Слово о прекрасном Иосифе

God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, Blessed God, who chose the holy seed of Your servants who loved You as Good, grant that streams of grace will pour out upon me with great abundance and that I may portray a bright and majestic spectacle - the beautiful Joseph, who has always been the honest support of the deepest old age of the Patriarch Jacob! For this same youth Joseph, from a young age, represented two comings of Christ: the first, which was from the Virgin Mary, and the second, by which everything would be awestruck. Therefore, beloved favorites of Christ, let us now stand firmly, rejoicing in our souls, so that without distraction we can hear and contemplate such deeds of the most magnificent youth. And I, my brothers, call him not only the most magnificent, but also a wonderful young man, a source of chastity, a perfect conqueror, a wondrous destroyer of enemies. That is why it became a special image of the future coming of the Lord. Let each of you free his soul from all worries about earthly things and accept the hymns sung with love, for they are spiritual and joyful to the soul. Just as the Lord was sent to us from the bosom of the Father to save us all, so the youth Joseph was sent from Jacob’s father’s bosom to his brothers. And just as Joseph’s cruel brothers, when they saw Joseph approaching, began to plot wickedness against him, although he brought them peace from their father, so the always hard-hearted Jews, when they saw the Savior, said: indeed, “this is the heir... let us kill him, and everything will be ours” (Mark 12:7). Joseph's brothers said: “Let us put him to death and get rid of his dreams.” The Jews said in exactly the same way: “Come, let us kill him and keep his property” (Matthew 21:38). Joseph's brothers, eating food together, betrayed their brother, slaughtering him in their will; In exactly the same way, the vile Jews, eating the Passover, killed the Savior. The coming of Joseph to Egypt signifies the descent of our Savior to earth. And just as Joseph trampled upon all the power of sin in the palace, acquiring for himself a crown of light for the victory over his Egyptian mistress, so our Lord, the Savior of our souls, having descended into hell, with His right hand scattered there all the power of the most intolerable and invincible tormentor. Joseph, when he conquered sin, was imprisoned until the time he accepted the crown; so our Lord, in order to take upon himself all the sin of the world, is placed in the tomb. Joseph spent two years in prison, living there in great security; and our Lord remained in hell for three days as a strong man, without suffering corruption. Joseph is mercifully removed from prison by order of Pharaoh, and as a true image of Christ, he easily interprets the meaning of dreams and foretells future abundance. Our Lord Jesus Christ was awakened (rose) from the dead by His own power, plundered hell, brings our deliverance as a gift to His Father, preaches resurrection and eternal life. Joseph sat on Pharaoh's chariot, having assumed power over all of Egypt, and our Lord, the King before the ages, having ascended to heaven on a luminous cloud, sits with glory at the right hand of the Father, above the Cherubim as the Only Begotten Son. When Joseph reigned in Egypt, having assumed power over his enemies, his brothers were voluntarily brought to the throne of the one doomed by them to death, they were brought in to bow with fear and trembling to the one whom they had sold to death, and in fear they bowed to Joseph, whom they did not want to have king over them. Joseph, recognizing his brothers, showed the murderers with one word; They, having recognized him, stood amazed in great shame, not daring to speak, and having nothing at all to justify themselves, fully realizing their sin, committed at the time they sold him; the one whom they imagined to be dead in hell suddenly found himself reigning over them. So on that terrible day, when the Lord comes on the clouds of the air, He will sit on the Throne of His Kingdom, then, bound by terrible Angels, all His enemies will be brought to His Throne, who did not want Him to reign over them. For the lawless Jews reasoned then that if he were crucified, he would die like a man; They, unfortunate ones, did not believe that He was God, who came for salvation, to save our souls. As Joseph freely said to his brothers, leading them to fear and trembling: “I am Joseph, whom you gave into slavery, now I reign over you who did not want it.” So the Lord will show the Cross in a luminous form to those who crucified Him, and they will recognize the Cross and the Son of God crucified by them. Do you see how completely Joseph was the true image of the Son of God - his Master? Since virtue flourished in Joseph from a young age, by his good will, then, having already begun the word, we will continue the story, depicting the virtues of the youth. This blessed one spent seventeen years of his life in his father’s house, every day progressing in the fear of God, and in the wonderful rules of life, and in honoring his parents. But seeing indecency in his brothers, he briefly informed his father about many other things, because virtue, indeed, cannot be in unity with unrighteousness - this is indecent for it. That is why they hated Joseph, since he was alien to their vices. Decorated with good qualities, the youth saw dreams in which it was revealed to him what