Continuing a chronological Bible study, now in the life of Joseph:
(Genesis 43:1) And the famine was severe in the land. (2) And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said to them, "Go again, buy us a little food."
The famine was great in the land of Canaan where Jacob and his eleven sons lived. Ten of the sons had previously traveled to Egypt and bought grain to keep them from starving to death. They had bought it from Joseph, but did not recognize him. Joseph did recognize his brothers, but accused them of being spies and held Simeon in prison until the time they would return with their youngest brother, Benjamin, Joseph's one full brother. Jacob would not let them take Benjamin, being afraid he might lose him, too. So I guess they let Simeon sit in prison all this time until they ran out of the food they had purchased, and it was necessary to go back. Now they had to face the dilemma of what they must do.
(3) And Judah spoke to him, saying, "The man solemnly warned us, saying, 'You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.' (4) If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. (5) But if you will not send him, we will not go down, for the man said to us, 'You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.'"
It was Judah who spoke up and reminded Jacob of what Joseph had said to them. The sons put it all back on Jacob. They believed they could not return to Joseph without Benjamin, so if Jacob wanted them to buy food, he must agree to send Benjamin or they wouldn't go.
(6) And Israel said, "Why did you deal so ill with me, as to tell the man whether you had still another brother?"
Jacob, in his distress, blamed his ten sons for even telling Joseph about Benjamin in the first place. Why would they do this to him, he wanted to know.
(7) And they said, "The man asked us pointedly about ourselves and our family, saying, 'Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?' And we told him according to these words. Could we possibly have known that he would say, 'Bring your brother down'?"
Actually we weren't made privy to such a conversation. It seemed the brothers were spilling information to get themselves out of trouble. However, it's possible there was more to the conversation and maybe Joseph had asked pointed questions, and the details of the conversation were not given in the last chapter. Either way, it is true they could have never known the man would demand to see their youngest brother.
(8) 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. (9) I will be surety for him; from my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. (10) For if we had not lingered, surely by now we would have returned this second time."
Judah told Jacob that he would personally be responsible for Benjamin, but played on Jacob's emotions by telling him that he must take Benjamin with him so that they all might live and not die, even all their innocent children. Judah, in a way, put the blame back on his father, saying if they had not lingered, which was Jacob's doing by refusing to let them take Benjamin, they would have already returned with him by now.
(11) And their father Israel said to them, "If it must be so, then do this: take some of the best fruits in the land in your vessels and carry down a present for the man—a little balm, a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds. (12) And take double money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight. (13) Take your brother also, and arise, go back to the man. (14) And may God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release
your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved, I am bereaved."
Jacob, or Israel, as he was now named by God, relented, and said that if they must take Benjamin, they ought to do some things which would hopefully soften the heart of the man and convince him to release Simeon and allow the return of Benjamin. I was wondering if anyone was even thinking of Simeon anymore! Anyway, they were to take gifts to the man, and double the money, to repay the money that was returned and to buy more food. He prayed that God have mercy on them, but he was willing to subject to God's will, whatever the outcome.
(15) And the men took that present, and they took double money in their hand,
and Benjamin, and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before
Joseph. (16) And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, "Bring these men home, and slaughter an animal and make ready; for these men will dine with me at noon." (17) And the man did as Joseph had bidden him to do, and the man brought the men into Joseph's house.
The sons of Jacob took the gifts and money, and with Benjamin, journeyed to Egypt and went back to Joseph. When Joseph saw his younger brother, he instructed the steward of his house to take the men back to his home and prepare a meal for them, and that is what he did.
(18) And the men were afraid because they were brought into Joseph's house; and they said, "It is because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, that he may seek occasion against us, and overthrow us, and take us for slaves and our donkeys."
Coming from the man who had spoken so roughly and accused them before, this must have seemed strange to the brothers. The only reason they could think of for being brought to Joseph's house was that he might be better able to overtake them because of the returned money that set them up to look like thieves, in addition to spies.
(19) And they came near to the steward of Joseph's house, and they talked with him at the door of the house, (20) And said, "O sir, we indeed came down the first time to buy food; (21) And it came to pass, when we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and behold, each man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight; and we have brought it back in our hand. (22) And we have brought down other money in our hands to buy food; we do not know who put our money in our sacks."
