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Hereby you shall be tested. By the life of Pharaoh you shall not go forth from here, unless your youngest brother come here.
Verse Takeaways
1
An Authentic Egyptian Oath
Commentators explain that swearing 'by the life of Pharaoh' was a common and serious oath in ancient Egypt. Joseph used this oath to speak 'in character' as a high-ranking Egyptian official, making his threat to detain his brothers sound authentic and legally binding in that cultural context.
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Book Overview
Genesis
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5
18th Century
Presbyterian
שׁבר sheber — “fragment, crumb, hence, grain.” בר bar — “pure,” “winnowed,” hence, “corn” (grain).
ש…
19th Century
Anglican
By the life of Pharaoh. —It was common in ancient times to swear by the king’s life (see 1 Samuel 17:55; [Reference 2 …
16th Century
Protestant
By the life of Pharaoh. From this formula of swearing, a new question is raised. For what is commanded in the law—that we should swear onl…
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17th Century
Reformed Baptist
Hereby you shall be proved Whether spies, or not, namely, by producing their youngest brother, said to be at home wi…
Joseph was hard on his brothers, not from a spirit of revenge, but to bring them to repentance. Not seeing his brother Benjamin, he suspected that …