would happen to him according to the economy of the Most High God. But Father Jacob did not know the secret hatred for Joseph and loved Joseph in simplicity for the beauty of virtue, which had always distinguished him from a young age. When the brothers were tending sheep in Shechem, Joseph happened to be with his father. Father Jacob, like a tender parent, took care of those in Shechem and said to Joseph: “Get ready, child, go to your brothers, inquire in detail about their health and together about the herds, and return quickly.” Having received his father's order, Joseph joyfully went to his brothers, bringing them peace from his parents, and at the same time the care he had for them. But he got lost on the road, not finding his brothers and their flocks. When he was sad and sighed for his brothers, a man found him and showed him the way. How quickly Joseph saw them from afar and went with joy, wanting to kiss them all. And they saw him coming and, like wild animals, they set out to kill Joseph; he, like a gentle lamb, was ready to surrender into the hands of these same fierce wolves. When he approached and lovingly greeted them, bringing them peace on behalf of his parents, they immediately rose up like wild animals, took off the colorful robe that he was wearing, and each of them gnashed his teeth, wanting to devour him alive. Cruel and unmerciful in their enmity, in their rage, they tormented this honest and bright youth a lot. Joseph, seeing that he is in danger, that no one has any pity for him, finally resorts to requests, bursts into tears and with sighs, raising his voice, begs them, saying: “Why are you angry? I beg all of you, my brothers, to bear with me for a moment so that I can beg you. My mother died, Jacob still cries for her every day, and you want to cause our father a new cry, when the first one is still ongoing and has not yet stopped? I beg you all, be patient with me for a while, so as not to separate me from Jacob, so that his old age does not descend with illness into hell. So, I adjure you all by the God of our fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, by the God who first called Abraham and said: “Get out from your land, and from your kindred, and from your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you” (Gen. 12:1), and I will give and multiply your seed like the stars of heaven and like the sand at the end of the sea, which has no number; I conjure by the Almighty God, who gave Abraham the patience to sacrifice his only begotten son Isaac with all zeal, so that this patience would be credited to Abraham as praise; I conjure by God, who delivered Isaac from death and gave a ram in his place as an acceptable burnt offering; I conjure by the Holy God, who gave the blessing to Jacob from the mouth of Isaac his father; I conjure by God, who went with Jacob to Haran, to Mesopotamia, from where Abraham came; I conjure by God, who delivered Jacob from sorrows and promised to give him a blessing: may I not lose Jacob, as I lost Rachel, may he not cry for me, as he cried for Rachel, may the eyes of Jacob, who is waiting to see my return to him, not be darkened again. Send me to Jacob my father, take my tears, and send me to him.” So he conjured his fathers with God, but the cruel ones threw him into a ditch, neither fearing God nor respecting the oath, although he hugged everyone’s feet and wet the footprints of his brothers with tears, crying out and saying: “Have mercy on me, brothers.” Joseph, thrown into a deserted ditch, mourned himself and his father Jacob with pitiful tears, bursting into tears with unspeakable sighs. He said this: “Look, Father Jacob, what happened to your son; Here I am thrown into the ditch like a dead man. So you, parent, expect me to return to you, but now I am lying in a ditch like a murderer. You yourself, parent, told me: “Go and visit your brothers and come back quickly,” and so they became like fierce wolves and with anger separated me from you, good parent. You will not see me again, you will not hear my voice, your old age will no longer rely on me. And I will not see your holy gray hairs, because I am no better than a buried dead man. Weep, parent, your child, and your son will cry for his father, because in childhood he was separated from your presence. Who will give me a prophetic dove so that it can retell my cry to your old age? I, parent, will no longer have tears and sighs, my voice has weakened, and I have no helper. Oh, land, land that cried out to the Holy God about the righteous Abel, unrighteously killed (as there is a tradition from the ancestors of the fathers that the land cried out to God about the blood of the righteous), you now cry out to Jacob my father, and clearly tell him what happened to me from my brothers.” And the cruel ones, as soon as they threw Joseph into the ditch, sat down to eat and drink with joy. Just as another exalts himself after defeating an enemy, so they reclined at the table with joy of heart. When they were eating and drinking in joy, they suddenly raised their eyes and saw that Ishmaelite merchants were coming, heading to Egypt, and carrying incense on camels. And the brothers say to each other: “It is much better to give us Joseph to these foreign merchants; let him go and die on someone else’s side, and our hand will not be on our brother.” And he, his own brother, was taken out of the ditch like wild animals, and, taking a price for him, he was given to the