Joseph Deals Kindly with His Brothers

45 Then Joseph could not control himself in front of everyone standing before him, and he shouted, “Have everyone leave me!” So there [a]was no one with him (A)when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. Then (B)he [b]wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard about it. And Joseph said to his brothers, “(C)I am Joseph! (D)Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for (E)they were terrified in his presence.

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come [c]closer to me.” And they came [d]closer. And he said, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you (F)sold to Egypt. Now do not be grieved or angry [e]with yourselves because (G)you sold me here, for (H)God sent me ahead of you [f]to save lives. For the famine has been in the land (I)these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. So (J)God sent me ahead of you to ensure for you a remnant on the earth, and to [g]keep you alive by a great deliverance. Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a (K)father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father, and (L)say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: “God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. 10 For you shall live in the land of (M)Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your [h]grandchildren, and your flocks and your herds and all that you have. 11 There I will also (N)provide for you, for there are still five years of famine to come, and you and your household and all that you have would be impoverished.”’ 12 Behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth which is speaking to you. 13 Now you must tell my father of all my splendor in Egypt, and all that you have seen; and you must hurry and (O)bring my father down here.” 14 Then he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck and (P)wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. 15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept on them, and afterward his brothers talked with him.

16 Now when (Q)the [i]news was heard in Pharaoh’s house [j]that Joseph’s brothers had come, it [k]pleased Pharaoh and his servants. 17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: load your livestock and [l]go to the land of Canaan, 18 and take your father and your households and come to me; and (R)I will give you the [m]best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land.’ 19 Now you are ordered, ‘Do this: [n]take (S)wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father and come. 20 And do not [o]concern yourselves with your property, for the [p]best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”

21 Then the sons of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them (T)wagons according to the [q]command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. 22 To [r]each of them he gave (U)changes of garments, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and (V)five changes of garments. 23 And to his father he sent [s]the following: ten male donkeys loaded with the [t]best things of Egypt, ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and sustenance for his father [u]on the journey.

24 So he sent his brothers away, and [v]as they departed, he said to them, “Do not [w]quarrel on the journey.” 25 Then they went up from Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan, to their father Jacob. 26 And they told him, saying, “Joseph is still alive, and indeed he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” But [x]he was stunned, for (W)he did not believe them. 27 When they told him all the words of Joseph that he had spoken to them, and when he saw the (X)wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, then the spirit of their father Jacob revived. 28 Then Israel said, “It is enough; my son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 45:1 Lit stood
  2. Genesis 45:2 Lit gave forth his voice in weeping
  3. Genesis 45:4 Lit near
  4. Genesis 45:4 Lit near
  5. Genesis 45:5 Lit in your eyes
  6. Genesis 45:5 Lit for preservation of life
  7. Genesis 45:7 As in MT; another reading (cf. LXX) keep alive for you a great remnant
  8. Genesis 45:10 Lit children’s children
  9. Genesis 45:16 Lit voice
  10. Genesis 45:16 Lit saying, “Joseph’s brothers have come”
  11. Genesis 45:16 Lit was good in the eyes of
  12. Genesis 45:17 Lit come, go
  13. Genesis 45:18 Lit good
  14. Genesis 45:19 Lit take for yourselves
  15. Genesis 45:20 Lit let your eye look with regret upon your vessels
  16. Genesis 45:20 Lit good
  17. Genesis 45:21 Lit mouth
  18. Genesis 45:22 Lit all of them he gave each man
  19. Genesis 45:23 Lit like this
  20. Genesis 45:23 Lit good
  21. Genesis 45:23 Lit for
  22. Genesis 45:24 Lit they departed; and he said
  23. Genesis 45:24 Lit be agitated
  24. Genesis 45:26 Lit his heart grew numb

Joseph reveals his identity

45 Joseph could no longer control himself in front of all his attendants, so he declared, “Everyone, leave now!” So no one stayed with him when he revealed his identity to his brothers. He wept so loudly that the Egyptians and Pharaoh’s household heard him. Joseph said to his brothers, “I’m Joseph! Is my father really still alive?” His brothers couldn’t respond because they were terrified before him.

Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me,” and they moved closer. He said, “I’m your brother Joseph! The one you sold to Egypt. Now, don’t be upset and don’t be angry with yourselves that you sold me here. Actually, God sent me before you to save lives. We’ve already had two years of famine in the land, and there are five years left without planting or harvesting. God sent me before you to make sure you’d survive[a] and to rescue your lives in this amazing way. You didn’t send me here; it was God who made me a father to Pharaoh, master of his entire household, and ruler of the whole land of Egypt.

“Hurry! Go back to your father. Tell him this is what your son Joseph says: ‘God has made me master of all of Egypt. Come down to me. Don’t delay. 10 You may live in the land of Goshen, so you will be near me, your children, your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and everyone with you. 11 I will support you there, so you, your household, and everyone with you won’t starve, since the famine will still last five years.’ 12 You and my brother Benjamin have seen with your own eyes that I’m speaking to you. 13 Tell my father about my power in Egypt and about everything you’ve seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.” 14 He threw his arms around his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his shoulder. 15 He kissed all of his brothers and wept, embracing them. After that, his brothers were finally able to talk to him.

Joseph’s brothers return for Jacob

16 When Pharaoh’s household heard the message “Joseph’s brothers have arrived,” both Pharaoh and his servants were pleased. 17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Give your brothers these instructions: Load your pack animals and go back to the land of Canaan. 18 Get your father and your households and come back to me. Let me provide you with good things from the land of Egypt so that you may eat the land’s best food. 19 Give them these instructions too: Take wagons from the land of Egypt for your children and wives, and pick up your father and come back. 20 Don’t worry about your possessions because you will have good things from the entire land of Egypt.”

21 So Israel’s sons did that. Joseph gave them wagons as Pharaoh instructed, and he gave them provisions for the road. 22 To all of them he gave a change of clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothing. 23 To his father he sent ten male donkeys carrying goods from Egypt, ten female donkeys carrying grain and bread, and rations for his father for the road. 24 He sent his brothers off; and as they were leaving, he told them, “Don’t be worried about the trip.”[b]

25 So they left Egypt and returned to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. 26 They announced to him, “Joseph’s still alive! He’s actually ruler of all the land of Egypt!” Jacob’s heart nearly failed, and he didn’t believe them.

27 When they told him everything Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the wagons Joseph had sent to carry him, Jacob recovered. 28 Then Israel said, “This is too much! My son Joseph is still alive! Let me go and see him before I die.”

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 45:7 Or survive on earth
  2. Genesis 45:24 Or Don’t quarrel during the trip.