This chapter contains an account of Joseph’s making himself known to his brethren, which was done when they were alone, Gen. 45:1–4; when he encouraged them not to distress themselves on account of their selling him into Egypt, for God in his providence had sent him there for their good, Gen.

Then Joseph could not refrain himself That he should not weep, as the Targum of Jonathan adds; at least he could not much longer refrain from tears, such an effect Judah’s speech had on his passions: before all them that stood before him; his servants that attended him and waited upon him, the…

And he wept aloud ; Or “gave forth his voice in weeping” [[16]]; as he wept he cried aloud; for having put such a violent restraint on himself, as the flood of tears was the greater, so his voice was the stronger and louder for it: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard; the Egyptians,…

And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph As soon as he could compose himself a little, and utter his words, the first thing he said was, that he was Joseph; that was his right name, his Hebrew name; though he was called by the Egyptians Zaphnathpaaneah, and by which name Joseph’s brethren…

And Joseph said unto his brethren, come near to me, I pray you Very probably Joseph sat in a chair of state while they were under examination, and through reverence of him they kept at a proper distance; or being frightened at what he had said, he might observe them drawing back, as Jarchi remarks,…

Now therefore be not grieved To an excess, so as to be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow; otherwise it became them to be grieved for their sin, and to show a godly sorrow and true repentance for it: nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither; reflect upon themselves, and afflict themselves…

For these two years hath the famine been, in the land In the land of Egypt and in the countries round about: and yet there are five years; still remaining, which he knew by the above dreams and the interpretation of them: in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest; that is, no tillage…

And God sent me before you This he repeats to impress the minds of his brethren with a sense of the good providence of God in bringing him to Egypt before them, to make provision for their future welfare, and to alleviate their grief, and prevent an excessive sorrow for their selling him into…

So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God Which is to be understood not absolutely, as if they had no concern at all in sending him thither; they sold him to the Ishmaelites, who brought him down to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar, and so were instrumental in his coming to Egypt; but…

Haste you, and go up to my father In Canaan, which lay higher than Egypt; being desirous he should know as soon as possible that he was alive, and in what circumstances he was: and say unto him, thus saith thy son Joseph; without any title, such as the father and counsellor of Pharaoh and governor…

And thou shall dwell in the land of Goshen Called by Artapanus [[18]] Kaisan or Kessan; the Septuagint version Gesan of Arabia, as it was that part of Egypt which bordered on Arabia: it seems to be the same with the land of Rameses, see ; and the Heliopolitan home, which, Strabo [[19]] says, was…

And there will I nourish thee Provide for him and his family: for yet there are five years of famine; still to come, two of the seven only being past: lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty; his whole posterity be consumed, as it would be in all probability, if he did…

And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin They were eyewitnesses of his being alive, having themselves seen him, and even Benjamin, who could not be suspected by his father of a fraud in imposing on him; and some of them could doubtless remember his features, and had an ocular…

And you shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt His wealth and riches, his grandeur and dignity, his power and authority: and of all that you have seen; what a magnificent house he dwelt in; what a numerous train of servants he had; in what majesty he rode in the second chariot to the king;…

And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept On his neck first, because he was his own brother by father and mother’s side; and he wept over him for joy that he had a sight of him once more: the word for “neck” is in the plural number, and being used, may signify that he fell first on one…

Moreover, he kissed all his brethren In their turns, to testify his real affection for them, and hearty reconciliation to them: and wept upon them; that is, upon their necks, as he had on Benjamin’s: and after that his brethren talked with him: being emboldened by this carriage of his to them, and…

And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh’s house The report was carried to court, and there it was told by some from Joseph’s house, who had overheard what had passed, at least somewhat of it: saying, Joseph’s brethren are come; perhaps they might call him by his Egyptian name, though the…

And Pharaoh said unto Joseph Who, it is highly probable, waited upon Pharaoh to acquaint him with the coming of his brethren; for it cannot be imagined that Pharaoh should say what follows upon a bare report, without having a further account of things from Joseph, or that he would neglect giving…

And take your father, and your households Or families, for they were all married persons, and had children, and no doubt servants also: all were to be brought with them, and come unto me; into his kingdom, to his metropolis, and to his palace, and into his presence: and I will give you the good of…

Now thou art commanded, this do ye Had his orders from Pharaoh; had full power and authority to do the above things, and what follows: the sense Joseph Kimchi gives of this clause is, that Joseph was ordered by Pharaoh not to let any wagons go out of Egypt with corn, lest the Egyptians should want;…

Also regard not your stuff Or “your vessels” [[6]], utensils, household goods; he would not have them to be concerned if they could not bring all their goods with them, but were obliged to leave some behind, and which, because of the distance of the way and difficulty of the road, lying through…

And the children of Israel did so As Pharaoh commanded, and Joseph from him directed them to do: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh: and beasts, either horses or oxen to draw them, and these not empty, though the principal use of them was to fetch his father and…

To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment Rich apparel, two suits of clothes, to shift and change upon occasion, such as Homer [[9]] calls (ιματια εξαμειβα) , “changeable garments”; those he gave to everyone of his brethren, partly that they might have something to show to their father and…

And to his father he sent after this manner Or “according to” this [[10]]; either in like manner, as he gave his brethren change of raiment so he sent the like to him, as Aben Ezra and Ben Melech interpret it, referring it to what goes before; or rather as Jarchi, according to this account or…

So he sent his brethren away, and they departed From Egypt to Canaan with the wagons, asses, and rich presents: and he said unto them, see that ye fall not out by the way; the Targum of Jonathan adds, about the affair of selling me; which he had reason to fear they would, from what they, and…

And they went up out of Egypt That lying lower than the land of Canaan: and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father; they found him alive and well.

And told him What had happened to them in Egypt: saying, Joseph is yet alive; who was thought by him and them to have been dead long ago: and he is governor over all the land of Egypt; deputy governor, and had such power and authority that nothing was done without his order; the executive power or…

And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them Not concerning their selling of him, and his forgiveness of them, and reconciliation to them, which perhaps Jacob never heard of to his dying day, since he makes no mention of it, nor hints at it in his dying words to them; but…

And Israel said, it is enough, Joseph my son is yet alive Or it is “much” or “great” [[11]]; he had much joy, as the Targums; this was the greatest blessing of all, and more to him than all the glory and splendour that Joseph was in; that he was alive, that was enough for Jacob, which gave him…