Joseph Reveals His Identity
45 Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all who stood by him, and he cried out, “Make every man go out from me.” So no man stood with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 He wept so loudly that the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard about it.
3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence.
4 Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me,” and they came near. Then he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 Now do not be upset or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 7 God sent me ahead of you to preserve you as a remnant on the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8 “So now it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of his entire household and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. 9 Hurry 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. 10 And you will dwell in the land of Goshen, and you will be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, along with your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. 11 I will provide for you there, for there are still five years of famine to come, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty.” ’
12 “Your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my mouth that is speaking to you. 13 You must tell my father of all my glory in Egypt and of all that you have seen, and you must hurry and bring my father down here.”
14 Then he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. 15 Moreover he kissed all his brothers and wept on them. After that his brothers talked with him.
16 When the news reached Pharaoh’s palace that Joseph’s brothers had come, it pleased Pharaoh and his servants. 17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this. Load your animals and go to the land of Canaan. 18 Get your father and your households and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.’
19 “You are also commanded to say, ‘Do this: Take your wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and get your father and come. 20 Also do not concern yourself with your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’ ”
21 So the sons of Israel did so, and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. 22 To each of them he gave a change of clothes, but he gave to Benjamin three hundred shekels of silver[a] and five changes of clothes. 23 To his father he sent the following: ten donkeys loaded with the best things of Egypt and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and provisions for his father on the journey. 24 So he sent his brothers away, and they departed. He said to them, “Do not quarrel on the way.”
25 They went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to Jacob their father. 26 They told him, “Joseph is still alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt.” And Jacob’s heart stood still because he could not believe them. 27 They told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. 28 Then Israel said, “Enough! Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”
Footnotes
- Genesis 45:22 About 7½ pounds, or 3.5 kilograms.