Judah’s Redemption
Judah's Redemption
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Family Tension
The famine grew even more severe in the land. When they ran out of the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father told them, “Go back to buy us some more food.”
But Judah reminded him, “The man strictly warned us we can’t meet with him again unless our brother goes with us. So if you send our brother with us, we’ll go buy you food. But if not, we won’t go, because the man told us we can’t meet with him again unless our brother goes with us.”
Then Israel said, “Why did you bring this evil on me by telling the man you have another brother?”
“The man expressly asked us about ourselves and our family,” they replied. “‘Is your father still alive?’ ‘Do you have any other brothers?’ We simply answered his questions. How could we possibly know he would tell us to bring our brother?”
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The tension between Jacob (here called Israel1) and his older sons grew to a head when they ran out of grain. If they didn’t return to Egypt to buy more, the entire family would starve. But Jacob still wouldn’t send Benjamin. He asked his other sons to go buy food, hoping the threat of starvation would cause them to give up on the idea of taking their brother. But his sons remembered well the three days they spent in prison and the anguish they felt as the Egyptians took Simeon from them.2
Despite their hunger, the brothers wouldn’t risk giving the Egyptian lord further reason to accuse them of spying. He’d likely arrest all of them. So Judah emphasized the impossibility of leaving without Benjamin by repeating the man’s warning twice—not because Jacob had forgotten but because the brothers needed to convince their father their story was true. The famine wouldn’t change their minds because even if they did go, the man who controlled the grain wouldn’t sell them any unless he saw Benjamin.
Desperate, Jacob lamented that his sons had told the Egyptian man about Benjamin. Equally desperate, the brothers expressed frustration at being held responsible for events they could not control. Jacob’s broken family no longer knew how to even talk to each other.3 They found themselves at an impasse that threatened the family’s very survival.
Judah’s Pledge
So Judah said to Israel, his father, “Send the boy with me, and then we’ll set out. That way we’ll live, not die—we and you and our little ones. I myself will serve as a pledge for his safety, and you may hold me personally responsible. If I don’t bring him back and set him here before you, I’ll be guilty the rest of my life. If we hadn’t delayed, we could have made the trip twice by now.”
Jacob had lost all trust in his three oldest sons, and Reuben had already failed to convince his father to allow Benjamin to go to Egypt.4 So it fell to the fourth son, Judah, to make one last attempt at persuading Jacob. Judah had the same goal as Reuben—to return to Egypt with Benjamin, rescue Simeon, and buy more food. But the way Judah spoke to Jacob proved he had grown wiser than his older brother.
The timing of Judah’s appeal gave him a far greater chance of success than Reuben. He waited until the family desperately needed food, so Jacob had little choice. If Jacob would send “the boy,” the family would survive the famine.5 Otherwise, they would all die, Benjamin included. Reuben cruelly portrayed his father as a man who would find comfort in the death of his own grandchildren.6 Judah honored his father as head of the household by gently reminding him of his responsibility to protect “our little ones.”
Judah’s pledge itself also proved wiser than his brother’s. Reuben pledged the lives of two of his sons as collateral against Benjamin’s life. Judah pledged himself. He would not pass his guilt on to anyone else. But he mentioned no specific punishment. As nothing would comfort Jacob if he lost Benjamin, nothing would alleviate Judah’s guilt if he failed to protect him. Jacob could choose to punish Judah, but Judah would nonetheless remain guilty his entire life.
Reluctant Faith
Israel, their father, replied, “If this must be, pack some of the best produce of the land in your baggage and take as a gift to the man a little balm, honey, aromatic gums and resins, pistachios, and almonds. And take twice the amount of silver. Take back the silver that was returned to the tops of your sacks. Maybe it was a mistake. Then take your brother and set out. Return to the man. May God Almighty give the man compassion for you so he’ll release your other brother and Benjamin. But as for me, if I lose my children, I lose my children.”
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After losing Joseph, Jacob shut down emotionally. His grief caused him to lose the ambition of his youth, and protecting Benjamin became his sole focus. Israel stopped wrestling with God.7 Through the famine and through Judah’s wise words, God began the process of rekindling the embers of his servant’s faith. First, Jacob had to relinquish control of Benjamin.
