CHAPTER 44

44:1-34 And Joseph charged the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put the money of each in the mouth of his sack. 2 And put my silver cup into the sack of the youngest, and the price of his corn. And it was done according to the word of Joseph, as he said. 3 The morning dawned, and the men were sent away, they and their asses. 4 And when they had gone out of the city, and were not far off, then Joseph said to his steward, Arise, and pursue after the men; and thou shalt overtake them, and say to them, Why have ye returned evil for good? 5 Why have ye stolen my silver cup? is it not this out of which my lord drinks? and he divines augury with it; ye have accomplished evil in that which ye have done. 6 And he found them, and spoke to them according to these words. 7 And they said to him, Why does our lord speak according to these words? far be it from thy servants to do according to this word. 8 If we brought back to thee out of the land of Chanaan the money which we found in our sacks, how should we steal silver or gold out of the house of thy lord? 9 With whomsoever of thy servants thou shalt find the cup, let him die; and, moreover, we will be servants to our lord. 10 And he said, Now then it shall be as ye say; with whomsoever the cup shall be found, he shall be my servant, and ye shall be clear. 11 And they hasted, and took down every man his sack on the ground, and they opened every man his sack. 12 And he searched, beginning from the eldest, until he came to the youngest; and he found the cup in Benjamin’s sack. 13 And they rent their garments, and laid each man his sack on his ass, and returned to the city. 14 And Judas and his brethren came in to Joseph, while he was yet there, and fell on the ground before him. 15 And Joseph said to them, What is this thing that ye have done? know ye not that a man such as I can surely divine? 16 And Judas said, What shall we answer to our lord, or what shall we say, or wherein should we be justified? whereas God has discovered the unrighteousness of thy servants; behold, we are slaves to our lord, both we and he with whom the cup has been found. 17 And Joseph said, Far be it from me to do this thing; the man with whom the cup has been found, he shall be my servant; but do ye go up with safety to your father. 18 And Judas drew near him, and said, I pray, Sir, let thy servant speak a word before thee, and be not angry with thy servant, for thou art next to Pharao. 19 Sir, thou askedst thy servants, saying, Have ye a father or a brother? 20 And we said to my lord, We have a father, an old man, and he has a son of his old age, a young one, and his brother is dead, and he alone has been left behind to his mother, and his father loves him. 21 And thou saidst to they servants, Bring him down to me, and I will take care of him. 22 And we said to my lord, The child will not be able to leave his father; but if he should leave his father, he will die. 23 But thou saidst to they servants, Except your younger brother come down with you, ye shall not see my face again. 24 And it came to pass, when we went up to thy servant our father, we reported to him the words of our lord. 25 And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food. 26 And we said, We shall not be able to go down; but if our younger brother go down with us, we will go down; for we shall not be able to see the man’s face, our younger brother not being with us. 27 And thy servant our father said to us, Ye know that my wife bore me two sons; 28 and one is departed from me; and ye said that he was devoured of wild beasts, and I have not seen him until now. 29 If then ye take this one also from my presence, and an affliction happen to him by the way, then shall ye bring down my old age with sorrow to the grave. 30 Now then, if I should go in to they servant, and our father, and the boy should not be with us, (and his life depends on this lad’s life) 31 —it shall even come to pass, when he sees the boy is not with us, that he will die, and thy servants will bring down the old age of thy servant, and our father, with sorrow to the grave. 32 For thy servant has received the boy in charge from his father, saying, If I bring him not to thee, and place him before thee, I shall be guilty towards my father for ever. 33 Now then I will remain a servant with thee instead of the lad, a domestic of my lord; but let the lad go up with his brethren. 34 For how shall I go up to my father, the lad not being with us? lest I behold the evils which will befall my father.

AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO. (Gen. 44:15). ON JOSEPH'S DIVINATORY SCIENCE. — And Joseph said to them, What is this thing that ye have done? know ye not that a man such as I can surely divine? About this divination he also sent word through a messenger. Well, what does this mean? Since those words were not spoken in earnest, but only as a joke, as the ending showed, should one think that it is not a lie? Lies, in fact, are from liars that are serious, not joking. On the other hand, things that are said jokingly and do not exist are not considered lies. But the greatest problem is the meaning of Joseph's actions with his brothers, making fun of them so often and keeping them in suspense until they discovered who he was. For although the action, when it is read, is all the softer and the more unexpected for those to whom it was addressed, however, given the seriousness of Joseph's prudence, if there were no significant meaning in this kind of game, then neither he would have done it and the Scripture would not have narrated it, which has such great authority and sanctity and such a keen insight into future things that will be prophesied as prophecy. It is not my intention now to develop this point; I just want to warn you what to do here. For I think that it is not even meaningless who does not say: I divine, but a man like me divines. And if this is a special mode of expression, we must find something similar in the texts of Scripture. [Question 145]

WHY DOES JOSEPH DIFFER FROM MAKING HIMSELF KNOWN TO HIS BRETHREN? — In my opinion, we must not lightly consider Joseph's conduct, letting it subsist as long as he pleased, the trouble and anxiety of his brothers, and extending the duration of it to his will; he did not want their misfortunes, for he thought even of the arrival of a future joy so great for them, and everything he did so that his joy might be delayed, he did so with the intention of being greater precisely because of delay. It was as if the sufferings they endured during all that time of anguish were not comparable with the future glory of joy, which was to be manifested in them when they recognized their brother, whom they believed lost. [Question 146]

(Gen. 44:18-34). ERRONEOUS NARRATION OF JUDAH. — In Judah's account many things are said differently than Joseph had dealt with his brethren, even though Joseph had spoken with him. And this goes so far as to say nothing at all of that accusation that they were spies. But it is not clear whether things were stopped voluntarily or if this omission caused the forgetfulness, due to the concern. Because even what they said about Joseph asking them about their father and his brother, and that they answered those things when asked, it is strange that this narrative can even reach a point of view that it is true. However, although there are some false things in the story, the author was mistaken for forgetting rather than daring to lie, especially for one whom the author included in the story, not as who knew nothing, but as one who, even the things he knew, knew to move his mercy. [Question 147]

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM OF CONSTANTINOPLE. Then in the distribution of the shares, he gives Benjamin a portion five times larger. They do not understand more, they believe that it is a simple effect of chance, because of the youth of the privileged. At last, when the meal is over, Joseph calls his steward and gives him these orders: Fill the bags of these men with as much food as they can take with them, and put the money of each in his bag; and throw this silver cup into the youngest's bag. (44:1-2) See what artifice he still imagines to put to an infallible test the feelings of his brothers against Benjamin. That done, he fired them. Then, when they are. And they went out, and said to the steward of his house, Arise, and pursue them, and say to them, Why do ye turn evil for good? Why did you steal a silver cup? Is not this the one where my master drinks? He uses it to guess. It is a detestable action that yours. When he found them, saith the scripture, he said to them, Why do ye answer the favors by injustice? Why exercise your wickedness right down to the one who made you so welcome? How did you not fear to hurt a man you found so generous? What can one say about such villainy? What delusion has taken hold of you? Do you not know that this is the vase my master uses to guess? Your action is criminal, your plan pernicious, your business unpardonable, your daring unequaled, your perversity above all that can be imagined. And they said to him, Why is your lord? this language? (Ibid. 7) Why do you reproach us for a crime of which we are entirely innocent? God forbid that your servants behave ever as you say! God forbid that we should ever take such a course! We who brought a double sum of money, how could we have stolen money or gold? Moreover, if you believe him, Whose hand you find the vase you are looking for, let him die, as the author of such a crime: and we, we will be slaves. The calm of their conscience allowed them to bead with this assurance. The steward answered, "Well! let it be done as you say. The one in whose hands the cup will be found, that one will be my servant: the others will be set free. (Ibid. 10) After that, they let themselves be searched. And he searched them, beginning with the eldest, until he came to Benjamin. And having opened the bag of it, he finds the cup. (Ibid. 12) This confused their minds. They tore their clothes, put their bags on the beasts of sum, and returned to the city. (Ibid. 13) And Judah having gone in, and his brethren to Joseph, they fell down before him with their faces to the ground. (Ibid. 14) Observe how many times. they love it. Then Joseph said to them, Why did you do that? Do not you know that I only use it to guess? Judah answered, What to answer? what to say to our lord? How to justify us? God has found the iniquity of your servants. (Ibid. 16) Once again the memory of the evil they have done to them comes back to their minds. Well ! we are servants of our master, and we, and the one in whose hands the cup was found. They then show their good feelings, and submit to servitude at the same time as their brother. But Joseph replied: God forbid that I should do anything about it! The man in whose hands the cup was found is the one who will be my servant: as for you, return safely to your father. (Ibid. 17)

