Introduction: Jacob’s sons are finally returning to Egypt for more grain, and this time they’re bringing along their youngest brother, Benjamin.  Jacob didn’t want to let him go, but nobly decided that this risk was better than letting dozens of people die of starvation.   

I’ve often wondered: “What did Benjamin think of all this?  Being dad’s favorite hadn’t been done Joseph any favors, so I can’t imagine it had made Benjamin’s life easier.  “Thanks Dad, but it would really help me out if you could ignore me for a while…” 

Meanwhile, what was Joseph thinking?  Did he think he’d ever see his brothers again?  Oh, right, and Simeon, in prison.   

Believe it or not, things will get even more strange…

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A Peculiar Dinner, from Genesis 43

The brothers receive a courteous welcome in Egypt, learning that they will be welcomed to dinner with the governor.  When Joseph arrives, he has to hide not only his identity but his feelings: After twenty years, here’s Benjamin, his closest brother.  

After composing himself, he orders dinner, and asks the brothers to seat themselves.  To their astonishment, they find the places are set according to age – how did the governor know their birth order?  They were not served just any slop, but from the governor’s own table.  And Benjamin, for some reason, received five times more than the others.  

But once this odd dinner was finished, everything went as planned.  The governor was satisfied, Simeon was released, and the brothers could buy grain. The brothers planned to return home the next morning.

But Joseph had one more test for them: “Fill their sacks with food,” he tells his servants, “put their money back in, and put my silver cup in the youngest one’s bag.  Let them go a ways, then chase after them.”   

Have a great trip!

Daddio