The Ten Brothers Before Yoseph
Directly on arrival in Egypt Yacob's ten sons presented themselves in the audience chamber and bowed low before the viceroy (Bereshith. 43:15-34). At his first glance Yoseph noticed Benjamin, who was, like himself, Rachel's son. Doing his best to hide his emotion he ordered his chamberlain to take the small party to his own house. He spoke in the language of the country (which his brothers did not understand) and added that they were to eat with him.
Seeing that without explanation they were being taken in a new direction Yoseph's brothers began to be afraid. Were they being taken to prison, they wondered, for having carried off the sacks of corn without paying for them? To the best of their ability they explained to the chamberlain, telling him of their surprise at the discovery of the purses when they opened their sacks, and they made it clear that they had felt obliged to bring back to the Egyptian government this money which did not belong to them. The chamberlain reassured them: 'Do not be afraid,' he said, 'your YAHWEH and your father's YAHWEH has put a treasure in your corn-sacks. Your money reached me safely.' The whole matter seemed to become increasingly obscure. At this point the chamberlain brought them Simeon who had just been released from prison.
The brothers' donkeys were given fodder, and water was brought for the travelers so that, in accordance with eastern custom, after a long journey they could wash their feet. Before them they saw a table on which were arranged the presents which they had brought from Canaan.
Yoseph then came in. The Hebrews bowed low. He conversed with them familiarly. 'Is your father well, the old man you told me of? Is he still alive?' They replied that he was well. Once more they knelt before Yoseph, bowing down to the ground. 'Is this your youngest brother,' Yoseph went on, pointing to Benjamin, 'of whom you told me?' It was a dramatic moment. To hide his tears Yoseph was obliged hurriedly to leave and go to his own room where he wept. After bathing his face he returned to his brothers and made them sit down according to their rank, from the eldest to the youngest. They were amazed: for how could Pharaoh's minister know the order of their birth?
Yoseph did not sit with his guests; a special table was set for him facing that of his brothers. For, Bereshith informs us, Egyptians cannot take food with Hebrews; they have a horror of it. Some historians have seen this as an example of the marked antipathy of the Egyptians for foreigners. Indeed dislike of foreigners is usual in the Near East, nowadays as formerly. But the special arrangement of the banqueting hall in which Yoseph and his brothers were gathered together is to be explained rather by ritual requirements. For Egyptians and Hebrews do not agree about which are the unclean animals -those, that is, whose flesh cannot be eaten. Moreover, even in the valley of the Nile itself, these prohibitions differed from place to place. In one, the flesh of some animal, bird or fish was allowed and in the neighbouring district it would be prohibited. The explanation is to be found, in fact, in ancestral memories of ancient totemistic traditions. In the present case, on the occasion of a meal taken in common between Arameans and an Egyptian official, it was necessary to have different dishes 14 served, of course, at different tables.
The conclusion of this part of the story seems to reveal in Yoseph a cruel tendency, and it is almost tempting to suppose that while he had achieved the position of a high Egyptian official he retained in the bottom of his heart a desire to be avenged for what he had endured fifteen years previously. By no means. The remainder of the story furnishes proofs of his magnanimous nature and sometimes of the delicacy of feeling that he displayed. Yacob's sons set off rejoicing on their way back to Hebron, urging on before them the donkeys laden with sacks of corn. All seemed to have turned out well, or so they thought. They did not know what the immediate future had in store for them. For Yoseph had told his chamberlain secretly to slip into Benjamin's sack a fine cup which Yoseph used for drinking. In accordance with a carefully laid plan the Hebrew party was allowed to leave the city, but shortly afterwards a threatening troop of guards under the orders of the chamberlain came up with them and ordered them to halt. The chamberlain accused the Hebrews of behaving very badly after the kind welcome that had been given them; on leaving the viceroy's house they had found nothing better to do than to carry off his cup. They were amazed at the accusation. The chamberlain told them clearly that the thief would pay dearly for his unscrupulous behaviour.
Strong in their innocence the brothers hastened to open their sacks. The Egyptian guards had received orders to begin their search with the eldest, and the methodical examination seemed to produce no result. Finally they came to Benjamin's sack and, almost as if by chance, the cup was found. The brothers were speechless. There could be no doubt about it: YAHWEH's anger was upon them, and it was obviously the punishment for the crime that they had formerly committed, by common agreement, on the person of Yoseph. The blow was nonetheless terrible.
The chamberlain, who had received instructions from Yoseph, told them that the guilty one, Benjamin, would be kept in Egypt as a slave. The other members of the party were authorized to continue their journey to Canaan. At once the ten brothers conferred together. It was impossible for them to return to their father without bringing with them Benjamin, his beloved son, the joy of his old age. As a mark of their despair they tore their clothes. Instead of going on towards Hebron they decided to return to the city where they asked to be received in audience by the vizier. Brought before him they fell on the ground before him. As he looked at them he remembered the details of his premonitory dream everything was turning out as the dream of the sheaves of corn had foretold.
