[ Tells the interesting tale of the missing goblet, and Joseph's great joke on his brethren. It is quite comical; read it with a light heart and you'll enjoy the story greatly. And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks [with] food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in his sack's mouth. (Genesis 44:1) "As much as they can carry" seems to imply that their food purchase had little to do with the amount of money they brought. Joseph was once again showing his generosity and wisdom. And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. (Genesis 44:2) The "silver cup," or better yet, the "silver goblet," was a special instrument used by the wizards of Egypt to divine the future. Pieces of gold or silver were thrown into the water in the goblet. The movement of the water represented coming events. ] 1 AND he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man’s money in his sack’s mouth.

2 And put my cup, [ This is not just an ordinary cup, it is very special to Joseph verse 5. ] the silver cup, in the sack’s mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.

3 As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses.

4 And when they were gone out of the city, and not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good?

5  Is not this it [ Joseph's silver cup, the one that he put in his youngest brothers sack. ] in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? [ This cup is his personal Urim and Thummim, one that he uses to receive revelation. So it is a cup with special signifigance. ] ye have done evil in so doing.

6 ¶ And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these same words.

7 And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing:

8 Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks’ mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord’s house silver or gold?

9 With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, [ The brothers pronounce their willingness to observe the generally acknowledged legal penalties of theft and guilt by association, namely death for the thief and enslavement for the associates. Little do they realize in so doing they put Benjamin in jeopardy of exactly what Jacob feared. ] and we also will be my lord’s bondmen.

10 And he said, Now also let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be my servant; and ye shall be blameless.

11 Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack.

12 And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. [ Why does he accuse his brothers of being spies? Why does he return their money? When they return, why does he plant his special cup in Benjamin's bag? One would assume that Joseph has a plan, What is it?. Could it possibly be that he is simply 'teasing' his brothers, just to 'get back at them'? Is it, Joseph's plot as an attempt to determine what had happened to Benjamin. The fact that Benjamin was not with the brothers only supported Joseph's suspicion. First, he must isolate Benjamin from his brothers to find out what had really happened. Upon recognizing his brothers, Joseph realizes that his childhood dreams may actually come true. Suddenly, all the events that transpired become pieces in a much larger puzzle. The family will ultimately unite, and he will obviously become the family leader. Joseph now sees God's fingerprints on every puzzle piece, yet he is unable to reveal himself to his brothers for a very simple reason. If he did, a wound would be opened that could never be healed. Let us explain. Joseph, now shows the great LEADER that he has become. If Joseph revealed himself at this point, his brothers would have never been able to face him. What could they say to him? Family unity and fraternity would have been impossible to achieve. Joseph found it necessary to do something which could re-unite the family. He needed to create a situation that would bond the family both physically and spiritually. This is the trait of a true leader. Joseph knew that if he informed his father at this point of his identity, before informing his brothers, Jacob's anger toward his sons would undoubtedly lead to his cursing them. This, for sure, would cause disastrous results for the future of Israel. Joseph must restrain his emotions for a few more weeks, in order to create a situation of true family unity. Joseph's primary goal is to have the brothers bring Benjamin so that he can both verify their story and set up his plot. Towards this end, Joseph puts his brothers through a difficult test, by creating a situation in which the brothers must forfeit their lives in order to save Benjamin. He does many other things to make the brothers wonder, to think, to shake them up a bit. Then, he plants his cup in Benjamin's bag to give them a chance to prove themselves. Joseph's intention is not to find out whether they have changed and repented, rather it is for the brothers to PROVE TO THEMSELVES that they had done repentance! Only after they demonstrate willingness to give up their lives for Benjamin, will they be able to unite again as a family, and be able to face Joseph as a brother and their leader. The Book Of Jasher lends a little more information as to what Joseph is trying to do. The Book of Jasber(Jasher devotes about 75 verses to the story Jasher 51; 53; 54) covers the exact same events, but gives critical additional details. In Jasher, Joseph plays the same game as he does in Genesis, but the reaction by the brothers is different. When Judah faces the prospect of losing another brother, he quickly remembers his guilt for Joseph: "Surely we are guilty sinners before the Lord our God in having sold our brother, our own flesh."(Jasher 51:51) This is precisely what brass-plates Joseph is up to he wants his brothers to internalize their guilt. They've felt sorry for Jacob before, but have they felt shame in their own hearts for what they did? Joseph explains his plan to Benjamin in a verse that is missing from Genesis: I will command them to be brought back again into the city, and I will take thee away from them. And if they dare theit lives and fight for thee, then shall I know that they have repented of what they did unto me, and I will make myself known to them, and if they forsake thee when I take thee, then shalt thou remain with me, and I will wrangle with them, and they shall go away, and I will not become known to them. (Jasher 53:21-22) Joseph will reveal himself only if he sees that his brothers are willing to die for Benjamin. If the brothers, specifically Judah, are different this time around, then Joseph will know their hearts have changed. Where Genesis spends fifteen verses on the Judah vs. Joseph negotiation over Benjamin,(Gen 44:16-30) Jasher spends seventy-five verses-and they're longer verses.(Jasher 53:25-54;72) Joseph and Judah exchange threats. Judah gets enraged and threatens to kill everyone in Egypt. Next, Judah turns from rage to an appeal to Joseph's reputation and asks Joseph, "What is it to thee or to the character of the king?" If this man stole one little cup, are you really going to be so selfish and condemn him to slavery for a cup? Next, he appeals to Joseph's dignity: "Why art thou not ashamed of thy words?" he asks. Instead of just beating his chest, Judah's starting to think introspectively. But Joseph stands firm.(Jasher 54:53) Finally, seeing no way to distract from his guilt, Judah calms down. "The anger of Judah was stilled." Joseph, "knowing that Judah's anger was stilled," starts speaking to his older brother with "mildness" and asks, "Why from amongst all thy brethren dost thou wrangle with me on account of the lad, as none of them have spoken one word to me concerning him?!" In other words, why are you so concerned for your little brother, Benjamin? Judah's answer is the true moral climax of the story: see jasher 54:57-58 Judah has been reduced to pleading for his brother; his guilt has been internalized for what he did to Joseph. Which is the response that Joseph was waiting for. In Jasher 54:72 a critical verse wraps up the catharsis in Jasher: "They also fell upon Joseph and embraced him, and they wept a great weeping with Joseph." Compare this to the Genesis account. Notice who is the one doing the weeping: "And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck. Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him."(Gen 45:14-15) It's almost like the author of Genesis was trying to embarrass Joseph. He wept to Benjamin, Benjamin wept to him. He wept to his brothers, and they talked to him. Ouch. "Sure, we sold you into slavery and robbed you of your youth and almost killed our dad with grief, but don't be such a drama queen about it. Let's just talk." So the question for us is did the author of Jasher add the detail that his brothers "also fell" on and wept with Joseph? Or did the Genesis authors(scribes) take it out beacuse it was unkind to Judah, and since they were the authors perhapes they would want to show things in the best light for them. ]

