On Joseph (Memra 1)

First Memra on Joseph First Memra on Joseph O beautiful Christ, by whom all beauties are adorned, Give me to see, as a father beholds, how fair you are. A great image, from which inner beauties are taken, Look upon me, fill me from your beauty, and I shall speak to you. A fair sun, from which shining blossoms draw, Shine your light upon me, that I may speak of your beauty. A great deep, from which all springs draw, Let me also descend with the streams of your sweetness. A son who veils beauties, Give me to behold the fair beauty of that beautiful one. The story of Joseph, truth, I seek to tell. From you, my Lord, I shall become rich, and enrich my hearer. The helper is stirred to speak of the beautiful one. In you, my Lord, the beauty of my word is adorned, though it is not worthy. Not that a father who is pure has anything in him concerning that pure one, But truth seeks its own, as is fitting. Since I have not depicted the beauty of Joseph, see, he reproaches me, That I have not spoken through me the sea of his rich narratives. If in you the full beauty rests, a father does not look, Nor does he see the beauty of Joseph being defiled, a father. If you are light, you do not shine, you are, upon my thoughts, And no radiance is shown to me, to what it is like. In you all beauties are adorned, form by form. In you the beauty of the word of that beautiful one is adorned. Your beauty shines upon the hearers, and the eyes are amazed.

And from the beauty of your form, the beholders hasten to praise you. They see you, my Lord, both hearers and speakers, When you astonish both parties, who are without limit, you are. Set the contemplation of the destroyer to adorn you beautifully, And give drink to the ear that thirsts for your sweet voice.

In your inner parts, Joseph, the son of old age, was formed, and upon that, the image of his beauty shone in the whole world. Your testimony, my Lord, was placed in him as it is written, and because of it, he subjugated kings in the regions. The beauty of your form sent its loveliness upon his youth, and upon that, the ends are radiant in him, how fair he is. To you, that free-born one who became a slave, was like, and because of this, he gave the order that was difficult, for if your leaven had not been in him, he would not have been able to make bread with his hands to satisfy those who were hungry. Here, take the word, O hearers, to its end, for the beauty of Joseph, except by the Lord, was not increased. In inner parts, then, divine ones, form an image of the likeness of the son who is Joseph, as it was said. And the time of this discourse shows, as it is carried, that all beauties together contend for the son. The youth was beloved, and his testimony was fair. Jacob, my master, in these spiritual orders, from Israel was instructed in spirituality, and because of this, he grieved in a lament that does not cease with that old man who bound the angel in a contest. He was raised so that he might reach the end of wisdom, in the sight of Reuben and in the house of Laban, all his brothers. I was raised in that time of the helper, where there was the name of gods and not of God, and your heart, a place of customs, in nights without knowledge.

When Jacob the perfect one was departing to the flocks, and in his sons the customs of the pagans were growing without restraint, Joseph was, and he was not governed by their ways. From his youth he was raised in chaste ways among the flocks. The mystery that was formed in him did not allow him to be governed by that wickedness in which the handmaids' sons were growing. In Jacob his father he fixed his gaze steadfastly, and from him he learned how to distinguish between the brothers. The patterns of the son he bound to the sight of his father's beauty, and here and there he did not look without being disturbed. He saw his brothers who were not fair in their pride, and their goodness brought evil to their wise father. That perfect one did not pay heed to the shepherds, and because of this he taught Jacob their deeds. He became a cause of grief to his father spiritually, for they were conversing in the discourse of the house of God. Jacob loved Joseph greatly because of the beauty of the son of God that dwelt in him. He was fashioning the truth that was formed in him for the crucifixion, and he made coverings of ransoms for his clothing. Jacob made shepherds go down to the pit because of his love, for the great crucifixion of the son of God was prefigured in his son. He spread ransoms over him, over the youth in the great mystery, and like the crucified one he stretched him out on the pit while clothing him. He took the sign on his right and on his left.

