Genesis 45

Joseph Tells His Brothers Who He Is

1 # Ac 7.13. Since Joseph could no longer control his feelings in front of his servants, he sent them out of the room. When he was alone with his brothers, he told them, “I am Joseph.” 2Then he cried so loudly that the Egyptians heard him and told about it in the king's#45.2 the king: See the note at 12.15. palace.

3Joseph asked his brothers if his father was still alive, but they were too frightened to answer. 4Joseph told them to come closer to him, and when they did, he said:

Yes, I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt. 5Don't worry or blame yourselves for what you did. God is the one who sent me ahead of you to save lives.

6There has already been a famine for two years, and for five more years no one will plow fields or harvest grain. 7But God sent me on ahead of you to keep your families alive and to save you in this wonderful way. 8After all, you weren't really the ones who sent me here—it was God. He made me the highest official in the king's court and placed me over all Egypt.

9 # Ac 7.14. Now hurry back and tell my father that his son Joseph says, “God has made me ruler of Egypt. Come here as quickly as you can. 10You will live near me in the region of Goshen with your children and grandchildren, as well as with your sheep, goats, cattle, and everything else you own. 11I will take care of you there during the next five years of famine. But if you don't come, you and your family and your animals will starve to death.”

12All of you, including my brother Benjamin, can tell by what I have said that I really am Joseph. 13Tell my father about my great power here in Egypt and about everything you have seen. Hurry and bring him here.

14Joseph and Benjamin hugged each other and started crying. 15Joseph was still crying as he kissed each of his other brothers. After this, they started talking with Joseph.

16When it was told in the palace that Joseph's brothers had come, the king and his officials were happy. 17So the king said to Joseph:

Tell your brothers to load their donkeys and return to Canaan. 18Tell them to bring their father and their families here. I will give them the best land in Egypt, and they can eat and enjoy everything that grows there. 19Also tell your brothers to take some wagons from Egypt for their wives and children to ride in. And be sure they bring their father. 20They can leave their possessions behind, because they will be given the best of everything in Egypt.

21Jacob's sons agreed to do what the king had said. And Joseph gave them wagons and food for their trip home, just as the king had ordered. 22Joseph gave some new clothes to each of his brothers, but to Benjamin he gave five new outfits and 300 pieces of silver. 23To his father he sent ten donkeys loaded with the best things in Egypt, and ten other donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other food for the return trip. 24Then he sent his brothers off and told them, “Don't argue on the way home!”

25Joseph's brothers left Egypt, and when they arrived in Canaan, 26they told their father that Joseph was still alive and was the ruler of Egypt. But their father was so surprised that he could not believe them. 27Then they told him everything Joseph had said. When he saw the wagons Joseph had sent, he felt much better 28and said, “Now I can believe you! My son Joseph must really be alive, and I will get to see him before I die.”

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Genesis 45

Joseph Reveals Who He Is

1Joseph could not control himself in front of his servants any longer, so he cried out, “Have everyone leave me.” When only the brothers were left with Joseph, he told them who he was. 2Joseph cried so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and the people in the king’s palace heard about it. 3He said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But the brothers could not answer him, because they were very afraid of him.

4So Joseph said to them, “Come close to me.” When the brothers came close to him, he said to them, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold as a slave to go to Egypt. 5Now don’t be worried or angry with yourselves because you sold me here. God sent me here ahead of you to save people’s lives. 6No food has grown on the land for two years now, and there will be five more years without planting or harvest. 7So God sent me here ahead of you to make sure you have some descendants left on earth and to keep you alive in an amazing way. 8So it was not you who sent me here, but God. God has made me the highest officer of the king of Egypt. I am in charge of his palace, and I am the master of all the land of Egypt.

9“So leave quickly and go to my father. Tell him, ‘Your son Joseph says: God has made me master over all Egypt. Come down to me quickly. 10Live in the land of Goshen where you will be near me. Your children, your grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all that you have will also be near me. 11I will care for you during the next five years of hunger so that you and your family and all that you have will not starve.’

12“Now you can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that the one speaking to you is really Joseph. 13So tell my father about how powerful I have become in Egypt. Tell him about everything you have seen. Now hurry and bring him back to me.” 14Then Joseph hugged his brother Benjamin and cried, and Benjamin cried also. 15And Joseph kissed all his brothers and cried as he hugged them. After this, his brothers talked with him.

16When the king of Egypt and his officers learned that Joseph’s brothers had come, they were very happy. 17So the king said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers to load their animals and go back to the land of Canaan 18and bring their father and their families back here to me. I will give them the best land in Egypt, and they will eat the best food we have here. 19Tell them to take some wagons from Egypt for their children and their wives and to bring their father back also. 20Tell them not to worry about bringing any of their things with them, because we will give them the best of what we have in Egypt.”

21So the sons of Israel did this. Joseph gave them wagons as the king had ordered and food for their trip. 22He gave each brother a change of clothes, but he gave Benjamin five changes of clothes and about seven and one-half pounds of silver. 23Joseph also sent his father ten donkeys loaded with the best things from Egypt and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and other food for his father on his trip back. 24Then Joseph told his brothers to go. As they were leaving, he said to them, “Don’t quarrel on the way home.”

25So the brothers left Egypt and went to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. 26They told him, “Joseph is still alive and is the ruler over all the land of Egypt.” Their father was shocked and did not believe them. 27But when the brothers told him everything Joseph had said, and when Jacob saw the wagons Joseph had sent to carry him back to Egypt, he felt better. 28Israel said, “Now I believe you. My son Joseph is still alive, and I will go and see him before I die.”

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