23 He was troubled by the archers; they sent out their arrows against him, cruelly wounding him:
And they took him and put him in the hole: now the hole had no water in it.
And some traders from Midian went by; so pulling Joseph up out of the hole, they gave him to the Ishmaelites for twenty bits of silver, and they took him to Egypt.
And because his brothers saw that Joseph was dearer to his father than all the others, they were full of hate for him, and would not say a kind word to him.
But they saw him when he was a long way off, and before he came near them they made a secret design against him to put him to death;
And after a time, his master's wife, looking on Joseph with desire, said to him, Be my lover. But he would not, and said to her, You see that my master keeps no account of what I do in his house, and has put all his property in my control; So that no one has more authority in this house than I have; he has kept nothing back from me but you, because you are his wife; how then may I do this great wrong, sinning against God? And day after day she went on requesting Joseph to come to her and be her lover, but he would not give ear to her. Now one day he went into the house to do his work; and not one of the men of the house was inside. And pulling at his coat, she said, Come to my bed; but slipping out of his coat, he went running away. And when she saw that he had got away, letting her keep his coat, She sent for the men of her house and said to them, See, he has let a Hebrew come here and make sport of us; he came to my bed, and I gave a loud cry; And hearing it he went running out without his coat. And she kept his coat by her, till his master came back. Then she gave him the same story, saying, The Hebrew servant whom you have taken into our house came in to make sport of me; And when I gave a loud cry he went running out without his coat. And hearing his wife's account of what his servant had done, he became very angry. And Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, in the place where the king's prisoners were kept in chains, and he was there in the prison-house.
And they said to one another, Truly, we did wrong to our brother, for we saw his grief of mind, and we did not give ear to his prayers; that is why this trouble has come on us.
I have been hard pushed by you, so that I might have a fall: but the Lord was my helper.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Genesis 49
Commentary on Genesis 49 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 49
This chapter is a prophecy; the likest to it we have yet met with was that of Noah, ch. 9:25, etc. Jacob is here upon his death-bed, making his will. He put it off till now, because dying men's words are apt to make deep impressions, and to be remembered long: what he said here, he could not say when he would, but as the Spirit gave him utterance, who chose this time, that divine strength might be perfected in his weakness. The twelve sons of Jacob were, in their day, men of renown, but the twelve tribes of Israel, which descended and were denominated from them, were much more renowned; we find their names upon the gates of the New Jerusalem, Rev. 21:12. In the prospect of this their dying father says something remarkable of each son, or of the tribe that bore his name. Here is,
Gen 49:1-4
Here is,
Gen 49:5-7
These were next in age to Reuben, and they also had been a grief and shame to Jacob, when they treacherously and barbarously destroyed the Shechemites, which he here remembers against them. Children should be afraid of incurring their parents' just displeasure, lest they fare the worse for it long afterwards, and, when they would inherit the blessing, be rejected. Observe,
Gen 49:8-12
Glorious things are here said of Judah. The mention of the crimes of the three elder of his sons had not so put the dying patriarch out of humour but that he had a blessing ready for Judah, to whom blessings belonged. Judah's name signifies praise, in allusion to which he says, Thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise, v. 8. God was praised for him (ch. 29:35), praised by him, and praised in him; and therefore his brethren shall praise him. Note, Those that are to God for a praise shall be the praise of their brethren. It is prophesied that,
Gen 49:13-21
Here we have Jacob's prophecy concerning six of his sons.
Gen 49:22-27
He closes with the blessings of his best beloved sons, Joseph and Benjamin; with these he will breathe his last.
Gen 49:28-33
Here is,