GENESIS CHAPTER 41 ~ 45

GENESIS 41 WEEK 10

1 It happened, at the end of two
Full years, that Pharaoh had a dream,
Behold, he stood along near to
The river. 2 At once out of stream
There came up seven cows, and fine
Looking and fat, and they would dine
Upon the meadow. 3 Then indeed,
Another seven cows stampede
After them from the flood, and they
Were thin and ugly in their way
And stood beside the other cows
Upon the river bank to browse.
4 The thin and ugly cows ate up
The seven good-looking for sup
And fat cows. So Pharaoh awoke.
5 He slept and dreamed a second stroke,
At once seven heads of grain grew out
On one stalk, plump and without doubt
Good. 6 Then indeed, seven thin and blighted
Heads, blighted by the east wind sighted,
Sprang up after them. 7 And the thin,
Those seven thin heads devoured in
A brief space the seven plump and full.
So Pharaoh woke from fanciful
Dream. 8 Now it happened in the morning
That his spirit in him took warning,
And he sent and called for magicians
All of the wise men and physicians
Of Egypt. And Pharaoh told them
His dreams, but none found stratagem
To tell Pharaoh their theorem.

The Pharaoh's dreams sound like nightmares to me,
But I wonder why such are held to be
Signs of the future or of meaningful
Content. I see dreams as acceptable
And brief insanity during one's sleep.
True many tribes think madnesses do keep
The inspirations of the gods. Perhaps
You use, Beloved, at times the pagan lapse
To further Your own will. All things work for
Your purposes, the evil and what's more
The good that people do in pride. Lead me,
Beloved, in waking or in sleep, to be
A walker in Your will beside the stream
Of cows and corn for future and for dream.

9 Then the chief butler spoke to him,
To Pharaoh, saying "My faults grim
I now remember on this day.
10 "When Pharaoh's anger was in sway
Against his servants, he put me
In the guard's captain's custody,
In that house both chief baker and
Myself together, 11"We each scanned
A dream in one night, he and I.
Each of us dreamed to prophesy.
12 "Now there was a young Hebrew man
With us there, servant of captain
Of the guard. And we told him, and
He told dreams' meanings on demand
For us, to each interpreted
According as his own dream led.
13 "And it happened, just as he said
So it happened. He restored me
To my office, corroboree
He hanged for his long history."

Now think of this, Beloved, when You give doubt's
Benefits to the butler in his clouts.
He lies, I say, when he says he forgot
The service Joseph rendered when his lot
Was not so good. The men promoted do
Not wish to think of those who put them there,
But wish to disremember favours due.
Note well he did remember fine and fair
As soon as he could raise his own position
Before the king with the improved condition
Of his lost memory. Let me beware
Of officers official everywhere.
Beloved, promote Your sovereignty on earth
As One alone, knowing officers' worth.

14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph,
And they brought him quickly by clef
Out of the dungeon, and he shaved,
Changed his clothing, came well-behaved
To Pharaoh. 15 And the Pharaoh said
To Joseph, "I have had a dream,
And there's no one can tell its theme.
But I have heard it said of you
That you can understand what do
Those who interpret dreams, those few."
16 So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying
"It is not in me, no delaying,
Ælohim will give Pharaoh peace
In answer to his dream's caprice."

Now I suppose this means to shave both head
And beard, Beloved, as pictures I have read
Upon the walls of the Egyptian tombs
Deep buried in the pyramidal glooms.
Is not shaving abomination and
Prohibited by Your divine command?
Shame, shame on Joseph for defiling act
Of cutting off his beard just to react
To what the king and court expect of him!
My picture of this action remains dim,
Unless, Beloved, externals in Your view
Are not so rampantly required to do.
Then why did You require removing shoe
When there was only Moses there and You?

17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Lo,
Indeed, in dream I stood to know
On the bank of the river. 18 "So
Suddenly seven cows came up
Out of the river, fine for sup
And good looking and fat, and they
Fed in the meadow by the way.
19 "Then behold, seven other cows
Came up after them there to browse,
Poor, thin and ugly such as I
Have never seen in Egypt's lie.
20 "And the thin, ugly cows ate up
The first seven, fat cows out to sup.
21 "When they had eaten them up, no
One would have known they'd seen the show,
For they were just as ugly as
At the beginning. So as has
Happened, then I awoke. 22 "Also
I saw in my dream, suddenly
Seven heads came up on one free
Stalk, full and good. 23 "And then indeed,
Seven heads, withered, thin, and blighted
By the east wind, followed in seed.
24 "And the thin heads devoured the good.
So I told magicians enlighted
To explain it, but no one could."

Perhaps the reason no doctor could say
What Pharaoh's dreams meant in the light of day,
Despite their awful portent in the dark,
Was simply they were madness, madness stark.
It's only You, Beloved, can touch insanity
And give it sense, and send cosmology,
Reflecting more the quirks of human mind
Than any truth or its reality,
To home and heart as if an arrow blind
Had hit the mark. Ah yes, the stony flint
Is always blind. The human heart has glint
Of truth not for blind reason nor instinct,
But because You, Beloved, in faith once winked
And kings awoke, and prophets not extinct.

25 Then Joseph answered Pharaoh's speech,
"The dreams of Pharaoh are one, each
Means just the same, Ælohim's shown
Pharaoh what He's about to do:
26 "The seven good cows are not alone
Seven years, but seven good ears
Represent also seven years,
And so the dreams are one and true.
27 "And the seven thin, ugly cows
That came up after, it allows,
Are seven years, and so the ears
Empty and blighted by the east
Wind are also those seven years
Of famine without bread or yeast.
28 "This is the thing which I have spoken
To Pharaoh, before he'd awoken.
Ælohim has shown Pharaoh what
He is about to do in plot.
29 "Indeed seven years of great plenty
Will come to all Egypt, not twenty.
30 "But after them seven years of
Famine will come, but not above,
And all the plenty'll be forgotten
In all Egypt for famine gotten.
31 "So the plenty will not be known
Because of what the famine's shown,
For it will be very severe.
32 "And the dream came twice to appear
Because Ælohim's done the thing,
And it will soon come on the king.

