Joseph’s Brothers Sent to Egypt
Joseph did several unusual things to his brothers...
Joseph did several unusual things to his brothers when they came looking for grain. The last time Joseph had been with them, they were filled with jealousy, hatred, and anger; they attempted to destroy their brother, and they deceived their father. Joseph put them through various tests, similar to the trying situations they had put him through, to see if they had changed.
God used the famine to bring Israel to...
God used the famine to bring Israel to Egypt under Joseph’s rule, thus fulfilling two prophecies (15:13; 37:7–11).
1When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another?”
2“Look,” he added, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.”
3So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “I am afraid that harm might befall him.”
5So the sons of Israel were among those who came to buy grain, since the famine had also spread to the land of Canaan.
Joseph’s first dream (37:5–11) was partially fulfilled when...
Joseph’s first dream (37:5–11) was partially fulfilled when his brothers bowed down to him without recognizing him (see also 43:26; 44:14). It was totally fulfilled in 50:18. Joseph recognized his brothers immediately, but he could not reveal himself because he did not yet trust them to be the honest men they claimed to be (42:10).
6Now Joseph was the ruler of the land; he was the one who sold grain to all its people. So when his brothers arrived, they bowed down before him with their faces to the ground. 7And when Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them as strangers and spoke harshly to them. “Where have you come from?” he asked. “From the land of Canaan,” they replied. “We are here to buy food.”
8Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. 9Joseph remembered his dreams about them and said, “You are spies! You have come to see if our land is vulnerable.”
10“Not so, my lord,” they replied. “Your servants have come to buy food. 11We are all sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies.”
12“No,” he told them. “You have come to see if our land is vulnerable.”
13But they answered, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.”
14Then Joseph declared, “Just as I said, you are spies!
Joseph put the brothers in jail for three...
Joseph put the brothers in jail for three days to see if they had a conscience functioning about what they had done (42:21–23). The brothers had similarly thrown Joseph into a cistern-prison while they decided what to do with him (37:24).
15And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16Send one of your number to get your brother; the rest of you will be confined so that the truth of your words may be tested. If they are untrue, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!”
17So Joseph imprisoned them for three days,
Rather than keep all but one, Joseph would...
Rather than keep all but one, Joseph would release all but one to take grain home to their starving families.
18and on the third day he said to them, “I fear God. So do this and you will live: 19If you are honest, leave one of your brothers in custody while the rest of you go and take back grain to relieve the hunger of your households. 20Then bring your youngest brother to me so that your words can be verified, that you may not die.” And to this they consented.
Clearly we are being punished: The brothers sensed...
Clearly we are being punished: The brothers sensed that having to bring Benjamin back to Egypt against their father’s wishes was God’s punishment for their having sold Joseph to the traders. The sense of divine retribution began to awaken feelings of remorse that Joseph’s cries for mercy and their father’s tears (37:34–35) had failed to arouse.
21Then they said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.”
22And Reuben responded, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you would not listen. Now we must account for his blood!”
23They did not realize that Joseph understood them, since there was an interpreter between them. 24And he turned away from them and wept. When he turned back and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and had him bound before their eyes.
Joseph’s Brothers Return to Canaan
Joseph cared for his brothers’ needs; he had...
Joseph cared for his brothers’ needs; he had forgiven them (see study note on 42:24) and was fulfilling his role to provide for them. God used Joseph’s care to convict the brothers even more fully of their sin.
25Then Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to return each man’s silver† to his sack, and to give them provisions for their journey. This order was carried out, 26and they loaded the grain on their donkeys and departed.
27At the place where they lodged for the night, one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver in the mouth of the sack. 28“My silver has been returned!” he said to his brothers. “It is here in my sack.” Their hearts sank, and trembling, they turned to one another and said, “What is this that God has done to us?”
The brothers’ account focused on the accusation that...
The brothers’ account focused on the accusation that they were spies and on the need to take Benjamin back to Egypt with them. They omitted their growing realization of divine retribution for their crime against Joseph.
29When they reached their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they described to him all that had happened to them: 30“The man who is lord of the land spoke harshly to us and accused us of spying on the country.
31But we told him, ‘We are honest men, not spies. 32We are twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.’
33Then the man who is lord of the land said to us, ‘This is how I will know whether you are honest: Leave one brother with me, take food to relieve the hunger of your households, and go. 34But bring your youngest brother back to me so I will know that you are not spies but honest men. Then I will give your brother back to you, and you can trade in the land.’”
35As they began emptying their sacks, there in each man’s sack was his bag of silver! And when they and their father saw the bags of silver, they were dismayed.
36Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my sons. Joseph is gone and Simeon is no more. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is going against me!”
37Then Reuben said to his father, “You may kill my two sons if I fail to bring him back to you. Put him in my care, and I will return him.”
38But Jacob replied, “My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If any harm comes to him on your journey, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.”