All Scripture quotations outside of references from bibliography, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
It is not entirely clear if Joseph hid his identity out of revenge or as a test to his brothers. (Geoghegan & Homan, 2003, chap. 6).
No, he did not. The selection was not random. Geoghegan & Homan (2003) explains why Joseph would have selected Simeon to keep him as a hostage:
Joseph puts Simeon in jail because his oldest brother, Reuben, tried to save his life 20 years earlier. Simeon, as the second born, is therefore the most responsible for Joseph’s being sold into slavery. (chap. 6)
Joseph became the man who represented Pharaoh. That is, “the second-greatest man in all of Egypt” (Geoghegan & Homan, 2003, chap. 6).
Genesis 42:37-38 reveal that Reuben had already tried, unsuccessfully, to convince Jacob to send Benjamin to Egypt so that they could buy more food.
The persuasive argument of Judah to his father Jacob, was that "the man who ruled over Egypt did not merely say, but solemnly protest", concerning the need for their younger brother to be brought if they wanted to traffic in the land of Egypt (Bush, 1852, Genesis 43:3).
Genesis 42:15 confirms how serious Joseph was about requiring their youngest brother to be brought as a prerequisite for their future trading with Egypt.
In his frustration, Jacob blames his sons (v. 6). They justify themselves (v.7).
When Jacob complained about his ten sons telling the man ruling Egypt that they had another brother, their replied to Jacob’s severe reflections was “that it was impossible for them to foresee the use that would be made of the information.” (Bush, 1852, Genesis 43:6-7).
Application: It is easy to point fingers in times of crisis or when not understanding why God is allowing difficult situations to happen. The best course of action is to pray and trust God knowing that He is in control.
Bush (1852) estimates that Benjamin was at least thirty years of age, having by that time children of his own, explaining that being called “a lad” only refers to Benjamin being the youngers of the sons of Jacob (Genesis 43:8).
Zondervan (2019) calculates that Benjamin was in his mid-20s when Judah asked Jacob to allow him to take Benjamin to Egypt. The youngest son of Jacob would have been too young to take part in the attempt to kill Joseph and eventually selling him into slavery when Joseph was, according to Genesis 37:2, 17 years old. It is known that Joseph was 30 years old when he began serving Pharaoh, and the seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt had come to an end. Adding up those numbers, Joseph would have been at least in his late thirties when seeing his brothers again. (Genesis 43:8).
One of the arguments to support that Benjamin, even when called a “lad”, was in his mid-20s or early 30s is that in Genesis 46, when listing those who came to Egypt, verse 21 provides a list of the sons of Benjamin.
Genesis 42:37-38 describes how Reuben failed to persuade Jacob to bring Benjamin to Egypt, while Judah succeeded according to Genesis 43:8-11.
Zondervan (2011) underscores a contrast explaining that Judah's gesture was more responsible than that of Reuben because Judah offered himself to secure Benjamin's safety, while Reuben offered to put his two sons to death if not bringing Benjamin back from Egypt. (Genesis 43:9)
Bush (1852) suggests that Jacob could have recollected how presents helped to appease Esau’s anger, and that Jacob may be using similar strategies to conciliate the man ruling in the land of Egypt. (Genesis 43:11).
Bush (1852) explains that the original does not necessarily mean to "double the amount of money", but the idea is that they would take back the money that had been put in their sacks, and bring as much more to buy extra food. (Genesis 43:12).
Clarke (n.d.) affirms that the meaning of "double amount" is "What was returned in their sacks, and what was farther necessary to buy another load." (Genesis 43:12)
Bush (1852) concludes that Joseph prepared a feast for his brothers not only for pleasure and celebration, but to test his brothers, observing their conduct toward Benjamin. Joseph would try to determine if the peculiar honors conferred to Benjamin, would excite envy in his brothers, as it happened when they sold Joseph into slavery when he was a teenager. The feast included extraordinary preparations, where Benjamin was treated with notable and obvious preference. (Genesis 43:16).
Thomas Nelson (2017) infers from Genesis 43:34, that the brothers had a change of heart because they did not seem to be jealous or resentful toward Benjamin while observing the preferential treatment that he was receiving. Nonetheless, Joseph was going to test them again as seen in Genesis 44). (p. 89).
Their accusing consciences kept them fearful and thinking that Joseph or the Egyptians could accuse and assail them. In verse 18, the original Hebrew uses strong language meaning “to roll himself upon us, or against us; i.e. by violent oppression; crushing us like a stone rolling down a precipice (Bush, 1852, Genesis 43:18).
According to Bush (1852), volunteering to mention how they found their money in their sacks after arriving at the inn, was done as a protective strategy so that if anything about the matter was said to Joseph, they could appeal to the steward hoping that he would testify in their behalf that the money was returned and not stolen (Genesis 43:21).
The present of tribute they brought, would represent at that time, a “homage to superiors”. The present came from Jacob by the hand of his sons, fulfilling the prophetic dream that Joseph had where the sun, the moon, and eleven stars did obeisance to him (Genesis 37:9). Verse 28 describes that they bowed down their heads before Joseph in respect, a second time. This was a confirmation of the fulfillment of Joseph’s dream (Bush, 1852, Genesis 43:26-28).
Application: God’s Word and promises are reliable.
Zondervan (2019) argues that perhaps the Egyptians were racially prejudiced, but it explains that the real reason for separation at the meal was rooted in religious arguments:
The term detestable usually refers to ritual uncleanness. The Egyptians felt Hebrews were unclean because they did not worship the Egyptians’ gods. This is similar to the much later custom of Jews not eating with Gentiles. (Genesis 43:32)
Application: Probably the Egyptians had an arrogant superiority, in the same way that Jews became arrogant considering the Gentiles inferior in terms of their access to God and relationship with Him. For example, the Pharisees behaved that way. It is important to remember that salvation is a gift from God, for salvation comes by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9).
No, they were not. Joseph’s brothers were bewildered, and this was a signal to them that Joseph knew more about them than they initially thought. This was either an extraordinary coincidence, or people at the Egyptian court (and Joseph himself) knew their ages. Joseph’s brothers were astonished not understanding what was happening (Zondervan, 2019, Genesis 43:33).
Clarke, A. (n.d.). Clarke's Commentary. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/acc/genesis-43.html
Geoghegan, J., & Homan, M. (2003). The Bible For Dummies. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. https://www.amazon.com/Bible-Dummies-Lifestyle-ebook/dp/B01GGR61A8/
Bush, G. (1852). Notes, Critical and Practical on the Book of Genesis. https://archive.org/details/notescriticalpra1852bush/page/n8/mode/1up?view=theater
Thomas Nelson. (2017). The King James Study Bible.
Zondervan. (2019). NIV Quest Study Bible. https://www.biblegateway.com/plus/
Zondervan. (2011). NIV Study Bible Notes, Fully Revised Edition. https://www.biblegateway.com/plus/