On Joseph (Memra 2)

Memra 2 on Joseph Memra 2 on Joseph When he was sent to his brothers and they cast him into the pit of the holy one, Mar Jacob. The story of Joseph: the narrative of how Joseph spoke to him. Also his discourse on the addition is brief, like his story. He asks, "How, as one who fears God, did Joseph say to me, 'My Lord, beauty for his word, that beautiful one'?" He is the great one in whom the true ones are found, and in him the full treasures of the hidden things are opened. An image of his Lord had gone astray, that Joseph might bring into the world, and because of his beauty, all who encountered him bowed to his honor. He took a white one of mysteries and came from his father, and over that he made the regions and their inhabitants subject. The great beauty of his form surpassed his youth, so that he might be worshipped while all who saw him were astounded. The mystery of the Lord over all generations was being carried, and otherwise, a place that was fitting for him would not be lost. From Abraham, Isaac took him as a true one, and gave him to Jacob, who also was chaste and preserved him. Israel, however, looked among the twelve who were fitting, and chose Joseph to be worthy of the image of the Son. To him the Patriarch, who had been chosen for him, hastened, so that he might guard her carefully, like a wise man. He was fitting for the form of the passions, except Joseph, who conquered passion and with vigilance preserved his members.

How fair it was that the image of the son of God was imprinted upon Reuben, or upon Joseph himself, that one of eleven; that one who was wandering in the likeness of water, not because he was equal to water, but because in his form water was not fixed. Simeon and Levi, vessels of wrath, and how the image of the son of the loving one was preserved in them! In Joseph it was fitting that he be received until Moses took him and brought him to the house of David. For this image Jacob was eager, who honored him because he saw that Joseph received it from him and was established in it. It was not out of mere impulse that he loved Joseph more than his brothers, but because he saw the beauty of the mysteries that were being wrapped around him. And for this reason, as much as he could, he honored him, so that through his humility the reward of the one who was overshadowed might be recompensed. He saw that he was not like the other ten in his deeds, and by the prostrations that he made for him, he distinguished him from them. The form of the Lord of the flock was from the righteous one, who prepared something new and offered it to the bosom that was separate from that of his brothers; something new was destined to be formed in him, not something customary. He sent him to the flocks to pasture his brothers, like the son whom the father sent to seek the lost sheep. The old man Jacob was occupied with this mystery, when he took him with the staff and fled from his father's house.

He would not give him to Esau, that he might bring him from the hunt of Isaac, for the lamb that bore the image of the Son was not equal. Nor again would he give him to Reuben, the firstborn, so that he might again be released in the likeness of Esau, who had been formed. Mighty men, strong and zealous, were contending for the Son throughout all generations, pure and chaste ones who were equal to him in their conduct. Zealous men chose to take up the great image, the lofty height of their thoughts corresponding to the height. Isaac, who was destined to be a sacrifice from his birth, and Jacob, who bore the staff of mysteries and changed his place, and Joseph, who was crucified before desire in his youth—the image of the King these zealous ones were, for they were chosen. For Jacob saw that he was equal in the flock of his father; with his hands he sent the image into the world full of beauties. He sent Joseph to shepherd the flocks, as it was commanded. This is the one by whom the speaking flock of the Son was redeemed. The peace of his brothers was sent that Joseph might be seen, just as the Messiah established peace throughout his entire journey. But when Joseph came to the flocks as he was sent, his brothers did not receive him with peace, for they had done evil. For what reason did this ever happen except for the Lord? He came to his own, and they did not receive him, though they were his own. When Joseph was good, that he might shepherd, his brothers were sent; they fell upon him in murder like crucifiers against the Son of God.

This path, then, from the world was being debated, and in its anxieties they set words of blood in it, the sorrowful ones. Each of them, as he was able, toiled in it, that the mountain of the one who walked in it might be beautiful. And many words Joseph set in his path, of the son, who walked in it in chastity, virtuously. The great mountain he trod in its paths of asceticism, which, as if destined, he was to run in it on the path of blood. He brought the peace of the father to the brothers, and he stirred up their eyes, and they sharpened their gaze against him, their eyes like stakes. He carried provisions and brought them to his brothers from the hunt of his father, as Christ by his miracles healed the earth. They took the baskets of his provisions from him, and they did not accept him. To the master of the event, who gave the miracle and was being humiliated, behold the distinctions in the path of Joseph, clearly, that for that son, the whole way, in all its words, he brought peace and received wrath, as you have heard. He tended the flock and found a gaze in the company of his brothers. He came to Shechem seeking wool, as you have heard, and did not find lambs that were sad. The place of wool was changed for a great mystery, like the confusion of the error of the path of truths. Joseph was beautiful to the sorrowful one when he sought for the wool of his brother in idleness in a desolate place.

