seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Quran 12:69. And when they entered into the presence of Joseph, he embraced his brother, and said, “I am your brother; do not be saddened by what they used to do.”
70. Then, when he provided them with their provisions, he placed the drinking-cup in his brother’s saddlebag. Then an announcer called out, “O people of the caravan, you are thieves.”
71. They said, as they came towards them, “What are you missing?”
72. They said, “We are missing the king’s goblet. Whoever brings it will have a camel-load; and I personally guarantee it.”
73. They said, “By God, you know we did not come to cause trouble in the land, and we are not thieves.”
74. They said, “What shall be his punishment, if you are lying?”
75. They said, “His punishment, if it is found in his bag: he will belong to you. Thus we penalize the guilty.”
76. So he began with their bags, before his brother's bag. Then he pulled it out of his brother’s bag. Thus We devised a plan for Joseph; he could not have detained his brother under the king’s law, unless God so willed. We elevate by degrees whomever We will; and above every person of knowledge, there is one more learned.
77. They said, “If he has stolen, a brother of his has stolen before.” But Joseph kept it to himself, and did not reveal it to them. He said, “You are in a worse situation, and God is Aware of what you allege.”
78. They said, “O noble prince, he has a father, a very old man, so take one of us in his place. We see that you are a good person.”
79. He said, “God forbid that we should arrest anyone except him in whose possession we found our property; for then we would be unjust.”
And this is the commentary.
Though the Bible narrative ascribes the placing of the cup to Joseph, the Qur’ån does not say so. It is evident that the furnishing of provisions was not done by Joseph himself. It was somebody else who carried out the orders and furnished the provisions; from the preceding section it is clear that Joseph’s servants did so, and when he had to return the money, he had to give an order to that effect to his servants. On this occasion no such order was given. And therefore it was by the king’s servants that the king’s drinking-cup was placed in the bag of Joseph’s brother. It is not stated here whether it was done intentionally or was put there by mistake; the words may imply either.
Was it not one of Joseph’s own brethren who did this act so that Benjamin might also be removed from Jacob? There is a clear hint to this possibility in v. 77, where Joseph accuses them of having done some guilty deed: “You are in an evil condition”, and a still clearer hint in v. 89, where Joseph says: “Do you know how you treated Joseph and his brother, when you were ignorant?” Besides the episode of the cup, there is nothing in the Holy Qur’ån to show that they were guilty of any mischief against Benjamin. I am therefore strongly of opinion that it was one of Joseph’s own brethren who put the cup in Benjamin’s bag, so as to get him involved in trouble, and remove him from the presence of Jacob, who loved him most after Joseph.
It is a mistake to suppose that the crier was the very person who had placed the cup there. As v. 72 makes it clear, it was the king’s drinking-cup; in other words it was not Joseph’s personal property, but the property of the king, or government property. It is clear that the men who provided corn were different from those who had charge of the king’s property.
This was done out of respect for that brother, for they knew that Joseph had lodged him with himself.
This makes it clear that this was not Joseph’s plan, but a Divine plan. In other words, the circumstances were made to assist Joseph to keep his brother with him. Joseph’s desire, no doubt, was to retain his brother Benjamin while the others returned; but he was unable to do so under the laws of Egypt, as is shown by what follows. This shows that one living under an alien government should abide by the laws of that government.
The brethren of Joseph made a false statement against Joseph to cast a veil over their own evil deeds. If Benjamin, they said, was a thief, so was his brother Joseph, as if they meant to say that this evil trait of character was due to the mother. There is probably a reference here to what is said in Gen. 31:19: “And Rachel had stolen the images that were her father’s”.
So.... who put the cup in Benjamin's bag? There money was put back in the bags before they went home to get Benjamin. That was on Joseph... he ordered it. But He didn't have the king's cup.
Wait... he could have had access to the king's cup. After all he was in charge of the treasury.
Maybe one of Pharaoh's men did it to get in good with Joseph. That doesn't seem likely. After all, Joseph wasn't really Egyptian.... and if Joseph was executed, that would come back on whoever put the cup in the bag.
Joseph's brothers blamed it on "genes". They said "Rachel was a thief.... so the apple doesn't fall from the tree." Rachel took some of her father's household goods when they left Laban's land to go out on their own.
At any rate.... Benjamin is in trouble. He was in a foreign land accused of theft.
Who put the cup in Benjamin's bag?
