ENTITLED, JOSEPH;g REVEALED AT MECCA.
IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.
AL. R.h These are the signs of the perspicuous book;
which we have sent down in the Arabic tongue, that, peradventure, ye
might understand.
We relate unto thee a most excellent history, by revealing unto thee this
Korân,i whereas thou wast before one of thek negligent.
c Making it their sole business to please their luxurious desires and
appetites, and placing their whole felicity therein.
d Al Beidâwi says that this passage gives the reason why the nations
were destroyed of old; viz., for their violence and injustice, their following
their own lusts, and for their idolatry and unbelief.
e Or, as the commentator just named explains it, for their idolatry
only, when they observed justice in other respects.
f See chapter 6, p. 110, note o.
g The Koreish, thinking to puzzle Mohammed, at the instigation and by
the direction of certain Jewish Rabbins, demanded of him how Jacob's family
happened to go down into Egypt, and that he would relate to them the history
of Joseph, with all its circumstances: whereupon he pretended to have received
this chapter from heaven, containing the story of that patriarch.1 It is
said, however, to have been rejected by two Mohammedan sects, branches of the
Khârejites, called the Ajâredites and the Maimûnians, as apocryphal and
spurious.
h See the Prelim. Disc. p. 46, &c.
i Or this particular chapter. For the word Korân, as has been
elsewhere observed,2 properly signifying no more than a reading or lecture, is
often used to denote, not only the whole volume, but any distinct chapter or
section of it.
k i.e., So far from being acquainted with the story, that it never so
much as entered into thy thoughts; a certain argument, says al Beidâwi, that
it must have been revealed to him from heaven.
1 Al Beidâwi. 2 Prelim. Disc. Sect. III. p. 44.
When Joseph said unto his father,l O my father, verily I saw in my dream
eleven stars,m and the sun and the moon; I saw them make obeisance unto me:
Jacob said, O my child, tell not thy vision to thy brethren, lest they
devise some plot against thee;n for the devil is a professed enemy unto man;
and thus, according to thy dream, shall thy LORD choose thee, and teach
thee the interpretation of dark sayings,o and he shall accomplish his favor
upon thee and upon the family of Jacob, as he hath formerly accomplished it
upon thy fathers Abraham and Isaac; for thy LORD is knowing and wise.
Surely in the history of Joseph and his brethren there are signs of God's
providence to the inquisitive;
when they said to one another, Joseph and his brotherp are dearer to our
father than we, who are the greater number: our father certainly maketh a
wrong judgment.
Wherefore slay Joseph, or drive him into some distant or desert part of
the earth, and the face of your father shall be cleared towards you;q and ye
shall afterwards be people of integrity.
10 One of themr spoke and said; Slay not Joseph, but throw him to the
bottom of the well; and some travellers will take him up, if ye do this.
They said unto Jacob, O father, why dost thou not intrust Joseph with us,
since we are sincere well-wishers unto him?
Send him with us to-morrow, into the field, that he may divert himself,
and sport,s and we will be his guardians.
Jacob answered, It grieveth me that ye take him away; and I fear lest the
wolf devour him,t while ye are negligent of him.
They said, Surely if the wolf devour him, when there are so many of us,
we shall be weak indeed.u
l Who was Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham.3
m The commentators give us the names of these stars (which I think it
needless to trouble the reader with), as Mohammed repeated them, at the
request of a Jew, who thought to entrap him by the question.2
n For they say, Jacob, judging that Joseph's dream portended his
advancement above the rest of the family, justly apprehended his brethren's
envy might tempt them to do him some mischief.
o That is, of dreams; or, as others suppose, of the profound passages
of scripture, and all difficulties respecting either religion or justice.
p viz., Benjamin, his brother by the same mother.
q Or, he will settle his love wholly upon you, and ye will have no
rival in his favour.
r This person, as some say, was Judah, the most prudent and noble-
minded of them all; or, according to others, Reuben, whom the Mohammedan
writers call Rubîl.3 And both these opinions are supported by the account of
Moses, who tells us that Reuben advised them not to kill Joseph, but to throw
him into a pit privately, intending to release him;4 and that afterwards
Judah, in Reuben's absence, persuaded them not to let him die in the pit, but
to sell him to the Ishmaelites.5
s Some copies read, in the first person plural, that we may divert
ourselves, &c.
t The reason why Jacob feared this beast in particular, as the
commentators say, was, either because the land was full of wolves, or else
because Jacob had dreamed he saw Joseph devoured by one of those creatures.6
u i.e., It will be an instance of extreme weakness and folly in us, and
we shall be justly blamed for his loss.
1 Al Beidâwi, &c. 2 Idem, al Zamakhshari. 3
Idem. 4 Gen. xxxvii. 21, 22. 5 Ibid. v. 26, 27. 6 Al
Beidâwi, Jallalo'ddin, al Zamakhshari.
And when they had carried him with them, and agreed to set him at the
bottom of the well,x they executed their design: and we sent a revelation unto
him,y saying, Thou shalt hereafter declare this their action unto them; and
they shall not perceive thee to be Joseph.
And they came to their father at even, weeping,
and said, Father, we went and ran races with one another,z and we left
Joseph with our baggage, and the wolf hath devoured him; but thou wilt not
believe us, although we speak the truth.
