Genesis 45

Then Joseph could no longer hold himself back in front of all the people standing near him. He called out, "Send everyone away from me!" So no one was with him when Joseph told his brothers who he was.

1Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.

2He wept out loud, and the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh's household heard it too.

2And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.

Note"Pharaoh" is a title, not a personal name: it is the Egyptian word for the king, originally meaning "great house," that is, the royal palace. The narrative never gives this king's own name.

3Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, because they were shaken at standing in front of him.

3And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.

NoteThe word translated "shaken" or "troubled" is a strong one in Hebrew: it describes being struck dumb with dismay or terror, the reaction of people who suddenly find themselves at the mercy of someone they had wronged.

4Joseph said to his brothers, "Please come near to me." And they came near. He said, "I am Joseph, your brother, the one you sold into Egypt.

4And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.

5So now, do not be upset, and do not be angry with yourselves that you sold me here. God sent me ahead of you to keep people alive.

5Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.

6The famine has been in the land for two years now, and there are still five years coming in which there will be no plowing and no harvest.

6For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.

7God sent me ahead of you to keep part of your family alive on the earth, and to save your lives by a great rescue.

7And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

NoteThe phrase behind "keep part of your family alive" is literally "to preserve for you a remnant", a survivor group left after a disaster has carried off the rest. The same word is later used of the part of Israel that survives war or exile.

8So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of all his household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

8So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

Note"A father to Pharaoh" is a court title, not a family relationship. In both Egyptian and Semitic usage, calling an official the king's "father" marked him as the ruler's chief adviser and second-in-command.

9Hurry and go up to my father and 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.

9Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:

Note"Go up" to Canaan and "come down" to Egypt are fixed geographical idioms. Canaan is hill country and Egypt is the low Nile valley, so travel between them is always described as going up or coming down, regardless of the direction on a map.

10You will live in the land of Goshen, and you will be near me, you, your children, your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and everything you have.

10And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children’s children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast:

NoteGoshen is a district in the eastern Nile delta, on the edge of Egypt nearest to Canaan. It was well watered grazing land, suitable for herders like Jacob's family, and lay outside the densely settled Egyptian heartland.

11There I will provide for you, because there are still five years of famine coming. Otherwise you, your household, and everything you have will be left with nothing.'

11And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.

12And look, your own eyes see, and my brother Benjamin's eyes see, that it is my own mouth that is speaking to you.

12And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you.

NoteIn their earlier meetings Joseph had spoken to his brothers through an interpreter, keeping up his disguise as an Egyptian official (Genesis 42:23). "It is my own mouth speaking to you" means he is now addressing them directly in their own language, so they can hear for themselves who he is.

13Tell my father about all my honor in Egypt, and about everything you have seen. And hurry and bring my father down here."

13And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.

NoteThe word rendered "honor" is Hebrew *kavod*, literally "weight", a person's standing, wealth and visible splendor. Joseph is telling them to describe his rank and household, which is the evidence that will persuade Jacob.

14Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck.

14And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.

NoteFalling on someone's neck and weeping was the ordinary way for close kin to greet each other after a long separation in this culture; it is a public, physical greeting, not a private display.

15He also kissed all his brothers and wept over them. After that his brothers talked with him.

15Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.

NoteA kiss between male relatives was the standard greeting of family and equals in the ancient Near East, comparable to an embrace or handshake today. That the brothers only speak to him "after that" marks how long their fear held.

16The news of it was heard in Pharaoh's house: "Joseph's brothers have come." This was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and his servants.

16And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, Joseph’s brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.

Note"This was good in the eyes of Pharaoh" is a Hebrew idiom for approval: it pleased him. "Eyes" here stands for judgment or opinion, not for literal seeing.

17Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Say to your brothers, 'Do this: load your animals and go on to the land of Canaan.

17And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan;

NoteCanaan is the region between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean, roughly the area later called Israel, a journey of about two to three weeks by donkey from the Egyptian delta.

18Get your father and your households and come to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the richest food the land has.'

18And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.

Note"The fat of the land" is an idiom for its richest produce. Fat was the most prized part of an animal and so became a general word for the best or richest portion of anything.

19Now you are commanded to tell them this: 'Take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.

19Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.

NoteWheeled wagons were Egyptian technology and a rarity in the hill country of Canaan, where goods moved on the backs of donkeys. Sending them was both a practical provision for the old and the young and an unmistakable display of Egyptian royal backing, which is why the sight of them convinces Jacob in verse 27.

20And do not be concerned about your belongings, because the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.'"

20Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.

21The sons of Israel did so. Joseph gave them wagons, just as Pharaoh had commanded, and he gave them supplies for the journey.

21And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way.

Note"The sons of Israel" here means Jacob's actual sons; Israel is Jacob's second name. The same phrase later becomes the standard term for the whole nation descended from them, and the narrative is beginning to use it in both senses at once.

22To each of them he gave sets of new clothes, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five sets of clothes.

22To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment.

NoteSilver was not yet minted as coins; it circulated as weighed metal. Three hundred shekels is roughly seven and a half pounds of silver, an enormous sum, and pointedly more than the twenty shekels the brothers had received for selling Joseph. Sets of clothing were valuable goods in their own right and a customary gift of honor.

23And to his father he sent this: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and food for his father's journey.

23And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way.

24So he sent his brothers away, and they left. He said to them, "See that you do not quarrel on the way."

24So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way.

NoteThe Hebrew verb can mean either "do not quarrel" or "do not be agitated, do not be afraid" on the road. Both senses fit: the brothers have reason to blame each other for selling Joseph, and reason to be nervous about the journey.

25They went up out of Egypt and came into the land of Canaan, to their father Jacob.

25And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father,

26They told him, "Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt." But Jacob's heart went numb, because he did not believe them.

26And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob’s heart fainted, for he believed them not.

Note"His heart went numb" translates an idiom for the heart growing cold or ceasing, the body's reaction to news too large to take in. It describes shock, not a physical collapse.

27Then they told him everything Joseph had said to them. And when he saw the wagons Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob came back to life.

27And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived:

28And Israel said, "It is enough. My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die."

28And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.

NoteJacob is called Israel here, the second name given to him in Genesis 32. The narrative alternates between the two, and the switch to "Israel" often accompanies moments when he acts as the head of the family line rather than as a private man.