Thus, what their father feared happened to them: here they are in trouble and anguish, not knowing what to do. But Judah came near, and said. (Ibid. 18) It was he, indeed, who had received Benjamin from his father's hands, he who had said: If I do not bring him back to you, I will remain guilty before you all the days of my life. He approaches, he tells exactly what has happened, to excite Joseph's compassion, and to arrange to let the child go. Judah went up and said, "Please, sir, let your servant speak. Observe how he never ceases to speak to him in the tone of a slave who addresses his master: and remember those dreams of sheaves, which poisoned their jealousy against him: admire the wisdom and omnipotence of God, who, through so many obstacles, led everything to realization. Let your servant speak in your presence, and do not be angry with him, lord. You asked your servants, saying, Do you have a father, a brother? (Ibid. 19) And we told our lord We have an old father and he has a young son, child of his old age; his brother is dead. (Ibid. 20) Figure out what Joseph must have felt on hearing these words. He alone remained with his mother; and his father took him in great tenderness. Why are they still lying here saying, "Brother of this one is dead? had not they sold it to the merchants? But as they had made their father believe that he had perished and been devoured by ferocious beasts, as they thought he must have succumbed to the evils of his slavery among a barbarous people, he said for these reasons : And the brother of this one is dead. But you said to your servants, Bring me this child, and I will take care of it. (Ibid. 21) And you added: If your brother does not come with you, you will not have the advantage of seeing nia face. (Ibid. 23) And it came to pass that, when you came back to your servant, our father, we told him the words of our Lord. (Ibid. 24) Then our father told us: Get back on the road, buy us some supplies. (Ibid. 25) But we answered him, We can not go there, if our brother does not come with us. (Ibid. 26) Then your servant, our father, he says to us: You know that my wife gave me two children, one went away (me, and you told me that he had eaten by wild beasts. (Ibid. 27-28) Notice how the apology of Judah instructs Joseph exactly what happened in his family after he was sold, the lure they resorted to to deceive his father, from the story they told him about him, and now if you take him away again, and there comes a sickness on his way, you will lead old age with pain to the grave. Such is our father's attachment to this young child, how can we sustain his sight, if he is not with us? For his life depends on his soul. (Ibid. 30) And your servants shall lead the old age of your servant, our father, with sorrow to the grave, for your servant has received this young child from our father's hands, saying, If I do not do not bring to you, I will remain guilty to you every day of my life. (Ibid. 31) These are the promises I made to my father so that I could bring you the child, obey your wishes, show you that we had spoken sincerely and that there was no lie in our speech. Now, then, I will remain, slave for slave, servant of my lord: as for a young child, let him go with our brothers. (Ibid. 33) Indeed, how to return to my father without having the child with us? May I not see the evils that will come to my father. [Homilies on Genesis]