A meal, and a portion five times as much
15 The men took that present, and they took double money in their hand, and Benjamin; and got up, went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph. 16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Bring the men into the house, and butcher an animal, and prepare; for the men will dine with me at noon.” 17 The man did as Joseph commanded, and the man brought the men to Joseph’s house. 18 The men were afraid, because they were brought to Joseph’s house; and they said, “Because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time, we’re brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, attack us, and seize us as slaves, along with our donkeys.” 19 They came near to the steward of Joseph’s house, and they spoke to him at the door of the house, 20 and said, “Oh, my lord, we indeed came down the first time to buy food. 21 When we came to the lodging place, we opened our sacks, and behold, each man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight. We have brought it back in our hand. 22 We have brought down other money in our hand to buy food. We don’t know who put our money in our sacks.” 23 He said, “Peace be to you. Don’t be afraid. Your God, and the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks. I received your money.” He brought Simeon out to them. 24 The man brought the men into Joseph’s house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet. He gave their donkeys fodder. 25 They prepared the present for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they heard that they should eat bread there. 26 When Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves down to the earth before him. 27 He asked them of their welfare, and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he yet alive?” 28 They said, “Your servant, our father, is well. He is still alive.” They bowed down humbly. 29 He lifted up his eyes, and saw Benjamin, his brother, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me?” He said, “God be gracious to you, my son.” 30 Joseph hurried, for his heart yearned over his brother; and he sought a place to weep. He entered into his room, and wept there. 31 He washed his face, and came out. He controlled himself, and said, “Serve the meal.” 32 They served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians don’t eat with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. 33 They sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth, and the men marveled with one another. 34 He sent portions to them from before him, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. They drank, and were merry with him.
Terrified men are seated in birth order at a banquet, and the favored youngest is given five times what they get.
They stand before Joseph with Benjamin, and his instruction is immediate: butcher an animal, prepare, for the men will dine with me at noon.
The brothers' reaction to being brought to the house is pure dread, and their reasoning is entirely rational: the money in the sacks is a frame, and they are about to be seized as slaves. Men with guilty consciences read every kindness as a trap, which has been their condition since the first sack was opened.
So they intercept the steward at the door and explain everything before anyone accuses them — the money found, the full weight, the money brought back, the money brought for this trip. We don't know who put our money in our sacks.
The steward's reply is one of the most surprising sentences in Genesis: Peace be to you. Don't be afraid. Your God, and the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks. I received your money.
An Egyptian household official tells a family of Hebrews that their God has done this. He is Joseph's steward and has evidently learned whose the household really belongs to, and he says it to frightened men as a comfort rather than as a formula. And the last clause is a plain lie in their favor — he did not receive their money, and he closes the matter so that they cannot reopen it.
Then Simeon is brought out, and nothing at all is recorded of the reunion.
Joseph arrives and they bow to the ground again, and his first question is the one he has been waiting to ask: Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he yet alive?
And then he sees Benjamin, and the narrator supplies the detail that matters: his brother, his mother's son. Of the eleven men in that room, one shares his mother, and he last saw him as a small child. What he manages to say is a blessing — God be gracious to you, my son — and then he has to leave.
Joseph hurried, for his heart yearned over his brother; and he sought a place to weep. He entered into his room, and wept there. He washed his face, and came out. He controlled himself, and said, "Serve the meal." Six clauses covering the whole business of breaking down and pulling oneself together in private. It is the third time he has wept and the first time he has had to hide it in his own house.
The seating arrangement is the strangest thing in the chapter. Three tables — Joseph alone, the Egyptians separately, the brothers separately, because Egyptians would not eat with Hebrews — and the brothers are placed the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth.
And the men marveled with one another. Of course they did. Eleven men seated in exact birth order by a foreigner who cannot possibly know it. The odds against are astronomical and they have no explanation, and Joseph is watching them work it out and saying nothing.
Then the test is set. Benjamin's portion was five times as much as any of theirs. Rachel's son, publicly favored at a table, in front of the ten who once could not speak peaceably to a favored younger brother.
And nothing happens. They drank, and were merry with him.
settled What this mark means