Genesis 41:43

Gen 41:43 And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him [ruler] over all the land of Egypt.

Ver. 43. Bow the knee.] Or, Tender father, because he was young in years, but old in wisdom, μειρακιογιρων, as Micarius was called. Not the ancient are wise, but the wise ancient.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

41:43-44 Pharaoh made Joseph second-in-command; all the people had to submit to him. Cp. Ps 105:16-22.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Hebrew, second chariot.

In sign of honor: which word some expound, tender father, or father of the king, or kneel down.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

they cried before him, Bow the knee--abrech, an Egyptian term, not referring to prostration, but signifying, according to some, "father" (compare Gen 45:8); according to others, "native prince"--that is, proclaimed him naturalized, in order to remove all popular dislike to him as a foreigner.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 43. He made him to ride in the second chariot] That which usually followed the king's chariot in public ceremonies.

Bow the knee] אברך abrech, which we translate bow the knee, and which we might as well translate any thing else, is probably an Egyptian word, the signification of which is utterly unknown. If we could suppose it to be a Hebrew word, it might be considered as compounded of אב ab, father, and רך rach, tender; for Joseph might be denominated a father, because of his care over the people, and the provision he was making for their preservation; and tender because of his youth. Or it may be compounded of אב ab, father, and ברך barech, blessing, the latter ב beth being easily lost in the preceding one; and Joseph might have this epithet as well as the other, on account of the care he was taking to turn aside the heavy curse of the seven years of famine, by accumulating the blessings of the seven years of plenty. Besides, father seems to have been a name of office, and probably father of the king or father of Pharaoh might signify the same as the king's minister among us; see on Ge 45:8. But if it be an Egyptian word, it is vain to look for its signification in Hebrew.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(43) In the second chariot.—The object of this procession was to display Joseph to the people as their new governor. The Pharaoh, probably, took the chief part in this parade, riding in the first chariot of state.

Bow the knee.—Heb., abrech. Canon Cook explains this as meaning rejoice, be happy. It is in the imperative singular, and is addressed by the people to Joseph; for it is said “they cried before him,” that is, the multitude, and not a herald. Naturally, therefore, it is in the singular, as the vivat rex of the Middle Ages, or vive le roi now. The similarity of sound with habrech, bow the knee, is a mere chance and as this word also is singular, it must be addressed to Joseph, and not to the people.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

43. the second chariot] It has been objected that horses and chariots first appear in Egyptian inscriptions in the 18th Dynasty (1580–1350 b.c.). But they were introduced into use in Egypt under the rule of the Hyksos (13th to 17th Dynasty). The Egyptian word for “chariot,” mrkbt, is borrowed from the Semitic. The “second” would be the next best to Pharaoh’s. Joseph might not ride in Pharaoh’s chariot.

Bow the knee] Heb. abrech. The meaning of the word has been much disputed. It was omitted by the LXX; but the meaning “bow the knee” appears in the Lat. ut genuflecterent, and in Aquila. Jerome prefers the extraordinary rendering “tender father”: ’âb being the Hebrew for “father,” rêkh for “tender” or “delicate,” he explains that it is thus signified, how in wisdom Joseph was the father of all, but in age a tender youth.

There seems, at present, to be no solution of the puzzle offered by the word Abrech. Spiegelberg suggests that it is the transliteration of the Egyptian ’b r-k, equivalent to “Attention!,” or the “O yes, O yes,” of the crier. The Egyptian abu-rek, “thy command is our desire,” i.e. “at thy service,” was conjectured by Lepage Renouf.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt,.... Interpreting his dreams, and had such honour conferred upon him as to be made his prime minister; from whence it appears that Joseph had now been thirteen years in Egypt, partly in Potiphar's house, and partly in prison, since he was seventeen years of age when he was sold thither, see Gen 37:2,

and Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh; from standing before him, and ministering to him as his counsellor and chief statesman, or he went out from his court and palace for a while:

and went throughout all the land of Egypt: this seems to be a second tour; before he went to survey the land, and pitch upon the most proper places for granaries to lay up store of corn in; and now he went through it, to gather in and give directions about it, and see it performed, for the years of plenty were now begun.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Second chariot. On public occasions the king was followed by an empty chariot, (2 Paralipomenon xxxv. 24,) or the chariot here spoken of, was destined for the person who was next in dignity to the king. (Calmet) --- That all, &c. Hebrew, "crying Abroc," which Aquila explains in the same sense as the Vulgate. Others think it is an exclamation of joy, (Grotius) like huzza! (Haydock) or it may mean father of the king, or tender father, chap. xlv. 8.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

In the second chariot; in the king’s second chariot, that he might be known and owned to be the next person to the king in power and dignity. Compare 2Ch 35:24; Est 6:8; 10:3; Dan 5:29.

