April 1, 2025 • 25 mins
Joseph's brothers return to Egypt with Benjamin as the famine intensifies, facing a series of tests designed by Joseph to see if they have changed. Through moments of fear, vulnerability, and surprising grace, the brothers experience an unexpected welcome at Joseph's table while remaining unaware of his true identity.
• Severe famine forces Jacob to send Benjamin to Egypt despite his fears
• Judah offers himself as security for Benjamin's safe return
• Jacob sends gifts and double money to appease the Egyptian governor
• Brothers panic when invited to Joseph's house, fearing enslavement
• Joseph's steward reassures them with surprising mention of "your God"
• Joseph is overcome with emotion upon seeing Benjamin after 21 years
• Brothers amazed when seated in birth order at the feast
• Benjamin receives five times more food as Joseph tests brothers for jealousy
• Ritual separation between Egyptians and Hebrews
• Despite favoritism shown to Benjamin, brothers enjoy the meal
Join me next week as Joseph continues to test his brothers to determine where their loyalties lie.
Email: nathan@nathandietsche.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Grace and peace to you from God, our Father and our
Lord and Savior, jesus Christ.
Today we're in Genesis, chapter43, where Joseph's brothers
return to Egypt now a secondtime, beginning in verse 1,.
Now the famine was severe inthe land, and when they had
eaten the grain that they hadbrought from Egypt, their father
(00:24):
said to them Go again and buyus a little food.
But Judah said to him the mansolemnly warned us, saying you
shall not see my face unlessyour brother is with you.
If you will send our brotherwith us, we'll go down and buy
(00:45):
you food, but if you will notsend him, we will not go down.
For the man said to us youshall not see my face unless
your brother is with you.
Here, in our first five versesof chapter 43, we again are
reminded the famine is severe.
(01:06):
Again, this is an ongoingfamine that is affecting the
entire land surrounding Egypt,including the land of Canaan,
syria and Arabia.
This is actually the fourthtime the severity of this famine
is mentioned.
It was previously mentionedthree times in chapter 41, and
(01:26):
it will be mentioned yet againthree more times in chapter 47.
And it says that they had eatenall of the grain that they had
gotten previously in Egypt.
Now we also know from Genesis45.6 that this had just been
about one year.
So only one year into theseverity of the famine, israel
(01:49):
and his family have run out ofgrain.
And with this happening and nosign of the famine slowing down,
israel changes his mind aboutsending his sons back to Egypt.
Certainly this could not havebeen an easy decision for him,
because he had lost Simeon thelast time he sent the boys.
(02:10):
And when he tells his sons togo down and buy a little more
food, judah immediately respondswith the seriousness that the
governor warned them about lasttime they were there.
He lets his father know thatthe man, that governor, was very
strict in what he said and ifthey don't bring Benjamin with
(02:32):
them, they will not see himagain.
Judah uses an if-then statementtelling Jacob that only if
Benjamin comes with them willthey go, because it was very
clear from what the governorsaid that he would not even see
them if Benjamin was not withthem.
(02:54):
Verse 6,.
Israel said why do you treat meso badly as to tell the man
that you had another brother?
They replied the man questionedus carefully about ourselves
and our kindred saying Is yourfather still alive?
Do you have another brother?
What we told him was an answerto those questions.
(03:16):
Could we in any way know thathe would say Bring down your
brother.
And Judas said to his fatherSend the boy with me and we will
arise and go, that we may liveand not die, both we and you,
and also our little ones.
I will be the pledge of hissafety.
From my hand.
(03:38):
You shall require him.
If I do not bring him back toyou and set him before you, then
let me bear the blame forever.
If we had not delayed, we wouldhave returned twice.
Back in verse 6, we saw thatIsrael said why do you treat me
so badly?
To Judah and to the brothersJacob was skeptical of his son's
(04:02):
behavior because his son'sbehavior in the past and surely
their motives now make himquestion why the brothers would
want to bring Benjamin and putthe family further in jeopardy.
Why would the brothers eventell this governor they had
another brother?
And it says that they replied,meaning all of the brothers
(04:24):
together coordinated a responseto cover up the fact they had
freely given Governor Josephtheir family information,
because when they were accusedof being spies, they were
quickly giving out all of thisfamily information to try and
get out of trouble.
So the brothers heremisrepresent to their father
(04:47):
Israel what actually happenedand they tell him instead that
the governor was questioningthem and asking them specific
questions about their family.
But that just is not true.
This also gives us furtherinsight into how these brothers
were not the honest men thatthey claimed to be, but they
(05:08):
would come up with and saywhatever they needed to get what
they wanted or weasel their wayout of being in trouble.
Then Judah speaks up and Judahsays he will pledge Benjamin's
safety.
