Joseph Reveals Himself
1Joseph could no longer control himself in front of all his attendants, and he cried out, “Have everyone leave my presence!” So there was no one with him when he made himself known to his brothers. 2He wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it. 3Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers were too stunned to answer him — they were terrified in his presence. 4Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had come close, he said, “I am Joseph, your brother, the one you sold into Egypt. 5And now, do not be distressed or angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there will be five more years without plowing or harvest. 7God sent me ahead of you to preserve a remnant for you on earth, and to save your lives through a great deliverance. 8So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his whole household, and ruler of all the land of Egypt. 9Hurry back 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 at once. 10You will live in the region of Goshen and be near me — you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and everything you have. 11I will provide for you there, since there are five more years of famine still to come, so that you and your household and everyone with you will not become destitute.’ 12You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that it is really I who am speaking to you. 13Tell my father about all my status in Egypt and about everything you have seen, and bring my father down here quickly.” 14Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck as well. 15He kissed all his brothers and wept over them; after that, his brothers talked with him.
Pharaoh’s Invitation
16When word reached Pharaoh’s house that Joseph’s brothers had come, Pharaoh and all his officials were pleased. 17Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: load your animals and return to the land of Canaan. 18Bring your father and your households back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat from the fat of the land.’ 19Say further, ‘You are also directed to do this: take wagons from Egypt for your children and your wives, and bring your father here. 20Do not worry about your belongings, because the best of all Egypt will be yours.’” 21So the sons of Israel did this. Joseph gave them wagons, as Pharaoh had commanded, and provisions for the journey. 22To each of them he gave a change of clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothing. 23And to his father he sent ten donkeys loaded with the best products of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and provisions for his father’s journey. 24Then he sent his brothers off, and as they were leaving, he said to them, “Do not quarrel on the way.”
Good News for Jacob
25So they went up from Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. 26“Joseph is still alive!” they told him. “In fact, he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” Jacob was stunned; he could not believe them. 27But when they told him everything Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the wagons Joseph had sent to carry him, their father Jacob’s spirit revived. 28“I have had enough,” Israel said. “My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”