And they produced his inner garment stained with false blood. Jacob
answered, Nay, but ye yourselves have contrived the thing for your own sakes:a
however patience is most becoming, and GOD'S assistance is to be implored to
enable me to support the misfortune which ye relate.
And certain travellersb came, and sent onec to draw water for them; and
he let down his bucket,d and said, Good news!e this is a youth. And they
concealed him,f that they might sell him as a piece of merchandise: but GOD
knew that which they did.
20 And they sold him for a mean price, for a few pence,g and valued him
lightly.
And the Egyptian who bought himh said to his wife,i Use him honourably;
peradventure he may be serviceable to us, or we may adopt him for our son.k
Thus did we prepare an establishment for Joseph in the earth, and we taught
him the interpretation of dark sayings: for GOD is well able to effect his
purpose; but the greater part of men do not understand.
x This well, say some, was a certain well near Jerusalem, or not far
from the river Jordan; but others call it the well of Egypt or Midian. The
commentators tell us that, when the sons of Jacob had gotten Joseph with them
in the field, they began to abuse and to beat him so unmercifully, that they
had killed him, had not Judah, on his crying out for help, insisted on the
promise they had made not to kill him, but to cast him into the well.
Whereupon they let him down a little way; but, as he held by the sides of the
well, they bound him, and took off his inner garment, designing to stain it
with blood, to deceive their father. Joseph begged hard to have his garment
returned him, but to no purpose, his brothers telling him, with a sneer, that
the eleven stars and the sun and the moon might clothe him and keep him
company. When they had let him down half-way, they let him fall thence to the
bottom, and, there being water in the well (though the scripture says the
contrary), he was obliged to get upon a stone, on which, as he stood weeping,
the angel Gabriel came to him with the revelation mentioned immediately.1
y Joseph being then but seventeen years old, al Beidâwi observes that
herein he resembled John the Baptist and Jesus, who were also favoured with
the divine communication very early. The commentators pretend that Gabriel
also clothed him in the well with a garment of silk of paradise. For they say
that when Abraham was thrown into the fire by Nimrod,2 he was stripped; and
that Gabriel brought this garment and put it on him; and that from Abraham it
descended to Jacob, who folded it up and put it into an amulet, which he hung
about Joseph's neck, whence Gabriel drew it out.3
z These races they used by way of exercise; and the commentators
generally understand here that kind of race wherein they also showed their
dexterity in throwing darts, which is still used in the east.
a This Jacob had reason to suspect, because, when the garment was
brought to him, he observed that, though it was bloody, yet it was not torn.4
b viz., A caravan or company travelling from Midian to Egypt, who
rested near the well three days after Joseph had been thrown into it.
c The commentators are so exact as to give us the name of this man,
who, as they pretend, was Malec Ebn Dhór, of the tribe of Khozâah.5
d And Joseph, making use of the opportunity, took hold of the cord, and
was drawn up by the man.
e The original words are Ya boshra: the latter of which some take for
the proper name of the water-drawer's companion, whom he called to his
assistance; and then they must be translated, O Boshra.
f The expositors are not agreed whether the pronoun they relates to
Malec and his companions or to Joseph's brethren. They who espouse the former
opinion say that those who came to draw water concealed the manner of their
coming by him from the rest of the caravan, that they might keep him to
themselves, pretending that some people of the place had given him to them to
sell for them in Egypt. And they who prefer the latter opinion tell us that
Judah carried victuals to Joseph every day while he was in the well, but not
finding him there on the fourth day, he acquainted his brothers with it;
whereupon they all went to the caravan and claimed Joseph as their slave, he
not daring to discover that he was their brother, lest something worse should
befall him; and at length they agreed to sell him to them.6
g Namely, twenty or twenty-two dirhems, and those not of full weight
neither; for having weighed one ounce of silver only, the remainder was paid
by tale, which is the most unfair way of payment.1
h His name was Kitfîr, or Itfîr (a corruption of Potiphar); and he was
a man of great consideration, being superintendent of the royal treasury.2
The commentators say that Joseph came into his service at seventeen, and
lived with him thirteen years; and that he was made prime minister in the
thirty-third year of his age, and died at a hundred and twenty.
They who suppose Joseph was twice sold differ as to the price the
Egyptian paid for him; some saying it was twenty dinârs of gold, a pair of
shoes, and two white garments; and others, that it was a large quantity of
silver or of gold.
i Some call her Raïl; but the name she is best known by is that of
Zoleikha.
k Kitfîr having no children. It is said that Joseph gained his
master's good opinion so suddenly by his countenance, which Kitfîr, who, they
pretend, had great skill in physiognomy, judged to indicate his prudence and
other good qualities.
1 Idem. 2 See cap. 21. 3 Al Beidâwi, al Zamakhshari.
4 Al Beidâwi.
5 Idem. 6 Idem. 1 Al Beidâwi. 2 Idem.
And when he had attained his age of strength, we bestowed on him wisdom,
and knowledge; for thus do we recompense the righteous.
And she, in whose house he was, desired him to lie with her; and she shut
the doors and said, Come hither. He answered, GOD forbid! verily my lordl
hath made my dwelling with him easy; and the ungrateful shall not prosper.
