V.1-34: The land was oppressed by the famine. And when all the goods had been brought out of Egypt, Jacob their father said unto them: Go again, and buy us a little food. And Judah answered him, and said, The man bound us hard, and said: Ye shall see my face
unless your brother is with you. If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy food for you. But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. Israel said:
Why have you done so evil to me, that you have told the man how you have another brother? They answered: The man inquired so closely about us and our friendship, and said, Is your father still alive? do you also have another brother? Then we said to him, as he asked us. How could we know that he would say: Bring your brother down with you? Then said Judah unto Israel his father, Let the lad go with me, that we may make up and journey, and live, and not die, both we, and thou, and our little ones. I will be guarantor for him; from my hands you shall claim him again. If I do not bring him back to you and place him before your eyes, I will bear the guilt all my life. For if we had not gone away, we would have come back twice. Then said Israel their father unto them: If it must be so, then do it. And take of the best fruits of the land into your sacks, and bring down gifts unto the man, a little balm, and honey, and spices, and myrrh, and dates, and almonds. 1) Take also other money with you, and the money that was returned to you in your sacks above, bring also again with you; peradventure there hath been some mistake. For this purpose, take your brother, get up and come back to the man. But may the Almighty God have mercy on you in the sight of the man, so that he will let you have your other brother and Benjamin. But I must be like one who is deprived of his children. So they took these gifts and other money with them, and Benjamin, and arose, and went into Egypt, and stood before Joseph. And Joseph saw them with Benjamin, and said unto him that was over his house, Bring these men home, and slay, and prepare, for they shall dine with me. And the man did as Joseph had told him, and brought the men into Joseph's house. But they were afraid to be led into Joseph's house, and said: We are brought in here for the money which we found in our sacks before, that he may bring it upon us, and pronounce judgment upon us, that he may take us for his own servants with ours.
1) Marginal gloss: These names of the fruits are still uncertain, even among the Jews themselves.
Donkeys. Therefore they came to the man that was over Joseph's house, and talked with him at the door of the house, saying: My lord, we went down to buy food, and when we came to the inn and opened our sacks, behold, every man's money was on top of his sack, in full weight; therefore we brought it back with us, and brought down other money with us to buy food. But we know not who put our money into our sacks. And he said, Be at ease, fear not: your God, and your father's God, hath given you treasure in your sacks. Your money has become mine. And he brought out Simeon unto them, and brought them into Joseph's house, and gave them water to wash their feet, and gave their asses provender. And they prepared the present until Joseph came to the south: for they had heard that they should eat the bread there. And when Joseph was come into the house, they brought him home the present in their hands, and fell down to the ground before him. But he was kind to them, and said, "Is your father well, the old man, of whom you told me? Is he still alive? They answered: It is well with your servant our father, and he is still alive; and they bowed down and fell before him. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said: Is this your youngest brother?since you told me about him? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son. And Joseph made haste, for his heart burned against his brother, and sought where he wept, and went into his closet, and wept there. And when he had washed his face, he went forth, and held himself fast, and said, Lay up bread. And they laid bread specially for him, and specially for them, and specially for the Egyptians. For the Egyptians must not eat bread with the Hebrews, because it is an abomination in their sight. And they set them against him, the firstborn according to his firstborn, and the youngest according to his youth. They wondered among themselves. They were given food from his table, but Benjamin had five times as much as the others. And they drank, and were drunken with him.