Genesis 45:22

22 To each and to all of them he gave sets of clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five sets of clothing.

Genesis 45:22 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 45:22

To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment
Rich apparel, two suits of clothes, to shift and change upon occasion, such as Homer ^F11 calls (imatia exameiba) , "changeable garments"; those he gave to everyone of his brethren, partly that they might have something to show to their father and to their wives, which would cause them to give credit to the report they should give of Joseph, and his great prosperity; and partly that they might, upon their return, be provided with suitable apparel to appear before Pharaoh, and chiefly this was intended to show his great respect and affection for them, and reconciliation to them: but to Benjamin he gave three hundred [pieces] of silver;
or shekels, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, which amounted to between thirty and forty pounds of our money; the Septuagint very wrongly renders it three hundred "pieces of gold"; and besides these he gave him also five changes of raiment;
because of his greater love and affection for him.

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FOOTNOTES:

F11 Odyss. 8.

Genesis 45:22 In-Context

20 {Do not worry} about your possessions, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.'"

21 And the sons of Israel did so. And Joseph gave them wagons at the word of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey.

22 To each and to all of them he gave sets of clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five sets of clothing.

23 And to his father he sent {as follows}: ten donkeys carrying the best of Egypt, and ten donkeys carrying grain and food and provisions for his father for the journey.

24 Then he sent his brothers away, and when they departed he said to them, "Do not be agitated on the journey."