Book One of Saint Ambrose of Milan, Bishop, On Joseph the Patriarch

Latin Text from public domain Migne Editors, Patrologiae Cursus Completus.

Translated into English using ChatGPT.

Table of Contents Chapter I. Chapter II. Chapter III. Chapter IV. Chapter V. Chapter VI. Chapter VII. Chapter VIII. Chapter IX. Chapter X. Chapter XI. Chapter XII. Chapter XIII. Chapter XIV.

Chapter I.

A treatise on Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, explaining why the story of Saint Joseph follows them. He is presented as the epitome of chastity; the text also briefly discusses the love of his parents, the envy of his brothers towards him, and the forgetting of the wrongs he suffered.

The lives of the saints are a guide for others to live by. And so we more fully grasp the orderly sequence of the Scriptures; so that as we read about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the other righteous ones, we may follow in their footsteps, like a path of innocence that has been opened to us by their virtue. And as I have often reflected on them, today the story of Saint Joseph comes to mind. In him, many virtues were present, but especially notable was his chastity. It is therefore just that when you learn from Abraham the fervent devotion of faith, from Isaac the sincere purity of mind, from Jacob the singular patience of the soul and labor; from that generalization of virtues, you direct your mind to the very types of disciplines. For although those virtues are more diffuse, these are more explicit and more readily penetrate the mind in proportion as they are more circumscribed and determined.

2. Therefore, let Saint Joseph be proposed to us as a mirror of chastity. For in his manners, in his actions, purity shines forth, and a certain radiance of grace accompanies his chastity. Hence he was loved more by his parents than the other children. But this matter was a cause for envy, because it could not be passed over in silence.

3. Therefore, from here the argument of the whole history proceeded; at the same time, so that we may know that a perfect man does not move to seek revenge for the injury of pain, nor does he repay evil for evil. Hence David says: If I have repaid those who do evil to me (Psalm 7:5). But what would be the reason that Joseph deserved to be preferred over the others, if he either harmed those who harmed him or loved those who loved him? For many people do this. But that is remarkable, if you love your enemy, which the Savior teaches (Matthew 5:44). Therefore, by right, he is to be admired, who did this before the Gospel; that when injured, he would pardon, when tempted, he would forgive, when betrayed, he would not retaliate, but instead repay with kindness for insult; which all of us have learned after the Gospel, but cannot preserve.

4. Let us therefore learn from the envy of the saints; so that we may imitate their patience: and let us understand that they were not superior by nature, but by observation; not ignorant of vices, but corrected them. And if envy has even affected the saints, how much more careful should we be not to inflame sinners?

Chapter II.

Parents' affection and children's gratitude should be equal. However, Jacob is excused because he preferred Joseph, who was adorned with many virtues, over others. Moreover, he was already endowed with the grace of prophecy, as his dreams, which are related here, demonstrate.

5. Therefore, we are taught what kind of affection parents should have, for the sake of their children. To love one's children is sweet, and to love them more intensely is even sweeter. But often, the very fatherly love, unless it maintains moderation, harms the children. If excessive indulgence loosens the bond of love, or if preference for one child turns others away from the affection of kinship. One gains more for the son when love is gained from his siblings. This is the greater generosity of parents, this is the wealthier inheritance of children. Equal grace binds children whom equal nature has joined. Piety knows not the profit of money, in which lies the expense of piety. Why are you surprised if disputes arise among brothers over land or a house, when envy arose among the holy sons of Jacob over a tunic?

So what then? Should Jacob be criticized because he preferred one over the others? But we cannot take away freedom from parents; let them love those more whom they believe deserve more: nor should we cut off the desire to please from our children. Finally, Jacob loved him more, in whom he foresaw greater signs of virtues; so that the father seems to have preferred not so much a son, as the mystery of a prophet: and he made for him with good reason a varied coat, by which he signified that he should be preferred to his brothers in the dress of diverse virtues.


Finally, the divine grace shone forth in the boy while he was still alive. For he dreamed that while he was binding sheaves, as it seemed to him in a vision, his sheaf stood up and remained upright; then his brothers' sheaves turned toward his sheaf and bowed down to it (Genesis 37:6-7). In this, the future resurrection of the Lord Jesus was revealed, whom the eleven disciples also adored when they saw Him in Jerusalem, and all the saints will adore Him when they are resurrected, offering the fruits of good works, as it is written: "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy" (Psalm 126:6). Wherefore, brethren, though they diminished the faith of his dream by envy, still expressing the interpretation thereof in their own words, they answered him: Shalt thou indeed reign over us, or shalt thou have dominion over us? (Gen. XXXVII, 8) For by his visions it was signified that a king should come, whom all the flesh of mankind should adore, bending the knee.

But he saw another dream, and he told it to his father and his brothers, because the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to him. So his father rebuked him, saying: What is this dream that you have dreamt? Shall I, your mother, and your brothers come and bow down to you upon the earth? Who is this whom parents and brothers worshiped upon the earth, if not Christ Jesus, when Joseph and his mother, along with the disciples, worshiped him, confessing him as the true God in that body, of whom alone it was said: Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all stars and light? But the rebuke of the father signifies the hardness of the people of Israel, from whom Christ according to the flesh, whom they do not believe to be God even today, nor do they want to worship him as the Lord, because they recognize him as born of themselves. Therefore, they hear his responses, but they do not understand; they read that the sun and the moon praise him, and they do not want to believe that it has been said about Jesus Christ. Therefore, Jacob is deceived by a foreign figure, but he is not deceived by his own love. Filial piety in him does not err: but the desires of the people are expressed as being in error.

Chapter III.

When above it is said that Jacob sent Joseph to rebuke, this was not done out of disbelief: when he, being aware of the future Incarnation, sent the same to his brothers. Joseph, after he wandered in the field, came to Dothan. His brothers, seeing him from afar, thought to kill him: but they changed their plan and sold him to the Ishmaelites. And these things, along with the staining of the tunic and the drying up of the well, are adapted to the mystery of the Passion.


Therefore, the Patriarch did not doubt these visions, as he prophesied both the role of the righteous and the people, that the Son of God would come to earth, who would be loved by the righteous and rejected by the faithless. He foresaw the mysteries of the future Incarnation, as he sent his son to his brothers, to see if the sheep were well. These sheep were the ones that God was already seeking in the Patriarch's zeal, the ones about whom the Lord Jesus said in the Gospel: I have come only for the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And he sent, he said, to Shechem (Gen. XXXVII, 13), which in interpretation is said to be shoulder, or back, that is, to those who would not convert to the Lord, but would turn away from His presence, which is properly the sinner's. Cain went out from the presence of God. And the Prophet says: You will put them to flight (Ps. XX, 13). But the righteous man does not turn away from the Lord, but approaches, saying: My eyes are always on the Lord (Ps. XXIV, 15). And Isaiah said to the Lord: Whom shall I send? (Isaiah 6:8) And he offered himself willingly, saying: Here am I. And Simeon waited to see the Christ of the Lord, and after he saw, because he had seen the redeemer of sinners and of the whole world, as if relieved from sin, he desired to be freed from the use of this flesh, saying: Now, Lord, dismiss your servant in peace; for my eyes have seen your salvation (Luke 2:30-31). And Zacchaeus first found the advantage of his commendation, that he climbed into a tree to see Christ. Therefore, Joseph was sent by his father to his brothers, by that Father who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all: by that Father of whom it is written, 'God, sending his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh.' (Rom. 8:3).

And Joseph wandered, because he could not find his brothers (Gen. XXXVII, 15). He wandered rightfully, for he sought the wandering ones; for the Lord recognizes those who are his own. And indeed Jesus, weary from the journey, sat by the well. He was weary because he did not find the people of God whom he sought; for they had departed from the face of the Lord. For whoever follows sin, departs from Christ. The sinner departs, the righteous enters. Indeed, Adam, as a sinner, hides himself; but the righteous one says: Let my prayer enter into your presence (Psal. LXXXVII, 3).


11. But Joseph found his brothers in Dothan, which signifies defection. For where else is one except in defection who forsakes God? It is not surprising if they were failing, who did not hear Him saying: Come to me all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you (Matthew XI, 28). Therefore, Joseph came to Dothan: And they saw him from afar, before he approached them, and they raged, wanting to kill him (Genesis XXXVII, 18). Indeed, those who were in defection were far from deserving, and therefore they raged because Christ did not come near to them. For if the likeness of Christ had approached them, they would certainly have loved their brother; but they could not be close, for they were contemplating murder. Behold, they say, that dreamer is coming: now therefore let us come, and let us kill him (Ibid., 19). Did not these words come from those who were contemplating a murderous sacrilege? As Solomon says of them: Let us condemn him to a shameful death; for according to his own words, he shall be respected (Wisdom 2, 20).


