Genesis 43:34
in Genesis 43When the portions were served to them from Joseph’s table, Benjamin’s portion was five times larger than any of the others. So they feasted and drank freely with Joseph.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Genesis 43
Commentary
7 notes on this verse(Verse 32) And they drank, and were intoxicated with it. The idiom of the Hebrew language is to equate drunkenness with satiety, as it says there: 'He shall be satisfied with the abundance of rain, with the produce of his land he shall be intoxicated.' (Psalm 65:11) Undoubtedly, this refers to a land irrigated by rain.
This site's exposition
Benjamin's portion was five times larger
The youngest is openly favoured in front of the older brothers with five times the portion. That is the situation that produced the coat and the pit in chapter 37, and this time they feast and drink freely with him. The fivefold measure keeps returning around Joseph, the fifth of Egypt's harvest at 41:34, five sets of clothing for Benjamin at 45:22, and five brothers before Pharaoh at 47:2. Nobody at the table objects.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
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.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
This was the more generous in him, and the more obliging to them, because of the present scarcity of provisions. In a day of famine, it is enough to be fed; but here they were feasted.
And he took and sent messes unto there from before him,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
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.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
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.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשָּׂ֨א | vaiyisa' | and someone took | H5375 → | 656 times |
| מַשְׂאֹ֜ת | masot | portions | H4864 → | 15 times |
| מֵאֵ֣ת | meet | from with | H854 → | 929 times |
| פָּנָיו֮ | panav | face his | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אֲלֵהֶם֒ | ʾalehem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וַתֵּ֜רֶב | vaterev | and it was great | H7235 → | 227 times |
| מַשְׂאַ֧ת | masat | [the] portion of | H4864 → | 15 times |
| בִּנְיָמִ֛ן | binyamin | Benjamin | H1144 → | 166 times |
| מִמַּשְׂאֹ֥ת | mimasot | more than [the] portions of | H4864 → | 15 times |
| כֻּלָּ֖ם | kulam | all of them | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| חָמֵ֣שׁ | chamesh | five | H2568 → | 343 times |
| יָד֑וֹת | yadot | hands | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| וַיִּשְׁתּ֥וּ | vaiyishtu | and they drank | H8354 → | 217 times |
| וַֽיִּשְׁכְּר֖וּ | vaiyishkeru | and they became drunk | H7937 → | |
| עִמּֽוֹ׃ | imo | with him | H5973 → | 1050 times |
וַיִּשָּׂ֨אand someone took
vaiyisa'H5375 →656 times
מַשְׂאֹ֜תportions
masotH4864 →15 times
מֵאֵ֣תfrom with
meetH854 →929 times
פָּנָיו֮face his
panavH6440 →2123 times
אֲלֵהֶם֒to them
ʾalehemH413 →5510 times
וַתֵּ֜רֶבand it was great
vaterevH7235 →227 times
מַשְׂאַ֧ת[the] portion of
masatH4864 →15 times
בִּנְיָמִ֛ןBenjamin
binyaminH1144 →166 times
מִמַּשְׂאֹ֥תmore than [the] portions of
mimasotH4864 →15 times
כֻּלָּ֖םall of them
kulamH3605 →5413 times
חָמֵ֣שׁfive
chameshH2568 →343 times
יָד֑וֹתhands
yadotH3027 →1618 times
וַיִּשְׁתּ֥וּand they drank
vaiyishtuH8354 →217 times
וַֽיִּשְׁכְּר֖וּand they became drunk
vaiyishkeruH7937 →
עִמּֽוֹ׃with him
imoH5973 →1050 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Samuel 1:5But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved her even though the LORD had closed her womb.
it leads to
- Genesis 30:2
Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld children from you?”
- Genesis 29:30–31
Jacob slept with Rachel as well, and indeed, he loved Rachel more than Leah. So he worked for Laban another seven years.
- Genesis 30:2
Through
Proverbs 31:6Give strong drink to one who is perishing, and wine to the bitter in soul.
it leads to
- 1 Timothy 5:23
Stop drinking only water and use a little wine instead, because of your stomach and your frequent ailments.
- Psalms 104:15
wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil that makes his face to shine, and bread that sustains his heart.
- 1 Samuel 1:10
In her bitter distress, Hannah prayed to the LORD and wept with many tears.
- 2 Kings 4:27
When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she clung to his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for her soul…
- 1 Timothy 5:23
Through
2 Samuel 11:8Then he said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king followed him.
it leads to
- Genesis 18:4
Let a little water be brought, that you may wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree.
- Genesis 18:4
Through
Genesis 45:22He gave new garments to each of them, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five sets of clothes.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 5:5
“Go now,” said the king of Aram, “and I will send you with a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman departed, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of…
- 2 Kings 5:5
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis; Jerome, HOMILIES ON the Psalms 13; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.