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Later that night, after the banquet, Yo•seiphꞋ commanded his chief aide saying, "Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry; and put every man's coins back in the mouth of their sacks again. And put my personal wine goblet, the silver goblet, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, along with the money for his distribution-supplies." And the chief aide did as Deputy-Par•ohꞋ Tzâ•phᵊn•atꞋ-Pa•nᵊeiꞋakh had directed.
At the break of dawn, Yo•seiphꞋ's Egyptian staff gave the brothers and their caravan of donkeys a bon voyage. A short time after the brothers had left Ankh-Tawi, before they had gone far, Deputy-Par•ohꞋ Tzâ•phᵊn•atꞋ-Pa•nᵊeiꞋakh instructed his chief aide, "Mount up your chariots and pursue the men. When you catch up to them, ask them, 'Why did you repay bad for good? Do you not have the goblet from which a•don•iꞋ drinks with you? The goblet by which he ophiomances?' This is a bad thing you've done."
So when the chief aide overtook him, he got in their faces and chewed them out, putting fear in them as Deputy-Par•ohꞋ Tzâ•phᵊn•atꞋ-Pa•nᵊeiꞋakh had instructed.
"Why does a•don•iꞋ say such things?" they implored. "Far be it from your workers to do this thing. Look, the coins we found in our sacks we brought back to you all the way from Kᵊna•anꞋ. How could we steal silver or gold from the beit of your â•donꞋ? With whomever of your workers you find it, let him die and the rest of us be workers for a•don•iꞋ."
So let it be as you've said," ruled the chief aid of Deputy-Par•ohꞋ Tzâ•phᵊn•atꞋ-Pa•nᵊeiꞋakh. "Whoever is found to have the goblet shall be my worker while the rest of you shall be clean." Then each of the brothers took his sack down from his donkey and put it down on the arid-wilderness ground. Beginning with the eldest brother, each brother opened his sack for the chief aid to search. When he got to the last sack, that of Bin•yâ•minꞋ, he found the goblet in Bin•yâ•minꞋ's sack.
Seeing it, each of the brothers ripped the top of his caftan in grief. Drowning in overpowering dread, they reloaded their donkeys and returned to the Mi•tzᵊraꞋyim capital of Ankh-Tawi, with Bin•yâ•minꞋ in the custody of the chief aid of Deputy-Par•ohꞋ Tzâ•phᵊn•atꞋ-Pa•nᵊeiꞋakh.
As YᵊhudꞋâh and his brothers were coming toward the Palace, the Deputy-Par•ohꞋ was still home, and the brothers fell to the ground in front of him. "What is this deed that you've done?" he asked sternly. "Didn't you know that a man like me ophiomances?"
"How can we possibly answer our a•donꞋ?" asked YᵊhudꞋâh. "What can we possibly say? How could we possibly justify ourselves? The ël•oh•imꞋ have exposed the â•wonꞋ in your workers. Here we are, to be workers for a•don•iꞋ; both we and the one in whose hand your goblet was found shall be your workers."
"I would not unjustly impress all of you for the crime of one. Only the one in whose hand my goblet was discovered shall be impressed. As for the rest of you, go back up to Kᵊna•anꞋ to see to the shâ•lomꞋ of your father."
Optional parental preparation:
What does it mean to dig deeper into a figurative hole?
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| ShëvꞋët Dân Coat of Arms: ðÈçÈùÑ on background of lapis lazuli blue. (Gemstone on KhoꞋshën: lapis lazuli.) |
ðÄçÅùÑ – This is the shōrꞋësh of the noun ðÈçÈùÑ. Note that Yo•seiphꞋ has not declared that he practices ophiomancy, merely the report of his chief aid, and that foreigners should expect, such divination of men like the Deputy-Par•ohꞋ. Further, the ðÈçÈùÑ was, in the ancient Middle East, associated with wise judgment between good and bad, as demonstrated by the Tribal flag of Dân: a ðÈçÈùÑ on a blue background, in accordance with bᵊ-Reish•itꞋ 49.17.
How do you advise your child to react if someone gets in his or her face? (What is legal definition of assault? Battery? Under what circumstances does the individual have a right to self-defense? What measures does the law permit in self-defense?)
÷ÀøÄéòÈä – The act of tearing the fabric of one's caftan is first mentioned when Rᵊu•veinꞋ returns to rescue Yo•seiphꞋ only to discover that he was gone from the pit; and next when Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ is confronted with the bloody caftan that had belonged to Yo•seiphꞋ (bᵊ-Reish•itꞋ 37.29, 34). The act is presented as an established ancient Middle East custom, venting the inexpressible, uncontainable grief of a loved one being ripped from one's heart. Modern erosions have lost the essence. Scissors, knife and razor blade (even more so, substituting a black ribbon) demonstrates that concern for the cost—money—of destroying one's garment exceeds, and takes priority in one's nëphꞋësh over, the uncontainable need to vent an inexpressible grief for the loss of the loved one; infusing a money valuation into one's own nëphꞋësh.
Questions you might anticipate that your child might raise and be prepared to discuss:
Were the brothers literally in a hole?
What is the break of dawn?
What is a bon voyage?
What does it mean to chew somebody out?
What does it mean to get in someone's face?
What does implore mean?
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