This is my thirty-fourth monthly teaching letter and continues my third year of publication. In this lesson, we will resume our investigation of Egypt and how it fits into Biblical history. With this research, we will be getting into areas not usually encountered in the average study of Scripture. Some of these things may seem strange and quite different than you ever dreamed they might have been. I believe that once we learn something of these seemingly bizarre circumstances it will add to our understanding of Yahweh’s Word considerably. As usual, these matters are altogether different than we were ever taught they were. In the last lesson, we found out there were two different pharaohs ruling in Egypt at the same time during the Hyksos period, and that the pharaoh at Thebes was subservient to the Hyksos. Then, too, we learned that Joseph was probably sold to the authority at Thebes rather than the Hyksos. In addition, we found out that, through Joseph saving the Egyptians from starvation, the sons of Jacob were given Egypt’s very best land. We determined, also, there were two seven-year famines in Egypt’s history. Further, we learned that Joseph placed a 20% income tax on some of the people where it was legal to do so. In our investigation, we discovered it was the Pharaoh that gave Joseph his wife; intimating he, the pharaoh, was Shemitic in stock. Then we explored the subject of Shepherd Kings, which we will continue in this lesson.
WALKING STEP BY STEP THROUGH ISRAEL’S SOJOURN IN EGYPT
FROM JOSEPH UNTIL JOSHUA
As I indicated in the last lesson, we are going to take a step by step survey of Israel’s sojourn in Egypt. In this walk, we are going to try to thoroughly comprehend the true nature of the events during this era of time. Yahweh had good reason for placing Israel in Egypt, and we will try to understand the reason for such a stay. It is my own opinion that Yahweh placed Israel in Egypt so that Egypt might fight off many of the enemies Israel would be facing later on. It is now time to prepare ourselves with more facts concerning these things.
SHEPHERD KINGS
In the last lesson, we touched on the topic of Shepherd Kings. Because it is a subject of such great magnitude in importance, we must prioritize our time to delve into it. It may come as a surprise to many of you, the symbol of the Shepherd Kings is the Sphinx and the first Shepherd King was Adam, and the priesthood was called the Order of Melchizedek. Howard B. Rand, in Destiny magazine, October, 1962 wrote an article “Enoch’s Mission and Shem’s Responsibility” (1962 Destiny yearbook pages 201-204) which I will now quote in part:
“Order of Melchizedek. When Shem[’s] ... followers, came out of Egypt, they founded at Jerusalem the city destined to become the City of David and also the capital of the Kingdom of Yahweh when Yahshua, who is of the Order of Melchizedek ... (I will be using the Tetragrammaton.)
“The priestly Order of Melchizedek began with Adam and the Preachers of Righteousness from Adam to Noah were of this Order. Noah is recorded as the eighth Preacher of Righteousness in 2 Peter 2:5. The fifth chapter of Genesis begins, ‘This is the book of the generations of Adam’, and no one of the line of Cain is recorded there. As stated in Primogenesis:
“‘Noah was the tenth in generation. The reason he was but the eighth in priestly line was because Enoch was translated before his father died and did not come to the priestly office (Genesis 5:24). Methuselah, the son of Enoch, took the office directly from his grandfather Jared, the father of Enoch. Methuselah, in turn, outlived his son Lamech, so the office passed directly to his grandson, Noah, the son of Lamech (Genesis 5:27). Noah, therefore, became the eighth Preacher of Righteousness, though the tenth in generation, because these two, Enoch and Lamech, never succeeded to the priestly office.’ (Primogenesis, p. 44)
“In this line of Preachers of Righteousness, Shem, Noah’s son, became the ninth. As stated in Primogenesis: ‘The Order of Melchizedek, in its earthly representation, began with Adam as the first Preacher of Righteousness. Noah was the eighth and Shem the ninth ...
“‘So also Yahshua glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, today have I begotten thee. As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek’ (Hebrews 5:5-6).
“In His ministry, He was a Prophet; in His atonement, He was a Priest. When He returns, He is to be King. Thus, in the Order of Melchizedek, He is Prophet, Priest and King’ (Primogenesis pp. 66-67).