But she resolved within herself to enjoy him, and he would have resolved
to enjoy her, had he not seen the evident demonstration of his LORD.m So we
turned away evil and filthiness from him, because he was one of our sincere
servants.
And they ran to get one before the other to the door;n and she rent his
inner garment behind. And they met her lord at the door. She said, What
shall be the reward of him who seeketh to commit evil in thy family, but
imprisonment, and a painful punishment?
And Joseph said, She asked me to lie with her. And a witness of her
familyo bore witness, saying, If his garment be rent before, she speaketh
truth, and he is a liar:
but if his garment be rent behind, she lieth, and he is a speaker of
truth.
And when her husband saw that his garment was torn behind, he said, This
is a cunning contrivance of your sex; for surely your cunning is great.
O Joseph, take no farther notice of this affair: and thou, O woman, ask
pardon for thy crime; for thou art a guilty person.
30 And certain women said publiclyp in the city, The nobleman's wife asked
her servant to lie with her; he hath inflamed her breast with his love; and we
perceive her to be in manifest error.
l viz., Kitfîr. But others understand it to be spoken of GOD.
m That is, had he not seriously considered the filthiness of whoredom,
and the great guilt thereof. Some, however, suppose that the words mean some
miraculous voice or apparition, sent by GOD to divert Joseph from executing
the criminal thoughts which began to possess him. For they say that he was so
far tempted with his mistress's beauty and enticing behaviour that he sat in
her lap, and even began to undress himself, when a voice called to him, and
bade him beware of her; but he taking no notice of this admonition, though it
was repeated three times, at length the angel Gabriel, or, as others will have
it, the figure of his master, appeared to him: but the more general opinion is
that it was the apparition of his father Jacob, who bit his fingers' ends, or,
as some write, struck him on the breast, whereupon his lubricity passed out at
the ends of his fingers.3
For this fable, so injurious to the character of Joseph, the Mohammedans
are obliged to their old friends the Jews,4 who imagine that he had a design
to lie with his mistress, from these words of Moses,5 And it came to pass-that
Joseph went into the house to do his business, &c.
n He flying from her, and she running after to detain him.
o viz., A cousin of hers, who was then a child in the cradle.6
p These women, whose tongues were so free with Zoleikha's character on
this occasion, were five in number, and the wives of so many of the king's
chief officers-viz., his chamberlain, his butler, his baker, his jailer, and
his herdsman.1
3 Idem, al Zamakhshari, Jallalo'ddin, Yahya. 4 Talm. Babyl.
Sed. Nashim, p. 36. Vide Bartolocc. Bibl. Rabb. part iii. p. 509.
5 Gen. xxxix. II. 6 Supra citati interpretes 1 Al
Beidâwi.
And when she heard of their subtle behaviour, she sent unto them,q and
prepared a banquet for them, and she gave to each of them a knife; and she
said unto Joseph, Come forth unto them. And when they saw him, they praised
him greatly;r and they cut their own hands,s and said, O GOD! this is not a
mortal; he is no other than an angel, deserving the highest respect.
And his mistress said, This is he, for whose sake ye blamed me: I asked
him to lie with me, but he constantly refused. But if he do not perform that
which I command him, he shall surely be cast into prison, and he shall be made
one of the contemptible.
Joseph said, O LORD, a prison is more eligible unto me than the crime to
which they invite me; but unless thou turn aside their snares from me, I shall
youthfully incline unto them, and I shall become one of the foolish.
Wherefore his LORD heard him, and turned aside their snare from him; for
he both heareth and knoweth.
And it seemed good unto themt even after they had seen the signs of
innocency, to imprison him for a time.
And there entered into the prison with him two of the king's servants.u
One of themx said, it seemed to me in my dream that I pressed wine out of
grapes. And the other said, It seemed unto me in my dream that I carried
bread on my head, whereof the birds did eat. Declare unto us the
interpretation of our dreams, for we perceive that thou art a beneficent
person.
Joseph answered, No food, wherewith ye may be nourished, shall come unto
you, but I will declare unto you the interpretation thereof, before it come
unto you.y This knowledge is a part of that which my LORD hath taught me: for
I have left the religion of people who believe not in GOD, and who deny the
life to come;
and I follow the religion of my fathers, Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob.
It is not lawful for us to associate anything with GOD. This knowledge of the
divine unity hath been given us of the bounty of GOD towards us, and towards
mankind; but the greater part of men are not thankful.
O my fellow-prisoners, are sundry lords better, or the only true and
mighty GOD?
