When Joseph came into the house, they gave him the present which they had brought and bowed down low before him. He asked them about their welfare and said, "Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke?
Is he still living?" They replied, "Your servant, our father, is well; he is still alive." Then they bowed their heads and knelt down before him.
When Joseph looked up and saw Benjamin his brother, his own mother"s son, he said, "Is this your youngest brother of whom you spoke to me?"
And he added, "G.o.d be gracious to you, my son." Then because of his longing for his brother he sought a place in which to weep. So he went into his room and wept there.
Then he bathed his face and came out and said, "Bring on the food." So they brought food for him by himself and for them by themselves and for the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians would not eat with the Hebrews, for to do so was hateful to them.
Joseph"s brothers were seated before him, the eldest first, as was his right as the oldest, and the youngest last, and the men looked at each other in astonishment. Then Joseph had portions served to them from the food before him. But Benjamin"s portions were five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him.
Then he gave this command to the steward of his household: "Fill the men"s grain sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest and the money too that he paid for his grain." And the steward did as Joseph commanded.
As soon as the morning light appeared, the men were sent away with their a.s.ses. When they had gone out of the city, but were not yet far away, Joseph commanded his steward, "Follow after the men and when you overtake them, say to them, "Why have you returned evil for good? Why have you stolen my silver cup, that from which my master drinks? You have done wrong in so doing.""
So the steward overtook them and said these words to them. They said to him, "Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing! Remember that we brought back to you from the land of Canaan the money which we found in our sacks. Why then should we steal silver or gold from your master"s house? Let that one of your servants with whom it is found die, and we will be my lord"s slaves." He said, "Let it now be as you have said: he with whom it is found shall be my slave; but you shall be innocent." Then each one quickly took down his sack and opened it. The steward searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest; and the cup was found in Benjamin"s sack. Then they tore their clothes, and every man loaded his a.s.s and returned to the city.
JOSEPH"S FORGIVENESS OF HIS BROTHERS
[Ill.u.s.tration: _Joseph Converses with Judah, his Brother_
Painted by J. James Tissot]
When Judah and his brothers came back to Joseph"s house, Joseph was still there; and they threw themselves before him on the ground. Joseph said to them, "What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me can always tell where things are?" Judah replied, "What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak or how shall we clear ourselves? G.o.d has found out the guilt of your servants. See, both we and he also with whom the cup was found are my lord"s slaves." But Joseph said, "Far be it from me that I should do so! The man with whom the cup was found shall be my slave; but you yourselves go up in peace to your father."
Then Judah came close to him and said, "Oh, my lord, let your servant, I beg of you, speak a word in my lord"s ears, and let not your anger be aroused against your servant, for you are even as Pharaoh. My lord asked his servants, saying, "Have you a father or a brother?" And we said to my lord, "We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one. As his brother is dead, he is the only son of his mother who is left; and his father loves him." You said to your servants, "Bring him down to me, that I may see him." But we said to my lord, "The boy cannot leave his father; for if he should leave his father, his father would die." Then you said to your servants, "Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall not see me again."
"When we went up to your servant, my father, we told him the words of my lord; and our father said, "Go again, buy us a little food." But we said, "We cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go; for we cannot see the man again unless our youngest brother is with us." Your servant, my father, said to us, "You know that my wife had two sons; and one went from me," and I said, "Surely he is torn in pieces; and I have not seen him since. If you take this one also from me, and harm come to him, you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave." Now if I return to your servant, my father, and Benjamin with whose life his heart is bound up is not with us, and he sees that there is no boy, he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to the grave. For your servant became responsible for the boy to my father, when I said, "If I do not bring him to you, then I will bear the blame before my father forever." Now, therefore, let me, instead of the boy, remain as a slave to my lord, I beg of you; but let the boy go back with his brothers. For how can I go back to my father, if the boy is not with me, lest I should see the sorrow that would come upon my father?"
Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who were standing by him; so he cried out, "Let every man leave me." So no Egyptian was present while Joseph made himself known to his brothers. But he wept so loudly that the Egyptians and Pharaoh"s court heard.
And Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, for they were too ashamed to look him in the face. Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come near to me, I beg of you." So they came near. He said, "I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. Do not be troubled nor angry with yourselves that you sold me here, for G.o.d sent me before you to save your lives. For the famine has already been two years in the land, and there are still five years in which there shall be neither ploughing nor harvest. G.o.d sent me before you to save your lives through a great deliverance and thus give you children on the earth. So now it is not you who sent me here, but G.o.d. He has made me like a father to Pharaoh and master of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
"Go up quickly to my father and say to him, "Your son Joseph says: G.o.d has made me master of all Egypt. Come down to me without delay. You shall live in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me with your children and your grandchildren, with your flocks and your herds and all that you have, so that you, with your household and all that you have, may never want. There I will provide for you, for there will be five more years of famine." Now you and my brother Benjamin see that it is I who am speaking to you. Tell my father all about my honor in Egypt and what you have seen; and you must quickly bring him down here."
Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin"s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck. He also kissed all his brothers and wept upon them.
After that his brothers talked with him.
JOSEPH"S LOYALTY TO HIS FAMILY
The news that Joseph"s brothers had arrived became known in Pharaoh"s palace; and it pleased Pharaoh and his servants greatly. Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Say to your brothers, "Do this: load your beasts, go to the land of Canaan, and take your father and your families and come to me, and I will give you the best there is in the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the best that the land can give. Now you are commanded to do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father and come. Also do not pay any attention to your household goods, for the best of all there is in the land of Egypt is yours."" And the sons of Jacob did as they were commanded.
So Joseph gave them wagons, as Pharaoh ordered, and what was needed for the journey. To each of them he gave a change of clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothing. To his father he sent this gift: ten a.s.ses loaded with the best products of Egypt and ten a.s.ses loaded with grain and bread and provisions for his father on the journey.
So he sent his brothers away, and, as they went, he said to them, "See that you do not quarrel on the journey!" So they went up out of Egypt and came into the land of Canaan to Jacob their father, and told him, "Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!"
Then Jacob"s heart stood still, for he could not believe them. But when they told him all that Joseph had said to them and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived, and he said, "It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die."
Then Jacob set out on his journey with all that he had. He first went to Beersheba and offered sacrifices to the G.o.d of his father Isaac. G.o.d spoke to him in a vision by night and said, "Jacob, Jacob." He answered, "Here am I." G.o.d said, "I am G.o.d, the G.o.d of your father. Do not fear to go down into Egypt, for there I will make of you a great nation. I myself will go down with you into Egypt; I will surely bring you back again; and Joseph shall close your dying eyes."
When Jacob left Beersheba, his sons carried him and their little ones and their wives in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent. Jacob also sent Judah before him to Joseph, that he might show him the way to Goshen.
When they came into the land of Goshen, Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to Goshen to meet Jacob his father. When he met him, Jacob fell on his neck and wept there a long time.
Then Jacob said to Joseph, "Now let me die, for I have seen your face and know that you are still alive." But Joseph said to his brothers and to his father"s household, "I will go up and tell Pharaoh and will say to him, "My brothers and my father"s family who were in the land of Canaan have come to me. Now the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of cattle; and they have brought their flocks and cattle and all that they have." When Pharaoh calls you, and asks, "What is your business?" you shall say, "Your servants have been keepers of cattle from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers." Say this that you may live in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is looked down upon by the Egyptians."
Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh and said, "My father and my brothers with their sheep and cattle and all that they possess have come from the land of Canaan; and now they are in the province of Goshen."
And he took five of his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to them, "What is your business?" They answered, "Your servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers." They also said to Pharaoh, "We have come to live in your country; because the famine is severe in the land of Canaan, and there is no pasture for your servants" flocks. Now, therefore, we beg of you, let your servants stay in the land of Goshen."
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Let them stay in the land of Goshen; and if you know any able men among them, put them in charge of my cattle."
Joseph also brought in Jacob his father and presented him to Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How many years have you lived?" Jacob answered, "I have lived a hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the years of my life, and they have not been as many as those that my forefathers lived on earth." After Jacob had blessed Pharaoh, he went out from Pharaoh"s presence. So Joseph gave his father and his brothers a place to live in and a home in the land of Goshen, in the best part of the land of Egypt, as Pharaoh had commanded.
