Genesis 45 is the big reveal in more ways than one. It's where we finally get around to what this is really all about.
Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Have everyone leave my presence!” So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it.Well okay then but why did he wait until now? Again, Joseph's motivations really don't make any sense, except as a contrivance to draw out the story. Also, Judah told him just a few verses ago that Jacob is alive. Joseph evidently has a short memory.
3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.
4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 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. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.[a]So don't worry about selling me into slavery, it was God's idea in the first place. That being so, why the elaborate torture?
8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. 9 Now hurry back 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; don’t delay. 10 You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. 11 I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.’So we now see the real purpose of all this rigamarole: it's to get the Hebrews into Egypt. Scholars now agree that this is entirely fiction. The Jews emerged in Canaan and lived there continuously. There is no historical or archaeological record of any Jewish presence in Egypt until around 650 BCE when the Pharaoh employed a garrison of Jewish soldiers. The events described here and in the remainder of Genesis serve to set up the situation in Exodus, which also began to take form around 650 BCE (purely by coincidence) probably based on some slightly older stories. There are various theories about why people invented the story of Exodus, which we'll get to.
12 “You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that it is really I who am speaking to you. 13 Tell my father about all the honor accorded me in Egypt and about everything you have seen. And bring my father down here quickly.”Why is Pharaoh pleased by this? Why does he want to give his best land to a bunch of foreigners? Beats me.
14 Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin embraced him, weeping. 15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Afterward his brothers talked with him.
16 When the news reached Pharaoh’s palace that Joseph’s brothers had come, Pharaoh and all his officials were pleased. 17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and return to the land of Canaan, 18 and bring your father and your families back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you can enjoy the fat of the land.’
19 “You are also directed to tell them, ‘Do this: Take some carts from Egypt for your children and your wives, and get your father and come. 20 Never mind about your belongings, because the best of all Egypt will be yours.’”Not clear why Joseph favors Benjamin. Yeah, Benjamin wasn't involved in selling him into slavery but he's already established that there's no harm, no foul there. Also not clear why he's sending all this good stuff to Canaan just to have it immediately schlepped back to Egypt. But none of this is really supposed to make any sense.
21 So the sons of Israel did this. Joseph gave them carts, as Pharaoh had commanded, and he also gave them provisions for their journey. 22 To each of them he gave new clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels[b] of silver and five sets of clothes. 23 And this is what he sent to his father: ten donkeys loaded with the best things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other provisions for his journey. 24 Then he sent his brothers away, and as they were leaving he said to them, “Don’t quarrel on the way!”
25 So they went up out of Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. 26 They told him, “Joseph is still alive! In fact, he is ruler of all Egypt.” Jacob was stunned; he did not believe them. 27 But when they told him everything Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts Joseph had sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. 28 And Israel said, “I’m convinced! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”
Footnotes:
- Genesis 45:7 Or save you as a great band of survivors
- Genesis 45:22 That is, about 7 1/2 pounds or about 3.5 kilograms
2 comments:
I didn't necessarily believe this story when I heard it in temple, as a child; but I didn't disbelieve it, either.
I also assume that in the story, Joseph favors Benjamin because they are full brothers (unlike all the others), and because he was too young to be involved in all that befell him at his brother's hands. He knows how precious Benjamin is to Jacob because of who his mother is (Rachel).
Post a Comment