Joseph Tells His Brothers Who He Is

45 Joseph couldn’t control himself anymore in front of all his attendants. He cried out, “Have everyone leave me!” So there wasn’t anyone with Joseph when he told his brothers who he was. ² He wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him. Everyone in Pharaoh’s house heard about it.

³ Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers weren’t able to answer him. They were too afraid of him.

⁴ Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” So they did. Then he said, “I am your brother Joseph. I’m the one you sold into Egypt. ⁵ But don’t be upset. And don’t be angry with yourselves because you sold me here. God sent me ahead of you to save many lives. ⁶ For two years now, there hasn’t been enough food in the land. And for the next five years, people won’t be plowing or gathering crops. ⁷ But God sent me ahead of you to keep some of you alive on earth. He sent me here to save your lives by an act of mighty power.

⁸ “So then, it wasn’t you who sent me here. It was God. He made me like a father to Pharaoh. He made me master of Pharaoh’s entire house. God made me ruler of the whole land of Egypt. ⁹ Now hurry back to my father. Say to him, ‘Your son Joseph says, “God has made me master of the whole land of Egypt. Come down to me. Don’t waste any time. ¹⁰ You will live in the area of Goshen. You, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and everything you have will be near me. ¹¹ There I will provide everything you need. There are still five years to come when there won’t be enough food. If you don’t come down here, you and your family and everyone who belongs to you will lose everything.” ’

¹² “My brothers, I am Joseph. You can see for yourselves that I am the one speaking to you. My brother Benjamin can see it too. ¹³ Tell my father about all the honor given to me in Egypt. Tell him about everything you have seen. And bring my father down here quickly.”

¹⁴ Then Joseph threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept. Benjamin also hugged him and wept. ¹⁵ Joseph kissed all his brothers and wept over them. After that, his brothers talked with him.

¹⁶ The news reached Pharaoh’s palace that Joseph’s brothers had come. Pharaoh and all his officials were pleased. ¹⁷ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Here’s what I want you to tell your brothers. Say to them, ‘Load your animals. Return to the land of Canaan. ¹⁸ Bring your father and your families back to me. I’ll give you the best land in Egypt. You can enjoy all the good things in the land.’

¹⁹ “And here’s something else I want you to tell them. Say to them, ‘Take some carts from Egypt. Your children and your wives can use them. Get your father and come back. ²⁰ Don’t worry about the things you have back there. The best of everything in Egypt will belong to you.’ ”

²¹ Then the sons of Israel did so. Joseph gave them carts, as Pharaoh had commanded. He also gave them supplies for their journey. ²² He gave new clothes to each of them. But he gave Benjamin more than seven pounds of silver. He also gave him five sets of clothes. ²³ He sent his father ten male donkeys loaded with the best things from Egypt. He also sent ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other supplies for his journey. ²⁴ Then Joseph sent his brothers away. As they were leaving he said to them, “Don’t argue on the way!”

²⁵ So they went up out of Egypt. They came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. ²⁶ They told him, “Joseph is still alive! In fact, he is ruler of the whole land of Egypt.” Jacob was shocked. He didn’t believe them. ²⁷ So they told him everything Joseph had said to them. Jacob saw the carts Joseph had sent to carry him back. That gave new life to their father Jacob. ²⁸ Israel said, “I believe it now! My son Joseph is still alive. I’ll go and see him before I die.”