When Joseph's brothers return to Egypt with Benjamin in Genesis 43, the Hebrew text describes a tense meal. Targum Jonathan transforms it into a scene loaded with hidden signals, prophetic knowledge, and one remarkable kosher detail.
Jacob's farewell speech gets a mystical upgrade. In Genesis, he simply says "if I am bereaved, I am bereaved." The Targum rewrites this as a prophetic declaration: "I am now certified by the Holy Spirit that if I am bereaved of Joseph, I shall also be bereaved of Shimeon and of Benjamin." Jacob was not resigning himself to fate. He was receiving divine assurance, the Holy Spirit itself confirmed that his sons would return.
The most striking addition comes when Joseph prepares the feast. Genesis says Joseph told his steward to bring the men home and "slaughter an animal and prepare." The Targum adds a critical instruction: "unloose the house of slaughter, and take out the sinew that shrank, and prepare meat before them." Joseph ordered the gid hanasheh, the sciatic nerve, removed from the meat. This is the sinew that Jews are forbidden to eat because of Jacob's wrestling match with the angel (Genesis 32:33). Joseph, disguised as an Egyptian official, was secretly keeping kosher and serving his brothers ritually prepared food without their knowledge.
The dinner seating arrangement becomes a calculated performance. Genesis says the brothers were amazed at being seated in birth order. The Targum explains how Joseph pulled it off: "he had taken the silver cup in his hand, and, sounding as if divining, he had set in order the sons of Leah on one side, and the sons of Zilpah on the other side, and the sons of Bilhah on another side." He pretended to use his divination cup to arrange them. But of course he already knew exactly who they were. He seated Benjamin beside himself.
The separation at dinner also gets a theological explanation. The Egyptians ate separately from the Hebrews not merely because of cultural taboo, but because "the animals which the Mizraee worshipped the Yehudaee ate." The Egyptians considered cattle sacred. The Hebrews ate beef. Sharing a table was theologically impossible.
Benjamin's extra-large portion is specified with precision: five portions total, "one was his own portion, one from himself, one from his wife, and two portions from his two sons." Joseph, his wife, and both his children each sent a share to the brother they had never met. And the final detail is poignant: "from the day when they were separated from him they had not drunk wine, neither he nor they, until that day" (Genesis 43:34). For over twenty years, both sides had been in mourning. And neither knew the other was doing the same.
But the famine was strong in the land.
And it was when they had finished eating the corn they had brought from Mizraim, their father said to them, Return and buy us a little corn.
And Jehuda spake to him, saying, The man attesting attested to us saying, You shall not see the sight of my face unless your youngest brother be with you.
If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy corn for thee;
but if thou wilt not send (him), we will not go down; for the man told us, You shall not see the sight of my face unless your brother be with you.
And Israel said, Why did you do me evil in showing the man that you had yet a brother?
And they said, The man demanding demanded (to know) about us, and about our family, saying Is your father yet living? Have you a brother? And we informed him according to the word of these things. Could we know that be would say, Bring your brother down?
And Jehuda said to Israel his father, Send the youth with me, that we may arise and go; and that we may live and not die, both we, and you, and our little ones.
I will be surety for him: of my hand shalt thou require him. If I bring him not to thee again, and set him before thee, the guilt be upon me before thee all days.
For unless we had thus delayed, we should already have returned these two times.
And Israel their father said to them, If it must be so, do this: Take of the praiseworthy things of the land, and put them in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little gum and a little honey, wax and ladanum, the oil of nuts, and the oil of almonds,
and money two upon one take in your hands, even the money that was returned in the mouth of your baggage, take back in your hands; perhaps it was done in error.
And take Benjamin your brother, and arise, return to the man,
and God the Almighty give you mercies before the man, that he may release to you your other brother, and Benjamin: and I, behold, I am now certified by the Holy Spirit that if I am bereaved of Joseph, I shall also be bereaved of Shimeon and of Benjamin.
The men took the present, and the money two for one in their hands, and they took Benjamin, and went down to Mizraim, and stood before Joseph.
And Joseph saw Benjamin with them: and he said to Menasheh whom he had made superintendent over his house, Bring the men into the house, and unloose the house of slaughter, and take out the sinew that shrank, and prepare meat before them; for the man shall eat with me at the time of the noonjday meal.
And the man did as Joseph had said, and the man brought the men into Joseph's house.
The men feared when they were brought into Joseph's house, and said, For the money that was returned in our sacks at the first are we brought in, that be may find occasion against us and condemn us, and sell us for slaves, and take our asses.
And they drew near the man who had been appointed intendant over Joseph's house, and spake with him at the gate of the house.
And they said, We entreat you, my lord: we indeed came down at first to buy corn.
But it was when we had come to our place of lodging, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, the money of a man was in the mouth of his sack: but we have brought it back in our hand.
And other money have we brought down in hand to buy corn. We know not who put the money in our sacks.
And he said, Peace to you; be not afraid of my lord. Your God and the God of your fathers gave you treasure in your sacks: your money came to me. And he brought out Shimeon to them.
The man brought the men into Joseph's house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave them provender for their asses.
And they made ready the present against the entrance of Joseph at the noon-day feast; for they had heard from him that they were to eat bread there.
And Joseph entered the house, and they offered to him the present which was in their hands for the house; and bowed before him upon the ground.
And Joseph saluted them, and said, Is it well with your father, the old man of whom you told me? Is he still alive?
They answered, It is well with thy servant our father; he is yet alive. And they bowed and made obeisance.
And he lifted up his eyes and saw Benjamin his brother, the son of his mother, and said, Is this your youngest brother of whom you told me? And he said, Mercy from the Lord be upon thee, my son!
And Joseph made haste, for his compassions were moved upon his brother, and he sought to weep, and he went into the chamber the house of sleep, and wept there.
And he washed his face from tears, and came forth, and hastened and said, Set bread.
And they set for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Mizraee who ate with him by themselves; for it was not proper for the Mizraee to eat bread with the Yehudaee, because the animals which the Mizraee worshipped the Yehudaee ate.
And they sat around him, the greatest according to his majority, and the less according to his minority. For he had taken the silver cup in his hand, and, sounding as if divining he had set in order the sons of Leah on one side, and the sons of Zilpha on the other side, and the sons of Bilhah on another side, and Benjamin the son of Rahel he ordered by the side of himself. And the men wondered each at the other.
And he sent portions from his table, and they set them forth from him before them. But Benjamin's portion was larger than the portions of any of them; five portions: one was his own portion one portion from himself, one from his wife, and two portions from his two sons. And they drank and were drunken with him; for from the day when they were separated from him they had not drunk wine, neither he nor they, until that day.