Judah tells Jacob to putBenjamin directly in his care
and if anything happens to him,he'll bear the blame forever.
(05:30):
Judah is basically offering hislife in the place of Benjamin
if anything would happen.
And then Judah says we couldhave gone there and back twice
by now if we wouldn't havedelayed in the first place.
Judah uses those words ofimmediacy to prod Jacob to make
a decision, letting Jacob knowthat his delay in making a
(05:54):
decision has placed them in thisposition where they have no
food, because they could havegone down to Egypt and back
twice if he would have let themgo in the first place.
Verse 11.
Then their father Israel saidto them.
If it must be so, then do this.
Take some of the choice fruitsof the land in your bags and
(06:15):
carry a present down to the mana little balm and a little honey
, gum, myrrh, pistachio, nutsand almonds.
Take double the money with you.
Carry back with you the moneythat was returned in the mouth
of your sacks Perhaps it was anoversight.
Take also your brother andarise and go again to the man.
(06:38):
May God Almighty grant youmercy before this man and may he
send back your other brotherand Benjamin.
As for me, if I am bereaved ofmy children, I am bereaved.
In verse 11, we see that thefirmness in which Judah had made
(06:58):
the case that Benjamin had togo convinced Jacob.
And Jacob here spoken of asIsrael tells his sons to put
together a gift for this man,this governor of the land who
held his son captive.
Bringing a present has longbeen a way of gathering favor
(07:19):
with a man of authority or power.
Proverbs 18.16 reads A man'sgift makes room for him and
brings him before the great.
So Israel tells his sons tobring some choice fruits, a
little bit of the following balm, honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio,
(07:43):
nuts and almonds, the mention ofmost of these items.
Being a little of each probablymeans they only had a little of
each at this time, and if thisis not successful, they will be
without anything.
Then Israel tells the boys takedouble the money.
He's instructing them to taketwice as much money as they did
(08:06):
originally, because perhaps themoney in their sacks was just an
accident or an oversight.
And finally, jacob tells themtake Benjamin with you too, as
you're going to go and see thisman.
Then Jacob says a blessing and aprayer with the name of God, el
Shaddai, which was the namethat God revealed during the
(08:28):
covenant of circumcision toAbraham in Genesis 17.
This is the name of God thepatriarchs continued to use to
refer to the Lord, god.
At the end of Jacob's blessingand prayer, he says If I'm
bereaved of my children, I ambereaved.
These sound like words ofself-pity and doubt.
(08:50):
It certainly isn't consistentwith Jacob's faith, as in the
past, he's claimed the promisesof God and he's led his family
to safety.
However, it is consistent withhow Jacob would often use
trickery or manipulation in hisrelationships.
Considering his sons have beenso irresponsible in their
(09:12):
behavior to protect theirbrothers, perhaps this was a way
for Jacob to impress on themhow their behavior is causing
him pain Verse 15.
So the men took this present andthey took double the money with
them and Benjamin.
They arose and went down toEgypt and stood before Joseph.
(09:35):
Here in verse 15, we see theten brothers of Israel, now
including Benjamin, went fromthe land of Canaan back down to
Egypt to meet that man thatcontrolled the grain and held
their brother Simeon captive.
And when they arrived in Egyptthey came to stand once again
(10:01):
before the governor of EgyptVerse 16.
When Joseph saw Benjamin withthem, he said to the steward of
his house Bring the men into thehouse and slaughter an animal
and make ready for the men areto dine with me at noon.
The man did as Joseph told himand brought the men to Joseph's
(10:23):
house.
And the men were afraid becausethey were brought to Joseph's
house.
They said it is because of themoney which was replaced in our
sacks the first time that werebrought in so that he may
assault us and fall upon us tomake us servants and seize our
donkeys.
So they went up to the stewardof Joseph's house and spoke with
(10:45):
him at the door of the house.
They said oh my lord, we camedown the first time to buy food,
and when we came to the lodgingplace we opened our sacks and
there was each man's money inthe mouth of his sack, our money
in full weight.
So we have brought it with usagain and we have brought other
(11:08):
money down with us to buy food.
We do not know who put thismoney in our sacks Back.
In verse 16, joseph seesBenjamin for the first time in
21 years, and Joseph, seeing hisonly brother from his mother,
rachel, was still alive.
It set in motion a plan thatJoseph had to further protect
(11:31):
and provide for his family.
The first step in Joseph's planwas to take all of his brothers
to his personal home, wherethey would wait to meet him, and
the brothers were escorted bythe steward of Joseph's home,
and it says that they wereafraid, as we saw in the last
(11:51):
chapter, when the brothers hadfirst come to Egypt, they were
accused of being spies and werethrown into prison by Joseph.