12. And they added in Genesis: And we shall see what profit his dreams shall bring him. This is written about Joseph, but completed about Christ, when the Jews said during his passion: If he is the king of Israel, let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusts in God, let Him now deliver him, if He wants (Matthew 27:42). Could his brothers also be so wicked as to kill their brother? And why did the patriarchs merit so much that the Law designated one tribe with the names of all their people? How do the names of piety and the emblems of crime agree? So also these people, not by the fault of their own mind, were suffering. Hence all envy, hence the contemplation of parricide: envy by appearance, piety by feeling.

13. Finally, Ruben and Judah, keeping the dutiful rights of brotherhood, desired to free him from the hands of the others, and rightfully Judah is preferred with his paternal blessing, as it is said to him: Thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Judah, the lion's whelp, shall rise up as a leader of the nations (Gen. XLIX, 8 and 9). And this certainly applies to Christ alone, to whom it was entrusted to be adored by his brothers, and awaited by the nations, and who washed his garment in wine, symbolizing his own body's suffering, because his flesh was not stained by any blemish of sin. The donkey also believed that he was not necessarily compatible with himself. The donkey ate his own fattened bread, and the donkey himself ate with princes. But what about Joseph himself, to whom it was said: \"My son Joseph, my son to be made great: my zealous son, my younger son, return to me\" (Genesis, 22) ? Those who considered this plan cursed him, but the blessing prevailed over the blessings of the everlasting mountains and the desires of the everlasting hills. They understood themselves to signify the one who, surpassing the merits of all, held the infinite summit of power above the desires of all the saints, whom no one could equal in vow. Therefore, envy is compensated in the patriarchs by grace, who are both excused from fault and consecrated by the gift of revelation. For it is not as blameworthy to say what belongs to the common people as it is blessed to see what belongs to Christ. They took on the role of sinners of the people, in order to receive the grace of the Lord the Redeemer. Certainly grace abolishes guilt, but guilt does not diminish grace.

14. And so that we may understand that all this concerning the people and the mystery of the Lord Jesus: Come, he says, let us sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites (Gen. XXXVII, 27). What is the interpretation of the name Joseph, except that it signifies divine grace and the expression of the highest God? Who, therefore, is sold, except he who, while being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal to God: but he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant (Philip. II, 6 and 7)? For we would not have sent him, if they had not sold him. Those who sold him did a bad job, those who bought him did even worse. They sold a good odor to merchants, they bought a traitor. Judas sold him, the Ishmaelites bought him, who are called in Latin interpretation, hating their God. Therefore, in one place we find him bought for twenty, in another place for twenty-five gold coins, in another place for thirty; because Christ is not valued by everyone at the same price. To some less, to others more. Faith is the increase of goods: to the religious, God is more precious, to the sinner, the redeemer is more precious. He is also more worth to whom more grace has been given; but even to whom many things have been given, he is more worth; because to whom more has been forgiven, he loves more, as the Lord himself pronounced in the Gospel concerning that woman who poured ointment on his feet, and washed them with her tears, and wiped them with her hair, and dried them with kisses, of whom he said to Simon: For which reason I say to you: Her many sins are forgiven her, because she loved much. But to whom less is forgiven, less He loves (Luke 7:47). Sometimes differences in value have not only a quantitative, but also a numerical expression; as you have about the ointment that the Lord mentioned was poured out for His burial, as it is written by Judas saying: This could have been sold for three hundred denarii (Mark 14:5). In this number, the sign of the cross seems to be expressed, not of quantity, but of significance. In the same way, here the difference of twenty or thirty aurei or silver coins has the indication of doubled or tripled perfection. Twenty-five gold coins, the number of Jubilee which is the remission, signify a most precious portion. Also, to signify the figure of the Lord's Passion, Judah the patriarch says: Let us sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites: but let not our hands be upon him (Gen. XXXVII, 27). And earlier he had said well: But let not our hands be upon him (Ibid., 22). What the Jews said in the Lord's Passion: It is not lawful for us to put any man to death (John XVIII, 32). This is to fulfill Jesus' words, signifying by what death He would die.


15. Now then, the sign of the future cross was prefigured; at the same time, what he put off was the tunic (Gen. XXXVII, 23), that is, the flesh which he assumed, he put off, adorned with a diversity of virtues. Therefore, his tunic, that is, his flesh, was not stained with divinity: and the garment of his flesh could not take away the immortality of life. This tunic was stained by the Jewish beasts, those of which it is said: 'Behold, I send you as lambs among wolves' (Luc. X, 3).


16. But what is remarkable if the Jews have no water in the lake, since it was dry (Gen. XXXVII, 24), when they abandoned the fountain of living water and made for themselves broken cisterns? And to know that this is a true mystery, the Lord himself says of himself: They put me in the lower lake, in darkness, and in the shadow of death (Psal. LXXXVII, 7).

Therefore, those who offer good odors purchase Christ, for they offer incense as a pious offering to the altars of the mind. Hence, David also says in Greek: 'Let my prayer be directed as incense before you' (Ps. 140:2). The resin through which broken marbles are joined is also a spiritual resin that strengthens the fractures of your soul and connects what is divided, binds what is dissolved. For this spiritual resin strengthens and repairs certain broken parts of the soul so that they may be united without offense. Finally, Jeremiah seeks this resin, in order to heal Babylon, if possible, saying: 'Take the resin for her corruption, if by any means she may be healed.' We healed Babylon, but she was not healed (Jer. 51:8-9). The Synagogue was not healed, for this resin has migrated to the Church. Therefore, merchants came from Gilead, that is, from the possession or habitation of the testimony, transferring their merchandise to the Church, so that this resin might heal the sins of the Gentiles. Of which it is said: 'Strengthen, drooping hands, and weak knees' (Isaiah 35:3). True faith is a healing resin. Peter used it when he said to the lame man: 'In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk' (Acts 3:6); and rightfully he rose up and walked. He used it when he said to the paralyzed man: 'Aeneas, the Lord Jesus Christ heals you: rise up and make your bed.' And he rose up and made his bed (Acts 9:34). He also used it when he said to the dead woman: 'Arise in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.' And the dead rise (Ibid., 4). By the power of this resin, the stones from which the Lord is able to raise the sons of Abraham are joined together. By the remedy of this resin, the lame are healed, the paralyzed are reformed, the dead are resurrected.

18. Also, the fact that they sprinkled his tunic with the blood of a goat (Gen. XXXVII, 32) seems to signify that by seeking false testimonies, they brought him into disrepute, who forgives the sins of all. The lamb is for us, the goat is for them. The lamb of God was slain for us, by whom he took away the sin of the world: the goat is for them, whose errors he piled up, whose sins he accumulated. Therefore he says: Fill up the measure of your fathers (Matth. XXIII, 32). And Jacob, bemoaning the losses of his posterity, wept as a father mourns a lost son, as a prophet mourns the destruction of the Jews. Finally, he tore his own garments, which we read was done during the Passion of the Lord (Matthew 26:65) by the high priest, representing not a private individual, but the official duty of the public office. And the veil of the temple was torn (Matthew 27:51); thus, with the sacred mysteries profaned, the people were stripped of their saving vestments, and the kingdom was divided, represented by such signs of destruction, for every divided kingdom is easily destroyed. And truly it was divided, when what was Christ’s began also to belong to the devil. For they could not remain undivided, who separated the Son from the Father.

Chapter IV.

Joseph is led into Egypt, and is bought by the overseer of the cooks, in which he is a figure of Christ liberating us by his own service. In the same, it is shown that freedom can be retained within captivity, and also that captivity can be found within freedom. Finally, Joseph is set forth as an example for all.