40 Ye worship not, besides him other than the names which ye have named,z
ye and your fathers, concerning which GOD hath sent down no authoritative
proof: yet judgment belongeth unto GOD alone; who hath commanded that ye
worship none besides him. This is the right religion; but the greater part of
men know it not.
q The number of all the women invited was forty, and among them were
the five ladies above mentioned.2
r The old Latin translators have strangely mistaken the sense of the
original word acbarnaho, which they render menstruatoe sunt; and then rebuke
Mohammed for the indecency, crying out demurely in the margin, O fodum et
obsconum prophetam! Erpenius3 thinks that there is not the least trace of
such a meaning in the word; but he is mistaken: for the verb cabara in the
fourth conjugation, which is here used, has that import, though the subjoining
of the pronoun to it here (which possibly the Latin translators did not
observe) absolutely overthrows that interpretation.
s Through extreme surprise at the wonderful beauty of Joseph; which
surprise Zoleikha foreseeing, put knives into their hands, on purpose that
this accident might happen. Some writers have observed, on occasion of this
passage, that it is customary in the east for lovers to testify the violence
of their passion by cutting themselves, as a sign that they would spend their
blood in the service of the person beloved; which is true enough, but I do not
find that any of the commentators suppose these Egyptian ladies had any such
design.
t That is, to Kitfîr and his friends. The occasion of Joseph's
imprisonment is said to be, either that they suspected him to be guilty,
notwithstanding the proofs which had been given of his innocence, or else that
Zoleikha desired it, feigning, to deceive her husband, that she wanted to have
Joseph removed from her sight, till she could conquer her passion by time;
though her real design was to force him to compliance.
u viz., His chief butler and baker, who were accused of a design to
poison him.
x Namely, the butler.
y The meaning of this passage seems to be, either that Joseph, to show
he used no arts of divination or astrology, promises to interpret their dreams
to them immediately, even before they should eat a single meal; or else, he
here offers to prophesy to them beforehand, the quantity and quality of the
victuals which should be brought them, as a taste of his skill.
z See c. 7, p. 111, note d.
2 Idem. 3 In not. ad Hist. Josephi.
O my fellow-prisoners, verily the one of you shall serve wine unto his
lord, as formerly; but the other shall be crucified, and the birds shall eat
from off his head. The matter is decreed, concerning which ye seek to be
informed.
And Joseph said unto him whom he judged to be the person who should
escape of the two, Remember me in the presence of thy lord. But the devil
caused him to forget to make mention of Joseph unto his lord;a wherefore he
remained in the prison some years.b
And the king of Egyptc said, Verily, I saw in my dream seven fat kine,
which seven lean kine devoured, and seven green ears of corn, and other seven
withered ears. O nobles, expound my vision unto me, if ye be able to
interpret a vision.
They answered, They are confused dreams, neither are we skilled in the
interpretation of such kind of dreams.
And Joseph's fellow-prisoner who had been delivered, said, (for he
remembered Joseph after a certain space of time,) I will declare unto you the
interpretation thereof; wherefore let me go unto the person who will interpret
it unto me.
And he went to the prison, and said, O Joseph, thou man of veracity,
teach us the interpretation of seven fat kine, which seven lean kine devoured;
and of seven green ears of corn, and other seven withered ears, which the king
saw in his dream; that I may return unto the men who have sent me, that
peradventure they may understand the same.
Joseph answered, Ye shall sow seven years as usual: and the corn which ye
shall reap, do ye leave in its ear,d except a little whereof ye may eat.
Then shall there come, after this, seven grievous years of famine, which
shall consume what ye shall have laid up as a provision for the same, except a
little which ye shall have kept.
Then shall there come, after this, a year wherein men shall have plenty
of rain,e and wherein they shall press wine and oil.
a According to the explication of some, who take the pronoun him to
relate to Joseph, this passage may be rendered, But the devil caused him
(i.e., Joseph) to forget to make his application unto his Lord; and to beg the
good offices of his fellow-prisoner for his deliverance, instead of relying on
GOD alone, as it became a prophet, especially, to have done.1
b The original word signifying any number from three to nine or ten,
the common opinion is that Joseph remained in prison seven years, though some
say he was confined no less than twelve years.2
c This prince, as the oriental writers generally agree, was Riyân, the
son of al Walîd, the Amalekite,3 who was converted by Joseph to the worship of
the true GOD, and died in the lifetime of that prophet. But some pretend that
the Pharaoh of Joseph and of Moses were one and the same person, and that he
lived (or rather reigned) four hundred years.4
d To preserve it from the weevil.5
e Notwithstanding what some ancient authors write to the contrary,6 it
often rains in winter in the lower Egypt, and even snow has been observed to
fall at Alexandria, contrary to the express assertion of Seneca.7 In the
upper Egypt, indeed, towards the cataracts of Nile, it rains very seldom.8
Some, however, suppose that the rains here mentioned are intended of those
which should fall in Ethiopia, and occasion the swelling of the Nile, the
great cause of the fertility of Egypt; or else of those which should fall in
the neighbouring countries, which were also afflicted with famine during the
same time.
1 Al Beidâwi. 2 Idem, Jallalo'ddin. 3 See the Prelim.
Disc. p. 7. 4 Al Beidâwi. See c. 7, p. 115, note d. 5 Idem.
6 Plato, in Timæo. Pomp. Mela. 7 Nat. Quæst. l. 4.
8 See Greaves's Descr. of the Pyramids, p. 74, &c. Ray's Collection of
Travels, tom. ii. p. 92.
50 And when the chief butler had reported this, the king said, Bring him
unto me. And when the messenger came unto Joseph, he said, Return unto thy
lord, and ask of him, what was the intent of the women who cut their hands;f
for my LORD well knoweth the snare which they laid for me.g
And when the women were assembled before the king, he said unto them,
What was your design, when ye solicited Joseph to unlawful love? They
answered, GOD be praised! we know not any ill of him. The nobleman's wife
said, Now is the truth become manifest: I solicited him to lie with me; and he
is one of those who speak truth.
