Great was the joy of Joseph when his brethren stood before him and
Benjamin was with them. In his youngest brother he saw the true
counterpart of his father.[235] He ordered his son Manasseh,[236] the
steward of his house, to bring the men into the palace, and make ready
a meal for them. But he was to take care to prepare the meat dishes in
the presence of the guests, so that they might see with their own eyes
that the cattle had been slaughtered according to the ritual
prescriptions, and the sinew of the hip which is upon the hollow of the
thigh had been removed.[237]
The dinner to which Joseph invited his brethren was a Sabbath meal, for
he observed the seventh day even before the revelation of the law. The
sons of Jacob refused the invitation of the steward, and a scuffle
ensued. While he tried to force them into the banqueting hall, they
tried to force him out,[238] for they feared it was but a ruse to get
possession of them and their asses, on account of the money they had
found in their sacks on their return from their first journey to Egypt.
In their modesty they put the loss of their beasts upon the same level
as the loss of their personal liberty. To the average man property is
as precious as life itself.[239]
Standing at the door of Joseph's house, they spake to the steward, and
said: "We are in badly reduced circumstances. In our country we
supported others, and now we depend upon thee to support us." After
these introductory words, they offered him the money they had found in
their sacks. The steward reassured them concerning the money, saying,
"However it may be, whether for the sake of your own merits, or for the
sake of the merits of your fathers, God hath caused you to find a
treasure, for the money ye paid for the corn came into my hand." Then
he brought Simon out to them. Their brother looked like a leather
bottle, so fat and rotund had he grown during his sojourn in
Egypt.[240] He told his brethren what kind treatment had been accorded
unto him. The very moment they left the city he had been released from
prison, and thereafter he had been entertained with splendor in the
house of the ruler of Egypt.
When Joseph made his appearance, Judah took Benjamin by the hand, and
presented him to the viceroy, and they all bowed down themselves to him
to the earth.[241] Joseph asked them concerning the welfare of their
father and their grandfather, and they made reply, "Thy servant our
father is well; he is yet alive," and Joseph knew from their words that
his grandfather Isaac was no more.[242] He had died at the time when
Joseph was released from prison, and the joy of God in the liberation
of Joseph was overcast by His sorrow for Isaac.[243] Then Judah handed
his father's letter to Joseph, who was so moved at seeing the
well-known handwriting that he had to retire to his chamber and weep.
When he came back, he summoned Benjamin to approach close to him, and
he laid his hand upon his youngest brother's head, and blessed him with
the words, "God be gracious unto thee, my son."[244] His father had
once mentioned "the children which God hath graciously given Thy
servant," and as Benjamin was not among the children thus spoken of,
for he was born later, Joseph compensated him now by blessing him with
the grace of God.[245]
The table was set in three divisions, for Joseph, for his brethren, and
for the Egyptians. The sons of Jacob did not venture to eat of the
dishes set before them, they were afraid they might not have been
prepared according to the ritual prescriptions—a punishment upon Joseph
for having slandered his brethren, whom he once charged with not being
punctilious in the observance of the dietary laws.[246] The Egyptians,
again, could not sit at the same table with the sons of Jacob, because
the latter ate the flesh of the animals to which the former paid divine
worship.[247]
When all was ready, and the guests were to be seated, Joseph raised his
cup, and, pretending to inhale his knowledge from it, he said, "Judah
is king, therefore let him sit at the head of the table, and let Reuben
the first-born take the second seat," and thus he assigned places to
all his brethren corresponding to their dignity and their age.[248]
Moreover, he seated the brothers together who were the sons of the same
mother, and when he reached Benjamin, he said, "I know that the
youngest among you has no brother borne by his own mother, next to whom
he might be seated, and also I have none, therefore he may take his
place next to me."
The brethren marvelled one with another at all this. During the meal,
Joseph took his portion, and gave it to Benjamin, and his wife Asenath
followed his example, and also Ephraim and Manasseh, so that Benjamin
had four portions in addition to that which he had received like the
other sons of Jacob.[249]
Wine was served at the meal, and it was the first time in twenty-two
years that Joseph and his brethren tasted of it, for they had led the
life of Nazarites, his brethren because they regretted the evil they
had done to Joseph, and Joseph because he grieved over the fate of his
father.[250]
Joseph entered into conversation with his brother Benjamin. He asked
him whether he had a brother borne by his own mother, and Benjamin
answered, "I had one, but I do not know what hath become of him."
Joseph continued his questions: "Hast thou a wife?"