Jacob gave in. He turned to the same plan he had used successfully to appease his brother, Esau.8 He sent a generous gift to the Egyptian lord. He also told his sons to take back the silver they had found in their sacks. Returning it would preempt accusations of theft. Finally, though reluctantly, he conceded the main point. “Take your brother.” He resigned himself to the possibility of losing more of his children.
Depression had dampened Jacob’s faith, but it had not quenched it. He knew they would succeed only with God Almighty’s help. So he prayed God would give the man compassion, allowing them to return with both Benjamin and “your other brother.” At first glance, this was a rather callous way to refer to Simeon. But Jacob’s words would prove unknowingly prophetic. God would give them back their other brother—Joseph himself.
To Joseph’s House
So the men took the gift and double the silver as well as Benjamin. They set out for Egypt, where they stood before Joseph. When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he told his chief steward, “Take the men to the house. Prepare a meal with meat for the men to eat with me at noon.”
The man did just as Joseph said, taking the men to Joseph’s house. Because they were taken to Joseph’s house, they were afraid. “It’s because of the silver that returned to our sacks last time. He’s taking us to ambush us! He’ll attack us to enslave us and take our donkeys!”
When they arrived in the courtyard, they approached Joseph’s steward. “Forgive us, my lord, but we came here before to buy food. When we arrived at the place where we stayed the night, we opened our sacks and discovered that we each had the full amount of our silver still at the top! So we brought it back with us, and we’ve brought more silver to buy food. We don’t know who put the silver in our sacks.”
“Be at peace, and don’t be afraid,” he responded. “Your God, the God of your father, must have given you treasure in your sacks. I received your silver.”
Then the man brought Simeon out to them. When he had taken them to Joseph’s house, he gave them water to wash their feet and fodder for their donkeys. They prepared their gift until Joseph arrived at noon because they found out they were to eat there.
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Joseph’s brothers traveled back to Egypt and went to meet with Joseph in the marketplace where he oversaw the selling of the grain. When Joseph saw Benjamin, he knew the time had come to implement his plan. He had his chief steward lead his brothers to his house and prepare a feast for the noon meal.
The Egyptian lord’s strange behavior continued to baffle the brothers. First he had accused them of spying.9 Now he was sending them to his own house! They hadn’t heard Joseph’s instructions to his steward and assumed he planned to arrest and enslave them for stealing grain.10 Not that a royal official had any need to ambush criminals. Confused and frightened, they explained to the steward that they had found the silver and brought it back.
Joseph’s steward is the third steward mentioned in Genesis. Like Abraham’s steward and Joseph under Potiphar, he seems to have earned his master’s confidence.11 His response reveals he knew the plan and exactly what his master would have him say. He brushed off the brothers’ concern with a half-truth. He had indeed received their payment. And technically God did give them treasure. The steward simply didn’t mention that God did so through Joseph putting the silver back in their sacks.
After allaying their fears, the steward informed the brothers about the meal. He made sure his master’s guests had everything they needed to make themselves comfortable while they waited. He also had Simeon freed and brought to the house. The brothers busied themselves preparing to present their gift. For the first time in months, they were all together and had reason for optimism.
Joseph’s Compassion
When Joseph returned home, they brought their gift into the house and bowed down to him. He asked, “How are you? How is your elderly father you told me about? Is he still alive?”
“Your servant, our father, is alive and well.” They bowed down, prostrating themselves before him.
Joseph looked around and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother’s son. “Is this the younger brother you told me about? May God show you favor, my son!” Then he rushed out because he was so filled with compassion for his brother that he needed a place to cry. He went into his room and wept.
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At noon, Joseph returned home from his work. His brothers followed him into the house with their gift. Again they bowed down to him, fulfilling the dreams of his youth.12 Yet Joseph made no mention of the Canaanite delicacies. He wanted to know about Jacob’s welfare. But he passed the question off as a polite greeting so as not to arouse suspicion.
Reassured about his father, Joseph turned his attention to Benjamin. Except for a brief glimpse in the marketplace that morning, Joseph hadn’t seen his only full brother in over twenty-two years, when Benjamin was still a toddler. In that moment, his overwhelming emotions would have given him away had he not run out of the room. Filled with compassion for his beloved brother, Joseph fled to his bedroom, where he could weep in private.