merchants, not remembering the grief and sorrow of his father. The merchants, continuing their journey, came along the road to the place of the hippodrome, where Rachel’s coffin was, for Rachel died there “on the way of the hippodrome” when Jacob was returning from Mesopotamia (Gen. 35:19). How quickly Joseph saw the coffin of his mother Rachel, flowing, fell on the top of the tomb and, raising his voice, wept in tears, and in the grief of his soul he cried out, saying: “Rachel, Rachel, my mother, arise from the dust and look at Joseph, whom you loved, what happened to him: behold, betrayed like a villain, he is taken captive to Egypt into the hands of others. My brothers stripped me naked and sold me into slavery, but Jacob did not know that I was sold. Open to me, my mother, your coffin and take me into your grave: let this coffin be one bed for me and for you. Accept, Rachel, your child, so as not to die a violent death; accept, mother, me, who lost Jacob just as suddenly as he lost you in childhood. Hear, my mother, the sighs of my heart and take me into your coffin, because my eyes are no longer able to shed tears and my soul is no longer able to weep and sigh. Rachel, Rachel, do you not hear the voice of your son Joseph? Here they are forcibly taking me away, don’t you really want to accept me? I called Jacob, and he did not hear my voice; So I’m calling on you too, don’t you hear me? Here I will die on your grave, so that I will not go to a foreign land as a villain!” When the Ishmaelites, who took Joseph, saw that he went and fell with his face on the tomb of his mother Rachel, then they all said to each other in one voice: “This young man wants to perform magic on us so that he can leave us, and we will not know how he will become invisible among us. Therefore, let’s take him and tie him up as a precaution so that he doesn’t blind us all.” And, approaching him, they said to him threateningly: “Finally, get up and stop performing magic, otherwise, by beating you at the tomb, we will lose the money given for you.” When he stood up, then everyone saw that his face was burning with bitter crying, and everyone began to condescendingly ask: “What are you crying about? For you are very worried, as soon as you saw this coffin, coming to the path of this hippodrome. Feel free to tell us, putting aside fear: what is your trade and what are you sold for? Those shepherds, when they handed you over, told us: hold him tightly so that he doesn’t leave you on the road, we are not responsible for this, for, behold, we told you in advance. So, tell us in detail: whose slave are you? Those shepherds or some other free person? And tell us why you fell on the tomb with such ardor? We bought you and became your masters, tell us everything about yourself. If you hide this from us, then who can you announce it to? You are our slave, do you really think, as those shepherds told us, to run away as soon as we loosen our watch over you? But calm down and tell us frankly, what is your occupation? It seems to us that you are a free person, we will treat you not as a slave, but as a brother and beloved son. For we see in your behavior a lot of freedom and a lot of knowledge. You are worthy, young man, to stand before the king and be held in high esteem by the nobles; your beauty will soon bring you into great splendor, honor and power, and you will be our friend and acquaintance where we bring you, so that you can live there in joy. For who would not love such a youth, who is so beautiful in appearance, so noble and wise?” Joseph, sighing, answered them: “I was neither a slave nor a sorcerer, nor was I given into your hands because I had failed in anything. But I was my father’s favorite son, and also my mother’s dearest son. These same shepherds are my brothers; my father sent me to see them and find out about their health. A tender parent took care of them, as they slowed down for some time on the mountains, which is why I was sent by my father to look at them. They, prompted by terrible envy, immediately gave me to you as a slave, separated me from my father, not tolerating the love with which my parent loved me. The local coffin is the coffin of my mother, because once my father was returning from Harran and, on his way to the place where he lives now, passed here; During my father’s journey, my mother died here and was buried in this coffin that you see.” Having heard everything, they shed tears for him, telling him: “Do not be afraid, young man, you are going to Egypt for high honors; your features show your nobility; rejoice better that you have freed yourself from the envy and hatred of the brothers who sold you to us.” Meanwhile, when the brothers gave Joseph up, they hastened to slaughter the goat and, having stained St. Joseph’s robe with its blood, they immediately sent to their father, saying: “We found this robe thrown on the mountains, and immediately recognized that this was our brother’s clothing, and everyone was sad about him; That is why, not finding our brother, we sent to you, father, a colorful robe for Joseph. Admit it yourself whether she really is your son. We all recognized that she was Joseph’s.” Jacob saw the robe and cried out with weeping and bitter lamentation, saying: “This is the robe of my son Joseph. An evil beast ate my son." Sobbing, he said with heavy sighs: “Why wasn’t I eaten instead of you, son? Why didn’t the beast meet me first, so that, having had enough of me, he could leave