Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 43:9
I 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 forever:
9. I will be surety ] i.e. I will guarantee to bring him back. In Gen 42:37 Reuben had been ready to pledge the lives of his two sons for Benjamin’s safety. Here Judah is ready to pledge his own life; see Gen 44:32. The versions fairly reproduce the original: LXX ; Lat. suscipio puerum.
let me bear the blame for ever ] R.V. marg. gives the literal rendering I shall have sinned against thee for ever, LXX , Lat. peccati reus ero. Compare the same idiom in Gen 31:39, “I bare the loss,” and 1Ki 1:21, “I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders” (Heb. sinners). The penalty will be proportioned to the failure.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 9. Let me bear the blame for ever] vechatathi lecha col haiyamim, then shall I sin against thee all my days, and consequently be liable to punishment for violating my faith.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I will be surety for him,…. Engage for his safe return:
of my hand shall thou require him; I will be answerable for him:
if I bring him not to thee, and set him before thee: do not return him from Egypt, and bring him to Canaan, into his father’s house and presence safe, and sound:
then let me bear the blame for ever; of persuading his father to let him go with him; all this he said, to show what care he would take of him, and what confidence he had that no evil would befall him, that he would be returned with them in safety; which he might ground upon the assurance that Joseph had given, that they should not die if they brought their brother with them, Ge 42:20; and perhaps Judah, as Schmidt thinks, might be under a special instinct of divine Providence, which directed him to say these things: and it may be added, that Jacob also might be under a divine impulse, which influenced him to regard what Judah said, or otherwise his suretyship was but a poor security, and of little avail.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(9) Then let me bear the blame for ever.This is much more manly and therefore more persuasive than Reubens talk about pledging the lives of his children. For it was real, nor would it be a slight matter to stand in his fathers presence all the rest of his life as one guilty of a grievous crime.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Gen 43:9 I 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:
Ver. 9. I will be surety for him. ] Herein he was a type of Christ, that came of him, who is both our surety to God, for the discharge of our debt and duty, and God’s surety to us, for the performance of his promises. Heb 7:22
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
forever. Hebrew “all the days”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
will be: Gen 42:37, Gen 44:32, Gen 44:33, 1Ki 1:21, Job 17:3, Psa 119:122, Phm 1:18, Phm 1:19, Heb 7:22
of my hand: Gen 9:5, Gen 31:39, Eze 3:18, Eze 3:20, Eze 33:6, Eze 33:8, Luk 11:50
Reciprocal: Gen 27:13 – Upon Gen 29:35 – called Gen 44:16 – Judah Pro 6:1 – if thou be
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
SURETY FOR A BROTHER
I will be surety for him.
Gen 43:9
I. I will be surety for him, said Judah; and so he became, in a faint and far-off way, the forerunner of Jesus.
II. I am Surety for thee, my Lord whispers to my heart; and then He asks me to remember the flawless perfection of His obedience. I should have kept the holy law of God, but I have broken all its preceptsI have sought out many inventions of my own. But the Well-beloved Son takes my place, and fulfils commandment after commandment; and His righteousness is counted mine.
III. I am Surety for thee, says the Lord again; and He points me to the wonder and the worth of His sacrifice on the Cross. I deserve to die. The sword hangs over my head. The sentence is written against me. But my Saviour, both Victor and Victim, loves me and gives Himself for me. The Good Shepherd lays down His life.
Out of pity Jesus said,
Hed bear the punishment instead.
IV. I am Surety for thee, my Lord tells me once more; and He directs my eyes upward to His priesthood in the heavenly places. Day and night there is no pause in His intercessions on my behalf. Day and night He ever liveth to plead for me. O, prevailing and persevering grace of Jesus Christ! It gains for me, unworthy, helpless, every good gift and every perfect boon.
Illustration
The older sort of worshippers, the Rev. C. P. Golightly used to catch with guile. His plan was to announce from the pulpit on a Sunday afternoon, what next Sunday afternoon the sermon would be about. Of course he made a judicious selection of subjectse.g., Noah in the ark, Jonah in the whales belly, Daniel in the lions den, and so on. The church used to be thronged to suffocation; and Golightly on emerging from the vestry in his M.A.s gown was devoured by the eyes of the expectant rustics; some of them by a slight confusion of ideas, seeming to suppose that it was Noah himself, Daniel, or Jonah, as the case might be, who had come back in order to relate his experiences. We were talking about the character and sayings of Jacobfull of human pathos. Come now, said I, tell me which you consider the most human of all his utterances. Instantlyin a deep tone of mournful reproach which quite startled mehe exclaimed, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Gen 43:9. Let me bear the blame for ever Hebrew, Be an offender to thee: let me bear the guilt, and shame, and punishment due to so great an offender Judahs conscience had lately smitten him for what he had done a great while ago against Joseph; and as an evidence of the truth of his repentance, he is ready to undertake, as far as a man could do it, for Benjamins security. He will not only not wrong him, but will do all he can to protect him. This is such restitution as the case will admit: when he knew not how he could retrieve Joseph, he would make some amends for the irreparable injury he had done him, by doubling his care concerning Benjamin.