Genesis 42:15

Gen 42:15 Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.

Ver. 15. By the life of Pharaoh.] Joseph, that he might seem enough an Egyptian, swears heathenishly; Egyptians, partly of flattery, and partly of superstition, used to swear by the life, or, as the Greek here hath it, by the health of their king. The Spaniards, in the pride of their monarchy, are grown also now to swear by the life of their king. {a} The Hebrews write, to this day, that he which falsely swears by the king’s head, in a money matter, shall be put to death; as Pererius upon this text tells us. This grew, doubtless, of that cursed custom of deifying their kings; as Antiochus surnamed Yεος; and Caligula would be styled Dominus Deus: as at this day the Pope’s parasites call him Dominum Deum nostrum papam. To be sworn by, is an honour peculiar to God. {Isa 65:16 Jer 4:2} That of Paul {1Co 15:31} is not an oath, but an obtestation; or, a taking of his afflictions for Christ to witness. That of the spouse {Son 3:5} is not an oath, but an adjuration: for he chargeth his church’s enemies not to trouble her; and if they do, roes and hinds shall testify against them; which would not do so had they but reason. This of Joseph, likewise, is by some said to be not an oath, but an earnest asseveration: {b} as who should say, As true as Pharaoh liveth; or, So Pharaoh live. Be it what it will, Joseph cannot altogether be excused for conforming himself to the Egyptians. The place had somewhat tainted him; and he might well take up that of the prophet Isaiah, "Woe is me! for I am a man of unclean lips"; and why? "for I dwell amidst a people of unclean lips." {Isa 6:5} Courts and great places are ill air for zeal to breathe in: it is hard for such not to remit somewhat of their former fervour, and contract filth of sin, which is as catching as the plague. As sheep among thorns lose part of their fleece; so do the saints part of their goodness among the wicked.

{a} Sandys’s Relation of West. Relig.

{b} Non est forma iuramenti, sed asseverationis seriae, et obtestationis domesticae.

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.

Gen 42:15. By the life of Pharaoh — As sure as Pharaoh lives, or as I value the life of Pharaoh. A solemn protestation, as Judah, who heard it, and must have understood its meaning, explains it to his father, Gen 43:3; The man did solemnly protest unto us. It seems, however, to have been the form of an oath in use among the Egyptians, as afterward the Romans used to swear by the name and life of their emperors. And it is no wonder that Joseph was carried by the stream of the general practice of the court, especially as the law of God concerning the appropriation of oaths unto God, that men are to swear only by his name, or are only to appeal to him for the truth of what they affirm, was not yet delivered.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

42:15-17 Joseph put the brothers in jail for three days to see if they had a conscience functioning about what they had done (42:21-23). The brothers had similarly thrown Joseph into a cistern-prison while they decided what to do with him (37:24).

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

The Egyptians which were idolaters, used to swear by their king’s life: but God forbiddeth to swear by any but him: yet Joseph dwelling among the wicked smelleth of their corruptions.

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

By the life of Pharaoh--It is a very common practice in Western Asia to swear by the life of the king. Joseph spoke in the style of an Egyptian and perhaps did not think there was any evil in it. But we are taught to regard all such expressions in the light of an oath (Mat 5:34; Jam 5:12).

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 15. By the life of Pharaoh] חי פרעה chey Pharaoh, Pharaoh liveth. As if he had said, As surely as the king of Egypt lives, so surely shall ye not go hence unless your brother come hither. Here therefore is no oath; it is just what they themselves make it in their report to their father, Ge 43:3: the man did solemnly protest unto us; and our translators should not have put it in the form of an oath, especially as the original not only will bear another version, but is absolutely repugnant to this in our sense of the word.