“Order of Master Shepherds. The Bible also records a line of master shepherds beginning with these Preachers of Righteousness, who wore the shepherd’s garb as the insignia of office. From Abraham to John the Baptist, in each generation there were those who were members of this ancient and honorable Order. Then Yahshua associated Himself with the office, becoming the Grand Master of the Order of Master Shepherds: ‘I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep’ (John 10:14-15).
“Ninth Preacher of Righteousness. It is fitting, therefore, that Shem, who was the ninth Preacher of Righteousness and also a member of the Order of Master Shepherds, was entrusted with the construction of the Great Pyramid at Gizeh in Egypt ... Only a building that is pyramidal in shape is completed by placing a capstone in position ...
“A Sign and Witness. Many generations after Enoch’s day the Prophet Isaiah was constrained to write: ‘In that day shall there be an altar to Yahweh in the midst of the Land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to Yahweh. And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto Yahweh of Hosts in the land of Egypt (Isaiah 19:19-20).’ Undoubtedly Isaiah was aware that this was the Pillar of Enoch; that to Enoch its design was committed and on Shem the responsibility was laid to build this remarkable structure in the land that had harbored the people of Israel for four hundred years and had later sheltered ... Yahshua.”
Along the same line of thought, I will now follow-up with another article appearing in Destiny magazine of October, 1955 (inside front cover), entitled “Shem The Powerful.” Actually, I will be quoting a quotation which this article cites from a book The Worship of the Dead or The Origin and Nature of Pagan Idolatry by a Colonel J. Garnier:
“Sphinxes were the particular form of sculpture associated with the shepherd kings, and were constructed in honor of Set [an Egyptian name given to Shem], while the Great Sphinx seems to be especially associated with the Great Pyramid built by Suphis [another name associated with Shem]. As the Tanis Sphinxes [a group of three sphinxes at Tanis, Egypt]; are unmistakably the likeness of one particular individual, it seems certain that they represent the features of the first great shepherd king. Set the Powerful [Shem] ...
“If, then, these heads are likenesses of the great Shepherd King Set, they represent the exact features of the antediluvian patriarch Shem, and we behold in them something of the type of primeval man as he first came from the hands of Yahweh ... In representing him, therefore, as a lion with a human head, there was a certain fitness, and the idea was probably borrowed from the Cherubim, the form which seems to have been generally known ...”
Because Howard B. Rand used Ussher’s chronology, he believed that Shem was contemporary with Abraham, and that Shem was the one to whom Abraham paid his tithes. I was also under the same illusion until I took the time to check the Masoretic text against the Septuagint. After making a chart of both chronologies, I found that the Septuagint has Shem dead for about 650 years before Abraham was born. There is a total discrepancy of 1486 years between the Masoretic and Septuagint texts. I doubt very much whether Ussher’s chronology (which is based on the Masoretic text) is correct. If the oldest living patriarch was the family priest-king, Abraham, therefore, probably paid his tithes to Nahor #2, his brother, rather than Shem. Also, it was found in the Masoretic text that Heber was born before Abraham, and died after him. This is highly unlikely as Heber was Abraham’s great, great, great, great grandfather. Genesis 11:26-27 tells us that Abraham had two brothers, Nahor and Haran. Inasmuch as Nahor #1 (Abraham’s grandfather) died, and Terah became pagan, the priest-king office was probably left to Nahor #2; Haran having died before Abram and Terah left Ur of the Chaldees (Gen. 11:28). Therefore, I believe it is possible Nahor #2 may have been Abraham’s Melchizedek. By the priest-kingship skipping the generation of Terah (breaking the lineal order) might explain why Melchizedek was without lineal descent (More later.)
It should be becoming quite clear in our studies on this subject that Joseph and his pharaoh (probably Amosis), Joseph’s wife Asenath and her father were all descendants of Shem. We should also be starting to realize that the Great Sphinx, a little up the road from the Great Pyramid of Gizeh, is emblematically a representation of Adam through Nahor #2, (less Enoch, Lamech and Arphaxad who were outlived by their fathers), and Yahshua the Redeemer-Messiah Himself. And, also, that the Great Pyramid of Gizeh is a monument and emblem of Enoch, predicting Adamic-Israel’s future along with some other amazing data and revelations. Surely, Isaiah was correct when he wrote, Isaiah 19:19-20:
“19 In that day shall there be an altar to Yahweh in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to Yahweh. 20 And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto Yahweh of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they [as the Israelites formerly did] shall cry unto Yahweh because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a savior, and a great one, and he shall deliver them.”