Afterward they had talkedamongst themselves and believed
that God was punishing them forselling Joseph.
Now, as they're being taken tothe governor's home, the
brothers begin to wonder if whathappened to Simeon will happen
(12:13):
to them all.
Would their father Israel'sworst nightmares come true.
Would the governor of this landbring them to his home only to
entrap them?
And on their journey toGovernor Joseph's home they
conclude that it must have beenthat money that was placed back
in their sack the first time.
That's the reason why they'rebeing taken to this governor's
(12:36):
home and this is very likely alla setup.
Then they say he may assault usand fall upon us and make us
servants Again.
They're wondering if this is anentrapment so that the governor
can make all of them slaves,taking their possessions,
including their donkeys.
So as they approach Joseph'shome, they go up to the steward
(12:59):
of Joseph's estate who's at thedoor of the home, and they begin
to talk to him about the money,believing that they're going to
be accused of theft.
They tell Joseph's steward astory that they discovered all
of the money in its full weightin their sacks as they were on
their journey back to Canaan.
This story is actually aninteresting change coming from
(13:22):
the brothers, as the truth ofthe matter is, only one of the
brothers found a sack of coinsat the lodging place on their
way back to Canaan.
The rest of the brothers foundtheir coins when they were
unpacking at home with Jacob.
Their change in the narrativehere shows again how these
brothers will tend to spinanything to tingle the ears of
(13:46):
whomever they're talking with.
They tell the steward that theyhave that money that was
returned to them last time andthey have more so that they can
buy food.
And they emphasize they have noidea who put that money back in
their sacks Verse 23.
He replied Peace to you, do notbe afraid.
(14:08):
Your God and the God of yourfather has put treasure in your
sacks for you.
I received your money.
Then he brought Simeon out tothem and when the man had
brought the men into Joseph'shouse and given them water and
they had washed their feet, andwhen he had given their donkeys
(14:30):
fodder, they prepared thepresent for Joseph's coming at
noon, for they heard that theyshould eat bread there.
In verse 23, we have the replyof the steward to the brothers
and he begins his reply withPeace to you.
The word peace here is shalom,it's the common Hebrew greeting,
(14:54):
and the steward continues totell the boys Don't be afraid.
After the steward declarespeace over the brothers, he
mentions the God of Israel,their God, and the God of their
father, and that it was the Lordthat placed the treasure in
their sacks.
The fact that the brothers seemto overlook or somehow miss
(15:26):
this greeting that's veryspecific to the line of Abraham,
isaac and Jacob shows theirlack of faith and how
overwhelmed they are that theymay become slaves.
Then the steward tells thebrothers that he's received
their money for the grain thefirst time they came to Egypt
again, reassuring them there'sno reason for them to be afraid.
And after this exchange andseeing the brothers' fear, the
(15:46):
steward of Joseph's house goesand gets Simeon and brings him
out from being in prison.
Then all of the brothers comeinto Joseph's home and after
entering the home the stewardserves them with common
courtesies, as they were givensomething to drink, they were
(16:07):
given water to wash their feetwith, and after all of the
courtesies and immediate needswere cared for by the steward,
the brothers learned that thegovernor would be coming to eat
with them at noon, so they beganto prepare the present that
they had brought, verse 26.
When Joseph came home, theybrought into the house to him
(16:37):
the present that they had withthem and they bowed down to him
to the ground and he inquiredabout their welfare and said Is
your father?
Well, the old man of whom youspoke.
Is he still alive?
They said your servant, ourfather is well, he is alive.
And they bowed their heads andthey prostrated themselves and
(16:57):
he lifted up his eyes and he sawhis brother, benjamin, his
mother's son, and said Is thisyour youngest brother of whom
you spoke to me?
God, be gracious to you, my son.
Then Joseph hurried out for hiscompassion, grew warm for his
brother and he sought a place toweep and he entered his chamber
(17:17):
and wept there.
Then he washed his face andcame out and, controlling
himself, he said Serve the food.
In verses 26 through 31, we seethe initial attitudes and
responses from the brothers andfrom Joseph when Joseph comes
home to eat.
In verse 26, we read that theybrought the present into the
(17:41):
house and then they bowed downto the ground.
Read that they brought thepresent into the house and then
they bowed down to the ground.
This is now the second time hisbrothers have come and bowed
down before Joseph.
This time, however, it's all 11brothers bowing down to the
ground, which is a completefulfillment of Joseph's first
dream 21 years ago in Genesis37.7.
(18:02):
After his brothers present thepresent and bow down before
Joseph, he asks Is your fatherwell, joseph begins to
investigate about how his familyis doing.
Although he remains incharacter as the governor,
joseph wants to know how hisfather, israel, is doing.
Is he even still alive?
(18:24):
But, staying in character, herefers to him as the old man
whom you spoke.
