Genesis 45
45
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Acts 7.13. Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him; and he cried, “Make every one go out from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. 3And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph; is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence.
4So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, I pray you.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8So it was not you who sent me here, but God; and he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9Make haste and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not tarry; 10you shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have; 11and there I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come; lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty.’ 12And now your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth that speaks to you. 13You must tell my father of all my splendor in Egypt, and of all that you have seen. Make haste and bring my father down here.” 14Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck. 15And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.
16When the report was heard in Pharaoh's house, “Joseph's brothers have come,” it pleased Pharaoh and his servants well. 17And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: load your beasts and go back to the land of Canaan; 18and take your father and your households, and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.’ 19Command them#45.19 Compare Gk Vg: Heb you are commanded also, ‘Do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. 20Give no thought to your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’ ”
21The sons of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. 22To each and all of them he gave festal garments; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five festal garments. 23To his father he sent as follows: ten asses loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten she-asses loaded with grain, bread, and provision for his father on the journey. 24Then he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, “Do not quarrel on the way.” 25So they went up out of Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. 26And they told him, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” And his heart fainted, for he did not believe them. 27But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived; 28and Israel said, “It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive; I will go and see him before I die.”
Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America
Genesis 45
45
1Joseph couldn't control his emotions any longer while all his attendants were there, so he shouted out, “Everybody leave me!” So there was nobody else there when Joseph revealed who he was to his brothers. 2But he cried so loudly that the Egyptians could hear him, and they told Pharaoh's household about it.
3“I'm Joseph!” he announced to his brothers. “Is my father still alive?” They couldn't answer him as they were so surprised to see him face to face.
4“Please come closer to me,” he told his brothers. They came over to him. “I'm your brother Joseph who you sold into slavery in Egypt. 5But don't be worried or get angry with yourselves that you sold me to be a slave here, because it was God who sent me ahead of you to save lives. 6The country has suffered from famine for two years already, but there will be five more years with no plowing or reaping. 7God sent me ahead of you to make sure you would still have descendants, to save your lives in this miraculous way.#45:7. “In this miraculous way”: or “with many survivors.” 8So it wasn't you who sent me here, but God. He was the one who made me Pharaoh's chief advisor#45:8. “Pharaoh's chief advisor”: literally, “a father to Pharaoh.” in charge of all his affairs, and ruler of the whole country of Egypt.
9Now hurry! Go back to my father and tell him, ‘This message comes from your son Joseph: God has made me the ruler of the whole of Egypt. Come to me now; don't wait. 10You'll live in the land of Goshen so you can be close to me with your children and grandchildren, and with your flocks and herds and everything that belongs to you. 11I'll make sure you have food, because there are still five more years of famine to come. Otherwise you and your family and your animals are going to starve.’”
12Then Joseph told his brothers,#45:12. “Then Joseph told his brothers”: supplied for clarity to show that Joseph is now addressing his brothers directly again. “You can all see for yourselves—including my brother Benjamin—that it's really me talking to you! 13Tell my father how much I'm respected in Egypt. Tell him everything that you've seen. Hurry! Bring my father here quickly!” 14He hugged Benjamin, and Benjamin hugged him back. They both wept for joy. 15He kissed all his brothers and wept over them, and after that his brothers were able to start talking with him.
16Word soon reached Pharaoh's palace that Joseph's brothers had arrived. Pharaoh and his officials were glad to hear the news.
17Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘This is what you are to do: Load your donkeys with grain and go back to the country of Canaan. 18Then bring your father and your families and return here to me. I will give you the best land in Egypt, and you shall eat the best food the country has to offer.’
19Tell them to do this as well: ‘Take some wagons from Egypt for your children and your wives. Bring them and your father here. 20Don't worry about bringing your possessions because the best of all Egypt is yours.’”
21So that's what the sons of Israel did. Joseph provided them with wagons, as Pharaoh had ordered. He also gave them supplies for their journey. 22He gave each of them new clothes. But to Benjamin he gave five sets of clothes and 300 pieces of silver. 23Joseph also sent to his father the following: ten donkeys carrying the best things from Egypt, and ten female donkeys carrying grain and bread and supplies needed for his father's journey.
24Then he saw his brothers off, and as they left he told them, “Don't argue on the way!” 25So they left Egypt and went back home to their father Jacob in the country of Canaan.
26“Joseph's still alive!” they told him. “It's true, and he's the ruler of the whole country of Egypt!” Jacob was stunned at the news—he just couldn't believe it! 27But when they told him everything that Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to take him to Egypt, Jacob came back to his senses. 28Israel said, “All right, I believe you! My son Joseph is still alive! I'm going to go and see him before I die.”
Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com