Genesis 42:19 - Forerunner Commentary

Genesis 42:19

17 So he¹ put them all together in prison ^athree days.

18 Then Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this and live, ^afor I fear God:

19 If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined to your prison house; but you, go and carry grain for the famine of your houses.

20 And bring your young^aest brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” And they did so.

21 Then they said to one another, ^a“We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; ^btherefore this distress has come upon us.”

22 And Reuben answered them, saying, ^a“Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now ^brequired of us.”

Commentaries:

No entry exists in Forerunner Commentary for Genesis 42:19.

Genesis 42:19-20

Furthermore it was being intensified by the brothers’ dire circumstances. It was bad enough that they had been harshly received by Joseph and placed in prison, but then, after three days had passed, they had been released and discovered that the Prime Minister was confronting them with an even more painful dilemma. He was letting them go home but requiring them to leave one of their number behind as a guarantee that they would return with their youngest brother Benjamin, as he had requested. So Joseph said in verse 19:

Now what an understatement that is there. This is a delicate telling of what must have been a most traumatic moment in their lives. “All can go but one; one must stay.” But who was to be that one? Who was to remain behind in the Prime Minister's prison, uncertain of his fate, of whether he will ever be released or see his homeland again?

Excerpted from How God Deals With Conscience (Part One)

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