ולא יכול יוסף להתאפק, up until now Joseph had practiced restraint in every one of his actions and words to the brothers. As we know from 43,31 “he restrained himself and ordered the meal to be served.”

לכל הנצבים עליו, in the presence of all those surrounding him; he now could no longer restrain his emotions. He called to all his personal servants even to leave the building. This is the plain meaning of the text.

(3) HE CRIED OUT. To his servants.

(4) HAVE ALL WITHDRAW. My attendants from the house. This is the basic plain meaning.

וישמעו מצרים, the people of the capital. Subsequently, the people in Pharaoh’s palace also heard the news.

כי למחיה שלחני, G’d has orchestrated all that has happened between us for your own good so that by my providing sustenance in Egypt you will benefit therefrom.

כי האלוקים, “only G’d.”

פן תורש, so that you will not be driven from the land due to the famine. The root ירש of which the word תורש is a derivative occurs in the sense of disposing, expelling in Deut. 9,3 והורשתם ואבדתם מהר, “you will expel them and destroy them quickly.” It also occurs in a slightly different form in Deut. 7,23 פן תוקש בו, “so that you will not be trapped by it.” There the root is יקש. [as long as two of the root letters match there is a strong conceptual linkage between the two roots. Ed.]

כי פי המדבר אליהם, whereas up until now Joseph had addressed them through his interpreter, now he demonstrated that he had a complete mastery of the Hebrew tongue. The principal message Joseph wanted his brothers to take back to their father was that they had not only heard from others about Joseph, etc., but seen with their own eyes, heard with their own ears that he was unmistakably their long lost brother. His command of the Hebrew language would prove this better than anything he might have heard from a third party. Therefore he instructed them

והגדתם את כל כבודי במצרים ואת כל אשר ראיתם. The reason why he included mention of the honour he enjoyed in Egypt was to convince his father that he had no cause to worry if he moved to Egypt as a new immigrant, an alien; his son Joseph had the power to ensure that he would be treated with the respect and deference due him.

ואתה צויתה, now I personally command you to take carriages and the animals to pull them, etc. This was an exceptional concession as it was forbidden to export a carriage without the express permission of Pharaoh. The Talmud Bechorot 28 Neither cows nor female pigs were allowed to leave Egypt unless their respective wombs had first been removed. [This was an Egyptian method of preserving their monopoly over the raising of such animals. Ed.]

כזאת, “as follows:”

עשרה חמורים, one each for his ten brothers. Even though Binyamin was also returning with them, he did not want to bother him [to have to look after the beast and its load. Ed.]

וישלח את אחיו, every expression denoting accompaniment (sending something along) is made clear by means of the dagesh, whereas when the word means merely “sending” it is in the “weak” construction without the dagesh. [The author speaks of the use of the root שלח, which may mean “to send,” or to “send with.” When it means the latter, this is noticeable through the dagesh in the letter ל. Ed.] In our verse it means the latter.

אל תרגזו, do not be nervous about robbers that you might encounter on the route. I have no hostile neighbours on any of my borders. This is also the meaning of the word רגזו in Psalms 4,5. The verse there implies that you should be worried not to commit a sin against G’d. If you are, you will not have to worry about any man-made hazards. The meaning of the same root in Deuteronomy 28,65 is also the same, i.e. as a result of your sinful conduct G’d burdened you with a heart which is constantly worried about all kinds of disaster that may befall you. This is part of the punishment you will experience for not having worried about ignoring G’d’s commandments previous to the retribution. Chabakuk 3,7 as well as Isaiah 32,11 make similar points. On the other hand, the same root used in Job 9,6 or when it appears in the Book of Daniel and the Book of Ezra refers to a state of anger. The word טרנבלד (old French for trembling) is the translation of כעס for anytime that word appears in the 24 books of the Bible.

וכי הוא מושל, do not be afraid to come to him.

ויפג לבו, his heart missed a beat, as he did not believe them. The meaning of the word is similar to Lamentations 2,18 אל תתני פוגת לך, “give yourself no respite.” [respite means stopping in that context. Ed.] The words וריחו לא נמר in Jeremiah 48,11 have also been translated as ”his bouquet has remained unspoiled,” [i.e. has never been disturbed, has remained inert, stationary. Ed.]

את כל דברי יוסף. All the other things Joseph had spoken to them about which have already been recorded in the Torah earlier, such as that he wept while embracing them so that they recognized beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was their brother. את העגלות אשר שלח יוסף, at the instigation of Pharaoh himself.

ותחי רוח יעקב, seeing that he had remembered that Joseph’s final destiny was to become a ruler. Knowing that the kind of carriages sent by Joseph were not permitted to leave Egypt, he realized that only someone in the position of ruler over the country could have authorized such a departure from Egyptian statues.

רב; my heart has stood still long enough during all the years I did not think that Joseph was still alive now I am definitely convinced

עוד יוסף בני חי, all the commentaries of others which are convoluted are way off. I, though a junior, say that the meaning of the line רב עוד יוסף בני חי וכי הו מושל בארץ מצרים is: “enough! I am satisfied to have heard that my son Joseph is still alive. The fact that he is ruler in Egypt is totally irrelevant to my joy. I would be perfectly happy without that additional information. I am going to see him before I die, ruler or no ruler.”