Lexicon :: Strong's H376 - 'îš

He said to his brothers, “My silver has been returned! It’s here in my bag.” Their hearts sank. Trembling, they turned to one another and said, “What has God done to us? ”

“The man who is the lord of the country spoke harshly to us and accused us of spying on the country.

“The man who is the lord of the country said to us, ‘This is how I will know if you are honest: Leave one brother with me, take food to relieve the hunger of your households, and go.

As they began emptying their sacks, there in each man’s sack was his bag of silver! When they and their father saw their bags of silver, they were afraid.

“But if you will not send him, we will not go, for the man said to us, ‘You will not see me again unless your brother is with you.’ ”

“Why have you caused me so much trouble? ” Israel asked. “Why did you tell the man that you had another brother? ”

They answered, “The man kept asking about us and our family: ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother? ’ And we answered him accordingly. How could we know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother here’? ”

Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your packs and take them down to the man as a gift ​— ​a little balsam and a little honey, aromatic gum and resin, pistachios and almonds.

“Take your brother also, and go back at once to the man.

“May God Almighty cause the man to be merciful to you so that he will release your other brother and Benjamin to you. As for me, if I am deprived of my sons, then I am deprived.”

The men took this gift, double the amount of silver, and Benjamin. They immediately went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.

When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to his steward, “Take the men to my house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, for they will eat with me at noon.”

The man did as Joseph had said and brought them to Joseph’s house.

But the men were afraid because they were taken to Joseph’s house. They said, “We have been brought here because of the silver that was returned in our bags the first time. They intend to overpower us, seize us, make us slaves, and take our donkeys.”

So they approached Joseph’s steward[fn] and spoke to him at the doorway of the house.

“When we came to the place where we lodged for the night and opened our bags of grain, each one’s silver was at the top of his bag! It was the full amount of our silver, and we have brought it back with us.

The steward brought the men into Joseph’s house, gave them water to wash their feet, and got feed for their donkeys.

They were seated before him in order by age, from the firstborn to the youngest. The men looked at each other in astonishment.

At morning light, the men were sent off with their donkeys.

They had not gone very far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, “Get up. Pursue the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good?

So each one quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it.

Then they tore their clothes, and each one loaded his donkey and returned to the city.

“What have you done? ” Joseph said to them. “Didn’t you know that a man like me could uncover the truth by divination? ”

Then Joseph said, “I swear that I will not do this. The man in whose possession the cup was found will be my slave. The rest of you can go in peace to your father.”

“We told him, ‘We cannot go down unless our younger brother goes with us. If our younger brother isn’t with us, we cannot see the man.’

He gave each of the brothers changes of clothes, but he gave Benjamin three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothes.

“you are to say, ‘Your servants, both we and our ancestors, have raised livestock[fn] from our youth until now.’ Then you will be allowed to settle in the land of Goshen, since all shepherds are detestable to Egyptians.”

“the land of Egypt is open before you; settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land. They can live in the land of Goshen. If you know of any capable men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.”

In this way, Joseph acquired all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh, because every Egyptian sold his field since the famine was so severe for them. The land became Pharaoh’s,

These are the tribes of Israel, twelve in all, and this is what their father said to them. He blessed them, and he blessed each one with a suitable blessing.

Years later,[fn] after Moses had grown up, he went out to his own people[fn] and observed their forced labor. He saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his people.

Looking all around and seeing no one, he struck the Egyptian dead and hid him in the sand.

The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you attacking your neighbor? ”[fn]

“Who made you a commander and judge over us? ” the man replied. “Are you planning to kill me as you killed the Egyptian? ”

Then Moses became afraid and thought, “What I did is certainly known.”

They answered, “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock.”

“So where is he? ” he asked his daughters. “Why then did you leave the man behind? Invite him to eat dinner.”

Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.

Now in Midian the LORD told Moses, “Return to Egypt, for all the men who wanted to kill you are dead.”