READ IT! - Introduction to Genesis 43-50

Readings for this week

Monday: Genesis 43

Tuesday: Genesis 44

Wednesday: Genesis 45

Thursday: Genesis 46

Friday: Genesis 47

Saturday: Genesis 48

Sunday: Genesis 49

Introduction to Genesis 43-50

Genesis 43

Eventually, the grain ran out and Jacob told his sons to go back to Egypt to get some more. But Judah reminded him that if they did not bring Benjamin with them then their trip would be pointless. And Jacob again reminds them of how badly they screwed up the first trip, but he eventually gives in.

When they returned, Joseph’s servant led them into the house and had all of them gather together for a meal. The brothers thought it was a trap and that they would all be made into slaves. And on the way in, they tried to return the silver to Joseph’s servant, and apologized for the mix up, but he told them that he didn’t know what they were talking about.

When Joseph saw Benjamin, he had to excuse himself again because he couldn’t hold back the tears.

And Joseph returned Simeon to his brothers and then they all had a meal together. As the brothers were eating, they noticed that the man had arranged their seats in the order of their birth …and that Joseph gave Benjamin five times as much food as his brothers. And they were amazed and confused.

Genesis 44

Before the brothers left, Joseph had his servant fill all their sacks with extra grain and then told him to hide their silver inside them again. He also hid an expensive silver cup inside of Benjamin’s sack. And after they left, Joseph sent his servants after them to have them arrested for stealing his silver cup. They denied any wrong-doing and said if anyone stole anything he would be put to death and the rest of them would become slaves to the Egyptians.

The servants went through all their sacks and found the cup in Benjamin’s. The brothers were scared to death, and when they were brought back, they threw themselves at Joseph’s feet. Judah begged him to spare Benjamin and to make the rest of them slaves. But Joseph said no.

And Judah begged and begged, explaining that his father’s heart would be broken if Benjamin did not return. And Judah offered himself in exchange for Benjamin.

Genesis 45

Suddenly, Joseph began speaking in Hebrew, and he ordered everyone to leave the room, except for the brothers. He then started crying so loud that the people outside could hear him. And He proclaimed, “I am Joseph!” And the brothers were terrified.

Then Joseph said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.”

Pharaoh heard about Joseph’s family, and he sent his servants to bring the rest of them down to Egypt to live.

And Jacob didn’t believe his sons at first when they gave him the news about Joseph.

Genesis 46

But God spoke to Jacob again, and said, “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.” So Jacob moved all his family down to Egypt.

The rest of chapter 46 is mostly a list of all of Jacob’s kids and grandkids. Some texts say there were 70 people altogether, others say 75.

And Pharaoh gave them some of the best land in Egypt to live, the region of Goshen.

Genesis 47

Pharaoh had Jacob brought before him, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Pharaoh asked him how old he was, and Jacob said 137. The text also says that Pharaoh let Joseph and his brothers live in the district of Rameses.

Now, the famine was still severe. And the Egyptians ran out of money for grain. So Joseph now accepted their livestock as payment for grain. But eventually, the Egyptians ran out of livestock as well. So the Egyptians sold their land to Joseph in exchange for grain. And eventually, the Egyptians sold themselves to the state in return for grain.

This passage serves as an interesting contrast to the story that soon follows - the story of the Exodus. At the end of this story, the Egyptians have sold themselves as slaves to Joseph - a Hebrew. And At the beginning of the next story, the Hebrews have been forced into slavery by the Egyptians.

Joseph established a “one-fifth” tax on everybody’s crops, so that once people could plant grain again, one-fifth of it would belong to Pharaoh.

Later, Jacob made Joseph promise not to bury him in Egypt when he died, but to bring his body back to Canaan where his fathers were buried.

Genesis 48

Jacob became ill, and Joseph brought his sons to him and he blessed them. Jacob declared that Ephraim and Manasseh would receive an inheritance from him just as if they were his own sons. Jacob started to bless the youngest one first, and Joseph tried to correct him. But Jacob insisted on giving the blessing of the eldest child to the youngest son. Jacob also promised to give Joseph’s descendants extra land back in Canaan.

