Genesis 43:34 - meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Genesis 43:34
And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin’s mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him.
to lift · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
messes
מַשְׂאֹ֜תmas.'Ot
H4864
properly · noun, common feminine plural absolute
him
פָּנָיו֮pa.Nav
H6440
the face (as the part that turns) · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Benjamin’s
בִּנְיָמִ֛ןbin.ya.Min
H1144
Binjamin · proper noun, a man's name
mess
מַשְׂאַ֧תmas.'At
H4864
properly · noun, common feminine singular construct
five
חָמֵ֣שׁcha.Mesh
H2568
five · cardinal number, both genders singular absolute
times
יָד֑וֹתya.Dot
H3027
a hand (the open one (indicating power · noun, common both genders plural absolute
as
וַתֵּ֜רֶבva.Te.rev
H7235
to increase (in whatever respect) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
drank
וַיִּשְׁתּ֥וּvai.yish.Tu
H8354
to imbibe (literally or figuratively) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
merry
וַֽיִּשְׁכְּר֖וּvai.yish.ke.Ru
H7937
to become tipsy · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Genesis 45:22 To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment.
1 Samuel 1:5 But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb.
2 Samuel 11:8 And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king’s house, and there followed him a mess…
1 Samuel 9:22-24 And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them into the parlour, and made them sit in the chiefest place among them that were bidden…
Proverbs 31:6 Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.
Ecclesiastes 9:7 Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.
Ecclesiastes 10:19 A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things.
Song of Solomon 5:1 I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drun…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Genesis 43:26–end
Here is, I. The great respect that Joseph's brethren paid to him. When they brought him the present, they bowed themselves before him (Gen 43:26); and again, when they gave him an account of their father's health, they made obeisance, and called him, Thy servant our father, Gen 43:28. Thus were Joseph's dreams fulfilled more and more: and even the father, by the sons, bowed before him, according to the dream, Gen 37:10. Probably Jacob had directed them, if they had occasion to speak of him to the man, the lord of the land, to call him his servant.
II. The great kindness that Joseph showed to them, while they little thought it was a brotherly kindness. Here is,
1. His kind enquiry concerning…
took and sent messes . . . Benjamin's mess was five times--In Egypt, as in other Oriental countries, there were, and are, two modes of paying attention to a guest whom the host wishes to honor--either by giving a choice piece from his own hand, or ordering it to be taken to the stranger. The degree of respect shown consists in the quantity, and while the ordinary rule of distinction is a double mess, it must have appeared a very distinguished mark of favor bestowed on Benjamin to have no less than five times any of his brethren.
they drank, and were merry with him--Hebrew, "drank freely" (same as Sol 5:1; Joh 2:10). In all these cases the idea of intemperance is excluded. The painful anxi…
Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of theirs - Sir John Chardin observes that "in Persia, Arabia, and the Indies, there are several houses where they place several plates in large salvers, and set one of these before each person, or before two or three, according to the magnificence of each house. This is the method among the Hindoos; the dishes are not placed on the table, but messes are sent to each individual by the master of the feast or by his substitute. The great men of the state are always served by themselves, in the feasts that are made for them; and with greater profusion, their part of each kind of provision being always Double, Treble, or a Larger proportion of each k…
The Church Fathers
WHAT DOES IT MEAN "GET DRUNK?" — They drank and got drunk with it . The drunks often offer this text, not looking at those children of Israel, but in Joseph, who is considered as a very prudent man. But the Scriptures often offer these words to indicate satiety as well, as you may find in many passages who read carefully. An example: You have visited the earth and drunk it; you have filled it with riches (Ps. 65:10). As these words are said to exalt the blessing and the gift of God is remembered in them, it is clear that with this drunkenness satiety is indicated. For the earth does not get drunk as drunkards get drunk, since this would not be useful to it, because a greater humidity than the earth needs does not to satisfy it, but spoils it. Such is the life of drunkards, who are not filled by satiety, but are plunged into the flood. [
Joseph, as I was saying, was a holy man who conquered cruelty with true piety; who was sold into Egypt not by chance but that he might supply Egypt with food and his own brothers too, who had sold him. That Joseph invited his brothers to dine. But just listen to what happened: "And he drank, and became merry at noon." Is that true, and is it literally possible that a holy man became drunk? Noah also was inebriated but had been really inebriated. Joseph had been intoxicated; Noah also was intoxicated in his own house. See, there is a mystery. First, let us review the mystery itself, and when we have done that, let us fathom its meaning. After the deluge, Noah drank and became drunk in his own house, and his thighs were uncovered, and he was exposed in his nakedness. The elder brother came along and laughed; the younger, however, covered him up. All this is said in type of the Savior, for on the cross he had drunk of the passion: "Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me." He drank and was inebriated, and his thighs were laid bare—the dishonor of the cross. The older brothers, the Jews, came along and laughed; the younger, the Gentiles, covered up his disagreement. Hence the imprecation: "Cursed be Canaan; he shall be the lowest of slaves to his brothers."28Behold, that condemnation continues down to this day. We, the younger people, give orders to the older people, the Jews. As the Lord is inebriated in his passion, his saints are inebriated every day in the ardor of their faith, inebriated in the Holy Spirit. You, who yesterday were heaping together gold, today, you are throwing it away. Are you not a madman to those who do not know what it is all about? Finally, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles and filled them, and they spoke many different languages; they were accused of being full of new wine.