The brothers confirmed thatIsrael was still alive and he
was well.
After Joseph asks them abouttheir father Israel, they again
bow down, this time with theirheads to the ground and fully
(18:46):
prostrate.
And it says Joseph lifted uphis eyes and saw his brother
Benjamin.
It would seem that Joseph wasnot making eye contact with his
brothers or keeping his headdown to help conceal his
appearance.
And he lifted up his eyes andsaw Benjamin.
When seeing Benjamin again,joseph asked if this was their
younger brother.
But before they could evenanswer, joseph said God, be
(19:10):
gracious to you, my son.
Again, joseph's use of the wordGod here is Elohim.
It means for the God ofcreation to bless Benjamin, yet
his brothers seem deaf to thename of their own God coming out
of an Egyptian's lips.
After Joseph says this, hequickly leaves the room as his
(19:31):
brothers are still prostrate onthe floor before him.
Because he's overcome withfeelings of brotherly love and
compassion for Benjamin andJoseph went into his personal
chambers, which was a separateroom, and he wept.
After weeping for Benjamin,joseph cleans himself up,
washing his face and bringinghimself back under control, and
(19:54):
he goes out and again plays thepart of the governor.
When Joseph enters the roomwith his brothers where they
will eat, he says with authorityServe the food.
Verse 32,.
They served him by himself andthem by themselves and the
(20:15):
Egyptians who ate with them bythemselves, because the
Egyptians could not eat withHebrews, for that is an
abomination to the Egyptians.
I want to tackle this verse byitself.
It says that they served him byhimself.
This is referring to Joseph.
The Egyptian culture epitomizedthe status-driven life, and
(20:40):
discrimination was openlydisplayed and enforced at many
levels, both religious andsocial.
Being served alone here byhimself was a symbol of his
status and his rank.
It shows how the Egyptianswould discriminate socially
based on their ranking.
And then we also read them bythemselves and the Egyptians who
(21:04):
ate with them by themselves.
This tells us that there areactually a total of three tables
here One for Joseph, one forthe Egyptians who are eating
with the group of brothers andone for the Hebrew brothers
themselves.
It says, egyptians could noteat with Hebrews for it was an
(21:24):
abomination to the Egyptians.
So the reason Egyptianscouldn't eat with Hebrews was
more of a religiousdiscrimination than social
Egyptians believed.
If Hebrews ate with them, theHebrews defiled their food.
Egyptians believed that theythemselves were closer to the
gods than any other race ortribal group.
(21:47):
This is why, back in Genesis,chapter 41, joseph couldn't even
interact with the Pharaoh untilhe had been shaven and had
Egyptian clothes put on himGenesis 41.14.
It's also why, when Josephbecame a high-ranking officer of
Pharaoh, he had to be fullyintegrated into the Egyptian
(22:08):
culture.
He was given an Egyptian nameand he married a high-ranking
Egyptian woman Genesis 41-45.
Picking up in verse 33, and theysat before him, the firstborn
according to his birthright andthe youngest according to his
youth and the men looked at oneanother in amazement.
(22:28):
Portions were taken to themfrom Joseph's table, but
Benjamin's portion was fivetimes as much as any of theirs,
and they drank and were merrywith him.
In the last two verses of 33and 34, joseph had made
arrangements so that thebrothers were all sat according
to their birthright.
This must have been veryshocking for the brothers to see
(22:51):
, especially at the table of anEgyptian official.
The perfect placement of thesebrothers according to their
birthright is yet another testby Joseph for his brothers.
Joseph, knowing his brothers,is probably playing into some of
their suspicions that God is atwork to bring about justice.
I mean, how could this Egyptianruler know about them?
(23:14):
Furthermore, why would he seatthem in their birth order?
While many clues had been givento his brothers about who
Joseph was, including the use ofGod's name, his generosity
toward them and his personalknowledge of them, the brothers
clearly didn't even considerthat this could be Joseph.
In fact, we learn that hisbrothers considered him to be
(23:38):
dead.
Genesis 44.20.
In Egypt, as in many easterncountries, there are traditions
where portions are taken fromthe main table and then served
to the guests, and during themeal, the host may choose to
honor a guest by ordering choicefood for them or giving them
(24:00):
additional food.
A mark of favor toward a guestis the quantity of food they're
getting, and a typical rule offavor would be a double portion.
Here we see Benjamin receivingfive times the portion.
Benjamin is shown greatfavoritism during this meal.
(24:21):
This, too, was likely a testfor the brothers.
Joseph certainly wanted to knowtheir true attitudes toward
Benjamin.
Do they have any envy,bitterness or hatred towards him
?
When such gross favoritism isshown towards Benjamin, it would
be hard for the brothers toconceal a bitter attitude.
