batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l20645-l20715
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l20645-l20715
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
passage_locator:
label: CHAPTER XI. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER XII. / IN THE
NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 20645-20715
start: '20645'
end: '20715'
translation: The Koran (Al-Qur'an)
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: The passage recounts Jacob's sons entering the city as instructed, Joseph
privately receiving Benjamin and identifying himself as his brother, Joseph placing
his cup in Benjamin's sack, a public accusation of theft, the brothers' denial
and proposed penalty of bondage for the guilty person, the search and discovery
of the cup in Benjamin's sack, and the narrator's statement that God furnished
Joseph with this stratagem. Notes explain the cup, differing legal penalties for
theft, and later traditions about accusations that Joseph had once stolen.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Jacob's sons enter the city as their father commanded; the action is said
not to avail against God's decree, but to satisfy Jacob's desire.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Joseph receives Benjamin as his guest and tells him privately that he is his
brother.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: After providing supplies, Joseph puts his cup into Benjamin's sack.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: A crier calls after the departing company and accuses them of being thieves.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The brothers deny coming to act corruptly in the land and deny being thieves.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: The brothers state that the person in whose sack the cup is found should become
a bondman as satisfaction for the theft.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: The search begins with the brothers' sacks before Benjamin's sack, and the
cup is drawn from Benjamin's sack.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: The narrator states that God furnished Joseph with a stratagem and that Joseph
could not have taken his brother as a bondman by the king of Egypt's law unless
God allowed it through the brothers' own offer.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: The brothers say that if Benjamin is guilty of theft, Joseph also had been
guilty of theft before; Joseph conceals his response and speaks only within himself.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:10
text: A note reports traditions explaining the prior accusation against Joseph,
including a planted girdle, an alleged stolen gold idol, and alleged theft of
an animal to give to a poor man.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: God
description: Divine agent whose decree is not overcome, who taught Jacob, who furnishes
Joseph with a stratagem, and who exalts whom he pleases in knowledge and honour.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Jacob
description: Father of the brothers; he commands them how to enter the city and
is described as endowed with knowledge taught by God.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Joseph
description: Benjamin's brother; receives Benjamin, places the cup in Benjamin's
sack, uses a stratagem, and conceals his reaction to the brothers' accusation.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Benjamin
description: Joseph's brother and guest; the cup is placed in and later drawn from
his sack.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Joseph's brethren
description: The company of brothers or travellers accused of theft; they deny wrongdoing
and propose bondage as the penalty for the person in whose sack the cup is found.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Crier and Egyptians
description: The crier accuses the company of theft; the Egyptians ask what penalty
should apply if the brothers are found to be liars.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Joseph's father's sister
description: In a note, she is said in one tradition to have planted Abraham's girdle
on Joseph in order to keep him with her.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
roles:
- id: role:1
label: divine disposer of decree and stratagem
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage attributes the unaltered decree, Jacob's taught knowledge, and
Joseph's enabled stratagem to God.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- id: role:2
label: knowing father and adviser
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Jacob gives instructions to his sons and is described as endowed with knowledge
from God.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: concealed brother
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Joseph privately tells Benjamin that he is his brother while remaining unrecognized
by the other brothers in the described proceedings.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:7
- id: role:4
label: planner of the cup stratagem
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Joseph puts the cup in Benjamin's sack, and the narrator calls the episode
a stratagem furnished to Joseph.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: accused brother retained through discovery
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Benjamin's sack is the one from which the cup is drawn, after the brothers
have named bondage as the penalty.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: accused travelling brothers
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: They are addressed as travellers, accused of theft, deny it, and set the
penalty that enables Benjamin's detention.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:7
label: public accusers and legal questioners
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The crier accuses the travellers, and the Egyptians ask what penalty should
follow if theft is proved.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:8
label: retainer through planted object in note tradition
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The note says she used a girdle and a search to have Joseph adjudged to her
as property.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: cup
literal_form: The prince's cup, placed in Benjamin's sack and later produced as
the missing object; the note identifies it either as a measure for corn or water,
or as a silver or gold drinking cup.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:9
- id: sym:2
label: sack
literal_form: The provision sacks searched in sequence, culminating in Benjamin's
sack where the cup is found.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: sym:3
label: bondage penalty
literal_form: 'The legal consequence proposed by the brothers: the person in whose
sack the cup is found becomes a bondman.'
