הֲל֣וֹא זֶ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִשְׁתֶּ֤ה אֲדֹנִי֙ בּ֔וֹ וְה֕וּא נַחֵ֥שׁ יְנַחֵ֖שׁ בּ֑וֹ הֲרֵעֹתֶ֖ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר עֲשִׂיתֶֽם׃
Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby he indeed divineth? Ye have done evil in so doing.
Classical midrash and Talmudic discussions of the silver cup and the claim of divination.
Sefaria · Bereshit Rabbah (context)
וְהוּא נַחֵשׁ יְנַחֵשׁ בּוֹ. יוֹסֵף עָשָׂה עַצְמוֹ כְּאִלּוּ הוּא מְנַחֵשׁ, כְּדֵי לְבַחֹן אֶת אֶחָיו.
English of Core Text: “And whereby he indeed divineth.” Yosef made himself appear as one who practices divination, in order to test his brothers.
On the daf / in context: The classical sources treat the claim of nichush as part of Yosef’s staged persona, not as an actual practice of forbidden divination; it is a calculated element of the final test that leads to Yehudah’s speech.
Type of Learning: Derash on the verse (classic midrash) — not a formal named middah of the 13.
What Is Learned: The silver cup and the accusation of divination are instruments in Yosef’s deliberate testing of his brothers’ character and solidarity, especially regarding Binyamin.