LESSON IV.--APRIL 24.

JOSEPH AND HIS FATHER.--GEN. 47:1-12.

      GOLDEN TEXT.--Honor thy father and thy mother, which is the first commandment with promise.--EPH. 6:2.
      TIME.--About B. C. 1803.
      PLACE.--Egypt.
      HELPFUL READINGS.--Gen. 45:16-28; Gen. 46:1-34; Gen. 47:13-31; Gen. 48:1-22; Gen. 50:1-26. LESSON ANALYSIS.--I. Joseph and his Brethren before Pharaoh; 2. The Patriarch and the King; 3. Israel in Goshen.

INTRODUCTION.

      On the great subject of this chapter, the settlement of Israel in Egypt, Bishop Warburton, in his Divine Legation of Moses, says: The promise God made to Abraham to give his posterity the land of Canaan, could not be performed till that family was grown strong enough to take and keep possession of it. In the meantime, therefore, they were under the necessity of residing among idolaters, and to reside unmixed; but whoever examines their history will see that the Israelites had ever a violent propensity to join themselves to the Gentile nations and to adopt their manners. God, therefore, in his infinite wisdom, brought them into Egypt, and kept them there during this period, the only place where they could remain for so long a time safe and unconfounded with the natives. The ancient Egyptians were by their caste and system and many institutions forbidden all fellowship with strangers, and besides, they bore a particular aversion to the profession of the Israelites, who were shepherds. See Gen. 46:34. Thus the natural dispositions, which in Egypt caused their superstitions, and in consequence, the necessity of a burdensome ritual, would, in any other country have caused them to be absorbed into Gentilism, and to be confounded with idolaters, but in Egypt the caste system kept them apart as a separate race. From the Israelites going into Egypt arises a new occasion to adore the footsteps of Eternal Wisdom, in his dispensations to his chosen people.

      It has been said that Egypt must have presented to the nomadic Hebrews from Asia, eighteen centuries before the Christian era, the same contrast and the same attractions that Italy and the southern provinces of the Roman empire presented to the Gothic and Celtic tribes who descended upon them from beyond the Alps four centuries after Christ. Such is, in fact, the impression left upon our minds as we are first introduced in full view of Egypt, as we follow in the track of the caravan that carries Jacob and his family to the valley of the Nile.--Stanley. [119]

      I. JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN BEFORE PHARAOH.--1. Joseph came and told Pharaoh. By the order of the king he had sent for his father and all his belongings; then had gone to meet them in the land of Goshen; had there met and embraced his father whom he had not seen for twenty-two years, and had then departed to announce their arrival to Pharaoh, in order that a permanent provision might be made for their home. Behold, they are in the land of Goshen. They had already received the assurance that they should dwell in Goshen (Gen. 45:10) and hence had made that province their destination. It was nearest Palestine, consisting partly of rich pasture land, well watered, abounding in fish, and now containing according to Robinson, more flocks and yielding larger revenues than any other district of Egypt. When the Turks conquered Egypt Goshen was given to their Arab confederates as best suited to a pastoral people. The French, also, during their occupation of Egypt, assigned it to their Bedouin allies.

      2. He took some of his brethren, even five men. He probably selected the five brethren in order that their appearance might make a favorable impression upon Pharaoh. The rest were left to guard the household and tend the flocks and herds. This delegation seems to have had a sort of official character, to settle the terms on which they should settle in Egypt. Five is said to have been a favorite, and perhaps, a sacred number among the Egyptians.

      3. Pharaoh said unto his brethren. The interest the king manifests gives us a very favorable idea of his character. Oriental monarchs have generally secluded themselves from the public eye and been very difficult of access. Pharaoh, however, seems to be easily approached, to act like an ordinary mortal and to manifest a deep interest in human affairs. He asks the Hebrews about their occupation and they reply as Joseph had instructed them. Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers. The calling was not esteemed among the Egyptians (see Gen. 46:34) where the fertility of the Nile valley, invited the people to agriculture. Besides, the shepherds of the border, the nomadic Arabs, had long marauded in Egypt. In addition, a shepherd race, the Hyksos, the " Shepherd Kings," had conquered and oppressed [120] Egypt for 250 years. Still it was needful that the king should know that these Hebrews were shepherds in order that he might assign them to a region suited to their calling.

      4. For to sojourn in the land are we come. They do not ask for a permanent settlement in Egypt, but wish to sojourn for a time. They, no doubt, had heard of the prophecies made concerning their race, that it should possess Canaan as its permanent home, but that it should sojourn for a season in Egypt. They probably did not understand that several generations would pass before their descendants would return. It was proper that they should explain that they did not design to settle in Egypt permanently. He might, otherwise, think that they were merely the advance guard of another invasion like that of the Hyksos.