Beloved, I have enjoyed the bounteous plenty
Bestowed on me, that could have been for twenty.
I've known the seven years of wealth and food,
I've also seen about me famine's brood.
This world is made of light and dark but yet
In life and death there is one thing to get,
Which is the only thing that can be taken
By the soul that before death's shroud is shaken,
And that is love of You, Beloved, set free
From reward and fear of calamity.
Let me love You despite the thick and thin,
Despite the peace or trouble that I'm in.
Let me not even seek Your love for me,
Since I am satisfied to love and be.

33 "Now therefore, let Pharaoh select
One wise and discrete to protect
And guide the land of Egypt through
The crisis. 34 "Now let Pharaoh do
This, and let him appoint men to
Collect one-fifth of all the land
Produces in the good years' stand.
35 "And let them gather all the food
Of those years coming that are good,
And store up corn in Pharaoh's hand,
And let them keep food in the land.
36 "Then that food shall be as reserve
When the seven years of famine serve
The land of Egypt, that the land
May not perish by famine's hand."

What did poor Joseph then imagine in
The land of Egypt without kith or kin?
That there were men discreet and wise to find?
No, one cannot find anywhere that kind.
The men of Pharaoh were like butler able
Only to think of their own fame and table.
The statesman of today as well as priest
Is selfish every one from great to least.
There's none that would not steal the coffers blind
And put away the corn in his own rind.
Let Africa burn foodless for the art
Of curing tobacco so those who fart
Tobacco smoke may do so at their ease.
Beloved, look down in judgement upon these.

37 The thing was good in Pharaoh's eyes,
And in the eyes of all his men.
38 And Pharaoh said to them again,
"Can we find such a man as wise
As this, a man in whom there lies
Ælohim's spirit's regimen?"
39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since
Ælohim has shown you the prints,
There's none discreet and wise as you.
40 "You shall be over my house too,
And all my people shall be ruled
By your word, but not to be fooled
Only I in the throne shall be
Greater than you in majesty."
41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See,
Now I have set you over all
The land of Egypt gate and wall."

Imagine, my Beloved, Joseph's surprise
To be instated ruler before eyes
Of all the Pharaoh's men as well as wives.
The wives knew all the stories and contrives.
The rub is to be faithful despite all
The gold and power that have a siren call.
Joseph was able to preserve his soul
And keep his body chastely in control
When he was forced it seemed to do as slave
As his mistress commanded to behave.
Can he now do the same again when faced
Not with compulsion but with honour placed
On those who fail to cherish purity?
Beloved, be his and mine for surety.

42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring
Off his hand and put it upon
Joseph's hand, his apparelling
Was fine linen in which to don,
And Pharaoh put a gold chain round
His neck. 43 And he had him ride in
The second chariot from his inn,
And as he rides before him sound
The cry to "Bow the knee!" So he
Set him to rule all he could see.
44 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I
Am Pharaoh, and without your hie
No man may lift his hand or foot
In all the land of Egypt put."

The word is power, Joseph was given power,
The worst thing a man can have for an hour,
Much less for days and years. Beloved, the test
So far shows Joseph among men the best.
And yet the righteous prophet wears the gold
The king has given him, is virtue sold?
The Muslim law contends man shall not wear
Gold, only women have that right and fair.
By Joseph's lone example gold can be
Worn by a man and that man yet go free.
Traditions of men it is known and well
Conflict with divine revelation's spell.
Yet giving value to gold comes too close
To idol worship for both sexes' dose.

45 And Pharaoh called Joseph's new name
Zaphnath-Paaneah, for fame
As revealer of secrets came.
And he gave him as wife one named
Asenath, daughter of the famed
Poti-Pherah the priest of On.
So Joseph went out all alone
To rule beside Egyptian's throne.
46 Joseph was thirty years old when
He stood before Pharaoh king's men,
The king of Egypt. Joseph went
Out from Pharaoh's presence and sent
Throughout all the Egyptians' land.
47 Now in the seven years of grand
Production the ground brought forth well.
48 So he gathered all he could tell
Of the food of the seven years which
Were in the land of Egypt rich,
And laid up the food in the cities,
He laid up in every city
Food of the field and committee
Which was around without bandittis.
49 Joseph gathered very much corn,
As the sand of the sea, no bourn,
Until he stopped its counting, for
It was immeasurable and more.

The daughter of a priest of Egypt was
The mother of two tribes of chosen claws.
Monolatry is something Abraham
Himself regarded as the great I AM.
What differences lay in worship here
Is something that does not quite well appear.
Did Joseph make concessions to the art
Of heathen worship to play well his part?
You do not tell me so, Beloved, so doubt
Is not the better side of in and out.
In any case no heathen god could stop
His gathering of corn for store and shop.
He gathered more than numbers in the speech
Of Egypt for corn, cane and plum and peach.