The compassion Joseph felt for Benjamin directly answered Jacob’s prayer in verse 14. But why was Joseph overcome with compassion instead of joy or longing? “Compassion” involves a desire to protect someone else from suffering.13 Did Joseph have second thoughts about using Benjamin as bait to test their other brothers? No doubt it would be a sore trial for all of them. Joseph had no desire to threaten his brother, no matter how feigned the threat. But he needed to know if the others had changed.
The Feast
After washing his face, [Joseph] came out and restrained himself. “Serve the food,” he said. They served him by himself, his brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves. The Egyptians couldn’t eat with the Hebrews because they consider that repulsive.
The brothers sat in front of him in order, from to the firstborn according to his birthright to the youngest according to his youth. And they looked at each other in amazement. Joseph had portions taken to them from what was set before him, and Benjamin’s portion was five times larger than the others. And they drank with him until they were drunk.
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Joseph regained his composure, washed his face, and steeled himself to carry out his plan. He returned to his guests and ordered his servants to serve the food. During the meal, Joseph sat by himself, presiding over the feast. His brothers sat separately from a group of Egyptians, either members of Joseph’s household or other guests. The separation resulted from an Egyptian cultural taboo, likely because the Hebrews sacrificed and ate animals considered sacred to Egyptians gods, like bulls and rams. The Egyptians believed eating with Hebrews would defile them.14
When Joseph’s brothers took their seats as instructed, they found themselves sitting in exact birth order, with Reuben at the head of the table and Benjamin at the other end. Except for Benjamin, Jacob’s sons were all born within a seven-year period.15 So the Egyptians couldn’t have guessed the birth order of the oldest ten. Once again, the brothers felt the eerie amazement of divine intervention.16
Despite this clear warning, the brothers let their guard down the moment Joseph served the food. After living under famine conditions for two years, they couldn’t resist the temptation of a feast and foolishly became drunk. Meanwhile, Joseph calmly set his plan in motion, giving Benjamin five times more food than the others. Though no one could eat that much, the clear sign of favoritism gave the brothers reason to feel jealous of Rachel’s second son as they had once felt jealous of her firstborn.17 Given the chance, would they treat him the same way?
The Setup
Then Joseph commanded his chief steward, “Fill the men’s sacks with as much food as they can carry. And put each man’s silver in the top of his sack. Put my goblet, the silver goblet, in the top of the youngest one’s sack along with the silver he paid for his grain.” The steward did just as Joseph told him to.
At first light, the men were sent off with their donkeys. They left the city, but before they had gone far, Joseph told his steward, “Go after the men! When you overtake them, ask them, ‘Why have you repaid good by doing evil? Isn’t this what my master drinks from? And he even practices divination with it! You have done a terrible thing!’”
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Having drunk too much wine at the feast, Joseph’s brothers were oblivious to the actions of Joseph and his servants that evening. Joseph told his steward to fill all the grain sacks as full as possible and to again return the silver received as payment. He also commanded the steward to put his own silver goblet in Benjamin’s sack. Joseph had likely drunk from this valuable cup during the feast, so he could plausibly accuse Benjamin of stealing it afterward.
The next morning, Joseph sent his guests off at first light. He didn’t give them a choice of when to leave but arranged everything so they wouldn’t have time to look in their sacks. It would ruin his plan if they found the goblet and returned it. For the same reason, he barely gave them time to exit the city before sending his steward after them.
Joseph commanded his steward to chase after the men and accuse them of theft. The accusation, designed to maximize the brothers’ distress, never directly mentioned the goblet. Instead it focused on the more serious crime of repaying good with evil. To steal from their gracious host violated the moral obligations associated with hospitality throughout the Near East. And a cup used for divination was far more valuable than a normal drinking cup.18 Joseph had laid his trap and could only wait to see how his brothers would react.
Benjamin Framed
When [Joseph’s steward] overtook [his brothers], that’s what he said to them. But they replied, “What’s my lord talking about? Your servants would never do such a thing! We brought back from the land of Canaan the silver we found at the top of our sacks. How could we then steal silver or gold from your master’s house? If it’s found with any of your servants, he’ll die! Then the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves.”
“As you have said, except only the one who is found to have it will be my slave. The rest of you are innocent.”
