45
Joseph Reveals His Identity
1Joseph could no longer keep his composure in front of all his attendants,#45:1 Lit all those standing about him so he called out, “Send everyone away from me!” No one was with him when he revealed his identity to his brothers.#Ac 7:13 2But he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and also Pharaoh’s household heard it. 3Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But they could not answer him because they were terrified in his presence.
4Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please, come near me,” and they came near. “I am Joseph, your brother,” he said, “the one you sold into Egypt.#Gn 37:18–36 5And now don’t be grieved or angry with yourselves for selling me here, because God sent me ahead of you to preserve life.#Gn 45:7–8; 50:20; Ps 105:17 6For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there will be five more years without plowing or harvesting. 7God sent me ahead of you to establish you as a remnant within the land and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.#45:7 Or keep alive for you many survivors 8Therefore it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
9“Return quickly to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: “God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me without delay. 10You can settle in the land of Goshen#Gn 46:34; 47:1,4,6,11,27; 50:8; Ex 8:22; Jos 10:41 and be near me — you, your children, and your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and all you have. 11There I will sustain you, for there will be five more years of famine. Otherwise, you, your household, and everything you have will become destitute.”’#Gn 47:12; 50:21 12Look! Your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin can see that I’m#45:12 Lit that my mouth is the one speaking to you. 13Tell my father about all my glory in Egypt and about all you have seen. And bring my father here quickly.”#Ac 7:14
14Then Joseph threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin wept on his shoulder. 15Joseph kissed each of his brothers as he wept,#45:15 Lit brothers, and he wept over them and afterward his brothers talked with him.
The Return for Jacob
16When the news reached Pharaoh’s palace, “Joseph’s brothers have come,” Pharaoh and his servants were pleased. 17Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and go on back to the land of Canaan. 18Get your father and your families, and come back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you can eat from the richness of the land.’ 19You are also commanded to tell them, ‘Do this: Take wagons from the land of Egypt for your dependents and your wives and bring your father here.#Gn 46:5 20Do not be concerned about your belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”#Dt 32:9–14
21The sons of Israel did this. Joseph gave them wagons as Pharaoh had commanded, and he gave them provisions for the journey. 22He gave each of the brothers changes of clothes,#2Kg 5:5 but he gave Benjamin three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothes.#Gn 43:34 23He sent his father the following: ten donkeys carrying the best products of Egypt and ten female donkeys carrying grain, food, and provisions for his father on the journey. 24So Joseph sent his brothers on their way, and as they were leaving, he said to them, “Don’t argue#45:24 Or be anxious on the way.”
25So they went up from Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. 26They said, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!” Jacob was stunned,#45:26 Lit Jacob’s heart was numb for he did not believe them. 27But when they told Jacob all that Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to transport him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.
28Then Israel said, “Enough! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go to see him before I die.”