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.”
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Genesis 45: FBV
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
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.”
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