Genesis 43:1-34

Now the famine in the land continued to grow more severe. When all the grain they had brought from Egypt was almost gone, their father said to them, “Go back and buy us more food.” But Judah objected, “The Egyptian warned us repeatedly, ‘You will not see my face again, unless Benjamin is with you!’ We’ll only go if you’ll let our brother come with us. If you insist he remains here, we won’t go, for the man solemnly told us, ‘You will not see my face again, unless your brother is with you!’ ” Israel demanded, “Why did you make it so hard for me by telling the man you had another brother?” They answered him, “The man interrogated us about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still living? Do you have another brother?’ We had to answer his questions! We had no idea he would say, ‘You must bring your brother here to me.’ ” Then Judah spoke up and said to Israel, “Father, I promise to guarantee his safety with my life. You can hold me personally responsible if I don’t return with him. I’ll bear the blame before you for the rest of my life if I fail to bring him safely back to you! You have my promise. Entrust him to my care, and let us be on our way, so that we all don’t die of starvation—we and you and all our children—we will live and not die! And besides, if we hadn’t delayed so long, we could have gone and returned twice by now!” After considering their words, their father Israel said to them, “If that’s the way it has to be, then do this: Load your donkeys with the very best gifts you can find, choice products of the land, and offer them to the man. Take some balm and some honey, spices, and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. Take double the money with you. Give him back the money that was returned in the top of your sacks, for it may have been a mistake. Take your brother, too, and be off! Go back to the man at once. May the God who is more than enough grant you mercy and favor before the man, so that he may send back both Simeon and Benjamin. As for me, if I suffer loss, then let it be so.” So the brothers set off for Egypt and took double the money, the many gifts, and Benjamin. Once they arrived, they presented themselves before Joseph. When Joseph saw his brother Benjamin with them, he said to his chief servant, “Bring the men to my house and make them feel at home. Butcher an animal and prepare a meal, for these men are to dine with me at noon.” Joseph’s chief servant did as he was told and brought the men to Joseph’s house. Now the brothers were very apprehensive as they were being led inside, and said to each other, “He brought us here because of the money that was put back in our sacks the first time we came to Egypt! He’s looking for an opportunity to arrest us, turn us into his slaves, and take away our donkeys!” So they approached the chief servant and spoke to him at the entrance of the house. “If you please, my lord,” they said, “we came here once before to buy food, but on our way home, when we camped for the night and opened our sacks, we found each one’s money in the top of his bag. All our money was there in our bags! We know it must have been an oversight of some kind, and we have no clue who put it there, so we have brought it all back with us. Plus, we have additional money to buy more food.” “Relax,” he replied, “don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, must have been the one who put treasure in your bags. I have received your money; it’s all accounted for.” Then the chief servant brought Simeon out to them. Then he gave feed to their donkeys and brought the brothers into the house. He gave them water to drink and washed their feet. The men laid out their gifts to present to Joseph, for they were told he would appear before them at noon and would dine with them. When Joseph came home, they presented to him the gifts they had brought with them into the house. They each bowed low before him with their faces to the ground. He asked them how the family was doing, saying, “You mentioned your aging father; is he still alive? Is he doing well?” “Yes,” they replied, “our father, your servant, is still alive and doing well.” And they bowed low before Joseph in respect. Looking them over, he saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said to them, “So, I see you have returned with your youngest brother, of whom you spoke. God be gracious to you, my son.” Joseph hastily left the room, for he was overwhelmed with feelings of love for his brother and on the verge of tears. He went into a private room and sobbed, as tears ran down his cheeks. When he finally composed himself, he washed his face, reappeared, and ordered: “Serve the meal.” First, they served Joseph who was seated apart from his brothers, then the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians by themselves. (It would have been utterly offensive for the Egyptians to eat at the same table with the Hebrews.) Now, the brothers had been seated before Joseph in their birth order, from the firstborn at one end of the table to the youngest at the other end. They were all stunned when they realized the seating arrangement and looked at each other in astonishment. Eleven plates of food were taken from Joseph’s table and set in front of each of them, but Benjamin’s portion was five times more than any of theirs! They feasted and drank their fill with Joseph until they all became drunk.