When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to his house steward, “Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal and make preparations; for the men are to dine with me at noon.”
Parallel translations
- WEB When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Bring the men into the house, and butcher an animal, and prepare; for the men will dine with me at noon.”
- KJV And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and slay, and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon.
- BSB When Joseph saw Benjamin with his brothers, he said to the steward of his house, “Take these men to my house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, for they shall dine with me at noon.”
- NKJV When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Take these men to my home, and slaughter an animal and make ready; for these men will dine with me at noon.”
- NLT When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the manager of his household, “These men will eat with me this noon. Take them inside the palace. Then go slaughter an animal, and prepare a big feast.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Seeing Benjamin, Joseph orders a feast prepared for the men at noon. His joy at his full brother's arrival begins to surface.
Overview
Joseph's instruction to slaughter and prepare a meal signals a shift from testing toward hospitality and reunion. The sight of Benjamin, his only full brother, stirs deep emotion that he must still restrain. The coming feast prepares the way for the final tests and the eventual revealing of Joseph's identity.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Gen 44:1He commanded the steward of his house, saying, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in his sack’s mouth.
- Gen 43:19They came near to the steward of Joseph’s house, and they spoke to him at the door of the house,
- Prov 9:2She has prepared her meat. She has mixed her wine. She has also set her table.
- Gen 39:4–5Joseph found favor in his sight. He ministered to him, and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.
- Gen 24:2–10Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please put your hand under my thigh.
- Gen 31:54Jacob offered a sacrifice in the mountain, and called his relatives to eat bread. They ate bread, and stayed all night in the mountain.
- Gen 44:4When they had gone out of the city, and were not yet far off, Joseph said to his steward, “Up, follow after the men. When you overtake them, ask them, ‘Why have you rewarded evil for good?
- Gen 21:8The child grew, and was weaned. Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.
- Gen 26:30He made them a feast, and they ate and drank.
- 1 Sam 25:11Shall I then take my bread, my water, and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men who I don’t know where they come from?”
- Gen 15:2Abram said, “Lord Yahweh, what will you give me, since I go childless, and he who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 43:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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