February 6th

Joseph plants the silver cup in his brother’s sack so that they could return to him and know who he is.  In particular, it is so his brothers could truly understand what it feels like to be blamed for something that is not their fault.  His brothers despised him because Joseph was the “beloved son” and was treated better than the rest. Such treatment was not his fault, but his parents.  His brothers leashed their anger and jealousy out on him for something that was not his fault. Placing silver and gold in their sacks lets them know exactly how he felt during these times.  He was scared and felt betrayed by his brothers, which is parallel to how they felt when Joseph’s guards caught them.  

Another reason that he may have planted the cup was so that his brothers could redeem themselves.  They seemingly treat their youngest brother Benjamin better than Joseph. Joseph notes this improvement and then wants them to face him so he can be assured they are shameful of their pasts.  When the brothers are initially thrown into jail, one of them says “Alas, we are paying for the penalty for what we did to our brother; we saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen” (Anderson 14).  Joseph also does not initially listen to his brothers’ pleas regarding the famine, once again making them feel ignored just as he did. His status as the beloved son is evident when his brothers bow down to him as Pharaoh and he ultimately receives what he wants:  an apology. The beloved son was protected by the Lord and given such honor, once again what he received in the end. The Lord favored Joseph and helped him in all his endeavors of reading dreams, and for this he was beloved by many, especially his family.