you to him, my son? Why wasn’t it better that this beast tore me apart, and I didn’t become food to satisfy his hunger? Alas, alas for me, my heart is tormented with sorrow for Joseph! Alas, alas for me, where is my son eaten, that I may go there and pluck out my gray hair over his beauty? I don’t want to live anymore without seeing Joseph. I myself am to blame for your death, child; He put you to death, sending you to go through the wilderness to see your brothers and the shepherds. After this I will cry, child, and I will shed tears every hour, even to hell I will go to you, my son. And instead of your body, Joseph, I will place your robe before my eyes, so that I may continually shed tears over it. And here again your robe, my son, gives rise to a new bitter lament. It is all intact, and therefore I think that it was not a beast that ate you, my dear son, but human hands that stripped and slaughtered you. If you were devoured by a beast, as your brothers say, then your robe would be torn into pieces, because it is impossible for the beast to first undress you and then feed on your flesh. If you had first stripped it again and then eaten it, then your robe would not have been stained with blood. There are no places torn by claws, no ulcers from animal teeth now on the robe. Where does the blood come from? Again, if the beast that ate Joseph was alone, how could he do all this? Here is a cry and grief for me, the lonely one, to weep for Joseph and grieve over the robe. I have two laments, two lamentations, two most bitter sorrows: about Joseph and about the robe, how it was taken from him. I will die, Joseph, my light, my support; let your robe go down to hell with me now. I don’t want to look at the world without you, my son Joseph. Let my soul not remain in me without your soul, my child Joseph!” The Ishmaelites, having taken Joseph, carefully brought him to Egypt, and together they hoped that they would receive money from some nobleman for his beauty. And when they passed through the city, Pentefry soon met them and, seeing Joseph, asked them, saying: “Tell me, merchants, where is this young man from? He doesn’t look like you, because you are all Ishmaelites, and he is beautiful.” They answered, saying: “This youth is very noble and very knowledgeable.” Having given them the price they wanted, he bought Joseph from them. And taking him into his own house, he questioned him to find out about his upbringing. As the true branch of the holy seed of the righteous Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Joseph prospered in virtue and good behavior in the house of Pentephry, in his looks and in his words every day acquiring the highest degree of chastity and constantly having before the eyes of his Holy God, the All-Seeing God of the fathers, who freed him from the ditch of death and delivered him from the hatred of his brothers. However, his heart was often overwhelmed with sorrow for his father, Saint James. Pentephry, seeing the young man’s good character, his extensive knowledge and honesty, gave everything that he had to the beautiful Joseph, as if he were his own son, and he himself did not know at all what Joseph was doing in every matter; Pentefry did not even touch this in a word, but only ate the bread at the appointed (appointed) hour. For he knew that Joseph was very faithful, especially having learned from experience that all his possessions had increased in the hands of Joseph. There was great joy for the male and female servants, who, under the supervision of Joseph, enjoyed all the blessings. But his mistress, seeing Joseph, adorned with beauty and knowledge, was wounded by love and satanic passion for him and strongly desired to be with him. She wanted to plunge this honest young man, this source of chastity, into the abyss of debauchery. Spending thousands of tricks and seducing outfits, she thought to confuse the young man; changing her clothes every hour, adding shine to her face, dressing herself in gold, with satanic glances and vile smiles, the unfortunate woman lured the holy eyes of the righteous. She assumed that with these techniques she would easily entangle her saint’s soul in a net. But Joseph, protected by the fear of God, did not even look at her. And she, seeing that many of the decorations she had invented had no effect on the righteous man, became inflamed with an even greater flame and thought deeply, not finding what else to do with him. Finally, she decided to openly challenge him to a dishonorable deed. Having waited for the time when, like an enraged asp, she would pour out all the poison of debauchery on him, she said to the saint with a shameless face: “Lie with me, do not be timid, approach me boldly, I will enjoy your beauty to satiety, and you yourself will be satiated with my beauty. You have complete authority over all the servants in the house; no one else will dare to come up to us and listen to what we are doing. If you do not agree, out of fear of my husband, then I will destroy him by giving him poison. Come to me, fulfill my desire, I am all aflame with love for you.” But this adamantite stone, both body and soul, did not shake in the soul, especially in the midst of such a storm, and, reflecting everything with the fear of God and decent, beautiful good behavior, convinced her with the word of God, telling her this: “It is not good, wife, for me to commit a sin with you, my mistress. I fear God, for behold, my lord has given