†. Gen 43:1-7 . . But the famine in the land was severe. And when
they had eaten up the rations which they had brought from Egypt,
their father said to them: Go again and procure some food for us.
. . . But Judah said to him: The man warned us "Do not let me see
your faces unless your brother is with you". If you will let our
brother go with us, we will go down and procure food for you; but if
you will not let him go, we will not go down, for the man said to us
"Do not let me see your faces unless your brother is with you".
. . . And Israel said: Why did you serve me so ill as to tell the man
that you had another brother? They replied: But the man kept asking
about us and our family, saying "Is your father still living? Have you
another brother?" And we answered him accordingly. How were we
to know that he would say bring your brother here?
Judah is direct, and right to the point. If Jacob doesn't let the brothers take
Benjamin with them on the next trip, then the family is certain to go without
food. It's just that simple, and there's no use in sugar coating it.
†. Gen 43:8-10 . . Then Judah said to his father Israel: Send the boy
in my care, and let us be on our way, that we may live and not die--
you and we and our children. I myself will be surety for him; you
may hold me responsible; if I do not bring him back to you and set
him before you, I shall stand guilty before you forever. For we could
have been there and back twice if we had not dawdled.
At this point, the number of kin for whom Jacob was directly responsible to
provide numbered well over 70, upwards of 100, because the list in chapter
46 doesn't include his sons' wives, nor any of the wives of his grandsons.
Truly, if Jacob wasn't careful, he would cause the loss of his entire clan in
the interest of saving just one. Since the whole clan was now in mortal
danger, they really had nothing to lose by risking Benjamin's life. He would
die anyway from hunger; so why not have him die trying to obtain some
additional grain from Egypt? It was an acceptable risk given the
circumstances.
During all this discussion, the Egyptian big shot is only referred to as "the
man" which means Joseph didn't tell the brothers his official Egyptian name
Zaphenath-paneah; and they couldn't have gotten it off their grain permits
because Joseph signed all government documents with that signet gadget
given to him by Pharaoh back in chapter 41.
†. Gen 43:11a . .Then their father Israel said to them: If it must be
so
There's no ifs about it. This is one of those circumstances in life that's a
must; not an if. It's like the miraculous birth that Jesus talked about in John
3:3-8. That birth is not an option; no, it's a "must" for everybody, because
nobody-- no exceptions, not even for Joseph --is going into the kingdom of
God without one.
†. John 3:3 . . I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless
he is born from above.
†. John 3:6 . .You should not be surprised at my saying you must be born
again.
†. Gen 43:11b-14 . . do this: take some of the strength of the land in
your baggage, and carry them down as a gift for the man-- some
balm and some honey, labdanum, pistachio nuts, and almonds. And
take with you double the silver, carrying back with you the silver
that was replaced in the mouths of your bags; perhaps it was a
mistake. Take your brother too; and go back at once to the man. And
may El Shaddai dispose the man to mercy toward you, that he may
release to you your other brother, as well as Benjamin. As for me, if
I am to be bereaved, I shall be bereaved.
The "choice" fruits would have to be limited to produce that doesn't spoil
easily since it was probably three weeks travel time via burro.
Balm was a good gift, since it was a trade item (Gen 37:25) and a valuable
first aid treatment.
Labdanum is a soft dark fragrant bitter oleoresin derived from various
rockroses (genus Cistus) and used in making perfumes. Another trade item.
Before the advent of processed sugar and artificial sweeteners, honey was a
lot more popular than it is now. There is no Hebrew word for sugar in the
entire Old Testament. A little-known fact about natural honey is its medicinal
value. Honey fights bacteria in wounds in several ways, including the steady
production of hydrogen peroxide, an antiseptic. One type of honey-- Manuka
--is especially effective.
Honey was valued in the old world; as evidenced by it being one of the
nouns to describe the qualities of the promised land (Ex 3:8). The Hebrew
word for honey-- debash (deb-ash') --is a bit ambiguous. It can mean the
kind of organic goo produced in nature by bees and/or can indicate a thick,
intensely sweet syrup produced from dates and grape juice; which Arabs call
dibs. In this story, either one would have been as good as the other since
neither were easy to obtain.