And when Joseph was acquainted therewith, he said, This discovery hath
been made, that my lord might know that I was not unfaithful unto him in his
absence, and that God directeth not the plot of the deceivers.
Neither do I absolutely justify myself:h since every soul is prone unto
evil, except those on whom my LORD shall show mercy; for my LORD is gracious
and merciful.
And the king said, Bring him unto me: I will take him into my own
peculiar service. And when Joseph was brought unto the king, and he had
discoursed with him, he said, Thou art this day firmly established with us,
and shalt be intrusted with our affairs.i
Joseph answered, Set me over the storehouses of the land; for I will be a
skilful keeper thereof.
Thus did we establish Joseph in the land, that he might provide himself a
dwelling therein, where he pleased. We bestow our mercy on whom we please,
and we suffer not the reward of the righteous to perish:
and certainly the reward of the next life is better, for those who
believe, and fear God.
f Joseph, it seems, cared not to get out of prison till his innocence
was publicly known and declared. It is observed by the commentators that
Joseph does not bid the messenger move the king to inform himself of the truth
of the affair, but bids him directly to ask the king, to incite him to make
the proper inquiry with the greater earnestness. They also observe that
Joseph takes care not to mention his mistress, out of respect and gratitude
for the favours he had received while in her house.1
g Endeavouring both by threats and persuasion to entice me to commit
folly with my mistress.
h According to a tradition of Ebn Abbâs, Joseph had no sooner spoken
the foregoing words, asserting his innocency, than Gabriel said to him, What,
not when thou wast deliberating to lie with her? Upon which Joseph confessed
his frailty.2
i The commentators say that Joseph being taken out of prison, after he
had washed and changed his clothes, was introduced to the king, whom he
saluted in the Hebrew tongue, and on the king's asking what language that was,
he answered that it was the language of his fathers. This prince, they say,
understood no less than seventy languages, in every one of which he discoursed
with Joseph, who answered him in the same; at which the king greatly
marvelling, desired him to relate his dream, which he did, describing the most
minute circumstances: whereupon the king placed Joseph by him on his throne,
and made him his Wazîr, or chief minister. Some say that his master Kitfîr
dying about this time, he not only succeeded him in his place, but, by the
king's command, married the widow, his late mistress, whom he found to be a
virgin, and who bare him Ephraim and Manasses.3 So that according to this
tradition, she was the same woman who is called Asenath by Moses. This
supposed marriage, which authorized their amours, probably encouraged the
Mohammedan divines to make use of the loves of Joseph and Zoleikha, as an
allegorical emblem of the spiritual love between the Creator and the creature,
GOD and the soul; just as the Christians apply the Song of Solomon to the same
mystical purpose.4
1 Al Beidâwi, &c. 2 Idem, &c. 3 Idem, Kitab
Tafasir, &c. 4 Vide D'Herbelot. Bibl. Orient. Art. Jousouf.
Moreover, Joseph's brethren came,k and went in unto him; and he knew
them, but they knew not him.
And when he had furnished them with their provisions, he said, Bring unto
me your brother, the son of your father; do ye not see that I give full
measure, and that I am the most hospitable receiver of guests?
60 But if ye bring him not unto me, there shall be no corn measured unto
you from me, neither shall ye approach my presence.
They answered, We will endeavor to obtain him of his father, and we will
certainly perform what thou requirest.
And Joseph said to his servants, Put their money,l which they have paid
for their corn; into their sacks, that they may perceive it, when they shall
be returned to their family: peradventure they will come back unto us.
And when they were returned unto their father, they said, O father, it is
forbidden to measure out corn unto us any more, unless we carry our brother
Benjamin with us: wherefore send our brother with us, and we shall have corn
measured unto us; and we will certainly guard him from any mischance.
Jacob answered, Shall I trust him with you with any better success than I
trusted your brother Joseph with you heretofore? But GOD is the best
guardian; and he is the most merciful of those that show mercy.
And when they opened their provision, they found their money had been
returned unto them; and they said, O father, what do we desire farther? this
our money hath been returned unto us; we will therefore return, and provide
corn for our family: we will take care of our brother; and we shall receive a
camel's burden more than we did the last time. This is a small quantity.m
Jacob said, I will by no means send him with you, until ye give me a
solemn promise, and swear by GOD that ye will certainly bring him back unto
me, unless ye be encompassed by some inevitable impediment. And when they had
given him their solemn promise, he said, GOD is witness of what we say.
And he said, My sons, enter not into the city by one and the same gate;
but enter by different gates. But this precaution will be of no advantage
unto you against the decree of GOD; for judgment belongeth unto GOD alone: in
him do I put my trust, and in him let those confide who seek in whom to put
their trust.
k Joseph, being made Wazîr, governed with great wisdom; for he not only
caused justice to be impartially administered, and encouraged the people to
industry and the improvement of agriculture during the seven years of plenty,
but began and perfected several works of great benefit; the natives at this
day ascribing to the patriarch Joseph almost all the ancient works of public
utility throughout the kingdom; as particularly the rendering the province of
al Feyyûm, from a standing pool or marsh, the most fertile and best cultivated
land in all Egypt.5 When the years of famine came, the effects of which were
felt not only in Egypt, but in Syria and the neighbouring countries, the
inhabitants were obliged to apply to Joseph for corn, which he sold to them,
first for their money, jewels, and ornaments, then for their cattle and lands,
and at length for their persons; so that all the Egyptians in general became
slaves to the king, though Joseph, by his consent, soon released them, and
returned them their substance. The dearth being felt in the land of Canaan,
Jacob sent all his sons, except only Benjamin, into Egypt for corn. On their
arrival, Joseph (who well knew them) asked them who they were, saying he
suspected them to be spies; but they told him they came only to buy
provisions, and that they were all the sons of an ancient man, named Jacob,
who was also a prophet. Joseph then asked how many brothers there were of
them; they answered, Twelve; but that one of them had been lost in a desert.