all his property - both in the house and in the fields - to me, and there is nothing else under my hands except you alone, my mistress. Therefore, it is indecent for me to turn into nothing the love of such a gentleman, who loved me so much. How can I commit such a sin before God, who tests hearts and bellies?” Joseph repeated such holy words to his mistress every hour, exhorting, begging, reproaching, condemning her, but she did not accept anything Divine, like an asp, she stopped her ears and became even more inflamed from the evil lust boiling in her. Every hour she lay in wait for the chaste man in order to find a convenient time and without shame force him to sin. Joseph, seeing with what shamelessness this woman, like a beast, was advancing on him in order to corrupt him, raised his eyes to the God of his fathers and often prayed to the Most High, saying: “God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Great and Terrible, deliver me from this beast! For you yourself see, Master, the madness of the wife, how she secretly wants to kill me with dishonorable deeds, so that I die in sins with her and become completely separated from my father Jacob. You, Master, who delivered me from death in the hands of lawless brothers, also deliver me here from the rabid beast, so that in my deeds I may not be alien to my fathers, who strongly and piously loved You, Lord.” And sighing from the depths of his heart, he also called on Jacob for help, saying: “Pray yourself, parent, for your son Joseph, because a strong battle has arisen against me and can separate me from God; it is much more terrible than the death that my brothers intended to give me. Those would kill one body, but this one separates the soul from God. I know, my parent, that your prayers for me reached the Holy God, and therefore I was delivered from the ditch of death. And now also please the Almighty, so that I can get rid of this beast, who wants to corrupt your son, who has no shame in his eyes, and also no fear of God in his heart. Pray, parent, so that I, physically deprived of your womb, do not become alien to your soul. I went to my brothers, and they became like animals, like the fiercest wolves. They lured me away from you, good parent, and I was taken to Egypt into the wrong hands, but here again another beast met me. My brothers wanted to kill me in the desert, but she is trying to tear me to pieces in her bed. Pray, father, that I may not die before God and before my fathers.” Finally Joseph stopped listening to the words of his mistress. She, attacking him hourly, like a shameless asp, looked for a convenient time to find him in her bedchamber and thus commit a sin. When she found him in her bed, as she wished, she shamelessly approached the chaste and attracted him to herself, forcing him to commit iniquity. And he, seeing the woman’s excessive shamelessness, ran to escape from her. And just as an eagle, when it sees the fishermen, ascends to the sky on its wings, so Joseph fled from the bedroom so that he would not be struck by deceptive words or deeds; leaving his own clothes in the hands of his mistress, he escaped the snares of the devil. This woman, seeing that he had fled, became very angry and planned to strike the righteous man with the most vile words, intending to accuse him before her husband, so that her husband, hearing this and inflamed with jealousy, would kill Joseph. She reasoned with herself like this: “It is much better for me that Joseph dies, then I will be calm, for I cannot see such beauty in my house every hour without finding the means, openly or secretly, to possess his beauty and use his many information.” Therefore, calling the male and female slaves, she said to them: “Do you know what the Jewish slave, whom my husband put in charge of his house, did to me? He wanted to be with me shamelessly, he didn’t have enough power over my house, and he wanted to separate me from my husband.” And, taking Joseph’s robe, she showed it to her husband, complaining and saying: “Behold, you brought in a Hebrew slave to mock me and insult me, your wife. Don’t you know, my lord, that I am chaste? That’s why I told you this.” And when the husband heard this, he immediately believed his wife’s words and immediately ordered Joseph to be taken to a prison house. With many confirmations and threats, without interrogation or research, at that very moment he pronounced an unjust sentence, saying: “I order that Joseph be thrown into a prison house and not give him any relief.” But the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was with him, testing hearts and bellies, and allowed him to find compassion for himself in the eyes of the prison guard. And the guard left him alone, because God never departs from those who fear Him with all their hearts. After this, two eunuchs - the chief butler and the chief baker - committed offenses before the king, and the king ordered them to be thrown into prison; Joseph served them. When both had spent about two years in prison, a few days later both of them had dreams about what was soon to happen to them. Saint Joseph, being their servant, like noble people, went up to serve them as usual and found them in great sadness from the dreams they had seen. When he wanted to know the reason for their grief, they both told him: “We saw dreams and we are sad now, because there is no person who could interpret for us the dreams that we saw.” He tells them: “It is God’s work