Comentário sobre Gênesis 43:34

משאת means PORTIONS OF FOOD.

ותרב, as if the Torah had written ותרבה. The meaning is that Binyamin’s gift from Joseph was far greater than the gift received by his brothers. A parallel construction to the word vaterev appears in connection with the construction of the Tabernacle ותכל, vatechel, where it means that the construction had been completed (Exodus 39,32).

ותרב משאת בנימין, to see if the brothers would display signs of jealousy.

וישא, the person who handed out the gifts. We find a similar construction where the subject is presumed without being named or being specifically referred to in 48,2 when Yaakov is informed that Joseph is about to visit him. The Torah there also uses the impersonal ויגד, “someone told,” without bothering to inform the reader who it was that informed Yaakov. All this friendliness which Joseph displayed during the meal was intended to contrast with the manner in which they, the brothers would do everything in their power to cause him anguish and discomfort prior to the time when they had sold him. He displayed especial fondness for Binyamin because he had been forced to come to Egypt on account of what must have seemed like his caprice, and to compensate him for having been separated from his father for no apparent reason. At least, these were some of the thoughts which the brothers thought of to explain Joseph’s strange behaviour.

וישתו וישכרו עמו, “they drank with him and became drunk.” Joseph had planned to make them drunk so that they would not examine their sacks and bags before leaving, as they would be bound to do so as not have anything planted on them as had happened the first time. When they awoke late in the morning, he urged them to make haste and leave.

חמש ידות, “five times as great,” How did Joseph arrive at this amount? He gave Binyamin his share, plus the share of his wife Ossnat and his two sons making a total of five shares.

And became intoxicated. See Rashi. They believed he was testing them to see what they would reveal when drunk; therefore if they thought that if they refused, his suspicions would be strengthened.

חמש ידות. In dieser ägyptischen Geschichte finden wir auffallend die Fünfzahl, wo wir im jüdischen Kreise die Siebenzahl erwarten; hier, bei der Vorstellung der Brüder, bei den Abgaben. Es kann das tief in der verschiedenen Weltanschauung liegen. Fünf ist wohl aus zehn entstanden; zehn ist nach menschlicher Anschauung ein Ganzes. Nach heidnischer Anschauung ist die Welt uranfänglich ein Ganzes, Fertiges: Zehn. Nach jüdischer Anschauung ist sie noch nicht fertig, ist erst sieben, auf dem Wege zu zehn. Gott schafft sie noch immer fort, wenn nicht physisch, so doch sozial. Die die Weltanschauung besingende Harfe, lehren die Weisen, hatte zuerst nur sieben Saiten, durch David war die Harmonie achtsaitig, und erst zu 8׳משיה Zeit wird sie mit zehn Saiten vollbesaitet werden. — וישתו וישכרו עמו, "bei ihm" haben sie sich berauscht, haben gewiss nicht unmäßig getrunken, tranken ganz gewöhnlich (וישתו), waren aber auch das Wenige nicht gewöhnt. Hatten sie sich auch bis dahin keine Gewissensbisse gemacht, der Schmerz hatte sie nicht verlassen, haben wohl, so lange Josef weg war, gar keinen Wein getrunken. Dass es vielleicht in Josefs Absicht lag, sie ein wenig zu berauschen, ist auch wohl denkbar, sonst hätten sie sich schwerlich zum zweitenmal ihr Geld in ihre Säcke legen lassen.

וישא משאת מאת פניו, “portions were brought from him to them;” they were all served portions approved by Joseph as appropriate;ותרב משאת בנימין, “it turned out that Binyamin’s portion was greater than that of the other brothers as Joseph had so instructed the waiters.”

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).

חמש ידות, five fold; the brothers would be served one serving each for every two of them, whereas Binyamin was given a portion equal in size to the portions served to each set of two brothers. This was Joseph’s way of showing that he considered Binyamin as equal to all of them combined. [the author was at pains to justify why Joseph gave Binyamin five times as much, not 4 times or 6 times, for instance. Ed.]

וישתו וישכרו עמו, “they drank and became drunk together with him.” This was the first time the brothers had drunk intoxicating drinks since the day they had sold Joseph some twenty years previously. Joseph too had not touched intoxicating drink since that day. This is alluded to in Genesis 49,26 where Yaakov described Joseph as נזיר אחיו, “a Nazirite with his brothers.”

וישכרו עמו, “they drank wine with him and got drunk;” at that time drinking wine with gentiles if that wine had not specifically been prepared for idolatrous purposes was not yet forbidden for Hebrews.

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).

וישכרו עמו, they were being served the kind of wines drunk by Royalty, something they were not used to, so that it made them drunk. They were careless in not leaving over some of the first kind of wine served them as was the custom for anyone invited to dine with Royalty. Compare Proverbs 23,1 כי תשב ללחום את מושל בין תבין את אשר לפניך, “when you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider well who is before you.”