camel's load of corn, and I will be surety for the same. Joseph's brethren replied, By GoD, ye do weii know, that we come not to act corruptly in the land, neither are we thieves. The Egyptians said, What shall be the reward of him, who shall appear to have stolen the cup, if ye be found liars? Joseph's brethren answered, As to the reward of him, in whose sack it shall be found, let him become a bondman in satisfaction of the same: thus do we reward the unjust, who are guilty of theft. Then he began by their sacks, before he searched the sack of his brother; and he drew out the cup from his brother's sack. Thus did we furnish Joseph with a stratagem. It was not lawful for him to take his brother for a bondman, by the law of the king of Egypt," had not GoD pleased to allow it, according to the offer of his brethren. We exalt to degrees of knowledge and honour whom we please: and there is one who is knowing above all those who are endued with knowledge. His brethren said, If Benjamin be guilty of theft, his brother Joseph hath been also guilty of theft heretofore. But Joseph concealed these things in his mind, and did not discover them unto them: and he said within himself, Ye are in a worse condition than us two; and GOD best knoweth what ye discourse about. They said unto Joseph, Noble lord, verily this lad hath an aged father; wherefore take one of us in his stead; for we perceive that thou art a beneficent person. Joseph answered, GOD forbid that we should take any other than him with whom we found our goods; for then should we certainly be unjust. And when they despaired of obtaining Benjamin, they retired to confer privately together. And the elder of them said, Do ye not know that your father hath, received a solemn promise from you, in the name of GoD, and how perfidiously ye behaved heretofore towards Joseph? Wherefore I will by no means depart the land of Egypt, until my father give me leave to return unto him, or God maketh known his will to me; for he is the best judge. Return ye to your father, and say, O father, verily thy son hath committed theft; we bear witness of no more than what we know, and we could not

* Both by our behaviour among you, and our bringing again our money which was returned to us without our knowledge.

1 This was the method of punishing theft used by Jacob and his family: for among the Egyptians it was punished in another manner.

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.

For there the thief was not reduced to servitude, but was scorged, and obliged to restore the double of what he had stolen.'

• 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 abovementioned law of the family, to be delivered to her as her property. Some, however, say, that Joseph actually stole an ido! 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.

viz. Reuben. But some think Simeon or Judah to be here meant; and instead of ta elder interpret it, the most prudent of them.

guard against what we did not foresee: and do thou inquire in the city, where we have been, and of the company of merchants, with whom we are arrived, and thou wilt find that we speak the truth. And when they were returned, and had spoken thus to their father, he said, Nay, but rather yo yourselves have contrived the thing for your own sakes but patience is most proper for me; peradventure GOD will restore them all unto me; for he is knowing and wise. And he turned from them and said, Oh how I am grieved for Joseph! And his eyes became white with mourning," he being oppressed with deep sorrow." His sons said, By GoD, thou wilt not cease to remember Joseph until thou be brought to death's door, or thou be actually destroyed by excessive affliction. He answered, I only represent my grief, which I am not able to contain, and my sorrow unto God; but I know by revelation from God that which ye know not. O my sons, go and make inquiry after Joseph and his brother; and despair not of the mercy of God; for none despaireth of God's mercy, except the unbelieving people. Wherefore Joseph's brethren returned into Egypt: and when they came into his presence, they said, Noble lord, the famine is felt by us and our family, and we are come with a small sum of money:t yet give unto us full measure, and bestow corn upon us as alms; for GoD rewardeth the almsgivers. Joseph said unto them, Do ye know what ye did unto Joseph and his brother, when ye were ignorant of the consequences thereof?" They answered, Art thou really Joseph? He replied, I am Joseph; and this my brother. Now hath God been gracious unto us. For whoso feareth God, and persevereth with patience, shall at length find relief; since GOD will not suffer the reward of the righteous to perish. They said, By Gon, now hath God chosen thee above us; and we have surely been sinners. Joseph answered, Let there be no reproach cast on you this day. GoD

is

प i. e. Joseph, Benjamin, and Simeon.

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."

* "Grief covered his countenance with paleness. His heart was full of bitterness."Savary.

viz. That Joseph is yet alive; of which some tell us he was assured by the angel of death in a dream; though 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.*

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.

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 Bubmission. 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 com mentators observe that Joseph, to excuse his brethren's behaviour towards him, attributes i to their ignorance, and the heat of youth."

They say that 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, whi h he showed in smiling, or else by putting off his tiara, and discovering a whitish mole on his forehead.' 1 Idem.

"Al Beidâwi.

• Idem.

• Idem.

10-Idem.

forgiveth you; for he is the most merciful of those who show mercy. Depart ye with this my inner garment, and throw it on my father's face; and he shall recover his sight: and then come unto me with all your family. And when the company of travellers was departed from Egypt on their journey towards Canaan, their father said, unto those who were about him, Verily I perceive the smell of Joseph; although ye think that I dote. They answered, By GoD, thou art in thy old mistake. But when the messenger of good tidings was come with Joseph's inner garment, he threw it over his face; and he recovered his eye-sight. And Jacob said, Did I not tell you that I knew from GoD, that which ye knew not? They answered, O father, ask pardon of our sins for us, for we have surely been sinners. He replied, I will surely ask pardon for you of my LORD; for he is gracious and merciful. And when Jacob and his family arrived in Egypt, and were introduced unto Joseph, he received his parents unto him, and said, Enter ye into Egypt, by GoD's favour, in full security. And he raised his parents to the seat of state, and they, together with his brethren, fell down, and did obeisance unto him. And he said, O my father, this is the interpretation of my vision, which I saw heretofore: now hath my LORD rendered it true. And he hath surely been gracious unto me, since he took me forth from the prison, and hath brought you hither from the desert; after that the devil had sown discord between me and my brethren: for my LORD is gracious unto whom he pleaseth; and he is the knowing, the wise God. O LORD, thou hast given me a part of the kingdom, and hast taught me the interpretation of dark sayings. The Creator of heaven and earth! thou art my protector in this world, and in that which is to come: make me to die a Moslem, and join me with the righteous. This

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."

