Genesis 42
Joseph’s Brothers in Egypt
Gen 42:1When Jacob heard there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you looking at each other?”
As the other nations were starving to death, Egypt became the most powerful nation in the world. They became masters of the River Valley civilizations. Joseph decided which nations would survive and which nations would die.
2He then said, “Look, I hear that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy grain for us so that we may live and not die.”
The survival of Israel depended upon the ten brothers purchasing grain from Egypt. Their rejected brother controlled the grain of Egypt.
3So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.
This was a long and dangerous journey, as hunger causes desperation and violence.
4But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “What if some accident happens to him?”
Jacob loved Rachel. Benjamin was all that he had left of her.
5So Israel’s sons came to buy grain among the other travelers, for the famine was severe in the land of Canaan.
Travelers were flocking to Egypt in droves.
6Now Joseph was the ruler of the country, the one who sold grain to all the people of the country. Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the ground.
Joseph’s dream was fulfilled.
7When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger to them and spoke to them harshly. He asked, “Where do you come from?” They answered, “From the land of Canaan, to buy grain for food.”
Joseph spoke harshly to his brothers in order to test them.
8Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.
Joseph was no longer a skinny teenager dressed in shepherd clothing. He was now 43 years old, clean shaven, and dressed in Egyptian attire.
9Then Joseph remembered the dreams he had dreamed about them, and he said to them, “You are spies; you have come to see if our land is vulnerable!”
This accusation placed the tribe of Jacob in danger. They could not afford to make the Egyptian governor angry.
10But they exclaimed, “No, my lord! Your servants have come to buy grain for food!
The brothers explained that they only came to purchase food.
11We are all the sons of one man; we are honest men! Your servants are not spies.”
This one man was Jacob.
12“No,” he insisted, “but you have come to see if our land is vulnerable.”
Joseph kept the pressure on his brothers. He accused them of being military spies who wanted to attack Egypt and take their grain. This was a very serious charge. They were not expecting this type of reaction.
13They replied, “Your servants are from a family of twelve brothers. We are the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is with our father at this time, and one is no longer alive.”
The brothers realized that slavery led to death. They considered Joseph as a dead man.
14But Joseph told them, “It is just as I said to you: You are spies!
Joseph accused his brothers once again. Espionage against Egypt was a very serious accusation.
15You will be tested in this way: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not depart from this place unless your youngest brother comes here.
Joseph made an oath, using Pharaoh’s name.
16One of you must go and get your brother, while the rest of you remain in prison. In this way your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth. If not, then, as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!”
They were all to be imprisoned. One brother would be required to go back and get Benjamin.
17He imprisoned them all for three days.
They spent three days in jail, wondering what their outcome would be.
18On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do as I say and you will live, for I fear God.
Joseph informed his brothers that he feared “הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים (ha-elohim), which is the Triune-Creator-God. He used the name with a Hebrew article to emphasize which God he feared. This confession of the name of the one true God must have shocked the brothers, because they figured the Governor of Egypt to be a pagan.
19If you are honest men, leave one of your brothers confined here in prison while the rest of you go and take grain back for your hungry families.
Joseph changed the plan. Only one brother was to stay in prison.
20But you must bring your youngest brother to me. Then your words will be verified and you will not die.” They did as he said.
Joseph placed the brothers in a tough situation. They had no food, lost a brother, and they would have to bring back Benjamin.
21They said to one other, “Surely we’re being punished because of our brother, because we saw how distressed he was when he cried to us for mercy, but we refused to listen. That is why this distress has come on us!”
The brothers disclosed some new historical information. Joseph cried out to them, but they ignored him.
22Reuben said to them, “Didn’t I say to you, ‘Don’t sin against the boy,’ but you wouldn’t listen? So now we must pay for shedding his blood!”
Joseph was listening. He was now aware that Reuben attempted to protect him.
23(Now they did not know that Joseph could understand them, for he was speaking through an interpreter.)
Joseph was able to listen to their entire conversation.
24He turned away from them and wept. When he turned around and spoke to them again, he had Simeon taken from them and tied up before their eyes.
