And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth. And the men looked at one another in amazement.
Joseph's brothers come back to Egypt with Benjamin, fearing the worst. Instead they find themselves guests at the great man's table. Then comes a detail that unsettles them more than any threat. The stranger seats them in the exact order of their birth, and they can only stare at each other.
A Stranger Who Knows Too Much
The seating is not a courtesy. No Egyptian official could know their birth order, and the brothers feel it.
F. B. HoleAt the dinner the rift between Hebrew and Egyptian was obvious. But the brothers sat before Joseph, and he placed them in the exact order of their ages. Benjamin's portion was five times as much as any of the others. All this must have seemed to point to almost superhuman discernment in the great man. It increased the uneasy feeling they had.
Wonder Woven with Fear
Joseph is doing more than feeding them. He is handling their hearts, and the mix of feelings has a purpose.
J. G. BellettKindness or roughness works the same way on an evil conscience. A shaken leaf might well frighten the brothers now, for conscience had made cowards of them all. They sit before Joseph, "the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth," and they looked at one another in amazement, while they ate and were merry. Joseph's wisdom was drawing in every feeling of the mind and weaving them together — wonder with fear, gratitude with joy — so that there might be a thorough renewal leading to repentance.
Perfectly Known, Still Not Knowing
The scene turns on a gap. Joseph sees everything about them. They see nothing of him.
J. N. DarbyJoseph had taken account of all their condition. There was no escaping. They return humbled by the grace, and alarmed by it, having no idea of grace... They acknowledge the glory of Joseph without knowing him as their Joseph, as the rejected one. They bow to him. They find further grace in the restoration of Simeon. And they find that they are perfectly known, though they do not know. Joseph sits by himself, but his brothers sit according to their age.
Love That Waits
Joseph could end their confusion in one sentence. He does not. His restraint is itself an act of love.
Hamilton SmithJoseph speaks kindly to them. He yearns in love over his younger brother. He weeps in love in secret, but restrains himself in love, for love's time to reveal itself has not yet come. In the same perfect wisdom the Lord deals with the woman by the well. He does not reveal Himself until He has reached her conscience and the truth is out... He will feast them, but in such a way that they cannot help seeing that he knows their history. They sit before him, "the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth." While they enjoy all this favour, "they drank and were merry with him." But they must learn other lessons before he can be merry with them. They are rejoicing in his gifts, but they have yet to rejoice in himself.
A person can sit at the table, enjoy every good thing given, and still not know the giver.
What the Amazement Points To
Writers on Genesis read this table as a picture of a future meeting.
L. M. GrantThe brothers were astonished when they found that Joseph had seated them in order of their ages. Israel will be astonished when they find that the Lord Jesus knows them as well as they know themselves — in fact better.
Benjamin's extra portion carries the same lesson:
L. M. GrantJoseph showed Benjamin special favour to press on the brothers that God, far from despising a younger brother, gives him a place of honour. Too often the older look down on one younger. But by natural birth the Lord Jesus was a younger brother in Israel, and the pride of the older must come down.
Summary
- Known. The seating shows a knowledge the brothers cannot explain: "they are perfectly known, though they do not know."
- Unsettled. They are amazed, not comforted, because a guilty conscience turns even kindness into a threat.
- Withheld. Joseph's silence is love waiting for its hour: he will not reveal himself until he has reached their conscience.
- Not enough. They enjoy the feast and the favour, yet they are "rejoicing in his gifts" and have yet to rejoice in the giver himself.
- Ahead. That astonishment points to a later day. Israel will find that the Lord Jesus knows them better than they know themselves.