Joseph Revealed

Overcome

Joseph could no longer control himself in front of those present there, and he exclaimed, “Make everyone leave!” So no one else was there when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers. He broke down crying, and the Egyptians and the pharaoh’s household heard him.

Joseph said to his brothers, “I’m Joseph! Is my father really still alive?” But his brothers were too terrified to answer him.

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Judah worded his plea to arouse pity in a complete stranger.¹ But the “stranger” was in fact a brother in disguise. Joseph saw the distress his brothers felt at the thought of losing Benjamin, and he knew they were no longer the callous, self-centered brothers he remembered.² When Judah went so far as to offer himself in exchange for Benjamin, Joseph completely broke down. He could no longer control his emotions and cried out in Egyptian for everyone else to leave the room.

For a while, Joseph could only weep. He cried so loudly that those outside the room, including some members of the pharaoh’s household, heard him. He finally recovered his voice enough to reveal himself to his brothers. For the first time in over twenty years, he spoke to them directly in his native language.³ “I’m Joseph!” Then he asked the question that weighed heaviest on his heart. “Is my father really still alive?” Joseph’s question reflected his emotional state. He didn’t doubt Judah’s story, but the idea of seeing his father again overwhelmed him.

While Joseph was overcome with joy, his brothers were overcome with terror. They froze, unable to speak, as if looking at a ghost. They already feared the dangerously unpredictable Egyptian lord. Now he revealed himself as the long-lost brother they had once betrayed. They wondered what horrible vengeance he might have in store for them.

Sent

“Please come closer,” said Joseph. So they drew closer. “I’m your brother Joseph. You sold me to Egypt. But don’t be upset or angry with yourselves for selling me here because God sent me ahead of you to save lives.

“For two years the famine has affected the land, and for five years there will still be no plowing or harvesting. God sent me ahead of you to establish for you a remnant on earth and to save for you many survivors. So you didn’t send me here. God did, and he has appointed me as a father to the pharaoh, as lord of all his household, and as ruler over all the land of Egypt.”

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Joseph saw his brothers’ reaction to his emotional outburst and quickly softened his tone. He had put them through a severe trial and needed to assure them of his forgiveness. He wasn’t angry anymore, and he didn’t want them to be angry with themselves. Indeed, everything had happened so God could use Joseph to save lives. God had sent him to Egypt, not his brothers.

While Scripture teaches free will and personal responsibility for our actions, it also teaches God’s control over history and our lives. The two ideas are not mutually exclusive. “God works everything out for the benefit of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.”⁴ Because of the famine, God appointed Joseph as the ruler of Egypt and the pharaoh’s trusted advisor.⁵ Joseph recognized and accepted that God had used his suffering to save the lives of his family along with many others.

Twice Joseph told his brothers God sent him ahead “for you.” Together the twelve brothers would inherit God’s covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God sent Joseph ahead to give them “a remnant” and “many survivors.” They and their heirs would survive the famine, and the chosen line would continue.⁶

Joseph’s Provision

“Hurry! Return to my father and give him this message from his son Joseph: ‘God has appointed me as lord over all Egypt! Come here to me without delay. You’ll live in the land of Goshen, close to me, with your children, grandchildren, flocks, herds, and all who belong to you. I’ll provide for you there because five more years of famine remain. Otherwise, you, your household, and all who belong to you will lose everything.’

“Look! You can see with your own eyes—and my brother Benjamin can see—I’m talking to you directly. Tell my father about all the honor I’ve received in Egypt and everything you’ve seen. Then hurry to bring my father here!”

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Scripture doesn’t explain what Joseph would have done had his older brothers abandoned Benjamin. But he had fully planned to provide for them in case they showed they’d changed. How many nights had he lay awake imagining his family living close to him and debating the best location for them? Even before testing them, he prepared for them and chose a piece of land in the Nile delta called Goshen as their new home.⁷

Joseph urged his brothers to hurry back to Canaan and to return with Jacob and his entire household. They all had to move to Egypt to survive the remaining five years of famine. Otherwise they would lose everything trying to buy food. Joseph didn’t insist his brothers hurry because of the famine, though. He provided them with enough grain to make the trip several times.⁸ His urgency reflected his concern for Jacob’s well-being.

Joseph wanted his brothers to hurry to Canaan to tell his father he was alive and well. Then he wanted them to hurry back to Egypt so he and his father could see each other again while Jacob still lived. But he knew convincing Jacob to leave the promised land might prove difficult. If his father doubted, they should tell him they’d spoken to Joseph directly without an interpreter. Even Benjamin, who was too young to remember Joseph, could testify he spoke their language fluently. And the honor the Egyptians showed him proved he could provide for his family.

Reconciliation

Then Joseph embraced his brother Benjamin and wept. Benjamin also wept as they embraced. And Joseph kissed all his brothers and wept over them. After that, they spoke with him.