For outside of God, indeed, he was distressed in his embassy, seeking the impossibility of the destruction of the images in the desolation, and it was found. On this path, Joseph set out to walk, and a crust of blood met the youth as if in illness. He sought the flocks until he stood over the pasture. And when the place changed for the better before him, he did not leave it. But when Joseph reached the flocks, his brothers had already become enraged. The fury of murder was stirred up against the innocent one. The envious one saw the beautiful one, who was adorned with mysteries, and he was enraged, for his own part, in great wrath. The brothers of Joseph saw from afar as he was coming, and the heat of anger from their mouths, with which they cried out, "Behold, the dreamer of dreams is coming from where? What will he do? Today it is fitting that his dreams be interpreted and explained to you. Joseph will die because of the interpretation of the king's dream. And he will see what will become of his dreams, in which he grew up. They will throw him into a pit, seeking to snatch the headship. And he will see his lowliness because he spoke of inheritances. His dreams came, and their interpretation, whether they are true. At that hour he deliberated, and in wakefulness, behold, he is being subjugated. The head of all his servants, the dreams of falsehood, trample upon him, the heel of no return steps upon greatness. Wrath was stirred up against him mightily, and from afar, murder prepared for that beautiful one.

He found for himself a place of need in the region of the Scythians, that the images in the land of desolation were not to be found. Then the power of the yoke showed its strength when it was commanded to perform slaughter and to bathe in the blood of its enemy. The lady of the whole world poured forth a flood of demand from their mouths, and her great belly made a tumult when it was opened. The brothers saw the heir of Jacob who had been sent, and they considered his inheritance, that he had not inherited. Here his death was swallowed up in that of the Messiah. And as the crust of the bread that reached him from the baskets, the laborers saw the master of the vineyard who had been sent. And as they were threatening Joseph that he had not inherited, that heir—"Come, let us kill him," they thought, "and his inheritance will be ours." When they had killed him, the son of Adonai was sent to the laborers, and without inheriting, they rose up in slaughter against him. For by means of the servants it was being announced from eternity, as the dreams made known to Joseph concerning his authority. The dust of dreams was disturbing the brothers of Joseph, that if the king were to die, he would rule. Thus Jesus, from the revelations of servitude, made the people understand that he was the heir of the Father, and they raged over his death. That heir, they were saying, as it is written, "Come, let us kill him, and his inheritance will be ours.

Very similar is the image of Joseph to that of the Messiah, for all his sufferings were depicted in him mysteriously. Behold, when he was dreaming dreams, they cast him into a pit, and he saw what would become of his dreams, whether they were true. This is similar to that spectacle of Golgotha, for when the Son of God came, he took upon himself the likeness of a sacrifice. The heads of the tribes placed the offering of the sacrifice upon their shoulders, and that spectacle was carried about within their camps. With the inheritance which the fathers had taken up, they carried crosses, for they had sacrificed in the wilderness the lamb that was to come, and they would see what would become of his dreams. And these, with wood, did not believe in him. Behold, Elijah saw that he would come and interpret it. That is the same as these who interpreted the dream for him from the beginning. One is the taste of these sufferings in both sides, for with the spices of crucifixion Joseph was forming a great seal, crucified for his sake by his brothers. That one who hung the Son of God upon the wood, the slayer of the Lamb who was destined for the slaughter of the Son, he stirred up against Joseph the envy of his brothers. He saw in Joseph a fitting likeness of the Messiah, and he poured out upon him the blood which he was thirsting for. But Joseph was not found to have committed a great murder, for sufferings and blood were stored up for the Son of God.

