Genesis 44
44
Joseph Sets a Trap
1Then Joseph gave a command to his servant. He said, “Fill the men’s sacks with as much grain as they can carry. Then put each man’s money into his sack with the grain. 2Put the youngest brother’s money in his sack too. But also put my special silver cup in his sack.” So the servant obeyed Joseph.
3Early the next morning the brothers and their donkeys were sent back to their country. 4After they had left the city, Joseph said to his servant, “Go and follow the men. Stop them and say to them, ‘We were good to you! So why have you been bad to us? Why did you steal my master’s silver cup?#44:4 Why did … silver cup This is from the ancient Greek version. 5My master drinks from that cup, and he uses it to learn secret things. What you did was wrong!’”
6So the servant obeyed. He rode out to the brothers and stopped them. The servant said to them what Joseph had told him to say.
7But the brothers said to the servant, “Why does the governor say these things? We wouldn’t do anything like that! 8We brought back the money that we found in our sacks before. So surely we wouldn’t steal silver or gold from your master’s house. 9If you find the silver cup in any of our sacks, let that man die. You can kill him, and we will be your slaves.”
10The servant said, “I agree, except that only the man who is found to have the cup will be my slave. The others will be free.”
The Trap Is Sprung; Benjamin Is Caught
11Then every brother quickly opened his sack on the ground. 12The servant started looking in the sacks. He started with the oldest brother and ended with the youngest. He found the cup in Benjamin’s sack. 13The brothers were very sad. They tore their clothes to show their sadness. They put their sacks back on the donkeys and went back to the city.
14When Judah and his brothers went back to Joseph’s house, Joseph was still there. The brothers fell to the ground and bowed down before him. 15Joseph said to them, “Why have you done this? Didn’t you know that I have a special way of learning secrets? No one is better at this than I am!”
16Judah said, “Sir, there is nothing we can say. There is no way to explain. There is no way to show that we are not guilty. God has judged us guilty for something else we have done. So all of us, even Benjamin, will be your slaves.”
17But Joseph said, “I will not make you all slaves! Only the man who stole the cup will be my slave. You others can go in peace to your father.”
Judah Pleads for Benjamin
18Then Judah went to Joseph and said, “Sir, please let me speak plainly with you. Please don’t be angry with me. I know that you are like Pharaoh himself. 19When we were here before, you asked us, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ 20And we answered you, ‘We have a father—he is an old man. And we have a younger brother. Our father loves him because he was born while our father was old. This youngest son’s brother is dead, so he is the only son who is left from that mother. Our father loves him very much.’ 21Then you said to us, ‘Bring that brother to me. I want to see him.’ 22And we said to you, ‘That young boy cannot come. He cannot leave his father. If his father loses him, his father will be so sad that he will die.’ 23But you said to us, ‘You must bring your youngest brother, or I will not sell you grain again.’ 24So we went back to our father and told him what you said.
25“Later, our father said, ‘Go back and buy us some more food.’ 26We said to our father, ‘We cannot go without our youngest brother. The governor said he will not sell us grain again until he sees our youngest brother.’ 27Then my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife Rachel gave me two sons. 28I let one son go away, and he was killed by a wild animal. And I haven’t seen him since. 29If you take my other son away from me, and something happens to him, I will be sad enough to die.’ 30Now, imagine what will happen when we go home without our youngest brother—he is the most important thing in our father’s life! 31Our father will die if he sees that the boy isn’t with us—and it will be our fault. We will send our father to his grave a very sad man.
32“I took responsibility for the young boy. I told my father, ‘If I don’t bring him back to you, you can blame me for the rest of my life.’ 33So now I beg you, please let the boy go back with his brothers, and I will stay and be your slave. 34I cannot go back to my father if the boy is not with me. I am very afraid of what would happen to my father.”
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Genesis 44: ERV
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
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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