I would think that honey-bee honey would be the more prized since there's
been found no evidence of scientific agriculture in the Palestine of that day.
Any honey gathered would have to be found by first searching for it in the
wild, and then braving its angry owners in order to collect it. (cf. 1Sam
14:24-27)
The almonds, honey, and pistachios were just treats; but the other items,
given by a man, to a man, were about the equivalent of giving a girl jewelry.
They weren't cheap. And considering the austere conditions in the land
caused by the intense drought, anything edible would certainly be
appreciated far more than normal.
Jacob knew God as yhvh as well as by His name El Shaddai (Gen 27:20, Gen
28:13) but in this instance he depends upon God as El Shaddai; the God of
Abraham's covenant (Gen 17:1-2, Gen 35:10-12) the god powerful enough
to control nature and make the impossible happen. (cf. Eph 3:20)
FYI : I'm not sure just how well-informed the ancients were about the
nutritional benefits of almonds; but they are an excellent source of natural
riboflavin (B2).
†. Gen 43:15-18a . . So the men took that gift, and they took with
them double the money; as well as Benjamin. They made their way
down to Egypt, where they reported to Joseph.
. . .When Joseph saw Benjamin with them; he said to his house
steward: Take the men into the house; slaughter and prepare an
animal, for the men will dine with me at noon. The man did as
Joseph said, and he brought the men into Joseph's house.
It's highly unlikely Joseph recognized Benjamin since he was just a little boy
when big brother went off to Egypt. At this point, Benjamin is much older--
over 21 --and likely much older than that since, at this point, Joseph had
already been in Egypt for at least that long. Later, Joseph will interrogate his
elder brothers to make sure they actually brought him.
†. Gen 43:18b . . But the men were frightened at being brought into
Joseph's house.
They had good reason to be frightened. It was common for Egyptian big
shots to have dungeons under their homes where they kept their own
private little penal colony.
Cont.
/
they had eaten up the rations which they had brought from Egypt,
their father said to them: Go again and procure some food for us.
. . . But Judah said to him: The man warned us "Do not let me see
your faces unless your brother is with you". If you will let our
brother go with us, we will go down and procure food for you; but if
you will not let him go, we will not go down, for the man said to us
"Do not let me see your faces unless your brother is with you".
. . . And Israel said: Why did you serve me so ill as to tell the man
that you had another brother? They replied: But the man kept asking
about us and our family, saying "Is your father still living? Have you
another brother?" And we answered him accordingly. How were we
to know that he would say bring your brother here?
Judah is direct, and right to the point. If Jacob doesn't let the brothers take
Benjamin with them on the next trip, then the family is certain to go without
food. It's just that simple, and there's no use in sugar coating it.
†. Gen 43:8-10 . . Then Judah said to his father Israel: Send the boy
in my care, and let us be on our way, that we may live and not die--
you and we and our children. I myself will be surety for him; you
may hold me responsible; if I do not bring him back to you and set
him before you, I shall stand guilty before you forever. For we could
have been there and back twice if we had not dawdled.
At this point, the number of kin for whom Jacob was directly responsible to
provide numbered well over 70, upwards of 100, because the list in chapter
46 doesn't include his sons' wives, nor any of the wives of his grandsons.
Truly, if Jacob wasn't careful, he would cause the loss of his entire clan in
the interest of saving just one. Since the whole clan was now in mortal
danger, they really had nothing to lose by risking Benjamin's life. He would
die anyway from hunger; so why not have him die trying to obtain some
additional grain from Egypt? It was an acceptable risk given the
circumstances.
During all this discussion, the Egyptian big shot is only referred to as "the
man" which means Joseph didn't tell the brothers his official Egyptian name
Zaphenath-paneah; and they couldn't have gotten it off their grain permits
because Joseph signed all government documents with that signet gadget
given to him by Pharaoh back in chapter 41.