(24:41):
However, we see that everyoneenjoyed themselves at this meal.
There was no hostility shown,but, to the contrary, they drank
and they were merry with Joseph.
Thank you for joining me thisweek.
Join me next week as Josephcontinues to test his brothers.
God bless you this week.
Grace and peace to you from God, our Father and our
Lord and Savior, jesus Christ.
Today we're in Genesis, chapter43, where Joseph's brothers
return to Egypt now a secondtime, beginning in verse 1,.
Now the famine was severe inthe land, and when they had
eaten the grain that they hadbrought from Egypt, their father
(00:24):
said to them Go again and buyus a little food.
But Judah said to him the mansolemnly warned us, saying you
shall not see my face unlessyour brother is with you.
If you will send our brotherwith us, we'll go down and buy
(00:45):
you food, but if you will notsend him, we will not go down.
For the man said to us youshall not see my face unless
your brother is with you.
Here, in our first five versesof chapter 43, we again are
reminded the famine is severe.
(01:06):
Again, this is an ongoingfamine that is affecting the
entire land surrounding Egypt,including the land of Canaan,
syria and Arabia.
This is actually the fourthtime the severity of this famine
is mentioned.
It was previously mentionedthree times in chapter 41, and
(01:26):
it will be mentioned yet againthree more times in chapter 47.
And it says that they had eatenall of the grain that they had
gotten previously in Egypt.
Now we also know from Genesis45.6 that this had just been
about one year.
So only one year into theseverity of the famine, israel
(01:49):
and his family have run out ofgrain.
And with this happening and nosign of the famine slowing down,
israel changes his mind aboutsending his sons back to Egypt.
Certainly this could not havebeen an easy decision for him,
because he had lost Simeon thelast time he sent the boys.
(02:10):
And when he tells his sons togo down and buy a little more
food, judah immediately respondswith the seriousness that the
governor warned them about lasttime they were there.
He lets his father know thatthe man, that governor, was very
strict in what he said and ifthey don't bring Benjamin with
(02:32):
them, they will not see himagain.
Judah uses an if-then statementtelling Jacob that only if
Benjamin comes with them willthey go, because it was very
clear from what the governorsaid that he would not even see
them if Benjamin was not withthem.
(02:54):
Verse 6,.
Israel said why do you treat meso badly as to tell the man
that you had another brother?
They replied the man questionedus carefully about ourselves
and our kindred saying Is yourfather still alive?
Do you have another brother?
What we told him was an answerto those questions.
(03:16):
Could we in any way know thathe would say Bring down your
brother.
And Judas said to his fatherSend the boy with me and we will
arise and go, that we may liveand not die, both we and you,
and also our little ones.
I will be the pledge of hissafety.
From my hand.
(03:38):
You shall require him.
If I do not bring him back toyou and set him before you, then
let me bear the blame forever.
If we had not delayed, we wouldhave returned twice.
Back in verse 6, we saw thatIsrael said why do you treat me
so badly?
To Judah and to the brothersJacob was skeptical of his son's
(04:02):
behavior because his son'sbehavior in the past and surely
their motives now make himquestion why the brothers would
want to bring Benjamin and putthe family further in jeopardy.
Why would the brothers eventell this governor they had
another brother?
And it says that they replied,meaning all of the brothers
(04:24):
together coordinated a responseto cover up the fact they had
freely given Governor Josephtheir family information,
because when they were accusedof being spies, they were
quickly giving out all of thisfamily information to try and
get out of trouble.
So the brothers heremisrepresent to their father
(04:47):
Israel what actually happenedand they tell him instead that
the governor was questioningthem and asking them specific
questions about their family.
But that just is not true.
This also gives us furtherinsight into how these brothers
were not the honest men thatthey claimed to be, but they
(05:08):
would come up with and saywhatever they needed to get what
they wanted or weasel their wayout of being in trouble.
Then Judah speaks up and Judahsays he will pledge Benjamin's
safety.
Judah tells Jacob to putBenjamin directly in his care
and if anything happens to him,he'll bear the blame forever.
(05:30):
Judah is basically offering hislife in the place of Benjamin
if anything would happen.
And then Judah says we couldhave gone there and back twice
by now if we wouldn't havedelayed in the first place.
Judah uses those words ofimmediacy to prod Jacob to make
a decision, letting Jacob knowthat his delay in making a
(05:54):
decision has placed them in thisposition where they have no
food, because they could havegone down to Egypt and back
twice if he would have let themgo in the first place.
Verse 11.
Then their father Israel saidto them.
If it must be so, then do this.
Take some of the choice fruitsof the land in your bags and
(06:15):
carry a present down to the mana little balm and a little honey
, gum, myrrh, pistachio, nutsand almonds.
