Genesis 43:34

he tookand sent messes R.V. marg. messes were taken. The word "mess" is used here in the sense of "portion" of food. Cf. 2 Samuel 11:8, "and there followed him a mess of meatfrom [marg. present from the king." The word "messmate" preserves the Old English use. Mess, food, Old Fr. mes(mets), Lat. missum, e.g.:

"At their savoury dinner set

Of herbs and other country messes."

Milton, L'Allegro, 85.

five times Lit. "five hands"; cf. Genesis 47:24. Attention has been called to the frequent use of the number "five" in Egyptian matters recorded in the O.T. Cf. Genesis 41:34; Genesis 45:22; Genesis 47:2; Genesis 47:24; Isaiah 19:18. Some have connected it with the five Egyptian planets.

If an explanation is at all required, counting on one's fingers is presumably the origin of a natural preference for the use of the numbers "five" and "ten."

were merry Heb. drank largely. This expression need not be interpreted too literally. The men were "festive," not necessarily "intoxicated," as LXX ἐμεθύσθησαν; Lat. inebriati sunt.

Compare Song of Solomon 5:1, "drink abundantly"; Haggai 1:6, "ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink."

For a special dish for the most honoured guest, cf. 1 Samuel 9:23-24.