Genesis 43:32

And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
on	וַיָּשִׂ֥ימוּ vai.ya.Si.mu	H7760	to put (used in a great variety of applications · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
Egyptians	וְלַמִּצְרִ֞ים ve.la.mitz.Rim	H4713	a Mitsrite · conjunction + preposition with the article + noun, gentilic masculine plural absolute
eat	הָאֹכְלִ֤ים ha.'o.khe.Lim	H398	to eat (literally or figuratively) · definite article + verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
Egyptians	הַמִּצְרִ֗ים ha.mitz.Rim	H4713	a Mitsrite · definite article + noun, gentilic masculine plural absolute
might	יוּכְל֜וּן yu.khe.Lun	H3201	to be able · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural + paragogic nun
eat	לֶאֱכֹ֤ל le.'e.Khol	H398	to eat (literally or figuratively) · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
bread	לֶ֔חֶם Le.chem	H3899	food (for man or beast) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
Hebrews	הָֽעִבְרִים֙ ha.'iv.Rim	H5680	an Eberite (i.e. Hebrew) or descendant of Eber · definite article + noun, gentilic masculine plural absolute
abomination	תוֹעֵבָ֥ה to.'e.Vah	H8441	properly · noun, common feminine singular absolute
Egyptians	מִצְרַיִם Mitsrayim	H4714	Mitsrajim

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).

Cross-references

Genesis 46:34 That ye shall say, Thy servants’ trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwel…
Exodus 8:26 And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God: lo, shall we sacrifice…
Genesis 31:54 Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the moun…
Genesis 43:16 And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and slay, and make ready; for these men sha…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 43:26–end

Here is, I. The great respect that Joseph's brethren paid to him. When they brought him the present, they bowed themselves before him (Gen 43:26); and again, when they gave him an account of their father's health, they made obeisance, and called him, Thy servant our father, Gen 43:28. Thus were Joseph's dreams fulfilled more and more: and even the father, by the sons, bowed before him, according to the dream, Gen 37:10. Probably Jacob had directed them, if they had occasion to speak of him to the man, the lord of the land, to call him his servant. II. The great kindness that Joseph showed to them, while they little thought it was a brotherly kindness. Here is, 1. His kind enquiry concerning…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 43:32

Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination--The prejudice probably arose from the detestation in which, from the oppressions of the shepherd-kings, the nation held all of that occupation.

Adam Clarke on Genesis 43:32

They set on for him by himself, etc. - From the text it appears evident that there were three tables, one for Joseph, one for the Egyptians, and one for the eleven brethren. The Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews - There might have been some political reason for this, with which we are unacquainted; but independently of this, two may be assigned. 1. The Hebrews were shepherds; and Egypt had been almost ruined by hordes of lawless wandering bandits, under the name of Hycsos, or King-shepherds, who had but a short time before this been expelled from the land by Amasis, after they had held it in subjection for 259 years, according to Manetho, committing the most wanton cruelties. 2.…

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John Gill on Genesis 43:32

And they set on for him by himself,.... A table was placed and provisions set upon it in one part of the room for Joseph by himself; which was done either because he was an Hebrew, and the Egyptians might not eat with him, nor he with them; or rather for the sake of grandeur, he being the next man in the kingdom to Pharaoh: and for them by themselves; another table was placed and spread for Joseph's brethren by themselves, the reason of which is after given: and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves; a third table was laid for such Egyptian noblemen and others, who were at this time Joseph's guests, or used to dine with him: because the Egyptians might not eat bread wit…

The Church Fathers

(Verse 32) And they drank, and were intoxicated with it. The idiom of the Hebrew language is to equate drunkenness with satiety, as it says there: 'He shall be satisfied with the abundance of rain, with the produce of his land he shall be intoxicated.' (Psalm 65:11) Undoubtedly, this refers to a land irrigated by rain.
— Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis

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

Abomination — This word is used, (1.) To express the idea that the Egyptians considered themselves as defiled when they ate with strangers (Gen. 43:32). The Jews subsequently followed the same practice, holding it…
Eating — The ancient Hebrews would not eat with the Egyptians (Gen. 43:32). In the time of our Lord they would not eat with Samaritans (John 4:9), and were astonished that he ate with publicans and sinners…
Hebrew — A name applied to the Israelites in Scripture only by one who is a foreigner (Gen. 39:14, 17; 41:12, etc.), or by the Israelites when they speak of themselves to foreigners (40:15; Ex. 1:19), or when…
Brother · Joseph’s, for his brethren — Joseph’s, for his brethren
Defilement · Egyptian usage, concerning — Egyptian usage, concerning
Dissembling · .Joseph — .Joseph
Egypt · Mode of entertaining in — Mode of entertaining in
Egyptians · Refused to eat with Hebrews — Refused to eat with Hebrews
Feasts · .Men alone present at — .Men alone present at
Hebrew · .And his — .And his
Hospitality · .Joseph to his brothers — .Joseph to his brothers
Israel · .Al — .Al

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).

Genesis 43:32

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 43:26–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 43:32

Adam Clarke on Genesis 43:32

John Gill on Genesis 43:32

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 43:32

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 43:26–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 43:32

Adam Clarke on Genesis 43:32

John Gill on Genesis 43:32

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Genesis 43:32

Keil & Delitzsch on Genesis 43:26–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 43:30

Rashi on Genesis 43:32