Reuben was the oldest brother, but he had attempted to save Joseph. Therefore, Joseph chose the second oldest brother, since he was responsible for the decision to sell Joseph into slavery.
25Then Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to return each man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. His orders were carried out.
The brothers thought that they were going back to Canaan empty-handed. However, Joseph was not going to allow his family to starve in Canaan.
26So they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left.
The brothers returned to Canaan in shock, disbelief, and grief.
27When one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey at their resting place, he saw his money in the mouth of his sack.
This was a shock. The brothers had bought the grain, but their money was still with them. Joseph was wealthy. Pharaoh did not need this money. His family might need this money during the famine, so he returned it.
28He said to his brothers, “My money was returned! Here it is in my sack!” They were dismayed; they turned trembling one to another and said, “What in the world has God done to us?”
The brothers saw this situation as a divine judgment from God.
29They returned to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan and told him all the things that had happened to them, saying,
The brothers made it safely back to Canaan during desperate times. They were beginning to focus upon God once again.
30“The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly to us and treated us as if we were spying on the land.
Joseph had spoken harshly to his brothers.
31But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies!
The brothers attempted to explain that they were not spies. Many nations during this famine wanted to conquer Egypt and take their grain.
32We are from a family of twelve brothers; we are the sons of one father. One is no longer alive, and the youngest is with our father at this time in the land of Canaan.’
Their dead brother was actually alive and talking to them.
33“Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘This is how I will find out if you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain for your hungry households and go.
The brothers were commanded to leave Simeon behind.
34But bring your youngest brother back to me so I will know that you are honest men and not spies. Then I will give your brother back to you and you may move about freely in the land.’”
Jacob did not want Benjamin to travel to Egypt. He was the last son alive from his favorite wife, Rachel.
35When they were emptying their sacks, there was each man’s bag of money in his sack! When they and their father saw the bags of money, they were afraid.
This was a shock. Every one of the brothers not only possessed the grain, but their money as well. They could see divine providence in these circumstances. This made them fear the one true God, because they were guilty of murdering Joseph. God had been silent for a long time, but now He seemed to be avenging Joseph.
36Their father Jacob said to them, “You are making me childless! Joseph is gone. Simeon is gone. And now you want to take Benjamin! Everything is against me.”
Jacob did not want to take a chance of losing Benjamin.
37Then Reuben said to his father, “You may put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my care and I will bring him back to you.”
Reuben knew that Jacob would not do this. As firstborn, he was taking responsibility. He was reassuring his father that he would protect Benjamin.
38But Jacob replied, “My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left. If an accident happens to him on the journey you have to make, then you will bring down my gray hair in sorrow to the grave.”
Notice that Jacob planned on going down to the grave, not up to heaven. At this time, Sheol was in the middle of the earth. Jacob was a believer, so he would go down to Paradise. Jesus emptied Paradise after His death. All of the Old Testament saints, including Jacob, were taken up to heaven in their spirit bodies. Their spirit bodies will connect with their physical bodies at the Rapture of the church.
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The human viewpoint of the satanic world system is that the River Valley civilizations evolved over time, because of their location next to large bodies of water. The Tigris-Euphrates river produced Mesopotamia. The Nile River produced Egypt. The Indus River produced India. The Yellow River produced China.
The divine viewpoint of the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God is that God allowed Joseph to use his free will to determine which ancient nations would survive and which would not. Joseph could have also shared the gospel of the one true God to all of the nations of the ancient world.
The gospel at this time of history was that Jehovah was the one true God, but a seed of woman would arrive in the future who would save men from their sins. This is why many ancient nations looked to a coming Savior, It is important to note that there was a Hercules (half-man-half-god), an Achilles, or a Madonna and child cult in many of the ancient cultures.
The human viewpoint of the satanic world system is that often pure luck determines the outcome of nations. Their survival was a result of social Darwinism, which is survival of the fittest.
The divine viewpoint of the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God is that God is sovereign over all of the origins and the fall of all nations.