Genesis 43:31-34

THE DINNER WITH JOSEPH

"And he washed his face, and came out; and he refrained himself, and said, Set on bread. And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, that did not eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth; and the men marveled one with another. And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin's mess was five times as much as any of theirs. And they drank and were merry with him."

There are several things of the most extraordinary interest in these verses:

1. There is the order of the seating of the brothers in exactly the sequences of their ages from oldest to the youngest. No wonder the men marveled at it. The mathematical odds that this could have been done accidentally were exactly 39,917,000 to 1.[10] This is about forty million to one!
   
2. The "mess" which Joseph sent to his brothers, with such preference for Benjamin. It was the custom at such banquets in ancient times for the host to send especially choice morsels to guests from his own table. Plenty of food was served for all, but these tidbits were items of special honor to the guests chosen to receive them. Prominent here was the preference for Benjamin.
   
3. "And they drank and were merry with him ..." The Hebrew here is literally, "they drank largely with him."[11] We cannot consider this any sufficient grounds for rendering the passage, "So they ate and drank with Joseph until they were drunk," as in the Good News Bible.[12] Aalders declared that such a rendition is, "more than the original text can rightly bear."[13] They drank until they were perfectly satisfied, but they were not drunk."[14] "There is no reason to suppose that either Joseph or his brethren were intoxicated."[15]
   
4. Of great interest also is the fact that there were at least three different tables set for the participants in this feast. First, Joseph ate by himself, due to his rank and authority. There was also another table for the Egyptians present, and a third for the Hebrews. It is a strict and unyielding caste system that appears in such observances.
   

This chapter sets the stage for the dramatic triumph of the next in which Judah became the hero of the Jewish people, and from whom they would, as a race, forever bear his name. Joseph apparently wanted to reassure himself completely that the brothers held no animosity against Benjamin, and accordingly arranged the trial recorded in Genesis 44.