48443 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And he said, behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt,.... This explains what is meant by the phrase he saw, one sense being put for another: get ye down thither; as fast as you can without delay; Egypt lay lower than Canaan, and therefore they are bid to go down, as when they went from thence to Canaan they are said to go up, Genesis...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt. They obeyed their father's orders, and immediately set out for Egypt; "ten" of them went down in a body together, all but Benjamin, so that it is easily reckoned who they were, and they are called not Jacob's sons, as they were; but Joseph's brethren, whom they had sold into Egypt, and to...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren,.... Benjamin is called Joseph's brother, because he was so both by father and mother's side, as the rest were not; him Jacob kept with him, being the youngest and his darling, the only son he had with him of his beloved wife Rachel; and was very probably the more beloved by him...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the sons of Israel came to buy [corn] among those that came,.... Either among the Egyptians that came to buy, or among those who came from different countries, or rather particularly among the Canaanites, as the Targum of Jonathan; with these they might join upon the road, and go together in a body where the market for corn was: for the famine...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Joseph [was] the governor over the land,.... Not the land of Canaan last mentioned, but the land of Egypt; under Pharaoh, he had the chief and sole authority, and especially in the affair of the corn, and the disposal of that; [and] he [it was] that sold to all the people of the land: of Egypt, and also to all that came out of other lands; not...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Joseph saw his brethren,.... Among those that came to buy corn, and when they prostrated themselves before him: and he knew them; some of them being at man's estate, and their beards grown when they sold him, and their habits and dress now being much the same it was then, and by them he knew the younger: but made himself strange unto them;...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. It being about twenty two years since they saw him, and then he was young, and his beard not grown, as now it was; and besides, he was clothed as a prince, and spoke the Egyptian language; and being in such great grandeur and splendour, and in such power and authority, and having such a retinue...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them,.... Their bowing and prostrating themselves before him brought to his remembrance his dreams of their sheaves making obeisance to his, and of the sun, moon, and eleven stars, doing the same to him, Genesis 37:7; and said unto them, ye [are] spies; not believing they were, nor absolutely...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And they said unto him, nay, my lord,.... One in the name of the rest, or each in his turn, denying that they were spies, and addressing him with the greatest reverence and submission, calling him their lord, and thus further accomplishing his dreams: but to buy food are thy servants come; that and no other was the errand they came upon.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
We [are] all one man's sons,.... Therefore not likely to be spies; it could hardly be thought that a single family should engage in such an affair; or that one man would, send his sons as spies, and especially all of them, it being a dangerous affair, and they being liable to be taken up and put to death; and as more families than one must be...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And he said unto them, nay,.... This argument will not do, I am not to be put off with such words as these; if you can produce no better proof of your being honest men than this, or give no better account of yourselves, I must abide by it, that, to see the nakedness of the land ye are come; this he urged in order to get a further account from them...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And they said, thy servants [are] twelve brethren,.... Or rather, "were twelve", since one afterwards is said not to be: the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; of Jacob, who dwelt there; this is said with the same view as before, to show the improbability of their being spies; and, behold, the youngest [is] this day with our father: meaning...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Joseph said unto them, that [is it] that I spake unto you, saying, ye [are] spies. This proves it, at least gives strong suspicion of it; since at first they seemed to speak of themselves, as if they were the only sons of one man and there were no more, now they speak of twelve, and make mention of one being at home with his father; but seeing...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Hereby ye shall be proved,.... Whether spies, or not, namely, by producing their youngest brother, said to be at home with his father: by the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither: the phrase, "by the life of Pharaoh", seems to be the form of an oath, as it was common with many nations, especially...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother,.... He proposes that one of them might be sent by them to their father's house, and bring, Benjamin down to Egypt: and ye shall be kept in prison; the rest of them till he came: that your words may be proved, whether [there be any] truth in you; by this it would be seen whether they were men of...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And he put them all together into ward three days. In order to consult together, and agree who should be sent to fetch their brother; and which it seems probable in this length of time they could not agree upon, no one caring to be the bringer of such evil tidings to their father.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Joseph said unto them the third day,.... His heart yearning towards them, though he put on such an appearance; finding they could not come to an agreement among themselves who should go on the errand, he thought fit to recede from his former order, and to give them another: this do, and live: meaning what he was about to say to them, which if...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
If ye [be] true [men],.... As you say you are: let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison; agree among yourselves which of you (for one of you must) remain in prison where you are: and the rest being set at liberty, go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses; Joseph, though he dealt with them after this manner to get what...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
But bring your youngest brother unto me,.... Upon their return for more corn: so shall your words be verified; that they were true men, and had no ill design upon the land, but were come only to buy corn: and ye shall not die; as spies, which they were otherwise threatened with; and as it is customary in all nations to put such to death when found...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And they said one to another,.... Before they went out of the prison, at least while in the presence of Joseph: we [are] verily guilty concerning our brother; meaning Joseph, whom they had sold for a slave, and who they supposed was dead through grief and hard servitude; and now being in trouble themselves, it brings to mind the sin they had been...