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

15. By the life of Pharaoh. From this formula of swearing a new question is raised; for that which is commanded in the law, that we should swear only by the name of God, had already been engraven on the hearts of the pious; since nature dictates that this honor is to be given to God alone, that men should defer to his judgment, and should make him the supreme arbiter and vindicator of faith and truth. If we should say that this was not simply an oath, but a kind of obtestation, the holy man will be, in some degree, excusable. He who swears by God wishes him to interpose in order to inflict punishment on perjury. They who swear by their life or by their hand, deposit, as it were, what they deem most valuable, as a pledge of their faithfulness. By this method the majesty of God is not transferred to mortal man; because it is a very different thing to cite him as witness who has the right of taking vengeance, and to assert by something most dear to us, that what we say is true. So Moses, when he calls heaven and earth to witness, does not ascribe deity to them, and thus fabricate a new idol; but, in order that higher authority may be given to the law, he declares that there is no part of the world which will not cry out before the tribunal of God, against the ingratitude of the people, if they reject the doctrine of salvation. Notwithstanding, there is, I confess, in this form of swearing which Joseph uses, something deserving of censure; for it was a profane adulation, among the Egyptians, to swear by the life of the king. Just as the Romans swore by the genius of their prince, after they had been reduced to such bondage that they made their Caesar equal to gods. Certainly this mode of swearing is abhorrent to true piety. Whence it may be perceived that nothing is more difficult to the holy servants of God than to keep themselves so pure, while conversant with the filth of the world, as to contract no spots of defilement from it. Joseph, indeed, was never so infected with the corruptions of the court, but that he remained a pure worshipped of God: nevertheless we see, that in accommodating himself to this depraved custom of speaking, he had received some stain. His repetition of the expression shows, that when any one has once become accustomed to evil, he becomes exceedingly prone to sin again and again. We observe, that they who have once rashly assumed the license of swearing, pour forth an oath every third word, even when speaking of the most frivolous things. So much the greater caution ought we to use, lest any such indulgence should harden us in this wicked custom.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(15) By the life of Pharaoh.—It was common in ancient times to swear by the king’s life (see 1Sa_17:55; 2Sa_14:19 ), and even by the life of Jehovah (2Sa_15:21; 2Ki_2:2; 2Ki_2:4; 2Ki_2:6). It is only in the stricter morality of the Gospel that such oaths are forbidden (Mat_5:33-37).

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

15. by the life of Pharaoh] An Egyptian form of oath, in the sense of “as sure as Pharaoh is alive to punish, or avenge.” Dillmann says, “the oath is very suitable here, as the Egyptians honoured their kings, ὡς πρὸς ἀλήθειαν ὄντας θεούς (Diod. i. 90),” i.e. as truly divine. The oath by the life of the king is found in an Egyptian inscription of the 20th century b.c.

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.

If ye be true men,.... As you say you are:

let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison; agree among yourselves which of you (for one of you must) remain in prison where you are: and the rest being set at liberty:

go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses; Joseph, though he dealt with them after this manner to get what knowledge he could of his family, and to get sight of his brother, yet was concerned for the good of them and theirs, lest they should be in extreme want through the famine, and that they might have a speedy supply of corn, was not willing to detain them any longer.

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

Health. This oath implies, that he is willing that even Pharao, whom he so much revered, should perish, if he did not execute what he said: (Haydock) or, as Pharao is now in health, so true it is you should not all depart, till your youngest brother come. (Calmet)

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).

By the life of Pharaoh, as sure as Pharaoh lives. It seems to be the form of an oath in use among the Egyptians, as afterwards the Romans used to swear by the name, genius, health, and life of their emperors. Compare 1Sa 1:26; 17:55; 2Ki 2:2; Eze 33:11. And it is not strange that Joseph through human infirmity was carried by the stream of the general practice of the court, especially when the law of God was not yet delivered concerning the appropriation of oaths unto God.

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

15. By the life of Pharaoh — Joseph thus speaks like a true Egyptian, who was accustomed to swear by the life of the king.

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

חי פרעה BY THE LIFE OF PHARAOH — If Pharaoh lives! Whenever he swore for the sake of appearance (literally, falsely) he swore by Pharaoh’s life (Genesis Rabbah 91:7).

אם תצאו מזה YE SHALL NOT GO FORTH FROM THIS i.e. from this place.

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.