Genesis 44:2

Gen 44:2 And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack’s mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.

Ver. 2. He did according to the word.] Servus est nomen officii. A servant is not αυτοματος, one that moveth absolutely of himself, saith Aristotle; but the master’s instrument, and ολως εκεινου, wholly his. Such was this servant of Joseph; and such should we all be to God.

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 44:2. Put my cup, the silver cup — Probably a large cup of great value, and much used by Joseph; in the sack’s mouth of the youngest — Hereby, it seems, Joseph meant to try his brethren’s affection to Benjamin, whether they would assist him in his extremity, and also their regard for their father, whether they would willingly give up and leave in confinement his favourite son. Had they hated Benjamin as they had Joseph, and been influenced by the same unfeeling disposition as they formerly were toward their father, they certainly would have discovered themselves on this occasion: and no doubt Joseph would have taken his measures in dealing with them accordingly.

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

44:2 Joseph was giving his brothers the chance to abandon Benjamin if they wanted to. Joseph was testing them to see if they were loyal to the family and faithful to their father.

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

We may not by this example use any unlawful practices, seeing God hath commanded us to walk in simplicity.

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

put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth--It was a large goblet, as the original denotes, highly valued by its owner, on account of its costly material or its elegant finish and which had probably graced his table at the sumptuous entertainment of the previous day.

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 2. Put my cup in the sack's mouth of the youngest] The stratagem of the cup seems to have been designed to bring Joseph's brethren into the highest state of perplexity and distress, that their deliverance by the discovery that Joseph was their brother might have its highest effect.

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

2. And put my cup, the silver cup. It may seem wonderful that, considering his great opulence, Joseph had not rather drunk out of a golden cup. Doubtless, either the moderation of that age was still greater than has since prevailed, and the splendor of it less sumptuous; or else this conduct must be attributed to the moderation of the man, who, in the midst of universal license, yet was contented with a plain and decent, rather than with a magnificent style of living. Unless, perhaps, on account of the excellence of the workmanship, the silver was more valuable than gold: as it is manifest from secular history, that the workmanship has often been more expensive than the material itself. It is, however, probable, that Joseph was sparing in domestic splendor, for the sake of avoiding envy. For unless he had been prudently on his guard, a contention would have arisen between him and the courtiers, resulting from a spirit of emulation. Moreover, he commands the cup to be enclosed in Benjamin’s sack, in order that he might claim him as his own, when convicted of the theft, and might send the rest away: however, he accuses all alike, as if he knew not who among them had committed the crime. And first, he reproves their ingratitude, because, when they had been so kindly received, they made the worst possible return; next, he contends that the crime was inexpiable, because they had stolen what was most valuable to him; namely, the cup in which he was accustomed both to drink and to divine. And he does this through his steward, whom he had not trained to acts of tyranny and violence. Whence I infer, that the steward was not altogether ignorant of his master’s design.

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.

2. the silver cup] i.e. a well-known, or favourite, goblet. The word for “cup,” the same as in Exo_25:31, Jer_35:5 (where it is rendered “bowl”), seems to denote a vessel shaped like the calyx of a flower. LXX renders κόνδυ; Lat. scyphum.

Observe that Joseph does not reveal his intention to the steward. He plays upon his brethren the same trick as in chap. 42; but brings matters to a point by associating Benjamin with the loss of the cup.

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 put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest,.... Benjamin; this he ordered to be done, partly to put him in apparent danger, and try how his brethren would behave towards him in such circumstances, and thereby know how they stood affected to him; and partly that he might have an excuse for retaining him with him. This cup was valuable both for the matter of it, being of silver, and for the use of it, being what Joseph himself drank out of: and by the word used to express it, it seems to have been a large embossed cup, a kind of goblet, for it has the signification of a little hill. Jarchi says it was a long cup, which they called "mederno". The Septuagint render it by "condy", which is said to be a Persian word, and a kind of an Attalic cup, that held ten cotylae (g), or four or five quarts, and weighed ninety ounces; but a cup so large seems to be too large to drink out of:

and his corn money; what he had paid for his corn:

and he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken; put every man's money in the mouth of his sack, and his silver cup with the corn money into Benjamin's sack.

(g) Nicomachus de festis Aegypt. apud Athenaeum, l. 11. c. 7.

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

It seems to have been a large cup, and of great price, and much used by Joseph.

In the sack’s mouth of the youngest, with design to discover their intentions and affections towards Benjamin, whether they did envy him, and would desert him in his danger, as they did Joseph; or would cleave to him; that hence he might take his measures how to deal with him and them.

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

גביעי MY CUP — a long goblet called maderin in old French.

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.