Testament of Joseph 13

1But Pentephris, persuaded by her words, ordered the broker to come, and said to him, “What is this that I hear concerning you, that you steal souls from the land of Canaan and sell them as servants?”

2But the broker fell at his feet and begged, saying, “I beg you, lord, I do not know what you are saying.”

3And Pentephris said to him, “From where, then, is this Hebrew boy?” And he said, “The Ishmaelites entrusted him to me until they return.”

4But he did not believe him; rather, he ordered him to be beaten naked. And when he persisted in these words, Pentephris said, “Then let the young man be brought.”

5And when I was brought in, I bowed down to Pentephris, for he was third in rank among Pharaoh’s rulers.

6And after separating me from him, he said to me, “Are you a servant or free?” And I said, “A servant.”

7And he said, “Whose?” And I said, “The Ishmaelites’.”

8But he said, “How did you become their servant?” And I said, “They bought me from the land of Canaan.”

9But he said to me, “You are truly lying.” And immediately he ordered me also to be stripped naked and beaten.