothers, he didn't, if you know what I mean. His only trusty
companions at home were his dad Jacob, and his kid brother Benjamin; and
it seems clear to me that it's for their sakes alone that he's tolerating these
ten felons for even another minute. It must have taken a Herculean effort on
Joseph's part to restrain his natural impulses to order their bodies
immediately gibbeted and set out for the vultures.
†. Gen 42:24b . . Returning, he talked some more with them. He then
chose Simeon from among them and had him shackled in their sight.
Simeon was next in the line of seniority of the ten brothers (Gen 29:31-33).
Since Rueben had shown some good colors back at the pit in chapter 37, the
lot fell to Simeon; and it was a good choice since he and his brother Levi had
so far shown themselves to be the cruelest among the brothers in the matter
of Dinah back in chapter 34. Let's just give Simeon a taste of mortal fear for
a change and see how he likes it.
Later, at home, neither Jacob nor the others will seem overly concerned that
Simeon was selected to be detained, and the total focus will be upon
Benjamin's safety rather than upon Simeon's rescue; in fact, Jacob will write
him off as dead. Apparently, Simeon wasn't all that appreciated by his own
family: and no wonder with that savage nature of his. They were probably
all, including Jacob, relieved to be rid of his company. Joseph's own lack of
popularity among his elder brothers was a natural friction stemming from old
fashioned sibling rivalry. But Simeon was just plain mean; while Joseph was
likely a pleasant sort of guy and easy to get along with. Difficult people
shouldn't be surprised when others around them spit on their graves.
Cont.
/
