Then Joseph hurried out, for his compassion grew warm for his brother, and he sought a place to weep. And he entered his chamber and wept there.
Joseph, the ruler of Egypt, has just seen Benjamin, his only full brother, for the first time in over twenty years. The sight breaks him, and he hides to cry — so why would a man with all that power hide his own love?
The plain human moment
Start on the human level. The sight of Benjamin broke through Joseph's composure, and he could not stay in the room.
L. M. GrantBut the sight of his brother moved him with such a surge of emotion that he had to leave them at once and go to his bedroom to weep (v. 30). We can well understand this, for he had not seen Benjamin for well over 20 years. After weeping he returned to his normal self-control, washed his face and came out to eat with his brothers.
What "his compassion grew warm" means
Older translations read "his bowels burned for his brother." A Bible dictionary explains what that old word stands for:
after_note: DELETE
Morrish Bible DictionaryThe word "bowels" is used symbolically for deep tenderness, pity and compassion. Gen. 43:30; 1 Kings 3:26; Phil. 1:8; Phil. 2:1; etc.
Tears that came from a tie Benjamin did not know about
Joseph is weeping over a brother who has no idea who he is. The love is one-sided for now, and it stays hidden for a reason.
F. B. HoleThis was the second time Joseph wept. It happened when Benjamin, his own full brother, appeared. The tears sprang out of a sense of relationship. Benjamin still knew nothing of that relationship, but Joseph knew, and it moved him beyond words... The work of conviction and repentance in his brothers had not yet gone deep enough for him to declare it. So "he washed his face and came out, controlling himself." In this way he was patient in his dealings with them.
Love holding back until the right moment
The restraint is not coldness. One writer sets Joseph's held-back love beside the way Jesus dealt with the woman at the well.
Hamilton SmithJoseph speaks kindly to them. He longs in love over his younger brother. He weeps in love in secret. But he holds himself back in love, because love's time to reveal itself has not yet come. The Lord deals with the woman at the well in the same perfect wisdom. He does not reveal Himself until He has reached her conscience and brought it into the open. Then she finds that she stands before One who knows her whole story and still loves her. His love is such that He can say to her, "Come here."
Love that will not please itself
Joseph had two easy options. He could make himself known and take the honour, or make himself known and ease his own heart. He took neither.
J. G. BellettIf he had thought first of his own name, when he remembered his dreams, he would have made himself known at once. He would have stood there as the honoured one among his stunned, humbled brothers. If he had now thought of his own heart, he would have made himself known and been the happy one in the arms of his convicted, grieving brothers. But he listened to neither. Love was serving. The one who farms souls, like the one who farms the ground, sometimes needs "long patience." He has to wait for the late rain as well as the early rain.
A picture of Christ with His people
Commentators see this scene as a picture of how Christ will deal with Israel. He stays hidden and He tests, yet He loves the whole time.
Andrew MillerJoseph of old tried in many ways to test the hearts of his brothers, because of their guilt about him. In the same way the true Joseph will search deep into the hearts of His brothers the Jews in the last days, because of their state before God. But Joseph did not love his brothers any less for letting them go through a hard, sifting process. His heart was full and ready to pour out the strongest affection when the right moment came.
The moment Joseph waited for did come.
F. B. HoleThe hour had arrived when at last Joseph's love could burst its barriers and declare itself.
Summary
- Love felt. The old word behind "his compassion grew warm" stands for the deepest tenderness and pity. This is not a polite emotion. This is a man undone.
- Love hidden. Joseph knew the relationship; Benjamin did not. The tears were real long before any brother knew he loved them.
- Love timed. He held back because love's moment to show itself had not yet come. Jesus used the same wisdom at the well. He waited until He had reached the woman's conscience.
- Love serving. He could have made himself known to take his honour, or to ease his own heart. He chose neither. He waited with "long patience" for repentance to ripen.
- Love revealed. The sifting never meant he loved them less. His held-back heart broke open at the right moment. Christ's love, commentators say, will do the same for His own.