Genesis 45

Genesis 45:1

It all begins with God An EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary (2800 word vocabulary) on the Book of Genesis www.easyenglish.info Marie Wetherill and Keith Simons This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.

Words in boxes are from the Bible.

Tap the * before a word to show an explanation.

Chapter 45 Joseph says who he is v1 Then Joseph could not stay calm any longer. Many people were standing near him. He cried out, ‘Make everyone go away from me!’ So there was nobody there when Joseph told his brothers. He told them who he was. v2 He wept aloud. The *Egyptians heard him and the people in *Pharaoh’s *household heard him.

v3 Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am Joseph. Is my father really still alive?’ His brothers could not answer him. They were very fearful to be with him.

v4 So Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Please come close to me. I am your brother Joseph. You sold me into Egypt. v5 And now, do not be anxious. Do not be angry with yourselves because you sold me here. God sent me ahead of you to save people’s lives. v6 There has been a *famine in this country for two years now. There will be *famine for 5 more years. During that time, nobody will plough or harvest. v7 God sent me ahead of you. Then I could keep some people still alive on the earth for you. I could help many people to stay alive.

v8 It was not you that sent me here. But it was God. God has made me like a father to *Pharaoh. I am the *lord over all *Pharaoh’s *household. And I am the ruler over all the country called Egypt. v9 Hurry back to my father and tell him this: “Your son Joseph tells you that God has made him *lord over all Egypt. He wants you to come down to him immediately. v10 He wants you to live in the region called Goshen. You will be near him there. Bring your children and grandchildren. Bring your *flocks and *herds. And bring everything that you own. v11 Joseph will take care of you there. There will still be 5 more years with *famine. If you do not come, you might become very poor. That includes you and your *household. And it includes all those that belong to you.”

v12 Now I am speaking to you with my own mouth. You can see that with your own eyes and my brother Benjamin can see it. v13 You must tell my father about all the great honour that I have in Egypt. Tell him everything that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.’

v14 Then Joseph hugged his brother Benjamin and Joseph wept. Benjamin, too, wept in Joseph’s arms. v15 Joseph kissed all his brothers and he wept over them. Then his brothers talked with him.

v16 The people in *Pharaoh’s *household heard the news that Joseph’s brothers had come. *Pharaoh and his servants were very happy. v17 *Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Tell your brothers to do this. Tell them to load their animals. And tell them to go back to the country called Canaan. v18 Let them fetch their father and let them fetch the people in their *households. And let them come to me. I will give to them the best part of this country, Egypt. They shall eat the best food that the land in Egypt produces.

v19 Tell them to do this too. Tell them to take wagons from this country, Egypt. They will need them for their young children and wives. Tell them to fetch their father. And tell them to come. v20 They need not worry about their goods. The best things in all this country called Egypt are theirs.’

v21 Israel’s sons did that. Joseph gave wagons to them, exactly as *Pharaoh ordered. Joseph gave food to them for their journey. v22 He also gave special clothes to them. He gave to Benjamin 300 *shekels of silver. And he gave 5 special long coats to Benjamin. v23 Joseph sent things for his father. Joseph loaded 10 *donkeys with good things from Egypt. He loaded 10 female *donkeys with corn, bread and other food for his father’s journey. v24 Then Joseph sent his brothers away. As they were leaving, he said to them, ‘Do not quarrel on the journey.’

v25 So the brothers went up out of Egypt. And they came back to their father Jacob in the country called Canaan. v26 The brothers told Jacob that Joseph was still alive. They said that Joseph was ruling over the country called Egypt. Jacob was very anxious. He did not believe the brothers. v27 But they told Jacob all that Joseph had said. The brothers showed the wagons to Jacob. Joseph had sent those wagons to carry Jacob. Then the brothers’ father Jacob (also called Israel) became more cheerful. v28 Israel said, ‘I need nothing else. My son Joseph is still alive. I shall go. And then I shall see him before I die.’

Joseph had to pretend that he was someone else. He did that in order to test his brothers. But now, Judah had shown that their attitudes had changed. In the end, Joseph could not control his emotions. He had to cry. And he wanted to hug his brothers. So, he quickly ordered his servants to leave the room.

Even when Joseph spoke to his brothers in their own language, they could not immediately recognise him. And they were afraid of him. But Joseph’s words helped them to feel more confident. Joseph was not angry with his brothers. He forgave them. He believed that, in fact, God sent him (Joseph) to Egypt. God sent Joseph there to save lives. And now, Joseph was able to save his own family from the terrible *famine.

*Pharaoh was pleased to hear that Joseph’s brothers had come from Canaan. *Pharaoh wanted the whole family to live in Egypt. *Pharaoh even sent wagons so that the weaker members of the family could travel to Egypt more easily.