to reveal this to those who fear Him, but tell me your dreams, so that my God will reveal their meaning through me.” Having heard this, the chief butler and the chief baker told their dreams, and Joseph in a few words explained to them all the details of what the king would do to them. This is how everything came true, namely: the chief cupbearer was restored to his former rank, and the chief baker was put to death by the king. Joseph, foreknowledge of the future honor of the chief cupbearer, asked him, saying: “Remind Pharaoh of me and do not hesitate to explain to him my whole matter, so that I can get out of here. I have not sinned in anything and have not done anything bad, although I am imprisoned in a prison house.” And what do you, chosen and blessed seed, seek from mortal man? Having left God, do you beg man? Have you already experienced God’s intercession in so many labors, when have you kept the robe of your chastity clean? Why are you faint-hearted, blessed one? God intends to give you the Kingdom and glory when it pleases Him. If you bravely endure temptation, your crowns of victory will be even brighter! But in order for the interpretation of both dreams to be fulfilled, as Joseph said, three days later Pharaoh instituted a feast for all his nobles, remembering also the chief baker and the chief cupbearer; He called the butler to his place, and put the baker to death. But the chief butler forgot about Joseph. After two years, according to the Providence of God, Pharaoh saw wonderful dreams that exceeded the entire mind of the sages and magicians of Egypt. Pharaoh called all the wise men and announced his dreams to them, but no one could tell the signs of them. And since the king was in great sadness, the chief butler remembered Joseph and reported in detail to the king about him and his mind. Hearing this, the king was very happy and solicitously called him to his place. When Joseph came from prison, Pharaoh said to him in front of his nobles: “I heard about you that you are a reasonable man, you can judge meaningful dreams.” Joseph answered Pharaoh: “To the Giver of wisdom belongs the interpretation of dreams.” And Pharaoh spoke his dreams in the presence of Joseph and in the presence of all his nobles, and immediately heard the interpretation of the dreams from the mouth of Joseph and from the mouth of God. And Pharaoh was surprised at Joseph’s knowledge and his excellent advice, because Joseph advised him, saying: “Seek for yourself, O king, some intelligent and wise man and assign him to gather the wheat of Egypt, so that when the great famine comes, there will be much fruit in store for the time of trouble.” And the king said: “From this day on, I will put you over all Egypt as the one who gave such advice, and from your mouth let Egypt and my whole house accept judgment.” Then Joseph sat down on his chariot, and all the nobles went ahead and around Joseph. Pentefry, who had previously thrown Joseph into prison, seeing this extraordinary miracle - Joseph on Pharaoh's chariot, was very frightened and, inconspicuously separating from the nobles, hastily came to his house and with great fear said to his wife: “Have you, wife, seen an extraordinary miracle? Great fear threatens us, because this our servant Joseph has become master over us and over all Egypt, and behold, he sits with glory on Pharaoh’s chariot, and everyone gives him honor as a king. I couldn’t see this and left inconspicuously.” Pentefriev’s wife, having heard everything, encouraged him, saying: “I’ll tell you my sin: I did it. I, having fallen in love with the chaste and beautiful Joseph, every hour relentlessly drew him into the net with many caresses, so that I could be with him and enjoy his beauty, but I could not achieve my goal. He didn’t deign me to say a word, I even once held him back, forcing him to be at least a little favorable to me, but he ran out of the house. This was when I showed you his clothes. And so I brought him the kingdom and great glory. If I had not loved Joseph so much, he would not have been thrown into the prison house; He also owes me gratitude, as the culprit of his glory. Joseph is righteous and holy, because he who was slandered did not reveal this to anyone. Therefore, get up now, go with joy and bow to him along with the nobles.” Pentephry stood up and went to bow respectfully to Joseph. Meanwhile, all the years of great fertility ended, hunger intensified throughout the land of Canaan; Jacob and his children were sad. Jacob heard that there was fruit in great abundance in Egypt and said to his sons: “Get together, go and buy us the fruits of Egypt, which I have heard about, so that we do not die of hunger.” Having received the order, all ten sons of Jacob went to buy bread, not knowing that their brother was there. How quickly Joseph saw his brothers, recognized them all and said angrily: “These ten men are crafty spies, that’s why they came to Egypt; take them and bind them tightly, because they came here to spy on our land.” They were in awe and answered him with fear with these words: “Let this not happen, sir! We are all brothers, children of one righteous father; We were once twelve in number, but one was killed by an evil beast. He was wonderful and the most beloved of his father, his father still cries for him to this day. Our other brother and our father are now in the land of Canaan comforting him.” But Joseph again answered them with anger, saying: “Because I fear