So each one quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. Then the steward searched. He started with the eldest and ended with the youngest. And the goblet was found in Benjamin’s sack. So they tore their cloaks, loaded their donkeys, and returned to the city.
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As the brothers left the city, everything seemed to go their way. They had Benjamin. They had Simeon. They had food. And they had the goodwill of the man in charge of the grain. But the arrival of Joseph’s steward shattered their momentary peace. As the steward repeated the words his master had commanded him to say, the brothers had no idea what he was talking about. They hadn’t stolen anything, and they adamantly proclaimed their innocence. Thieves wouldn’t voluntarily return silver they found, as the brothers had.
Certain of their vindication, they declared an extremely harsh punishment should the steward find the goblet among them. The thief would be executed, and the other ten would become slaves. The steward agreed but then immediately revised the proposal. Only the thief would be enslaved. The others would go free. The steward knew Joseph’s plan and would not harm Benjamin. Joseph had ordered him to arrest Benjamin and return him to the city while leaving the other brothers free to return home.
The brothers didn’t argue with the lighter penalty. They quickly opened their sacks so the steward could search them. He searched the sacks of the ten oldest before finding the goblet in Benjamin’s sack. The brothers tore their cloaks as a sign of mourning. Then for the second time, they watched as foreigners dragged their younger brother off to a life of slavery.
The true test had begun. The brothers could finally rid themselves of Rachel and her children.19 All they had to do was leave. They stayed. Without any discussion, they reloaded their donkeys and followed Benjamin back to the city. They would face the Egyptian lord together as a family.
Judah’s Leadership
Joseph was still at his house when Judah arrived there with his brothers. They threw themselves on the ground before him. Joseph asked them, “What have you done? Didn’t you know a man like me surely practices divination?”
“What can we say, my lord?” Judah answered. “What words can we speak to justify ourselves? God has revealed your servants’ guilt. Here we are! We are my lord’s slaves along with the one found in possession of the goblet.”
“I would never do such a thing!” Joseph responded. “Only the man found in possession of the goblet with be my slave. The rest of you, go back to your father in peace.”
Image by Jehyun Sung from Unsplash
As the brothers return to Joseph’s house, a subtle shift occurs in the wording of the narrative. Verse 14 no longer calls them Joseph’s brothers or even Benjamin’s. Instead, it calls them Judah’s brothers. This change marks the formal recognition of Judah as the leader. As Benjamin’s protector, Judah alone spoke to the Egyptian lord.20 But his brothers, including Reuben, willingly followed him.
When they returned to Joseph’s house, they threw themselves on the ground before him, a sign of humility. When Joseph demanded an explanation, Judah admitted they had no defense. God himself had found them guilty. Therefore, they would all remain as slaves with Benjamin. But Joseph objected that he would never punish the innocent along with the guilty.21 Once again, he gave his brothers the chance to abandon Benjamin as they had abandoned him.
Though the brothers didn’t steal the goblet, Judah admitted that “God has revealed your servants’ guilt.” The brothers believed God caused the disastrous events in Egypt to punish them for selling Joseph as a slave.22 But in fact, God had brought them to the point of repentance. Benjamin was the only innocent one among them. He didn’t deserve slavery. They did. Judah recognized this and refused to allow Benjamin to suffer alone for their sin.
Judah’s Plea
So Judah approached him and said, “Forgive me, lord! Please allow your servant to speak with my lord, and don’t be angry with your servant. You’re like the pharaoh!
“My lord asked his servants whether we have a father or brother. We told my lord we have an elderly father and a young brother born when our father was already old. His brother died, and he’s the only one of his mother’s children left. And his father loves him.
“Then you told your servants to bring him to you so you could see him. We told my lord the boy couldn’t leave his father. Otherwise his father would die. But you told your servants we couldn’t meet with you again unless our youngest brother came with us.
“So we returned to your servant, my father, and told him what my lord said. When our father told us to come back to buy more food, we reminded him we couldn’t come back unless our youngest brother came with us because we wouldn’t be allowed to meet with you if our youngest brother didn’t come with us.
“Then your servant, my father, said to us, ‘As you know, my wife gave birth to two sons. One left me, and I think he must have been torn to pieces. I haven’t seen him since. If you take this one from me and something happens to him too, you’ll send this old man down to the underworld in disaster!’
