Genesis 45
45
Joseph Provides for His Brothers and Family
1Then Joseph could not #ch. 43:31; [Esth. 5:10]control himself before all those who stood by him. He cried, “Make everyone 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, #Acts 7:13“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, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, #ch. 37:28whom you sold into Egypt. 5And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, #ch. 50:20; Ps. 105:16, 17for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are #ch. 41:30 yet five years in which there will be neither #Ex. 34:21; Deut. 21:4; 1 Sam. 8:12; [Isa. 30:24]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. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and #ver. 26; ch. 41:43ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9Hurry 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. 10#ch. 46:34; 47:1, 4, 6, 27; 50:8; Ex. 8:22; [ch. 47:11; Josh. 10:41]You 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. 11#ch. 47:12; 50:21There I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come, so that you and your household, and all that you have, do not come to poverty.’ 12And now your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is #[ch. 42:23]my mouth that speaks to you. 13You must tell my father of all my honor in Egypt, and of all that you have seen. Hurry and #Acts 7:14bring 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. 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. 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 #ch. 47:6I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.’ 19And you, Joseph, are commanded to say, ‘Do this: take #ch. 46:5wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. 20Have no concern for#45:20 Hebrew Let your eye not pity your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”
21The sons of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them #[See ver. 19 above]wagons, according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. 22To each and all of them he gave #[2 Kgs. 5:5, 22, 23] a change of clothes, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels#45:22 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams of silver and #[ch. 43:34]five changes of clothes. 23To his father he sent as follows: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys 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, #[ch. 42:22]“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 became numb, 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 #ver. 19, 21; ch. 46:5the wagons that 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.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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Genesis 45
45
Joseph Tells his Brothers Who he Is
1 #
Acts 7.13
Joseph was no longer able to control his feelings in front of his servants, so he ordered them all to leave the room. No one else was with him when Joseph told his brothers who he was. 2He cried with such loud sobs that the Egyptians heard it, and the news was taken to the king's palace. 3Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But when his brothers heard this, they were so terrified that they could not answer. 4Then Joseph said to them, “Please come closer.” They did, and he said, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5Now do not be upset or blame yourselves because you sold me here. It was really God who sent me ahead of you to save people's lives. 6This is only the second year of famine in the land; there will be five more years in which there will be neither ploughing nor reaping. 7God sent me ahead of you to rescue you in this amazing way and to make sure that you and your descendants survive. 8So it was not really you who sent me here, but God. He has made me the king's highest official. I am in charge of his whole country; I am the ruler of all Egypt.
9 #
Acts 7.14
“Now hurry back to my father and tell him that this is what his son Joseph says: ‘God has made me ruler of all Egypt; come to me without delay. 10You can live in the region of Goshen, where you can be near me — you, your children, your grandchildren, your sheep, your goats, your cattle, and everything else that you have. 11If you are in Goshen, I can take care of you. There will still be five years of famine; and I do not want you, your family, and your livestock to starve.’ ”
12Joseph continued, “Now all of you, and you too, Benjamin, can see that I am really Joseph. 13Tell my father how powerful I am here in Egypt and tell him about everything that you have seen. Then hurry and bring him here.”
14He threw his arms round his brother Benjamin and began to cry; Benjamin also cried as he hugged him. 15Then, still weeping, he embraced each of his brothers and kissed them. After that, his brothers began to talk with him.
16When the news reached the palace that Joseph's brothers had come, the king and his officials were pleased. 17He said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers to load their animals and to return to the land of Canaan. 18Let them get their father and their families and come back here. I will give them the best land in Egypt, and they will have more than enough to live on. 19Tell them also to take wagons with them from Egypt for their wives and small children and to bring their father with them. 20They are not to worry about leaving their possessions behind; the best in the whole land of Egypt will be theirs.”
21Jacob's sons did as they were told. Joseph gave them wagons, as the king had ordered, and food for the journey. 22He also gave each of them a change of clothes, but he gave Benjamin 300 pieces of silver and five changes of clothes. 23He sent his father ten donkeys loaded with the best Egyptian goods and ten donkeys loaded with corn, bread, and other food for the journey. 24He sent his brothers off and as they left, he said to them, “Don't quarrel on the way.”
25They left Egypt and went back home to their father Jacob in Canaan. 26“Joseph is still alive!” they told him. “He is the ruler of all Egypt!” Jacob was stunned and could not believe them.
27But when they told him all that Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to take him to Egypt, he recovered from the shock. 28“My son Joseph is still alive!” he said. “This is all I could ask for! I must go and see him before I die.”
Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.