CHAP. XII.
Intitled, Joseph
[a]
; revealed at Mecca.
In the name of the most merciful God.
[a] 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.
[1] Al Beidawi.
[b] See the Prelim. Disc. p. 59, &c.
[c] This Korân;] 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.
[2] Prelim. Disc. §. III. p. 56.
[d] One of the negligent;] 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
[e] His father;] Who was Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham [3] .
[3] Al Beidawi, &c.
[a] Eleven stars;] 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 [1] .
[1] Idem, Al Zamakhshari.
[b] Lest they devise some plot against thee;] 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.
[c] The interpretation of dark sayings;] That is, of dreams; or, as others suppose, of the profound passages of scripture, and all difficulties respecting either religion or justice.
[d] His brother;] viz. Benjamin, his brother by the same mother.
[e] The face of your father shall be cleared towards you;] Or, he will settle his love wholly upon you, and ye will have no rival in his favour.
[f] One of them, &c.] 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 [2] . 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 [3] ; 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 [4] .
[2] Idem.
[3] Gen. xxxvii. 21, 22.
[4] ibid. v. 26, 27.
[g] That he may divert himself, &c.] Some copies read, in the first person plural, that we may divert ourselves, &c.
[h] Lest the wolf devour him;] 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 [5] .
[5] Al Beidawi, Jallalo’ddin, Al Zamakhshari.
[i] We shall be weak indeed;] i.e. It will be an instance of extreme weakness and folly in us, and we shall be justly blamed for his loss.
[k] At the bottom of the well.] 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 (tho’ 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] .
[1] Iidem.
[a] We sent a revelation unto him.] 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] .
[2] See chap. 21.
[3] Al Beidawi, Al Zamakhshari.
[b] And ran races, &c.] These races they used by way of exercise; and the commentators generally understand here that kind of race wherein they also shewed their dexterity in throwing darts, which is still used in the east.
[c] Ye yourselves have contrived the thing, &c.] This Jacob had reason to suspect, because, when the garment was brought to him, he observed that, tho’ it was bloody, yet it was not torn [4] .
[4] Al Beidawi.
[d] Certain travellers;] viz. A caravan or company travelling from Midian to Egypt, who rested near the well three days after Joseph had been thrown into it.
[e] They sent one to draw water, &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] .
[5] Idem.
[f] He let down his bucket;] And Joseph, making use of the opportunity, took hold of the cord, and was drawn up by the man.
[g] Good news!] 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.
[h] They concealed him, &c.] 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 befal him; and at length they agreed to sell him to them [6] .
[6] Idem.
[a] They sold him for a mean price, &c.] 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] .
[1] Al Beidawi.
[b]
The Egyptian who bought him;] 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.
[2] Idem.
[c] His wife;] Some call her Raïl; but the name she is best known by is that of Zoleikha.
[d] Or we may adopt him;] 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.
[e] My lord;] viz. Kitfîr. But others understand it to be spoken of God.
[f]
Had he not seen the evident demonstration of his Lord;] 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 posses him.
For they say, that he was so far tempted with his mistress’s beauty and inticing behaviour, that he sat in her lap, and even began to undress
himself, when a voice called to him, and bid him beware of her; but he taking no notice of his admonition, tho’ 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 pinion is that it was apparition of his father Jacob,
who bit hs fingers ends, or as some write, struck him on the breast, whereupon his lubricity passed out at the end 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
design to lye with mistress, from these words of Moses
[5]
, And it came to pass - that Joseph went into the house to do his business, &c.
[3] Idem, Al Zamakhshari, Jallalo’ddin, Yahya.
[4] Talm. Babyl. Sed. Nashim. p. 36. V. Bartolocc. Bibl. Rabb. part. 3. p. 509.
[5] Genes. xxxiv. II.
[g] They ran to the door;] He flying from her, and she running after to detain him.
[h] And a witness of her family;] viz. A cousin of hers, who was then a child in the cradle [6] .
[6] Supra citati interpretes.
[a] Certain women;] 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 jailor, and his herdsman [1] .
[1] Al Beidawi.
[b] She sent unto them;] The number of all the women invited was forty, and among them were the five ladies above mentioned [2] .
[2] Idem.
[c] They praised him greatly;] 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! Erpenius [3] 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, tho’ the subjoining of the pronoun to it here (which possibly the Latin translators did not observe) absolutely overthrows that interpretation.
[3] In not. ad Hist. Josephi.
[d] They cut their own hands;] 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.
[e] It seemed good unto them;] 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; tho’ her real design was to force him to compliance.
[f] Two of the king’s servants;] viz. His chief butler and baker; who were accused of a design to poison him.
[g] One of them;] Namely, the butler.
[a] 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;] The meaning of this passage seems to be, either that Joseph, to shew 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.
[b] See c. 7. p. 123. not. g.