The brothers were very afraid as the steward brought them to Joseph's house and they began spilling everything to him at the door of the house. They were sure they were being taken for thieves, so they quickly explained they had planned to buy the food and indeed they were here to return the money and had more money to buy more food, and that they had no idea who put the money back in their sacks.
(23) And he said, "Peace be to you, fear not; your God, and the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks; I had your money." And he brought Simeon out to them.
The steward seems to have known what took place regarding the money, although he didn't expressly say how they got their money back. He appears to have been a God-fearing man and he told them to consider the money a blessing from God and not to fear because he had been paid for the grain at the time of their first trip. Certainly we can assume that Joseph ordered that the brothers be repaid from his own money, and the steward may have been privy to this. If not, then as a God-fearing man, he was honest with them in that he had received their money, so they should consider any money they found to be a blessing. The steward then brought Simeon out to them.
(24) And the man brought the men into Joseph's house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their donkeys feed. (25) And they made ready the present for Joseph came at noon, for they heard that they should eat bread there. (26) And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth.
The steward of Joseph's house then brought the brothers on into the house and gave them water to wash their feet, which was the custom after traveling and/or when about to have a meal, and was probably for refreshment and for cleanliness. The brothers made ready and took the presents they had brought for Joseph out of their bags, and when he came home for the noon meal, they bowed down to him and presented him with their presents.
(27) And he asked them of their welfare, and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” (28) And they answered, “Your servant our father is in good health; he is still alive.” And they bowed down their heads and prostrated themselves.
Joseph asked the brothers about their father whom they had spoken of before when they said they were the sons of one man. Of course, he was his father, too, and he was truly interested in his well-being. They told him that he was still alive and in good health. They again bowed before him.
(29) And he lifted up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, “Is this your younger brother of whom you spoke to me?” And he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.” (30) And Joseph made haste for deep in his bowels he did yearn for his brother; and he sought somewhere to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.
It was at that point that Joseph saw his brother Benjamin, the only other son of his mother, and as chief officer of Pharaoh, asked if this was the younger brother of which they had before spoken. He, of course, knew it was, and answered his own question when he greeted Benjamin with the wish that he have the gracious favor of God. He spoke quickly, answering himself, because the tears were welling up inside of him because of the deep love and yearning he had for his brother, and he had to go into his personal chamber to weep where he would not be seen or heard.
(31) And he washed his face and went out, and refrained himself, and said, “Serve the bread.” (32) And they set for him a place by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves; because the Egyptians could not eat food with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians.
Joseph washed his face, regained his composure, and went back out with his brothers. He gave his servants orders to serve the meal. It appears there were three separate tables, or at least distinct separate areas where all the men sat--Joseph by himself, perhaps at the head of the table or across from his brothers; his brothers by themselves; and the Egyptians who dined with Joseph by themselves. Joseph may have sat apart from the others as in a place of honor as he was Pharaoh's right hand man. Regarding the rest of the men, we are told that Egyptians could not eat food with Hebrews. It's possible that was because Hebrews ate the animals that Egyptians worshiped, although I have read that might not have started until after the time of Joseph. Additionally, the Hebrews were shepherds, and Egypt had been almost ruined by hordes of lawless wandering bandits called "King-shepherds". The Egyptians were in general very superstitious and would have no social intercourse with people of any other nation.
(33) And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and
the youngest according to his youth; and the men marveled at one another. (34) And he took and sent servings
to them from before him, but Benjamin’s serving was five times as much
as any of theirs. And they drank and were merry with him.
Joseph's brothers were so placed that they sat before him in order of their age. The brothers marveled at this, perhaps at the pomp and circumstance of it all, but I think it may have been because they were placed in age order. They were so placed by Joseph, which would have been something at which to marvel, that this supposed stranger correctly guessed their ages. Probably the dishes were brought to Joseph who then cut them up and served them to his guests. He served Benjamin five times as much as he did his other brothers because of his great affection for his one full brother, the only other son of his mother, Rachel. That may have seemed strange and perhaps something at which to marvel to the other brothers, but then again, this was the first time Joseph was supposedly meeting this youngest brother. The brothers ate, drank, and were merry, with their fears now surely calmed and subsided.
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