Genesis 42
BBCGenesis 42:1
- Joseph’s Brothers in Egypt (Chaps. 4244)42:1-5 The scene switches back to Jacob in Canaan, where the famine was very severe. Hearing that there was plenty of food (grain) in Egypt, but knowing nothing of Joseph’s being there, Jacob sent ten of his sons for supplies. Only Benjamin remained at home. So far as Jacob knew, Benjamin was the only living son of his beloved Rachel. 42:6-25 When Joseph’s brothers appeared before him, he treated them roughly, accusing them of being spies, putting them in prison, then demanding that their youngest brother, Benjamin, be brought to him. At last, Simeon was kept as a hostage in prison while the nine others returned to Canaan for Benjamin, well supplied with grain, with provisions, and with their money refunded secretly in the bags. Shining through the narrative we see Joseph’s underlying love and compassion for his brothers (vv. 24a, 25) and their growing conviction of sin for what they had done to their “missing” brother over twenty years earlier (vv. 21, 22). Joseph, of course, was seeking to get them to confess their guilt. We believe that Joseph is a type of Christ dealing with His Jewish brethren during the coming Tribulation Period. The events leading up to the reconciliation of Joseph’s brothers form one of the most moving portions in the Bible. Almost no other story is as intimate, detailed, or complete a picture of Christ.
TYPOLOGYCertain persons, events, and things in the OT are clearly identified as types or symbols in the NT. Thus, Adam is said to be a type of Christ (Rom_5:14). Others are not specifically referred to as types, yet the parallels are too many and too obvious to be denied. Joseph, for instance, is never referred to as a type of the Lord Jesus, yet there are over one hundred correspondences between Jesus and Joseph. When the Lord Jesus talked to the two sorrowing disciples on the road to Emmaus, “He expounded to them in all the Scriptures [emphasis supplied] the things concerning Himself” (Luk_24:27). The incarnate Christ said, “In the volume of the book it is written of Me. . . .” (Heb_10:7). Therefore we are justified in looking for Christ in all the Scriptures. Regarding Israel’s experiences in the OT, Paul tells us that “all these things happened to them as examples and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1Co_10:11). This would strongly support the view that not just specifically named types are valid, but many more as well. Paul reminded Timothy that all Scripture is profitable (2Ti_3:16). There are spiritual lessons to be learned, if only we have eyes to see them. Large sections of the Book of Hebrews are an explanation of the typology of the tabernacle and its furnishings. While it is true that a too narrow view of typology will restrict a believer’s spiritual enjoyment of much of the OT, the other extreme of making virtually everything a type, or even turning all history into allegory, is to be avoided as well. Strained or fanciful explanations of the types have brought disrepute on the subject. We should should not allow extremism to rob us of the spiritual wealth in the OT. If an interpretation exalts Christ, and/or edifies His people, and/or conveys the gospel to the lost, and is consistent with the entire teaching of the Word, it is at the very least a valid application of the truth.
42:26-28 On the way home, one of the brothers found his money in his sack. This threw them into panic, making them fear they might be accused of theft (vv. 26-28). 42:29-38 When they got home and told their story, the rest of them also found their money, and their fears multiplied. Jacob was inconsolable. In spite of Reuben’s offering the lives of his two sons as a guarantee, the patriarch feared to allow Benjamin to go to Egypt lest harm befall him.