Take double the money with you.
Carry back with you the moneythat was returned in the mouth
of your sacks Perhaps it was anoversight.
Take also your brother andarise and go again to the man.
(06:38):
May God Almighty grant youmercy before this man and may he
send back your other brotherand Benjamin.
As for me, if I am bereaved ofmy children, I am bereaved.
In verse 11, we see that thefirmness in which Judah had made
(06:58):
the case that Benjamin had togo convinced Jacob.
And Jacob here spoken of asIsrael tells his sons to put
together a gift for this man,this governor of the land who
held his son captive.
Bringing a present has longbeen a way of gathering favor
(07:19):
with a man of authority or power.
Proverbs 18.16 reads A man'sgift makes room for him and
brings him before the great.
So Israel tells his sons tobring some choice fruits, a
little bit of the following balm, honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio,
(07:43):
nuts and almonds, the mention ofmost of these items.
Being a little of each probablymeans they only had a little of
each at this time, and if thisis not successful, they will be
without anything.
Then Israel tells the boys takedouble the money.
He's instructing them to taketwice as much money as they did
(08:06):
originally, because perhaps themoney in their sacks was just an
accident or an oversight.
And finally, jacob tells themtake Benjamin with you too, as
you're going to go and see thisman.
Then Jacob says a blessing and aprayer with the name of God, el
Shaddai, which was the namethat God revealed during the
(08:28):
covenant of circumcision toAbraham in Genesis 17.
This is the name of God thepatriarchs continued to use to
refer to the Lord, god.
At the end of Jacob's blessingand prayer, he says If I'm
bereaved of my children, I ambereaved.
These sound like words ofself-pity and doubt.
(08:50):
It certainly isn't consistentwith Jacob's faith, as in the
past, he's claimed the promisesof God and he's led his family
to safety.
However, it is consistent withhow Jacob would often use
trickery or manipulation in hisrelationships.
Considering his sons have beenso irresponsible in their
(09:12):
behavior to protect theirbrothers, perhaps this was a way
for Jacob to impress on themhow their behavior is causing
him pain Verse 15.
So the men took this present andthey took double the money with
them and Benjamin.
They arose and went down toEgypt and stood before Joseph.
(09:35):
Here in verse 15, we see theten brothers of Israel, now
including Benjamin, went fromthe land of Canaan back down to
Egypt to meet that man thatcontrolled the grain and held
their brother Simeon captive.
And when they arrived in Egyptthey came to stand once again
(10:01):
before the governor of EgyptVerse 16.
When Joseph saw Benjamin withthem, he said to the steward of
his house Bring the men into thehouse and slaughter an animal
and make ready for the men areto dine with me at noon.
The man did as Joseph told himand brought the men to Joseph's
(10:23):
house.
And the men were afraid becausethey were brought to Joseph's
house.
They said it is because of themoney which was replaced in our
sacks the first time that werebrought in so that he may
assault us and fall upon us tomake us servants and seize our
donkeys.
So they went up to the stewardof Joseph's house and spoke with
(10:45):
him at the door of the house.
They said oh my lord, we camedown the first time to buy food,
and when we came to the lodgingplace we opened our sacks and
there was each man's money inthe mouth of his sack, our money
in full weight.
So we have brought it with usagain and we have brought other
(11:08):
money down with us to buy food.
We do not know who put thismoney in our sacks Back.
In verse 16, joseph seesBenjamin for the first time in
21 years, and Joseph, seeing hisonly brother from his mother,
rachel, was still alive.
It set in motion a plan thatJoseph had to further protect
(11:31):
and provide for his family.
The first step in Joseph's planwas to take all of his brothers
to his personal home, wherethey would wait to meet him, and
the brothers were escorted bythe steward of Joseph's home,
and it says that they wereafraid, as we saw in the last
(11:51):
chapter, when the brothers hadfirst come to Egypt, they were
accused of being spies and werethrown into prison by Joseph.
Afterward they had talkedamongst themselves and believed
that God was punishing them forselling Joseph.
Now, as they're being taken tothe governor's home, the
brothers begin to wonder if whathappened to Simeon will happen
(12:13):
to them all.
Would their father Israel'sworst nightmares come true.
Would the governor of this landbring them to his home only to
entrap them?
And on their journey toGovernor Joseph's home they
conclude that it must have beenthat money that was placed back
in their sack the first time.
That's the reason why they'rebeing taken to this governor's
(12:36):
home and this is very likely alla setup.
Then they say he may assault usand fall upon us and make us
servants Again.
They're wondering if this is anentrapment so that the governor
can make all of them slaves,taking their possessions,
including their donkeys.
So as they approach Joseph'shome, they go up to the steward
(12:59):
of Joseph's estate who's at thedoor of the home, and they begin
to talk to him about the money,believing that they're going to
be accused of theft.
They tell Joseph's steward astory that they discovered all
of the money in its full weightin their sacks as they were on
their journey back to Canaan.
This story is actually aninteresting change coming from
(13:22):
the brothers, as the truth ofthe matter is, only one of the
brothers found a sack of coinsat the lodging place on their
way back to Canaan.
The rest of the brothers foundtheir coins when they were
unpacking at home with Jacob.
Their change in the narrativehere shows again how these
brothers will tend to spinanything to tingle the ears of
(13:46):
whomever they're talking with.
They tell the steward that theyhave that money that was
returned to them last time andthey have more so that they can
buy food.
And they emphasize they have noidea who put that money back in
their sacks Verse 23.
He replied Peace to you, do notbe afraid.
(14:08):
Your God and the God of yourfather has put treasure in your
sacks for you.
I received your money.
Then he brought Simeon out tothem and when the man had
brought the men into Joseph'shouse and given them water and
they had washed their feet, andwhen he had given their donkeys
(14:30):
fodder, they prepared thepresent for Joseph's coming at
noon, for they heard that theyshould eat bread there.
In verse 23, we have the replyof the steward to the brothers
and he begins his reply withPeace to you.
The word peace here is shalom,it's the common Hebrew greeting,
(14:54):
and the steward continues totell the boys Don't be afraid.
After the steward declarespeace over the brothers, he
mentions the God of Israel,their God, and the God of their
father, and that it was the Lordthat placed the treasure in
their sacks.
The fact that the brothers seemto overlook or somehow miss
(15:26):
this greeting that's veryspecific to the line of Abraham,
isaac and Jacob shows theirlack of faith and how
overwhelmed they are that theymay become slaves.
Then the steward tells thebrothers that he's received
their money for the grain thefirst time they came to Egypt
again, reassuring them there'sno reason for them to be afraid.
And after this exchange andseeing the brothers' fear, the
(15:46):
steward of Joseph's house goesand gets Simeon and brings him
out from being in prison.
Then all of the brothers comeinto Joseph's home and after
entering the home the stewardserves them with common
courtesies, as they were givensomething to drink, they were
(16:07):
given water to wash their feetwith, and after all of the
courtesies and immediate needswere cared for by the steward,
the brothers learned that thegovernor would be coming to eat
with them at noon, so they beganto prepare the present that
they had brought, verse 26.
When Joseph came home, theybrought into the house to him
(16:37):
the present that they had withthem and they bowed down to him
to the ground and he inquiredabout their welfare and said Is
your father?
Well, the old man of whom youspoke.
Is he still alive?
They said your servant, ourfather is well, he is alive.
And they bowed their heads andthey prostrated themselves and
(16:57):
he lifted up his eyes and he sawhis brother, benjamin, his
mother's son, and said Is thisyour youngest brother of whom
you spoke to me?
God, be gracious to you, my son.
Then Joseph hurried out for hiscompassion, grew warm for his
brother and he sought a place toweep and he entered his chamber
(17:17):
and wept there.
Then he washed his face andcame out and, controlling
himself, he said Serve the food.
In verses 26 through 31, we seethe initial attitudes and
responses from the brothers andfrom Joseph when Joseph comes
home to eat.
In verse 26, we read that theybrought the present into the
(17:41):
house and then they bowed downto the ground.
Read that they brought thepresent into the house and then
they bowed down to the ground.
This is now the second time hisbrothers have come and bowed
down before Joseph.
This time, however, it's all 11brothers bowing down to the
ground, which is a completefulfillment of Joseph's first
dream 21 years ago in Genesis37.7.
(18:02):
After his brothers present thepresent and bow down before
Joseph, he asks Is your fatherwell, joseph begins to
investigate about how his familyis doing.
Although he remains incharacter as the governor,
joseph wants to know how hisfather, israel, is doing.
Is he even still alive?
(18:24):
But, staying in character, herefers to him as the old man
whom you spoke.
The brothers confirmed thatIsrael was still alive and he
was well.
After Joseph asks them abouttheir father Israel, they again
bow down, this time with theirheads to the ground and fully
(18:46):
prostrate.
And it says Joseph lifted uphis eyes and saw his brother
Benjamin.
It would seem that Joseph wasnot making eye contact with his
brothers or keeping his headdown to help conceal his
appearance.
And he lifted up his eyes andsaw Benjamin.
When seeing Benjamin again,joseph asked if this was their
younger brother.
But before they could evenanswer, joseph said God, be
(19:10):
gracious to you, my son.
Again, joseph's use of the wordGod here is Elohim.
It means for the God ofcreation to bless Benjamin, yet
his brothers seem deaf to thename of their own God coming out
of an Egyptian's lips.
