But imagine the tables being turned... Imagine you holding all the cards, knowing the truth while others are desperately trying to keep up a charade. That’s the kind of tension we find ourselves in with this little snippet from Legends of the Jews (Ginzberg).
The scene: Joseph, now a powerful figure in Egypt, is testing his brothers. They don't recognize him, of course. He's been gone for years. And they certainly don't expect the high-ranking Egyptian official before them to be the brother they sold into slavery all those years ago.
Judah, ever the spokesman, is fretting. How will they explain BENJAMIN’s absence to their father, JACOB? Jacob already grieves for Joseph, whom they claimed was killed by a beast. How much more will the loss of another son crush him?
Judah asks, "What shall we say unto our father, when he seeth that our brother is not with us, and he will grieve over him?" He’s genuinely concerned. He’s trying to protect his father from further heartbreak.
And Joseph? He throws out this cryptic line: "Say that the rope hath followed after the water bucket."
What on earth does that mean?
It’s a proverb, a saying hinting that one thing has led to another. The absence of the bucket led to the need for the rope to retrieve it. In other words, one misfortune leads to another. But is Joseph being serious? Is he really suggesting they use this as their excuse?
Judah, understandably, is taken aback. He rebukes Joseph, forgetting that Joseph is supposed to be an all-powerful Egyptian ruler. “Thou art a king, why dost thou speak in this wise, counselling a falsehood? Woe unto the king that is like thee!”
He's essentially saying, "You're a king! Act like one! And don't suggest we lie!"
And then, BOOM. Joseph drops the hammer.
“Is there a greater falsehood than that ye spake concerning your brother Joseph, whom you sold to the Midianites for twenty pieces of silver, telling your father, An evil beast hath devoured him?”
Mic drop.
Can you feel the tension in the air? The weight of the past crashing down on them? Joseph isn’t just any king; he’s calling them out on their ultimate betrayal. He’s exposing the festering wound of their deception. All those years of guilt, of keeping the secret, are now brought to the surface.
This isn't just a story about lying. It’s about responsibility. About facing the consequences of our actions. It's about the long, tangled threads of family relationships and the pain that unresolved conflict can cause. And perhaps, just perhaps, it's also a hint of the potential for healing, for reconciliation, that lies ahead... but only if they can confront the truth. What do you think?