Contemplative Bible Reading

Genesis 43:17-18 (New International Version 2011)

17 The man did as Joseph told him and took the men to Joseph’s house. 18 Now the men were frightened when they were taken to his house. They thought, “We were brought here because of the silver that was put back into our sacks the first time. He wants to attack us and overpower us and seize us as slaves and take our donkeys.”

Joseph is the number two man in Egypt. He controls all the food in the second year of a seven-year famine. Joseph’s brothers come to Egypt a second time to buy food and bring it back to their families in Canaan.

They are about to go to Joseph’s house for a meal. Joseph has not yet revealed himself to his brothers. To the brothers, Joseph is another extremely powerful Egyptian who can do whatever to them.

They are scared. The Egyptian might:

• attack them
• overpower them
• seize them as slaves
• take their donkeys

Take their donkeys? Do their donkeys rank up their with their  becoming a slave? A friend, who has some history with mules on farms, described to me the importance of a good mule or donkey in an agricultural world. Perhaps this makes sense, but still, donkeys?