“Suppose again that you should find him and his master should refuse to sell or deliver him to you under any circumstances, what would you do in such a case?”
“In such a case,” they answered, “if neither prayers nor money should prove of avail, we would rescue our brother by violence: aye, even the death of his master, and flee with him to our father’s house.”
“It is as I have said,” retorted Joseph; “ye are spies; lo, with evil designs upon the inhabitants of our city ye have come. We have heard and know indeed how ye killed all the males of Shechem in the land of Canaan on your sister’s account, and now ye would treat the men of Egypt in the same way for the sake of a brother. But yet we will give ye an opportunity to prove yourselves true men. Send one of your number to your father’s house to bring hither the youngest brother of whom you have spoken. If ye will do this, I shall know that you have spoken truly. Take three days to consider.”
And in obedience to Joseph’s commands his brothers were held in ward for three days.
After this time the brothers concluded to leave one of their number as a hostage, while the others returned to Canaan to bring Benjamin down to Egypt. So Menasseh, the son of Joseph, chose Simeon as the hostage, and he was kept in ward.
Ere his brothers departed, Joseph spoke to them once more. “Take heed,” said he, “that ye forget not my commands. If ye bring this brother to me, I shall consider ye true men, and ye shall be free to traffic in the land; neither will I do harm to your brother; he shall be at liberty to return with ye to your father’s house in peace.”
They bowed down to the ground and departed from Egypt. As they proceeded upon their homeward journey, they stopped at an inn to feed their asses, and Levi opened his sack to provide the corn for the meal. And lo, when he opened the sack, his money which he had paid for the corn was lying on the top. And he was exceedingly afraid, and he told the thing to his brethren, and they, too, were filled with alarm. And when every man found his money returned they cried aloud:
“What is this that God has done to us? Has the Lord withdrawn from us the mercy which He showed to our ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, that He has given us into the hands of Egypt’s prince to mock us and make merry with us?”
But Judah said, “It is just! Are we not guilty and sinful before the Lord? We sold our brother, our flesh. Why should we now complain that the favour God has lavished on our ancestors is denied to us?”
“Did I not warn ye, ‘sin not against the child?’” said Reuben, “and ye would not hearken to my words. His blood is upon us. Why do ye say, therefore, ‘Where is the kindness which the Lord promised unto our fathers?’ Verily we have forfeited His protection.”