[c] But the devil caused him to forget to make mention of Joseph unto his lord;] 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] .
[1] Al Beidawi.
[d] Some years;] The original word signifying any number from three to nine or ten, the common opinion is that Joseph remained in prison seven years, tho’ some say he was confined no less than twelve years [2] .
[2] Idem, Jallalo’ddin.
[e] The king of Egypt;] 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] .
[3] See the Prelim. Disc. p. 8.
[4] Al Beidawi. See chap. 7. p. 128. not. a.
[a] Ye shall reap, do ye leave in its ear, &c.] To preserve it from the weevil [1] .
[1] Idem.
[b] Wherein men shall have plenty of rain, &c.] Notwithstanding what some ancient authors write to the contrary [2] , 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 [3] . In the upper Egypt, indeed, towards the cataracts of Nile, it rains very seldom [4] . 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.
[2] Plato, in Timæo. Pomp. Mela.
[3] Nat. Quæst. l. 4.
[4] See Greaves’s Descr. of the Pyramids. p. 74, &c. Ray’s Collection of Travels, T. 2. p. 92.
[c] Return unto thy lord, and ask of him, &c.] Joseph, it seems, cared not to get out of prison till his innocence was publickly 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 [5] .
[5] Al Beidawi.
[d] The snare which they laid for me;] Endeavouring both by threats and persuasion to entice me to commit folly with my mistress.
[e] Neither do I absolutely justify my self;] 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 lye with her? Upon which Joseph confessed his frailty [6] .
[6] Idem, &c.
[a] And when Joseph was brought unto the king, &c.] 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 [1] . 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 [2] .
[1] Idem, Kitab Tafasir, &c.
[2] V. D’Herbelot. Bibl. Orient. Art. Jousouf.
[b] Moreover Joseph’s brethren came, &c.] 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 [3] . 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, tho’ 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 desart. 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 [4] .
[3] V. Golii not. in Alfragan. p. 175, &c. Kircher. Oedip. Ægypt vol. 1. p. 8. Lucas, Voy. t. ii. p. 205, & tom. iii. p. 53.
[4] Al Beidawi.
[a] Their money;] 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 [1] ,
[1] Al Beidawi.
[b] This is a small quantity.] 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.
[a] He received his brother Benjamin as his guest, &c.] 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] .
[1] Al Beidawi.
[b] His cup;] 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.
[c] Ye well know that we come not to act corruptly, &c.] Both by our behaviour among you, and our bringing again our money, which was returned to us without our knowledge.
[d] Thus do we reward those who are guilty of theft;] This was the method of punishing theft used by Jacob and his family; for among the Egyptians it was punished in another manner.
[e] He began by their sacks, &c.] 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.
[f] It was not lawful for him to take his brother for a bondman of Egypt;] For there the thief was not reduced to servitude, but was scourged, and obliged to restore the double of what he had stolen [2] .
[2] Idem, Jallalo’ddin.
[g] His brother Joseph hath been guilty of theft heretofore;] 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 [1] .
[1] Jallalo’ddin.
[a] The elder of them;] viz. Reuben. But some think Simeon or Judah to be here meant; and instead of the elder, interpret it, the most prudent of them.
[b] Peradventure God will restore them all, &c.] i.e. Joseph, Benjamin, and Simeon.
[c] His eyes became white;] 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 [2] .
[2] Al Beidawi.
[d] I know by revelation from God that which ye know not;] viz. That Joseph is yet alive, of which some tell us he was assured by the angel of death in a dream; tho’ 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 [3] .
[3] Idem.
[e] A small sum of money;] 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 [4] .
[4] Idem.
[a] Do ye know what ye did unto Joseph and his brother, &c.] 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] .
[1] Idem.
[b] Art thou really Joseph?] 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 shewed in smiling, or else by putting off his tiara, and discovering a whitish mole on his forehead [2] .
[2] Idem.
[c] My inner garment;] 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] .
[3] Idem, Jallalo’ddin.
[d] I perceive the smell of Joseph;] 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] .
[4] Idem.
[5] Jallalo’ddin.
[e] Thou art in thy old mistake;] Being led into this imagination by the excessive love of Joseph.
[f] The messenger of good tidings;] 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] .
[6] Al Beidawi.
[g] I will surely ask pardon for you, &c.] Deferring it, as some fancy, till he should see Joseph, and have his consent.
[h]
His parents,] 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.
[7] Idem, See Genes. xxxvii. 10.
[a] And he raised his parents to the seat of state, and they, together with his brethren, fell down and did obeisance unto him.] 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] .
[1] Idem.
[b] 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] .
[2] Idem.
[c] Without being also guilty of idolatry;] 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.
[d] Of those who dwelt in cities;] 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] .
[3] Idem. See the Prelim. Disc. §. I. p. 30.