Therefore Joseph was sold, being led into Egypt, bought by the chief of the cooks. He was not a useless person who would cook raw foods, so that the spirits may feast on the sweetness of faith. For no food is sweeter than knowledge and doctrine. There was before in Egypt raw deceit, before the ardor of divine knowledge, and the desire for true science had softened nothing, the fiery words of the Lord had not boiled. But Joseph was sold into Egypt, because Christ was going to come to those to whom it was said: For your sins you have been sold (Isaiah 50:1). And therefore, He redeemed them with His own blood, who had sold themselves by their own sins. But Christ, who was sold, is held by the assumption of the condition, not by the price of guilt, because He Himself did not commit sin. Therefore, He contracted our debt, not His own money; He took away the handwriting, removed the lender, stripped off the debtor: He alone paid what was owed by all. It was not lawful for us to escape from servitude. He undertook this for us, to repel the servitude of the world, restore the freedom of paradise, and bestow a new grace of His fellowship in honor. Hoc de mysterio.

20. Moreover, with regard to the moral aspect, because our Lord God wants everyone to be saved, He gave through Joseph even to those who are in servitude solace: He attributed mastery; so that they might learn that even in the most desperate condition it is possible for morals to be superior, and that no state is immune to virtue, if the mind recognizes itself as belonging to everyone; that the flesh is subjected to servitude, not the mind; and that many slaves are freer than their masters, if, placed in servitude, they believe that they should abstain from slave-like works. Every sin is servile, but innocence is free. Hence the Lord says: Whoever commits sin is the slave of sin (Rom. VI, 16). For how can every greedy person not be a slave, who auctions himself off for a tiny gain of money? He fears losing everything he hoards, who hoards things that he does not use, and he will be preserved in greater danger as he seeks greater things. How can a beggar not be poor, since he possesses only small things? For even if he seems wealthy to me, he is poverty-stricken himself: he does not console himself with his own desires, as he does not know how to believe what he wishes. But how can that servant, who is subject to desire, not also himself burn with his own fires and be consumed by the torches of his own heart? Of them the prophet rightly says: \"Walk in the light of your own fire, and in the flame you have kindled.\" (Isaiah 50:11) He fears all things, plots against the sleep of others, so that he may satisfy the desire of one person and become the servant of all. Therefore, he who makes himself his own master and desires to have those he fears, serves this wretched servitude. For there is nothing so peculiar to slavery as always living in fear. But he is truly free in whatever condition of slavery, who is not captivated by the love of the world, is not bound by the chains of greed, is not tied down by the fear of crime, who looks at the present without worry and is not afraid of the future. Doesn't it seem to you that the former is ruling in servitude: but the latter is serving in freedom? Joseph was a servant, Pharaoh was a ruler: the servitude of the former is happier than the kingdom of the latter. Finally, the whole of Egypt would have collapsed from famine if its ruler hadn't subjected his kingdom to the advice of his slaves.

So, slaves have something to boast about in their origin, Joseph also served. They have something to console themselves with, those who have come from freedom into servitude by some necessity. They have something to imitate, so that they may learn that they can change their condition, not their character: to have both freedom in their native language and constancy in servitude. Even masters have something to hope for through good slaves. Abraham found a wife for his son among his own people. The Lord blessed the house of the Egyptian because of Joseph, and the blessing of the Lord was in all his possessions, both in the house and the fields. And he, said he, converteth into his hands all things whatsoever they had (Gen. XXXIX, 4). We observe that those things which the masters could not govern, the servants governed.

Chapter V.

Joseph was admired not for his beauty, but more for his modesty. He was enamored by his master's wife through no fault of his own, and when she tried to seduce him and accused him of assault, he rejected her advances and fled, leaving his clothes behind and making himself more presentable. However, even though she retained his clothes and falsely accused him, it was she who exposed her own shame. Nevertheless, Joseph was thrown into prison, but there he was not abandoned by divine protection.

22. But what should I say about the arrangement of his private house, which he governed? However, he accomplished more by ruling himself before others. And even though he was attractive in appearance and very handsome, he did not use the beauty of his face to cause harm to others, but preserved it for his own grace. He believed himself to be more beautiful if he could prove himself more attractive through modesty and the cultivation of chastity rather than through the loss of his virtue. He considered true beauty to be one that didn't attract the eyes of others or harm fragile minds, but gained the admiration and judgment of everyone, being of no deceit and deserving praise. Now, if anyone with impudent eyes looked, the fault is of the one who saw improperly, not of the one who did not want to be seen improperly; and there is no fault in what was seen. It was not in the power of the servant not to be seen: the husband should have guarded the eyes of his wife. If he had no fear about his wife, this man believed it to be a testimony of modesty, not a laxity of behavior. However, men should learn to even guard the eyes of women. For even those who do not want to be loved are attracted. Finally, Joseph was tempted by a woman who scorned his love. And Scripture defended him well, saying: 'And his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph' (Gen. XXXIX, 7); that is, he did not display himself, nor did he take advantage. But she cast her own snares and was caught in her own trap. She spread her own nets and became entangled in her own chains.

23. However, he said to her: Sleep with me (Ibid.). The first weapons of the adulteress are her eyes, the second, her words. But he who is not captured by her eyes can resist her words. There is a defense available where the affection is still free. Therefore it is written that he did not want to (Ibid., 8). Therefore, he first conquered in the battle of the mind, repelling the attacking enemy like a shield of the soul: then he brandished his speech like a spear, to call her back. And he said to the wife of his master (Ibid.). Indeed, the wife of the master is not called the mistress herself who could not extract what she wanted to command. For how can she be the mistress, who did not have the effect of dominating, who did not maintain the discipline of the mistress, who provided incentives of lust to the slaves? That master who did not receive the torches of the lover, who did not feel the chains of the seducer, whom no fear of death terrified, who preferred to die free from crime rather than choose the partnership of criminal power. That book, which considers it shameful not to repay a favor. Finally, he does not excuse himself as fearful, nor does he guard against danger as a timid person would; but he flees from the crime of ingratitude and shrinks from the stain of sin and the contamination of guilt, as if just. The third spear was being wielded by the adulteress with persistent interruption, but Joseph did not listen to her. You have what to beware of after the first words. Lust is not only slippery, but also shameless, impudent, and insolent, and the adulteress has no reason to fear. She who did not grieve for the first damages of modesty, plots in order to capture.

Finally, for the sake of his duties and the task entrusted to him, Joseph, removing all witnesses and household members, approaches him, saying: 'Sleep with me.' Joseph is excused by the testimony of Scripture, because he was unable to abandon the service entrusted to him by the Lord. It is not enough that he, secure in himself, entered the interior of the house as if he could not be caught. The righteous man should have taken care not to give occasion to the furious one, lest his wife should perish because of that sin. But Joseph, who saw that his master's wife was an adversary to him, should have also guarded against the offense of neglecting his duty from the Lord. At the same time, he thought that her audacity was not comprehension but mere conversation.


25. It is excused that he entered; it is preached that he slipped away, and he did not value the clothing of the body more than the chastity of the soul. He left behind as if not his own what the adulteress detained with her own hands, and he judged as belonging to others what could be grasped by the touch of impure hands. Yet he was a great man, who did not know the mindset of a sold slave, did not love the one who loved him, did not agree when asked, and escaped when captured. When he happened to meet with the wife of his master, he could be restrained by his garments, but not by his mind. And he did not even tolerate her words for a long time, for he feared that the infection would be deemed to last longer; so that the incentives of adulterous lust would not pass through the hands. And so he took off his garment, cast off his guilt, and leaving behind the things that held him, he fled stripped, indeed, but not naked, he who was covered with the garment of modesty. For no one is naked unless guilt has stripped him. Indeed, in the example of Adam, after he deserted the commandments of God through transgression and contracted the heavy atmosphere of sin, he was naked. Hence he himself says: I heard your voice in Paradise, and I was afraid because I am naked, and I hid myself (Gen. III, 10). For he came to realize that he was naked, having lost the garments of divine protection. And therefore he hid himself, because he did not have the garment of faith, which he certainly laid aside by transgressing. You see a great thing here. He who did not lose his tunic was naked: this one was not naked, who stripped himself of the clothes which he left in the hands of the adulterous woman. The same Scripture declares him naked, but denies this one. And therefore this one rather stripped himself than was made naked, who preserved the incorruptible garments of virtues, stripping himself of the old man with his actions; so that he might put on the new man, who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of the Creator. However, he remained naked, unable to dress himself again, stripped of his singular virtue. Thus, he received a cloak made of fur; because a sinner could not possess a spiritual one. Therefore, Joseph left behind his clothes and exposed the shamelessness of the adulteress, who could no longer hide afterwards.