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; or, as others will have, three, or eight days' journey off.

Being led into this imagination by thy excessive love of Joseph.

bviz. 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.

Deferring it, as some fancy, till he should see Joseph, and have his consent.

viz. His father, aad Leah, his mother's sister, whom he looked on as his mother, after Rachel's death.

Al Beidawi 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. • 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."

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 • Idem.

Al Beidâwi, Jallalo'ddin. ' Idem. • Jallalo'ddin. See Gen. xxxvii. 10. 'Al Beidâwi.

'Al Beidâwi.

is a secret history which we reveal unto thee, O Mohammed, although thou wast not present with the brethren of Joseph, when they concerted their design, and contrived a plot against him. But the greater part of men, although they earnestly desire it, will not believe. Thou shalt not demand. of them any reward for thy publishing the Korân ;, it is no other than an admonition unto all creatures. And how many signs soever there be of the being, unity, and providence of God, in the heavens and the earth; they will pass by them, and will retire afar off from them. And the greater part of them believe not in GoD, without being also guilty of idolatry. Do they not believe that some overwhelming affliction shall fall on them, as a punishment from GOD; or that the hour of judgment shall overtake them suddenly, when they consider not its approach? Say unto those of Mecca, This is my way: I invite you unto God, by an evident demonstration; both I and he who followeth me; and, praise be unto God! I am not an idolater. We sent not any apostles before thee, except men, unto whom we revealed our will, and whom we chose out of those who dwelt in cities." Will they not go through the earth, and see what hath been the end of those who have preceded them? But the dwelling of the next life shall surely be better for those who fear God. Will they not therefore understand? Their predecessors were borne with for a time, until, when our apostles despaired of their conversion, and they thought that they were liars, our help came unto them, and we delivered whom we pleased; but our vengeance was not turned away from the wicked people. Verily in the histories of the prophets and their people, there is an instructive example into those who are endued with understanding. The Koran is not a new .nvented fiction: but a confirmation of those scriptures which have been revealed before it, and a distinct explication of every thing necessary, in respect either to faith or practice, and a direction and mercy unto people who believe.

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."

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.

And not of the inhabitants of the deserts; because the former are more knowing and compassionate, and the latter more ignorant and hard-hearted.'

⚫ Al Beidâwi.

Idem. See the Prelim. Disc. sect. i. p. 22.

CHAPTER XIII.

INTITLED, THUNDER;' REVEALED AT MECCA.

IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.

条

AL. M. R. These are the signs of the book of the Koran: and that which hath been sent down unto thee from thy LORD is the truth; but the greater part of men will not believe. It is God who hath raised the heavens without visible pillars; and then ascended his throne, and compelled the sun and the moon to perform their services; every of the heavenly bodies runneth an appointed course. He ordereth all things. He showeth his signs distinctly, that ye may be assured ye must meet your LORD at the last day. It is he who hath stretched forth the earth, and placed therein. stedfast mountains, and rivers; and hath ordained therein of every fruit two different kinds. He causeth the night to cover the day. Herein are certain signs unto people who consider. And in the earth are tracts of land of different natures," though bordering on each other; and also vineyards, and seeds, and palm-trees springing several from the same root, &.d singly from distinct roots. They are watered with the same water, yet we render some of them more excellent than others to eat. Herein are surely signs unto people who understand. If thou dost wonder at the infidels denying the resurrection, surely wonderful is their saying,* After we shall have been reduced to dust, shall we be restored in a new creature? These are they who believe not in their LORD; these shall have collars on their necks, and these shall be the inhabitants of hell fire: therein shall they abide for ever. They will ask of thee to hasten evil rather than good:›

This word occurs in the next page.

Or, according to some copies, at Medina.

The meaning of these letters is unknown. Of several conjectural explications which are given of them, the following is one; I am the most wise and knowing God.

m As sweet and sour, black and white, small and large, &c.1

*It is He who spread out the earth, who raised the mountains, who formed the rivers who gave you fruits of various kinds. He created them inale and femalc.”—Savary. "Some tracts being fruitful and others barren, some plain and others mountainous, some proper for corn and others for trees, &c.2

If thou dost marvel at their unbelief, what must be thy surprise, when thou hearest them say, Is it possible that the dust of our body can become a new creature ?"-Savary. • The collar here mentioned is an engine something like a pillory, but light enough for the criminal to walk about with. Besides the hole to fix it on the neck, there is another for one of the hands, which is thereby fastened to the neck. And in this manner the Mohammedans suppose the reprobates will appear at the day of judgment. Some understand this passage figuratively, of the infidels being bound in the chains of error and obstinacy.

P Provoking and daring thee to call down the divine vengeance on them for their im penitency.

'Al Beidawi, Jallalo'ddin, • Idem. Vide Chardin, Voy. de Perse, t. 2, p. 229. See chap. 5, p. 90. Al Beidawi.