†. Gen 43:31-32 . .Then he washed his face and came out; and
regaining his composure, said: Serve the food. So they set him a
place by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who
ate with him by themselves; because the Egyptians could not eat
food with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians.
Apparently the brothers didn't think anything of Joseph eating alone. Maybe
they just thought (as common Egyptian culture dictated) the other Egyptians
were too far below their host to be considered worthy of an invitation to sit
at his table. In their minds, to do so would have been fraternization; viz:
associating with people of lower official rank; thus implying that they were
equal in worth. If the steward had told them Joseph was a Hebrew, I wonder
how Jacob's sons would have reacted to that?
†. Gen 43:33 . . And they were seated before him, the firstborn
according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth;
and the men looked in astonishment at one another.
Reuben was the natural firstborn; but due to his incestuous tryst with Bilhah
back in Gen 35:22, he lost the rank and Jacob transferred it to Joseph
(1Chrn 5:1). However, with Joseph eliminated from the line-up, the position
around the table probably fell back to Reuben by default.
The seating arrangement wasn't at the brothers' discretion. It was totally
under their host's control and that's why they were all so amazed. According
to permutation, the odds of seating the 11 men according to their respective
ages by coincidence is like 39,917,000 to 1. Since they had no reason to
believe that Joseph knew any more about their family other than what they
had already told him, perhaps at this point they suspected he was either
clairvoyant or else blessed with an amazing degree of intuition; and they
would have certainly been correct on that account even if circumstances had
been different because any man who can interpret dreams from God, should
have no trouble figuring out birth rankings.
A Jewish Midrash (Genesis Rabba 92:5) has Joseph pretending to "divine"
their seating order by means of his special silver goblet-- a key item coming
up in just a few more verses.
†. Gen 43:34 . .Then he took servings to them from before him, but
Benjamin's serving was five times as much as any of theirs. So they
imbibed and were merry with him.
Every time I read that passage, my mind, like a knee-jerk reflex, instantly
fantasizes a really hulking, heaping, ranch-size platter of vittles placed
before Benjamin like is so often seen at buffets. Instead of making more
than one trip to the food bars, there's invariably at least one person who
piles everything they'll ever want onto just one plate, like Mt. Vesuvius, and
then does a delicate balancing act while cautiously maneuvering their way to
a table.
But a 5x serving isn't eo ipso a large amount; it would really depend upon
the size of a standard portion. And if the food was served a' la carte, then
five standard portions of just one item wouldn't necessarily take on the
appearance of a banquet. Gourmet foods, especially, are typically small
presentations that would barely qualify as an hors d'oeuvre to a strapping
man like an ice-road trucker or a Pacific northwest logger. Five servings of
gourmet food to one of those guys would amount to little more than an
appetizer.
Cont.
/
regaining his composure, said: Serve the food. So they set him a
place by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who
ate with him by themselves; because the Egyptians could not eat
food with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians.
Apparently the brothers didn't think anything of Joseph eating alone. Maybe
they just thought (as common Egyptian culture dictated) the other Egyptians
were too far below their host to be considered worthy of an invitation to sit
at his table. In their minds, to do so would have been fraternization; viz:
associating with people of lower official rank; thus implying that they were
equal in worth. If the steward had told them Joseph was a Hebrew, I wonder
how Jacob's sons would have reacted to that?
†. Gen 43:33 . . And they were seated before him, the firstborn
according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth;
and the men looked in astonishment at one another.
Reuben was the natural firstborn; but due to his incestuous tryst with Bilhah
back in Gen 35:22, he lost the rank and Jacob transferred it to Joseph
(1Chrn 5:1). However, with Joseph eliminated from the line-up, the position
around the table probably fell back to Reuben by default.
The seating arrangement wasn't at the brothers' discretion. It was totally
under their host's control and that's why they were all so amazed. According
to permutation, the odds of seating the 11 men according to their respective
ages by coincidence is like 39,917,000 to 1. Since they had no reason to
believe that Joseph knew any more about their family other than what they
had already told him, perhaps at this point they suspected he was either
clairvoyant or else blessed with an amazing degree of intuition; and they
would have certainly been correct on that account even if circumstances had
been different because any man who can interpret dreams from God, should
have no trouble figuring out birth rankings.
A Jewish Midrash (Genesis Rabba 92:5) has Joseph pretending to "divine"
their seating order by means of his special silver goblet-- a key item coming
up in just a few more verses.
†. Gen 43:34 . .Then he took servings to them from before him, but
Benjamin's serving was five times as much as any of theirs. So they
imbibed and were merry with him.
Every time I read that passage, my mind, like a knee-jerk reflex, instantly
fantasizes a really hulking, heaping, ranch-size platter of vittles placed
before Benjamin like is so often seen at buffets. Instead of making more
than one trip to the food bars, there's invariably at least one person who
piles everything they'll ever want onto just one plate, like Mt. Vesuvius, and
then does a delicate balancing act while cautiously maneuvering their way to
a table.
But a 5x serving isn't eo ipso a large amount; it would really depend upon
the size of a standard portion. And if the food was served a' la carte, then
five standard portions of just one item wouldn't necessarily take on the
appearance of a banquet. Gourmet foods, especially, are typically small
presentations that would barely qualify as an hors d'oeuvre to a strapping
man like an ice-road trucker or a Pacific northwest logger. Five servings of
gourmet food to one of those guys would amount to little more than an
appetizer.
Cont.
/
