koning with them. Note, Even in those afflictions wherein we apprehend ourselves wronged by men, yet we must own that God is righteous, and finds out our iniquity. (2.) They surrender themselves prisoners to Joseph, We are my lord's servants. Now Joseph's dreams were accomplished to the utmost; their bowing so often, and doing obeisance, might be looked upon as a compliment, and no more than what other strangers did: but the construction they themselves, in their pride, had put upon his dreams, was, Shalt thou have dominion over us? ch. 37. 8. And in that sense it is now at length fulfilled, they own themselves his vassals; since they did invidiously so understand it, so it shall be fulfilled in them.
5. Joseph with an air of justice, gives sentence, that Benjamin only should be kept in bondage, and the rest should be dismissed; for why should any suffer but the guilty? Perhaps Joseph intended hereby to try Benjamin's temper, whether he could bear such a hardship as this, with the calmness and composure of mind that became a wise and good man; in short, whether he was indeed his own brother, in spirit, as well as blood; for Joseph himself had been falsely accused, and had suffered hard things in consequence, and yet kept possession of his own soul: however, it is plain, he intended hereby to try the affection of his brethren to him, and to their father. If they had gone away contentedly, and left Benjamin in bonds, no doubt but Joseph would soon have released and promoted him, and sent notice to Jacob, and would have left the rest of his brethren justly to suffer for their hard-heartedness; but they proved to be better affected to Benjamin than he feared. Note, We cannot judge what men are, by what they have been formerly; nor what they will do, by what they have done: age and experience may make men wiser and better. They that had sold Joseph, yet would not now abandon Benjamin: the worst may mend in time.
18. Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh. 19. My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother? 20. And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him. 21. And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him. 22. And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his father; for if he should leave his father, his father would die. 23. And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more. 24. And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. 25. And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food. 26. And we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down: for we may not see the man's face, except our youngest brother be with us. 27. And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons: 28. And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I saw him not since: 29. And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. 30. Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life; 31. It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave. 32. For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever. 33. Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren. 34. For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? Lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father.
We have here a most ingenious and pathetic speech which Judah made to Joseph on Benjamin's behalf, to obtain his discharge from the sentence passed upon him: either Judah was a better friend to Benjamin than the rest were, and more solicitous to bring him off; or, he thought himself under greater obligations to endeavour it than the rest, because he had passed his word to his father for his safe return; or, the rest chose him for their spokesman, because he was a man of better sense, and better spirit, and had a greater command of language than any of them. His address, as it is here recorded, is so very natural, and so expressive of his present feelings, that we cannot but suppose Moses, who wrote it so long after, to have written it under the special direction of him that made man's mouth. A great deal of unaffected art, and unstudied unforced rhetoric, there is in this speech.
I. He addresses himself to Joseph with a great deal of respect and deference; calls him his lord, himself and his brethren his servants, begs his patient hearing, and ascribes sovereign authority to him, "Thou art even as Pharaoh; whose favour we desire, and whose wrath we dread, as we do Pharaoh's." Religion does not destroy good manners, and it is prudence to speak obligingly to those at whose mercy we lie: titles of honour to those that are entitled to them, are not flattering titles.
II. He represented Benjamin as one well worthy of his compassionate consideration: (v. 20.) he was a little one, compared with the rest of them; the youngest, not acquainted with the world, nor ever inured to hardship, having always been brought up tenderly with his father, it made the case more pitiable, that he alone was left of his mother, and his brother was dead, namely, Joseph; little did Judah think, what a tender point he touched on now. Judah knew that Joseph was sold, and therefore had reason enough to think that he was alive; however, he could not be sure that he was dead, but they had made their father believe he was dead; and now they had told that lie so long, that