In the garment of the shepherds of chastity that he had, and with the beauty that Joseph wore from his youth, the envy of his brothers was stirred against him mightily. A great image in his fair beauty was kindled to be seen, and like wolves they devoured with rage against the handsome one. His beauty shone like the sun over the darknesses of Joseph, and it blazed from him and filled their minds with wrath. These were the garments of chastity that were woven in him; they spread beauty over his youth in the company of his brothers. The righteous Jacob rejoiced greatly in the beauty that was upon him, because a great image was impressed for him from his fairness. And as much as the love of Jacob his father increased, so much the envy of his brothers was stirred up more and more. From here, take instruction, O disciple, that you may uproot that envy from your hearers. Wrath hidden within the mind is a consuming fire; if the love of the self does not cut it off, it is unendurable. Wrath destroys the whole order of beautiful things; its work is murder, and its order is a tight knot without a slayer. Wrath disturbs the simple self when it is stirred, and pours out its taste upon thoughts, and they are dyed in it. It pours its help upon knowledge and darkens it. And all the movements of beautiful things are stirred up in it. The cause of wrath goes out in tumult from the mind; the anger that had been sleeping is stirred up, and all wisdom is hidden. Envy is to the self as a worm to the eye, blind.

And when the glow of her beauty enters, she appears fair, that foul, erring stench that was in the midst of the shepherds, and the soul that burns does not enter without being caught by it, like a thorn in the heart, like a firebrand in the dust of the earth. And where she pours out her bitterness, that death is swift, from the thorns of the wound in truth, and not from the serpent, and to the deceived and not to the wrathful, she is near. The wrathful one cannot succeed in his deeds, so that his anger is poured out, which passed over the worthiness. Flee from anger; if you wish to live securely, for anger destroys the wise, as it is written. A cloud hides the light of the sun from the sight; thus anger conceals the soul from freedom. To love, which has a pure and helpful counsel, and his companion is straight and not separated from steadfastness, that soul is elevated upon the summit of the shadow of that shade. And where she falls into the hands of anger, he destroys her, seizing all the doors with vigilance from every side, and anger does not enter your soul, lest you perish. Not your will does anger accomplish when it enters; another thing seeks from her that is not yours. Be master over your will, O free one; do not let anger be stirred in you and shut up what you do not wish. Leave your soul sitting in the peace that is easy for you; do not cast upon her the disturbance that confuses and afflicts you.

Let her not be a servant to wrath and be enslaved to her, so that she may not be the agent of blood. Envy is prepared for the beautiful, and he who puts it on, unless he is careful, again does not know what harm it does to her. Envy wrought in the earth from the beginning, for it greatly strove over the ranks and destroyed the first man; he was expelled from Paradise, and the land of thorns he tilled with toil instead of a kingdom. Envy cast between brothers; from the first, it killed the beautiful Abel by the hand of his brother Cain. Thus this agent of toil cast into the company of brothers, and the beautiful ones of the house of Judah it enslaved by its evil. Upon the free-born it cast a snare of destruction, that he might become a slave, so that he would not be subjected to baseness where he is. That envy which was to become a scandal, the sin of brothers, which from the beginning kills the man by its cunning, hung the son of God on a cross, and again said, "Here ends all the work of its bitterness." Even over this it was eager from the first over the beautiful, so that it might destroy the beauty of the son if it could. From the left, envy is always hunting the right. See, do not fill envy and sin with the left, for he who is left-handed is a left-handed son, who unless by sin does not pass over to hunt the right. Thus this weapon, the slanderer, is sharpened for error. Go to envy, for its weapon is that of the adversary.

In these garments, the son of the house of bondage performs his work with wrath and bitterness, envy and guile, and malice of heart. Because of these, flee from wrath as much as you can, for by it the soul is blinded, so that it may beware of its worth. He who envies cannot look upon righteousness, and his sight is swallowed up so that it inclines toward the left. To these brothers, sons of that same man, envy set an ambush for you, so that if your own brother reaches you, he will bring you death. To the band of ten, he stooped in the dwelling when he entered it, and cast into the pit the one who was eleventh, in a place of ruin. Envy opened the gate of the brothers against their hunt, and the fire of anger blazed in the midst and drove them out. If the chieftains of the tribes saw from before him, you, a weakling, if you are stirred up within, where will you reach? Envy in the heart is worse than a sword in the breast. Flee from envy, lest from its poison you be destroyed. It is a pain that begets death wherever it exists, and it is fitting that its possessor, if the bond of love does not drive it away, in this pain all the brothers of Joseph were swallowed up, and they were unable to speak a word of peace with him. Like a city that subdues the soul when something enters it, and casts captivity within its walls and lays waste to them, it drives out peace and tranquility from it when it conquers it, and from thoughts of sweetness, it brings forth hatred and brings in wrath to dwell in its place.

