Genesis 43:23-33

23 And he saith, `Peace to you, fear not: your God and the God of your father hath given to you hidden treasure in your bags, your money came unto me;' and he bringeth out Simeon unto them.

24 And the man bringeth in the men into Joseph's house, and giveth water, and they wash their feet; and he giveth provender for their asses,

25 and they prepare the present until the coming of Joseph at noon, for they have heard that there they do eat bread.

26 And Joseph cometh into the house, and they bring to him the present which [is] in their hand, into the house, and bow themselves to him, to the earth;

27 and he asketh of them of peace, and saith, `Is your father well? the aged man of whom ye have spoken, is he yet alive?'

28 and they say, `Thy servant our father [is] well, he is yet alive;' and they bow, and do obeisance.

29 And he lifteth up his eyes, and seeth Benjamin his brother, his mother's son, and saith, `Is this your young brother, of whom ye have spoken unto me?' and he saith, `God favour thee, my son.'

30 And Joseph hasteth, for his bowels have been moved for his brother, and he seeketh to weep, and entereth the inner chamber, and weepeth there;

31 and he washeth his face, and goeth out, and refraineth himself, and saith, `Place bread.'

32 And they place for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians who are eating with him by themselves: for the Egyptians are unable to eat bread with the Hebrews, for it [is] an abomination to the Egyptians.

33 And they sit before him, the first-born according to his birthright, and the young one according to his youth, and the men wonder one at another;

Genesis 43:23-33 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 43

This chapter informs us how that the famine continued in the land of Canaan, and the corn that Jacob's family had from Egypt being consumed, Jacob pressed his sons to go down for more, which they refused to do, unless Benjamin was sent with them, for whose safety Judah offered to become a surety, Ge 43:1-10; Jacob with reluctance was prevailed upon to let him go, and dismissed them with a present to the governor of Egypt, and with double money to buy corn with, and with his blessing upon them, Ge 43:11-14; upon which they set out for Egypt; and when they came into the presence of Joseph, he seeing Benjamin with them, ordered his steward to have them to his house, and get dinner ready, it being his pleasure that they should dine with him that day, Ge 43:15-17; this threw them into a fright, supposing they were going to be called to an account for the money they found in their sacks; wherefore they related to the steward very particularly the whole of that affair, who bid them not be uneasy, for he had had their money; and as a proof that things would go well with them, brought Simeon out to them, and treated them very kindly and gently, Ge 43:18-24; and having got their present ready against Joseph came home, they delivered it to him with great veneration and submission; who asked of the welfare of their father, and whether that was not their younger brother they spoke of, the sight of whom so affected him, that he was obliged in haste to retire to his chamber, and weep, Ge 43:25-30; and having washed his face, and composed himself, he returned and ordered dinner to be brought, which was set on different tables, one for himself and the Egyptians, and the other for his brethren, whom he placed according to their age, to their great surprise; and sent them messes from his table to each, and to Benjamin five times more than the rest, and they were so liberally entertained, that they became cheerful and merry, Ge 43:31-34.