Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 45:14
And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
Gen 45:14
And he fell upon his brother Benjamins neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck
Tears of love
This incident is the most unquestionable instance in the Bible of tears of love.
No other feeling but love made Joseph weep.
I. Tears of love are true evidences–and evidences which can scarcely speak falsely.
II. Tears have much of the nature of sacrifice in them.
III. Though there are no tears in heaven, yet loving tears on earth come nearer than anything else in the world to the alleluias of the saints, for they are the outbursts of an irrepressible emotion.
IV. Tears of kindness act back again, and make the kindness from which they spring. In order to have the heart soft enough for tears–
(1) You must lead a pure life;
(2) You must feel that you are loved;
(3) You must be subdued;
(4) You must help yourself by action;
(5) You must have pity. (J. Vaughan, M. A.)
Lessons
1. Grace forbids not natural working of affection in its measure.
2. Mutual workings of hearts in brethren is but natural (Gen 45:14).
3. Sincere kisses and tears of injured brethren to offenders are remarkable.
4. Brotherly communion may be freely had, when grace had put away all offences, and accepted offenders (Gen 45:15). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
The first embrace for Benjamin
There was an instinctive delicacy in selecting that one for his first embraces who was best able to return them freely. It gave the others time. Not that he thought of that and planned it; but the instincts of a good heart are very wise. Benjamin could weep tears of unmingled joy, for he had love only to accept–not forgiveness as well. One looks eagerly through the story to find some word telling that the others wept, the ten men who were over forty years of age, the sinners convicted, humbled, pardoned. Such a word would be very welcome; but I do not find it. We have to be content to take another lesson in the mystery of restoring love–that it is easier for God to forgive us than for us to forgive ourselves; that the part of Christs work which most proves the omnipotence of His grace, is when He persuades us to believe that He has forgiven us. That once believed by the heart, tears flow fast. There is only One who can so look on us that we shall go forth and weep bitterly. Leaving Benjamin after a time, Joseph went from one to another of his brethren, kissing them and weeping on them. I see him beginning with Reuben and Simeon, ending with Judah. The appeal, if one may translate so tender an utterance of the heart into any words, meant this, I love and forgive you: love me and trust me, trust me and love in return. And after that his brethren talked with him. The struggle had been a hard one, but love had conquered. It matters little what they talked about–the wonders of Egypt, the storehouses, the capabilities of Goshen, Asenath and Manasseh and Ephraim, the state of the flocks at home, the children of each, their father, the dreams; the great thing was that they talked at all. It was not now as it had been at the banquet yesterday; restraint and stratagem had gone for ever; brother talked to brother, heart to heart. (A. M.Symington, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 14. He fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck] Among the Asiatics kissing the beard, the neck, and the shoulders, is in use to the present day; and probably falling on the neck signifies no more than kissing the neck or shoulders, with the arms around.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
14, 15. And he fell upon . . .Benjamin’s neckThe sudden transition from a condemned criminalto a fondled brother, might have occasioned fainting or even death,had not his tumultuous feelings been relieved by a torrent of tears.But Joseph’s attentions were not confined to Benjamin. Heaffectionately embraced every one of his brothers in succession; andby those actions, his forgiveness was demonstrated more fully than itcould be by words.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept,…. On his neck first, because he was his own brother by father and mother’s side; and he wept over him for joy that he had a sight of him once more: the word for “neck” is in the plural number, and being used, may signify that he fell first on one side of his neck, and then on the other, to show his great affection for him:
and Benjamin wept upon his neck; their love and the tokens of it were reciprocal.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
‘And he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin fell on his neck. And he kissed all his brothers and wept on them, and after that his brothers talked with him.’
The story being told the reunion is sealed. First as a brother he greets his own blood brother, and then all his brothers, and finally, the tensions removed, they talk together as brothers.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Gen 45:24 Comments – Joseph tells his brothers not to quarrel along their journey back home. Why this warning: because they felt guilty at what they had done to Joseph and would have argued over whose fault it may have been?
NIV, “Then he sent his brothers away, and as they were leaving he said to them, “Don’t quarrel on the way!”
Gen 45:26 “And Jacob’s heart fainted, for he believed them not” Comments – Gesenius says the Hebrew word “fainted” ( ) (H6313) means, “to be cold, to be void of vital warmth.” He says it Gen 45:26 it means, “was not warmed or moved with joy.” Strong says it means, “to be sluggish,” and is translated “cease, be feeble, faint, be slacked.” Thus, in Gen 45:27, when Jacob’s spirit revived, you can see the word “revived” throbbing up and down on the page.
Gen 45:28 Comments – As we see in the following chapter, the Lord spoke to Jacob to go down into Egypt and dwell there. We know that this was to fulfill the words that God spoke to Abraham in a vision that his children would dwell in a strange land and be afflicted and come out in the fourth generation (Gen 15:12-16).
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Gen 45:14 And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
Ver. 14. And he fell upon his brother, &c. ] God’s people are not senseless stoics or flinty Nabals; but have natural affections in them, as others; yea, above others, that have banished good nature, and can weep as little as witches. The enemy hath stopped the wells, and stayed the watercourses, as Holofernes: what should hinder him now from taking the town?
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Gen 29:11, Gen 33:4, Gen 46:29, Rom 1:31
Reciprocal: Luk 15:20 – and fell Act 20:37 – fell