JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. cob’s eldest son said, “I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad oo up with his brethren.” This proof of duty to his father, and their love for Benjamin, so pleased Joseph, that he told them who he was, saying, “ I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.’—* Doth my father yet live?” And they trembled with fear ; but he forgave them for their former conduct towards himself, and showed them all manner of kindness. With the king’s consent, he bade them go back to their own country, and bring their father, and their wives and their children, into Egypt, that they might share his good fortune. We may imagine the surprise and 19