They cast him into a pit, not into a tomb as for the Lord, for if he had entered by force of his own will, he would not have come out. Sheol stood over Joseph as if she had entered, so that she could not uproot her foundations as for the Saviour. He descended into the pit of the shadow of death and saw, so that he would not need to bind the righteous one in his own place. If he had entered the city of death as the Saviour, she would have held the gates of oppression before his departure. If they had cast him into the tomb as a mortal, he would have been immersed in the midst of the abyss that swallows the dead. If he had gone towards destruction to see his place, in the ranks of the pit that struck him, he would have been destroyed. For Joseph lacked nothing of death, except that by the Lord's mighty power it was not accomplished. The servant could not uproot the foundations of Sheol, except that by the Lord's own authority death was not subdued. If a free man had not entered the place of death, nor would hirelings have been given to the servant's race. Therefore Joseph did not die when he was sent, for the path of slaughter on which he walked was not his own. He marked its sign and placed it on the planks and the time, while he kept the ordinance that resembles the king his master. The shadow of crucifixion fell upon him, the sealed one, and bound him in the pit that opened the tomb for his master, the sign.

He was not able to uproot the pit of Sheol, and because of this he came out from the death that was seeking him. They were contending over his death when he came, and the mystery spared him, and instead of a tomb, a pit was given to him. For Reuben, the firstborn, the truth of the kingdom was victorious, that it was not right for him to kill his brother and be stained with his blood. They cast him into a pit, and the hand of Lamech would not be in it. Even in the pit, as in death, he was humbled. The sin of the brothers sought its own through the hands of Reuben, and he found a cause that Joseph might escape from the pit. For the one who had cast him in was considered, and because of this, the king and the stature of his own brothers gave Joseph. This is the likeness of death for the place that performs good deeds; even a sinner, his good deeds are not forgotten. Reuben was small, and Jacob brought him out from the midst, and because good was considered for Joseph, Moses brought him in. After Israel, the tribe of Reuben, because of his iniquity, and the good that he did, the stature stood before him and supported him. It was forgotten like water, not to be retained; he said to him, "Come, then, Moses, that the brother of Reuben may not die." Even in the midst of the midst of his brothers, he placed him because it was considered, and he saved Joseph, who had been prepared for his death. His folly brought him out from the house of his brothers. The good that he did was not forgotten by God; he ran to the east for the work of good deeds.

of his lowliness, all the merchants were coming to him. And even if you sin, you have toil over the good things. That good thing is able to heal your wound, if you separate yourself. Great was the iniquity of the merchant of Za‘i, because he came with his father, and because the good thing was considered in his heart, Moses struck his sin. By the decree of the judge, his father cut him off from the inheritance, and by the thought of the sin of the little one, Moses healed him. He was considered as if he were considering Joseph, and to him, that thought, the one who was last of all, brought the deed to an end. For grace seeks a cause from the penitent, and however much the debtor is guilty, she forgives because of her love. Za‘i, Reuben, and he made a disturbance on his father’s bed, and because the good thing was considered in his heart, his transgression passed. And if this thought received a beautiful reward, the deed of the good thing, wherever it occurs, how great is its reward! For Reuben gave counsel to his brothers, as it is said, that Joseph fell into a pit while not dead. They heard his words, while their lack did not cease, and they were persuaded by him that Joseph was being tormented in the pit. Then they bound his arms like branches to the Son of God, and they sent his brothers like a wild beast into the house of the judge. They mocked him as if at a feast, while being questioned. They bound him and he was silent, like the Messiah, he did not speak. One called him a dreamer of dreams in great mockery. Another, “Your heart is his,” because of his lowliness, he sent from himself.

One was seeking in the pit into which they had thrown him a desolate place; another was being prepared for slaughter in great wrath. One was calling him a king of dreams, "Your merchant, how?" All of them were envious from all sides, and Joseph was at rest. At the hour of his judgment, that festival was like a feast; in all voices he was being humiliated within the house of judgment. It was a festival at which the sword stood over the beautiful one, and he did not speak, for he was not crying out in his image, the son. Even the Messiah, they took his garments when he was being questioned, and they were making great mockery of him, as of Joseph. One was weaving a crown of thorns as for a king; another was preparing a garment of mockery for his clothing. One was spitting in his face while he was being scourged; another was covering and asking him, "Who struck you?" To this image Joseph had come, to be likened, while being amazed at the hands of his brothers who had done evil. He prayed over that youth, the shadow of the great slaughter, and confined him in the pit which they had marked as the grave of the Son of God, so that they would not shed the blood of Joseph. Reuben said, "He desired to rescue him from their hands, but he could not." Even the judge was considered to have rescued the Lord, but when he could not, his hands were troubled because of his slaughter. There was one will for Reuben and Pilate: they did not desire the blood of Joseph and of the Redeemer. Over the likeness of the Son of God, Joseph was forming.