Dictionary and topics
Banquet — A feast provided for the entertainment of a company of guests (Esther 5; 7; 1 Pet. 4:3); such as was provided for our Lord by his friends in Bethany (Matt. 26:6; Mark 14:3; comp. John 12:2). These…
Entertain — Entertainments, “feasts,” were sometimes connected with a public festival (Deut. 16:11, 14), and accompanied by offerings (1 Sam. 9:13), in token of alliances (Gen. 26:30); sometimes in connection…
Meals — Are at the present day “eaten from a round table little higher than a stool, guests sitting cross-legged on mats or small carpets in a circle, and dipping their fingers into one large dish heaped…
Mess — A portion of food given to a guest (Gen. 43:34; 2 Sam. 11:8).
Brother · Joseph’s, for his brethren — Joseph’s, for his brethren
Dissembling · .Joseph — .Joseph
Eating · Favored guests served a double portion — Favored guests served a double portion
Egypt · Mode of entertaining in — Mode of entertaining in
Entertainments · Guests at: Often had separate dishes — Guests at: Often had separate dishes
Favoritism · .Joseph, for Benjamin — .Joseph, for Benjamin
Feasts · .Men alone present at — .Men alone present at
Hospitality · .Joseph to his brothers — .Joseph to his brothers
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
And he took and sent messes unto there from before him,.... The several dishes were brought before him, who cut them up, and sent to everyone their part and portion, as was usual in those times and countries, and afterwards elsewhere (e), for the master of the family or feast to divide the food into parts, and to give to every guest his part; and these were called, from their being sent, "missus", and from whence seems to be our English word "messes", here used:
but Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of theirs; which was done out of his great affection to him, being his own brother both by father and mother's side; and, as some think, to try his brethren, how they stood affected…
The first-born according to his birthright [170] Although of the sons of Jacob four were born of bond-women; yet, since they were the elder, they had precedence of their younger brethren, who had descended from free-born mothers; whence it appears that they had been accustomed by their father to keep this order. What, then, some one may say, becomes of the declaration, "the son of the bond-woman shall not be heir with the son of the free-woman?" Truly, I think, since Ishmael was rejected, by the divine oracle proceeding from the mouth of Sarah, as Esau was afterwards, Jacob was fully taught that he had as many heirs as he had sons. Hence arose that equality which caused each to keep his plac…
When Joseph came home, they handed him the present with the most reverential obeisance.
Gen 43:27-29
Joseph first of all inquired after their own and their father's health (שׁלום first as substantive, then as adjective = שׁלם Gen 33:18), whether he was still living; which they answered with thanks in the affirmative, making the deepest bow. His eyes then fell upon Benjamin, the brother by his own mother, and he asked whether this was their youngest brother; but without waiting for their reply, he exclaimed, "God be gracious to thee, my son!" יחנך for יחנך as in Isa 30:19 (cf. Ewald, 251d). He addressed him as "my son," in tender and, as it were, paternal affection, and with special regard to…
The brothers were confronted with generous and gracious dealings from God through Joseph, who tested their tolerance by reenacting the favoritism toward Rachel’s son that had galvanized their earlier hostility.
Rashi on Genesis 43:34
משאת means PORTIONS OF FOOD.
חמש ידות FIVE TIMES — His own portion that was due to him alike with his brothers and additional portions given to him by Joseph, Asenath, Manasseh and Ephraim (Genesis Rabbah 92.5).
וישכרו עמו AND THEY DRANK WITH HIM — but from the day they sold him they had not drunk wine nor had he drunk wine. That day, however, they drank wine (Genesis Rabbah 92:5).