50 And to Joseph were born two sons
Before the years of famine came,
Whom Asenath, for benisons,
Daughter of Poti-Pherah, same
As priest of On, bore to his claim.
51 Joseph called the name of the first
Born Manasseh: "For as I durst
Ælohim has made me forget
All my toil and my father's home."
Thus Manasseh meant God would let
Him forget how he had to roam.
52 And the name of the second he
Called Ephraim, which means to be
Doubly fruitful: "For Ælohim
Has caused me to be and to seem
Fruitful in the land of distress."
53 The seven full years that did bless
The land of Egypt ended, 54 and
The seven famine years' command
Began to come, as Joseph said.
The famine was in all lands spread,
But in all Egypt there was bread.
55 So when all the land of Egypt
Was famished, people were equipped
To cry to Pharaoh for their bread.
Then Pharaoh said to all the folk,
"Go to Joseph, and what he spoke
Do." 56 The famine was over all
The face of the earth in its thrall,
And Joseph opened all the stores
Sold to Egyptians at the doors.
And the famine became severe
In the land of Egypt for fear.
57 So all the countries came to buy
From Joseph in Egypt, the cry
Of famine was loud and severe
In all the lands it did appear.

It may have seemed creative policy
To gather corn as tax when corn was free,
And then to sell it back to citizen
At a good price for every specimen.
But that was recipe for social mire
Before the people would at last retire.
Creating slavery could aye backfire,
And no doubt helped to cause the problems with
The people who arose in later myth.
The famine made the state monopole
And turned free men to slaves' commodity
That they might eat what they themselves had grown.
Here Joseph is not innocent alone,
But civil servant's heart cuts his in stone.

GENESIS 42

1 When Jacob saw that there was corn
In Egypt, Jacob said to warn
His sons, "Why do you look at one
Another?" 2 And he said "Indeed
I've heard that there's grain by the ton
In Egypt, go down there for seed
And buy for us there what we need
That we may live and not undone."
3 So Joseph's ten brothers went down
To buy corn in Egyptian town.
4 But Jacob did not send the brother
Of Joseph, that is, Benjamin
With his brothers, for he said rather,
"Lest some calamity or other
Befall him by men or by jinn."
5 And Israel's sons went down to buy
Among those travelling for the rye,
For famine was in Canaan's land.
6 Joseph was ruler of the land,
And it was he who sold to all
The people of the land withal.
And Joseph's brothers came and bowed
To him with face to earth allowed.

Divine example of the prophet lets
Me know it's right clever to hedge one's bets
And buy from even heathen hand the needful
If but in all it is no more than seed full.
Thus heathen lands also have role to play,
And not always for war to win the day.
Commerce is better far than staking out
With armaments and with attacking shout.
The only problem is as things go now,
There's not enough of profits in the cow
And corn, nor even in the rowdy oil.
There's just not wealth enough in honest toil.
We need to sell fear now, Beloved, whereas
The stomach has a bottom, no fear has.

7 Joseph saw his brothers and knew them
But acted as a stranger to them
And spoke roughly to them and said
"Where do you come from seeking bread?"
And they said "We're from Canaan's land
Come to buy food at Dad's command."
8 So Joseph knew his brothers, but
They did not know him from the pot.
9 Joseph remembered then the dreams
Which he had dreamed about their schemes,
And said to them "You spies have come
To see the land's nakedness numb!"
10 And they said to him, "No, my lord,
But your servants come not with sword
But in peace for to buy us food.
11 "We are all one man's sons, not rude
But honest, your servants are not
Spies, nor have we been by spies taught."
12 But he said to them, "No, but you
Came to see the land's nakedness."
13 And they said "Now what can we do,
Your servants are brothers not less
Than twelve, the sons of one man in
The land of Canaan, and akin,
In fact, the youngest is today
With our father, and one's away."

Ah, truth be told, Beloved, indeed, it's so
That one's away. The brothers do not show
The dastardly way they dealt with the one,
Oh no, they did not tell the thing they'd done.
Beloved, let me live so the truth I tell
Has nothing in it of the hidden spell.
There is enough of accusation in
The naked land for unacknowledged sin.
For gain or hidden motives everywhere
Men make threats on the livelihood and bare
Lives of others whose fortune brings them to
Their thrones in some petition for their meat.
I pray my own petitions be to You,
Beloved, alone where we two only meet.

14 But Joseph said to them, "It is
As I have said 'You're spies of his!'
15 "In this manner you shall be tested:
By Pharaoh's life, you'll not be vested
To leave this place unless your brother,
The youngest comes here from the other.
16 "Send one of you, and let him bring
Your brother, and the rest shall sing
In prison, that your words may be
Tested if there is truth to see
In you, or else, by Pharaoh's life,
You surely are spies out for strife!"
17 So he put them together all
In prison three days. 18 Joseph's call
Came to them the third day, "Do this
And live, for I fear Ælohim:
19 "If you're honest, let one remiss
Of your brothers confined redeem
In prison, but the rest go carry
Corn for famine home and be merry.
20 "And bring your youngest brother here
To me, so your words will appear
To be true, and you shall not die."
And they did so and wondered why.

When Joseph's memory turned to dreams of youth,
He turned events to make the second truth
As well. His brothers bowed already, now
The sun and moon must be summoned to bow:
Small vengeance that for thirteen years a slave
And hardly hope of else before the grave.
The one most guilty stays in prison so
The brothers watching the results can know
That God's hand reaches out in punishment
For what they did to Joseph, where they sent.
Joseph does with his power no evil thing,
Though he is second only to the king.
Beloved, give me but half integrity
That Joseph has for his felicity.

