Genesis 43

KJV · Chapter 43/50

¹And the famine was sore in the land.

²And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food.

³And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.

⁴If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food:

⁵But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.

⁶And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother?

⁷And they said, The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down?

⁸And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones.

⁹I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever:

¹⁰For except we had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time.

¹¹And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds:

¹²And take double money in your hand; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight:

¹³Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man:

¹⁴And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.

¹⁵And the men took that present, and they took double money in their hand, and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.

¹⁶And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and slay, and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon.

¹⁷And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house.

¹⁸And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph’s house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses.

¹⁹And they came near to the steward of Joseph’s house, and they communed with him at the door of the house,

²⁰And said, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:

²¹And it came to pass, when we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand.

²²And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks.

²³And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them.

²⁴And the man brought the men into Joseph’s house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender.

²⁵And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there.

²⁶And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth.

²⁷And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?

²⁸And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance.

²⁹And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son.

³⁰And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.

³¹And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread.

³²And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians.

³³And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one at another.

³⁴And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin’s mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

As the famine persists, Judah personally pledges himself for Benjamin's safety to convince Jacob to let him go to Egypt; the brothers are received by Joseph with a surprisingly generous feast.

Explanation

This chapter shows the remarkable transformation of Judah, who years earlier had proposed selling Joseph as a slave (Genesis 37:26-27) and now offers himself as personal guarantor for Benjamin's safety before his own father, taking full responsibility should anything go wrong. This change of character — from someone willing to sacrifice a brother for profit to someone willing to sacrifice himself for another brother — is central to the family's moral development throughout these stories. The banquet Joseph prepares, with special honors and a larger portion for Benjamin, is at once a gesture of genuine welcome and yet another subtle test, observing how the brothers would react to the youngest brother being favored again — the very situation that once sparked envy against Joseph. Today's lesson is that genuine personal growth is proven by how we respond, years later, to situations that once led us into sin.

Fun facts

The observation that 'the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians' (v. 32) is confirmed by historical records and by accounts from the Greek historian Herodotus, who describes the ancient Egyptians as holding strong cultural restrictions against eating with foreigners.
Benjamin's portion of food being 'five times' larger than his brothers' (v. 34) is a quiet, deliberate test by Joseph, probing exactly the same kind of favoritism that once drove his brothers to commit their crime against him.

Verse-by-verse explanation

Genesis 43:1The famine keeps worsening in Canaan, forcing the family to face the trip to Egypt again.
Genesis 43:2As soon as the grain they brought runs out, Jacob asks his sons to go back for more — without, at first, mentioning the condition about Benjamin.
Genesis 43:3Judah reminds his father of the non-negotiable condition set by the Egyptian governor: they won’t even see his face without bringing their youngest brother.
Genesis 43:4It’s Judah who personally guarantees Benjamin’s safety before Jacob — the same promise he’ll fulfill by offering himself as a slave in his brother’s place, in the next chapter.
Genesis 43:5He repeats the condition as a negative: without Benjamin, there’s no point even trying to go, because they won’t be received.
Genesis 43:6Jacob still complains, blaming his sons for having told the governor there was another brother at home.
Genesis 43:7The sons defend themselves, explaining that the man asked detailed questions about the family, and they simply answered honestly, with no idea he would ask them to bring the brother.
Genesis 43:8Judah presses his father, arguing that everyone’s survival — brothers, father, and even the children — depends on this trip.
Genesis 43:9Judah personally pledges himself as guarantor for Benjamin, accepting eternal blame before his father if he doesn’t bring him back.
Genesis 43:10Judah even laments the time lost arguing: if they had decided sooner, they would already be back from the second trip.
Genesis 43:11The gift Jacob sends to the Egyptian governor is made of Canaan’s most valuable goods: aromatic resins, honey, spices, pistachios, and almonds, used in perfumery, medicine, and fine cooking. Bringing a gift like this before asking a favor was the expected protocol when approaching a powerful authority.
Genesis 43:12Jacob gives in and instructs them to take double the money, including the amount that mysteriously came back in the sacks — perhaps thinking it was a simple counting error.
Genesis 43:13Jacob finally allows them to take Benjamin too, giving in to the pressure of the famine and Judah’s insistence.
Genesis 43:14“God Almighty” translates an ancient Hebrew name for God, used especially in moments of great distress. And when Jacob says that if he is to be “bereaved,” bereaved he will be, he’s resigning himself: he has already lost Joseph, fears losing Benjamin and Simeon, and says he will accept whatever comes.
Genesis 43:15The brothers set out with the gift, the doubled money, and Benjamin, and present themselves again before Joseph in Egypt.
Genesis 43:16Ordering animals slaughtered and a meal prepared was a clear sign that Joseph was receiving the brothers as honored guests, not as prisoners. Slaughtering an animal for a meal was reserved for special occasions, since fresh meat wasn’t everyday food.
Genesis 43:17The steward of Joseph’s house carries out the order he received and leads the brothers to Joseph’s residence.
Genesis 43:18The brothers are terrified at being brought into the house, thinking they’ll be accused over the money found in their sacks and reduced to slavery.
Genesis 43:19Worried, they approach the steward right at the door of the house to explain the situation before anything worse happens.
Genesis 43:20They start by explaining that they had already come before just to buy grain, with no intention of deceiving anyone.
Genesis 43:21They explain in detail how, opening their sacks on the first trip, they found their own money back, and that they brought it now to return it.
Genesis 43:22They explain they also brought new money to buy more grain, and admit they don’t know who put the earlier amount back in their sacks.
Genesis 43:23The steward reassures them, attributing the money to a blessing from their God, and confirms he had already received the correct payment — and he even brings Simeon back out to the brothers.
Genesis 43:24The steward offers the standard hospitality of the time: water to wash their feet and feed for the animals, treating the visitors well.
Genesis 43:25The brothers prepare the gift they brought, already knowing, from the treatment they received, that they would eat with Joseph at noon.
Genesis 43:26When Joseph arrives, they hand over the gift and bow to the ground before him — again, without knowing who is really standing in front of them.
Genesis 43:27Joseph asks about the health of the elderly father mentioned in the earlier conversation — a personal question he can’t resist asking.
Genesis 43:28The brothers confirm their father is still alive and well, bowing again before the governor.
Genesis 43:29Seeing Benjamin, his only full brother, Joseph asks if this is the younger brother mentioned earlier, and blesses him, saying, “God be gracious unto thee, my son.”
Genesis 43:30Emotion overwhelms Joseph at the sight of Benjamin, and he has to leave quickly to weep alone, still hiding his own identity.
Genesis 43:31After composing himself, Joseph washes his face, returns with control restored, and gives the order to have the meal served.
Genesis 43:32The Egyptians avoided eating at the same table as foreigners like the Hebrews — that’s why Joseph dines separately from his brothers, and the brothers separately from the Egyptians. The exact reason for this custom isn’t fully known: it may have been religious, tied to the animals Hebrews ate, or simply a matter of social separation.
Genesis 43:33The brothers are seated in exact birth order, from oldest to youngest — a detail that leaves them amazed, unable to understand how a foreign Egyptian would know that.
Genesis 43:34Giving Benjamin a portion five times larger than the others was, in an ancient meal, a symbolic gesture of honor: the bigger the portion served to someone, the greater the status the host was showing them. Joseph is also testing whether the brothers will feel envy toward Benjamin, as they once felt toward him.

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