SEV Biblia, Chapter 44:5
ÂżNo es ésta en la que bebe mi seńor, y por la que suele adivinar? Habéis hecho mal en lo que hicisteis.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Genesis 44:5
Verse 5. Whereby-he divineth?] Divination by cups has been from time immemorial prevalent among the Asiatics; and for want of knowing this, commentators have spent a profusion of learned labour upon these words, in order to reduce them to that kind of meaning which would at once be consistent with the scope and design of the history, and save Joseph from the impeachment of sorcery and divination. I take the word jn nachash here in its general acceptation of to view attentively, to inquire. Now there has been in the east a tradition, the commencement of which is lost in immemorial time, that there was a CUP, which had passed successively into the hands of different potentates, which possessed the strange property of representing in it the whole world, and all the things which were then doing in it. The cup is called jami Jemsheed, the cup of Jemsheed, a very ancient king of Persia, whom late historians and poets have confounded with Bacchus, Solomon, Alexander the Great, &c. This CUP, filled with the elixir of immortality, they say was discovered when digging to lay the foundations of Persepolis. The Persian poets are full of allusions to this cup, which, from its property of representing the whole world and its transactions, is styled by them jam jehan nima, ""the cup showing the universe;"" and to the intelligence received by means of it they attribute the great prosperity of their ancient monarchs, as by it they understood all events, past, present, and to come. Many of the Mohammedan princes and governors affect still to have information of futurity by means of a cup. When Mr. Norden was at Derri in the farthest part of Egypt, in a very dangerous situation, an ill-natured and powerful Arab, in a threatening way, told one of their people whom they sent to him that ""he knew what sort of people they were, for he had consulted his cup, and found by it that they were those of whom one of their prophets had said, that Franks (Europeans) would come in disguise; and, passing everywhere, examine the state of the country; and afterwards bring over a great number of other Franks, conquer the country, and exterminate all."" By this we see that the tradition of the divining cup still exists, and in the very same country too in which Joseph formerly ruled. Now though it is not at all likely that Joseph practiced any kind of divination, yet probably, according to the superstition of those times, (for I suppose the tradition to be even older than the time of Joseph,) supernatural influence might be attributed to his cup; and as the whole transaction related here was merely intended to deceive his brethren for a short time, he might as well affect divination by his cup, as he affected to believe they had stolen it. The steward therefore uses the word jn nachash in its proper meaning: Is not this it out of which my lord drinketh, and in which he inspecteth accurately? ver. 5. And hence Joseph says, ver. 15: Wot ye not - did ye not know, that such a person as I (having such a cup) would accurately and attentively look into it? As I consider this to be the true meaning, I shall not trouble the reader with other modes of interpretation.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-17 - Joseph tried how his brethren felt towards Benjamin. Had they envie and hated the other son of Rachel as they had hated him, and if the had the same want of feeling towards their father Jacob as heretofore they would now have shown it. When the cup was found upon Benjamin they would have a pretext for leaving him to be a slave. But we cannot judge what men are now, by what they have been formerly; nor what the will do, by what they have done. The steward charged them with being ungrateful, rewarding evil for good; with folly, in taking away the cu of daily use, which would soon be missed, and diligent search made for it; for so it may be read, Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, a having a particular fondness for it, and for which he would searc thoroughly? Or, By which, leaving it carelessly at your table, he woul make trial whether you were honest men or not? They throw themselve upon Joseph's mercy, and acknowledge the righteousness of God, perhap thinking of the injury they had formerly done to Joseph, for which the thought God was now reckoning with them. Even in afflictions wherein we believe ourselves wronged by men, we must own that God is righteous and finds out our sin.
Original Hebrew
הלוא 3808 זה 2088 אשׁר 834 ישׁתה 8354 אדני 113 בו והוא 1931 נחשׁ 5172 ינחשׁ 5172 בו הרעתם 7489 אשׁר 834 עשׂיתם׃ 6213
