פרשת מקץ תשכ"ד - לקראת הירידה השניה למצרים

And Israel said: ‘Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother?’

And Judah said unto Israel his father: ‘Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones.

And their father Israel said unto them: ‘If it be so now, do this: take of the choice fruits of the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spicery and ladanum, nuts, and almonds;

And Israel said: ‘Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother?’

And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house: ‘Bring the men into the house, and kill the beasts, and prepare the meat; for the men shall dine with me at noon.’

בצהרים, “at noon.” This is the time when ministers and highly placed officials eat their principal meal. They waited until that hour as they were preoccupied with various aspects of their service to the public. Solomon referred to people who eat early in the morning when he wrote in Kohelet 10,16: "Woe to you, O land, whose king acts as an adolescent, and whose ministers dine in the morning.” At the same time, Solomon praises the ones who eat their meal at noon — (compare verse 17 in the above chapter of Kohelet).

And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house.

And the man brought the men into Joseph’s house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender.

ויבא האיש AND THE MAN BROUGHT [THE MEN] — There is here a mention of bringing in after bringing in has been mentioned in Genesis 5:17, because then they hustled him outside so that they spoke to him at the door of the house (cf. Genesis 5:18 and Genesis 5:19 where they said אנחנו מובאים “we are being brought”), but as soon as he said to them “Peace be with you” they followed and went after him, into the house (Genesis Rabbah 92:4).

And they came near to the steward of Joseph’s house, and they spoke unto him at the door of the house,

ויבא האיש את האנשים ביתה יוסף. The man (adjutant) brought the men into Joseph's home. Why has the Torah repeated the fact that the brothers were brought to the home of Joseph? We have already been told about this in verse 18? Apparently they were interrupted before they entered Joseph's home when they stopped in front of the house. The reason was that the brothers first wanted to explain that they had found their money in their bags when they had arrived back in Canaan. They wanted to know why they were being brought to Joseph's home. They were not sure whether this bode them good or ill. After Shimon had been released they realised that they were to be made welcome. This is why the Torah had to repeat the fact that they were brought to Joseph's palace, i.e. as guests not as prisoners.

כאשר כלו לאכל WHEN THEY HAD EATEN UP — Judah said to them: Leave the old man alone until the house will run short of bread (Midrash Tanchuma, Miketz 8).

העד העד [THE MAN] DID SOLEMNLY PROTEST UNTO US — The Hebrew is an expression signifying warning and it is derived from the root עוד to bear witness, because a warning is, as a rule, given in the presence of witnesses. Other examples are (Jeremiah 11:7) “I earnestly forewarned (העדותי) your fathers”, and (Exodus 19:21) “Go, warn (העד) the people.

“לא תראו מני בלתי אחיכם אתכם means YE SHALL NOT SEE ME IF YOUR BROTHER BE NOT WITH YOU — Onkelos renders it by אלהין כד אחוכון עמכון ,“except when your brother is with you” adding the word כד when, to which there is no corresponding word in the Hebrew text. He gave the explanation of the word (בלתי) correctly, but he was not particular to translate according to the exact expression used in the text.

כי הובאו בית יוסף BECAUSE THEY WERE BROUGHT INTO JOSEPH S HOUSE, and it was not usual for other people who came to buy corn to stay overnight in Joseph’s house but in the inns of the city. וייראו AND THEY WERE AFRAID, because this could be only for the purpose of putting them in prison.

אנחנו מובאים WE HAVE BEEN BROUGHT inside this house.