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:4
label: girdle of Abraham
literal_form: In a note tradition, a girdle once belonging to Abraham is placed
on Joseph and then found in a search.
associated_figures:
- fig:7
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:5
label: gold idol or images
literal_form: In a note tradition, Joseph is alleged to have stolen and destroyed
a gold idol; the note compares this to Rachel's stealing Laban's images.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Entry according to Jacob's instruction
summary: The brothers enter the city as their father commanded, while the narrator
states that this cannot prevail against God's decree.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Joseph receives Benjamin
summary: Joseph receives Benjamin as his guest and privately tells him not to be
afflicted because he is his brother.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Cup placed and theft proclaimed
summary: Joseph places his cup in Benjamin's sack after giving provisions, and a
crier accuses the travelling company of theft.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Denial and self-named penalty
summary: The brothers deny theft and state that the person in whose sack the cup
is found should become a bondman.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Search and divine stratagem
summary: The sacks are searched in an order that leaves Benjamin's for last; the
cup is found there, and the narrator explains the outcome as a God-enabled stratagem
allowing Joseph to retain his brother under the brothers' own legal offer.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:6
label: Accusation against Joseph concealed by silence
summary: The brothers link Benjamin's alleged theft to a prior alleged theft by
Joseph, but Joseph keeps his response inward.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:7
label: Note traditions about Joseph's alleged theft
summary: The note gives alternative traditions explaining the accusation against
Joseph, including a planted girdle, a stolen idol, and an animal stolen for a
poor person.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: planted object discovered by search
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_theft
basis: Joseph places the cup in Benjamin's sack, a theft accusation is made, the
sacks are searched, and the cup is produced from Benjamin's sack.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The cup is planted as a stratagem; Benjamin is not described as actually
stealing it, so the taxonomy reference is approximate.
- id: motif:2
label: brother retained through legal stratagem
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The brothers themselves define bondage as the penalty, enabling Joseph to
keep Benjamin, and the narrator frames this as a divinely furnished stratagem
involving knowledge and honour.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives a legal and narrative mechanism rather than an abstract
wisdom tale label.
- id: motif:3
label: hidden brother revealed privately
taxonomy_refs:
- sibling_pair
basis: Joseph receives Benjamin and tells him privately that he is his brother while
the broader proceedings continue with the other brothers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy term is broad; the passage concerns brothers but
not twins or a simple paired-sibling structure.
- id: motif:4
label: conflicting laws enable detention
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The narrator contrasts the king of Egypt's law with the brothers' own offered
penalty and says God allowed the stratagem by that means.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: low
cautions: The scene is legal and providential, but it is not an explicit final judgment
scene.
- id: motif:5
label: earlier planted-object retention tradition
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_theft
basis: A note reports a tradition in which Joseph's aunt plants Abraham's girdle
on him, causes a search, and has him adjudged as her property.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: This is from an explanatory note rather than the main Quranic passage.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The note explicitly links one tradition about Joseph stealing and destroying
a gold idol with the story of Rachel stealing Laban's images.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Rachel's stealing of Laban's images
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The comparison is made in a translator/commentarial note and is phrased
as probable derivation, not demonstrated historical contact in the passage itself.
- id: claim:2
claim: 'The note tradition about Abraham''s girdle repeats the same functional pattern
as the cup episode: an object is placed on or with a person, a search discovers
it, and the discovery creates a claim over that person.'
claim_level: same_function
target: internal comparison between the cup-in-sack episode and the girdle tradition
in the note
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:8
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The two episodes differ in actors, objects, and narrative status; one
is the main passage and one is an explanatory tradition.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 20645-20649
quote_or_summary: The brothers enter the city as Jacob commanded; this does not
prevail against God's decree, and Jacob is described as taught knowledge by God.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 20650-20653
quote_or_summary: Joseph receives Benjamin as his guest and tells him that he is
his brother and should not be afflicted by what the others have done.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 20654-20657
quote_or_summary: After furnishing provisions, Joseph puts his cup in Benjamin's
sack; a crier calls after the company of travellers and accuses them of theft.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 20658-20664
quote_or_summary: The travellers ask what is missing; the prince's cup is named,
a reward is offered for producing it, and the brothers deny corrupt action or
theft.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 20665-20669
quote_or_summary: The Egyptians ask what penalty should apply if the brothers are
lying; the brothers answer that the person in whose sack it is found should become
a bondman.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 20670-20677
quote_or_summary: The search starts with the other sacks before Benjamin's; the
cup is drawn from Benjamin's sack. The narrator says God furnished Joseph with
a stratagem and that Egyptian royal law alone would not have allowed him to take
his brother as a bondman.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 20678-20684
quote_or_summary: The brothers say that if Benjamin is guilty, Joseph had also been
guilty of theft before; Joseph conceals his reaction and thinks that God knows
best what they say.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 20699-20715
quote_or_summary: 'A note explains the accusation against Joseph with traditions:
his aunt planted Abraham''s girdle on him to keep him; others say he stole and
destroyed a gold idol, compared in the note with Rachel stealing Laban''s images;
others say he stole a goat or hen for a poor man.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 20688-20691
quote_or_summary: A note says the cup was understood either as a measure for corn
or water for beasts, or as a silver or gold drinking cup.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The narrative details are explicit. Motif and taxonomy assignments are cautious
because available taxonomy labels only approximately match the legal stratagem
and false-theft episode.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
Only the supplied passage and metadata were used. Footnote material is treated as part of the supplied passage but distinguished from the main narrative.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg__l20645-l20715
passage_sha256=1d216da2a9d1277617b334694f7b270e00a64b8dca8748cbce0469c08309e312