21 Then they told one another, "We
Are truly guilty for the fee
Of our brother, for we saw how
Anguish of soul had marked his brow
When he pleaded with us, and we
Would not hear, therefore this distress
Has come on us for wickedness."
22 And Reuben answered them, and said
"Did I not speak to you instead,
Saying 'Don't sin against the boy',
And you would not listen ahoy?
Therefore indeed, his blood is now
Required of us, I do avow."
23 But they did not know Joseph heard
And understood them, every word,
For he spoke with interpreter.
24 And he turned away where they were
And wept. Then he came back again
Once more to confer with the men.
And he took Simeon and bound
Him while they watched him all around.
25 Then Joseph gave command to fill
Their sacks with corn, and not to spill
But to restore each man his coin,
And give provisions for the way.
And so he did. 26 They came to join
Together, load their donkeys grey
With corn, departed on their way.
27 But as one of them opened sack
To give his donkey feed or snack
At the encampment, he saw money
In the sack's mouth, which was not funny.
28 So he said to his brothers, "My
Money's restored, and see it lie
There in my sack!" Then their hearts failed
Them and they were afraid and paled,
Saying to one another, "What
Does Ælohim against us plot?"

Joseph was moved by one thing only here:
His brothers still remembered all his fear
And anguish when they lifted him to sell
To the traders from out of the dry well.
He turns to weep, not for the grown men's part,
Nor for the years passed by nor for the start
Of a new life with all its pleasant hopes,
But for the laddie whose grimy hand gropes
A tear-streaked face, for this the ruler turns
And feels the knotty throat and eye that burns.
Joseph was moved his brothers knew regret
For what they did to him that day, and yet
He did not know how soon regret had come.
More tears, Beloved, would have made up the sum.

29 Then they went to Jacob their father
In Canaan's land and told the bother
That happened to them, saying that
30 "The man who's lord of the land sat
And spoke roughly, and took us for
Spies of the country, what is more.
31 "But we told him 'We're honest, we
Are not spies come to your country.
32 'We are twelve brothers, sons of one
Father, one's not, the youngest son
Is with our father this day in
The land of Canaan, genuine.'
33 "Then the man, ruler of the land,
Told us 'By this I'll understand
That you are honest men: Leave one
Of your brothers with me to shun,
Take food for the famine of your
Households, and be gone to your land.
34 'And bring your youngest brother for
Me to see, so I'll know your hand
That you're not spies, but honest men,
And I'll release your brother then
And you may trade here in the land.'"
35 It happened when they emptied sacks,
Surprise, each one's money in stacks
Was in his sack, and when they saw
The money they were struck with awe
And fear, both the father and son,
For what had happened and begun.
36 And Jacob their father told them,
"You have bereaved me: Joseph's not,
And Simeon's gone, and now you're sot
To take off Benjamin. All these
Things are against me and my ease."
37 Then Reuben told his father, saying
"Kill my two sons and for my slaying
If I do not bring back to you,
But put him in my hands, for true
I shall bring him back to you, do."
38 But he said "My son shall not go
Down with you, for what's left to show,
Since his brother is dead, and he
Is left alone of his family.
If anything befell him on
The way in which you go upon,
Then you would bring down my grey hair
With sorrow to the grave, beware."

I somehow don't think Reuben's plan to kill
A grandchild was the thing to change the will
Of Jacob. Human plans often are start,
Despite their wisdom and their plotful art,
Of new catastrophes. Sometimes I shrink,
Beloved, standing one day in seven to think
That task and journey would be better far
Than six in seven to fight and follow star.
Six Sabbaths ought to keep the human late
For doing all the things he thinks are great.
But such suggestion as Reuben's may be
Just about par for every human tee.
The loving You, is better far than doing
And planning for and making out the stewing.

GENESIS 43

1 Now the land's famine hit severely.
2 And it happened, they'd eaten nearly
All the corn that they had bought from
Egypt, their father told them "Come,
Go back, buy us a little food."
3 But Judah said "I shan't be rude,
But the man warned us solemnly,
Saying 'You surely shall not see
My face unless your brother comes.'"
4 "If you send our brother with us,
We will go down and buy up drums
Of food and never make a fuss.
5 "But if you will not send him, we
Will not go down, for the man, see,
Said to us, 'You shall not see my
Face unless your brother comes by.'"
6 And Israel said "Why did you deal
So wrongfully with me to steal
A march and tell the man you had
Still one more brother? That was bad."
7 But they said "He asked us right out
About ourselves and family's scout,
Saying 'Is your father alive?
Does your one brother still survive?'
And we told him the things he asked.
Could we have known that he had masked
His question to say, 'Bring him down'?"

Hindsight is always best for what is said,
And I'd be rather quiet than well-bred,
For any talk can come back in one's sleep
And turn to accusation and make weep.
Instead I find I am verbose, verbose,
I chatter on to You in greater dose,
Beloved, than You perhaps care to lend ear,
And if I'm asked a question, I take cheer
In answering at length and oft in rhyme.
Like Israel's sons, as soon as ruler speaks
And asks me this or that, my loose tongue seeks
To inform power of all its jackass notions.
Even a sonnet does not give me time
Enough to say my peace. I need more oceans.

8 Then Judah told Israel his father,
"Send the lad with me, do not bother,
And we will get up, do not frown,
And go, that we may live, not die,
We, you and our children foreby.
9 "I myself will be surety
For him, and from my hand shall be
Requirement of him, if I do
Not bring the laddie back to you
And set him here before you, let
Me bear the blame forever yet.
10 "For if we had not lingered, sure
It is by now we'd be secure
And all returned this second time
Instead of waiting for the rhyme."

Now Judah's argument is better far
Than Reuben's was, to kill a child and star,
If he did not bring Benjamin back home
From the Nile waters and its fertile loam.
Judah quite simply offers to bear blame
If what he does turns out to be his shame.
His second argument carries more weight,
As always does: hurry, or we'll be late.
I lay aside my reticence and rush
To You, Beloved, and in the morning hush
Remember Your sweet names with heart and tongue
As I climb the new daylight rung by rung,
And think that once I too beside the Nile
Sought Your sweet comforts on its banks a while.

