86 | Genesis 44:20
his ser vants , ‘ Do you have a fa ther or a broth er ?’
20
And we an swered , ‘ We have an aged fa ther , and there is a young son born to him in his old age . His broth er is dead , and he is the only one of his moth er ’ s sons left , and his fa ther loves him .’
21
“ Then you said to your ser vants , ‘ Bring him down to me so I can see him for my self .’ 22 And we said to my lord , ‘ The boy can not leave his fa ther ; if he leaves him , his fa ther will die .’ 23 But you told your ser vants , ‘ Un less your youn gest broth er comes down with you , you will not see my face again .’ 24 When we went back to your ser vant my fa ther , we told him what my lord had said .
25
“ Then our fa ther said , ‘ Go back and buy a lit tle more food .’ 26 But we said , ‘ We can not go down . Only if our youn gest broth er is with us will we go . We can not see the man ’ s face un less our youn gest broth er is with us .’
27
“ Your ser vant my fa ther said to us , ‘ You know that my wife bore me two sons . 28 One of them went away from me , and I said , “ He has sure ly been torn to piec es .” And I have not seen him since . 29 If you take this one from me too and harm comes to him , you will bring my gray head down to the grave in mis ery .’
30
“ So now , if the boy is not with us when I go back to your ser vant my fa ther , and if my fa ther , whose life is close ly bound up with the boy ’ s life ,
31 sees that the boy isn ’ t there , he will die . Your ser vants will bring the gray head of our fa ther down to the grave in sor row . 32 Your ser vant guaran teed the boy ’ s safe ty to my fa ther . I said , ‘ If I do not bring him back to you , I will bear the blame be fore you , my fa ther , all my life !’
33
“ Now then , please let your ser vant re main here as my lord ’ s slave in place of the boy , and let the boy re turn with his broth ers . 34 How can I go back to my fa ther if the boy is not with me ? No ! Do not let me see the mis ery that would come on my fa ther .”
Joseph Makes Himself Known
Then Jo seph could no lon ger con trol himself be fore all his at ten dants , and he cried
45 out , “ Have ev ery one leave my pres ence !” So there was no one with Jo seph when he made him self known to his broth ers . 2 And he wept so loud ly that the Egyp tians heard him , and Phar aoh ’ s house hold heard about it .
3
Jo seph said to his broth ers , “ I am Jo seph ! Is my fa ther still liv ing ?” But his broth ers were not able to an swer him , be cause they were ter ri fied at his pres ence .
4
Then Jo seph said to his broth ers , “ Come close to me .” When they had done so , he said , “ I am your broth er Jo seph , the one you sold into Egypt ! 5 And now , do not be dis tressed and do not be an gry with your selves for sell ing me here , be cause it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you .
6
For two years now there has been fam ine in the land , and for the next five years there will be no plow ing and reap ing . 7 But God sent me ahead of you to pre serve for you a rem nant on earth and to save your lives by a great de liv er ance . a
8
“ So then , it was not you who sent me here , but God . He made me fa ther to Phar aoh , lord of his en tire house hold and rul er of all Egypt . 9 Now hur ry back to my fa ther and say to him , ‘ This is what your son Jo seph says : God has made me lord of all Egypt . Come down to me ; don ’ t de lay . 10 You shall live in the re gion of Go shen and be near me — you , your chil dren and grand chil dren , your flocks and herds , and all you have . 11 I will pro vide for you there , be cause five years of fam ine are still to come . Oth er wise you and your house hold and all who be long to you will be come des ti tute .’
12
“ You can see for your selves , and so can my broth er Ben ja min , that it is real ly I who am speaking to you . 13 Tell my fa ther about all the hon or accord ed me in Egypt and about ev ery thing you have seen . And bring my fa ther down here quick ly .”
14
Then he threw his arms around his brother Ben ja min and wept , and Ben ja min em braced him , weep ing . 15 And he kissed all his broth ers and wept over them . Af ter ward his broth ers talked with him .
16
When the news reached Phar aoh ’ s pal ace that Jo seph ’ s broth ers had come , Phar aoh and all his of fi cials were pleased . 17 Phar aoh said to Jo seph , “ Tell your broth ers , ‘ Do this : Load your an i mals and re turn to the land of Ca naan , 18 and bring your fa ther and your fam i lies back to me . I will
a
7 Or save you as a great band of survivors
44:28 torn to pieces See 37:33 .
45:1 – 28 Joseph can no longer hold back his emotions . Moved by Judah ’ s impassioned plea for Benjamin ’ s release and for the life of his father Jacob , Joseph reveals his identity to his brothers . They are stunned but relieved . Joseph embraces them — particularly Benjamin — and explains that God has used his journey to Egypt for good .
Pharaoh is pleased when he hears of the arrival of Joseph ’ s brothers . He provides the necessary means to transport Joseph ’ s family from Canaan to Egypt . He also gives them the best things Egypt has to offer . Not only will they live comfortably through the famine , they will also have a safe , fertile area in which to increase their wealth and clan . This suggests the value of Joseph to Pharaoh .
45:8 father to Pharaoh In Egyptian literature , titles similar to this one are attributed to Egyptians other than just Pharaoh . It is used for the pharaoh ’ s physical father , tutor and father-in-law . The title could also be used as an honorary title for someone who incurred special favor from the pharaoh , which likely describes Joseph ’ s case . 45:10 Goshen This likely refers to the northeastern region of the Nile delta . 45:18 you can enjoy the fat of the land Refers to the abundance that the land or soil offers — its produce .