The whole order of his great judgment was pressing upon him, and not even the voices from Pilate's court were heard. They were vainly hoping that Reuben's words would be spoken. Not to shed his brother's blood did Reuben say, "Even the judge from the blood of the son restrains himself." Over the lengths of his judgment the son walked, Joseph, and here and there he did not turn aside from his questions, like a shadow in the body bound in it throughout his journey. And with him he loosed and strengthened his course as he walked. He was silent, pondering when asked, servant and master, and he supposed that there might be some exchange for their questions. When the loss in the desolate place was stirred up against the beautiful one, and the anger of the brothers against the victor was enraged, as they oppressed him and mocked him with their words, and the wrath of murder was poured out among them to his death, as they took his garments from him without pity, and in the pit they stoned him and he did not speak. In all these things, that wise one was silent, so that he did not disturb the form of the sufferings that he was enduring. He was mocked and did not wish to open his mouth. He was scorned, and that silent one of the Christ was silent. In that he is equal to the son, Lord, the innocent Joseph, and he did not speak, so that he might not be humbled on the path of the silent one. To that one who, like a lamb to the slaughter, was led, silent, and in the likeness of a ewe before her shearers, he did not speak.

He was stripped of his tunic by his brothers, like that wild beast that stands naked on the cross. It seemed good to him when Joseph was stretched out on the wood, that the death of the Son of God might be his own. He was sent forth, shining, and without stumbling he was struck, for in the Savior the whole of his suffering was formed. O brothers, why this outcry against Joseph? And what cause summoned these sufferings that he endured? Did he bring provisions from his father's side to suffer? That he might be a merchant of wares, he left his land, and why did he die? Did he bring peace, and why was wrath stirred up against him? That his way was peaceful and his steps were stirred up, not his own. He did no wrong, and that he was struck was not a fault. He resembled his Lord, and this cause summoned these things. Among the crucified, he says, "What does that voice mean, that murderers are crucified for what reason?" The cross for the son, his father's peace he brought to the world to be mocked, that he might redeem Adam. His mercy was sent upon him, why did he die? Behold, the sick and the images are confused over him, for he is pure from wrong and from the judgment of murder. What is his cause? This is the body of that shining shadow, Joseph, who endured all that the Son of God formed in his person. These heirs of these, see the heads of the tribes, and one evil and equal will stood in envy. Not thus did he inherit his father, and he stood over his treasures.

Like crosses to the fathers, in all their forms, he did not mix the colors for the image, and it was like this: as Joseph cast his son into the pit without water, like the Messiah in the new tomb that has no corpse, Joseph placed the pit and the tomb for the servant and his master, they were prepared not for water nor for a corpse in their places. The enclosure and the water in the pit did not moisten Joseph, nor did decay in the tomb prevail over the master, when the servant resembled his master in all his forms. The image of the Lord is above all measure in its glories. Joseph resembled a small mountain compared to the Savior, who alone descended in his solitary path. Mighty one, he entered among the freeborn into the bosom of Sheol, and all the treasures of death were destroyed when he emerged. Hope shone upon the captives in their places, and the words of the herald he placed in destruction when he emerged. He descended alone and ascended with many, as it is written, and he uprooted Sheol and broke through the prison to his father's land. Until now, Joseph did not reach this, nor did these weighty things follow him, weak from the master, as from the body a shadow, he marked death, and as he found, he increased its beauty. Shame crushed him, like the Messiah crucified in shame. His brothers sold him, as the priests did to the Son of God.

His hands were sent down, and for the Redeemer it was a type that was enacted. In his dreams they rejoiced, and that which was for the Only-Begotten, they cast him into a pit, and it was also like the tomb of the Son. And because of this, the image of the sufferings is lost, as I said. Now I cease from the story of the one full of beauties, for his discourse is mighty and I am weak, unable because of his greatness. Let the word be extended on his great path, which is bent with mysteries, for many mountains stand before it, and it will run with him until the pit. The discourse has reached me and given me a spirit. Blessed is the Son of Life, in whom all the afflicted are healed.