Genesis 44:33 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a servant to my lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers.

NIV: "Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers.

NASB: So now, please let your servant remain as a slave to my lord instead of the boy, and let the boy go up with his brothers.

CSB: Now please let your servant remain here as my lord’s slave, in place of the boy. Let him go back with his brothers.

NLT: So please, my lord, let me stay here as a slave instead of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers.

KJV: Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren.

NKJV: Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad as a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers.

Judah's youngest brother, Benjamin, is being held responsible for stealing the silver cup of an Egyptian ruler (Genesis 44:11–13). As punishment, he will be required to stay as a slave of the ruler while the rest of his brothers are free to go (Genesis 44:17). Though the brothers do not know it, yet, this Egyptian ruler is Joseph—the same brother they sold as a slave twenty years ago (Genesis 37:24–28; 42:7–8). He is testing them, checking to see if they have changed. Joseph's clever scheme (Genesis 44:1–6) has forced them to revisit the choice they made with him. Will they act selfishly, letting an innocent boy and an old man suffer? Or will they act with integrity and honor?

The solution Judah offers here comes at the end of a long, passionate plea from Judah (Genesis 44:18–32). He himself will be responsible in their father's eyes if Benjamin is not returned safely home. In fact, he will be responsible for his father's death, because the loss of Benjamin will kill the old man (Genesis 42:38).

Hoping he has softened this Egyptian ruler's heart, Judah now makes a selfless proposal: His life for Benjamin's. He formally requests that the Egyptian ruler keep him as the servant instead, and that he allows Benjamin to return home with his other brothers. This is a far cry from the man who once cruelly handed his hated younger brother over to slave traders in a fit of jealously (Genesis 42:21–23).

Genesis 44:14–34 explains how Joseph's brothers reacted to another test of character. The youngest, Benjamin, was discovered to have Joseph's own silver cup in his bags. This was secretly put there on Joseph's orders—and the brothers still do not know his identity. Joseph's intent seems to be a test of his brothers' growth: are they still as cruel and selfish as when they sold Joseph, himself, into Egyptian slavery? Benjamin's sentence is to become Joseph's slave while the rest are free to go. Instead, Judah offers to take Benjamin's place in order save his youngest brother and their old father, who will surely die of grief if Benjamin is lost.

Eleven of Jacob's sons enjoyed a meal as honored guests of an Egyptian governor. They are sent off the next morning with full sacks of grain. All seems well until the governor's house steward overtakes them on the road and accuses them of stealing the ruler's personal and valuable silver cup. The brothers don't know this governor is Joseph, their long-lost brother. Nor do they know he ordered the steward to place the cup in Benjamin's sack. This is part of Joseph's final test of his brothers and their moral growth. Seeking to rescue Benjamin from slavery, Judah makes a powerful speech to Joseph, offering to take Benjamin's place as a slave to save the boy and avoid grieving their father, Jacob.

Joseph maintained his hidden identity when his estranged brothers first arrived in Egypt (Genesis 42). When they returned a second time, he continued to test them and treated them to a fine meal (Genesis 43). Genesis 44 describes Joseph's final scheme to test the character of his brothers. Will they once again abandon a sibling into slavery? After a successful scheme by Joseph, Benjamin seems doomed to become a slave in Egypt. Judah boldly begs Joseph to keep him, instead. He offers himself in Benjamin's place. This finally overwhelms Joseph, who will break down and reveal himself in the next chapter.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.