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Page 20
And Israel said, "Why did you tell the man that you had a brother? You
did me great harm when you told him."
"Why," said Jacob's sons, "we could not help telling him. The man asked
us all about our family, 'Is your father yet living? Have you any more
brothers?' And we had to tell him, his questions were so close. How
should we know that he would say, 'Bring your brother here, for me to
see him'?"
And Judah said, "Send Benjamin with me, and I will take care of him. I
promise you that I will bring him safely home. If he does not come back,
let me bear the blame forever. He must go, or we shall die for want of
food; and we might have gone down to Egypt and come home again, if we
had not been kept back."
And Jacob said, "If he must go, then he must. But take a present to the
man, some of the choicest fruits of the land, some spices, and perfumes,
and nuts, and almonds. And take twice as much money, besides the money
that was in your sacks. Perhaps that was a mistake, when the money was
given back to you. And take your brother Benjamin, and may the Lord God
make the man kind to you, so that he will set Simeon free, and let you
bring Benjamin back. But if it is God's will that I lose my children, I
cannot help it."
So ten brothers of Joseph went down a second time to Egypt, Benjamin
going in place of Simeon. They came to Joseph's office, the place where
he sold grain to the people; and they stood before their brother, and
bowed as before. Joseph saw that Benjamin was with them, and he said to
his steward, the man who was over his house:
"Make ready a dinner, for all these men shall dine with me today."
When Joseph's brothers found that they were taken into Joseph's house,
they were filled with fear. They said to each other:
"We have been taken here on account of the money in our sacks. They will
say that we have stolen it, and then they will sell us all for slaves."
But Joseph's steward, the man who was over his house, treated the men
kindly; and when they spoke of the money in their sacks, he would not
take it again, saying:
"Never fear; your God must have sent you this as a gift. I had your
money."
The stewards received the men into Joseph's house, and washed their
feet, according to the custom of the land. And at noon, Joseph came in
to meet them. They brought him the present from their father, and again
they bowed before him, with their faces on the ground.
And Joseph asked them if they were well, and said: "Is your father still
living, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he well?"
And they said, "Our father is well and he is living." And again they
bowed to Joseph.
And Joseph looked at his younger brother Benjamin, the child of his own
mother Rachel, and said:
"Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me? God be gracious
unto you, my son."
And Joseph's heart was so full that he could not keep back the tears. He
went in haste to his own room, and wept there. Then he washed his face,
and came out again, and ordered the table to be set for dinner. They set
Joseph's table for himself, as the ruler, and another table for his
Egyptian officers, and another for the eleven men from Canaan; for
Joseph had brought Simeon out of the prison, and had given him a place
with his brothers.
Joseph himself arranged the order of the seats for his brothers, the
oldest at the head, and all in order of age down to the youngest. The
men wondered at this, and could not see how the ruler of Egypt could
know the order of their ages. And Joseph sent dishes from his table to
his brothers, and he gave to Benjamin five times as much as to the
others. Perhaps he wished to see whether they were as jealous of
Benjamin as in other days they had been toward him.
After dinner, Joseph said to his steward: "Fill the men's sacks with
grain, as much as they can carry, and put each man's money in his sack.
And put my silver cup in the sack of the youngest, with his money."
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