Genesis 43:16 - Exposition

And when (literally, and) Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he literally, and he) said to the ruler of his house ,—literally, to him who was over his house, i.e. the steward (cf. Genesis 24:2 ; Genesis 39:4 ; Genesis 44:1 )— Bring these men home ( i.e. conduct these men to my house, which was probably at some distance), and slay ,—literally, slay a slaughter . The assertion that the narrator is here guilty of an inaccuracy in representing Joseph as having animal food prepared for himself and his guests (Bohlen) is refuted by Herodotus (2.37, 40) and by Wilkinson, who says that "beef and goose constituted the principal part of the animal food throughout Egypt," and that according to the sculptures "a considerable quantity of meat was served up at those repasts to which strangers were invited.' "Though there was scarcely an animal which was not held sacred in some province, there was, perhaps with the only exception of the cow, none which' was not killed and eaten in other parts of the land" (Kalisch)— and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon— literally, at the double lights ( צָהֱרַים ) , i.e. at mid-day, the time of greatest splendor.