Day 15. Genesis 43-46

Genesis 43-46

Genesis 43

¹And the famine was sore in the land.

²And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food.

They had used up all the provisions and had to go back and get more. In the meantime, according to Gen. 42:24, Simeon was locked up in Egypt's prison system.

Judah tells Jacob (Israel) that they aren't supposed to go back down there unless they take Benjamin with them.

⁶And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother?

Jacob is wondering, why did you tell this man you had another brother?

⁷And they said, The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down?

It's as though he knew...

Judah tells Jacob to send Benjamin with him.

⁸And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones.

Benjamin here, is referred to as "the lad". Why? During this time, Benjamin is always drawn as a child.

The picture to the right is from 1789, by Charles Thevenin, Joseph und seine Brüder. You see Benjamin as just a youth, probably not even a teenager. The rest of the brothers seem to vary in age.

Artists seem to take some freedoms when dealing with the family. Seemingly forgetting that the first son was born AFTER Jacob married Rachel (after the 14 years) and that Joseph was the last son born before Jacob asked to leave Laban. The first 11 boys (and Dinah) were born in only a 6 year period. The boys are all relatively close in age, on average separated by only 6 months. Leah managed to have 7 children in that six year period. There are 72 months in 6 years, Leah was pregnant for 63 of them.

Back to today...

¹¹And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds:

¹²And take double money in your hand; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight:

Well, there was still some food in the land, but you aren't going to make a staple diet out of those things.

¹³Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man:

¹⁴And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.

Your other brother... what's his name... Simeon.

¹⁶And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and slay, and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon.

¹⁷And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph's house.

Joseph just had to assume the person that went with his brothers was Benjamin. If Ben was just a child, then it's at least 9 years later, his brothers didn't recognize him, why would he recognize a younger brother?

The brothers are surprised about being taken into "the man's" house. They tell his servant they don't know why their money was returned.

²³And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them.

Simeon was given back to the other 10 brothers.

²⁷And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?

²⁸And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance.

Joseph was glad to hear his dad was still alive. He sees his brother, and he gets all weepy, just like his dad when Jacob saw Rachel.

³⁰And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.

He didn't want to cry in front of his brothers.

³²And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians.

So, the Egyptians never ate bread with Hebrews? Joseph was married to an Egyptian, did she ever eat with him? Joseph was the #2 guy in Egypt, but to eat with him was an abomination? I don't think this part of the story makes any sense.

³⁴And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of their's. And they drank, and were merry with him.

Joseph, like his father before him, played favorites.

Genesis 44

¹And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in his sack's mouth.

²And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.

Joseph's going to Punk his brothers again.

⁴And when they were gone out of the city, and not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good?

⁵Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing.

He's having his steward ask why they stole his things. The brothers said, they didn't take anything, then they say something really stupid.

⁹With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen.

So the steward starts going through the sacks.

¹²And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.

Ohhhhh, fuuuuuddddddgggggeeeee. Only I didn't say "Fudge." I said THE word, the big one, the queen-mother of dirty words, the "F-dash-dash-dash" word!

¹³Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city.

¹⁴And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house; for he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground.

¹⁵And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?

Joseph is like, I knew it was you guys who did it, I'm the all powerful Zaphnathpaaneah, I know when people steal from me...

Judah apologized.

¹⁷And he said, God forbid that I should do so: but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father.

Judah then says, please, don't take the boy. They retell the whole story of how Jacob didn't want to send Benjamin, but they promise they'll take care of him. Also, if Benjamin is taken, their father will die.

³³Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren.

³⁴For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father.

Judah says, you might as well take me, because if you keep Benjamin, not only will dad die, but he's going to take me out first.

Genesis 45

¹Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.

Joseph says "YOU JUST GOT PUNK'D". Actually, he was relieved, because he didn't know how much longer he could keep up the charade.

³And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.

The brothers are slightly more scared of Zaphnathpaaneah, now than they were a second ago. They realize that he (Joseph) is happy to see Benjamin; however, they are really really scared that he's going to hold a grudge for that whole "put him in a pit, then sell him into slavery" thing.

⁵Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.

Joseph says that God put him there, so he could take care of his family.

⁶For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.

This is two years into the 7 years of famine. Now we can figure out some more dates, and clear up the timeline a bit (maybe). We are still going to need a couple more dates to get the whole thing correct-ish.

⁸So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

⁹Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:

Joseph says for them to move down, go get dad, and move down here.

¹³And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.

Hurry, go get dad.

¹⁶And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.

¹⁷And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan;

¹⁸And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.

Even Pharaoh wants the family to move down.

The brothers leave, with moving vans; even though they were told to just go down, Egypt will provide. They make it home, and tell Jacob that Joseph was alive.

²⁸And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.

Jacob says he'll make the journey.

Genesis 46

Jacob goes to Beersheba and offers some sacrifices to god, and asks if he should go to Egypt.

³And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:

⁴I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.

God says it's ok to go.

⁶And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him:

⁷His sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt.

Now we get a list of everyone who went. It's not a very interesting list, mostly. There are some highlights.

¹²And the sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zarah: but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul.

Er and Onan are listed. It doesn't say what they did with Tamar. If they took her to Egypt, they probably would have told the "she's my sister story".

²¹And the sons of Benjamin were Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard.

Wait... what? Benjamin had sons? Benjamin had 10 sons that went down into Egypt. Look at that picture up there of Joseph and Benjamin. That picture is a representation of an even that took place a couple of weeks (months at the most) before everyone moved down into Egypt. That person had 10 sons. You have been deceived.

²⁶All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob's sons' wives, all the souls were threescore and six;

66 people, besides wives, went to Egypt.

²⁹And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while.

³⁰And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive.

Move over Benjamin, daddy's favorite is back.

Joseph then tells his father that when Pharaoh asks what he does, say that you were a cattle guy.

³⁴That ye shall say, Thy servants' trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.

So, it's sheep that Egyptians had a problem with.

Points to ponder:

1. Is it alright to play tricks on your brothers? Tricks that wind up getting one of them thrown in jail.

2. When you think of Benjamin, do you think of him as old enough to have fathered children? Do you fall into the normal thinking that he was just a child. Remember, Joseph was 17 when he started dreaming (there were 11 sheafs, so Benjamin was alive), then he was 30 when he stood in front of Pharaoh the first time (add 13). Then there were the 7 years of plenty, (37) then we are now at 2 years of famine (minimum of 39). If Benjamin was only a newborn when Joseph was 17, he's still at least 22 now. Yet he's depicted as a child.