and honor the Holy God, I do you this favor. Take the wheat, go quickly to your father, if you are telling the truth, and bring your brother, whom your father loves, here to me. Then only I will believe you.” Taking the wheat, they went, sad, to their father in the land of Canaan and informed him of the unpleasant interrogations he had made and of the man’s anger. And their father was extremely saddened by these words and, sighing, said: “Why did you do this? Why did you tell the ruler of Egypt that you have another brother here?” They answered him: “He himself asked about us and about our kinship in all detail.” Jacob says to them: “I would rather die than let you take Benjamin from my bosom.” When hunger began to overcome him, Jacob said to them: “If, as you say, I need to lose Rachel’s children and lose my most beloved sons, then get up, take the gifts and your brother in your hands and go together.” They did as Jacob ordered them. And when they came to Egypt in great fear, then everyone bowed down to Joseph. Joseph, as soon as he saw his brother Benjamin, standing before him in fear and fear, his heart was greatly alarmed, he wanted to hug and kiss his brother, and asked him: “Is his father alive?” The brother says to him with fear: “As your servant, our father, lives.” Joseph also asks him: “Is Joseph still in his heart?” He answered: “Yes, my heart is very much in my heart, it still burns with love for him.” Since Joseph could not hug him and question him further, he went to the bed and wept bitterly. For at that hour, when he saw his brother, he immediately brought to mind the wonderful old age of Jacob and said with tears: “Blessed are those who look at the holy features of your old age, good parent! Alas for me, my whole kingdom and glory are not worth your old age, wonderful parent! I wanted to be sure from Benjamin’s lips whether you hold me in your heart and whether you love me as I love you, so by cunning I forced my brothers to bring my brother Benjamin with them. For I did not believe them what they said about you, that they had a father and a younger brother; I thought that, prompted by envy, they killed your most beloved son, the younger Benjamin, just as they killed me in their willfulness, and in greater sorrow they brought your soul down to hell. For they hated both of us, because Benjamin and I were of the same mother. I know, parent, that you were very sad about us, and now your old age is extremely sorry for my brother Benjamin. So I am very sick, imagining your sorrow, because none of us serves your old age. Your previous crying for me was not enough, but I added another cry to your cry, parent. I am guilty of your sobs and lamentations, because I acted cruelly by calling Benjamin here; but the rumor about you forced me to do this, I wanted to find out if my father was really alive. Who will let me see your holy features again and be satisfied with the vision of your angelic face? Having cried so bitterly in the spoon and washed his face, he comes out cheerful; He orders everyone to be brought into the house to share a meal with him. Listen, my brothers, how Joseph makes them all afraid. He ordered each of them to lie down, calling each by name and order of birth, and to each he showed that he could guess him by the vessel, and that was a silver cup, which he held in his hand. Having set the cup down, he struck it with the finger of his right hand, and after the strike the vessel made a loud sound for the hearing of those present in the house. Then, striking once, he said: “First Reuben, let him lie down first in the place of honor.” Having struck again, he proclaimed to them the second, saying: “The second is Simeon, let him lie down by birth.” Having struck a third time, he said: “Let Levi lie down and receive honor.” So he placed everyone at the table, calling them by name and in order. By this he brought them into horror and great fear; Why, they reasoned, does he know everyone? The cup made them especially timid, and they thought, each saying to the other: “Doesn’t he know from this that we told him falsely before, that Joseph was killed by an evil beast?” And therefore they were in great excitement. But so that they would not be suspicious, Joseph gives them portions from his own meal, and large portions to his brother Benjamin; I gave him ten times more than others. Why does Joseph do this to his brothers and announce the name of each one by cup? In order to make their guilt more severe. Then he ordered his steward to give them full sacks of wheat without payment, and Veniaminov secretly put the cup into the sack. And soon he releases them with joy. When they, rejoicing, walked a little away from the city, the steward of Joseph overtook them on the road, uttered heavy words to them, showered them with threats, calling them thieves and unworthy of the honor shown to them. They answered the steward: “And we found the old gold in our sacks and brought it to our lord. Could your master's cup be stolen now? Let this not happen!” The steward told them: “Put your bags away so that I can search.” And they hastily took the sacks off the beasts of burden, and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. Seeing this, they tore their clothes and with many threats began to blame and insult Rachel, and together with their mother and brother, Joseph, saying: “You have become a temptation to our father, both you and Joseph, the children of Rachel; Joseph wanted to