†. Gen 43:11a . .Then their father Israel said to them: If it must be
so
There's no ifs about it. This is one of those circumstances in life that's a
must; not an if. It's like the miraculous birth that Jesus talked about in John
3:3-8. That birth is not an option; no, it's a "must" for everybody, because
nobody-- no exceptions, not even for Joseph --is going into the kingdom of
God without one.
†. John 3:3 . . I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless
he is born from above.
†. John 3:6 . .You should not be surprised at my saying you must be born
again.
†. Gen 43:11b-14 . . do this: take some of the strength of the land in
your baggage, and carry them down as a gift for the man-- some
balm and some honey, labdanum, pistachio nuts, and almonds. And
take with you double the silver, carrying back with you the silver
that was replaced in the mouths of your bags; perhaps it was a
mistake. Take your brother too; and go back at once to the man. And
may El Shaddai dispose the man to mercy toward you, that he may
release to you your other brother, as well as Benjamin. As for me, if
I am to be bereaved, I shall be bereaved.
The "choice" fruits would have to be limited to produce that doesn't spoil
easily since it was probably three weeks travel time via burro.
Balm was a good gift, since it was a trade item (Gen 37:25) and a valuable
first aid treatment.
Labdanum is a soft dark fragrant bitter oleoresin derived from various
rockroses (genus Cistus) and used in making perfumes. Another trade item.
Before the advent of processed sugar and artificial sweeteners, honey was a
lot more popular than it is now. There is no Hebrew word for sugar in the
entire Old Testament. A little-known fact about natural honey is its medicinal
value. Honey fights bacteria in wounds in several ways, including the steady
production of hydrogen peroxide, an antiseptic. One type of honey-- Manuka
--is especially effective.
Honey was valued in the old world; as evidenced by it being one of the
nouns to describe the qualities of the promised land (Ex 3:8). The Hebrew
word for honey-- debash (deb-ash') --is a bit ambiguous. It can mean the
kind of organic goo produced in nature by bees and/or can indicate a thick,
intensely sweet syrup produced from dates and grape juice; which Arabs call
dibs. In this story, either one would have been as good as the other since
neither were easy to obtain.
I would think that honey-bee honey would be the more prized since there's
been found no evidence of scientific agriculture in the Palestine of that day.
Any honey gathered would have to be found by first searching for it in the
wild, and then braving its angry owners in order to collect it. (cf. 1Sam
14:24-27)
The almonds, honey, and pistachios were just treats; but the other items,
given by a man, to a man, were about the equivalent of giving a girl jewelry.
They weren't cheap. And considering the austere conditions in the land
caused by the intense drought, anything edible would certainly be
appreciated far more than normal.
Jacob knew God as yhvh as well as by His name El Shaddai (Gen 27:20, Gen
28:13) but in this instance he depends upon God as El Shaddai; the God of
Abraham's covenant (Gen 17:1-2, Gen 35:10-12) the god powerful enough
to control nature and make the impossible happen. (cf. Eph 3:20)
FYI : I'm not sure just how well-informed the ancients were about the
nutritional benefits of almonds; but they are an excellent source of natural
riboflavin (B2).
†. Gen 43:15-18a . . So the men took that gift, and they took with
them double the money; as well as Benjamin. They made their way
down to Egypt, where they reported to Joseph.
. . .When Joseph saw Benjamin with them; he said to his house
steward: Take the men into the house; slaughter and prepare an
animal, for the men will dine with me at noon. The man did as
Joseph said, and he brought the men into Joseph's house.
It's highly unlikely Joseph recognized Benjamin since he was just a little boy
when big brother went off to Egypt. At this point, Benjamin is much older--
over 21 --and likely much older than that since, at this point, Joseph had
already been in Egypt for at least that long. Later, Joseph will interrogate his
elder brothers to make sure they actually brought him.
†. Gen 43:18b . . But the men were frightened at being brought into
Joseph's house.
They had good reason to be frightened. It was common for Egyptian big
shots to have dungeons under their homes where they kept their own
private little penal colony.
Cont.
/