11 And Israel their father told them,
"If it must be, then stratagem
Provide, and take some of the best
Fruits of the land and then go west
With vessels and carry down gifts
For the man, a little balm lifts
The spirits and a little honey,
Spices and myrrh, beside the money,
Pistachios and almonds too.
12 "And take double money with you
And take back in your hand the coin
That was returned and so rejoin
What was in the mouth of your sacks,
Perhaps an oversight's the knacks.
13 "Take your brother also, and get
Up, go back to the man. 14 "And yet
May El El God Almighty give
You grace and mercy relative
To the man, that he may release
Your other brother and in peace
Benjamin too. If I'm bereaved,
Then let it be I am bereaved!"

I sit with one beneath pistachio trees
And look toward the River Euphrates,
And wonder that Jacob had gifts to send.
Sometimes pistachio harvest is a blend
Of work and sorrows to no fruitful end.
The barley harvest is a surer thing
With coloured clothing spread like coloured wing
Across the green of fields. But Jacob's ring
Of famine left a treasure or two for
The ruler of Egypt he might implore
For barley and for bread. Gift for reprieved
In hand, Jacob lives on hopes though bereaved.
I come, Beloved, to You almonds in hand,
Pistachios and apricots and sand.

15 So the men took that present and
Benjamin, and took by command
Double the money in their hand,
And rose and went down to the land
Of Egypt, and they stood before
Joseph. 16 When Joseph saw before
Him Benjamin with them, he said
To the steward of his house, "Take
These men to my home to eat bread,
And slay, make ready for their sake,
For these men dine with me at noon."
17 Then the man did as Joseph bade,
And the man brought the men in soon
To Joseph's house. 18 They were afraid
Because they were all brought into
Joseph's house, and they said "It's true
Because of the money, which was
Returned in our sacks the first time,
That we are brought in, so he does
Make case against us for the crime
To fall upon us, take us as
Slaves with our donkeys for the razz."

The sons of Israel were right he had
Secret intentions that could have been bad.
Unusual it is such secrets are
The roots of something pleasant in the far
Off future or the near. The summons clear
Before a ruler is an omen's fear.
I'd just as soon not be invited to
A senator's house party or shindo.
Take me, Beloved, as slave if that's Your will,
And I shall bow to fortune and be still.
Take me to serve angels and men and yet
I shall be grateful for the crumbs I get.
But save, I pray, the freedom of my donkey
From hunger, servitude, and honkey-tonkey.

19 When they drew near to the steward
Of Joseph's house, they had a word
With him at the door of the gate,
20 And said "O sir, we did come late
The first time to buy food, 21 "but it
Happened, when we came with outfit
To the encampment, that we saw
Each man's money was in the maw
Of each man's sack, our money in
Full weight, so we have brought, no sin,
The money back in hand. 22 "And we
Have brought down other money, see,
In our hands to buy food, we do
Not know who gave our money back
Nor yet do we know at all who
Put that money into each sack."

I shyly stand before Your gates and tell
The porter that I got back too much change.
I gave in payment waking from the spell
Of sleep and got back range on dawn-felt range
Of crimson sunrise painted without flame
On snows each morning never in the same
And never changing glories. Now I bring
Back to You what I got winter and spring.
I gave in payment breath and strutting on
The street and got back perfumes noon and dawn
Of bird cherries in bloom and sweet peas too,
I got too much change for what I gave You.
So I bring back the money in my sack,
Beloved, can I somehow make up the lack?

23 But he told them, "Peace be with you,
Do not fear, your God and the God
Of your father has given sod
And treasure in your sacks, I had
Your money, so fear nothing sad."
Then he brought Simeon out to them.
24 So the man brought the men into
Joseph's house and gave them their due
In water, and they washed their feet,
And gave their donkeys feed and treat.
25 Then they made the gift ready for
Joseph's coming back at noon, for
They heard that they would eat bread there,
And so they waited for their share.

Beloved, I shall eat in Your house today,
In palaces beyond the cold and grey
That is the fashion now the gold is kept
Hidden beneath the ground and in well-swept
Steel rooms instead of out for faith and show
To make the multitudes know that kings glow.
Beloved, I shall eat in Your house today,
In palaces of living fir that sway
Above the pines and towering on the birch,
In halls carpeted better than a church
With dandelions and plantain and the must
Of chickweed in the damp, and in the dust
Brambles and nettles with their blooms in white.
Beloved, today I shall eat in Your light.

26 And when Joseph came home, they brought
Him the gift in their hand, and got
Into the house, and bowed down to
Him to the earth. 27 Then he asked "Do
You well, and is your father well
The old man that you spoke a spell
About, is he alive now still?"
28 And they replied, "Do not take ill,
Your servant our father's in good
Health, still alive as he well should."
And they all bowed their heads again
Down and prostrated, all the men.
29 Then he lifted his eyes and saw
His brother Benjamin with awe,
His mother's son, and said "Is this
Your younger brother not remiss
Of whom you spoke to me?" And he
Said then, "Gracious Ælohim be
To you, my son." 30 Now his heart yearned
For his brother, as Joseph learned
So Joseph made haste and sought where
To weep, and found his chamber there
And wept. 31 And then he washed his face
And came out once more to the place,
And he restrained himself, and said
To the servants, "Now serve the bread."

