The most powerful man in Egypt beside the Pharaoh ordered all Egyptian attendants to leave the room. As soon as the door closed, he started to sob uncontrollably, so that the frightened servants outside could hear his tears, and the rumor about the weeping governor reached the Pharaoh's palace. Then he said five words in a language that was familiar to the ten foreigners, who had been ordered to come to his court to buy grain. "I am Joseph," he said in Hebrew, "is my father still alive?" The ten brothers, who had been buying grain for their father, were struck dumb with a mixture of fear and disbelief, because the young Joseph was the one they sold into slavery twenty-two years ago. He was taller than before, older, and his face was not covered, but no one could recognize him. There is no mention in the Torah about any attempt to recognize Joseph's voice at the moment, although they all heard him speaking Hebrew with the interpreter. The interpreter was the last barrier between Joseph and the ten brothers, as if there was a wall between him and the Jews. This wall seems high enough because of their fears, which have turned into panic when Joseph told everyone to kneel down.
Joseph's Suspicion and His Strange Behavior
Joseph did not run to his brothers and throw himself at their mercy as many wanted him to do, and we wonder if it was worth so much dramatic performance. The best explanation is that Joseph thought of a test; only time will show if his brothers are still the same mean people that he knew. He could forgive them all at once, but he had no faith that they were ready to change so quickly. They were still dangerous men, and Joseph had no intention to place his beloved little brother Benjamin at their mercy. That is probably why Joseph acted so cruelly towards his brothers and ordered to put one of them under guard. He also set a final task for them: to bring Benjamin to him and prove him loyal by all means. In the meantime, Joseph secretly ordered his servants to put some silver coins in their bags for the test. Joseph knew well that silver coins would not make his brothers any kind, honest, or better people, but he thought he was testing them. Joseph's brothers, however, thought they were being punished when they saw coins in their sacks. They pulled their sacks up in front of their hearts and started to accuse each other.
The brothers bowed with their faces to the ground, and the boyhood dream came true before their eyes.
Joseph's Father and the Test of His Brothers
In Canaan, his brothers told their father what had happened to them, adding that they did not dare to take Benjamin along with them next time when going to Egypt. The old man was devastated that Joseph was not only dead but also that his sons wanted to take Benjamin away from him. Jacob told his sons, "Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and you would take Benjamin away also, everything is against me" (Genesis 47:37). The old man refused to give his youngest son to the governor or any other potential threat. Even Reuben offered to lay his two sons to the custody of Jacob as a guarantee for his promise to bring Benjamin back home. Jacob rejected the oath, "My son shall not go down with you, for his brothers are dead, and he alone remains, and on him is his father's life" (Genesis 47:37). The famine continued to last, and the next time when the brothers went to Egypt, it was Judah who promised his father that he would be responsible for Benjamin. Judah argued, "Send the lad with us back to Egypt, and he shall be your son's servant, and as for you, if harm befalls him, then you shall bear the guilt to your dying day" (Genesis 43:6). Something must have happened by the word of Judah, since Jacob agreed to let Benjamin stay with the brothers, and he asked his son to return. "May the God Almighty grant mercy to you, and you shall bring him back to me, and if you should bring him not, then you bring me down to the underworld with grief" (Genesis 44:10).
The planted cup was the final test: would the brothers abandon Rachel's son to save themselves?
Joseph's Final Trick and the Betrayal of His Brothers
Joseph ordered to get ready to intercept the people bringing his silver cup to him when they return home at night. After a short while, the brothers stood together in confusion, their hair torn, their clothes ripped, standing in silence. Joseph's cup had been discovered in Benjamin's bag, and everything turned against them. The brothers stood face to face with Joseph, who asked them with a calm voice, "What is this you have done? Do you know that such things are done by thieves?" In one moment, all the brothers were ready to accept the responsibility, but Joseph's eyes were turned to Benjamin, who did not betray his father Jacob to the Egyptian king. The young man was innocent of stealing, although his brothers might have thought so when Joseph accused them. When all the people were assembled, Joseph ordered the steward to bring the silver cup in front of the visitors. Then he started to treat the brothers in a strange way that only he knew, telling them to sit in order in ten seats in the same order Joseph remembered. He wanted to see if the old jealousy between his brothers would not ruin everything again. Ten brothers, as if they stood in one line of their past lives, looked at each other and thought Joseph knew something the old man did not know. Joseph paid five times more food to Benjamin than to others, quietly testing if his brother would still be angry because Benjamin was his favorite at home. It was a great moment to turn the clock back and see if the resentment from his childhood would not poison his mind again. Joseph's heart was full of pain when he saw his brothers and especially Benjamin. Turning his back to them, he ran out of the room and wiped tears from his cheeks. Then he ordered his servants to invite his brothers for dinner. After dinner, Joseph ordered to seat them at ten chairs again and asked, "Tell me, have you found my cup?" The ten brothers looked at each other and said nothing, since they still thought the old man was testing them. Joseph wanted to see if his brother Benjamin was worthy of being his father's son. He sent messengers after them to bring the boy back to the palace, but they did not understand, because messengers were chasing ten people as the whole family had turned against Benjamin. It was hard to see a new beginning for Joseph when the whole world was still the same. The brothers were ready to leave Benjamin at the mercy of the Egyptian governor.
Judah's Offer to Be a Slave Instead of Benjamin
What the readers see here is the longest statement in the whole Book of Genesis, and they hear the voice of Judah, who speaks to Joseph's heart. Judah talks, first of all, to his father, whom he knows well and still loves deeply. Judah tells the old man Jacob what happened to his sons and tells how the Egyptians will treat his younger half-brother Benjamin. He says to the old man, "Now let your servant swear to you about it. If you do not accept his service, then we will be no longer accountable to you" (Genesis 44:32). This is probably the turning point that Joseph needed to see his brothers' future. The man who sold his half-brother Joseph into slavery twenty-five years ago was now begging to be treated like a slave in the same palace. Judah wanted to save his younger half-brother Benjamin at all costs so that he could return with all his brothers to be reunited with their father, Jacob. Joseph's brothers did not change their nature from being mean to Joseph to saving Benjamin by all means. Joseph's heart was filled with joy and sorrow at the sight of Judah offering to serve him.
Joseph's Words About God's Work in His Life
Joseph ordered everyone to leave the room and told his brothers to come close to him. He could hardly control his emotions as he started to cry out loud. All the attendants could hear Joseph's sobs, and the weeping of the governor reached the Pharaoh's palace (Genesis 45:1). "Is my father still alive?" Joseph asked his brothers. They did not know what to say, so Joseph told them his identity, and the ten brothers were overcome with emotions, fear, and confusion. Joseph comforted them, saying, "Do not be angry with yourselves that you sold me to Egypt, for it was God who sent me ahead of you to ensure your welfare…" Joseph realized that his brothers might be scared at this moment, but he saw it as the right time to inform them about his identity. "It was not you," Joseph said in his final statement, "but God sent me ahead of you" (Genesis 45:28). Joseph's last statement reminds the readers that God has a bigger plan than humans. Joseph does not ignore the fact that his brothers sold him into slavery, but he sees the good behind it. He tells the whole story with a calm and clear voice to the men who have betrayed him, but no one blames him or even looks at him with hatred. Instead, Joseph makes a strange behavior to comfort his brothers and shows a miracle of mercy, forgiveness, and hope. "I am Joseph your brother," he told them, "whom you sold to Egypt and from whom you sent me away" (Genesis 45:3). Joseph fell on Benjamin's neck and started to cry. Benjamin cried over Joseph's shoulder. He also kissed all his brothers and comforted them, and his brothers were able to talk to him.
The father who had mourned Joseph as dead for twenty-two years held him alive again.
Joseph's Life and the Reunion With His Brother Jacob
News of Joseph's finding reached the Pharaoh, who was delighted and ordered Joseph to take his family and settle them wherever they wanted. Then Joseph sent messengers to Canaan to fetch the women and children from the brothers before going to meet his father with wagons. As his brothers drew near to Canaan, they sent word to their father that Joseph was not only alive but was a governor over all Egypt. When Jacob heard his sons' story, his heart was overwhelmed with disbelief. He could hardly believe them, and he did not know how to react. He was speechless for a moment when the messengers brought the wagons in front of the old man. "It is enough," he said to his sons. "My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die" (Genesis 45:28). The reunion of Jacob and Joseph was one of the sweetest scenes in the Bible, where Joseph rode out to meet his father, threw himself at his neck, and cried for a long time. "Now let me die, since I have seen your face and am convinced that you are still alive" (Genesis 46:30). It was a long journey back to Egypt for Jacob and his sons, and they traveled the distance to Canaan to see Joseph.
The Meaning of Joseph's Life Story to His Readers
Many years after his father's death, Joseph's brothers feared he would seek revenge and asked him to forgive their sin. Joseph asked them to be silent because he did not resent their actions but reassured them all the same. "You meant evil against me, but God meant for it to result in good" (Genesis 50:20). That was the final message that Joseph wanted to convey to his brothers and all his readers when telling the story of his life. It was also a message to his children, revealing his intention to forgive his brothers for selling him into slavery. This was a demonstration of Joseph's mercy, for God made him the ruler of Egypt to save his people from a severe famine. Joseph's reunion with his father was a great event in Joseph's life, and he spent the rest of his life trying to reunite his brothers with their father, Jacob. Joseph died soon after Jacob and was buried in Egypt, fulfilling his dying wish to be buried in Canaan. The power of Joseph's message has endured to this day, reminding his readers that they are never too old to change or to forgive. Joseph's life teaches people that the ability to forgive is a supernatural power. He forgave his brothers, and in turn, his brothers forgave themselves. By telling the story of his life, he taught his readers not to dwell on the wrongdoing they or others have done but instead to leave the judgment of evil to God while focusing on bringing good to the people around them. In other words, Joseph's life showed his readers how to let go of the harm done to them or by them and move on with their lives.
