Genesis 44:19 | 85 men had been seat ed be fore him in the or der of their ages , from the first born to the youn gest ; and they looked at each oth er in as ton ish ment . 34 When portions were served to them from Jo seph ’ s ta ble , Benja min ’ s por tion was five times as much as any one else ’ s . So they feast ed and drank free ly with him .
A Silver Cup in a Sack
Now Jo seph gave these in struc tions to the
44 stew ard of his house : “ Fill the men ’ s sacks with as much food as they can car ry , and put each man ’ s sil ver in the mouth of his sack . 2 Then put my cup , the sil ver one , in the mouth of the youngest one ’ s sack , along with the sil ver for his grain .” And he did as Jo seph said .
3
As morn ing dawned , the men were sent on their way with their don keys . 4 They had not gone far from the city when Jo seph said to his stew ard , “ Go af ter those men at once , and when you catch up with them , say to them , ‘ Why have you repaid good with evil ? 5 Isn ’ t this the cup my mas ter drinks from and also uses for div i na tion ? This is a wick ed thing you have done .’”
6
When he caught up with them , he re peated these words to them . 7 But they said to him , “ Why does my lord say such things ? Far be it from your ser vants to do any thing like that ! 8 We even brought back to you from the land of Ca naan the sil ver we found in side the mouths of our sacks . So why would we steal sil ver or gold from your mas ter ’ s house ? 9 If any of your ser vants is found to have it , he will die ; and the rest of us will become my lord ’ s slaves .”
10
“ Very well , then ,” he said , “ let it be as you say . Who ev er is found to have it will be come my slave ; the rest of you will be free from blame .”
11
Each of them quick ly low ered his sack to the ground and opened it . 12 Then the stew ard pro ceed ed to search , be gin ning with the old est and end ing with the youn gest . And the cup was found in Ben ja min ’ s sack . 13 At this , they tore their clothes . Then they all load ed their don keys and re turned to the city .
14
Jo seph was still in the house when Ju dah and his broth ers came in , and they threw them selves to the ground be fore him . 15 Jo seph said to them , “ What is this you have done ? Don ’ t you know that a man like me can find things out by div i na tion ?”
16
“ What can we say to my lord ?” Ju dah re plied . “ What can we say ? How can we prove our in nocence ? God has un cov ered your ser vants ’ guilt . We are now my lord ’ s slaves — we our selves and the one who was found to have the cup .”
17
But Jo seph said , “ Far be it from me to do such a thing ! Only the man who was found to have the cup will be come my slave . The rest of you , go back to your fa ther in peace .”
18
Then Ju dah went up to him and said : “ Par don your ser vant , my lord , let me speak a word to my lord . Do not be an gry with your ser vant , though you are equal to Phar aoh him self . 19 My lord asked
43:32 the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves Joseph eats alone because he is a member of the political elite . The other Egyptians eat apart from Joseph ’ s brothers because of a cultural sense of racial superiority . Egyptian art often portrays Semites and other foreigners as inferior . Egyptian artifacts — such as footrests decorated with foreigners — show that foreigners like Semites were viewed as people who could be treaded upon by Egyptians .
44:1 – 34 Joseph devises one final test to determine his brothers ’ true character . He hides a divination cup in Benjamin ’ s sack of grain and accuses the brothers of stealing it . Vehemently denying the charge and confident of their innocence , they promise the life of the thief . Much to their chagrin , the silver cup turns up in Benjamin ’ s sack . In response , Judah makes a passionate plea before Joseph and offers his life as a ransom for Benjamin ’ s .
44:2 silver References to silver occur repeatedly in the Joseph story ( chs . 37 – 45 ). Here , the reference conveys the irony of the situation : Joseph ’ s brothers sold him into slavery for 20 pieces of silver ( 37:28 ); now Joseph uses a silver object to test them and drive them into a state of panic . 44:5 uses for divination The narrative never states explicitly that Joseph practiced divination , although Joseph seems to suggest that he did ( v . 15 ). Divination often involved determining the will of a deity by using some sort of object , like the cup referenced in v . 2 . If Joseph did practice divination , then he could have practiced it in a way that fit with belief in Yahweh ( compare Lev 16:8 ). Although the usage of a cup in divination is never specifically allowed , the casting of lots is . Joseph also could have practiced Egyptian divination , which was later prohibited , as it meant syncretism and calling upon foreign deities ( see Dt 18:9 – 14 ). There are some possible indicators that Joseph was an Egyptian diviner : He married the daughter of an Egyptian priest and seems to become fully assimilated as an Egyptian , to the point that his brothers do not even recognize him ( Ge 41:42 – 45 ; compare note on 42:15 ). Compare note on 44:15 . 44:9 he will die Neither OT law nor known Egyptian legal material require the death penalty for property crimes of this nature . 44:13 tore their clothes This was Reuben ’ s response when he thought his brothers had killed Joseph ( see Ge 37:29 and note ). Jacob exhibited this same response when he learned of Joseph ’ s untimely demise ( see 37:34 ). Now , in light of Benjamin ’ s impending death and their father ’ s certain grief , all the brothers repeat this gesture . 44:15 divination Joseph could be referencing his gift of receiving prophetic dreams and interpreting them or some other form of divination , such as using the cup referenced in 44:2 for divination . See note on 44:5 .
44:19 – 26 In this section Judah recounts the events of 42:10 – 20 and 43:1 – 5 . By repeating these events and showing Benjamin ’ s importance to his father — particularly in vv . 27 – 31 — Judah provides the basis for his appeal in v . 33 . Joseph didn ’ t hear the brothers ’ conversation with their father in Canaan , so Judah hopes that this background will cause Joseph to consider their father ’ s best interests .