an opening (literally) · noun, common masculine singular construct
house
הַבָּֽיִתha.Ba.yit
H1004
a house (in the greatest variation of applications · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Genesis 43:15-25
Jacob's sons, having got leave to take Benjamin with them, were observant of the orders their father had given them, and went down the second time into Egypt to buy corn. If we should ever know what a famine of the word means, let us not think it much to travel as far for spiritual food as they did for corporal food. Now here we have an account of what passed between them and Joseph's steward, who, some conjecture, was in the secret, and knew them to be Joseph's brethren, and helped to humour the thing; I rather think not, because no man was permitted to be present when Joseph afterwards made himself known to them, Gen 45:1. Observe, 1. Joseph's steward has orders from his master (who was bu…
the men were afraid--Their feelings of awe on entering the stately mansion, unaccustomed as they were to houses at all, their anxiety at the reasons of their being taken there, their solicitude about the restored money, their honest simplicity in communicating their distress to the steward and his assurances of having received their money in "full weight," the offering of their fruit present, which would, as usual, be done with some parade, and the Oriental salutations that passed between their host and them--are all described in a graphic and animated manner.
Adam Clarke on Genesis 43:18
And the men were afraid - A guilty conscience needs no accuser. Every thing alarms them; they now feel that God is exacting retribution, and they know not what the degrees shall be, nor where it shall stop.
Fall upon us - התגלל עלינו hithgolel alainu, roll himself upon us. A metaphor taken from wrestlers; when a man has overthrown his antagonist, he rolls himself upon him, in order to keep him down.
And our asses - Which they probably had in great number with them; and which, if captured, would have been a great loss to the family of Jacob, as such cattle must have constituted a principal part of its riches.
John Gill on Genesis 43:19
And they came near to the steward of Joseph's house,.... The same person before called the ruler of his house, under whose direction they were; just before they came to the house, as it seems by what follows, they made up to him as having something to say to him:
and they communed with him at the door of the house; before they went into it, being uneasy and eager to know what should be the meaning of their being brought thither, which was unusual.
The Church Fathers
Then the [brothers] approached Joseph's steward and said to him, "When we returned the first time we opened our sacks, and behold, there was each one's money in the opening of his sack. We are now returning it to you because it is not right that we take the money for the grain together with the grain." But when the steward saw how terrified they were, he consoled them and said, "Rest assured, do not be afraid. It is not because of the money, which I received, that we are bringing you into this house. We have eagerly awaited you because of the truth that is found among you. You are not going to be condemned for something that you did not take. You have been summoned to recline and be seated before our master, for he is just, and by the honor that he has reserved for you this second time, he wishes to make you forget the disgrace that you endured the first time."
And they began to desire to plead their case to the man who was steward of the house at the door of the house. They still hesitate to enter in and prefer to be justified from their works, for they desire to prove a case rather than to receive grace, and so they are refuted at the gates. But the one who awaits the fruit of the Virgin's womb and the inheritance of the Lord is dealing in the goods of the Son and is not ashamed at the gate. Rather, at the end of this life he drives back the enemy so that the latter, who is aware of his quite serious guilt, may not hinder him as he hastens to higher things. On this account, the steward answered them in a mystical sense. And know who this is, when you read that Moses was faithful in all his house. For Moses and Peter and Paul and the other saints are the stewards, but Christ alone is the master. It is written, "Moses was faithful in all his house as a servant for a testimony of those things which had been said, but Christ as the Son in his own house, which house we are, if we hold fast liberty and the glory of the hope."
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Houses · Entered by a gate or door — Entered by a gate or door
Money · Silver used as — Silver used as
Steward · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Calvin on Genesis 43:16-22
And he said to the ruler of his house. Here we perceive the fraternal disposition of Joseph; though it is uncertain whether he was perfectly reconciled, as I will shortly show, in its proper place. If, however, remembering the injury, he loved his brethren less than before, he was still far from having vindictive feelings towards them. But because it was something suspicious that foreigners and men of ignoble rank should be received in a friendly manner, like known guests, to a banquet, by the chief governor of the kingdom, the sons of Jacob would conceive a new fear; namely, that he wished to cast them all into chains; and that their money had been craftily concealed in their sacks, in orde…
When the brethren appeared before Joseph, he ordered his steward to take them into the house, and prepare a dinner for them and for him. טבה the original form of the imperative for טבח. But the brethren were alarmed, thinking that they were taken into the house because of the money which returned the first time (השּׁב which came back, they could not imagine how), that he might take them unawares (lit., roll upon them), and fall upon them, and keep them as salves, along with their asses. For the purpose of averting what they dreaded, they approached (Gen 43:19) the steward and told him, "at the door of the house," before they entered therefore, how, at the first purchase of corn, on opening t…
The brothers, completely vulnerable and feeling the weight of God’s judgment on their consciences, approached the manager in desperation.
Rashi on Genesis 43:18
וייראו האנשים AND THE MEN WERE AFRAID — The word ויראו is written with two yods and its translation in the Targum is ודחילו and they were afraid.
כי הובאו בית יוסף BECAUSE THEY WERE BROUGHT INTO JOSEPH S HOUSE, and it was not usual for other people who came to buy corn to stay overnight in Joseph’s house but in the inns of the city. וייראו AND THEY WERE AFRAID, because this could be only for the purpose of putting them in prison.
אנחנו מובאים WE HAVE BEEN BROUGHT inside this house.
להתגלל means THAT THERE MAY BE ROLLED UPON US an accusation regarding the money AND THAT THIS MAY FALL UPON US. And according to Onkelos who rendered ולהתנפל עלינו by ולאסתקפא עלנא, it signifies seeking an occa…
