At length Jacob consents to Benjamin's going in com- pany with his brothers : "And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your oth- er brother and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my chil-- dren, I am bereaved" (ver. 14). Thus provided, with a present consisting of balm, honey, spices, and mjTrh, nuts and almonds, and with double money in their hands (doublcj in order that they might repay the sum
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which Joseph had caused to be put into each man's sack at their departure, if, as Jacob supposed, " it was an oversight"), they went again do\ra to Egypt and stood before Joseph (xliii, 15); and there, too, stood Benjamin, Joseph's beloved brother. The required pledge of truthfuhiess was given. If it is asked why such" a pledge was demanded, since the giving of it caused pain to Jacob, the answer may be thus : Joseph knew not how to demean himself towards his family until he ascertained its actual condition. That knowl- eilgc he could hardly be certain he had gained from the mere words of men who had spared his life only to sell himself into slavery'. How had these wicked men l)eha\ed towards his venerable father? His beloved brother Benjamin, was he safe ? or had he suffered from their jealousy and malice the worse fate with which he himself had been threatened? Nothing but the sight of Benjamin could answer these questions and resolve these details.
Benjamin had come, and immediately a natural change took place in Joseph's conduct : the brother began to claim his rights in Joseph's bosom. Jacob was safe, and Benjamin was safe. Joseph's heart melted at the sight of Benjamin: "And he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and slay and make ready, for these men shall dine with me at noon" (xliii, IG). But guilt is always the ready parent of fear; accord- ingly, the brothers expected nothing but being reduced to slavery. When taken to their own brother's house, they imagined they were being entrapped. A colloquy ensued between them and Joseph's steward, whence it appeared that the money put into their sacks, to which tliey now attributed their peril, was in truth a present from Joseph, designed, after his own brotherly manner, to aid his family in their actual necessities. The stew- ard said, " Peace be to you ; fear not ; your God and the (Jod of your father hath given you the treasure in your sacks. I had your money" (ver. 23).
Noon came, and with it Joseph, whose first question regarded home : " He asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake ? is he yet alive ? And he lifted up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said. Is this your younger brother ? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son !" "And Joseph made haste, for his bowels did yearn upon his brother, and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there." Does this look like harshness?
The connection brings into view an Egyptian cus- tom, which is of more than ordinary importance, in con- sequence of its being adopted in the Jewish polity: "And they sat on (food) for him by himself (Joseph), and for them by themselves (the brethren), and for the Egyptians which did eat with them, by themselves : be- cause the Egyptians might not eat bread with the He- brews; for that is an abomination with the Egyptians" (ver, 32). This passage is also interesting, as proving that Joseph had not, in his princely grandeur, become ashampd of his origin, nor consented' to receive adoption into a strange nation : he was still a Hebrew, waiting, like Moses after liim, for the proper season, to use his pjwer for the good of his own people.
Other customs appear in this interesting narrative : " And they (the brothers) sat before him (Joseph), the first-born arrordmr/ to his hirthrif/ht, and the youngest according to his youth." " And he sent messes (delica- cies) unto them from before him ; but Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of theirs" (ver. 32, 33). Fear had now given place to" wonder, and wonder at length issued in joy and mirth (comp. ver. 18, 33,34). The scenes of the Egyptian tombs show us that it was the custom for each jierson to eat singlv, particularly among the great ; that guests were placed according to their right of precedence, and that it was usual to drink freely, men and even women being represented as over- powere.l with wine, i.robably as an evidence of the lib- erality of the entertainer. See Banquet.
Joseph, apparently with a view to ascertain how far his brethren were faithful to their father, hit upon a plan which would in its issue serve to show whether they would make any, and what sacrifice, in order to fulfil their solemn promise of restoring Benjamin in safe- ty to Jacob. Accordingly, he orders not only that every man's monej' (as before) should be put in his sack's mouth, but also that his " silver cup, in which my lord drinketh, and whereby he divineth," should be put in the sack's mouth of the youngest. The brethren leave, but are soon overtaken by Joseph's steward, who charges them with having surreptitiously carried off this costly and highly-valued vessel. They, on their part, vehe- mently repel the accusation, adding, " with whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen." A search is made, and the cup is found in Benjamin's sack. Accordinglj' they return to the city. And now comes the hour of trial : Would they purchase their own liberation by sur- rendering Benjamin ? After a most touching interview, in which they prove themselves worthy and faithful, Joseph declares himself unable any longer to withstand the appeal of natui^l affection. On this occasion Ju- dah, who is the spokesman, shows the deepest regard to his aged father's feelings, and entreats for the liberation of Benjamin even at the price of his own liberty. In the whole of literature we know of nothuig more sim- ple, natural, true, and impressive ; nor, while passages of this kind stand in the Pentateuch, can we even un- derstand what is meant by terming that collection of writings " the Hebrew national epic," or regarding it as an aggregation of historical legends. If here we have not history, we can in no case be sure that history is be- fore us (chap. xliv).