Genesis 45
45
The Truth Revealed.#Joseph reveals his identity and the family is reconciled. 1Joseph could no longer restrain himself in the presence of all his attendants, so he cried out, “Have everyone withdraw from me!” So no one attended him when he made himself known to his brothers. 2But his sobs were so loud that the Egyptians heard him, and so the news reached Pharaoh’s house. 3#Acts 7:13. “I am Joseph,” he said to his brothers. “Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could give him no answer, so dumbfounded were they at him.
4“Come closer to me,” Joseph told his brothers. When they had done so, he said: “I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5But now do not be distressed, and do not be angry with yourselves for having sold me here. It was really for the sake of saving lives that God sent me here ahead of you.#Gn 50:20. 6The famine has been in the land for two years now, and for five more years cultivation will yield no harvest. 7God, therefore, sent me on ahead of you to ensure for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives in an extraordinary deliverance. 8So it was not really you but God who had me come here; and he has made me a father to Pharaoh,#Father to Pharaoh: a term applied to a vizier in ancient Egypt. lord of all his household, and ruler over the whole land of Egypt.
9#In these verses, as in 46:31–47:5a, all from the Yahwist source, Joseph in his own name invites his father and brothers to come to Egypt. Only after their arrival is Pharaoh informed of the fact. On the other hand, in 45:16–20, which scholars have traditionally attributed to the Elohist source, it is Pharaoh himself who invites Joseph’s family to migrate to his domain. “Hurry back, then, to my father and tell him: ‘Thus says your son Joseph: God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me without delay.#Acts 7:14. 10You can settle in the region of Goshen,#The region of Goshen: the meaning of the term is unknown. It is found in no Egyptian source. It is generally thought to be in the modern Wadi Tumilat in the eastern part of the Nile Delta. where you will be near me—you and your children and children’s children, your flocks and herds, and everything that you own. 11I will provide for you there in the five years of famine that lie ahead, so that you and your household and all that are yours will not suffer want.’ 12Surely, you can see for yourselves, and Benjamin can see for himself, that it is I who am speaking to you. 13Tell my father all about my high position in Egypt and all that you have seen. But hurry and bring my father down here.” 14Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept on his shoulder. 15Joseph then kissed all his brothers and wept over them; and only then were his brothers able to talk with him.
16The news reached Pharaoh’s house: “Joseph’s brothers have come.” Pharaoh and his officials were pleased. 17So Pharaoh told Joseph: “Say to your brothers: ‘This is what you shall do: Load up your animals and go without delay to the land of Canaan. 18There get your father and your households, and then come to me; I will assign you the best land in Egypt, where you will live off the fat of the land.’#Acts 7:14. 19Instruct them further: ‘Do this. Take wagons from the land of Egypt for your children and your wives and bring your father back here. 20Do not be concerned about your belongings, for the best in the whole land of Egypt shall be yours.’”
21The sons of Israel acted accordingly. Joseph gave them the wagons, as Pharaoh had ordered, and he supplied them with provisions for the journey. 22He also gave to each of them a set of clothes, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five sets of clothes. 23Moreover, what he sent to his father was ten donkeys loaded with the finest products of Egypt and another ten loaded with grain and bread and provisions for his father’s journey. 24As he sent his brothers on their way, he told them, “Do not quarrel on the way.”
25So they went up from Egypt and came to the land of Canaan, to their father Jacob. 26When they told him, “Joseph is still alive—in fact, it is he who is governing all the land of Egypt,” he was unmoved, for he did not believe them. 27But when they recounted to him all that Joseph had told them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to transport him, the spirit of their father Jacob came to life. 28“Enough,” said Israel. “My son Joseph is still alive! I must go and see him before I die.”
Currently Selected:
Genesis 45: NABRE
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Genesis 45
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.”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.