Though my heart yearns for You, I rarely weep.
Perhaps that is because You do not keep
Out of my presence for dozens of years,
And do not leave me alone in my fears.
Though I do not see You, Beloved, I know
Your tracks about the garden in the snow
That look exactly like a rabbit's, but
I'm not fooled with the which and why and what.
Though I do not hear You, Beloved, I hear
The echoes of Your passing at the ear,
And see a swallow whisk the sounds away,
A swallow behind which You hid today.
Though my heart yearns for You, and it yearns still,
I know that You are closer than my will.

32 So they set him a place apart
From the brothers because the mart
And custom mores did not allow
Egyptians to eat with such now
As Hebrews were, for that would be
For Egyptians abominably.
33 And they sat before him, the first
Born by his birthright to the worst
According to his youth, while they
Looked with surprise at each one's stay.
34 Then he took servings to them from
Before him, but Benjamin's sum
Was five times more than any other.
So they drank merry with their brother.

Three bones I have to pick, Beloved, with You.
The first is what Egyptian people do
In eating separately from those that keep
Their herds of goats and those that follow sheep.
No man is an abomination but
Contains I-reflection of divine what.
The second thing is that Joseph gave more
To Benjamin in food and in his store.
Democracy requires equality
In eating as well as in being free.
And finally I take exception to
The drinking if it's alcohol You do.
Besides these things for issues there're no others.
Drink on then and be merry with Your brothers.

GENESIS 44

1 And he commanded the steward
Of his house, saying "Fill ill-starred
The men's sacks with food, as much as
They can carry, and put what has
Each man in money in the mouth
Of his sack. 2 "Also put for drouth
My cup, the silver cup, into
The youngest's sack's mouth and his due
Of money for the corn." So he
Did according to the word he,
Joseph had spoken. 3 As soon as
The morning dawned, the men whereas
Were sent away, their donkeys too.
4 When they had gone out of the view
And city, and were not yet far
Off, Joseph said to his steward,
"Get up, follow the men, and when
You overtake them, tell the men,
'Why have you repaid evil for
Good? 5 'Is not this the one in store
From which my lord drinks, and with which
He indeed divines? What a stitch
Of evil you've done doing so.'"
So the steward set out to go.

The plot of Joseph was well tried and true,
Beloved, but what the steward had to do
Was evil, since he did not know the case.
It's civil servants always blast the race,
And not the wicked tyrants on the throne.
It's not the president, but customs crone
That blights the world with rot and tyranny.
Not from the kings but servants set us free.
Blame not the servant, o my soul, for he
Better than Moses obeys Enoch's fee,
Ready to drown a boy before denying
The command of his master in the lying.
The inward and the outward meaning tries
Each soul and lays the choice before its eyes.

6 And he overtook them, and he
Spoke to them these same words and free.
7 And they said to him, "Why does my
Lord say these words? Be it not nigh
To us that your servants should do
Such thing. 8 "Look, we brought back to you
From land of Canaan the money
Which we found in our sacks' mouths free.
How then could we steal silver, gold
From your lord's house? 9 "Now then be bold,
With whomsoever it is found,
Let him die, and we shall be bound
As my lord's slaves."10 And he said "Now
Also let it be just done how
You have spoken, he with whom it
Is found shall be my slave befit,
And you shall all be blameless then."

The innocent call down the curse of heaven
Upon their own heads, knowing not the leaven
Of spite the palace dweller has in store
To crush the innocent by plot and gore.
The wily judge knows how to treat the words
Of innocent ones caught among the turds
Of intrigue, and to make himself seem just
While trampling hungry poor into the dust.
I've learned I hope the lesson what to do,
When questioned by authorities, be true
To truth and self best by a silent tongue,
Not knowing vested interests, to be hung.
Let me live so, Beloved, that no blame can
Be cast on me, then sealed lips are the plan.

11 So each man quickly let down his
Sack to the ground, and as it is
Each opened his sack. 12 So he searched.
He started with the oldest perched
And left off with the youngest, and
The cup was in Benjamin's sack.

The silver cup is always in the store
Of innocence. The evidence is more
In pointing to deceiver plot to frame.
The condemned are more often not to blame.
Yet wheels turn on and the protected now
Tomorrow fall before the biting plough.
The silver plaited on the palm turns black
And buys no more the pleasures nor the slack.
Slight comfort this to thousands in their need
Who see with horror silver in the seed.
Though justice comes tomorrow, then it's late,
And those today have time to meet their fate.
Perhaps tomorrow some souls will gain time
Because a felon toppled paid his crime.

13 They tore their clothes, and then went back
With donkeys loaded to the city,
To see the man and beg for pity.
14 So Judah and his brothers came
To Joseph's house, and he was game,
Still there, and they fell before him
On the ground, since the dream was dim.
15 And Joseph said to them, "What deed
Is this you have done to succeed?
Did you not know that such a man
As I can divine, surely can?"

The touching thing about these men of old
Is that they never let donkeys go cold,
But in their direst hour remember beast
And tenderly see to their needs at least,
While Joseph pretends to divine, not guess,
The future by his powers of no and yes.
Even the good and fair sometimes for gain
Confirm the superstitions of the vain,
And let them fear eternal punishment,
Because they have no eyes and ears are spent.
Be wise, my soul, and do not speak contrary
To popes who have both power and truth to parry.
There is no winning calling balls and strikes.
Beloved, I give up limousines for bikes.

16 Then Judah said "What shall we say
To my lord? What shall we speak, say?
Or how shall we clear ourselves here?
Ælohim has made to appear
Iniquity of your servants,
Here we are, my lord's recompense,
Slaves all, both we and he also
With whom the cup was found to go."

