Joseph and His Eleven Brothers Eat and Drink Together in Egypt
Genesis 43:16, 24–34
16 And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and slay, and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon. . . .
24 And the man brought the men into Joseph’s house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender.
25 And they made ready the present against 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.
27 And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?
28 And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance.
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 ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son.
30 And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.
31 And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread.
32 And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians.
33 And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one at another.
34 And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin’s mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him.
Elder Mark E. Petersen wrote:
“Benjamin was Rachel’s only other son. Since Joseph and he were full brothers, they had a warm kinship for each other and Joseph yearned to see him. When the caravan of . . . brothers reached Egypt and Joseph saw that Benjamin was with them, he gave instructions to the ‘ruler of his house’ to take the group to Joseph’s own house, and prepare a banquet for them. ‘These men shall dine with me at noon,’ he said [Gen. 43:16]. . . .
“The steward then took the brothers into the house, gave them water for bathing, and provided also feed for their donkeys. The brothers were told they would have lunch with the governor at noon, and they made themselves ready [see Gen. 43:24–25].
“When Joseph came, all eleven [of his brothers] bowed low before him, even ‘to the earth,’ the scripture says [Gen. 43:26].
“Then Joseph began to ask further about the family back in Canaan: ‘Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive? [Gen. 43:27].
“‘And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance [Gen. 43:28].
“‘And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son [Gen. 43:29].
“‘And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there. And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread’ [Gen. 43:30–31].
“Egyptians and Hebrews were not allowed to sit at the same table, so the brothers sat at one table by themselves. Apparently some Egyptians were present also, for they were placed at another table, and Joseph sat by himself [see Gen. 43:32].
“The brothers marveled when they realized that their places at the table were arranged according to their ages, from the eldest to the youngest. How could these Egyptians know? [see Gen. 43:33].
“‘And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin’s mess was five times so much as any of theirs. . . . and they were merry with him’ [Gen. 43:34].
“Joseph took pleasure in this feast as he mingled with his brothers, but his heart especially leaned toward his only full brother, Benjamin, the child at whose birth their mother had died. Joseph at no time revealed his own identity. That would come later. But he was determined to test still further the ten older ones. This he would do next day as they left for home.”
(Joseph of Egypt [1981], 46, 47–48.)