      5. Pharaoh. This Pharaoh is thought to have been identified, Mipra Thoutmosis, who reigned about twenty-five years, the name of whom often occurs on the monumental inscriptions. He now addresses Joseph, his prime minister, and thus the negotiation takes a formal shape, and the formal request made by the deputation of Hebrews is formally granted.

      6. The land of Egypt is before thee. A truly royal liberality breathes through the reply to their request in his answer through his prime minister. All that they had sought was liberty to dwell in the land of Goshen. The king ordered Joseph to assign them a dwelling place in the best part of that province. If thou knowest men of activity . . . make them rulers over my cattle. It is probable that the king's cattle were kept in the fine pasture land of Goshen. The Egyptians were not experts in the business of caring for flocks and herds, while the brethren of Joseph bad been trained in the business all their lives. It is likely that the king was desirous of favoring the brethren of his favorite minister and giving them remunerative employment, but the arrangement would prove mutually advantageous. [121]

      II. THE PATRIARCH AND THE KING.--7. Joseph brought in Jacob his father and set him before Pharaoh. It was only after this formal transaction and the settlement of the question of a temporary home in Egypt that the aged patriarch was introduced to the king. It will be noted, (1) that Joseph was not ashamed, though so highly exalted, to introduce his father and brethren to the king. He might easily have kept them in the background. (2) Jacob, accustomed as he was to a shepherd's life, and unused to the courts of kings, and especially to such splendid courts as that of Egypt, does not meet the king as an inferior, but rather as his superior. The consciousness of the high mission given him as the heir of the covenant made him the superior of kings. Time, which tests all things, has proved that, when Pharaoh and Jacob stood face to face, the latter was the loftier figure and the true king. It is with difficulty that the name of the Pharaoh can be rescued from oblivion, while that of Jacob is known to half the human race. Jacob blessed Pharaoh. The less, says Paul, is blessed of the greater. Jacob, though a stranger and a guest in need of the king's hospitality, does not crouch before him, in the style of Orientals, but, in the dignity and greatness of one hundred and thirty years of patriarchal life, pronounces his blessing upon the monarch; that is, asks Jehovah to be gracious to him. His blessing was the greatest return he could make for the king's kindness. This blessing was his salutation.

      8. Pharaoh said, . . How old art thou? The venerable appearance of Jacob seems to have aroused the king's interest, and he inquires his age, not only as a matter of curiosity, but of courtesy. Respect for age was more felt and more praised in the ancient world than in the modern, although it still exists among all but those who are either lost to all wisdom or to all sense of right.

      9. The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years. Jacob speaks of his life as a pilgrimage. It had been in the literal sense. He had left his father's house, long sojourned in Padan Aram, then returned after many years, and had been a sojourner in the land of Canaan, dwelling in tents at various places. Last of all he had moved down to Egypt to spend the evening of his days near Joseph. But, I suppose, that he rather speaks [122] of life as a pilgrimage. All the patriarchs "confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly" (Heb. 11:13-16). All God's children are here "but straying pilgrims," journeying to "a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." One hundred and thirty years. Pharaoh had probably never seen so old a man. Herodotus relates as a remarkable fact that persons among the Egyptians had been known to live to one hundred and twenty years. The low-lying country along the Nile was not so healthy as the uplands of Palestine, nor were Egyptian modes of life so favorable to longevity as the free shepherd life in the open air. As a rule the average human life is greatest among mountaineers and those who maintain a simple style of life. It has also been demonstrated by statistical tables that the Jews, even to this day, are longer lived than any other race. Few and evil have the days been. Jacob's life, though now serene, had been full of trouble. The Jews speak of Jacob's seven afflictions: (1) The persecution of Esau; (2) The injustice of Laban; (3) The result of his wrestling with the angel, (the dislocation of his thigh); (4) The violation of Dinah his daughter by Shechem, and the brutality of his sons, Simeon and Levi; (5) The loss of Joseph; (6) The imprisonment of Simeon; (7) The departure of Benjamin for Egypt. They might well have omitted some of these and inserted other sorrows; especially the incest of Reuben, and the death of the beloved Rachel. Have not attained to . . . the life of my fathers. Abraham lived to be one hundred and seventy-five years old, and Isaac reached one hundred and eighty years; yet neither of them had a tithe of the troubles that assailed Jacob.

      10. Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out. He blessed the king at the beginning of their interview. He blesses him again when he departs. The blessing was his salutation. The salutations of many lands are, in their origin, a blessing. The Spaniard says to a friend when he meets him, "God be with you." We say, "Fare thee well," or "Farewell," when we part from a friend. Our "Good morning," "Good evening," "Good bye," etc., are all blessings in their origin. Nor is it uncommon for a pious man to part with one with a fervent "God bless you."

