John Calvin Commentary Genesis 44:5

"Is not this that in which my lord drinketh, and whereby he indeed divineth? ye have done evil in so doing." — Genesis 44:5 (ASV)

Whereby indeed, he divineth. This clause is variously interpreted. For some take it as if Joseph pretended that he consulted diviners to find out the thief. Others translate it, “by which he has tested you, or searched you out;” others, that the stolen cup had given Joseph an unfavorable omen.

The true meaning seems to me to be this: that he had used the cup for divinations and for magical arts, which, however, as we have said, he pretended, for the sake of aggravating the charge brought against them. But the question arises: how does Joseph allow himself to resort to such a tactic?

For not only was it sinful for him to profess augury, but he also vainly and unworthily transfers to imaginary deities the honor due only to divine grace. On a former occasion, he had declared that he was unable to interpret dreams, except to the extent that God would reveal the truth to him.

Now he obscures this entire attribution of praise to divine grace. And what is worse, by boasting that he is a magician rather than proclaiming himself a prophet of God, he impiously profanes the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Doubtless, in this dissimulation, it cannot be denied that he sinned grievously. Yet I think that, at first, he had strived by all means in his power to give God His due honor.

It was not his fault that the whole kingdom of Egypt was ignorant of the fact that he excelled in skill, not by magical arts, but by a heavenly gift.

But since the Egyptians were accustomed to the illusions of the magicians, this long-standing error so prevailed that they believed Joseph to be one of them. I do not doubt that this rumor was spread widely among the people, although contrary to his desire and intention.

Now Joseph, in pretending to be a stranger to his brothers, combines many falsehoods in one and takes advantage of the prevailing popular opinion that he used auguries.

From this we gather that when anyone departs from the right path, he is prone to fall into various sins. Therefore, being warned by this example, let us learn to permit ourselves nothing except what we know God approves. But especially we must avoid all dissimulation, which either produces or confirms harmful deceptions.

Besides, we are warned that it is not enough for anyone to oppose a prevailing vice for a time, unless he adds constant resistance, even if the evil becomes excessive. For he fulfills his duty very inadequately who, after once testifying that he is displeased with what is evil, afterwards, by his silence or connivance, gives it a kind of assent.