Genesis 44
44
Joseph’s Cup
1And he commanded the #Gen. 43:16steward of his house, saying, #Gen. 42:25“Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack. 2Also put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his grain money.” So he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. 3As soon as the morning dawned, the men were sent away, they and their donkeys. 4When they had gone out of the city, and were not yet far off, Joseph said to his steward, “Get up, follow the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you #1 Sam. 25:21repaid evil for good? 5Is not this the one from which my lord drinks, and with which he indeed practices divination? You have done evil in so doing.’ ”
6So he overtook them, and he spoke to them these same words. 7And they said to him, “Why does my lord say these words? Far be it from us that your servants should do such a thing. 8Look, we brought back to you from the land of Canaan #Gen. 43:21the money which we found in the mouth of our sacks. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house? 9With whomever of your servants it is found, #Gen. 31:32let him die, and we also will be my lord’s slaves.”
10And he said, “Now also let it be according to your words; he with whom it is found shall be my slave, and you shall be blameless.” 11Then each man speedily let down his sack to the ground, and each opened his sack. 12So he searched. He began with the oldest and left off with the youngest; and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. 13Then they #Gen. 37:29, 34; Num. 14:6; 2 Sam. 1:11tore their clothes, and each man loaded his donkey and returned to the city.
14So Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, and he was still there; and they #Gen. 37:7, 10fell before him on the ground. 15And Joseph said to them, “What deed is this you have done? Did you not know that such a man as I can certainly practice divination?”
16Then Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how shall we clear ourselves? God has #(Num. 32:23)found out the iniquity of your servants; here #Gen. 44:9we are, my lord’s slaves, both we and he also with whom the cup was found.”
17But he said, #Prov. 17:15“Far be it from me that I should do so; the man in whose hand the cup was found, he shall be my slave. And as for you, go up in peace to your father.”
Judah Intercedes for Benjamin
18Then Judah came near to him and said: “O my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord’s hearing, and #Gen. 18:30, 32; Ex. 32:22do not let your anger burn against your servant; for you are even like Pharaoh. 19My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’ 20And we said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, and #Gen. 37:3; 43:8; 44:30a child of his old age, who is young; his brother is #Gen. 42:38dead, and he #Gen. 46:19alone is left of his mother’s children, and his #Gen. 42:4father loves him.’ 21Then you said to your servants, #Gen. 42:15, 20‘Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.’ 22And we said to my lord, #Gen. 43:3, 5‘The lad cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’ 23But you said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall see my face no more.’
24“So it was, when we went up to your servant my father, that we told him the words of my lord. 25And #Gen. 43:2our father said, ‘Go back and buy us a little food.’ 26But we said, ‘We cannot go down; if our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down; for we may not see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ 27Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that #Gen. 30:22–24; 35:16–18; 46:19my wife bore me two sons; 28and the one went out from me, and I said, #Gen. 37:31–35“Surely he is torn to pieces”; and I have not seen him since. 29But if you #Gen. 42:36, 38; 44:31take this one also from me, and calamity befalls him, you shall bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.’
30“Now therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the lad is not with us, since #(1 Sam. 18:1; 25:29)his life is bound up in the lad’s life, 31it will happen, when he sees that the lad is not with us, that he will die. So your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father with sorrow to the grave. 32For your servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying, #Gen. 43:9‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father forever.’ 33Now therefore, please #Ex. 32:32let your servant remain instead of the lad as a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers. 34For how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me, lest perhaps I see the evil that would come upon my father?”
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Genesis 44: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Genesis 44
44
Joseph Tests His Brothers
1Joseph ordered his chief servant, “Fill the men’s sacks with grain, with as much as they can hold, and put each one’s money back in the mouth of his bag. 2As for the youngest one, place my silver goblet in the mouth of his sack, along with the money he paid for his grain.” And he did as Joseph said.
3At dawn, the men loaded their donkeys and set off for home. 4They hadn’t gone far outside of the city when Joseph said to his chief servant, “Now, go at once and pursue the men! And when you catch up to them, say to them, ‘Why did you repay good with evil? 5Why have you stolen the silver goblet # 44:5 As translated from the Septuagint and Vulgate and implied in the Hebrew. from which my master drinks, and the one he uses to discover secrets hidden from men? # 44:5 Or “for divination.” Some historians tell that water was poured into a certain vessel, and then pieces of gold, silver, or precious stones were added, and then, by the shape of the designs that appeared at the surface of the water, the diviner could interpret events. Joseph did not say that he used the goblet for divination but wanted his brothers to think he did. You have done an evil thing!’ ”
6When the chief servant caught up with them, he repeated his master’s words to them. 7They answered him, “Why does my lord accuse us of such things? Far be it from your servants to do anything of the kind! 8Didn’t we return from Canaan with the money we found in our grain sacks? Why then would we steal silver or gold from the house of your lord? 9Look for yourself. If any of your servants is found to have it, then he will die, and the rest of us will become your master’s slaves!”
