Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 40:15
For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon.
15. stolen away ] i.e. “kidnapped”: see Gen 37:28. According to E Joseph was not sold by his brethren, but stolen by the Midianites.
the land of the Hebrews ] For the use of the word “Hebrew,” cf. Gen 14:13, Gen 39:14 and Gen 41:12. It was the designation in use by foreigners for “the dwellers in Palestine.” In Joseph’s mouth the phrase is an anachronism, even if it means the whole region in which the Hebrew races of Israel, Ishmael, Moab, Ammon, and Edom, were establishing themselves. Whether “the Hebrews” are to be identified with the abiri of the Tel-el-Amarna tablets, is a disputed question. But “the land of the Hebrews” is not a Hebrew phrase that would naturally be used of Canaan before it had been conquered and occupied by the tribes of Israel. See Appendix D, ii., iii. on the abiri and the ‘Apuriu.
and here also the dungeon ] This clause is very probably introduced by the Compiler in order to harmonize the present chapter with the account of Joseph’s position in Gen 39:20-23. LXX , Lat. in lacum.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 15. For indeed I was stolen] gunnob gunnobti, stolen, I have been stolen-most assuredly I was stolen; and here also have I done nothing. These were simple assertions, into the proof of which he was ready to enter if called on.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I was stolen away, taken away by force and fraud, without my own or fathers consent, out of the land of Canaan, which he might call the land of the Hebrews, either because they now dwelt in it, or by way of protestation of their right and claim to it by Gods gift. Or rather thus, out of that part of Canaan where the Hebrews dwell; for the word land is not only spoken of whole countries, as of the whole land of Canaan, but of any parts or parcels thereof, as Gen 13:6; 22:2; 23:15; 34:1. Observe, that Joseph doth not accuse either his brethren or his mistress, but only asserts his own innocency, which was necessary for his deliverance.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews,…. Not the whole land of Canaan, so called, either from the Hebrews sojourning: in it, or from its being given unto them by God; neither of which could be a reason why Joseph, when talking with an Egyptian, should give it this name, and which, it must be supposed, was known to him; but that part of the land of Canaan where the Hebrews had sojourned for three generations, where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had lived, even at or near Hebron; and being persons of great note, and having done great exploits, their names were well known, and the country where they lived, and particularly among the Egyptians: now Joseph does not expose the sin of his brethren in selling him to the Ishmaelites, by whom he was brought into Egypt and sold there; only relates that he was stolen out of his native country, being taken from it without his own or his father’s consent:
and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon; since he had been in the land of Egypt, he had not been guilty of any criminal action wherefore he should be put into a prison, and especially into a dungeon, a dark and filthy place under ground, as dungeons usually were, and into which Joseph was put when first in confinement, though since took out of it: he makes no mention of the wickedness of his mistress, and of her false accusation of him, nor of the injustice of his master in putting him into prison without hearing him; only asserts his own innocence, which was necessary to recommend himself to the butler, that he might not think he was some loose fellow that was committed to prison for some capital crime, and so it would have, been a disgrace to him to have spoken for him.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(15) I was stolen.Joseph here speaks only generally, as his purpose was to arouse the sympathy of the Egyptian by making him know that he was free born, and reduced to slavery by fraud. It would have done harm rather than good to have said that his sale was owing to family feuds; and, moreover, noble-minded men do not willingly reveal that which is to the discredit of their relatives.
Land of the Hebrews.Jacob and his race had settled possessions in Canaan at Hebron, Shechem, Beer-sheba, &c. The term Hebrew, moreover, was an old one; for in the ancient record of the invasion of Palestine by Chedorlaomer, we saw that Abram was described as the Hebrew (Gen. 14:13). But Joseph did not mean that the land of Canaan belonged to them, but that he was stolen from the settlements of these immigrants, and from the land wherein they sojourned.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
15. I was stolen away Hebrews, for stolen, stolen was I . Joseph nowhere tells the manner of his being taken away from his home and kindred; he does not accuse his brethren, notwithstanding all their guilt .
Land of the Hebrews At that date probably the land of Canaan was so called among Egyptians, and Jacob’s family then looked upon it as peculiarly their own . Comp . Gen 35:12.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Gen 40:15. Dungeon i.e.. by synecdoche, the prison in general; not the place in prisons peculiarly so called; for Joseph, who was so much employed in the prison, cannot be supposed to have been confined in one place, much less in the dungeon.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Observe in all this Joseph drops not a word of complaint against any, not a syllable either of his brethren’s cruelty or his mistress’s injustice. Would the Reader know the cause why he did not, I refer him to Joseph’s sentiment: Gen 45:7-8 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Gen 40:15 For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon.
Ver. 15. For indeed I was stolen away. ] Joseph inveighs not against his brethren that he may clear himself; but hideth their infamy with the mantle of charity, which is large enough to cover a multitude of sins. It is a fault to speak of other men’s faults, unless it be in an ordinance. Infamy soon spreads. a
Out of the land of the Hebrews.
And here also have I done nothing, &c.
“ Praeter Apostolicas post Christi tempora chartas
Huic peperere libro saecula nulla parem. ”
a
b Scult., Annal., p. 454.
c Paul. Melissus.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
stolen: Gen 37:28, Exo 21:16, Deu 24:7, 1Ti 1:10
the Hebrews: Gen 14:13, Gen 41:12
done: Gen 39:8-12, Gen 39:20, 1Sa 24:11, Psa 59:3, Psa 59:4, Dan 6:22, Joh 10:32, Joh 15:25, Act 24:12-21, Act 25:10, Act 25:11, 1Pe 3:17, 1Pe 3:18
Reciprocal: Gen 39:14 – an Hebrew Psa 105:18 – Whose Jer 34:9 – Hebrew Jer 37:16 – into the dungeon Act 23:18 – Paul Act 25:8 – Neither Act 28:17 – though Rom 7:14 – sold Phi 3:5 – an Heb 13:3 – them that