Today we are in the time of oppression spoken of in verse 20. It tells us here that we are to be delivered by a “savior” (singular). We are not going to be delivered by an arm of flesh, but by the Almighty Himself. There have been those courageous men who tried it and failed; it didn’t work! But, this is no reason we should neglect being in a strong defensive posture, ready for any eventuality. Yahweh will reveal to us when it is time to go on the offensive. I believe the reason the altar and pillar were placed in Egypt is because our coming deliverance will be very similar to that experienced in the Exodus, and that the wicked pharaoh of today, like then, is going to “let our people go”, and it will require the death angel to accomplish it. We have to put first things first. How are the “tares” going to be rooted up unless they are first identified? The good news is: the enemy, the “Jews”, are quickly being identified, no help from, nor thanks to, the one seedliners! There is one common ground, though, among both the one and Two Seeedliners, along with the patriots: we are all crying because of our present day oppression!
IS THERE BIBLICAL SUPPORT ?
If all we have read from these excerpts of Destiny magazine, and if Howard B. Rand is somewhere near being correct, there should be some Biblical evidence that there was a lapse of the Shepherd kings from Nahor #2 until Yahshua the Messiah. Hebrews 7:12 indicates that, at the first coming of Yahshua, there was a change from the priesthood of Aaron back to the priesthood of Melchizedek. Let’s take a look at it: “For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.”
From this, I believe we can be reasonably sure that Rand was correct in his premise there was a lapse of the Melchizedek priesthood during the days of the Aaronic priesthood, and that the Levitical law was changed to accommodate a return to it. For further study along this line, it might be advisable to study Hebrews chapters 5, 6 & 7 along with Genesis 14:18 and chapter 110 of the book of Psalms, especially verse 4.
WHO AND WHAT WAS MANETHO?
Because Destiny magazine and Rand quote Manetho in their postulations about the Shepherd Kings, we need to learn more about this Egyptian priest. For a brief explanation of this man, I will quote from the World Scope Encyclopedia (1951), volume 7:
“Manetho ..., a historian of ancient Egypt, flourished in the reign of Ptolemy Soter, at the beginning of the 3rd century B.C. He was a priest in Lower Egypt and is the author of two important works, one on the history and the other on the religion of his country. Both books have been lost, but fragments have been preserved by later historians, including Eusebius and Josephus. In the Armenian version of Eusebius is a list of the Egyptian dynasties according to Manetho, the dates of which appear to have been derived from genuine documents, including the sacred books of the Egyptian priests.”
For a more detailed account on Manetho, I will use the Encyclopædia Britannica, ninth edition (1894), volume 15, pages 485-486:
“MANETHO. Manetho Sebennyta ... ‘beloved by Thoth.’ Egyptian priest and annalist, was a native of Sebennytus ... in the Delta. His name was connected by Plutarch with the reign of Ptolemy I, and he is usually stated to have written under Ptolemy II Philadelphus, though the only authority for this is an epistle to that king of the Pseudo-Manetho, author of the forged Books of Sothis preserved by Syncellus. He was instructed in Greek — so Josephus tells us — and the three books of his Αἰγυπτιακά composed in that language opened to foreigners the history of Egypt from the mythical period downwards, as it was preserved in the records of the priests. Undoubtedly the book is now known only by lists of fragments preserved by Josephus in his treatise Against Apion, by Eusebius in his Chronica, and by Syncellus. Syncellus used the work of Eusebius (also known through Jerome and the Armenian version) and lost Pentabiblon of Africanus. Thus the little that we know of Manetho’s history has reached us through a process of transcription and retranscription very unfavorable to the correct transmission of the lists of kings and dynasties, to which Josephus alone adds any considerable narrative excerpts. It seems indeed that our authorities themselves used varying and partly corrupt recensions of the original text, and that deliberate corruptions of the Manethonic tradition were not wanting appears from the existence of the Book of Sothis cited by Syncellus, which was undoubtedly a spurious work. That Manetho himself made honest use of his Egyptian sources is generally recognized, since the Egyptian monuments have afforded confirmation of many, though by no means all, of his statements; but how the corrupt and varying data we now have should be used, or whether the Egyptian tradition can be made the basis of a rational chronology of the oldest historical period is doubtful.”