26. Finally, she went out and publicly declared the temptations of her adultery, raising her voice; because, having abandoned her clothes, the Hebrew had fled. Therefore, what she should have kept hidden, she revealed; in order to harm the innocent with her fabricated accusation. But the just man did not know how to accuse; and therefore she shamelessly committed this act with impunity. So, her true nature can be said to have been revealed, even as she wore someone else's clothes, having lost all the veils of chastity: him, well-adorned enough, well-defended enough, whose voice was not heard, but innocence spoke. Thus, Susanna, afterwards, while she remains silent in court, speaks better through the oracle; and therefore she deserved the defense of the prophets, which she did not seek as help from her own voice. Therefore, I would say that she was more blessed when she was thrown into prison; because she was undergoing martyrdom for chastity. For chastity is indeed a good gift, but it has less merit when it does not face danger; but where it is also defended by the danger of salvation, there it is more fully rewarded.

27. In a heard case, with the faith of the truth unexplored, Joseph is sent to prison as if guilty of the crime; but the Lord did not abandon him even in prison. The innocent should not be disturbed when they are sought after with false accusations; when oppressed justice is thrust into prison. God visits his own even in prison; and therefore, there is more help where there is more danger. But why would it be surprising if Christ visits those in prison, since he himself mentioned being imprisoned in his own words, as it is written: 'I was in prison, and you did not visit me' (Matthew 25:43)? Where does divine mercy not penetrate? Joseph found such favor that he, who had been locked in prison, would keep the doors of the prison himself, granted the duty of jailer, and entrusted all the prisoners to his authority. Therefore, Joseph not only did not feel the prison, but also alleviated the suffering of the other prisoners.

Chapter VI.

After a short invective against women, he also passes to the eunuchs who are the authors of this wrong; and showing how fragile their status is, he tells the dream of one of them and its interpretation. From this he shows that the power of this world is similar to a dream. Then, in a mystical way, he praises the Hebrew interpreter and attacks the ungrateful eunuch. Finally, he indirectly criticizes Calligonus and adds a few remarks about the status and fragility of the ministers of the court.


28. Therefore, the author of this injustice is a woman and eunuchs; but the woman, who is Egyptian, accustomed to mixing impudent conversations with men, teasing the modest ones, pursuing the ones who try to escape, shamelessly slandering the innocent, when she couldn't defend her own vices, accused the innocent, mixing treachery with treachery, holding onto others' faults while condemning them herself, not setting any limit to her madness. For what reason is there cruelty, except that she saw her desires being hindered and her forbidden wishes being thwarted? Because of this, the prison is opened to receive the innocent: the chains of the guilty are loosened to be placed on the faithful: the adulterers of truth are released, to imprison those who rejected the adultery of faith.

29. But what shall I say about these eunuchs? who should be an example to the other eunuchs, because their status is fragile and delicate, and all their hope lies in the king's will, for whom a slight offense would be a great danger: but their secondary matters are lowly service. One boasted that he was in charge of the wine, the other that he was in charge of the bakers. Both offended, and were sent to prison, and were entrusted to the holy Joseph by the keeper of the prison, and after being there for several days, they had a dream; and when Joseph visited them, he noticed that their spirits were troubled and sad, because they were disturbed by the dream, for which they could not find an interpreter. Is not the interpretation of dreams from God, he said? So narrate to me. And the chief cupbearer narrated his dream to me. There was a vine before me: and on the vine were three branches; and it was budding and flowering, and ripe grapes were produced. And Pharaoh's cup was in my hand. And I took it, and pressed it into the cup, and gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand. And Joseph said to him: This is its interpretation: The three branches are three days. In three more days, Pharaoh will remember your position, and restore you to your former office, and you will give the cup into Pharaoh's hand. But remember me when you are well, and show me mercy, and remember me to Pharaoh, and bring me out of this prison; for I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing wrong, yet I am put in this dungeon.

30. I do not wish to speak of someone else's dream. You certainly remember my words, that even then I refused to interpret it because I fear its outcome, the death that I dread. Let us first speak of the man who, when he was in charge of wine, seemed to be happy and believed that this was the pinnacle of power because he gave the cup to the king. This was his glory, this was his magnificence in this world, and he grieved being deprived of it; he rejoiced when it was restored to him. But this is a dream, and all worldly power is a dream, not truth. Finally, through the dream, he saw his authority restored to him. And Isaiah says that such are the people who delight in the things of this world, just as one who eats and drinks in dreams seems to himself to be filled with food or drink, while he sleeps; but when he wakes up, he begins to hunger even more; and then he understands how empty that food and drink of the dreamer were: so does one who sleeps in this world, not opening his eyes to the divine mysteries, as long as he is burdened by the sleep of the body, think that this worldly power is of some importance, as if he sees it in dreams; but when he wakes up, he realizes how empty this worldly pleasure is (Isaiah 29:8).


Consider now that true Hebrew, not of a dream but of truth and splendid vision, interpreter, who has come from the fullness of divinity, from the freedom of heavenly grace into this earthly prison, whom the allurements of this world could not change, no worldly corruption could overthrow, who, though tempted, did not fall, did not desire forbidden things, finally seized by the deceitful hand of the Synagogue in a deceptive garment of the body, shed the flesh, ascended free from death. The prostitute has been falsely accused. She was unable to hold the man whom prison did not frighten, whom even the underworld did not hold. Moreover, where he had descended as if to be punished, from there he freed others. Where the chains of death were binding them, there he himself loosened the chains of the dead.

32. Therefore, consider that Hebrew saying to the eunuch, who had incurred the wrath of the king, whom he had restored to his position: Remember yourself, when you are doing well, and show mercy towards me, and remember me. He repeated it a second time, because he knew that he would not recall what had happened once he regained his power. He reminded him a second time, because he had saved him a second time; so that if he did not remember the first favor, or if he betrayed the second favor, he would not despise the one who saved him, and violate his trust with treacherous disobedience. But what is worse, the quickly creeping forgetfulness of a favor comes with good fortunes. He who has returned to his own duty has not become mindful of the interpreter, but has forgotten him. But although he was forgetting, Christ was not forgetting: but he was speaking to him, and he was speaking through a servant saying to him: Remember through yourself, that is, remember what you have heard through the contemplation of your duty. But even if you have now forgotten, you will remember me; so that you may escape danger, you who have forgotten the favor. However, elevated in power, he did not remember. And what power it was, when it came to the service of wine! Behold, from where all the boasting; for he was in charge of the eunuchs, who served wine in the royal goblets.

And it came to pass, he said, after two years (Gen. XLI, 1). I would be lying about this during our lord's time, unless the day also agrees; because he received the office after two years, and he did not remember, but was reminded. For he knew that even the kingdom itself in this world was a dream, which he did not believe in his dream: he also learned that the kingdom is a dream, and that the powers themselves are not eternal. But let's quickly pass over this painful passage, lest it become more painful by mentioning it: not even the memory of my own speech pleases me, which at that time was either poured out by pain or extorted by the insult of the Church.


34. Therefore, being warned in a dream by the king, he said: I remember my sin (Ibid., 9). Indeed, it is late, but I wish it were a true confession! After the sin, you confess what you should have guarded against before the sin. How quickly you had forgotten: Remember me. You certainly know that at that time this was the discourse: but you had deaf ears due to the pride of power, and being drunk with wine, you did not hear the words of sobriety. Even now, remember me, as you confess your sin late. Why do you ask the servant of Christ, why do you deny the Lord? Be intoxicated not with wine, but with the Holy Spirit. Remember what he suffered, with whom you slept your sleep, and dreamed your dream. And he himself was in charge, and in charge of the king's banquets, which pertained to the work of the bakers. He believed himself to be exalted because he had the power over the king's bread: he did not know the many twists and turns of this power. He threatened others, soon to be handed over to the extreme punishment himself; and he did not listen to him, who, although a servant of the Lord, still spoke as an oracle: that by the king's command, the very king he flattered the most, he would lose his head and become food for birds. And you should have recalled this example in order not to believe in treachery.

35. There are also other examples of the pride and fragility of royal ministers, which the history of later times has. And Doech was a prefect, and the prefect of the king of animals for the discipline of mules, that is, of gelded animals. This one also accused a priest of the Lord, and by deceit he stirred up the king's anger against the priest, and he was a Syrian. Am I lying, when both my homeland and the facts agree? Aman also, as the king's chamberlain and himself a prefect, wickedly dared to invade the churches of the Lord, and he spared no effort in plundering and persecuting the faithful people, expending serious sacrilegious punishments.

