Read Genesis 43 at Bible Gateway.
Genesis 43:1-15 resolves into the following Chiastic Structure …
… with the central axis:
And Judah said to Israel his father: “Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live, and not die, both we, and you, and also our little ones. I will be surety for him; of my hand shall you require him. If I bring him not to you, and set him before you, then let me bear the blame for ever. Gen 43:8-9
To be surety, in the Hebrew, is Strong’s H6148, ערב arab, meaning “to braid,” i.e., to intermix, to weave, to exchange. The Ancient Hebrew Lexicon reveals that the original pictographs were ghah + resh + bet.
ghah § = rope (twisted, goat, dark, negative)
resh ר = head of man (head, first, top, beginning, man)
bet ב = house (house, household, family, in, within)
The parable being told by the Hebrew Root Word is that rope (ghah) is braided by bringing the top strand (resh) within (bet). The verb means to braid, to intermix, or to exchange, by extension to barter, to engage in commerce (the exchange of goods and services). The noun from it is a marketplace; the abstract concept from it is surety, as someone exchanges himself, his own reputation or resources, for another.
Why This Matters: Judah made himself surety for Benjamin, I believe, because in it he saw an opportunity to right his original wrong. As he was responsible for Joseph being sold as a slave in Egypt, he would be responsible for seeing Benjamin safely home. When Judah made himself surety for Benjamin, Israel relented and allowed Benjamin to go with his brothers to Egypt.
The Hebrew paragraph for this chapter:
41:1-44:17 {s} …
If there are questions, these are good resources:
The Ancient Hebrew Lexicon – Dr. Jeff Benner
The Index of Hebrew Roots – Christine Miller
Leave a Reply