13 Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city. [ Tradition indicating great anguish or terrible emotional distress. One must remember that clothes back then were entirely hand made and of considerable value, unlike today where clothing is inexpensive and mass produced. so, tearing your shirt down the front was no small act of destruction. ]

14 ¶ And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph’s house; for he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground.

15 And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?

16 And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? [ Judah valiantly honors the oath he made to Jacob in 43:8-9 and attempts to place himself in the place of Benjamin regarding the guilt. ] God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found. [ Judah appears to be attempting to shift the blame of the theft away from Benjamin and onto all of the brothers equally. In so doing he probably hopes to avoid the death penalty invoked in v. 9 by casting the blame upon the entire group. Recall that Judah is the one who made the oath to Jacob to return Benjamin alive to him (cp. 43:8-9). ]

17 And he said, God forbid that I should do so: [ Joseph informs them we will not kill Benjamin for the "crime", but will only enslave them. Naturally they would have taken heart at this, and Judah then takes advantage of the apparent mercy to plead his case before Joseph (v. 18-34). How has Judah become a kinder person since he had last seen Joseph? Remember who's idea it was to sell Joseph as a slave? ] but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father.

18 ¶ Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord’s ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh.

19 My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother?

20 And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him.

21 And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him.

22 And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should leave his father, his father would die.

23 And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more.

24 And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.

25 And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food.

26 And we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down: for we may not see the man’s face, except our youngest brother be with us.

27 And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons:

28 And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I saw him not since:

29 And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.

30 Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad’s life;

31 It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave.

32 For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever.

33 Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren.

34 For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father.