“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?”
Pursue; escorted by a troop of horsemen, to prevent resistance. (Menochius)
“Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing. divineth: or, maketh trial?”
To divine. This was spoken by Joseph to his steward in jest; alluding to the notion of the people, who took him to be a diviner. (Challoner) — St. Thomas Aquinas, 2, 2, q. 195, a. 7. Hebrew may be translated without attending to the points, “Is not this the cup, out of which my lord drinketh; and he has augured, or discovered, by it the evil which you have committed.” Pliny (Natural History xxx. 2.) mentions a method of divining, by means of water in a basin. (Calmet) — The Egyptians probably supposed, that Joseph used some means to disclose what was hidden; and he alludes, in jest, to their foolish notion. (Haydock) — He had a right to afflict his guilty brethren; and as for Benjamin, who was innocent, he made him ample recompense for this transitory terror. Some think that the steward said, in which he is wont to divine, unauthorized by his master. (Menochius)
“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.”
Sentence. It is but just; yet I shall only insist on the detention of the culprit. (Calmet) — Joseph wished to see whether the marks of attention, which he had shewn to Benjamin, would have excited the envy of his brethren (Menochius); and whether they would be concerned for him: thus he would discover their present dispositions. He might wish also to keep his younger brother out of danger, in case they were inclined to persecute him. (Haydock)
“Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city.”
The town, with heavy hearts, of which their torn garments were signs (Haydock): yet they say not a word in condemnation of Benjamin. They are determined either to clear him, or never to return home. (Menochius)
“And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house; for he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground.”
Juda, mindful of his engagement, (chap. xliii. 9,) and perhaps more eloquent and bolder than the rest. (Menochius)
“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? divine: or, make trial?”
The science of divining. He speaks of himself according to what he was esteemed in that kingdom. And, indeed, he being truly a prophet, knew more without comparison than any of the Egyptian sorcerers. (Challoner) — Hebrew, Septuagint, and Chaldean, “knew ye not that a man like me would divine with certainty,” and presently discover any fraud? (Calmet)
“And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? 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.”
Iniquity. He begins with the greatest humility, acknowledging that they were justly punished by God for some transgression, though they were, in his opinion, innocent of any theft. (Haydock) — Perhaps he might imagine, that Benjamin had been guilty, (Bonfrere) and is willing to bear a part of the blame with the rest; or his conscience still presents before him the injustice done to Joseph so long before. (Haydock)
“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.”
Boldly, perceiving that he had to deal with an equitable judge. — Thou art; the second man in the kingdom. Hebrew, “even as Pharao.”
“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.”
Is left of, (habet mater.) Rachel had been dead about twenty-four years. (Haydock)
“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.”
With us, is not now found in Hebrew. But it is in the Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac, and Chaldean. (Calmet) — His grey hairs. That is, his person, now far advanced in years. — With sorrow unto hell. The Hebrew word for hell is here Sheola, the Greek hades: it is not taken for the hell of the damned; but for that place of souls below, where the servants of God were kept before the coming of Christ. Which place, both in the Scripture and in the creed, is named hell. (Challoner) — In this speech, we find many particulars not mentioned before; whence it appears, that the sacred historian does not always specify every circumstance. But, in relating the same speech, uses various expressions to the same purport. (Calmet)
“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.”
The boy. I am older, and more fit for service. (Menochius)
“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. come: Heb. find my father”
My father; who will drop down dead, oppressed with grief. How eloquent and pathetic was this address! Joseph could bear no more.