Upon which he inquired for the eleventh brother, there being no more than ten
of them present. They said he was a lad, and with their father, whose
fondness for him would not suffer him to accompany them in their journey. At
length Joseph asked them who they had to vouch for their veracity; but they
told him they knew no man who could vouch for them in Egypt. Then, replied
he, one of you shall stay behind with me as a pledge, and the others may
return home with their provisions; and when ye come again, ye shall bring your
younger brother with you, that I may know ye have told me the truth.
Whereupon, it being in vain to dispute the matter, they cast lots who should
stay behind, and the lot fell upon Simeon. When they departed, Joseph gave
each of them a camel, and another for their brother.1
l The original word signifying not only money, but also goods bartered
or given in exchange for other merchandise, some commentators tell us, that
they paid for their corn, not in money, but in shoes and dressed skins,2
m The meaning may be, either that the corn they now brought was not
sufficient for the support of their families, so that it was necessary for
them to take another journey, or else, that a camel's load, more or less, was
but a trifle to the king of Egypt. Some suppose these to be the words of
Jacob, declaring it was too mean a consideration to induce him to part with
his son.
5 Vide Golii not. in Alfragan. p. 175, &c. Kircher. Oedip. Ægypt vol.
i. p. 8. Lucas, Voy. tom. ii. p. 205, and tom. iii. p. 53.
1 Al Beidâwi. 2 Idem.
And when they entered the city, as their father had commanded them, it
was of no advantage unto them against the decree of GOD; and the same served
only to satisfy the desire of Jacob's soul, which he had charged them to
perform: for he was endued with knowledge of that which we had taught him; but
the greater part of men do not understand.
And when they entered into the presence of Joseph, he received his
brother Benjamin as his guest, and said, Verily I am thy brother,n be not
therefore afflicted for that which they have committed against us.
70 And when he had furnished them with their provisions, he put his cupo in
his brother Benjamin's sack. Then a crier cried after them, saying, O company
of travellers, ye are surely thieves.
They said, (and turned back unto them,) What is it that ye miss?
They answered, We miss the prince's cup: and unto him who shall produce
it, shall be given a camel's load of corn, and I will be surety for the same.
Joseph's brethren replied, By GOD, ye do well know, that we come not to
act corruptly in the land,p neither are we thieves.
The Egyptians said, What shall be the reward of him, who shall appear to
have stolen the cup, if ye be found liars?
Joseph's brethren answered, As to the reward of him, in whose sack it
shall be found, let him become a bondman in satisfaction of the same: thus do
we reward the unjust, who are guilty of theft.q
Then he began by their sacks, before he searched the sack of his
brother;r and he drew out the cup from his brother's sack. Thus did we
furnish Joseph with a stratagem. It was not lawful for him to take his
brother for a bondman, by the law of the king of Egypt,s had not GOD pleased
to allow it, according to the offer of his brethren. We exalt to degrees of
knowledge and honour whom we please: and there is one who is knowing above all
those who are endued with knowledge.
His brethren said, If Benjamin be guilty of theft, his brother Joseph
hath been also guilty of theft heretofore.t But Joseph concealed these things
in his mind, and did not discover them unto them: and he said within himself,
Ye are in a worse condition than us two; and GOD best knoweth what ye
discourse about.
n It is related that Joseph, having invited his brethren to an
entertainment, ordered them to be placed two and two together, by which means
Benjamin, the eleventh, was obliged to sit alone, and bursting into tears,
said, If my brother Joseph were alive, he would have sat with me. Whereupon
Joseph ordered him to be seated at the same table with himself, and when the
entertainment was over, dismissed the rest, ordering that they should be
lodged two and two in a house, but kept Benjamin in his own apartment, where
he passed the night. The next day Joseph asked him whether he would accept of
himself for his brother, in the room of him whom he had lost, to which
Benjamin replied, Who can find a brother comparable unto thee? yet thou art
not the son of Jacob and Rachel. And upon this Joseph discovered himself to
him.1
o Some imagine this to be a measure holding a saá (or about a gallon),
wherein they used to measure corn or give water to the beasts. But others
take it to be a drinking-cup of silver or gold.
p Both by our behaviour among you, and our bringing again our money,
which was returned to us without our knowledge.
q This was the method of punishing theft used by Jacob and his family;
for among the Egyptians it was punished in another manner.
r Some suppose this search was made by the person whom Joseph sent
after them; others by Joseph himself, when they were brought back to the city.