The above quotation should give you some idea of what to expect in Manetho’s writings. The Egyptian pharaohs were so notorious for trying to erase the history of the pharaohs before them; that, undoubtedly, Manetho may have had a lot of spurious records from which to work. Whether or not he was biased in his own writings cannot be easily ascertained, but what motive would he have had for changing the record 1000 years after the fact? But, whatever conclusion we arrive at, we must realize there are problems with the data ascribed to him.
Josephus On Manetho. The Works of Josephus has a good amount of comment concerning this Egyptian scribe. In “Against Apion”, 1:12, Josephus starts quoting Manetho. He continues quoting him until “Against Apion”, 1:16, where he says: “In the first place, that we (Israel) came out of another country into Egypt; and that withal our deliverance out of it was so ancient in time, as to have preceded the siege of Troy almost a thousand years; but then, as to those things which Manetho adds, not from the Egyptian records, but, as he confesses himself, from some stories of an uncertain original, I will disprove them hereafter particularly, and shall demonstrate that they are no better than incredible fables.” Then Josephus goes on to other subjects and picks up Manetho again in “Against Apion”, 1:26, where he says: “And now I will turn my discourse to one of their principal writers, whom I have a little before made use of as a witness to our antiquity; I mean Manetho.” Then Josephus continues with his criticism of Manetho in “Against Apion”, 2:3. If you don’t already have Josephus in your library, you may want to get a copy. If you already have Josephus, you can check these passages which I have pointed out for yourself.
CONFUSION BREEDS CONFUSION; TWO HYKSOS GROUPS
Apparently, what we have in “Against Apion”, 1:14, is utter confusion as the facts do not entirely concur. In this passage, Manetho speaks of “men of ignoble birth out of the eastern parts, and had boldness enough to make an expedition into our country, and with ease subdued it by force ... At length they made one of themselves king (pharaoh) ... and made both the upper and lower regions pay tribute ... he founded ... a city ... called Avaris ...” Manetho is definitely speaking of the Hyksosotext-align: justify; text-indent: .5in/uu, and Josephus is taking him as meaning the Israelites. Actually, Manetho is confusing two different peoples as being Hyksos when he says, “This whole nation was styled Hyksos, that is, Shepherd-kings; for the first syllable Hyk, according to the sacred dialect denotes a king, as is Sos, a shepherd ...” Then Howard B. Rand picks up some of this confusion in his articles, quoted herein, published in Destiny magazine. These Hyksos were definitely not Israelites as Josephus thinks, for when Jacob and company came to Egypt, they were but seventy souls, Genesis 46:26. These Israelites were not of “ignoble birth”; they didn’t subdue Egypt by force; they didn’t impose tribute on the upper and lower regions; they didn’t set over themselves a king; and they didn’t settle at Avaris.
In “Against Apion”, 1:15, a very critical Manetho is supposed to have said: “When this people or shepherds were gone out of Egypt to Jerusalem ...” Again in “Against Apion”, 1:26, Josephus speaks of Manetho, saying: “... he then ascribes certain fabulous stories to this king, as having in a manner forgotten how he had already related that the departure of the shepherds for Jerusalem had been five hundred and eighteen years before ...” It is apparent that this group of shepherd kings were not the Israelites of the Exodus, for it was not until the time of David that the city of Jerusalem was secured from the Jebusites, 1 Chronicles 11:4-7. It is my opinion that this group of Shepherd Kings were the Shemites that settled in Egypt at an earlier time and built the Great Pyramid and continued there as the ruling class and as priests. And, that some of the descendants of Shem later left Egypt for Jerusalem, and Nahor #2 was at that location when Abraham arrived there to pay his tithes to Melchizedek (Nahor #2), priest of Salem. It would appear to me, it is a necessity to separate the early Shepherd Kings of Shem in Egypt from the later Hyksos (a non-Israel group) and the Israelites themselves. You probably can now see why, while I agree with much of the material published in Destiny magazine about the Shepherd Kings, I disagree to some degree with Howard B. Rand and company.