Genesis 49

Jacob gathered all of his sons together to bless them before he died.

Reuben

You defiled my couch…

Simeon and Levi

Cursed be your anger…

Judah

Your brothers will praise you…

You are a lion…

The scepter will not depart from you…

Zebulun

You will live by the seashore…

Issachar

He is a “rawboned donkey”…

Dan

You’re a snake…

Gad

You will be attacked…

Asher

You will have rich food…

Naphtali

He’s a doe with beautiful fawns…

Joseph

You’re a “fruitful vine”…

You are strong…

You have God’s protection…

All good blessings go to you…

Oh yeah… and Benjamin

He’s a ravenous wolf…

And the text says that Jacob died.

Genesis 50

And Joseph and the Egyptians mourned for him and embalmed his body. Jacob’s sons and all the Egyptian dignitaries journeyed to Canaan and buried Jacob in Abraham’s tomb.

Some other people buried here include:

Abraham

Sarah

Isaac

Rebekah

Leah

After Jacob died, his sons were afraid that Joseph was holding a grudge against them. So they made up a story and told Joseph that their father wanted them to tell him that he should forgive his brothers. When Joseph got their message, he wept. His brothers came and offered themselves as slaves to him. But Joseph reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

The text says that Joseph lived to be 110. And he predicted that one day God would lead the descendants of Israel up out of Egypt. Before he died, he made his family promise that when they returned to Canaan in the future, they would bring his body with them. And Joseph died and was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

Read Genesis 43

Now the famine was still severe in the land. So when they had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go back and buy us a little more food.”

But Judah said to him, “The man warned us solemnly, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’ If you will send our brother along with us, we will go down and buy food for you. But if you will not send him, we will not go down, because the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’”

Israel asked, “Why did you bring this trouble on me by telling the man you had another brother?”

They replied, “The man questioned us closely about ourselves and our family. ‘Is your father still living?’ he asked us. ‘Do you have another brother?’ We simply answered his questions. How were we to know he would say, ‘Bring your brother down here’?”

Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy along with me and we will go at once, so that we and you and our children may live and not die. I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life. As it is, if we had not delayed, we could have gone and returned twice.”

Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your bags and take them down to the man as a gift—a little balm and a little honey, some spices and myrrh, some pistachio nuts and almonds. Take double the amount of silver with you, for you must return the silver that was put back into the mouths of your sacks. Perhaps it was a mistake. Take your brother also and go back to the man at once. And may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.”

So the men took the gifts and double the amount of silver, and Benjamin also. They hurried down to Egypt and presented themselves to Joseph. When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Take these men to my house, slaughter an animal and prepare a meal; they are to eat with me at noon.”

The man did as Joseph told him and took the men to Joseph’s house. Now the men were frightened when they were taken to his house. They thought, “We were brought here because of the silver that was put back into our sacks the first time. He wants to attack us and overpower us and seize us as slaves and take our donkeys.”

So they went up to Joseph’s steward and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. “We beg your pardon, our lord,” they said, “we came down here the first time to buy food. But at the place where we stopped for the night we opened our sacks and each of us found his silver—the exact weight—in the mouth of his sack. So we have brought it back with us. We have also brought additional silver with us to buy food. We don’t know who put our silver in our sacks.”

“It’s all right,” he said. “Don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks; I received your silver.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.

The steward took the men into Joseph’s house, gave them water to wash their feet and provided fodder for their donkeys. They prepared their gifts for Joseph’s arrival at noon, because they had heard that they were to eat there.

When Joseph came home, they presented to him the gifts they had brought into the house, and they bowed down before him to the ground. He asked them how they were, and then he said, “How is your aged father you told me about? Is he still living?”

They replied, “Your servant our father is still alive and well.” And they bowed down, prostrating themselves before him.

As he looked about and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother’s son, he asked, “Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?” And he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.” Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept there.

After he had washed his face, he came out and, controlling himself, said, “Serve the food.”

They served him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews, for that is detestable to Egyptians. The men had been seated before him in the order of their ages, from the firstborn to the youngest; and they looked at each other in astonishment. When portions were served to them from Joseph’s table, Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as anyone else’s. So they feasted and drank freely with him.