The somewhat dramatic exchange opened with a short but sharp accusation from Yoseph. There followed a long and pathetic plea from Yahudah, a real masterpiece which is one of the finest passages in the Old Covenant. Yahudah painted a moving picture of the situation. He explained to the viceroy (whom he was far from recognizing as his brother Yoseph) that their old father Yacob, who had stayed in Hebron in his shepherd's tent, had entrusted them with Benjamin, his youngest son, only after much hesitation. The patriarch had suffered a grievous loss by the death of one of his sons named Yoseph. If the caravan were now to return to the camp without Benjamin it would be a terrible blow for the patriarch, who would die of grief. Yahudah concluded by offering that if the vizier would be pleased to free Benjamin, he, Yahudah, would take the place of his young brother and become the vizier's slave: 'Let the boy go back with his brothers. How indeed could I go back to my father and not have the boy with me? I could not bear to see the misery that would overwhelm my father.'
14 By force of circumstances certain dishes were suitable both for Egyptians and Hebrews since at one moment he had portions carried to his brothers from his own dish.
Dramatic Sequel of Yoseph's Reunion
As Yahudah came to an end of his speech Yacob's sons endeavoured to read the verdict in their judge's eyes. But he merely gave a brief order for all the Egyptians present to withdraw and for the doors to be shut. His brothers then saw him leave his seat and, his face bathed in tears, come slowly towards them. His voice broken with sobs he told them, 'I am Yoseph! And he went on to ask anxiously, 'Is my father really still alive?'
It was a moving scene. The Yisraelites, who had undergone a severe ordeal stood rooted to the spot with emotion. And also with fear; revenge, as they well knew, was the rule among Semitic peoples, and the law of retaliation was always strictly applied in the name of justice. And now they, the ten guilty men, weak and disarmed, were at the mercy of him whom they had once sold to the slave merchant. It was useless for them to delude themselves; it was now their turn to experience the horrors of slavery, the time of their punishment had come. But Yoseph did not call the guards. On the contrary he held out his arms, saying in a kindly voice, 'Come closer to me'.
In the face of his brothers' terrified reaction Yoseph felt obliged to give them some explanation. They had nothing to fear, he told them, they could rely on his feelings of deep affection. As a man of YAHWEH, and as a generous one too, he described his adventure. At Dothan, when they threw him into the tank, and then when they sold him to the Midianite merchants, they thought to satisfy their hatred, but they were wrong. Their behaviour was provoked by YAHWEH himself. They thought to rid themselves of him for ever by selling him to the slave dealers. In fact it was through the agency of the ten brothers that YAHWEH himself 'sent him before to the banks of the Nile with the obvious purpose, which had now appeared clearly to all; as he had become viceroy he was now in a position at this tragic time to save the clan from death and almost certain extinction.
The brothers remained as if stunned. Yoseph continued his speech. As a man of action he had rapidly evolved a plan. The frightful period of drought which pressed so heavily over the land for the past two years had still five years to run. It was too dangerous for the Hebrew encampment to remain in its tents at Hebron in a situation far remote from the Egyptian sources of supply. Consequently the brothers should return to their father's camp and persuade him to come as quickly as possible and settle in the Delta near the wheat barns put up by Pharaoh's government. Thus Yacob's family would be completely reunited. By enjoying Yoseph's protection they would be certain of an easy life; in addition he would see that they were given the best pasture in the land. 'You shall live,' he said, 'in the land of Goshen.'
Before he began to speak Yoseph had ordered that the doors should be closed. But outside, and despite the thickness of the panels, men were listening. The viceroy had been heard to sob and his words were carefully noted. Without a moment's delay the details of this eventful scene were reported to Pharaoh. And when, shortly afterwards, Yoseph approached his sovereign to inform him of the news (which he already knew) Pharaoh readily agreed to Yoseph's clan settling in Egypt.
Yoseph Index Yoseph Sitemap Scripture History Through the Ages Yoseph Egyptian Adventure Yoseph Scriptures and Dreams The Plot Against Yoseph Yoseph's Brothers Cruel Seqel Yoseph In The House Of Potiphar Yoseph In Prison Pharaoh's Strange Dreams Yoseph Slave Becomes Viceroy Of Egypt Yoseph's Unexpected Family Reunion The Ten Brothers Before Yoseph Yacob Goes To Egypt Yoseph and the Death Of Yacob YAHWEH's Sword History Further Anxieties Of Yoseph's Brothers Yisraelites Remain In Egypt Period Of The Great Persecution