Chapter VII.

Joseph's dream is presented and explained, in which he is taken out of the king's prison. Ambrose applies this not only to the events of his own time but also to the present and future age. Afterwards, he interprets mystically the rewards, marriage, children, and distribution of grain for Joseph as referring to Christ; and finally, he urges us to buy spiritual food.

36. But let us return to that superintendent of the wine, who, as if very drunken with the wine, forgot the author of his benefit for a long time: sometimes, however, in order to provide an interpreter for the king, he informed him of the sequence of events, not as if grateful, but as if cunning. When this was known, the king also ordered him to be summoned, and having been brought out of prison, he asked him if he could interpret a dream for him. Delighted with his explanation, he removed the punishment and bestowed honor upon him. Therefore, see if these things do not agree with the present. The offense was committed before it was known by the king; gratitude was expressed when it was known to the king. Thus the king is free from blame; because both what the holy man suffered as an injury was not his own, and what he received as gratitude belongs to the king.

37. However, the dream and its interpretation is as follows: Whatever God does, He shows to Pharaoh. The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears of grain are seven years. The dream of Pharaoh is one. And the seven lean, ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, as are the seven empty ears of grain blighted by the east wind. There will be seven years of famine. Now the matter was firmly established by God, and God will quickly bring it to pass. Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming to the whole land of Egypt. But there will come seven years of famine after these, and the abundance in all of Egypt will be forgotten; and the famine will consume the whole land, and the abundance of the land will not be recognized because of the famine that will come after. It is indeed severe. What Pharaoh's dream reiterated twice, because the word from God will be true, and God will hasten to make it happen. (Gen. XLI, 25 et seq.)

38. An old dream, recent things. The later have consumed the earlier: and where there was previous abundance, there has become a need for all things. But if anyone had given such advice to this king, that he should preserve something of the previous abundance for his later reign, the overflowing generosity would also have overflowed to the remaining time. But the excessive expenditure of the previous age has also left the later generations destitute, and people who are pillaging everything were unwilling to have a Joseph. Even though I, Joseph (for who else would it be), was not crying out loud, those fat cows not only signify lust but also negligence of divine reverence (for it is said of the unfaithful: Fat bulls have surrounded me (Psalm 22:13); and it is written of the Jewish people (Deuteronomy 32:15): He became fat, he became thick and gross, and he forsook the God who made him). Therefore, that dream cannot be interpreted as a mere secular abundance, but rather as a time when severe famine would follow.


However, I do not think that this dream is demonstrated to one or two, but to all; because the seven fat years of this world, rich with secular abundance, are absorbed by those ages which are yet to come, in which there will be perpetual rest and observance of the spiritual law, which Ephraem holds dear to God and fruitful for the three patriarchs. A good cow, not one with a distended body but abundant in spiritual milk and grace, on whose beauty God says He will sit, as it is written: Ephraem, the learned cow, loves victory. But I passed over the beauty of her neck (Hos. X, 11). Therefore, our head should not be fattened by the oil of sinners, nor should false fruits delight us, lest it be said of us: You have sown wickedness and harvested iniquity (Ibid., 13). I am not moved by her thin and rotten ears of grain, for even David was better when he wasted away like a spider's web; and a contrite spirit is a sacrifice to God; and those who have been oppressed by the spirit of evil in this world will be saved by a more excellent one.


40. Therefore, I believe that Joseph deserved the more mystical rewards because he spoke of mysteries. For what does the ring inserted on his finger mean, if not that the priesthood of faith was bestowed upon him, so that he might mark others himself? What does the stole, which is the garment of wisdom, mean, if not the tribute given to him by the heavenly king, the principality of prudence? The golden torque also seems to express good understanding. The chariot, likewise, signifies the lofty peak of merits. But who is there that took a wife from among the nations, except those who gathered the Church for themselves from the nations, and took from her the son Manasseh, through whom he forgot all his sorrows that he had because of the sacrileges of the Jews? He also took another son, Ephraim, through whose progress it became clear that the humility assumed in the flesh did not diminish the divinity, but rather enhanced the glory.

41. Finally, whoever was suffering from hunger, was sent to Joseph. Who are these people, if not those of whom it is said: They will turn back at evening, and suffer hunger like dogs (Psalm 59:7)? However, the hunger was not limited to one place, but was all over the land; because there was no one who would do good. Therefore, the Lord Jesus, having mercy on earthly fasts, opened His storehouses and revealed the hidden treasures of celestial mysteries and knowledge, so that no one would lack sustenance. For Wisdom says: Come, eat my bread (Prov. 9:5). And therefore it is said of Him alone: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want (Psalm 23:1), who is satisfied by Christ. Therefore, Christ opened His storehouses and sold, not for the price of money, but for the price of faith, and seeking the reward of devotion. But He sold not to a few in Judea, but He sold to all, so that He might be believed by all nations.

And all the regions came into Egypt to Joseph to buy (Gen. XLI, 5 and 7); for famine had obtained. For all hunger, whom Christ did not feed. Therefore, let us buy food, with which we can repel hunger. Let no one be discouraged by contemplating his poverty, let no one be afraid who does not have money. Christ does not seek silver, but faith, which is more precious than silver. Finally, Peter bought it, who did not have money. Silver and gold, I do not have, but what I have, I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk (Acts 3:6). And the prophet Isaiah says: You who thirst, go to the water; and you who do not have silver, go, buy, and drink, and eat: buy wine and fat without silver and price (Isaiah 55:1). For he did not seek a price from us, who paid the price of his own blood for us; for he redeemed us not with gold and silver, but with precious blood. Therefore, you must pay the price for what you have bought; and even if he does not always demand it, you still must. Therefore, buy Christ for yourself not because few have him, but because everyone has him. Everyone has him by nature, few offer themselves out of fear. What Christ requires from you is what is rightfully his. He himself gave life to everyone, he himself offered his death for everyone. Pay for the author what you are obligated to pay by law. This contract is not insignificant. Not everyone easily sees him. Finally, those virgins in the Gospel (Matt. 25:9ff) whom the coming bridegroom excluded were left outside because they did not buy the available oil. Therefore, it is said to them: 'Rather, go to the sellers and buy for yourselves.' And the merchant is rightly praised, who sold all his possessions and bought a pearl (Matt. 13:46).

Chapter VIII.

Exhortation of Jacob to his sons to go to Egypt to buy food, what it means; and also the departure of ten of them, leaving Benjamin at home?


43. And Jacob said to his sons: Why are you lazy? Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt: go down there, and buy food for us (Gen. XLII, 1 and 2) : Jacob said this not once, but daily he says it to all his sons who come too late to the grace of Christ: Why are you lazy? Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. From this grain comes the seed that rises. Therefore, whoever suffers from hunger must attribute it to their own laziness. Behold, I heard, he says, that there is grain in Egypt. Certainly, the young are quicker to hear something than the old, as they are placed outside and go around many things. But this negotiation the old man hears first, but that old man in whom is the long-standing faith. The former old man understands, but that old man in whom is venerable old age, and the age of old age is an immaculate life.

44. Not all undertake this business, except the sons of Jacob, and they themselves of a more advanced age. Therefore, ten proceed, the younger does not proceed. The father did not send him: ‘Lest,’ he said, ‘sickness befall him’. Benjamin the younger was still subject to sickness. Indeed, Benjamin is read as the patriarch, but he was prefigured by Paul from the tribe of Benjamin. It was deservedly doubted by Jacob about his sickness. Finally, he was made sick in order to be healed: he suffered blindness, but this sickness led to salvation. Finally, that blindness brought light.

45. We have received the history, let us understand the mystery. Without Benjamin, the patriarchs went forth; without Paul, the apostles. Neither of them came first, but being summoned by the first, they made greater profit from the arrival of those who came before. There is, he says, grain in Egypt, that is, where there is greater hunger, there is greater plenty. There is much grain in Egypt. Finally, even God the Father says: Out of Egypt I have called my Son (Hosea, XI, 1). From this seed comes that abundance. For there could not have been a harvest unless the Egyptians had sown the seed beforehand. Therefore, there is grain that no one believed existed before. The patriarchs trade in this grain. And indeed, they brought silver, but the good Joseph gave grain and returned the silver. For Christ is not bought with money, but with grace. Your price is faith. These divine mysteries are bought. However, that unclean donkey carried this grain in the law, but now it is clean in grace.

