Holly Bible - KJV with Concise Commentaries by Z Selam - HTML preview
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2 The kind notice he took of Benjamin, his own brother.
(1.) He put up a prayer for him: God be gracious unto thee, my son, Ge 43:29. Joseph's favour, though he was the lord of the land, would do him little good, unless God were gracious to him. Many seek the ruler's favour, but Joseph directs him to seek the favour of the ruler of rulers.
(2.) He shed some tears for him, Ge 43:30. His natural affection to his brother, his joy to see him, his concern at seeing him and the rest of them in distress for bread, and the remembrance of his own griefs since he last saw him, produced a great agitation in him, which perhaps was the more uneasy because he endeavoured to stifle and suppress it; but he was forced to retire into his closet, there to give vent to his feeling by tears. Note,
[1.] Tears of tenderness and affection are no disparagement at all, even to great and wise men.
[2.] Gracious weepers should not proclaim their tears. My soul shall weep in secret, says the prophet, Jer 13:17. Peter went out and wept bitterly. See Mt 26:75.
30 And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother:
and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.
31 And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and
said, set on bread.
His kind entertainment of them all. When his weeping had subsided so that he could refrain himself, he sat down to dinner with them, treated them nobly, and yet contrived everything to amuse them.
(1.) He ordered three tables to be spread, one for his brethren, another for the Egyptians that dined with him (for so different were their customs that they did not care to eat together),