H. P. Mansfield Bible notes — checked and arranged in verse-by-verse Expositor style

Source: HPB 02-Gen42-Lev11.pdf, principally Genesis 43 photographed pages 3–4

CHAPTER OVERVIEW

Genesis 43 moves the brothers’ testing from hardship into generosity. The famine makes another journey unavoidable, but this time Benjamin must go. The decisive character development is Judah’s willingness to become personally responsible for Benjamin. This is a substantial reversal from the Judah who proposed selling Joseph in Genesis 37.

In Egypt the brothers expect accusation and slavery, but encounter peace, hospitality and a feast. Joseph then gives Benjamin conspicuous favour. The fivefold portion functions naturally as a test: will the brothers react to another specially favoured son of Rachel with the envy they once showed Joseph?

JUDAH OFFERS SURETY FOR BENJAMIN — GENESIS 43:1–14

Genesis 43:1–2 — famine removes the possibility of delay

The famine remains severe. Once the grain from the first journey is consumed, Jacob asks the sons to return for “a little food.” Circumstances steadily close off his hope of avoiding the condition imposed by the Egyptian governor.

Genesis 43:3–5 — “Ye shall not see my face” without Benjamin

Judah repeats Joseph’s solemn warning: they cannot return successfully unless Benjamin accompanies them. Judah now speaks for the family with realism and responsibility. There is no point going to Egypt while refusing the very evidence Joseph has demanded.

Genesis 43:6–7 — the brothers did not volunteer Benjamin carelessly

Israel asks why they revealed the existence of another brother. They explain that the ruler questioned them closely about their family and father. Genesis 42 compresses those questions, while Genesis 43 and 44 make them explicit. They could not have known that the information would result in a demand for Benjamin.

Genesis 43:8–10 — Judah becomes surety

Judah urges, “Send the lad with me,” so the household may live and not die. The term na‘ar can describe a youth, young man or dependent and does not establish Benjamin’s exact age. Older reconstructions that make him a precise age from later family lists go beyond what Genesis 43 states.

Judah declares, “I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him.” The Hebrew ‘arab means to pledge oneself, become surety or guarantee another. Mansfield’s language of “bartering” his life overstates the lexical force. Judah accepts personal liability: if he does not bring Benjamin back and set him before Jacob, he will bear blame “all the days,” that is, throughout his life. This is a much more mature guarantee than Reuben’s offer to kill his own sons.

Genesis 43:11 — “the best fruits in the land”

Jacob sends a small present: balm, honey, spices, lot, pistachio nuts and almonds. A cereal famine need not eliminate every tree product, resin or preserved speciality. The small quantities are therefore not inconsistent with severe shortage of staple grain.

The KJV renders lot as “myrrh,” but this is not the ordinary Hebrew word for myrrh and is more commonly understood as ladanum or an aromatic resin. Botnim are pistachio nuts. Shaqedim are almonds; the root shaqad can mean watch/wake, which supports later biblical wordplay, but Mansfield’s detailed resurrection symbolism remains typological.

Genesis 43:12 — the double money

They take mishneh money — a second/double amount — together with the silver found in their sacks. The most natural sense is that they carry twice the normal purchase amount in total: one amount to repay the money unexpectedly returned from the first journey, and one for the new grain. It should not be read as three separate purchase amounts.

Genesis 43:13–14 — El Shaddai and resigned trust

Jacob finally sends Benjamin and prays that El Shaddai, “God Almighty,” will give the men mercy before the ruler and return Simeon and Benjamin. Mansfield’s alternative Nourisher/Destroyer etymologies for Shaddai are debated and are not treated as certain. “If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved” expresses resignation after prayer: Jacob releases the outcome he can no longer control.

THE BROTHERS FEAR JOSEPH’S HOUSE — GENESIS 43:15–25

Genesis 43:15–17 — Benjamin is seen; a feast is prepared

The brothers arrive with Benjamin, the present and the money. When Joseph sees Benjamin he orders his steward to bring the men to his house, slaughter an animal and prepare a noon meal. The men cannot yet interpret this sudden hospitality.

Genesis 43:18 — guilty fear misreads kindness

Being taken into Joseph’s house terrifies them. They assume the returned money is being used as a pretext to attack, enslave them and seize their animals. Their guilty conscience converts benevolent circumstances into threatening ones because they still do not know Joseph’s purpose.