that it might destroy all the beautiful treasures. They were not able to speak peace with him, or with the knot of envy that is so bitter. To all the movements of the soul, it gives free rein when it enters into her, and to the members of the body it afflicts when it settles in them. It casts its venom upon the mind and perverts it, and with jaundices it dyes the face and darkens it. The soul is stained by it so that it may be darkened by grief, and it covers over sound thoughts so that they may not be known. The whiteness of the eyes, which were straight, is twisted by it, so that one who is envious cannot look fairly. Envy turns the eye from rectitude, evil as it is, and it blinds its whiteness so that it may fall from its proper function. It also corrupts the word of the mouth and afflicts it, and it is the destroyer of all when it gains mastery. They were not able to speak peace with him. See, O listener, how envy corrupts even speech. This is a malady for which there is no remedy; the more remedies are brought to it, the more it increases. Envy came to the aid of the grieving and perverted their eyes, and they were not able to find a means of escape from the snare. With the jealousy of Reuben, the bitter one drew near, and he examined all her beauty with the signet of the mother of death. How could Joseph have made a remedy for their eyes? The more beauties he added, the more their pain increased; the more he increased and grew, the more their envy grew.

And by what means were they being healed from their envy? However much he was concerned that the beautiful ones of Egypt should not come, again upon their pain a great pain was added, that wound which is incurable and from nothing, however much he was concerned for his health, to the end he went, because of this, that it might not be in you, he was concerned alone, that if it were in you, it would not uproot all the remedies. However much it was not easy for you to see how bitter it is, know that it enters and is dyed for you from its envy. Do not give place to this evil pain, that it might enter and destroy your soul, the love of beautiful ones. See and be amazed: what did it do to these brothers, who were with him, and what did they do because they envied him? Among the sons of Israel, ten chosen ones were contending for one. Envy wrought and cast down their eyes, and they were perfect. Joseph was sealed, and what would be done he did not know, however much he was pleasing, again he was tripped up by envy. And when envy burned in him, every day from the side of his brothers, to the place of dreams they summoned him, the revelation that spoke to him, his glory at the hour when it was revealed to him concerning the hidden things, without their fear, the axes that were contending for him, they cast a hour upon him, upon the sealed youth from his brothers, that when he was asleep, they would show him those that were destined, that in wakefulness envy was hung upon the beautiful one, within sleep it was encouraging him with future things.

His brothers diminished him and the dreams exalted him in their revelations, so that he would not forget what injury would befall him. He went to the land of the Egyptians and learned sorcery. The chiefdom was given to him over all his brothers. He was turning the dream into a remedy for the ten who were envious of him, and by revelation he subjugated them so that they would obey him. At that hour, the magicians came, who were idolaters, and they were perplexed by the illusions that they were causing him. The dream raised him up and made him head over all his brothers, so that he might be in hope that when he was humiliated by their hands, he was confident in the hour and subjugated them mysteriously, so that when he was subjugated, he would be a shepherd who was free. The dream bowed them all down, and they were worshipping him, so that he might be guarded within his thought when he was humbled. His hope was that authority was being given to him, so that when it was offered, he would not forget his subjugation. He was silent, fair, and the dream came and arranged his revelations. And when he awoke, the story was revealed to all his brothers, and again they added to their hatred because of her. He began to tell the dream that he saw, how it was: "Behold, the sheaves were bound in the field, and my sheaf stood upright, and behold your sheaves were worshipping it. Mine was standing, and yours were cast down and encircling it." "Your dream is fair," they said to him, "but is it true?" "I was king from the hunt of the dream, and you will be subject," he said.

The dream hastened to interpret the truth that they had not seen, for when the dream was interpreted, it wronged him, though it was true. Again, another revelation called to Joseph and said to him, "Do not fear the interpreters who are harsh to you; interpret it beautifully, for they are troubling you because of the dream. You will rule and be ruler, as they told you." The dream again raised Joseph up to the revelation and set before him the hosts and their dignities. The sun and the moon bowed their heads and were worshipping him, for the initiates saw the mysteries of creation in that beautiful one. The stars of the firmament divided honor for that one who was bent over mysteries, and from their places they were worshipping him as a lord. Heaven and earth worshipped him with their hands, and with the initiates, that is the creation, whose authority has no end. Day and night worshipped Joseph, because they saw in him that he was clothed in the likeness of the great sun of righteousness. The dream ran, called to the initiates, and subjected them to the servant who was clothed in the image of his master who was honored in it. Night worshipped him with the moon and the stars that were set before him; also day honoured him with the sun and the rays. The death of creation was formed in its hour mysteriously, for it stirred all the hosts while it was feeling that Joseph was lying as a corpse, saying, "The Saviour is dead." And it terrified the initiates by his death and disturbed them. In the hour of Joseph, the sun and the moon were worshipping him.

In the death of the Lord, all the luminaries were confounded, as if on a cross at the hour, that son of Jacob was stretched out. And over the luminaries his authority was extended; he commanded the stars. The great death of that life-giver was a marvel that shook the earth and also the heavens by the crucifixion of the sleeping Joseph, as if it were that of the crucified Lord. And the sun, the moon, and all the luminaries bowed before him. Through the gate of dreams, a mystery entered for that chaste one, and his hair was stirred at his slumber, and he passed the hour. At that hour, the hosts ran and prostrated before him. In the death of the Son, all the elements were agitated. The image of the Son that was in Joseph, as it is said, took authority from the luminaries and subjugated the stars. The sun, which was made to err, and the stars were subjugated to him. In a dream, Joseph was subjugated by a great mystery. The form of the Lord took its own from the luminaries, so that to its authority their authorities might bow. The death of Jesus in the place of dreams was worshipped, for in all worlds he was ruler over creatures. Nor was the mystery hidden from the sleepers in its revelation, for it was fitting that even those lying in death should be stirred. In the place of the hour, dreams were disturbed for Joseph, and in the place of the dead, worlds hidden from the Lord increased. His father and mother, in the sun and moon, were worshipping him.

Eve and Adam were rejoicing in that son of life, for Rachel's dream was fulfilled because of Joseph. Eve died and her hair was shorn in the house of the departed. A dream called to Rachel from the house of the dead: "Bow down to Joseph, who with his palms fed his brothers who were famished." Truth called to Eve in verity: "Be united with that son of life who let down her hair in the house of the departed." With these mysteries Joseph was sleeping, as you have heard, and around him were dreams that approached him with their revelations. The first dream made his brothers' hands serve him, to show him that through his hands there was satiety for all who were famished. And now the second dream extended his authority over the luminaries, to show him how he would be exalted to the summit. The earth's occasion bowed down with palms to that wise one who was good; he spread out his palms beautifully. A dream set up Joseph's palm to show in it that there is no God, nor in it is there satiety for those who were famished. The revelation overwhelmed all the palms of Joseph's brothers, and his own he set in confusion among her companions. For in it alone was there satiety, and in the other not. And over all the famished ones, these were bowing down to her. In Joseph's palm, the body of the Lord was depicted as a revelation, so that all the peoples who were hostile to him were sated from it. "Come, come, give me the bread of life, and when I eat, I will not hunger again, for there is in me satiety for those who are like me.

This bread came down from the height to the hungry peoples, and there is no satiety in any other bread except in it. Opposite the height, Joseph's hand was stretched out, to show that there is bread in which there is life, just as his hand pointed when it was stretched out, that above is that table in which there is satiety. Both of his dreams were resolved upon one mystery, because of which they worshipped him in their changes. The depth took the cause of the earth that it offered to him, and at the heads of the hungry, it worshipped him while entreating. There is height, all the shining ones and their lights, and it also worshipped the image that it saw in that beautiful one. For if the image of the son had not clothed Joseph, the shining ones and the height and the depth would not have worshipped him. In the name of Jesus, all your creation worships, as it is written, that which is in heaven and that which is in earth is subject to him. Heaven and earth, in dreams, were worshippers of Joseph, so that the mystery of the son might incline them to be subject to him. Before Joseph's table, the sun was bent, and the moon bowed, and they worshipped him as in a mystery. In the tomb of the Lord, this truly happened, that the great light that shone at his death among the departed. Dreams divided honor for Joseph over his table, and within his tomb, the watchers again honored the Lord, for the servant was asleep and saw in his dream that he was the Lord.

The Lord died, and the race of slaves was freed by his death. The sun bowed to him at the hour, but not to that which was of the image of the Son that was seen on his face. The rock to which Manoah bowed, it was not to the rock itself, but to that which was inscribed on it, the living bread of the Son of God. Joseph slept and saw this dream of the two, and when he awoke, he did not wish to conceal his story. The mystery of the night he revealed by day, to many who labored, and he was not afraid of the loss that would befall him from the brothers. The dream spoke with him at the hour and gave him assurance that all the waves that would come upon him would not drown him. He took confidence from the revelation that was true for him, and he arose to recount the dream he saw, without fear. Come, hear this other dream that I saw: that the sun and the moon, along with the stars, were bowing to me; eleven stars bowed their heads and submitted to me; and the sun and the moon bent their rays before me. Joseph knew the dream and its interpretation, and that the loss that his brothers would suffer was being divided, as if to say, "From God, your head is a tree; do not grieve over what is from above." To what end is the tree hidden in the love of Jacob from you? For God also, in the dream, honored me as I have recounted; even he, along with you, bent the dream that was bowing to me. To what end is the loss in something that is from God?

The sun and the moon, he said, bowed to me, not to them. And the stars honored me, and to them he said, "You yourselves, you stand and serve me." In that story of the dream of the father, he hid from them. But they became more enraged with him, for the head of the dream was manifest before them, that which was destined from God, that the jealousy over him from their side would be abolished. As if he did not know, he spoke to the dream, though he knew what they knew; they ceased from their desire. The dreams of the night the wise one arranged between himself and them, so that they might be interpreters for him of the jealousies. He called the revelation that stood on his face, as one who knows, and he enslaved the secrets that served him. These visions that were within the hour, the father placed before them, and they deceived both him and the visions from God. The dream conversed with his father and before his brothers, and Jacob interpreted, as he began but did not reveal. He was perplexed by it as he hinted to him, and he concealed the mystery, so that the anger of his brothers from the interpretation would not be stirred up. "A mother and a father will come, as you say, and with your brothers they will also bow to you; it is plausible for you." Jacob was perplexed by it as he kept all his words, for he loved the jealousy of the brothers, full of envy. He interpreted the dream as if he did not begin because of the portion, until the time came when that which was destined would be fulfilled. His brothers erred in it and filled with wrath over him because of the jealousy.

And his father kept all his words like a wise man. He was recounting to them the beauty of Joseph when they saw him. And every day he was adding grief to them, so that again they would increase his dreams of anger, which he saw, because without considering battle, he stirred up against the handsome one. Every day jealousy was driving them because of Joseph, and they were being consumed and choked at all times. In jealousy there is something that is purity itself, that which is jealous becomes consumed and also choked. Jealousy knows its own and dries up greatly, and it multiplies cords for the one who stands against it with emptiness. Behold, the small one that at its ends produces grief, and a treasure of anger that is filled with evil for the one who stores it. Jealousy is in you, and behold, it drives you over his smallness. You are worthy to swallow him up because of his belovedness. For the one who is jealous, his limbs do not live, because of the one who is jealous. In him is the cord of jealousy, which is set better than the tribes. The one who seeks to swallow a snake and dwell with it, to what is he equal, except that the snake alone will bite him? The one in whom there is jealousy is worse than a snake. To this he is equal, that in jealousy he will burn. It was fitting for the farmer, for as it is written, the fruits of his land he first ate before them. Bitter jealousy tastes it, but its lord, the tree, is vexed and eats its fruits when they are bitter.

The one in whom there is a deficiency, his own deficiency is from him, not requiring another proof to be brought near to him, while he is not sad, he is saddened who magnifies those who are before him, not for others but for his own, he strikes every day. Flee, O how, from the smallness of the whole vein that he was, blessed is he who by his love drove out deficiency from the true ones. The first memra on Joseph is complete.