Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 43:18
And 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.
18. seek occasion ] Heb. roll himself upon us. Cf. Job 30:14. Joseph’s brethren suspect that this act of favour is part of a trap to put them off their guard, and then suddenly seize them on a false charge. Cf. LXX = “to bring false charges against us”; Lat. ut devolvat in nos calumniam. The special mention of the “asses” is a lifelike touch.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 18. And the men were afraid] A guilty conscience needs no accuser. Every thing alarms them; they now feel that God is exacting retribution, and they know not what the degrees shall be, nor where it shall stop.
Fall upon us] hithgolel alainu, roll himself upon us. A metaphor taken from wrestlers; when a man has overthrown his antagonist, he rolls himself upon him, in order to keep him down.
And our asses.] Which they probably had in great number with them; and which, if captured, would have been a great loss to the family of Jacob, as such cattle must have constituted a principal part of its riches.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Take us for bondmen, the proper punishment for thieves.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
18. the men were afraidTheirfeelings of awe on entering the stately mansion, unaccustomed as theywere to houses at all, their anxiety at the reasons of their beingtaken there, their solicitude about the restored money, their honestsimplicity in communicating their distress to the steward and hisassurances of having received their money in “full weight,”the offering of their fruit present, which would, as usual, be donewith some parade, and the Oriental salutations that passed betweentheir host and themare all described in a graphic and animatedmanner.
Ge43:31-34. THE DINNER.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph’s house,…. It not being usual, as Jarchi observes, for those that came to buy corn to lodge there, but at an inn in the city:
and they said, because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; to examine and inquire of them how they came to go away without paying for their corn, take up their money again after they had laid it down, and take it away with them, and so were guilty of tricking and defrauding, if not of theft:
that he may seek occasion against us: or “roll on us” z; cast all the shame on them, and leave the reproach and scandal of it on them:
and fall upon us; with hard words, and severe menaces, if not with blows:
and take us for bondmen, and our asses; imprison them, which was the punishment for fraud and theft, and take their asses as a forfeiture.
z “ut devolvat (hoc) in nos”, Tigurine version.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
18. The men were afraid Their cold and severe treatment on the former occasion filled them with a dread of Joseph, and they were predisposed to construe every thing that looked like danger into a plot against them and their property .
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Gen 43:18. The men were afraid Here again, as in ch. Gen 42:28. we see how conscience operates; they who had shewn no mercy are prone to believe that none will be shewn to them. The phrase, May seek occasion against us, is, in the Hebrew, as the margins of our Bibles render it, May roll himself upon us; i.e.. says Le Clerc, May bring an accusation against us: it is a metaphor taken from wrestling; where he who has overthrown his antagonist rolls himself upon him to keep him down. So Job 30:14. In my desolation they rolled themselves upon me.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Gen 43:18 And 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.
Ver. 18. And the men were afraid. ] Where no fear was; but that an ill conscience haunted them, and so “the sound of a shaken leaf” Lev 26:36 put them into a fright. As every body hath its shadow, so hath every sin its fear; and fear torment. 1Jn 4:18
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the men: Gen 42:21, Gen 42:28, Gen 42:35, Jdg 13:22, Job 15:21, Psa 53:5, Psa 73:16, Isa 7:2, Mat 14:26, Mat 14:27, Mar 6:16
seek occasion against us: Heb. Roll himself upon us, Deu 22:14, Deu 22:17, Jdg 14:4, Job 30:14, Rom 7:8
Reciprocal: Gen 44:9 – and we 2Sa 9:7 – Fear not Dan 6:4 – sought
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
43:18 And the men were {e} 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.
(e) So the judgment of God weighed on their consciences.