The wisdom of Judah is great I see.
When framed and damned he still sees regency
Of divine providence. Though innocent,
He knows You guide the outcome with consent.
He shows more patience before his sentence
Than Joseph was when in his innocence
He entered prison to serve there as seer
Of secrets for the convicts that came near.
Judah does not know what Your plan may be,
But firmly stands prepared for jeopardy.
I do not ask for courage in the face
Of such trials here that Judah had to face,
Nor for his patience in the face of wrong.
I only ask, Beloved, You lead my song.

17 But he said "Far be it from me
That I should do so to the free,
The man in whose hand the cup was
Shall be my slave, and that's as does.
And as for you, go up in peace
To your father in full release."

Now Joseph gives his brothers their good chance
To sell once more a brother, song and dance,
Into Egypt and into slavery.
They did it once for spite, now to be free
They come once more before the same temptation.
It's praise, Beloved, to You to find what's hard
One time that saw my feet slip on the shard,
Come round again and passes with elation,
Without an effort or a condemnation.
Let's see if Joseph's brothers pass the bill.
I have a sneaking feeling that they will.
The road to heaven on earth is round and round
Upon the scintillating slaughter ground,
There You by sacrificial sparks are found.

WEEK 11

18 Then Judah came near to him and
Said "O my lord, please lend a hand
And let your servant speak a word
In my lord's hearing, and not stirred
To anger against your servant,
For you are Pharaoh's adjutant.
19 "My lord asked his servants, saying
'Have you father or brotherling?'
20 "And we said to my lord, 'Indeed,
We have father, old man agreed,
And a child of his old age, who
Is young, his brother is dead too,
And he alone is left of his
Mother's children, and indeed his
Father loves him.' 21 "And then you said
To your servants, 'Bring him down led
To me, that I may set my eyes
On him.' 22 "And we gave our replies
To my lord, 'The lad cannot leave
His father, for if he should leave
His father, his father would die.'
23 "But you said to your servants, 'Fie,
Unless your youngest brother comes
Down with you, you shall not for plums
See my face any more.' 24 "So it
Was, when we went up there to sit
With your servant my father, that
We told him my lord's words out flat.
25 "And our father said 'Go back and
Buy some food for our little band.'
26 "But we said 'We cannot go down,
If our youngest brother in gown
Is with us, then we will go down,
For we may not see the man's face
Except our youngest's in the place.'
27 "Then your servant my father said
To us, 'You know my wife had bred
And borne me two sons, 28 'and the one
Went out from me, and then I said
"Surely he's torn to pieces, done,"
And I have not seen since that son.
29 'But if you take this one from me
Also, and some calamity
Befalls him, you shall bring down my
Grey hair with sorrow under sky
And to the grave.' 30 "Now therefore, when
I come to your servant my father,
And the lad is not with the men,
Since his life is bound up the rather
In the lad's life, 31 "it will happen,
When he sees lad's not with the men,
That he will die. So your servants
Will bring down the grey hair's expense
Of your servant our father by
Sorrow to the grave under sky.
32 "For your servant became surety
For the lad to my father free,
Saying 'If I do not bring him
Back to you, then I shall be dim
To bear the blame before my father
Forever and to carry bother.'
33 "Now therefore, please let your servant
Remain as lad's executant,
As a slave to my lord, and let
The lad go up on donkey set
With his brothers. 34 "For how shall I
Go up to my father the by
If the lad is not with me, lest
Perhaps I see the evil pest
That would come on my father's chest?"

I put a sonnet here perversely set,
While reader waits results with bated breath,
And hangman stops with judge to make a bet,
And the whole courtroom's silent as the death
To see what Joseph's hand's about to do.
My sonnet is in praise of Judah's speech
That shines with love to father and to each
Brother and brother's child within his reach.
Judah, the harlot monger's become new.
I praise You, my Beloved, for what men do,
Who go beyond the human hope and shape
To act a divine play in this landscape.
May every man and woman have Your grace
To live and love in Judah's trysting place.

GENESIS 45

1 Joseph could not restrain himself
Before those who stood by like delf
And he cried out, "Let all go out
From me!" So no one stood about
With him while Joseph made himself
Known to his brothers. 2 And he wept
Aloud, Egyptians there that kept
His house and Pharaoh's house heard it.
3 Then Joseph told his brothers fit,
"I'm Joseph, does my father live?"
But his brothers could hardly give
Him answer, for they were dismayed
In his presence. 4 And Joseph said
To his brothers, "Come near to me."
So they came near him, and then he
Said "I'm Joseph your brother, whom
You sold into Egypt for doom.
5 "But now, do not therefore be grieved
Or angry with yourselves deceived
Because you sold me, Ælohim
Sent me before you, it would seem,
To preserve life. 6 "For these two years
The famine has been to our fears
In the land, and there are still five
Years in which there will neither thrive
The plough nor harvest. 7 "Ælohim
Sent me before you to redeem
Posterity for you on earth,
And save your lives for their great worth.

The question is whether one is indeed
Accountable for sowing seed of weed.
The fact that You are all goodness and do
Eventually make every falsehood true
Does not change hate, does not change wrong intention
To something better than evil's prevention.
Truly the heart repents when veil is lifted
And in Your sight the empty soul is gifted.
Time when condensed by truth releases all
Its secrets to the shimmery anthem’s call,
And sight cannot be held to blame for what
Blindness crushed in the dayward garden plot.
Beloved, I come before You in dismay
To find You on the throne instead of stray.

8 "So now it was not you who sent
Me here, but Ælohim, who went
And made me father [counsellor] to Pharaoh,
And lord of all his house to grow,
And ruler throughout Egypt's land,
And all do just what I command.
9 "Make haste and go up to my father,
And say to him and make no bother,
'Says your son Joseph, "Ælohim
Has made me lord of Egypt's stream,
Come down to me, and do not tarry.
10 "You shall live in Goshen's land merry,
And you shall be near me, you and
Your children, children's children, and
Your flocks and herds, all in the land.
11 "There I will provide for you, lest
You and your household, all your best,
Come into poverty, for there
Are still five years of famine's care."'