Chapter IX.

As hunger grows, the sons of Jacob return to Egypt, bringing Benjamin with them and presenting gifts. Joseph kindly speaks to his brothers, who are invited to a feast but suspect a plot against them. They are reassured by the master of the house. All these things are explained regarding the calling and preaching of Paul, as well as the unbelief of the Jews.


However, Benjamin, the youngest, was still held captive by his paternal affection. He was bound by the chains of the law, the paternal custom. Hunger grew stronger because it came late. Two intervene for him, Reuben and Judah (Gen., XLIII, 1 et seq.), that is, humility and confession. The father uses these sureties, he entrusts himself to them, one of which is the primitive, the other the resurrected. The law of the primitive, the Gospel of the resurrected. Benjamin, the youngest, is brought forward with these, and he arrives accompanied by sweet aromas, carrying with him the resin with which marble stones are connected; because by his preaching, like spiritual resin, he also connects living stones themselves: carrying also honey, by which harmful internal wounds are healed without any bitterness of cutting. For such is the preaching of Paul, that he might eliminate the rotten affection, and evacuate the corrupted humor of his discussion with the sting of his preaching, desiring to burn the sick entrails of the mind rather than cutting them. He taught that the incense of prayer, and cinnamon, and the drop of burial are symbols of the prophets David, saying: Myrrh and cinnamon and the drop of burial are from your clothes (Ps. 44:9). For Paul came to preach the cross of the Lord, always green like the holly oak, and the nuts, which have a harder shell and a tender fruit, and rightly so, for the priestly rod of Aaron was a nut tree, and the staff of Jeremiah was of the same kind. Who would doubt that silver is also a dual-purpose, not idle gift; when both the life of the Patriarchs and the discourse of the Apostles always flourish in the hearts of individuals; and the speech of the saints, like silver tested by fire, shines with the bright light of salutary instruction? And not without reason do they refer to dual-purpose silver in which the coming of Paul was prefigured, who bestowed double honor on the laboring elders in word and doctrine.

But Joseph saw them, and Benjamin his brother from the same mother (Gen. XLIII, 29). Now the Hebrews seem to see, and they seem to be seen by Christ who is the true Joseph, when they come with Paul as a type: and He speaks to them gently and meekly, so that they may take food together. However, because they came without Benjamin, He recognized them for sure: but He turned away from them, as it is written: And He spoke harshly to them (Gen. XLII, 7), because they did not recognize Him, by whom they were recognized. Therefore, Paul rightly made progress, whom the Lord Jesus loved more than the other brothers as a younger brother born from the same mother. Let the Jews take note of the Lord whom they denied, who even though crucified, still loves them as if born from the same parent, if they come to know the author of their salvation even late. But being conscious of their own sins, they do not believe that the mercy of Christ is so great as to forgive sin and pardon injury. And so they were prefigured in the patriarchs what they would be in the future. They were invited to grace, they were called to the banquet of the saving table; and they suspected that calumny was being prepared against them, that plots were being made against them.

48. And they began to argue with the man who was above the house in the doorway of the house, wanting to present their case. They still hesitate to enter and prefer to justify themselves by their works, who want to build their case rather than accept grace; and therefore they are reproved at the gates. But he who expects the fruit of the virgin's womb and the inheritance of the Lord, trades the sons of his business for merchandise, will not be ashamed at the gate; but at the end of this life he repels the enemy, lest he hinder the one hastening to higher things, being conscious of a more serious fault.


49. Then the steward responded to them mystically. And know who he is, when you read that Moses was faithful in all his house. For the stewards, Moses, Peter, Paul, and the other saints are; but Christ alone is the Lord. It is written: Moses was faithful in all his house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken (Hebrews III, 5); but Christ as a son in his own house, which house we are, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of hope (Ibid., 6).


50. Therefore, the master of the house responded to them: May God be propitious to you, do not be afraid; for your God, and the God of your fathers, has given you treasures in your bags: but I have received your genuine silver. (Gen. XLIII, 23). For they had said: We found each one's silver in our bags, we have brought back our silver by weight. (Ibid., 21). Oh great mysteries, and clearly expressed! This is to say: Why are you inflamed? Do you have your money in your wallets often? For what do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? Now you are satisfied, you have become rich, because you believe you have money. But God of your fathers has given you that money. He is your God, the God of your fathers, whom you denied. But He forgives, He indulges, He receives if you return. He is the one who does not seek your money, he gives his own. He himself gave you money in your purses. Now your purses have money, who used to have clay; and therefore he is yours who says: You have cut off my sackcloth, and have clothed me with joy (Ps. XXIX, 12). Christ is the gift of joy, he is your money, he is your price. The Lord Jesus does not demand the price of his grain from you, he does not seek the weight of your silver. Your silver is bad, the silver of the purse is not good.

I acknowledge your good silver, which you have given with faithful devotion, like the sons of Jacob (Gen. 43:23). This is not your material silver, but your spiritual silver, that is, good silver, which is given without loss and without any expense. By such a price, the detriment of death is excluded, and the gain of life is acquired.

Chapter X.

After a few noon-time preparations, the bringing in of the gifts, the restoration of the banquet, and the most kindly meeting of Joseph with his brothers are recounted. When he sees his brother Benjamin and inquires about him, he blesses him and, having withdrawn to hide his tears, soon returns with a washed face. To these events is added a moral and mystical interpretation.

52. However, they delayed the gifts until Joseph entered at noon (ibid., 25). Paul's faith hastened at noon. Before he was blind, afterwards he began to see the light of righteousness; for whoever reveals his way to the Lord and hopes in him, the Lord will also bring forth his righteousness like the noonday, and his judgment like the midday. And when God appeared to Abraham at the oak of Mamre, it was noon, and from the presence of the Lord eternal light shone. Midday is when Joseph truly enters his home to have lunch. For then the day shines more, when we celebrate the sacraments.

53. And they brought him gifts, he said, (Ibid., 26 et seq.). We bring gifts, he prepares a banquet. He says: Bring the bread, which only the Jews eat, the Egyptians cannot eat. But before the banquet, what dignity! What a mastery of moral diligence and grace! Despite the suspicion that the brothers thought Joseph had against them, he invited them to dine, their feelings wavered: his grace continued: he called the first, he asked the first: How are you?


And again he said: Is it right that your father is older? It is the duty of the younger to initiate conversation, to give confidence in speaking, to inquire not only about themselves, but also about their parents.

The respondent said to him: Your son is right, our father. That elder said, so that he would be honored: they named him as the boy, so that they would give the service of humility; which seems that old age is of honored dignity, but boyhood seems to be subject, and closer to modesty than pride.

56. But looking with his eyes, he saw Benjamin his brother from the same mother (Genesis 29). It is a moral principle that we see those whom we love above others, and that our gaze is drawn to those who occupy our thoughts. For often, preoccupied with other matters, we do not see those who are before our eyes; thus, our gaze is guided by our mind. Therefore, holy Joseph saw his brother Benjamin, whom he held in his thoughts and sought with his eyes. In his absence, he had almost not seen his brothers, for seeing was of no use; and he was not satisfied with merely seeing, but as if unaware, he asked, 'Is this your younger brother?' Custom and the grace of charity require that we hold dear not only with our eyes, but also with our words. Joseph recognized his beloved: he sat and asked, so that his soul, which he held, would be heard.

57. Finally, he did not wait for a response, but immediately blessed him, and he was troubled by the fruit of his desire. His heart was tormented because the freedom to embrace the one he desired was delayed. Finally, he entered the storehouse, wept, and washed his face, and restrained himself. The sharp spurs of great love quickly pierce the hearts, unless the reins of desire are loosened. Joseph was overcome by affection, his plan was delayed: reason was at odds with love. He wept, so that the heat of devout love might temper with tears. This is moral.