Genesis 43:19–22 — the brothers carefully explain the silver

At the door they explain that they had paid on the first visit, later found every man’s silver in his sack, and have brought it back in full weight along with new money. Their conduct shows a deliberate desire to clear themselves of dishonesty.

Genesis 43:23 — “Peace be to you, fear not”

Joseph’s steward answers, “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.” The Hebrew sense of the final clause is “your money came to me.” From the household accounting perspective payment had been received; Joseph’s hidden restoration of the silver therefore does not make the brothers thieves.

The steward’s God-centred language may indicate Joseph’s influence on his household, but the text does not tell us the steward’s full personal theology. The reassurance is nevertheless explicit: the unexplained treasure is not evidence of guilt. Simeon is then released to them.

Genesis 43:24–25 — hospitality replaces anticipated arrest

Water is provided for washing feet and fodder for the animals. The brothers prepare Jacob’s present for Joseph’s noon arrival. Every action now reverses the enslavement they feared in verse 18.

JOSEPH ENTERTAINS HIS BRETHREN — GENESIS 43:26–34

Genesis 43:26–28 — they bow again; Joseph asks about Jacob

The brothers present the gift and again bow to the earth, continuing the fulfilment of Joseph’s dreams. Joseph immediately asks about their welfare and about “your father, the old man.” They report that Jacob is alive and well and bow once more.

Genesis 43:29 — Benjamin blessed

Joseph sees Benjamin, “his mother’s son,” confirms that he is the younger brother, and says, “God be gracious unto thee, my son.” The special blessing deliberately singles Benjamin out while the brothers are watching.

Genesis 43:30–31 — Joseph weeps privately

Joseph’s emotions become overwhelming; his compassion “yearned” toward Benjamin and he withdraws to a chamber to weep. He washes his face, restrains himself and returns to continue the test. The private tears again show that the testing is not driven by resentment.

Genesis 43:32 — three dining groups

Joseph eats separately, his brothers separately, and the Egyptians separately. Genesis itself gives the reason for Egyptian separation from the Hebrews: eating together was regarded as an abomination by the Egyptians. Later Greek evidence for Egyptian dietary exclusiveness may be supportive background, but no theory about Hyksos hatred or racial superiority is needed to explain the verse.

Genesis 43:33 — seated in exact birth order

The brothers are seated from firstborn to youngest and marvel at one another. The arrangement quietly demonstrates knowledge the Egyptian governor should not naturally possess, heightening the mystery around Joseph before the eventual disclosure.

Genesis 43:34 — Benjamin’s fivefold portion

Joseph sends portions from his own table, but Benjamin receives five times as much as the others. The Hebrew phrase is securely fivefold; Mansfield’s identification of five as a fixed biblical number of grace is a typological convention rather than an explicit explanation in Genesis.

The brothers drink and “were merry” with Joseph. The verb shakar can mean drink freely/become merry and in some contexts become drunk; here the narrative simply depicts relaxation at the feast and records no misconduct. Most importantly, no jealousy is recorded when Benjamin is conspicuously favoured. The test is moving toward the more severe examination of Genesis 44.

PRINCIPAL THEMES

• Judah changes from the brother who sold Joseph into the brother willing to stand surety for Benjamin.

• Jacob’s fear yields to prayer and resigned trust in God Almighty.

• Honest restitution of the returned silver shows the brothers’ concern to act rightly.

• Guilty consciences initially interpret generosity as danger.

• Joseph’s hidden compassion coexists with deliberate moral testing.

• Exact birth-order seating reveals that Joseph knows far more than the brothers expect.

• Benjamin’s conspicuous favour tests whether the old envy toward Rachel’s favoured son remains.

EDITORIAL VERIFICATION AND RECOVERED READINGS

RESIDUAL UNCERTAINTIES

Benjamin’s exact age on this journey cannot be recovered securely from Genesis 43. The steward’s personal religious convictions are not described. The precise botanical identity of every item in Jacob’s gift is not equally certain, although pistachio nuts, almonds and an aromatic resin are well supported. Mansfield’s numerical symbolism of five, detailed surety-Christ correspondences and wider national applications remain typological rather than lexical readings.