s For there the thief was not reduced to servitude, but was scourged,
and obliged to restore the double of what he had stolen.2
t The occasion of this suspicion, it is said, was, that Joseph having
been brought up by his father's sister, she became so fond of him that, when
he grew up, and Jacob designed to take him from her, she contrived the
following stratagem to keep him: -Having a girdle which had once belonged to
Abraham, she girt it about the child, and then, pretending she had lost it,
caused strict search to be made for it; and it being at length found on
Joseph, he was adjudged, according to the above-mentioned law of the family,
to be delivered to her as her property. Some, however, say that Joseph
actually stole an idol of gold, which belonged to his mother's father, and
destroyed it; a story probably taken from Rachel's stealing the images of
Laban: and others tell us that he once stole a goat, or a hen, to give to a
poor man.3
1 Al Beidâwi. 2 Idem, Jallalo'ddin.
They said unto Joseph, Noble lord, verily this lad hath an aged father;
wherefore take one of us in his stead; for we perceive that thou art a
beneficent person.
Joseph answered, GOD forbid that we should take any other than him with
whom we found our goods; for then should we certainly be unjust.
80 And when they despaired of obtaining Benjamin, they retired to confer
privately together. And the elder of themu said, Do ye not know that your
father hath received a solemn promise from you, in the name of GOD, and how
perfidiously ye behaved heretofore towards Joseph? Wherefore I will by no
means depart the land of Egypt, until my father give me leave to return unto
him, or GOD maketh known his will to me; for he is the best judge.
Return ye to your father, and say, O father, verily thy son hath
committed theft; we bear witness of no more than what we know, and we could
not guard against what we did not foresee:
and do thou inquire in the city, where we have been, and of the company
of merchants, with whom we are arrived, and thou wilt find that we speak the
truth.
And when they were returned, and had spoken thus to their father, he
said, Nay, but rather ye yourselves have contrived the thing for your own
sakes, but patience is most proper for me; peradventure GOD will restore them
allx unto me; for he is knowing and wise.
And he turned from them and said, Oh how I am grieved for Joseph! And
his eyes became white with mourning,y he being oppressed with deep sorrow.
His sons said, By GOD, thou wilt not cease to remember Joseph until thou
be brought to death's door, or thou be actually destroyed by excessive
affliction.
He answered, I only represent my grief, which I am not able to contain,
and my sorrow unto GOD, but I know by revelation from GOD that which ye know
not.z
O my sons, go and make inquiry after Joseph and his brother; and despair
not of the mercy of GOD; for none despaireth of GOD's mercy, except the
unbelieving people.
Wherefore Joseph's brethren returned into Egypt: and when they came into
his presence, they said, Noble lord, the famine is felt by us and our family,
and we are come with a small sum of money:a yet give unto us full measure, and
bestow corn upon us as alms; for GOD rewardeth the almsgivers.
u viz., Reuben. But some think Simeon or Judah to be here meant; and
instead of the elder, interpret it the most prudent of them.
x i.e., Joseph, Benjamin, and Simeon.
y That is, the pupils lost their deep blackness and became of a pearl
colour (as happens in suffusions), by his continual weeping: which very much
weakened his sight, or, as some pretend, made him quite blind.4
z viz., That Joseph is yet alive, of which some tell us he was assured
by the angel of death in a dream; though others suppose he depended on the
completion of Joseph's dream, which must have been frustrated had he died
before his brethren had bowed down before him.5
a Their money being clipped and adulterated. Some, however, imagine
they did not bring money, but goods to barter, such as wool and butter, or
other commodities of small value.6
3 Jallalo'ddin. 4 Al Beidâwi. 5 Idem.
6 Idem.
Joseph said unto them, Do ye know what ye did unto Joseph and his
brother, when ye were ignorant of the consequences thereof?b
90 They answered, Art thou really Joseph?c He replied, I am Joseph; and
this is my brother. Now hath GOD been gracious unto us. For whoso feareth
God, and persevereth with patience, shall at length find relief; since GOD
will not suffer the reward of the righteous to perish.
They said, By GOD, now hath GOD chosen thee above us; and we have surely
been sinners.
Joseph answered, Let there be no reproach cast on you this day. GOD
forgiveth you; for he is the most merciful of those who show mercy.
Depart ye with this my inner garment,d and throw it on my father's face;
and he shall recover his sight: and then come unto me with all your family.
And when the company of travellers was departed from Egypt on their
journey towards Canaan, their father said, unto those who were about him,
Verily I perceive the smell of Joseph;e although ye think that I dote.
They answered, By GOD, thou art in thy old mistake.f
But when the messenger of good tidingsg was come with Joseph's inner
garment, he threw it over his face; and he recovered his eyesight.
And Jacob said, Did I not tell you that I knew from GOD, that which ye
knew not?
They answered, O father, ask pardon of our sins for us, for we have
surely been sinners.
He replied, I will surely ask pardon for you of my LORD;h for he is
gracious and merciful.