THE LIFE OF JOSEPH
While Jacob had twelve sons by two wives and two concubines, Joseph was the firstborn son to Jacob by Rachel, his favorite wife. This is the reason Jacob loved Joseph more than any of the others. As you will remember, while in Paddan-aram, Jacob saw and loved Rachel, and made an arrangement to work seven years (to the seventh year) in Laban’s hire for her hand in marriage (Genesis 29:17-18).
“17 Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favored. 18 And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.”
There was a law in those days, and later throughout Israel, after a servitude of six years, the servant was to be set free in the seventh (Exodus 21:2-3). From this, we can see why Jacob served to the seventh year for each of his two wives. In order to take Rachel to wife, he had to serve Laban a second six years. No doubt, this extra six years of waiting for Rachel only increased Jacob’s love for her and, in turn, nurtured the great love for the first son she bore to him. Before Rachel, Laban had given Leah, her elder sister, to Jacob, insisting custom demanded the oldest daughter be married first. Therefore, Jacob worked an additional six years for Rachel. Actually, in Jacob’s mind, he worked twelve years to receive Rachel. Can you imagine a man counting down the days on a calendar for six years until the great day for the wedding and then doing it a second time?
After fourteen years of servitude to Laban for Rachel, how disappointed Jacob must have been when she didn’t conceive as Leah had done. Can you imagine how thrilled Jacob was when, finally after much difficulty, Rachel did finally give birth to Joseph? Can you imagine how overwhelmingly grief-stricken Jacob must have been when Rachel died giving birth to a second son, Benjamin? Maybe now we can begin to see Jacob’s motive for making Joseph a coat of many colors. As his grief grew, so did his partiality for Rachel’s children, Genesis 37:3:
“Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.”
This partiality caused much antagonism among Joseph’s brothers. Joseph began to be quite unpopular with his brothers after snitching to his father about the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah. The animosity only grew stronger when Joseph had a dream suggesting that they, along with his father and mother, would one day bow before him. One day, reaching the age of seventeen, his father sent him to Shechem to check on the well-being of his brothers and to report to him any misconduct on their part. In the meantime, they had gone to Dothan where Joseph finally found them. As the brothers saw him approaching, they plotted to kill the snitcher-dreamer.
But, Reuben, the oldest son of Jacob, persuaded his other brothers that killing him was not the thing to do. Maybe Reuben was already self-conscious of his own shortcoming and didn’t want to add anything more to his charge. Reuben, therefore, prevailed on his brothers to spare Joseph by casting him into a pit instead of taking his life, thinking to return and rescue him and rejoin him safely to his father. While Reuben was away, his brothers observed a caravan of Arabian merchants, who were transporting spices and aromatic gums of India to the well-known and much-frequented market of Egypt. At the suggestion of Judah, showing his natural talent of leadership, they decided to sell Joseph as a slave to the approaching Ishmaelites, who later took him into Egypt. The brothers then took the beautiful coat which his father had made for him and dipped it into some goats blood, returning to their father with the story that a wild animal had killed him. Their intention was to punish their father as well as Joseph for spying on them.
Arriving in Egypt, the Ishmaelites sold Joseph to the captain of Pharaoh’s guard, Potiphar. On being placed into Potiphar’s household, Joseph soon showed his superior upbringing by undertaking every task at hand in a very responsible way. Joseph proved to be a very trustworthy worker and was given an authoritative position to match his abilities. While in Potiphar’s household, Potiphar’s wife was drawn to Joseph’s manly attractiveness. The Hebrew race has always been eye-catching for their personal beauty, of which Joseph seems to have had more than his ordinary share. No doubt an attribute of his mother. She thus moved very slyly to seduce him. It became an obsession for her to throw herself at him daily. One day, Joseph found himself fighting her unchaste desires as she literally snatched his garment from his body as he was hastily leaving her presence. Allusion to this incident is found in the book Cleopatra’s Needles, page 18, where it says:
“Another Arab writer, Hasan ibn Ibrâhîm, says they were in the ‘temple of the Sun where Zulêkhâ tore Joseph’s shirt in pieces’ (quoted by Yâkût), but she is the only woman whom the Arabs associate with the building.”
