“Joseph Meets His Brothers”

 

So, Pharaoh didn’t send Joseph back to jail any more, but made a great man of him instead. The king took off his own ring and put it on Joseph’s finger and dressed him in beautiful clothing and put a gold chain around his neck.

He gave him a chariot to ride in, with soldiers running along ahead of him shouting, “Bow down.” And all the people bowed low before him wherever he went. He was in charge of all the land of Egypt and was almost as great as the king. Everyone had to do whatever Joseph told him to do.

During the first seven years, when all the farms had such good crops, he went to all the farmers and made them give some of their corn to Pharaoh. Joseph took this grain and stored it in the nearby cities, keeping it safe until the seven years of famine came. Soon he had so much grain stored away that he stopped counting on it.

Then the seven years of good crops ended, and the seven years of poor crops began. Soon everyone began to be hungry because there was so little to eat. When all their food was gone, the people came to Pharaoh to ask for something to eat.

“Joseph is in charge,” Pharaoh said, “Go to him and he will tell you what to do.”

Then Joseph opened up the buildings where the grain was kept and sold it to the people.

Joseph’s brothers were still living in the land of Canaan when the famine came. Soon their grain was gone, and they needed food for their father and for their families’. They looked at each other blankly, not knowing what to do.

Then their father said to them, “Don’t just stand around looking at each other! I hear there is grain in Egypt; go and buy some for us, so we won’t starve to death.”

So, Joseph’s ten brothers got on their donkeys and rode for many days until they came to Egypt. Joseph’s youngest brother, Benjamin, stayed with his father in Canaan, for his father was afraid to let him go. He was afraid something might happen to him just as it had to Joseph.

Since Joseph was the governor of Egypt, he was in charge of selling the grain to the people. But his brothers didn’t recognize him in his Egyptian robes. They came and bowed low before him, never imagining he was their brother! But Joseph knew them right away.

Do you remember Joseph’s dream that had made his brothers so angry? He had dreamed that his brother’s sheaves of grain bowed to his sheaf, and that the sun and moon and eleven stars had bowed to him. And now it had come true, here were his brothers bowing to him now!

Imagine Joseph’s surprise and joy to see his brothers again, even though they had been so cruel to him. But he pretended he didn’t know them and asked them at all. He spoke roughly to them and asked them, “Where you from?”

“From the land of Canaan,” they said. “We have come to buy food.”

Then Joseph said, “No, you are spies and have come here to see what trouble we are in, so that you can bring and army and attack us.”

“Oh, no sir,” his brothers answered, “we have come to buy food. We are all one man’s sons. We are men who speak the truth. We are not spies.

Joseph pretended he didn’t believe them and said again that they were spies. They told Joseph more about themselves and why they had come. They said one of their brothers was with their father in the land of Canaan and one was dead.
Joseph still pretended not to believe them and said he would find out whether they where telling the truth or not. This was what he would do. He would send one of them back to Canaan to get their youngest brother they had told him about and bring him to Egypt. All the others must stay until he returned.

Then he put them in jail for three days.

On the third day he talked with them again. This time he said that only one of them must stay, and all the others could go home to take food to their families. One must stay so that Joseph would be sure the others would come back again and bring their youngest brother with them.

When his brothers heard this, they were very sad. They said God was punishing them for their sin of selling their brother as a slave long ago. Rueben (the one who had intended to take Joseph out of the well and bring him back to his father) said to his brothers, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the child? But you wouldn’t listen to me.”

Joseph listened to them talking to each other. They didn’t know he could speak their language and understand them, for he had talked to them only in Egyptian, and a servant had told them in their own language what he was saying to them. But of course, Joseph understood every word they said.

When he realized how sorry they were for what they had done to him, he had to go away and cry. Afterwards he came back again and talked to them some more, but he still pretended that he thought they were spies.

Then he took Simeon and tied him up while all the others watched, for Simeon was the one he chose to stay in Egypt while the others went home after Benjamin.

Then Joseph told his servants to fill his brother’s sacks with grain and to put in the tops of their sacks the money they had paid for the grain; but he didn’t tell his brothers that the money was there.

Finally, their donkeys were loaded, and all except Simeon started back home to Canaan. That night when they stopped to eat, they opened a sack to get some food. There was the money right at top of the sack! They were frightened, for they didn’t know how it got there.

Questions:

How great did Joseph become?

What did he do during the seven good years?

Why did Joseph’s brothers come to Egypt?

Did they recognize Joseph?

Was Joseph happy to see his brothers?

What did he pretend he thought they were doing in Egypt?

Why did Joseph keep Simeon in jail?

What did Joseph tell his servants to do with the brothers’ money?