If Joseph is the father of Pharaoh
At under forty years, my mind is slow
To take in when he sired the king, as slave
Or as a prisoner above the grave.
The fact is Pharaoh probably was older
Than Joseph or, if not, not young enough
To be his son. That makes me therefore bolder
To say that son of God and God as tough
And father is not something to be made
A point of dogma since it suits no staid
And common speech. Beloved, be father to
Me as Joseph gave council what kings do,
And be my king as Pharaoh remained still
To father Joseph who lived by his will.

12 "And indeed, your eyes and the eyes
Of brother Benjamin apprise
That it is my mouth telling you.
13 "So you shall tell my father, do,
Of all my glory in Egypt,
And all you've seen upon the script,
And you shall hurry and bring my
Father down here before my eye."
14 Then he fell on his brother's neck,
Benjamin's neck and wept a speck,
And Benjamin wept on his neck.
15 Moreover he kissed all his brothers
And wept upon them, all the others,
And after that his brothers spoke
With him as though they'd just awoke.

Fall on my neck, Beloved, though I have sold
You into Egypt as a slave untold
Times when the caravan held to the stars
As guide, the moon as god, the sun as bars
Of golden god-flesh on a safe stock market.
Let me take my idolatry and park it.
Fall on my neck, Beloved, and weep for joy
That I have followed in Your steps' employ,
From hunger only, truly, but to find
You in the buying rooms not left behind
The moment when at last I had forgotten
Or thought I had, Your silk and wool and cotton.
Fall on my neck, Beloved, and as You weep,
Let veils fall from my eyes like tears from sleep.

16 Now the report of it was heard
In Pharaoh's house, saying the word,
"Joseph's brothers have come." So it
Pleased Pharaoh well and all his kit.
17 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Say
To your brothers, 'Do this today:
Load your beasts and go on your way
To Canaan's land. 18 'Bring your father
And your households and come prefer
The best of Egypt's land I'll give,
You'll eat the land's fat here and live.
19 'Now you're commanded, do this too:
Take wagons out of Egypt for
Your little ones, wives you adore
And bring your father and come, do.
20 'Also do not be worried for
Your goods, for all the best is yours
From Egypt's land and all its stores.'"

The statues of Egyptian kings reveal
Benevolence of monarchs in the wheel
Of ancient times. Their sweetness still looks out
Of staring stone eyes showing without doubt
Concern felt proper at the time and place
To be seen on a living monarch's face.
Little by little with time expectations
Changed with the passing of new sovereign nations.
With Alexander came the longing look
Towards horizons instead of the book
Of human heart justice, while Caesar's made
The lust for power the natural human shade.
But ancient Pharaoh's thought of little ones,
And old men's comfort and respect of sons.

21 Then the sons of Israel did so,
And Joseph gave wagons to go,
According to Pharaoh's command,
And gave stuff for the trip in hand.
22 He gave them all, to each in turn,
Changes of raiment, stuff to burn,
But Benjamin got three hundred
In silver and five suits of thread.
23 And he sent to his father these:
Ten donkeys loaded from the knees
With the good things of Egypt, and
Ten female donkeys loaded grand
With corn and bread and food to go
For his father not to be slow.
24 So he sent his brothers away,
And as they left he had his say,
"See you don't fall out on the way."

A trick for Benjamin, this going back,
Joseph reminds that worry is not slack
And temptation there may well be to hide
Through some new escapade what they had lied.
The first word of arrival must be to
Say Joseph lives, no matter what they do.
The lie is out, unless some new plan can
Be hatched to save each criminal and man.
"Do not fall out along the way" he said.
That's sound advice to those who came for bread.
It's falling out of men at middle age
That often cuts the bread out of the page
Of human history. Beloved, I've fallen
Out with the fair and not, both flower and pollen.

25 Then they went up out of Egypt,
And came to Canaan's land equipped
To Jacob their father. 26 And they
Told him, saying "Joseph today
Is still alive, and he rules all
The land of Egypt at his call."
And Jacob's heart stood still, because
He did not credit from their jaws.
27 But when they told him every word
Which Joseph said, what had occurred
And when he saw the wagons that
Joseph had sent to where he sat
To carry him, the spirit of
Jacob their father rose above.
28 Then Israel said "It is enough.
Joseph my son's alive and tough.
I will go down where they reside
And see him once before I've died."

Beloved, I'm too enraptured with the fact
That You are here and now and still intact
Despite philosophy and industry,
That I fail to remember the degree
To which they lied who said that You were bound
In three alone. I sought You in the sound
Of liturgy, and forgot how they lied
Who said You were one God of none beside
The culture-honed and self-identified.
I sought You sorrowing and when I'd given
Up all the ways and means in which I'd striven,
Your wagons and Your donkeys came before
The tent door where I kept depleted store,
Brought bread and resurrection, what is more.

AUTHOR: THOMAS G. MCELWAIN

Copyright © 2007 Adams & McElwain Publishers and Thomas McElwain First Published in two volumes, The Beloved and I 2005, and Led of the Beloved, 2006. Second Edition, 2010 Third and revised edition, 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this verse commentary on the sacred Scriptures may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from publisher.

To purchase the books, please go to:

http://www.lulu.com/shop/thomas-mcelwain/the-beloved-and-i-genesis-to-maccabees/paperback/product-20136835.html http://www.lulu.com/shop/thomas-mcelwain/the-beloved-and-i-job-to-revelation/paperback/product-20050862.html