Needless to say, Potiphar’s wife turned the tables on Joseph; accusing him to her husband of seducing her, which resulted in Joseph’s imprisonment for several years. While in prison, Joseph once more proved himself worthy of a position of trust. Joseph, in consequence, gained favor with the keeper of the prison to such a degree that most everything was put under his charge. While there, he became known for interpreting dreams. Joseph not only had the ability to interpret his own dreams, but explained the meanings of the dreams of others.
After a time, Pharaoh’s royal chief of the butlers and chief of the bakers joined Joseph in prison where he had charge over them in his ward. While there one night, each of them had a very disturbing dream, and when Joseph arrived the next morning, he found them very disheartened. Whereupon, Joseph inquired why they were so down and out. Each of them replied to Joseph they had had a very unsettling dream and had no idea the meaning thereof. Joseph then interpreted each man’s dream accordingly. In three days, the butler was to be returned to his station, but the baker was to be hanged. Upon interpreting the butler’s dream, Joseph requested of him to plead his case before Pharaoh, but being soon restored he remembered not.
After two years, the Pharaoh himself dreamed two very distressing dreams of his own. These two dreams were so troubling and upsetting to him that he called for all his magicians and wise men in all of his domain to go through their hocus-pocus and reveal the meaning of them to him, but they could not. Upon the inability of the magicians to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, the chief butler remembered Joseph’s skill and advised him that Joseph was still in prison. The pharaoh was much impressed by the butler’s story and decided to put Joseph to the test concerning his own dreams. Pharaoh immediately called Joseph from his prison cell, whereupon, Joseph bathed, shaved himself and changed his attire. Upon being brought into Pharaoh’s presence, the pharaoh revealed to Joseph his two dreams. Joseph reminded Pharaoh it was not he who would interpret his dreams, but that Yahweh would give him the answer. Joseph informed Pharaoh his dreams were a foreboding of an approaching seven of years famine after a period of seven years of plenty. Joseph then, in order to abate the evils of starvation, recommended that Pharaoh choose some discreet and wise man, along with officers, to set in full power and administer preparations for the coming hardship. Pharaoh was so favorably impressed, he recognized Joseph as Yahweh’s man. Joseph was now 30 years old; the same age as Yahshua would be when he started his ministry.
Remembering the history of the disastrous Zoser famine, and recognizing the divine origin of his dreams and the Spirit of Yahweh in Joseph’s interpretations, the pharaoh resolved that Joseph should be second in charge throughout his land of Egypt. Pharaoh then gave Joseph a ring on his finger, a chain around his neck and the finest of clothing, along with a chariot. But, the greatest of all gifts Pharaoh presented to Joseph during the seven years of abundance was the beautiful Shemitic Asenath, who bore him Manasseh and Ephraim. This seven years of abundance afforded Joseph opportunity to carry out such plans as to secure ample provisions against the seven years of need. When the famine finally arrived, it found the people prepared. But, not so with his father Jacob and brothers in Canaan.
JOSEPH’S BROTHERS COME TO EGYPT
Among the many people arriving at Egypt, begging to buy sustenance, appeared ten brothers, sons of Jacob. It was out of necessity that they appeared before Joseph to purchase the indispensable corn. Humbled by the famine, the ten brothers arrived in Egypt hungry, tired and forlorn. Joseph, being able to interpret his own dreams, was not at all surprised to see them. Because it had been several years, though, his brothers didn’t recognize him. Accordingly, Joseph pretended not to know his brothers and accused them of being spies, threatening them with imprisonment. Joseph immediately took advantage of the situation to subtly inquire about the welfare of his father and Benjamin, his full-blooded brother. Upon being thusly accused, the brothers volunteered the status of their father and Benjamin, even declaring one brother (Joseph) to be missing.
After three days under guard, Joseph gave them leave on the condition that he would keep one of them until they returned with their younger brother to prove their truthfulness. It was then, and not before, that the brothers said to one another: We are truly guilty concerning our brother, inasmuch as we witnessed his anguish and distress and had no sympathy; therefore, is retribution come. Then, Reuben reminded them it was he who had advised them not to commit evil against the child. Whereupon, after weeping bitterly, Joseph had Simeon bound and commanded the brother’s sacks to be filled with corn and provision, returning each man his money. (I hate to break this narration off in the middle of Joseph’s story, but it will be necessary to continue it in the next lesson.
,
