EXPOSITION
Then (literally, and) Joseph could not refrain himself (i.e. keep himself from giving way to the impulses of love) before all them that stood by him (i.e. the Egyptian officials of his household); and he cried (or made proclamation, issued an instruction), Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. It was true delicacy on the part of Joseph which prompted the discovery of himself to his brethren in private; not simply because he did not wish to pain his brethren by a public reference to their past wickedness, ne facinus illud detestabile multis testibus innoteseat (Calvin), but because the unrestrained outburst of emotion erga fratres et parentem non posset ferre alienorum praesentiam et aspectum (Luther). And he wept aloud (literally, and he gave forth, or uttered, his voice in weeping): and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard. The meaning is that the Egyptian officials of Joseph's house, who were standing outside, heard, and reported it to the house of Pharaoh (Keil, Murphy). It is not necessary to suppose that Joseph's residence was so close to the palace that his voice was heard by the inmates (Lunge).
And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph. The effect of this announcement can be better imagined than described. Hitherto he had been known to his brethren as Zaphnath-paaneah. Now the voice and the appearance of their long-lost brother would rush upon their minds at the first sound of the familiar name, and fill them with apprehension. Probably Joseph's discernment of this in their countenances was the reason why he asked so abruptly after Jacob. Doth my father yet live? It is not now "the old man of whom ye spake" (Genesis 43:27) for whom Joseph inquires, but his own beloved and revered parent—"my father." "Before it was a question of courtesy, but now of love" (Alford). And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled (or cast into a trepidation, hence terrified) at his presence—literally, before his face. Not only did his present greatness overawe them, but the recollection of their former crimes against him filled them with alarm.
And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. It is probable they had instinctively shrunk from his presence on learning the astounding fact that he was Joseph, but felt reassured by the kindly tone of Joseph's words. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. It was impossible to evade allusion to their early wickedness, and this Joseph does in a spirit not of angry upbraiding, but of elevated piety and tender charity. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves (literally, let it not burn in your eyes, as in Genesis 31:35), that ye sold me hither (their self-recriminations and heart upbraidings for their former wickedness Joseph in all probability saw depicted in their faces): for God (Elohim) did send me before you to preserve life (literally, for the preservation of life). For these two years hath the famine been in the land (literally, in the midst of the land): and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earning nor harvest—literally, neither ploughing nor reaping, the term ploughing, or earing, charish (cf. ἄροσις, aratio, Anglo-Saxon, origin), being derived from a root signifying to cut. And God (Elohim, the use of which here and in Genesis 45:5 instead of Jehovah is sufficiently explained by remembering that Joseph simply desires to point out the overruling providence of God in his early transportation to Egypt) sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth (literally, to keep for you a remnant on the earth, i.e. to preserve the family from extinction through the famine), and to save your lives by a great deliverance—literally, to preserve life to you to a great deliverance, i.e. by a providential rescue (Rosenmüller, Kalisch, Murphy, 'Speaker's Commentary'), which is better than to a great nation or posterity, פְלֵיטָה being understood, as in 2Sa 15:14; 2 Kings 19:30, 2 Kings 19:31, to mean a remnant escaped from slaughter (Bohlen), an interpretation which Rosenmüller thinks admissible, but Kalisch disputes. So now (literally, and now) it was not you that sent me hither, but God—literally, for the Elohim (sent me). Joseph's brethren sent him to be a slave; God sent him to be a savior (Hughes). And he hath made me a father to Pharaoh,—i.e. a wise and confidential friend and counselor (Keil, Kalisch, 'Speaker's Commentary;' cf. 1 Macc. 11:32). Murphy explains the term as signifying "a second author of life," with obvious reference to the interpretation of his dreams and the measures adopted to provide against the famine—and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land Egypt (vide Genesis 41:40, Genesis 41:41). Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God (Elohim) hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not: and thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen. Goshen, Γεσὲμ Αραβίας (LXX.), was a region on the east of the Pelusiac branch of the Nile, extending as far as the wilderness of Arabia, a land of pastures (Genesis 46:34), exceedingly fertile (Genesis 47:6), styled also the land of Rameses (Genesis 47:11), and including the cities Pithon and Rameses (Exodus 1:11), and probably also On, or Heliopolis. And thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast: and there will I nourish thee (the verb is the Pilpel of כּול, to hold up, hence to sustain); for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty—literally, be robbed, from יָרַשׁ, to take possession (Keil), or fall into slavery, i.e. through poverty (Knobel, Lange). And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you. And ye shall tell my father of (literally, ye shall relate to my father) all my glory (cf. Genesis 31:1) in Egypt, and of all (literally, ail) that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither. Calvin thinks that Joseph would not have made such liberal promises to his brethren without having previously obtained Pharaoh's consent, nisi regis permissu; but this does not appear from the narrative.
