The Bible Story Part 135

And it came to pa.s.s as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack: and {114} when they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were afraid. And Jacob their father said unto them, "Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me."

And Reuben spoke unto his father, saying, "Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again." And he said, "My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he only is left: if mischief befall him by the way in which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave."

JOSEPH AND HIS BROTHERS.

_Jacob at First Refuses, but at Length Consents, to Let Benjamin Go.

Joseph Places the Money in the Sacks. He Threatens the Brothers with Punishment. He tells His Brothers Who He Is, Forgives Them, and Takes Them Into His Favor_.

And the famine was sore in the land. And it came to pa.s.s, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, "Go again, buy us a little food."

And Judah spoke unto him, saying, "The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, 'Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.' If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food: 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.'"

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And Israel said, "Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother?"

And they said, "The man asked strictly concerning ourselves, and concerning our kindred, saying, 'Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother?' and we told him according to the nature of these words: could we in any wise know that he would say, 'Bring your brother down'?"

And Judah said unto Israel his father, "Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones. I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever: for except we had lingered, surely we had now returned a second time."

And their father Israel said unto them, "If it be so now, do this; take of the choice fruits of the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spicery and myrrh, nuts, and almonds: and take double money in your hand; and the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks carry again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight: take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man: and G.o.d Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release unto you your other brother and Benjamin.

And if I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved."

And the men took that present, and they took double money in their hand, and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph. And when {116} Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, "Bring the men into the house, and slay, and make ready; for the men shall dine with me at noon."

And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph's house. And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house; and they said, "Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our a.s.ses."

And they came near to the steward of Joseph's house, and they spoke unto him at the door of the house, and said, "Oh my lord, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food: and it came to pa.s.s, when we came to the lodging place, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand. And other money have we brought down in our hand to buy food: we know not who put our money in our sacks."

And he said, "Peace be to you, fear not: your G.o.d, and the G.o.d of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money."

And he brought Simeon out to them. And the man brought the men into Joseph's house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their a.s.ses provender. And they made ready the present for Joseph's coming at noon: for they heard that they should eat there.

And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed {117} down themselves to him to the earth. And he asked them of their welfare, and said, "Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spoke? Is he yet alive?" and they said, "Thy servant our father is well, he is yet alive." And they bowed the head, and made obeisance.

And he lifted up his eyes and saw Benjamin his brother, his mother's son, and said, "Is this your youngest brother, of whom ye spoke unto me?" And he said, "G.o.d be gracious unto thee, my son."

And Joseph made haste; for his heart yearned over his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.

And he washed his face and came out; and he refrained himself, and said, "Set on food."

And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, who ate with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians could not eat with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marveled one with another. And he took of the food and sent portions to them from before him: but Benjamin's portion was five times as much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him.

And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, "Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in his sack's mouth. And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his corn money."

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And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. As soon as the morning was light the men were sent away, they and their a.s.ses.

And when they were gone out of the city, and were not yet far off, Joseph said to his steward, "Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say to them, 'Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good? Is not this the cup from which my lord drinketh, and whereby he indeed divineth? ye have done evil in so doing.'"

And he overtook them, and he spoke unto them these words. And they said unto him, "Wherefore speaketh my lord such words as these? G.o.d forbid that thy servants should do such a thing. Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks' mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord's house silver or gold? With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen."

And he said, "Now also let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be my bondman; and ye shall be blameless."

Then they hasted, and took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack. And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left off at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. Then they rent their clothes, and loaded every man his a.s.s, and returned to the city. And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house; and he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground.

And Joseph said {119} unto them, "What deed is this that ye have done?

know ye not that such a man as I can indeed divine?"

And Judah said, "What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak?

or how shall we clear ourselves? G.o.d hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord's bondmen, both we, and he also in whose hand the cup is found."

And he said, "G.o.d forbid that I should do so: the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my bondman; but as for you, get you up in peace unto your father."

Then Judah came near unto him, and said, "Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word to my lord, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh. My lord asked his servants, saying, 'Have ye a father, or a brother?' And we said unto my lord, 'We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him.' And thou saidst unto thy servants, 'Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him.' And we said to my lord, 'The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should leave his father, his father would die.' And thou saidst unto thy servants, 'Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more.' And it came to pa.s.s when we came up to thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. And our father said, 'Go again, buy us a little food.' And we said, 'We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will {120} we go down: for we may not see the man's face, except our youngest brother be with us.' And thy servant my father said to us, 'Ye know that my wife bore me two sons: and the one went out from me, and I said, "Surely he is torn in pieces"; and I have not seen him since: and if ye take this one also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs in sorrow to the grave.' Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life; it shall come to pa.s.s, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave. For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, 'If I bring him not unto thee, then shall I bear the blame to my father for ever.' Now therefore, let thy servant, I pray thee, abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren. For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest I see the evil that shall come on my father."

Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, "Cause every man to go out from me."

And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known to his brethren. And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians heard, and the house of Pharaoh heard. And Joseph said unto his brethren, "I am Joseph; doth my father yet live?"

And his brethren could not answer him; for they were {121} troubled at his presence. And Joseph said to his brethren, "Come near to me, I pray you."

And they came near. And he said, "I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. And now be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for G.o.d did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and there are yet five years, in the which there shall be neither plowing nor harvest. And G.o.d sent me before you to preserve you a remnant in the earth, and to save you alive by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but G.o.d: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, 'Thus saith thy son Joseph, G.o.d hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not: and thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast: and there will I nourish thee; for there are yet five years of famine; lest thou come to poverty, thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast. And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you.' And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither."

And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck. And he kissed all his {122} brethren, and wept with them: and after that his brethren talked with him.

And the report thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, "Joseph's brethren are come": and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, "Say unto thy brethren, 'This do ye; load your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan; and take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.' Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. Also regard not your possessions; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours."

And the sons of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the way.

To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment. And to his father he sent after this manner; ten a.s.ses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she-a.s.ses laden with corn and bread and victual for his father by the way.

So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said to them, "See that ye fall not out by the way."

And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan to Jacob their father. And they told him, saying, "Joseph is yet alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt." And his heart fainted, for he {123} believed them not. And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived: and Israel said, "It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die."

JACOB IN EGYPT.

_The Famine Wastes the Land. Death of Jacob. Death of Joseph_.

And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices to the G.o.d of his father Isaac. And G.o.d spoke unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, "Jacob, Jacob."

And he said, "Here am I."

And he said, "I am G.o.d, the G.o.d of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes."

And Jacob rose up from Beer-sheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. And they took their cattle and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his family with him: his sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters, and all his family brought he with him into Egypt.