Bow the knee: they commanded all that passed by him, or came to him, to show their reverent respect to him in this manner: compare Est 3:2. Others, tender father, to signify that he was to be owned as the father of the country, because by his prudence and care he had provided for them all, and saved them from utter ruin.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

43. Second chariot — Probably meaning the chariot second in majesty and splendour to that in which the king himself rode. In royal procession, Joseph would thus ride in the chariot which followed next after the king.

Bow the knee — אברךְ. This seems to be equivalent to הברךְ, the Hiphil imperative of the Hebrew ברךְ, but most critics regard it as an Egyptian word. The Sept. renders it by κηρυξ, herald; the Targum makes it equivalent to אב רךְ, tender father; Syriac, father and ruler. Gesenius suggests, that though the word be of Egyptian origin, the Hebrew writer so changed and inflected it that it might have a Hebrew sound to be referred to a Hebrew etymology. Canon Cook, editor of the Speaker’s Commentary, in his essay on Egyptian words found in the Pentateuch, explains it as the emphatic imperative of a verb ab, which is a word specially used in public demonstrations of rejoicing, and to be understood as addressed by the people to Joseph, not as a word of command made to the people. אברךְ, abrech, would then mean rejoice, or all hail, after the manner and in the spirit of the French, vive le roi, or the English, long live the king. Accordingly we should render: And they (the people) cried before him, Hail to thee!

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He then had him driven in the second chariot, the chariot which followed immediately upon the king's state-carriage; that is to say, he directed a solemn procession to be made through the city, in which they (heralds) cried before him אברך (i.e., bow down), - an Egyptian word, which has been pointed by the Masorites according to the Hiphil or Aphel of בּרך. In Coptic it is abork, projicere, with the signs of the imperative and the second person. Thus he placed him over all Egypt. ונתון inf. absol. as a continuation of the finite verb (vid., Exo 8:11; Lev 25:14, etc.).

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

במרכבת המשנה means — the chariot second in order to his chariot — that which drove next to his own.

אברך Render this as the Targum does: “This is the father (counsellor) of the king”. In Aramaic (some editions read in Roman i.e. Latin) רך means king (rex). Thus in the chapter beginning with השותפין (Bava Batra 4a) we have: “neither a noble (ריכא) nor the son of a noble (ריכא)”. In the Midrash (Sifré Devarim 1:1) Rabbi Judah explained: אברך is appellation for Joseph who was אב “a father” in wisdom and רך “tender” in years. Whereupon Rabbi Jose the son of a woman of Damascus said to him: “How much longer will you pervert for us the meaning of Scripture? The word אברך can only be connected with the word ברכים knees (i.e. “Bend the knee”), for all came in and went forth only by his permission, just as it states “and he set him [over all the land of Egypt]”.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

‘B’MIRKEVETH’ (IN THE CHARIOT) ‘HAMISHNEH.’ I.e., in the chariot second to his own chariot, which travelled next to his own. Thus the language of Rashi.Now according to this interpretation, the word hamishneh refers to the noun, [“chariot,” meaning that this was the chariot of second rank]. The same applies in the verses: the priests ‘hamishneh’ (of the second order); ‘eth mishnei’ (a copy) of this Torah. The correct interpretation is that the word mishneh is adjectival, of he who was second in rank. just as: And I shall be to you ‘l’mishneh’ (as a second one); For Mordecai the Jew was ‘mishneh’ (the second) unto king Ahaseurus. Similarly, the expression, keseph mishneh, (the money of the mishneh) is adjectival and is to be understood as “the money of the ‘second’ purchase.” Now the grammarians. have already brought a proof to this thesis here, and in the other three cases mentioned, (see Notes 70-72), all have the meaning ascribed to them by Ramban. since in all these cases the letter nun in the word mishneh is vocalized with a segol, [which does not indicate the construct state as would tzeirei], while mishnei hatorah and all nouns are vocalized with a tzeirei, as is the rule in the construct state. The sense of the present verse is that the king had a chariot known to be his, even as it is said, And the horse which the king rideth upon, and there was another chariot known to be for his second in rank, and another one for the third in rank.

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

Avreich. This is derived from the word berech — “knee” — that is, they ordered the crowds to bend the knee before him.

He thus placed him. He caused the people to accept Yoseif’s authority.

Sforno on the Tanakh — English translation: “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

במרכבת המשנה, in the carriage reserved for the second highest official of the land.

אברך. The letter א in this word appears here in lieu of the letter ה and is part of the infinitive as in ונתון אותו, in other words: it is appropriate to bend one’s knee before this person and to raise him to be ruler over the land of Egypt. Alternatively, the meaning could be that the letter א refers to the respective person (anyone) announcing at the approach of Joseph’s coach that those who were still a distance away before he passed them should get down on their knees to pay their respects anticipating his passing. ונתון אותו, and everyone agreed that this person deserved to be given control of the whole land of Egypt.

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.