100 And when Jacob and his family arrived in Egypt, and were introduced unto
Joseph, he received his parents unto him,i and said, Enter ye into Egypt, by
GOD'S favor, in full security.
b The injury they did Benjamin was the separating him from his brother;
after which they kept him in so great subjection, that he durst not speak to
them but with the utmost submission. Some say that these words were
occasioned by a letter which Joseph's brethren delivered to him from their
father, requesting the releasement of Benjamin, and by their representing his
extreme affliction at the loss of him and his brother. The commentators
observe that Joseph, to excuse his brethren's behaviour towards him,
attributes it to their ignorance, and the heat of youth.1
c They say this question was not the effect of a bare suspicion that he
was Joseph, but that they actually knew him, either by his face and behaviour,
or by his foreteeth, which he showed in smiling, or else by putting off his
tiara, and discovering a whitish mole on his forehead.2
d Which the commentators generally suppose to be the same garment with
which Gabriel invested him in the well; which having originally come from
paradise, had preserved the odour of that place, and was of so great virtue as
to cure any distemper in the person who was touched with it.3
e This was the odour of the garment above mentioned, brought by the
wind to Jacob, who smelt it, as is pretended, at the distance of eighty
parasangs;4 or, as others will have, three, or eight days' journey off.5
f Being led into this imagination by the excessive love of Joseph.
g viz., Judah, who, as he had formerly grieved his father by bringing
him Joseph's coat stained with blood, now rejoiced him as much by being the
bearer of this vest, and the news of Joseph's prosperity.6
h Deferring it, as some fancy, till he should see Joseph, and have his
consent.
i viz., His father and Leah, his mother's sister, whom he looked on as
his mother after Rachel's death.7
Al Beidâwi tells us that Joseph sent carriages and provisions for his
father and his family; and that he and the king of Egypt went forth to meet
them. He adds that the number of the children of Israel who entered Egypt
with him was seventy-two; and that when they were led out thence by Moses,
they were increased to six hundred thousand five hundred and seventy men and
upwards, besides the old people and children.
1 Idem. 2 Idem. 3 Idem, Jallalo'ddin. 4
Idem. 5 Jallalo'ddin.
6 Al Beidâwi. 7 Idem. See Gen. xxxvii. 10.
And he raised his parents to the seat of state, and they, together with his
brethren, fell down and did obeisance unto him.k And he said, O my father,
this is the interpretation of my vision, which I saw heretofore: now hath my
LORD rendered it true. And he hath surely been gracious unto me, since he
took me forth from the prison, and hath brought you hither from the desert;
after that the devil had sown discord between me any my brethren: for my LORD
is gracious unto whom he pleaseth; and he is the knowing, the wise God.
O LORD, thou hast given me a part of the kingdom, and hast taught me the
interpretation of dark sayings. The Creator of heaven and earth! thou art my
protector in this world, and in that which is to come: make me to die a
Moslem, and join me with the righteous.l
This is a secret history which we reveal unto thee, O Mohammed, although
thou wast not present with the brethren of Joseph, when they concerted their
design, and contrived a plot against him. But the greater part of men,
although they earnestly desire it, will not believe.
Thou shalt not demand of them any reward for thy publishing the Koran; it
is no other than an admonition unto all creatures.
And how many signs soever there be of the being, unity, and providence of
God, in the heavens and the earth; they will pass by them, and will retire
afar off from them.
And the greater part of them believe not in GOD, without being also
guilty of idolatry.m
Do they not believe that some overwhelming affliction shall fall on them,
as a punishment from GOD; or that the hour of judgment shall overtake them
suddenly, when they consider not its approach?
Say unto those of Mecca, This is my way: I invite you unto GOD, by an
evident demonstration; both I and he who followeth me; and, praise be unto
GOD! I am not an idolater.
We sent not any apostles before thee, except men, unto whom we revealed
our will, and whom we chose out of those who dwelt in cities.n Will they not
go through the earth, and see what hath been the end of those who have
preceded them? But the dwelling of the next life shall surely be better for
those who fear God. Will they not therefore understand?
110 Their predecessors were borne with for a time, until, when our apostles
despaired of their conversion, and they thought that they were liars, our help
came unto them, and we delivered whom we pleased; but our vengeance was not
turned away from the wicked people.
Verily in the histories of the prophets and their people, there is an
instructive example unto those who are endued with understanding. The Koran
is not a new invented fiction: but a confirmation of those scriptures which
have been revealed before it, and a distinct explication of everything
necessary in respect either to faith or practice, and a direction and mercy
unto people who believe.
k A transposition is supposed to be in these words, and that he seated
his father and mother after they had bowed down to him, and not before.1
l The Mohammedan authors write that Jacob dwelt in Egypt twenty-four
years, and at his death ordered his body to be buried in Palestine by his
father, which Joseph took care to perform; and then returning into Egypt, died
twenty-three years after. They add that such high disputes arose among the
Egyptians concerning his burial, that they had like to have come to blows; but
at length they agreed to put his body into a marble coffin, and to sink it in
the Nile-out of a superstitious imagination, that it might help the regular
increase of the river, and deliver them from famine for the future; but when
Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, he took up the coffin, and carried
Joseph's bones with him into Canaan, where he buried them by his ancestors.2
m For this crime Mohammed charges not only on the idolatrous Meccans,
but also on the Jews and Christians, as has been already observed more than
once.
n And not of the inhabitants of the deserts; because the former are
more knowing and compassionate, and the latter more ignorant and hard-
hearted.3
1 Idem. 2 Idem. 3 Idem. See the Prelim. Disc.
Sect. I. p. 24.