Yosef's Treatment of his Family/2
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Yosef's Treatment of his Family
Exegetical Approaches
Yosef Concerned over his Brothers
Testing his Brothers
Sources:Jubilees, Philo, Josephus, R. Shemuel b. Chofni Gaon, R. Yonah #2, Sefer HaYashar, Akeidat Yitzchak, Abarbanel #2, Seforno, Biur
Why did Yosef not contact Yaakov immediately?
"כִּי נַשַּׁנִי אֱלֹהִים אֶת כָּל עֲמָלִי וְאֵת כָּל בֵּית אָבִי"
Accusation of espionage
Initial returning of their payment
Favoring Binyamin
Second returning of payment
Framing an innocent person?
"הָאֱלֹהִים מָצָא אֶת עֲוֹן עֲבָדֶיךָ"
Assisting his Brother's Repentance
Yosef inflicted suffering on his brothers in order to help them attain penance for their crimes.
Measure for measure – Abarbanel and the commentators who follow in his footsteps1 note that the uncomfortable situations in which Yosef placed his brothers correlate to the experiences which they caused him to endure.
Why did Yosef not contact Yaakov immediately? According to the Keli Yekar, Yosef felt that if Hashem had not revealed his whereabouts to Yaakov, it must be because He wanted Yaakov to suffer. Yaakov deserved punishment for having himself been away from his father for twenty-two years, and thus needed to be punished by not seeing Yosef for the same length of time.
"כִּי נַשַּׁנִי אֱלֹהִים אֶת כָּל עֲמָלִי וְאֵת כָּל בֵּית אָבִי" – According to this approach these words of Yosef do not reflect a detachment from his family. Rather, as Seikhel Tov, and the Tzeror HaMor explain, Yosef is merely stating that, with his rise to power, he has forgotten the hardships his family had caused him to endure.
Accusation of espionage – Abarbanel and the Keli Yakar maintain that the brothers sinned in suspecting Yosef of tattle-bearing2 and thus Yosef slandered them as spies.
Returning of payments – The Ma'asei Hashem asserts that Yosef did this positive deed so that the brothers would later realize that his actions were not motivated by revenge and hatred, but the sincere desire that their sins would be atoned.
Imprisonment of Brothers/Shimon – This was to punish the brothers for throwing him into the pit.3
Bringing of Binyami
Favoring Binyamin – This position might suggest that Yosef was simply showing his love for his brother. As Binyamin had played no part in the sale he did not deserve any punishment.
Bringing Binyamin – Abarbanel poists that Yosef might have simply wished to see his brother whom he had left so long ago. In addition, this was to enable his farming afterwards. [See bullet below.]
Framing Binyamin – The plot of hiding the goblet was aimed at getting the brothers to declare themselves slaves, as penance for selling Yosef into slavery. Tzeror Hamor points out they are similarly accused of theft since they had "stolen" Yosef.4
Framing an innocent person? Since Binyamin alone did not participate in the sale, it is not clear why he deserved to suffer, especially as it wold seem that Yosef could have accomplished the goal by framing any of the brothers. This approach might suggest, as does -- that Yosef actually told Binyamin in advance what he planned to do so that he did not suffer from the accusation.
"הָאֱלֹהִים מָצָא אֶת עֲוֹן עֲבָדֶיךָ" – Seikhel Tov implies that the brothers recognized that they were suffering for the sin of selling Yosef as a slave.