Joseph also provided food for his father and his brothers and all his father"s family according to the number of the little children. So the Israelites lived in Egypt, in the land of Goshen, and there they grew wealthy and had many children.
THE BOYHOOD AND TRAINING OF MOSES
After the death of Joseph and his brothers, the Israelites increased so rapidly and became so many and powerful that the land was filled with them. But a new king who did not know Joseph ruled over Egypt. He said to his people, "See, the Israelites are becoming too many and powerful for us. Come, let us deal wisely with them, for fear that they become so many that, if war is begun against us, they will join our enemies and fight against us and leave the land."
So the Egyptians set taskmasters over them to put burdens upon them. And they built for Pharaoh the store-cities, Pithom and Rameses. But the more the Egyptians afflicted them, the more numerous they became and the more they spread everywhere, so that the Egyptians dreaded what they might do. And the Egyptians were cruel and made slaves of them, making their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and brick, and by all kinds of hard work in the field.
Pharaoh also gave this command to all his people, "You shall throw into the river every son that is born to the Hebrews, but every daughter you shall save alive."
Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a woman of the same tribe, and she had a son. When she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him for three months. But when she could no longer hide him, she took a basket made of papyrus reeds, daubed it with mortar and pitch, and put the child in it. Then she placed it in the reeds by the bank of the river Nile, while his sister stayed near by to see what would happen to him.
The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe in the Nile, and while her maids were walking along the river"s bank, she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her waiting-maid to bring it. When she opened it and saw the child, the boy was crying; and she felt sorry for him and said, "This is one of the Hebrew children."
Then his sister said to Pharaoh"s daughter, "Shall I go and call one of the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?" Pharaoh"s daughter said to her, "Go." So the maiden went and called the child"s mother, and Pharaoh"s daughter said to her, "Take this child away and nurse it for me, and I will pay you your wages." Then the woman took the child and nursed it. When the child had grown up, she brought him to Pharaoh"s daughter, and he became her son; and she named him Moses, for she said, "I drew him out of the water."
One time, after Moses had grown up, he went out to his own people; and as he was watching them at their hard labor, he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own race. He looked around and seeing that there was no one in sight, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
On the next day Moses went out, and saw two Hebrews struggling together; and he said to the one who was in the wrong, "Why do you strike your fellow workman?" The man replied, "Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses was afraid and said, "What I have done is known!" When Pharaoh heard what had taken place, he tried to put Moses to death; but Moses left the country and made his home in the land of Midian.
As he was sitting by a well, the seven daughters of the priest of Midian came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father"s flock, but the shepherds came and drove them away. Then Moses stood up and protected the women and watered their flock.
When they came to their father, he said, "How is it that you have come back so early to-day?" They replied, "An Egyptian protected us from the shepherds, and besides, he drew water for us and watered the flock."
Then he said to his daughters, "Where is he? Why have you left the man?
Ask him to eat with us." So Moses made his home with the man; and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah to be his wife. She had a son, and Moses named him Gershom.
THE VOICE FROM THE BUSH
After a long time the king of Egypt died. Moses was taking care of the flock of Jethro his wife"s father. Once he led the flock to the other side of the pasture and came to h.o.r.eb, the mountain of G.o.d. There the angel of Jehovah appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a thorn bush. As he looked, the bush flamed up without being burned. Moses said, "I will stop here and see this wonderful sight, why the bush is not burned up."
[Ill.u.s.tration: _The Finding of Moses_
Painted by Juliaan de Vriendt]
When Jehovah saw that Moses stopped to look, he called to him from the midst of the bush, "Moses, Moses." Moses answered, "Here am I." Then G.o.d said, "Do not come near; take your shoes off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." He also said, "I am the G.o.d of your forefathers, the G.o.d of Abraham, the G.o.d of Isaac, and the G.o.d of Jacob." Then Moses covered his face; for he was afraid to look upon G.o.d.
But Jehovah said, "I have certainly seen the suffering of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry of distress because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them out of that land into a land that is beautiful and wide, to a land with plenty of milk and honey. I have heard the cry of the Israelites and I have seen how they suffer at the hands of the Egyptians. Come now, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt."