<b>Then Judah came near unto him (Gen. 44:18).</b> Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse: <i>And the envy of Ephraim shall depart</i> (Isa. 11:13). Concerning whom did Isaiah utter this verse? He said it with reference to Judah and Joseph.
R. Samuel the son of Nahman stated in the name of R. Jonathan that while Joseph and Judah were quarreling, the ministering angels called out: “Come, let us descend to Egypt and watch the ox and the lion attack each other.” Normally, an ox fears a lion, but in this instance the ox and the lion confronted each other. Jealousy will exist between them until the Messiah comes. Therefore Scripture states: <i>And the envy of Ephraim shall depart</i>.
<i>Wisdom is a stronghold to the wise more than ten rulers that are in a city</i> (Eccles. 7:19). This verse refers to the wisdom of Joseph. In what way did Joseph reveal his wisdom? In that he did not desire to fight with his brother. In fact, when he beheld the ten powerful men standing before him, any one of whom could destroy ten cities, he was terrified. His wisdom alone saved him, as it is said: <i>Wisdom is a stronghold to the wise</i>.
What did Joseph do? First he stationed watchmen at each of the gates, as described in the portion <i>At the end of two full years</i> (Gen. 41:1). He then seized Simeon and bound him, for it was Simeon who had hurled him into the pit. Furthermore, he wanted to separate him from Levi, lest they conspire together to kill him. Simeon cried out to his brothers: “You permitted this to happen to your brother Joseph, and now you are permitting the same thing to happen to me.” “What can we do?” they asked, “Our people will die of hunger” (if we resist). “Do whatever you wish,” he shouted, “but I challenge anyone to imprison me.”
Then Joseph sent a message to Pharaoh, saying: “Send me seventy of your most powerful men, for I have apprehended some highwaymen, and wish to put them in chains.” He sent them at once. Joseph’s brothers understood what he intended to do. Joseph told the powerful men: “Carry this man into the prison, and bind his feet in chains.” As they were approaching him, Simeon let forth a roar, and when they heard the sound, they fell to the ground, and their teeth were shattered: <i>The lion roareth, and the fierce lion howleth—yet the teeth of the young lions are broken</i> (Job 4:10).
Manasseh, Joseph’s son, was sitting at his side at the time. His father turned to him and said: “Arise, you must do it.” Manasseh arose at once, struck a single blow, dragged Simeon into prison, and put him in chains. Whereupon Simeon called out to his brothers: “Would you say this was the blow of an Egyptian? It is none other than the blow of one from our father’s house.” When Joseph’s brothers saw that Manasseh was able to drag Simeon into prison and bind him with chains, they became terrified.
They returned to their father, and then brought Benjamin with them and stood him before Joseph. Joseph asked: “Is this your youngest brother, to whom you have referred?” They replied: “Yes.” Joseph said to Benjamin: “Do you have children?” “Yes, I have ten,” he answered. “What are their names?” asked Joseph. “Bela, Becher, Ashbel,” etc. “Whoever heard of such names?” said Joseph. “I have called all of them by these names because of my brother, the son of my mother: Bela, because he was swallowed up (<i>bala</i>) among the gentiles; Becher, because he was a firstborn (<i>bekhor</i>); Ashbel, because he was taken captive (<i>shevi</i>); Gera, because he became a stranger (<i>ger</i>); Naaman, because he was gentle (<i>na’im</i>); Ehi, because he was my brother (<i>ahi</i>), my mother’s son; Rosh, because he was my superior (<i>rosh</i>); Muppim, because he was exceedingly handsome and fair (<i>meyupeh</i>); Huppim, because he did not see my marriage canopy (<i>huppah</i>), and I did not see his; and Arad, because he went into exile while his countenance was still like a rose blossom (<i>vered</i>).
“From the day my brother Joseph disappeared, my father forsook his bed, and sat and slept only on the ground. Furthermore, whenever I saw my brothers sitting side by side, while I was forced to sit alone, my eyes welled up with tears.” At that moment, Joseph’s compassion toward him was stirred, as it is said: <i>And Joseph made haste; for his heart yearned for his brother</i> (Gen. 43:30). R. Nahman the son of Isaac explained: He then arranged a banquet for them at which he decided to have Benjamin sit at his side, but he did not know, at first, how to accomplish it. Whereupon, he took the goblet, struck it, and said to them: “I was of the opinion that Judah was the firstborn, since he was the first to speak, but now I discover that Reuben is the firstborn, and that Judah is simply a garrulous individual.” And he sat Reuben at the head of the table. Then he took the goblet once again, struck it, and told Simeon: “Sit alongside of him, for you are the second son.” He likewise seated Levi, Judah, and all the rest according to their ages. Then he took the goblet once again, struck it, and declared: “I have discovered through this cup that you are all the sons of one father, but that your father had a number of wives.” He then told Dan and Naphtali to be seated according to their ages. At last, only Benjamin remained unseated. “I see that this one had a brother, from whom he is separated, and that he is an orphan.<sup class="footnote-marker">4</sup><i class="footnote">Their mother, Rachel was already dead.</i> I too had a brother from whom I am separated. He is an orphan, and I too am an orphan. Let him come and sit beside me.” And he sat him at his side, as Scripture says: <i>And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth</i> (Gen. 43:33).
<i>And portions were taken unto them from before him, but to Benjamin he also gave his portion</i> (ibid., v. 34). At first Joseph gave each of them, including Benjamin, a single portion of food. Then he gave his own portion to him, and Asenath took his portion and gave it to Benjamin, and Ephraim and Manasseh likewise took their portions and gave them to Benjamin. That is how Benjamin obtained five portions in all, as is said: <i>But Benjamin’s portion was five times so much as any of theirs</i> (ibid.).