Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 45:9

Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:

Gen 45:9-13

Thus saith thy son Joseph

Lessons

1.

Providence may order traitors to be messengers of better news than they intended.

2. Gracious children are speedy to take off grief from their parents hearts.

3. God orders those events of mercy to be declared unto His, which they sometimes would not believe.

4. Josephs spirit owneth his afflicted father in all his own glory.

5. Josephs heart ascribes all his glory unto God only.

6. Joseph contents not himself to be in plenty and glory, but to have his father with him (Gen 45:9).

7. Certain and fertile habitations are human motives to draw from barren places.

8. Nearness to dearest relations may persuade to change habitations (Gen 45:10).

9. Alimony is a duty of children to parents in straights.

10. Assurance of nourishment may well draw from places where bread is wanting.

11. Gods continuance of famine should move souls to follow His providence for food.

12. It is beseeming Gods servants to provide under Him against impoverishing of their families. So Joseph (Gen 45:11).

13. Eyewitnesses and they dear ones of Gods gracious events, should persuade good souls to believe them (verse 121.

14. Gracious souls may urge their dignity to help the distressed, but not in vain glory.

15. Grace makes nature speedy in the execution of its duty.

16. Gracious children desire earnestly their parents with them in their fulness (Gen 45:13). (G. Hughes, B. D.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Haste you, and go up to my father,…. In Canaan, which lay higher than Egypt; being desirous he should know as soon as possible that he was alive, and in what circumstances he was:

and say unto him, thus saith thy son Joseph; without any title, such as the father and counsellor of Pharaoh and governor of Egypt, only Joseph his son, which would be enough to revive the heart of Jacob:

God hath made me lord over all Egypt: his exaltation to this dignity he ascribes, not to Pharaoh, but to God; civil honour and promotion to worldly grandeur and dignity are from God, and not from man:

come down unto me, tarry not; the great business on his hands not permitting him to go to his father and fetch him to Egypt, he desires that he would come to him without delay, which would be greatly to the advantage of him and his family, and to their mutual comfort.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Verses 9-15:

Joseph’s primary concern was for his aged father. Jacob at this time was 130 years of age. Joseph had not seen him for more than twenty years. His heart yearned to be reunited with Israel and to be near him during the closing years of his life. Also, it was his desire to provide for Israel and his family during the coming years of famine.

Particularly charged with deep emotion was the reunion between Joseph and his full brother Benjamin. Joseph loved all his brothers, but there was a special relationship between him and Benjamin. They were both sons of Rachel, the beloved favorite of their father Jacob.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

9. Thus saith thy son Joseph. In giving this command, he shows that he spoke of his power in order to inspire his father with stronger confidence. We know how dilatory old men are; and, besides, it was difficult to tear holy Jacob away from the inheritance which was divinely promised to him. Therefore Joseph, having pointed out the necessity for the step, declares what a desirable relief the Lord had offered. It may, however, be asked, why the oracle did not occur to their minds, concerning which they had been instructed by their fathers, namely, that they should be strangers and servants in a strange land. (Gen 15:13.) For it seems that Joseph here promises nothing but mere pleasures, as if no future adversity was to be apprehended. But though nothing is expressly declared on this point by Moses, yet I am induced, by a probable conjecture, to believe that Jacob was not forgetful of the oracle. For, unless he had been retained by some celestial chain, he never could have remained in Egypt after the expiration of the time of scarcity. For by remaining there voluntarily, he would have appeared to cast away the hope of the inheritance promised him by God. Seeing, then, that he does not provide for his return into the land of Canaan, but only commands his corpse to be carried thither; nor yet exhorts his sons to a speedy return, but suffers them to settle in Egypt; he does this, not from indolence, or because he is allured by the attractions of Egypt, or has become weary of the land of Canaan; but because he is preparing himself and his offspring to bear that tyranny, concerning which he had been forewarned by his father Isaac. Therefore he regards it as an advantage that, at his first coming, he is hospitably received; but, in the meantime, he revolves in his mind what had been spoken to Abraham.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

9. Haste ye tarry not The emotion of a consuming filial love is in these words . How long will seem the days until son and father meet again!

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

“Be quick and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph. God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me. Do not linger. And you shall dwell in the land of Goshen and you shall be near to me, you and your children, and your children’s children, and your flocks and your herds and all that you have. And there I will nourish you, for there are yet five years of famine, lest you come to poverty, you and your household and all that you have.’ ”

Now that all is in the open Joseph can no longer bear to wait to see his father. He sends them to bring his father immediately along with everything they have.

“You shall dwell in the land of Goshen.” Its exact location is unknown but it was undoubtedly in the Nile delta. It was clearly a very suitable location for shepherds (Gen 47:6). The Nile delta regularly saw influxes of Asian refugees as they came over the border seeking help and relief which was regularly given. Thus Joseph is quite confident of their welcome there on his own authority. He does not feel he has to consult on the matter.

“You shall be near to me.” This need not necessarily mean that Joseph lives in the Nile delta. ‘Near’ is possibly relative, and Memphis, the pre-Hyksos capital, could well be seen as ‘near’. The point was that he will not have to visit Canaan to see them.

The whole family tribe is welcome, ‘all that you have’. This would be quite numerous. In Goshen they will be specifically provided for and later, after the famine, will enjoy the prosperity of the land.

An Egyptian source interestingly mentions a similar thing some centuries later, when, in c1220 BC, Pharaoh Merenptah gave permission to some Edomite bedouins to settle in the land Goshen ‘to keep themselves and their flocks alive in the territory of the king’.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Joseph’s Request to Bring His Father to Egypt – It was Joseph’s passionate plea to bring his family under his tender care and protection during the years of famine. Despite the way he had been treated, he still wanted to return his kindness upon them.

The Father’s Heart – Note these words from Frances J. Roberts regarding this story in Genesis.

“Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price (Isa 55:1). Lo, My heart is grieved by thine independence. How would Joseph have felt if his father and family had remained at home, starving in the famine, when he had invited them to share the bountiful stores which he had at his disposal and desired to share freely with them? (Genesis 45) Would he not have grieved far more deeply than over that unjust actions of his brothers who hated him? For to be rebuffed by a loved one causeth pain not to be compared with the cruelties inflicted by an enemy. So thine indifference and unresponsiveness to My call bringeth anguish to My soul, yea, deeper grief than the crimes of the reprobate sinner. For My rod have I laid upon the sinner, but Mine hand have I laid upon thee.” [256]

[256] Frances J. Roberts, Come Away My Beloved (Ojai, California: King’s Farspan, Inc., 1973), 169.

Gen 45:10  And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children’s children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast:

Gen 45:10 “thou, and thy children, and thy children’s children” Comments – Besides the generation of Jacob and the two maidservants of his two deceased wives, there were three generations of Hebrews who came into the land of Egypt. There were the twelve sons of Jacob, with their sons. The third generation were a few grandchildren who were born to the twelve sons of Jacob. These will be listed in the following chapter.

Gen 45:11  And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.

Gen 45:12  And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you.

Gen 45:13  And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures