Genesis 45:1-15 for Sunday, May 20, 2007

Translation:
Joseph was not able to restrain himself among all those standing by him. He called out "Send out everyone from before me." No one was standing with him and Joseph made himself known to his brothers. (2) He let his voice weep and the Egyptians heard him and the house of Pharaoh heard him. (3) Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" But, his brothers were not able to answer him because they were terrified before him. (4) Joseph said to his brothers, "Draw near to me, now." And they drew near. He said, "I am Joseph, your brother whom you sold to Egypt. (5) Now do not be pained and do not be angry with yourselves because you sold me. See! God sent me to be before you. (6) Because these two years the famine was in the midst of the land, and there will be five years more in with no plowing and no harvest. (7) God sent me before you to set for you a remnant in the land and to preserve you for a great deliverance. (8) And now you were sent to me because God set me as a father to Pharaoh and Lord over all their house and ruler in all the land of Egypt. (9) Hasten! Go up to my father and say to him 'Thus said your son, Joseph: God set me as lord over all of Egypt. Come down to me and do not delay!' (10) You will live in the land of Goshen and you will be near me you and your sons and your grand sons, and your sheep and your cattle and all that belongs to you. (11) I will support you there because there are still five years of famine. Otherwise you and your household and all that belongs to you will become impoverished. (12) Look! Your eyes see and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my mouth that is speaking to you. (13) And tell my father of all my honor in Egypt and all which you have seen. Hasten. Bring down my father now. " (14) And he fell upon the neck of Benjamin, his brother, and he wept. And Benjamin wept on his neck. (15) He kissed all his brothers and he wept on them. And after this, his brothers spoke with him.

This is an intimate moment between Joseph, one of the most powerful men in that part of the world, and his brothers who sold him into slavery. Joseph orders everyone out of his presence except his brothers. The tone of the Hebrew is that Joseph yelled the command. And as soon as they left, Joseph cries as if the floodgates were finally opened. The Hebrew phrase is strange in verse 2, literally "He set his voice to weeping," almost as if the tears had been there the whole time, but Joseph made a conscious effort to hold them back.

Joseph immediately asks for his father, an old man by now. However, Joseph's brothers are not able to speak. Through the whole narrative, they are too terrified to even utter a noise. Joseph reassures them, and in verse 5 tells them that they need not be upset over their actions--though he clearly reminds them of their evil deeds (as if he even needed to, since his brothers certainly recalled the deed as soon as they learned this was Joseph). The phrase in verse 5 contains a Hebrew idiom "Do not be angry in your eyes." Certain parts of the body are the seat for emotion in Hebrew.

Joseph obviously believes that God has sent him ahead of his brothers into Egypt since he references God sending him three times. The Jewish commentary in Etz Hayim says that God had no way of controlling the evil deeds of Joseph's brothers. However, God did guide Joseph to bring about a greater good, even in the midst of an evil plot. Joseph references a "great deliverance," (v.5) perhaps a foreshadowing of the great Exodus story.

Joseph admonishes his brothers to go back and return with their father. In verse 10, he tells them to come back and dwell in the land of Goshen--clearly a long term living arrangement. Here, they will be safe from the famine which will persist for five more years.

At the conclusion of the story, Joseph displays great emotion before his brothers. He literally hangs himself on Benjamin's neck, kisses all of his brothers as they weep together. This display of affection apparently made his brothers feel comfortable enough in his presence to finally speak.

This is the story of the end of an estrangement. Joseph and his brothers had not seen each other for years, until this moment. Joseph had every reason to be angry with his brothers, though nothing in his dialogue seems to point to anger. He digs at them for their misdeeds but does so with tears in his eyes. Instead of using his power to imprison them, he uses his power to bring the family together once more. He instructs them on what to do and tells them how they will survive the famine. The siblings work together to bring their father into Egypt. As welcoming as Joseph is, the journey into Egypt is ominous as the family leaves the land promised to Abraham. A "great deliverance" will indeed be necessary.

Joseph did not allow the years of separation, the horrible experience of being sold, disowned, and imprisoned get in the way of the significance of this unlikely encounter. Joseph used the opportunity to bring his family back together, to save their lives. How many of us could have done the same with our siblings? The fact of the matter is, our siblings are the only members of our family that know us for the greatest amount of time. It is a relationship worth cultivating.