reign over us, and you, his brother, even brought us to shame and reproach. Are you not the children of Rachel, who stole idols from her father and said that she did not steal?” Benjamin, raising his voice, with sobbing and lamentation began to confirm each of them and say: “Behold, God Himself knows our fathers, Who took Rachel to Himself when it pleased Him, Who knew the death of the beautiful Joseph, Who watches over Jacob with consolations in separation from Joseph and now also invisibly consoles him with the means that He only knows, Who sees everything in each of us, tests hearts and wombs. He Himself knows that I did not steal this cup, as you say, and I had no such thought about it. So that I might not see Jacob’s holy gray hair, so that I might not kiss his knees with joy, I did not steal that cup! Alas, alas for me, Rachel! What happened to your children? Joseph the beautiful, as they say, was killed by wild beasts, but I, mother, suddenly became a thief and I don’t know how. On the other side I remain in slavery! Joseph, devoured by a beast in the desert, cried out to find a deliverer for himself, but did not find one. Here I am, a wonderful mother, assuring my brothers, but no one listens, no one believes your son.” And they returned to the city to Joseph, not knowing how to justify themselves. Joseph answered them with anger: “Such and such a reward for my good deeds? Is this why I honored you, so that you would take away my cup in which I speak magic? Didn’t I tell you that you are not peaceful people, but spies? But out of the fear of God I do this: I keep the one who stole this cup of mine in slavery, but you go safe.” And one of them, named Judas, stepped forward, knelt down and began to beg, saying: “Do not be angry, sir, and let me speak the word. You yourself asked us, your servants, saying: Do you have a father or a brother? And we said that we have a father, your servant, who had two sons, most and especially loved by him before us; one was torn to pieces by a beast on the mountains, and his father mourns him every hour, and to this day he is in grief and lamentation, one can almost say that the earth itself is crying at his voice. He keeps another son with him as a consolation instead of the first son, and now, as you ordered, we brought my brother, but we, your servants, found ourselves in a cruel injustice. I ask you, let me be your servant instead of this youth; only let him return with his brothers to his father, because I took him into my own hands from my father and without him I cannot return to my father, otherwise I will see the bitter death of my father.” Joseph, having listened to the plaintive words and seeing them all standing in shame, and Benjamin, who had torn his robe and was falling in tears at the knees of those present, so that they would appease Joseph for him, allowed him to go with his brothers, extremely embarrassed and touched to the depths of his heart. And he hastily ordered those who were here to leave. And when everyone came out, raising their voices, Joseph said to them with tears, freely in the Hebrew dialect: “I am Joseph, your brother. I am not eaten by a beast, as you say. I was naked by you and thrown into a ditch. I was sold to the Ishmaelites, although I hugged your knees and feet; then no one had mercy on me in such sorrow, but you treated me like wild animals. However, let none of you, my brothers, indulge in fear and fear, but on the contrary: it is better for you to rejoice like me, because I reign. And as before they told our father that I was killed by a beast on the mountains, so when you return, tell Jacob again, saying: Joseph your son lives, and behold he sits on the chariot of the kingdom of Egypt.” At these words from Joseph to the brothers, they were as if they were dead from fear and fear. Joseph, Jacob's branch, kissed each of them with love, not remembering evil, as was fitting for him, and consoled them with gifts and great joy. And he sent them all to Jacob, saying this: “Do not quarrel in any way on the way, but rather go with haste to your father and tell him: “This says your son Joseph, God will make me” king of all Egypt (Gen. 45:9), come, father, with gladness of heart, so that I can see the angelic face of your old age.” And returning with haste, they told Jacob the words of Joseph, as they had been commanded. Jacob, hearing the name of Joseph, sighed bitterly and, crying, said to them: “Why do you disturb my spirit so that I remember the features of the beautiful Joseph, and want to kindle the sadness that has gradually faded away in my heart?” And Benjamin, coming up and kissing his knees and brads, said: “These words are fair, good parent.” And he showed him everything that Joseph had sent. And then I believed Veniaminov’s words. And he rose up with all his household, and went carefully and with great joy to Egypt to Joseph his son. And Joseph heard that Jacob his father had arrived, and he rose up with great joy, and went out of the city with Pharaoh's officials, and met him there with great humility. How quickly Jacob saw Joseph, his son, and fell on his neck with great love, saying: “Now I will die after I have seen your face, sweetest child, for indeed you are still alive.” And both of them glorified God. For all this, let us send glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. To him be glory and power, honor and worship now and always, and forever and ever! Amen. You might be interested in: