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Jubilees retells the story from Genesis 44 where Joseph’s cup is found in his brothers’ sack but leaves out the part where he used it for divination. It says the cup was simply one he liked, removing any hint that Joseph practiced the forbidden act.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Genesis 44:5
Hebrew Bible
4 They had not gone very far from the city when Joseph said to the servant who was over his household, “Pursue the men at once! When you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil? 5 Doesn’t my master drink from this cup and use it for divination? You have done wrong!’” 6 When the man overtook them, he spoke these words to them. 7 They answered him, “Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing!
Date: 750–400 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Jubilees 43:2
Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions
2 And early in the morning they departed, and when they had gone from there, Joseph said to the steward of his house: 'Pursue them, run and seize them, saying, "You have repaid my good with evil; you have stolen from me the silver cup out of which my lord drinks." And bring back to me their youngest brother, and bring (him) quickly before I go out to my seat of judgment.' 3 And he ran after them and said to them according to these words.
Date: 170–125 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... in Jubilees 43:2, the author omits the servant’s mention that the “stolen” silver goblet is one that Joseph “uses for divination” (Genesis 44:5). Instead, the servant simply says that it is the one in which my master drinks. Joseph’s later words to the same effect (“Do you not know that a man like me practices divination?” Genesis 44:5), are likewise changed: Do you not know that a man takes pleasure in his cup as I do in this cup? (Jubilees 43:10). The reason is that such divination is forbidden by the Torah (Leviticus 19:26, Deuteronomy 18:10); for Jubilees, it was hardly credible that Joseph would have indulged in a practice God prohibited (or even to have claimed to do so as part of his Egyptian disguise). It is also noteworthy that Jubilees has once again slightly changed the order of things ..."
James L. Kugel, A Walk through Jubilees: Studies in the Book of Jubilees and the World of Its Creation (Leiden: Brill, 2012), 187.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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