After Joseph says this, hequickly leaves the room as his
(19:31):
brothers are still prostrate onthe floor before him.
Because he's overcome withfeelings of brotherly love and
compassion for Benjamin andJoseph went into his personal
chambers, which was a separateroom, and he wept.
After weeping for Benjamin,joseph cleans himself up,
washing his face and bringinghimself back under control, and
(19:54):
he goes out and again plays thepart of the governor.
When Joseph enters the roomwith his brothers where they
will eat, he says with authorityServe the food.
Verse 32,.
They served him by himself andthem by themselves and the
(20:15):
Egyptians who ate with them bythemselves, because the
Egyptians could not eat withHebrews, for that is an
abomination to the Egyptians.
I want to tackle this verse byitself.
It says that they served him byhimself.
This is referring to Joseph.
The Egyptian culture epitomizedthe status-driven life, and
(20:40):
discrimination was openlydisplayed and enforced at many
levels, both religious andsocial.
Being served alone here byhimself was a symbol of his
status and his rank.
It shows how the Egyptianswould discriminate socially
based on their ranking.
And then we also read them bythemselves and the Egyptians who
(21:04):
ate with them by themselves.
This tells us that there areactually a total of three tables
here One for Joseph, one forthe Egyptians who are eating
with the group of brothers andone for the Hebrew brothers
themselves.
It says, egyptians could noteat with Hebrews for it was an
(21:24):
abomination to the Egyptians.
So the reason Egyptianscouldn't eat with Hebrews was
more of a religiousdiscrimination than social
Egyptians believed.
If Hebrews ate with them, theHebrews defiled their food.
Egyptians believed that theythemselves were closer to the
gods than any other race ortribal group.
(21:47):
This is why, back in Genesis,chapter 41, joseph couldn't even
interact with the Pharaoh untilhe had been shaven and had
Egyptian clothes put on himGenesis 41.14.
It's also why, when Josephbecame a high-ranking officer of
Pharaoh, he had to be fullyintegrated into the Egyptian
(22:08):
culture.
He was given an Egyptian nameand he married a high-ranking
Egyptian woman Genesis 41-45.
Picking up in verse 33, and theysat before him, the firstborn
according to his birthright andthe youngest according to his
youth and the men looked at oneanother in amazement.
(22:28):
Portions were taken to themfrom Joseph's table, but
Benjamin's portion was fivetimes as much as any of theirs,
and they drank and were merrywith him.
In the last two verses of 33and 34, joseph had made
arrangements so that thebrothers were all sat according
to their birthright.
This must have been veryshocking for the brothers to see
(22:51):
, especially at the table of anEgyptian official.
The perfect placement of thesebrothers according to their
birthright is yet another testby Joseph for his brothers.
Joseph, knowing his brothers,is probably playing into some of
their suspicions that God is atwork to bring about justice.
I mean, how could this Egyptianruler know about them?
(23:14):
Furthermore, why would he seatthem in their birth order?
While many clues had been givento his brothers about who
Joseph was, including the use ofGod's name, his generosity
toward them and his personalknowledge of them, the brothers
clearly didn't even considerthat this could be Joseph.
In fact, we learn that hisbrothers considered him to be
(23:38):
dead.
Genesis 44.20.
In Egypt, as in many easterncountries, there are traditions
where portions are taken fromthe main table and then served
to the guests, and during themeal, the host may choose to
honor a guest by ordering choicefood for them or giving them
(24:00):
additional food.
A mark of favor toward a guestis the quantity of food they're
getting, and a typical rule offavor would be a double portion.
Here we see Benjamin receivingfive times the portion.
Benjamin is shown greatfavoritism during this meal.
(24:21):
This, too, was likely a testfor the brothers.
Joseph certainly wanted to knowtheir true attitudes toward
Benjamin.
Do they have any envy,bitterness or hatred towards him
?
When such gross favoritism isshown towards Benjamin, it would
be hard for the brothers toconceal a bitter attitude.
(24:41):
However, we see that everyoneenjoyed themselves at this meal.
There was no hostility shown,but, to the contrary, they drank
and they were merry with Joseph.
Thank you for joining me thisweek.
Join me next week as Josephcontinues to test his brothers.
God bless you this week.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Intentionally Disturbing
Join me on this podcast as I navigate the murky waters of human behavior, current events, and personal anecdotes through in-depth interviews with incredible people—all served with a generous helping of sarcasm and satire. After years as a forensic and clinical psychologist, I offer a unique interview style and a low tolerance for bullshit, quickly steering conversations toward depth and darkness. I honor the seriousness while also appreciating wit. I’m your guide through the twisted labyrinth of the human psyche, armed with dark humor and biting wit.