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After expressing his forgiveness and explaining his plan to provide for his brothers, Joseph embraced Benjamin and kissed the others.⁹ He wept for joy over each of them. This display of affection helped his brothers calm down enough to speak with him. The family’s healing had begun.

The beginning of Genesis describes devastation resulting from the introduction of sin into God’s perfect world.¹⁰ The climax of Genesis describes joy resulting from repentance and forgiveness. Joseph’s forgiveness didn’t guarantee his brothers would repent. Nor did his brothers’ repentance guarantee Joseph would forgive them.

Repentance and forgiveness restore our relationship with God regardless of what the other person does. But together repentance and forgiveness lead to reconciliation, which restores our broken relationships with others, counteracting the devastation of sin. It took both to reconcile the brothers and heal Jacob’s family.

The Pharaoh’s Gratitude

When the news that Joseph’s brothers had come reached the pharaoh’s palace, it pleased the pharaoh and his servants. So the pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Load up your animals and go back to the land of Canaan to get your father and your households. Then return to me, and I’ll give you good things from the land of Egypt. You’ll eat the best from the land.’

“And this is a direct command: ‘Take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and your wives. Carry your father and return. Don’t give a second thought to your belongings because good things from the entire land of Egypt belong to you.’”

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The Egyptians standing in Joseph’s courtyard eventually found out the reason for all the commotion, and the news reached the palace. The pharaoh saw the arrival of Joseph’s brothers as a chance to express his gratitude to the man who had saved Egypt. Now the pharaoh would return the favor by saving Joseph’s family.

Joseph needed the pharaoh’s permission to move his family to Egypt, and the pharaoh gave it gladly, even though that meant more people and animals to feed during a severe famine. He first affirmed Joseph’s plan to have his brothers take provisions needed for the family’s journey to Canaan. They would then return to Egypt with Jacob and all of their households. In Egypt, the pharaoh would provide for their needs from the good things produced there and the best of the food. In fact, the pharaoh encouraged Joseph’s family to leave their belongings behind because they would have all they needed.

The pharaoh didn’t stop at granting Joseph’s request. He commanded Joseph to prepare wagons to carry the elderly Jacob, the women, and the children. This would allow the family to return faster. But wagons would require animals to pull them and servants to drive them. Joseph hadn’t intended to send an escort with his family, but the pharaoh issued a direct command because seeing Joseph reunited with his family pleased him. Abraham’s offspring blessed Egypt, and Egypt blessed Abraham’s offspring, an ideal picture of the purpose of the covenant blessings.¹¹

Joseph’s Gifts

So Israel’s sons did so, and Joseph gave them wagons as the pharaoh had commanded and provisions for the journey. He also gave each of them a new cloak. But he gave Benjamin three hundred shekels of silver and five new cloaks. To his father he sent ten male donkeys carrying some of the good things from Egypt and ten female donkeys carrying grain, bread, and provisions for his father during the trip. Then he sent off his brothers. As they left, he told them not to grow anxious on the way.

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Joseph prepared everything as the pharaoh commanded. He also prepared gifts for his brothers and his father. He gave his ten older brothers each a new cloak, replacing the ones they tore in mourning when Benjamin was arrested.¹² This gift of clothing represented a healing of the rift that started when Jacob gave Joseph his special tunic.¹³ Yet Joseph gave Benjamin five cloaks as well as three hundred shekels of silver. He didn’t hide his deep affection for Benjamin and may also have felt some guilt for using him as a pawn to test the others.¹⁴

But even Benjamin’s gift didn’t compare to what Joseph gave Jacob. He sent his father twenty donkeys loaded with food and supplies. These would both provide for Jacob’s needs during the trip and convince him of the abundance that awaited him and his household. Despite the famine, the family would no longer need to ration food. God had provided for them in Egypt.

As his brothers left, Joseph warned them not to grow anxious as they traveled. During the trip to Canaan, they would have time to process the events in Egypt and to imagine how they would explain the situation to their father. They might fear Jacob would discover the truth about Joseph’s disappearance, and they might begin to doubt the sincerity of Joseph’s forgiveness. If they gave in to anxiety, they would start blaming each other and fighting among themselves. Joseph wanted them to remain united, and they seem to have heeded his warning.

← Genesis 43:1–44:34

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Genesis 45:25–46:34 →

See Judah’s Plea.
See Joseph Sold.
Genesis 42:23.
Romans 8:28.
“Father to the pharaoh” meant someone the pharaoh looked to for advice as a son looks to his father.
See Seth.
Kidner, Genesis, 219; Walton, “Genesis,” 133.
Genesis 43:10; 44:1.
In Israelite culture, a kiss on the head or cheek was a normal greeting between relatives and close friends.
See Murder; Regret; Ruined.
See Why Israel?
See Benjamin Framed.
Wenham, Genesis 16–50, 429; see A Broken Family; Mourning for Joseph.
See Joseph’s Compassion.