Back to Egypt

Genesis is almost done! Amazing what happens when I actually hold myself to a schedule, isn't it?

Beresheet (Genesis) 43:1-2 "Now the famine was severe in the land. And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, 'Go back, buy us a little food.'"

Um... Israel? Remember the whole your-sons-are-fugitives thing? They will probably be held accountable for the money that somehow made it back in their bags. Also, there's no way they can show their faces without Benjamin.

Beresheet 43:3-5 "But Judah spoke to him, saying, 'The man solemnly warned us, saying, "You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you." If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. But if you will not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, "You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you".'"

Thank you Judah for reminding us all of the major issue at hand. Rachel is gone, one of her sons is gone, Benjamin is all Israel has left. And he says...?

Beresheet 43:6 "And Israel said, 'Why did you deal so wrongfully with me as to tell the man whether you had still another brother?'"

Well... Usually when someone asks if you have any brothers or sisters, it isn't that big of a deal to say yay or nay. How were they supposed to know that they'd have to bring baby brother on a field trip if they were ever going to get food from Egypt again?

Beresheet 43:7 "But they said, 'The man asked us pointedly about ourselves and our family, saying, "Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?" And we told him according to these words. Could we possibly have known that he would say, "Bring your brother down"?'"

Wow. I promise I'm making my points of the sections previous before I read the next sections, I'm not reading ahead and trying to predict what's happening. Yes, I've read this story a few dozen times before, but this is starting to look a bit redundant. I'll look into thinking up more creative points.

Beresheet 43:8-10 "Then Judah said to Israel his father, 'Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. I myself will be surety for him; from my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. For if we had not lingered, surely by now we would have returned this second time.'"

Again, thank you Judah. Reuben's already promised to allow Israel to kill his sons if he doesn't bring Benjamin back, and now Judah's thinking along the same general lines. Has guilt taught them to be accountable for their actions these past thirteen years?

Beresheet 43:11-14 "And their father Israel said to them, 'If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best fruits of the land in your vessels and carry down a present for the man - a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. Take double money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight. Take your brother also, and arise, go back to the man. And may Elohim Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved, I am bereaved!'"

Smart man, that Israel. I mean, aside from the whole choosing favorites among your sons in the first place thing. Among other things *cough cough Esau's birthright cough*.

Beresheet 43:15-17 "So the men took that present and Benjamin, and they took double money in their hand, and arose and went down to Egypt; and they stood before Joseph. When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, 'Take these men to my home, and slaughter and animal and make ready; for these men will dine with me at noon.' Then the man did as Joseph ordered, and the man brought the men into Joseph's house."

What else has Joseph planned for his brothers? Can you imagine his face when he saw his baby brother?

Beresheet 43:18 "Now the men were afraid because they were brought into Joseph's house; and they said, 'It is because of the money, which was returned in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may make a case against us and seize us, to take us as slaves with our donkeys.'"

Only the Bible can get away with a run-on sentence like that. Actually, apparently so can James Joyce's novel Ulysses, which apparently ends with a thirty-page run-on sentence. Or so I've been told. Grammatical issues aside, this is some serious stuff these guys are worried about. They could be made into slaves, imprisoned, killed, made into slaves in prison and then killed, or be made to take any number of terrible punishments for stealing food during a famine. I heard that some cultures will cut the hand off a thief, and that's not during a famine.

Beresheet 43:19-22 "When they drew near to the steward of Joseph's house, they talked with him at the door of the house, and said, 'O sir, we indeed came down the first time to buy food; but it happened, when we came to the encampment, that we opened our sacks, and there, each man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight; to we brought it back in our hand. And we have brought down other money in our hands to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.'"

Confessing exactly what went wrong: smart. All talking in unison: ...maybe not so smart, but as long as it was understandable, then it's fine. They seem to do that a lot, have you noticed?

Beresheet 43:23 "But he said, 'Peace be with you, do not be afraid. Your Elohim and the Elohim of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; I had your money.' Then he brought Simeon out to them."

Well how about that! By the way, I'm guessing everyone here is speaking Hebrew, and thus, I can offer a tidbit of the language. "Peace be with you" is directly translated from the Hebrew "Shalom alechem." Note that the "ch" in "alechem" has a weird guttural, kind of clearing-your-throat type sound to it, it does not sound like a standard English "ch" like "sandwich". It's best to hear someone say it... so if you know anyone who knows how to speak even a little bit of Hebrew, they can help you out. If not... then try Youtube or using a k sound is acceptable too.

Beresheet 43:24-25 "So the man brought the men into Joseph's house and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their donkeys feed. Then they made the present ready for Joseph's coming at noon, for they heard that they would eat bread there."

Washing one's feet was pretty much standard operating procedure then and there. It was hot outside, so one would wear sandals; but it was also dirty and dusty, so the feet would get pretty nasty. This is a good way to keep guests comfortable, and to keep from having to sweep up dirty footprints.

Beresheet 43:26-28 "And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed down before him to the earth. Then he asked them about their well-being, and said, 'Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?' And they answered, 'Your servant our father is in good health; he is still alive.' And they bowed their heads down and prostrated themselves."

It was probably a relief every time Joseph heard that, he knew his dad wasn't as young as he used to be, so it's good that he checked up on him when he got the chance.

Beresheet 43:29-31 "Then he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, 'Is this your younger brother of whom you spoke to me?' and he said, 'Elohim be gracious to you, my son.' Now his heart yearned for his brother, so Joseph made haste and sought somewhere to weep. And he went into his chamber and wept there. Then he washed his face and came out; and he restrained himself, and said, 'Serve the bread.'"

Joseph was an incredibly important man in Egypt at the time; wanna bet that bread isn't all they'll be eating?

Beresheet 43:32-34 "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. And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth; and the men looked in astonishment at one another. Then he took servings to them from before him, but Benjamin's serving was five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him."

Do you think the brothers have reformed? Benjamin's getting way more to eat than any of them, and yet it doesn't sound as if anyone is complaining. Also, do you suppose they noticed that they were seated by age? On a separate thought, do you think the Egyptians would think it an abomination to eat with Joseph? He's a Hebrew, but he's also second-in-command. He outranks them, but would they be weird about it?

That's all I have for today; we'll be done with Genesis in just a few more weeks, and then it's onward to Exodus!

Your homework? No music today... Instead, make a prediction on what you think will happen (or if you've read it already) what you would done if you were Joseph.