Genesis 44:7 Commentary and Bible Study

They protest their innocence. They will defend themselves with energy, but they must not go too far. They must not become angry or rude or resentful. They are in the hands of this man and his master. They must maintain civil relations, even though they are being accused of gross evil. They bring a good argument to their defence. If they were as dishonest as this man claims, then why would they have been so careful to bring back the money that had been returned to them – incorrectly as they saw it. They could easily have kept it and said nothing, but they wanted to do the right thing. What they are being accused of is in their view something shameful, and they repudiate the accusation strongly. Yes, in this matter they are innocent, but they go too far in their protestations. Those who have had a true sight of their own hearts are reluctant to express their innocence with too much zeal, even when they know they are in the clear. They speak about such things with greater modesty and calmness. But the brothers are so confident of their innocence that they call down the death sentence on themselves if they should be proved guilty. The steward gently moderates this self-curse and changes it to require only the one guilty party to become a slave; the rest will be blameless. They accept these new terms and hurry to let him search their sacks. He begins at the eldest and all the brothers in turn are cleared and just Benjamin’s sack remains. They watch anxiously – so many strange things have taken place – but to their horror the cup is there in Benjamin’s sack. They cannot explain it; they cannot make sense of it; but they cannot deny it. Since they do not know who Joseph is, they believe they are in great trouble, and the worst of all outcomes seems to have taken place.