Genesis Chapter 43 verse 11 Holy Bible
And their father Israel said unto them, If it be so now, do this: take of the choice fruits of the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spicery and myrrh, nuts, and almonds;
read chapter 43 in ASV
And take twice as much money with you; that is to say, take back the money which was put in your bags, for it may have been an error;
read chapter 43 in BBE
And their father Israel said to them, If it is then so, do this: take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a gift: a little balsam and a little honey, tragacanth and ladanum, pistacia-nuts and almonds.
read chapter 43 in DARBY
And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds:
read chapter 43 in KJV
And take double money in your hand; and the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; it may be it was an oversight:
read chapter 43 in WBT
Their father, Israel, said to them, "If it be so now, do this. Take from the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry down a present for the man, a little balm, a little honey, spices and myrrh, nuts, and almonds;
read chapter 43 in WEB
And Israel their father saith unto them, `If so, now, this do: take of the praised thing of the land in your vessels, and take down to the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices and myrrh, nuts and almonds;
read chapter 43 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 11. - And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now (literally, if so now), do this; take of the best fruits in the land (literally, of the song of the land, i.e. of its choicest and most praised productions) in your vessels, and carry down the man a present. That Jacob could propose to send a handsome present of rich fruits to the Egyptian viceroy has been regarded as inconsistent with the prevalence of a famine in the land of Canaan for over two or three years (Bohlen); but (1) the failure of the cereal crops does not necessarily imply a like absence of fruit, and (2) it does not follow that, though Jacob selected the under-mentioned articles for his gift, they existed in abundance, while (3) if the fruit harvest was small, an offering such as is here described would only be all the more luxuriant and valuable on that account (Kurtz, Kalisch). A little balm, - balsam (vide Genesis 37:25) - and a little honey, - דְּבַשׁ, grape honey, called by the Arabians dibs, and the Persians dushab, was prepared by boiling down must or new wine to a third or half; hence called by the Greeks ἕψημα, and by the Romans sapa, defrutum. It is still imported into Egypt from the district of Hebron. That it was not the honey of bees, μέλι, (LXX.), meg (Vulgate), is rendered probable by the circumstance that Egypt abounds in this excellent production of nature (vide Michaelis, Suppl., p. 391) - spices, and myrrh (wide Genesis 27:25), nuts, - בָּטְנִים, an oblong species of nut, so called from its being fiat on one side and bellying out on the other (the pistacia vera of Linnaeus), having an oily kernel which is most palatable to Orientals (vide Kalisch in loco) - and almonds. The שָׁקֵד or almond tree, so called because of all trees it is the first to arouse from the sleep of winter, the root being שָׁקָד, to be sleepless, (Gesenius), does not seem to have been indigenous in Egypt, while it flourishes in Syria and Palestine (Kalisch).
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(11) The best fruits.--Heb., the song, that is, whatever in the land is most celebrated in song.In your vessels.--The word used in Genesis 42:25, where see Note. Concerning this present two remarks must be made; the first, that it proves that though there was not rain enough in Palestine to bring the corn to perfection, yet that there was some small supply, sufficient to maintain a certain amount of vegetation; and but for this Jacob could not have kept his cattle alive (Genesis 47:1). And next, the smallness of the present does not so much show that Jacob had very simple ideas respecting the greatness of the king of Egypt, as that there was a scarcity even of these fruits. Probably the trade in them had ceased, and therefore even a moderate quantity 'would be welcome. For the words rendered balm, spices and myrrh really balsam, gum-tragacanth and ladanum), see Note on Genesis 37:25.Honey.--As both the honey made by bees and date honey were common in Egypt, many suppose that this was grape-honey, prepared by boiling down the juice of ripe grapes to a third of its original quantity. Hebron is famous for its preparation, and even in modern times three hundred camel loads used to be exported thence annually into Egypt. Diluted with water it forms a very grateful drink, and it is also largely eaten with bread, as we eat butter.Nuts.--That is, pistachio nuts, the fruit of the pistachio, vera. As the tree delights in dry, rocky situations, it will not grow in Egypt. It has an oily kernel, both palatable in itself and also much used for making savoury meats. These and the almonds, which also do not grow well in Egypt, would be acceptable gifts.