“His life is bound to the boy’s life. So as soon I return to your servant, my father, without the boy and as soon as he sees the boy’s not with us, he’ll die! Your servants will send your servant, our elderly father, to the underworld in sorrow!”
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In desperation, Judah begged the Egyptian lord to allow him to speak freely. Judah didn’t hide his fear. He started by asking forgiveness for the insolent way he dared address a man whose power equaled the pharaoh’s. He knew what he had to say could cost him his life. But he also knew it was his only chance to save Benjamin.
Judah began his impassioned speech by reminding the lord he had commanded them to bring Benjamin.23 Had Judah addressed a stranger as he thought, this could have easily come across as accusatory, as if it made the Egyptians responsible for the theft! But Judah didn’t intend to shift the blame. He needed the Egyptian lord to understand the importance of Benjamin’s safety—and why it was so much more important than Judah’s.
Judah went on to explain that his father would die a miserable death if Benjamin didn’t return. Joseph certainly read more into Judah’s words than a stranger would have. Joseph and Judah both knew that when Jacob called Rachel “my wife,” he meant his only legitimate wife. Jacob had never accepted Leah or her children.24 He had never accepted Judah. After Joseph’s supposed death, only Benjamin mattered. Judah painfully denied his own legitimacy in his father’s eyes.
But whatever Jacob thought of him, Judah loved his father. And for Jacob’s sake, Benjamin had to return home. So Judah asked the Egyptian lord to take pity on an old man by agreeing to Judah’s final request.
Substitution
“Your servant swore to my father to serve as a pledge for the boy. If I don’t take him back, I will be guilty before my father the rest of my life. So please allow your servant to remain as my lord’s slave instead of the boy. Allow the boy to go back with his brothers. How could I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I couldn’t bear to see the disaster that would befall my father!”
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To save Benjamin, Judah offered himself in exchange. He who had once sold one brother into slavery now volunteered to become a slave so another brother could go free. With Jacob inconsolable, Judah left the family’s camp shortly after Joseph disappeared.25 He couldn’t bear to see how his father would react to losing Benjamin as well. He had sworn to protect Benjamin, and he would keep his vow no matter what it cost him.26
Judah didn’t know Benjamin hadn’t stolen the goblet. He knew only that his father loved Benjamin and wanted him home safe. In offering himself as a substitution for his brother, Judah foreshadowed the substitutionary sacrifice of his descendant Jesus.27 Jesus didn’t offer himself because we are innocent. He offered himself because our Father loves us and wants us home safe. Both Jesus and Judah honored their fathers.
Like Jesus, Judah received honor because of his humility. God exalted Jesus to a position of authority over all creation.28 Jacob finally accepted Judah and made him the leader of his brothers.29 As for Joseph, his heart was about to burst. Judah’s plea told him all he desired to know. He would fully forgive his brothers and trust them once again.
- See Israel.
- See The Test; Anguish.
- See A Broken Family.
- See Rebuked; The Fall of Reuben; Reuben’s Pledge.
- The Hebrew word naʿar (“boy, youth”) doesn’t mean Benjamin was a child. He was in his twenties. The term emphasizes the significant age difference between him and his brothers, who were in their forties.
- Genesis 42:37.
- See Wrestling with God.
- See A Gift for Esau.
- Genesis 42:8–12.
- See An Act of God.
- Genesis 24:2–4; 39:3–4; see The Faithful Steward.
- Genesis 37:5–11.
- Harris et al., Wordbook, “רָחַם”; Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, “compassion,” accessed July 25, 2023, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compassion.
- Kidner, Genesis, 215; Reyburn and Fry, Handbook on Genesis, 982–983.
- Genesis 29:30–30:26.
- See An Act of God.
- Genesis 37:4.
- This doesn’t mean Joseph really practiced divination. Joseph wanted his steward to make his brothers afraid, not to tell the truth.
- See Leah’s Daughter.
- See Judah’s Pledge.
- See Genesis 18:23–25.
- See Anguish.
- See The Test.
- See Unloved.
- See Leaving Home.
- See Judah’s Pledge.
- See Typology.
- Philippians 2:8–11.
- Genesis 49:8–10.