The news from Egypt astonished Jacob. But, when he saw the wagons, he believed. He knew that God had been kind to Joseph. And Jacob saw that the events in Joseph’s dreams (Genesis 37:7-9) really happened. Jacob could remember the promises that God gave about his family (Genesis 35:11-12). So, Jacob was confident that God would do these things too. These things would happen after Jacob’s death, but Jacob still believed (Hebrews 11:21; Hebrews 11:13). But now, Jacob would go to see Joseph again. And, during the journey, God would speak to Jacob again (Genesis 46:3-4). Notes on the verses Verse 1 Joseph wanted this to be a special time that he could spend with his family. He wanted to take away anything that was between his brothers and himself. For them, he was their *Hebrew brother. Although he was also an important *Egyptian ruler, he need to be with his own family now.

Judah had shown that the brothers had changed. They were not willing to leave Benjamin in order to save themselves.

Verse 2 Joseph wept. We can imagine his feelings of delight and relief.

Joseph tried to make this meeting private. Perhaps he was unsure what the *Egyptians would think about his family. But in fact, everybody heard that Joseph’s family had arrived. Even *Pharaoh heard. And *Pharaoh was very pleased.

Verse 3 Joseph asked again about his father. That showed again his love for his father. Judah had made it clear that the father was very weak.

In some translations, the brothers were ‘dumbfounded’. It means that they could not speak. And they could not do anything. That was because they were so surprised, afraid and confused!

Verse 4 Joseph was a very great ruler. His visitors usually stood at a distance in order to give honour to him. But he wanted his brothers to come closer. They needed to recognise him. And he wanted to hug them.

Verses 5-8 Joseph knew that God had controlled his (Joseph’s) life. He mentions God many times in these verses.

In verse 8, a ‘father to *Pharaoh’ meant someone that advised *Pharaoh. It meant someone that helped *Pharaoh. It had no connection with age. And it had no connection with relatives in a family.

Verses 9-11 Joseph wanted his father and the whole family to come to Egypt. Then, Joseph could look after them during the *famine.

Verse 12 Here Joseph was speaking *Hebrew to his brothers. He was not speaking in the *Egyptian language.

Verse 13 Joseph wanted his father to hear how much God had *blessed Joseph.

Verses 14-15 This was a very happy meeting. It was the custom for relatives to hug and to kiss. These actions showed that Joseph loved his brothers. The brothers had not met Joseph for nearly 20 years, until they saw him in Egypt.

Verse 16 People in Egypt liked Joseph very much. Everyone was pleased about his family.

Verses 17-20 *Pharaoh was very generous. He did everything possible to bring the whole family to Egypt. He did not even want them to bring their possessions from Canaan. *Pharaoh could provide much better things for them in Egypt.

Verse 21 Joseph sent his brothers back to Canaan. He told them to bring the entire family back to Egypt.

Verse 22 Joseph gave new clothes to his brothers. They had torn their clothes when Joseph’s *steward arrested Benjamin (Genesis 44:13).

Verse 24 In the *Hebrew text, Joseph told his brothers not to ‘tremble’. In other words, they should keep their emotions calm. It may mean that they should not be afraid or anxious. And they should not accuse each other. They should be friendly to each other.

Verses 25-26 At first, Jacob did not believe the news. The brothers had to show him the wagons that *Pharaoh sent.

Verse 27 Jacob had been sad about Joseph since the events in Genesis 37:34-35. And Jacob thought that those terrible feelings would never leave him. Only Benjamin was able to comfort Jacob (Genesis 44:30-31). But the wonderful news about Joseph changed everything for Jacob. At last, Jacob’s spirit felt strong again. Jacob was excited. He wanted to go to see Joseph at once.

Verse 28 The writer suddenly calls Jacob by his other name, ‘Israel’. This was the special name that God gave to Jacob (Genesis 32:28). The writer uses this name to emphasise Jacob’s relationship (friendship) with God. Jacob’s (Israel’s) family was starting to grow into the nation called Israel. And the families that belonged to that nation would live in Egypt for over 400 years.

Jacob said that he would see Joseph before his (Jacob’s) death. These might seem like sad words, but they are not. Jacob meant that his life’s work was complete. God had done everything that Jacob hoped. God had even returned Joseph, who seemed dead, to Jacob. So, Jacob was not worried about the future. Jacob needed nothing else to make him content. And he would be content for the rest of his life.

© 2006, Wycliffe Associates (UK)

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

May 2006

Visit our website: www.easyenglish.info

var w1 = new Array;w1[0]=’<b%3EEgyptian</b%3E ~ a person from the country called Egypt; when someone or something is from Egypt.’;w1[1]=’<b%3EPharaoh</b%3E ~ the king of Egypt.’;w1[2]=’<b%3Ehousehold</b%3E ~ your household means everyone that lives with you. They do not have to be your family.’;w1[3]=’<b%3Efamine</b%3E ~ a time when plants for food do not grow, so people cannot eat food from them.’;w1[4]=’<b%3Elord</b%3E ~ a man that has complete authority over someone or something.