58. However, mystically. The Lord Jesus saw Paul, for the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and He said: 'This is your younger brother' (ibid., 29)? He is called younger still, who had not yet reached the mature age of the white-haired faith, who had not yet grown into a perfect man, into that full measure of the age of the fullness of Christ (Eph. IV, 13). Finally, he is only called young there (Acts VII, 57), where he was keeping the garments of those stoning Stephen. And for this reason, he desired Philemon to be like him not in his youth but in his old age, as he wrote: I beg you even more, now that I am old like Paul (Philem. 9). Therefore, he advises that younger widows should be avoided (I Tim. V, 11), not because of their age but because of a certain lasciviousness of youthful transgressions and immaturity of virtue. However, there is greater praise for chastity in a young person than in an old person. But I think it is not unrelated to the truth that, if we understand that when Paul had this experience and was struck with horror because blindness had befallen him, he nevertheless began to draw near by saying: Lord, what do you want me to do (Act. IX, 6); therefore, he was called younger by Christ, so that he who was called by grace would be excused from guilt, because he had been subjected to the slipperiness of youth. Finally, Christ saw him when a light shone around him. And because young people are more often drawn away from vice by fear than reason, he used a stimulus and, taking pity, warned him not to resist the stimulus.

However, he was troubled, as you have in the Gospel (John 11:33), because he was troubled in spirit when he raised Lazarus; and there he wept, so that he might wash away with his tears the sins of the dead. But he wept inwardly, and he washed his face. The blindness of Paul is the tears of Christ: he washes his face, where his lost light is restored. Christ washes his face, where Paul was baptized, through whom the Lord Jesus seemed to be seen by many. And therefore in the banquet, her part became five times greater, because she surpassed the others not only in mental prudence but also in bodily strength and grace of chastity.

Chapter XI.

All the brothers are intoxicated with St. Joseph; but only Benjamin's cup is placed in the sack. The bags are inspected in order of all the sacks, and finally that vessel is found, and the mysteries of these are revealed; where especially the divine gifts and the calling of Paul are discussed.

60. But they drank and became intoxicated with him (Genesis, XLIII, 34). In the beginning, a greater pre-eminence of faith is given to Paul, about whom it was said to Ananias: Go, for he is a chosen vessel for me, to bear my name before the Gentiles (Acts, IX, 15). In the beginning, she is intoxicated with sobriety, but sober; so that he himself would say with the saints: And your cup is drunk, how excellent it is (Psalm, XXII, 5)!

61. And a silver cup is placed in his sack alone (Gen. XLIV, 2). Benjamin did not know this: Paul was deceived, but he was called. He is sent after him in the morning. For the night had passed, the day of faith was approaching.

62. The bags are inspected first in order (Ibid. 12 et seq.). Divine Scripture teaches you morality. In order, they reclined at the banquet against him, the first according to age (Gen. XLIII, 33). You see that that place is to be given to the elder. In order, the bags of each one are examined again, so that you may know that Paul was chosen by heavenly judgment. He disproved the others, and preferred this one. In no one else's bag was a silver cup found, except this one. What does it mean that he is inside a bag? Indeed, Joseph made himself drunk in order to deceive: he sent a cup to bring back the brother whom he loved, in a pious deception: but divine mysteries shine forth.

63. Christ found in us silver, which he himself has given. We have the silver of nature, we also have the silver of grace. Nature is the work of the Creator: grace is the gift of the Redeemer. And if we cannot see the gifts of Christ; yet he gives, and operates secretly, and gives to all: but to preserve is the work of a few, and not to lose. However, he does not give everything to everyone. Wheat is given to many, the cup to one, who is given the gift of prophecy and priesthood. For not all, but the Prophet says: I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord (Psalm 115:13).

64. Therefore, in the body of Paul, the splendor of heavenly doctrine already shone forth, since he was learned in the law. But because he was not yet subject to the righteousness of God, he was within a sack, doctrine within the law, a lamp within a bushel. However, Ananias was sent to offer a blessing, lay hands on him, and loosen the sack: with the sack loosened, silver shone forth, and as if certain bonds of the sack had fallen away, scales immediately fell from his eyes (Acts 9:17). His bond was perfidy: his release was faith. And therefore, like one unbound from a sack, that is, from the veil of the law which is placed over the heart of the Jews, he turned to the Lord, freed from the bondage, and obtained the grace of freedom, saying: So, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of God, we are being transformed into the same image (2 Corinthians 3:18). For with the loosing of the shoe of the law, he preached the Gospel with the naked footstep of free speech. The Jews held him and wanted to hinder him, but when the silver shone in his sack, they tore their clothes and turned back. For the preaching of Christ by Paul has exposed the people of the Jews and has cut off all their favor.

Therefore, they returned backward who could not see before them (Gen. XLIV, 13). They go back who lose Christ. Finally, in the Gospel (John XVIII, 6) when they seized the Lord Jesus to lead Him to His death, they fell backward to the ground. They rightly returned backward who fell from heavenly grace into earthly depravity. Therefore, they did not want to return morally without a brother, mystically without Paul: with him gone, they claimed that the sorrowful old age of the parent people should be led.


And so Judas wanted to remain with Joseph (Gen. XLIV, 18 et seq.), so that he would not see the bad things that they would find about his father, that is, he foresaw and wanted to guard against the bad things that were going to happen to the Jewish people. But since these same things were not yet in that type of free preaching of the leaders of the Jewish people, Joseph wept, that is, Jesus wept.

Chapter XII.

Joseph, revealing himself to his brothers, invites them to come forward and even makes excuses, thereby expressing the manner in which Christ was going to act against the Jews. There, an elegant comparison between the words of both is presented; and after that, Joseph's embrace of Benjamin is briefly explained by Paul.


67. And he commanded all to depart, so that it could be known by the brothers. For he had not come, as he himself said, except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And speaking with weeping, he said, 'I am Joseph; is my father still alive?' (Gen. XLV, 2 and 3). That is, he extended his hands to a people who did not believe and contradicted: not seeking an ambassador or messenger, but desiring to save his own people, the Lord himself: 'I, who spoke, behold I am here,' he said (Isaiah LII, 6). And so, openly, I appear to those who do not seek me, and I am visible to those who do not ask me (Isaiah 65:1). What else did he then shout, if not: I am Jesus (John 18:5), when the leaders of the Jews asked: Are you the son of God? he responded: You say that I am; when Pilate said: Are you saying that I am a king? I was born for this, to bear witness to the truth (Ibid., 37); when the high priest said: I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the son of God, he replied: You have said it. Truly I say to you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power of God and coming with the clouds of heaven (Matthew 26:63-64). So this is what he says: I am Joseph, I am of divine power. Is my father still alive? That is, I do not deny my father, I recognize my brothers, if either you recognize your brother or your father recognizes his son. Therefore, my people are still alive, from which people's family have I chosen my brother?


Draw near to me (Gen. XLV, 4); for I have approached you, and I have approached to the extent of assuming flesh in order to become a partaker of your nature. Do not, therefore, flee from or reject your communion, if you do not recognize the author of salvation.

69. And they came to him, and he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that you sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years has the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to make sure of the preservation of your race in the land, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. What else does our Lord Jesus Christ, who surpassed all his brothers in piety, have: intercession for the people, saying on the cross, 'Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing' (Luke 23:34)? What else does that expression of holiness in the midst of the disciples, saying, 'Peace be with you; I am he, do not be afraid' (Luke 24:36)? And when they were troubled and frightened, thinking they saw a spirit, he said to them again, 'Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your hearts?' See, behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have (Ibid., 38 and 39). Therefore, these mysteries that will happen in future times were already revealed then.

70. Finally, these things are expressed in their own words, so that we understand it to be Joseph himself, both before and after speaking in his own body, since he did not change his words. For he said at that time: Do not be sad. And later: Go up to my father, and say to him: Thus says your son Joseph: God has made me lord of all the land of Egypt. And in the Gospel he says: Do not be afraid. Go, tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me (Matthew 28:10). And below he says: All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me (Ibid., 18), that is to say: this was of divine arrangement that I received power, not of human bitterness. He does not accuse a crime, who enumerates the reward.

But what is said in Genesis: 'For God sent me ahead of you to preserve life' (Gen 45:5), is repeated in the Gospel, saying: 'Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit' (Matt 28:19). For this is the reward and life of the saints, which has also redeemed others.

Moreover, pay attention to this, not written in Genesis in vain: 'And you shall be near me, you and your sons, and the sons of your sons' (Gen. XLV, 10). For this is what he said in the Gospel: 'Behold, I am with you all days until the end of the world' (Matthew XXVIII, 20).

73. How evident also is that mystery, which, as if having completed every commandment, Joseph embraces his brother Benjamin, and falls upon his neck (Gen. XLV, 14), just as Christ embraces Paul, having completed the Gospel, with the arms of his mercy (Act. IX, 4 et seq.), so that, being bent in internal opinion, he may raise him from the neck to heaven. Therefore, being raised by Christ, he says: But our conversation is in heaven (Philip. III, 20).