And he (i.e. Joseph) fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck. "Benjamin is the central point whence leads out the way to reconciliation" (Langs). "Here brotherly affection is drawn out by affection, tear answering tear" (Hughes; cf. Genesis 33:4). Moreover he kissed all his brethren,—"the seal of recognition, of reconciliation, and of salutation" (Lange)—and wept upon them. It has been thought that Benjamin stood when Joseph embraced him, and that the two wept upon each other's neck, but that the brethren bowed themselves at Joseph's feet, causing the expression to be, "and he wept upon them" (Lange). And after that his brethren talked with him—feeling themselves reassured by such demonstrations of affection.
HOMILETICS
Joseph's discovery of himself to his brethren.
I. THE ANNOUNCEMENT. "I am Joseph, whom ye sold into Egypt."
1. How it was made.
(1) In privacy. "There stood no man with Joseph, while he made himself known to his brethren." This was natural. The emotions of the moment were too strong and deep to be shared in or even witnessed by strangers. But it was also merciful. Joseph knew that he could not divulge his secret without a reference to the past, and he would not expose his brothers' guilt and shame in the presence of unsympathizing lookers-on.
(2) With tears. "Joseph could not refrain himself" even "before all them that stood before him," and scarcely had they withdrawn than "he wept aloud." From the first Joseph had a Herculean task to perform in keeping his emotion within bounds. This was partly the explanation of the rough treatment he gave his brethren. Had he yielded to the tender feelings which the sight of Reuben and Judah and the others kindled in his breast, he would at once have been discovered. Yet it was all that he could do to avoid detection. Once and again he had to retire from their presence to relieve his bursting heart by "weeping" (cf. Genesis 42:24; Genesis 43:30). But this time the rising flood of emotion was too strong to be repressed even long enough to admit of his escape. The pathetic eloquence of Judah, the earnest, tearful pleading combined with the sublime and affecting heroism of the man who offered himself to be a bondman for ever, that his young brother might escape and that his father's heart might not be broken, was too much for the Egyptian viceroy, and he sobbed aloud.
(3) With forgiveness. Few things are more touching in this wholly melting story than the considerate tenderness of Joseph in sparing his brethren's feelings, and the exquisite delicacy with which he leads them to understand that he cherishes against them not the least resentment. Scarcely has he made the startling disclosure that he was Joseph, than, as if to prevent them from thinking of their sin, he hurries on to ask about their father. Then, as he sees them shrinking in alarm from his presence, expecting doubtless that the hour of recompense for Dothan had arrived, he kindly asks them not to stand aloof from him, but to come near. Again, as he understands the impossibility of their ever shutting their eyes to their deplorable wickedness, he tries to lead them rather to contemplate the wonderful way in which the hand of God had overruled his captivity for the salvation of their entire household. "So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God." Beautiful sophistry of love! I do not know that Joseph's brethren would believe it: but it is obvious that in the enthusiasm of his forgiving love Joseph did.
2. How it was received.
(1) With surprise. This was only to be expected. It must have fallen on Joseph's brethren like a thunderbolt. It manifestly struck them into silence. "They could not answer him."
(2) With alarm. Apprehending vengeance, they were "troubled at his presence," and involuntarily shrank from before him.
(3) With pain. They were grieved and angry with themselves, not that Joseph was alive, but that ever he had been sold. Many a time during the past years, and in particular since their first visit to Egypt, they had mourned over their sin against the child of Rachel. Now the anguish of their self-reproach was almost more than they could bear. And this was the best sign of its sincerity, that it was intensified rather than diminished by the sight of Joseph (cf. Zechariah 12:10). True penitence, as distinguished from remorse, is sorrow for sin, irrespective altogether of its consequences.
II. THE COMMISSION.
1. To carry an invitation. "Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, and tarry not."
2. To deliver a promise. "And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen," and "there will I nourish thee."
3. To explain a reason "For yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty."
4. To provide an authentications. "And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you."
5. To supply an encouragement. "And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt."
6. To return with an answer. "And ye shall haste and bring down my father hither."
III. THE RECONCILIATION.
1. With tears of joy. "He fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck." Over the rest of his brothers also as they bowed before him "he wept."
2. With kisses of love. "Moreover he kissed all his brethren"—not even forgetting Simeon, who probably had bound him.
3. With words of cheer. "After that his brethren talked with him."
Lessons:—See in the character of Joseph, as portrayed in this touching scene, a brilliant constellation of heavenly virtues and holy graces.
1. Of fraternal affection in his tender dealing with his brethren.
2. Of filial piety in his considerate regard for his father.
3. Of eminent devotion in recognizing the hand of God in all his past fortunes.
4. Of exquisite sensibility in being so quickly moved to tears.
HOMILIES BY J.F. MONTGOMERY
Darkness turned into light.