10“Very well then,” Joseph’s servant replied, “as you have said. But I will show you leniency. The one who has it will be my slave, but the rest of you will go free.”
11Each one quickly lowered his bag to the ground and opened it. 12Then the chief servant searched each bag, beginning with oldest and ending with the youngest—and he found the silver goblet in Benjamin’s bag! # 44:12 They had not stolen Joseph’s silver goblet, but they had stolen Joseph’s dignity and threw him into a pit. They were responsible for all of Joseph’s afflictions. God was seeking to reveal their hearts through how they endured this false accusation. Joseph’s silver goblet, hidden in Benjamin’s bag, was a picture of the years of suffering Joseph went through as a slave sold for “silver.” Joseph was testing their loyalty. Would they stand with Benjamin and love him, or would they sacrifice Benjamin as they had Joseph? Would they be loyal brothers now? Joseph gave them a chance to do away with Benjamin as they had done away with him. 13Aghast, the brothers ripped their clothes in despair. They all loaded their donkeys again and returned to the city.
14Joseph was waiting in his house when Judah and his brothers arrived. When they saw Joseph, they all fell to the ground before him. # 44:14 For the third time, Joseph’s brothers bowed before him. What a sight for Joseph to see them all return. He had to know if they had really changed. Joseph was truly doing them a kindness. He was giving them a chance to pass a test they once had failed! Their guilt could be removed not only by the mercy of Joseph but also by proving their “repentance by a changed life” (Matt. 3:8). 15Joseph said to them, “What have you done? Don’t you know that divination would have given insight to a man like me?”
16Judah replied, “What can we say, my lord? How can we plead our case? How can we prove our innocence? God has revealed the guilt of your servants, # 44:16 Their long-suppressed feelings of guilt surfaced. God was awakening their consciences to what they had done to Joseph. and here we are—our lord’s slaves, both we and the one in whose sack the silver goblet was found.”
17“No,” Joseph commanded. “Only the one who stole my silver goblet will be my slave; the rest of you will go on home in peace to your father.”
Judah Pleads for Benjamin
18Then Judah stepped forward and offered, “My lord, please, may I have a word with you? You are the equal of Pharaoh. Please don’t be angry with me, your servant. 19My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or another brother?’ 20We answered my lord, ‘We have an aged father and our youngest brother, who is a child of his old age. The child’s full brother is dead, so now he is the only child left of his mother, and his father loves him very much.’ 21Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him here to me so that I might see him myself.’ 22We said to my lord, ‘But he cannot leave his father; if he were to leave him, his father would die.’ 23Then you said to your servants, ‘You will not see my face again if I do not see your youngest brother.’ 24When we arrived home to your servant, my father, we told him every word you had spoken to us.
25“Sometime later, our father said to us, ‘Go back and buy some more food for us.’ 26We answered, ‘We can only return to Egypt if we take our youngest brother with us. We won’t see the man’s face again, if he doesn’t see our youngest brother.’ 27Then, your servant, my father, said to us, ‘You know that my wife Rachel only gave me two sons. 28One is gone from me—torn by a beast! I haven’t seen him since. 29If you take this one also from me, and something happens to him, you will send my gray hairs in grief down to the grave.’ ”
30-31Judah continued, “My lord, if I went to your servant, my father, without the boy, and he saw that the boy was not with us, he would die! His very life is wrapped up with the life of the boy. # 44:30–31 As father and son, the souls of Jacob and Benjamin were bound together in the bundle of life. Now he is so old that the grief of his loss would kill him. 32Furthermore, I, your servant, have guaranteed the boy’s safety to my father. I told him, ‘If I don’t return the boy back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, for the rest of my life!’
33-34“So, please let me take the place of the boy, and I will remain here as a slave to you, my lord. Please let the boy go back with his brothers. # 44:33–34 As Judah spoke for his brothers, he did not attempt to justify himself or pass the blame off onto Benjamin. Unlike in the past, they did not turn on Benjamin as they had turned on Joseph. Judah stood as a savior for his brother. He had changed greatly from the one who conspired to sell his brother into slavery (see Gen. 37:26–27) and now offered himself to be a slave as a substitute for his brother Benjamin. Jewish historians note that for many long years after this event, the tribe of Benjamin walked in faithful love toward the tribe of Judah even when the other ten tribes deserted them. How could I return to my father without the boy? I don’t want to witness the woe and grief that would overtake my father.”
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