As a rule the only merchandise with which the Ishmaelites loaded their
camels was pitch and the skins of beasts. By a providential
dispensation they carried bags of perfumery this time, instead of their
usual ill-smelling freight, that sweet fragrance might be wafted to
Joseph on his journey to Egypt.[56] These aromatic substances were well
suited to Joseph, whose body emitted a pleasant smell, so agreeable and
pervasive that the road along which he travelled was redolent thereof,
and on his arrival in Egypt the perfume from his body spread over the
whole land, and the royal princesses, following the sweet scent to
trace its source, reached the place in which Joseph was.[57] Even after
his death the same fragrance was spread abroad by his bones, enabling
Moses to distinguish Joseph's remains from all others, and keep the
oath of the children of Israel, to inter them in the Holy Land.[58]
When Joseph learned that the Ishmaelites were carrying him to Egypt, he
began to weep bitterly at the thought of being removed so far from
Canaan and from his father. One of the Ishmaelites noticed Joseph's
weeping and crying, and thinking that he found riding uncomfortable, he
lifted him from the back of the camel, and permitted him to walk on
foot. But Joseph continued to weep and sob, crying incessantly, "O
father, father!" Another one of the caravan, tired of his lamentations,
beat him, causing only the more tears and wails, until the youth,
exhausted by his grief, was unable to move on. Now all the Ishmaelites
in the company dealt out blows to him. They treated him with relentless
cruelty, and tried to silence him by threats. God saw Joseph's
distress, and He sent darkness and terror upon the Ishmaelites, and
their hands grew rigid when they raised them to inflict a blow.
Astonished, they asked themselves why God did thus unto them upon the
road. They did not know that it was for the sake of Joseph.
The journey was continued until they came to Ephrath, the place of
Rachel's sepulchre. Joseph hastened to his mother's grave, and throwing
himself across it, he groaned and cried, saying: "O mother, mother,
that didst bear me, arise, come forth and see how thy son hath been
sold into slavery, with none to take pity upon him. Arise, see thy son,
and weep with me over my misfortune, and observe the heartlessness of
my brethren. Awake, O mother, rouse thyself from thy sleep, rise up and
prepare for the conflict with my brethren, who stripped me even of my
shirt, and sold me as a slave to merchantmen, who in turn sold me to
others, and without mercy they tore me away from my father. Arise,
accuse my brethren before God, and see whom He will justify in the
judgment, and whom He will find guilty. Arise, O mother, awake from thy
sleep, see how my father is with me in his soul and in his spirit, and
comfort him and ease his heavy heart."
Joseph wept and cried upon the grave of his mother, until, weary from
grief, he lay immovable as a stone. Then he heard a voice heavy with
tears speak to him from the depths, saying: "My son Joseph, my son, I
heard thy complaints and thy groans, I saw thy tears, and I knew thy
misery, my son. I am grieved for thy sake, and thy affliction is added
to the burden of my affliction. But, my son Joseph, put thy trust in
God, and wait upon Him. Fear not, for the Lord is with thee, and He
will deliver thee from all evil. Go down into Egypt with thy masters,
my son; fear naught, for the Lord is with thee, O my son." This and
much more like unto it did the voice utter, and then it was silent.
Joseph listened in great amazement at first, and then he broke out in
renewed tears. Angered thereby, one of the Ishmaelites drove him from
his mother's grave with kicks and curses. Then Joseph entreated his
masters to take him back to his father, who would give them great
riches as a reward. But they said, "Why, thou art a slave! How canst
thou know where thy father is? If thou hadst had a free man as father,
thou wouldst not have been sold twice for a petty sum." And then their
fury against him increased, they beat him and maltreated him, and he
wept bitter tears.
Now God looked upon the distress of Joseph, and He sent darkness to
enshroud the land once more. A storm raged, the lightning flashed, and
from the thunderbolts the whole earth trembled, and the Ishmaelites
lost their way in their terror. The beasts and the camels stood still,
and, beat them as their drivers would, they refused to budge from the
spot, but crouched down upon the ground. Then the Ishmaelites spake to
one another, and said: "Why hath God brought this upon us? What are our
sins, what our trespasses, that such things befall us?" One of them
said to the others: "Peradventure this hath come upon us by reason of
the sin which we have committed against this slave. Let us beg him
earnestly to grant us forgiveness, and if then God will take pity, and
let these storms pass away from us, we shall know that we suffered harm
on account of the injury we inflicted upon this slave."
The Ishmaelites did according to these words, and they said unto
Joseph: "We have sinned against God and against thee. Pray to thy God,
and entreat Him to take this death plague from us, for we acknowledge
that we have sinned against Him." Joseph fulfilled their wish, and God
hearkened to his petition, and the storm was assuaged. All around
became calm, the beasts arose from their recumbent position, and the
caravan could proceed upon its way. Now the Ishmaelites saw plainly
that all their trouble had come upon them for the sake of Joseph, and
they spoke one to another, saying: "We know now that all this evil hath
happened to us on account of this poor fellow, and wherefore should we
bring death upon ourselves by our own doings? Let us take counsel
together, what is to be done with the slave." One of them advised that
Joseph's wish be fulfilled, and he be taken back to his father. Then
they would be sure of receiving the money they had paid out for him.
This plan was rejected, because they had accomplished a great part of
their journey, and they were not inclined to retrace their steps. They
therefore resolved upon carrying Joseph to Egypt and selling him there.
They would rid themselves of him in this way, and also receive a great
price for him.
They continued their journey as far as the borders of Egypt, and there
they met four men, descendants of Medan, the son of Abraham, and to
these they sold Joseph for five shekels. The two companies, the
Ishmaelites and the Medanites, arrived in Egypt upon the same day. The
latter, hearing that Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of
the guard, was seeking a good slave, repaired to him at once, to try to
dispose of Joseph to him. Potiphar was willing to pay as much as four
hundred pieces of silver, for, high as the price was, it did not seem
too great for a slave that pleased him as much as Joseph. However, he
made a condition. He said to the Medanites: "I will pay you the price
demanded, but you must bring me the person that sold the slave to you,
that I may be in a position to find out all about him, for the youth
seems to me to be neither a slave nor the son of a slave. He appears to
be of noble blood. I must convince myself that he was not stolen." The
Medanites brought the Ishmaelites to Potiphar, and they testified that
Joseph was a slave, that they had owned him, and had sold him to the
Medanites. Potiphar rested satisfied with this report, paid the price
asked for Joseph, and the Medanites and the Ishmaelites went their way.