Chapter XIII.

Joseph rejoices in his brothers' inventions, which show his kindness towards them. What do the gifts that Joseph gives to his brothers, especially Benjamin, and sends to his father mean? What does his exhortation to peace when they leave signify? The wonder of their return to the land of Canaan and the news that their father hears that Joseph is alive follows.


74. And Pharaoh was glad that Joseph recognized his brothers (Gen. XLV, 16 et seq.). Hence the word was spread in Pharaoh's house. And Joseph urged his holy brothers to come and invite their father, and he commanded that their sacks be filled with wheat and that wagons be given to them. Whence this kindness to the barbarians, if not to show that great mystery, which the Church no longer envies, when the Jews are redeemed, and the Christian people rejoice in this union, and to whom she is able to provide aid, and sends those who proclaim the kingdom of God, that they may be called forth more quickly? To whom two stoles are given (Genesis, XLV, 22).

75. And he cites Paul, when he sets forth his statements, to whom three hundred gold coins, and five multicolored robes (Ibid., 23) are given by Christ. He who proclaims the cross of Christ possesses three hundred gold coins. Therefore, he says: For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified (I Cor. II, 2). And he rightly receives the gold coins, because he preached not in persuasive words of human wisdom, but in the demonstration of the Spirit. However, he receives the five robes, either the diverse disciplines of wisdom, or because he was not captured by the allurements of bodily senses, where others may find danger, he held victory; he conquered all pleasures of the flesh by singular self-restraint and virtue, his intellect and study not dulled by any weakness of the body, to the point that even though he is in the body, he does not know that he has a body. Finally, caught up in paradise, whether in the body or outside the body, not knowing, he heard unspeakable words, which it is not allowed to speak to a human being: in the end, he smelled nothing earthly on earth, as he himself teaches, saying: For we are the good fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved (2 Corinthians 2:15).


76. Therefore, Paul excels, and his portion is abundant: but nevertheless, other preachers have their grace. They receive two tunics. Which ones? Surely, those about which you should not doubt, because you have read the saying from Wisdom: She has made for her husband two garments (Prov. XXXI, 22). One is mystical, the other moral. But not all apostles, not all prophets, not all pastors, not all virtues, not all have the grace of healings, not all speak in tongues. Where the merits are different, the rewards are different.

77. And they send gifts ahead to their father (Gen. XLV, 23) . The son honors the father. Christ invites his people with promises, invites them with gifts. These gifts were carried by that useless and burdensome donkey before, now they are useful: they carry in type the gifts of Christ, who will be carried in the Gospel as the giver of gifts.

But he released his brothers, and they went away. And Joseph said to them: Do not be angry on the way. How well he teaches that we must beware of anger, because it can even separate loving brothers: and especially on a journey, discord must be avoided, where he himself, the one who accompanies us, must have the unbreakable bond of grace. And what else does our Lord Jesus, about to depart from this body, say when he dismisses his disciples, except that they should not be angry on the way, saying: Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you? For where there is peace, anger has no place, discord is removed, dissension is driven away. This is therefore what he says: My peace I give unto you; that is, Do not be angry on the way. And see that on this way he does not say, that is, in this course of the whole of life, indignation must be avoided, which anger often (XI., quaest. 3, Anger often) even leads the innocent into crime: because while we are more angry with the just, and wish to restrain the sin of others, we commit graver sins. Therefore, the Apostle says: Do not avenge yourselves, my dearest ones, but give place to wrath (Rom. XII, 19), that is, let us decline it, so that it does not seize us. Hence, when the Lord Jesus sent his disciples to preach, he sent them without gold, without silver, without money, without a bag, without a staff, that is, so that he would take away both the incentives of strife and the instruments of revenge.

And they went up, he says, from Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan to their father Jacob; and they told him, saying: Joseph, thy son, is alive, and he is ruler in all the land of Egypt. (Gen. XLV, 25). What is the land of Canaan? It was shaking. Therefore, what is more evident than the times of the apostles being designated? They entered into the shaking synagogues of the Jews, proclaiming the power of the Lord Jesus, as we have in the Acts of the Apostles, with Peter saying: This Jesus therefore God has raised up, of whom we are witnesses. Therefore, being exalted by the right hand of God and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, he poured out this gift that you now see (Acts 2:32-33). Certainly, we observe how he both gives life and governs the entire earth, who, opening his treasuries, grants the abundance of spiritual grace to all. The apostles were saying these things (Acts 5:18), but the Jews did not believe. Instead, they laid hands on them and put the preachers of salvation in custody.


80. Therefore, it is also written about Jacob: 'His mind was numb with fear' (Gen. 45:26); for he did not believe them. He was struck with emotion by the unfaithful people, but after he learned about the acts of Christ, he, being overwhelmed by such great blessings and works, regained his spirit, saying: 'It is a great thing for me that my son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die' (Ibid., 45:28). To believe in the resurrection of Christ is the first and greatest foundation of faith. For whoever believes in the resurrection, he seeks eagerly, approaches with devotion, and worships God with the innermost mind. For he believes that he himself will not die, if he believes in the author of resurrection.

Chapter XIV.

Israel, having elevated himself, comes to the well of the oath, where he also sacrifices. God comforts him with promises and assures him that Joseph's eyes will be closed by his hand. Seventy-five souls enter Egypt, and finally Israel gathers his sons to him. And what are the mysteries of all these things?


81. And Israel, raising himself up, came to the well of the oath, and offered a sacrifice to the God of his father Isaac (Gen. 46:1). He is rightly elevated who hurries to Christ. Faith goes before devotion. He elevated himself first and then offered sacrifice. For he sacrifices well who has sought knowledge of divinity.

But God spoke to Israel in a vision at night, saying: Jacob, Jacob. And he said: What is it? And the Lord said: I am the God of your fathers, do not be afraid, go down to Egypt; for I will make you a great nation there. I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will bring you up again forever (Gen., XLVI, 2 et seq.). Just as they read, they do not understand; and they reject Moses whom they praise, when they refuse to believe his writings. What is more evident than the fact that in this place they are invited to pass into the holy Church of God, and those who were previously confined within the narrow boundaries of Judea migrate to the people of God, who, gathered from the whole world, from all nations and peoples, has become a great nation? Finally, their sound has gone out into all the earth. Therefore, the people of the Jews are called by their sons, Jacob, that is, by Peter, Paul, John, and are invited to grace.


83. Our very own God Himself also encourages him with His own oracle, promising him the profitable fruit of his faith, saying to him: Joseph will lay his hand upon your eyes (Gen. XLVI, 4) . The holy Patriarch was not anxious about who would close his eyes; though even with simple understanding, moral feelings can be expressed. For if we often desire to embrace those whom we love, how much more are we delighted by the touch of our dear ones, when we are about to depart from this body, and how comforted are we by this provision for the journey? However, it is allowed for us to understand mystically that the Jewish people will come to know God afterwards. For this is a mystery, that the true Joseph will place his hands over his eyes, so that he who did not see before, may now see. Come to the Gospel (John 9:6), read how that blind man was healed, to whom Jesus laid his hands and took away his blindness. For Christ does not lay hands on those who are dying, but on those who will live; or if on those who are dying, then rightly so; because we die first, in order to come alive again. For we cannot live to God unless we die to sin first.

84. So seventy-five souls descend into Egypt, as it is written, and this is the mystical number of forgiveness; for after so much hardness, after so many sins, they would be deemed unworthy unless forgiveness of sins were granted to them. Judah, that is, the confession of error, meets him. The Jewish people send him as a forerunner. Therefore, Joseph, that is, the true arbiter and interpreter of divinity, meets him; for confession now precedes those whom perfidy formerly possessed. For Christ is the interpreter of divinity, because no one has ever seen God; except the only-begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he has explained Him. In the last times, He will receive the Jewish people of old age, weary, not according to their deserts, but according to the choice of grace: and he will place his hands over their eyes, to remove their blindness. He has delayed their healing, so that the one who did not think he should be believed might believe in the end, and lose the prerogative of the earlier choice. And so the Apostle says: 'A blindness in part has happened in Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles should come in, and so all Israel should be saved' (Rom. XI, 25).

The actions of the patriarchs are therefore mysteries of the future. Finally, Jacob himself says to his sons: Gather together, that I may tell you what will happen to you in the last days. Gather together and listen, O sons of Israel (Gen. 49:1-2).