1Joseph could no longer control his emotions in front of everyone who was standing around him, so he cried out, “Have everyone leave me!” No one else was there when Joseph told his brothers who he was. 2He cried so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it.

3Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” His brothers could not answer him because they were afraid of him.

4“Please come closer to me,” Joseph said to his brothers. When they did so, he said, “I am Joseph, the brother you sold into slavery in Egypt! 5Now, don’t be sad or angry with yourselves that you sold me. God sent me ahead of you to save lives. 6The famine has been in the land for two years. There will be five more years without plowing or harvesting. 7God sent me ahead of you to make sure that you would have descendants on the earth and to save your lives in an amazing way. 8It wasn’t you who sent me here, but God. He has made me ⌞like⌟ a father to Pharaoh, lord over his entire household, and ruler of Egypt.

9“Hurry back to my father, and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says, “God has made me lord of Egypt. Come here to me right away! 10Live in the land of Goshen, where you will be near me. Live there with your children and your grandchildren, as well as your flocks, your herds, and everything you have. 11I will provide for you in Egypt, since there will be five more years of famine. Then you, your family, and all who belong to you won’t lose everything.” ’

12“You and my brother Benjamin can see for yourselves that I am the one who is speaking to you. 13Tell my father how greatly honored I am in Egypt and about everything you have seen. Hurry and bring my father here!”

14He threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and cried with Benjamin, who was crying on his shoulder. 15He kissed all his brothers and cried with them. After that his brothers talked with him.

Pharaoh Invites Jacob’s [Israel’s] Family to Live in Egypt

16When Pharaoh’s household heard the news that Joseph’s brothers had come, Pharaoh and his officials were pleased. 17So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Load up your animals, and go back to Canaan. 18Take your father and your families, and come to me. I will give you the best land in Egypt. Then you can enjoy the best food in the land.’

19“Give them this order: ‘Take wagons with you from Egypt for your children and your wives. Bring your father, and come back. 20Don’t worry about your belongings because the best of everything in Egypt is yours.’ ”

21Israel’s sons did as they were told. Joseph gave them wagons and supplies for their trip as Pharaoh had ordered. 22He gave each of them a change of clothes, but he gave Benjamin three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothes. 23He sent his father ten male donkeys carrying Egypt’s best products and ten female donkeys carrying grain, bread, and food for his father’s trip. 24So Joseph sent his brothers on their way. As they were leaving, he said to them, “Don’t quarrel on your way back!”

25So they left Egypt and came to their father Jacob in Canaan. 26They told him, “Joseph is still alive! Yes, he is ruler of Egypt.” Jacob was stunned and didn’t believe them. 27Yet, when they told their father everything Joseph had said to them and he saw the wagons Joseph had sent to bring him back, his spirits were lifted.

28“You have convinced me!” Israel said. “My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

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Genesis 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.”

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Genesis 45

Genesis 45