Joseph's revelation of himself to his brethren in the atmosphere of the purest brotherly affection and grateful acknowledgment of Divine goodness. Only small natures are ashamed of tears. At first the men who had a great sin upon their consciences were only troubled at the presence of their injured brother, but soon the free and full manifestation of his love turns all their fears into rejoicing. Joseph wept for joy at their return to him, and they were henceforth his brethren indeed. Although for a time we carry the burden of our sins and feel their weight, even though we believe that they are forgiven, still as God reveals himself to us and surrounds us more and more with the embrace of his love, we lose the constraint of our painful remembrance, and rejoice with all our hearts in present peace and future glory.—R.
HOMILIES BY J.F. MONTGOMERY
The great announcement.
Not a stranger, but a brother. Yet they were slow to receive comfort from it. The fact beyond all expectation; the suspicion of the unknown ruler attaching itself to the newly-found brother; the remembrance of their own former cruelty; the doubt whether indeed the past were forgiven, combined to make them "troubled at his presence." Akin to this is the slowness with which the great revelation of the gospel is received, our adoption as sons (Galatians 4:5) through our brotherhood with Christ; members of Christ, and thus children of God. Not the doctrine, for we are familiar with its terms, but the practical reception of it. The gospel preached is "good-will to men;" the foundation on which it rests is the work whereby the eternal Son became our brother and representative (2 Corinthians 5:14). The means of appropriation, belief that God has indeed done this thing for us (Matthew 11:28). Yet even to those who are longing for peace and salvation the message often seems to bring no real comfort. The truth of the doctrine is admitted, but Jesus is not recognized as a personal, present Savior. There is a feeling that something not declared lies behind; that there is some unexplained "if," some condition to be fulfilled, some part of the work to be done, ere it can be safe to trust. Conscious of sin, they do not fully receive the offer as made to them such as they are. The fact is, men often want to begin at the wrong end; to make some worthy offering to God ere they have it to give (cf. 1 Chronicles 29:14; 1 Corinthians 4:7); want to gather fruit ere the tree is planted; to build a spiritual house ere the foundation is laid.
I. GOD'S OFFER PRECEDES FAITH. The gospel proclaims a fact—Christ crucified for us, the fulfillment of Isaiah 53:5. Its primary message is not of something to follow our faith, but of that on which our faith rests. The "foundation" of spiritual life is not our belief but Christ's work (1 Corinthians 3:11). But in practice many seem to regard the right to trust in Christ's work as depending on their being in a fitting state of mind. And thus their mind is turned away from Christ to their own state (cf. Matthew 14:30). No doubt there must be a conviction of need ere the Savior can e welcomed (Matthew 9:12). But the evidence of that conviction is not our feelings but laying our burden upon the Lord.
II. GOD'S OFFER MUST BE RECEIVED BY FAITH—that is, it must be accepted as it is made; not something else put in its place. God's message is, Trust in Christ. To do this is to exercise faith. But the answer often is, I must first see whether I have faith. It is as if when our Lord bade the impotent arise, he had answered, I must first feel that I have the power. Faith depends not on accurate knowledge. The gospel is for the ignorant; and what it claims is that we receive it according to the measure of our knowledge, guided by those means of instruction which we possess.
III. GOD'S OFFER IS TO MAKE US WHAT WE OUGHT TO BE. Christ accepted, trusted, is made unto us wisdom, &c. (1 Corinthians 1:30). Faith leads to more communion with Christ. The Bible becomes a living voice instead of a dead letter. Channels of knowledge are opened, and daily increasing powers are given where the will is to be really Christ's (John 6:68).—M.
HOMILIES BY J.F. MONTGOMERY
Providence.
"Now therefore be not grieved," &c.
I. THE END IS GOODNESS AND MERCY.
1. To preserve life.
2. To set the seed of the better society in the midst of the corruptions and imperfections of the old.
3. To prepare the way for the higher revelations of the future.
II. GOD'S METHOD OF INSTRUMENTALITIES HIS GLORY.
1. The history of his people, their persecutions, their apparent humiliations, their marvelous victories.
2. The transformation of men, whereby enemies are made friends, &c.
3. The biographies of distinguished servants of God illustrate his grace in bestowing fitness for appointed work.
III. MYSTERIES LOOKED AT FROM A HIGHER POINT OF VIEW BECOME REVELATIONS.
1. Time a great revealer. Wait for the Lord.
2. The narrow circle of a family history taken up into the higher sphere of Divine purposes concerning nations and humanity itself.
3. Ultimate vindication of the spiritual men and spiritual principles as against the merely earthly and selfish aims of individuals or communities.—R.