Joseph Keeps His Brother (12:70 – 12:81)

Joseph Keeps His Brother

[12:70] When he provided them with their provisions, he placed the drinking cup in his brother’s bag, then an announcer announced: “The owners of this caravan are thieves.”
[12:71] They said, as they came towards them, “What did you lose?”
[12:72] They said, “We lost the king’s cup. Anyone who returns it will receive an extra camel-load; I personally guarantee this.”
[12:73] They said, “By GOD, you know full well that we did not come here to commit evil, nor are we thieves.”
[12:74] They said, “What is the punishment for the thief, if you are liars?”
[12:75] They said, “The punishment, if it is found in his bag, is that the thief belongs to you. We thus punish the guilty.“
[12:76] He then started by inspecting their containers, before getting to his brother’s container, and he extracted it out of his brother’s container. We thus perfected the scheme for Joseph; he could not have kept his brother if he applied the king’s law. But that was the will of GOD. We exalt whomever we choose to higher ranks. Above every knowledgeable one, there is one who is even more knowledgeable.
[12:77] They said, “If he stole, so did a brother of his in the past.” Joseph concealed his feelings in himself, and did not give them any clue. He said (to himself), “You are really bad. GOD is fully aware of your accusations.”
[12:78] They said, “O you noble one, he has a father who is elderly; would you take one of us in his place? We see that you are a kind man.”
[12:79] He said, “GOD forbid that we should take other than the one in whose possession we found our goods. Otherwise, we would be unjust.”
[12:80] When they despaired of changing his mind, they conferred together. Their eldest said, “Do you realize that your father has taken a solemn pledge from you before GOD? In the past you lost Joseph. I am not leaving this place until my father gives me permission, or until GOD judges for me; He is the best Judge.
[12:81] “Go back to your father and tell him…

Was Joseph wrong or lying when he placed the king cups in his brother’s bag?

Kite Runner Quote – Theft is the ultimate sin
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0419887/quotes
“Baba: There is only one sin, only one. And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft… When you kill a man, you steal a life. You steal his wife’s right to a husband, rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone’s right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness.” 

Was this similar to Abraham destroying the idols?

Joseph is strategizing by thinking levels deep

Game Theory – Guess 2/3 of the Average 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guess_2/3_of_the_average
In game theory, “guess 2/3 of the average” is a game where several people guess what 2/3 of the average of their guesses will be, and where the numbers are restricted to the real numbers between 0 and 100, inclusive. The winner is the one closest to the 2/3 average.

Equilibrium analysis In this game there is no strictly dominant strategy. However, there is a unique pure strategy Nash equilibrium. This equilibrium can be found by iterated elimination of weakly dominated strategies. Guessing any number that lies above 66 2/3 is weakly dominated for every player since it cannot possibly be 2/3 of the average of any guess. These can be eliminated. Once these strategies are eliminated for every player, any guess above 44 4/9 is weakly dominated for every player since no player will guess above 66 2/3, and 2/3 of 66 2/3 is 44 4/9. This process will continue until all numbers above 0 have been eliminated.

Game 1: Pick Up Sticks
In this 2-player game, we start with 27 sticks.  The players take turns picking up sticks.  On each turn, a player must pick up 1, 2, or 3 sticks.  The player who picks up the last stick loses.

Usually after playing the game a few times, my students quickly see that forcing the other player to choose from 5 sticks is a winning strategy.  Then, a game or two later, they see that forcing the other player to choose from 9 sticks is a winning strategy.  From there, they quickly back out a winning strategy overall.
http://blogs.britannica.com/2007/05/math-and-winning-strategies/

60 Minutes – Lost
http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/lost
http://www.cbsnews.com/common/video/cbsnews_video.swf