      III. ISRAEL IN GOSHEN.--11. And Joseph placed his father and his brethren. Joseph, as prime minister, carried out the royal grant, and placed the Hebrew [123] tribe in the land of Goshen. It was given to them as a possession while they sojourned in Egypt. I state again, what has been stated in preceding lessons, that we must not suppose that the number of settlers was only seventy. Abraham's encampment must have numbered thousands, as there were 318 trained fighting men. Esau, the brother of Jacob, led 400 men. Jacob had "two troops" when he returned from Padan Aram. The patriarchs were chieftains of nomadic tribes. In the land of Rameses. In Exodus 1:11, it is said that the Israelites built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. It is possible that Goshen is here called the land of Raamses, or Rameses, by anticipation, as it may have become familiarly known to the Israelites by the name of the "land of Rameses," after they built the city of that name in it. Very probably, however, the Israelites in their captivity only fortified and strengthened the city of Rameses, then already existing, and so fitted it to be a strong treasure city. The name of Rameses became famous in after times from the exploits of Rameses II., a king of the nineteenth dynasty; but, he was of too late a date to have given name to a city, either in the time of Joseph, or that of the Exodus.--Canon Cook. The Septuagint Version renders the word Heroopolis, which was evidently the name of the city when they made their version, nearly 1500 years after the time of Joseph.

      12. Joseph nourished his father, etc. He supported them, during this time of famine, out of the royal granaries. According to their families. A better rendering is, "According to their little ones." That is, all were numbered, little ones also, and food was distributed according to their number.

PRACTICAL AND SUGGESTIVE.

      It is best that business should be done on business principles. A distinct understanding and a formal settlement of conditions usually saves trouble.

      Gray hairs with righteousness are a crown of glory.

      True greatness does not depend on station, but on usefulness to the race and the calling of God.

      Kings, who in their time dazzle foolish eyes with the glitter of royalty, soon sink out of sight and are forgotten, while true greatness grows greater as the centuries pass.

      The Lord makes place and time for any crisis he has appointed. If Egypt must be your country he will find for you a Goshen.

      The scene depicted on the tomb of Chnoumhotep at Beni Hassan is strikingly illustrative of the arrival of the Israelites in Egypt. The date of the inscription is that of the twelfth dynasty, which is probably the dynasty under which Joseph lived: A number of strangers, with beards on, which the Egyptians never wore, but which in the sculptures indicate uncivilized [124] foreigners, and with the dress and appearance of the Semitic nomads, appear before the governor, offering him gifts. They carry their goods with them on asses, have women and children, and are armed with bows and clubs. They are called Absha and his family, and the number thirty-seven is written over in hieroglyphics. The signs which accompany the picture indicate that they were either captives or tributaries. Sir G. Wilkinson, however, suggests that possibly this indication may result from the contemptuous way in which the Egyptians spoke of all foreigners, and the superiority they claimed over them. Moreover, they are armed, one is playing on a lyre, others bring presents, which things point to an immigration rather than to a captivity.

      One thing appears certain from the Mosaic history, the patron of Joseph was one of the native sovereigns of Egypt, not, as Eusebius supposed, one of the foreign shepherd kings. The flourishing and peaceful state of the kingdom; the regularity of the government; the power of the priesthood who were persecuted and oppressed by the savage shepherds; the hatred of the pastoral race and occupation; all these circumstances strongly indicate the orderly and uncontested authority of the native princes.--Milman.

POINTS FOR TEACHERS.

      1. Impress the picture of the Israelites in Egypt, nomads, dwellers in tents like the Arabs, keepers of flocks, in an agricultural land of settled homes and a fixed civilization. 2. Draw out the incidents of the formal deputation of five men to Pharaoh, its object and what it settled. 3. Note that they only ask a temporary home and why. Point out the reason that during a sojourn of 400 years the Hebrews still looked to Canaan as their home. 4. Note the striking interview between Jacob and Pharaoh, the hoary shepherd patriarch, 130 years old, before the king as an equal or superior and why. 6. Show that while Pharaoh seemed the greater he was not. Show who is truly great. The Savior's test. 6. Show why Jacob called his days few and evil. 7. Bring out why he called his life a pilgrimage, and why every life is one. 8. Point out Jacob blessing the king and its signification. 9. Note Israel settled in Goshen, a charter for a home, and give a glance at their history till they ended their sojourn. 10. Show how their life was a type of ours, how the sinner is in Egypt, how he is under taskmaster, how his bondage is broken, and how he travels to Canaan.

Source: Barton Warren Johnson. The Christian International Lesson Commentary for 1887. Des Moines, IA: