Joseph's brothers return to Egypt

Now the famine was still severe in the land.

So when Jacob’s sons 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 replied, “The man solemnly warned us, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’

If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy food for you.

But if you will not send him, we will not go; for the man told us, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’”

“Why did you bring this trouble upon me?” Israel asked. “Why did you tell the man you had another brother?”

They replied, “The man questioned us in detail about ourselves and our family: ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ And we answered him accordingly. How could we possibly know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother here’?”

And Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me, and we will go at once, so that we may live and not die—neither we, nor you, nor our children.

I will guarantee his safety. You may hold me personally responsible. If I do not bring him back and set him before you, then may I bear the guilt before you all my life.

If we had not delayed, we could have come and gone twice by now.”

Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your packs and carry them down as a gift for the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachios and almonds.

Take double the silver with you so that you may return the silver that was put back into the mouths of your sacks. Perhaps it was a mistake.

Take your brother as well, and return to the man at once.

May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother along with Benjamin. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.”

So the men took these gifts, along with double the amount of silver, and Benjamin as well. Then they hurried down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.

When Joseph saw Benjamin with his brothers, he said to the steward of his house, “Take these men to my house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, for they shall dine with me at noon.”

The man did as Joseph had commanded and took the brothers to Joseph’s house.

But the brothers were frightened that they had been taken to Joseph’s house. “We have been brought here because of the silver that was returned in our bags the first time,” they said. “They intend to overpower us and take us as slaves, along with our donkeys.”

So they approached Joseph’s steward and spoke to him at the entrance to the house.

“Please, sir,” they said, “we really did come down here the first time to buy food.

But when we came to the place we lodged for the night, we opened our sacks and, behold, each of us found his silver in the mouth of his sack! It was the full amount of our silver, and we have brought it back with us.

We have brought additional silver with us to buy food. We do not know who put our silver in our sacks.”

“It is fine,” said the steward. “Do not be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, gave you the treasure that was in your sacks. I received your silver.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.

And the steward took the men into Joseph’s house, gave them water to wash their feet, and provided food for their donkeys.

Since the brothers had been told that they were going to eat a meal there, they prepared their gift for Joseph’s arrival at noon.

When Joseph came home, they presented him with the gifts they had brought, and they bowed to the ground before him.

He asked if they were well, and then he asked, “How is your elderly father you told me about? Is he still alive?”

“Your servant our father is well,” they answered. “He is still alive.” And they bowed down to honor him.

When Joseph looked up and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother’s son, he asked, “Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?” Then he declared, “May God be gracious to you, my son.”

Joseph hurried out because he was moved to tears for his brother, and he went to a private room to weep.

Then he washed his face and came back out. Regaining his composure, he said, “Serve the meal.”

They separately served Joseph, his brothers, and the Egyptians. They ate separately because the Egyptians would not eat with the Hebrews, since that was detestable to them.

They were seated before Joseph in order by age, from the firstborn to the youngest, and the men looked at one another in astonishment.

When the portions were served to them from Joseph’s table, Benjamin’s portion was five times larger than any of the others. So they feasted and drank freely with Joseph.

Then Joseph instructed his steward: “Fill the men’s sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each one’s silver in the mouth of his sack.

Put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the silver for his grain.” So the steward did as Joseph had instructed.

At daybreak, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys.

They had not gone far from the city when Joseph told his steward, “Pursue the men at once, and when you overtake them, ask, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil?

Is this not the cup my master drinks from and uses for divination? What you have done is wicked!’”

When the steward overtook them, he relayed these words to them.

“Why does my lord say these things?” they asked. “Your servants could not possibly do such a thing.

We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found in the mouths of our sacks. Why would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house?

If any of your servants is found to have it, he must die, and the rest will become slaves of my lord.”

“As you say,” replied the steward. “But only the one who is found with the cup will be my slave, and the rest of you shall be free of blame.”

So each one quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it.

The steward searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest—and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.

Then they all tore their clothes, loaded their donkeys, and returned to the city.

When Judah and his brothers arrived at Joseph’s house, he was still there, and they fell to the ground before him.

“What is this deed you have done?” Joseph declared. “Do you not know that a man like me can surely divine the truth?”

“What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “How can we plead? How can we justify ourselves? God has exposed the iniquity of your servants. We are now my lord’s slaves—both we and the one who was found with the cup.”

But Joseph replied, “Far be it from me to do this. The man who was found with the cup will be my slave. The rest of you may return to your father in peace.”

Then Judah approached Joseph and said, “Sir, please let your servant speak personally to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, for you are equal to Pharaoh himself.

My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’

And we answered, ‘We have an elderly father and a younger brother, the child of his old age. The boy’s brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.’

Then you told your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so that I can see him for myself.’

So we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father. If he were to leave, his father would die.’

But you said to your servants, ‘Unless your younger brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’

Now when we returned to your servant my father, we relayed your words to him.

Then our father said, ‘Go back and buy us some food.’

But we answered, ‘We cannot go down there unless our younger brother goes with us. So if our younger brother is not with us, we cannot see the man.’

And your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons.

When one of them was gone, I said: “Surely he has been torn to pieces.” And I have not seen him since.

Now if you also take this one from me and harm comes to him, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.’

So if the boy is not with us when I return to your servant, and if my father, whose life is wrapped up in the boy’s life,

sees that the boy is not with us, he will die. Then your servants will have brought the gray hair of your servant our father down to Sheol in sorrow.

Indeed, your servant guaranteed the boy’s safety to my father, saying, ‘If I do not return him to you, I will bear the guilt before you, my father, all my life.’

Now please let your servant stay here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy. Let him return with his brothers.

For how can I go back to my father without the boy? I could not bear to see the misery that would overwhelm him.”

Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Send everyone away from me!” So none of them were with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers.

But he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household soon heard of it.

Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But they were unable to answer him, because they were terrified in his presence.

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near me.” And they did so. “I am Joseph, your brother,” he said, “the one you sold into Egypt!

And now, do not be distressed or angry with yourselves that you sold me into this place, because it was to save lives that God sent me before you.

For the famine has covered the land these two years, and there will be five more years without plowing or harvesting.

God sent me before you to preserve you as a remnant on the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

Therefore it was not you who sent me here, but God, who has made me a father to Pharaoh—lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

Now return quickly to my father and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me without delay.

You shall settle in the land of Goshen and be near me—you and your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and everything you own.

And there I will provide for you, because there will be five more years of famine. Otherwise, you and your household and everything you own will come to destitution.’

Behold! You and my brother Benjamin can see that I, Joseph, am the one speaking with you.

Tell my father about all my splendor in Egypt and everything you have seen. And bring my father down here quickly.”

Then Joseph threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin wept as they embraced.

Joseph kissed each of his brothers as he wept over them. And afterward his brothers talked with him.

When the news reached Pharaoh’s house that Joseph’s brothers had come, Pharaoh and his servants were pleased.

Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do as follows: Load your animals and return to the land of Canaan.

Then bring your father and your families and return to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat from the fat of the land.’

You are also directed to tell them: ‘Take wagons from the land of Egypt for your young children and your wives, and bring your father and come back.

But pay no regard to your belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”

So the sons of Israel did as they were told. Joseph gave them wagons as Pharaoh had instructed, and he also gave them provisions for their journey.

He gave new garments to each of them, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five sets of clothes.

And he sent to his father the following: ten donkeys loaded with the best of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and provisions for his father’s journey.

Then Joseph sent his brothers on their way, and as they were leaving, he said to them, “Do not quarrel on the way!”

So the brothers went up out of Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan.

“Joseph is still alive,” they said, “and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!” But Jacob was stunned, for he did not believe them.

However, when they relayed all that Joseph had told them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob was revived.

“Enough!” declared Israel. “My son Joseph is still alive! I will go to see him before I die.”